Best of the Oughts: Albums 21-30

The tens just keep getting better and better. We're nearing the realm where you cannot argue. Be forewarned.

We're back to a lot of older stuff, but I believe that will level off soon. I bet you can't wait to see what comes next.


30. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Stephen Malkmus
No Pavement this decade. So, SM's first solo album will have to do. It was really just leftover Pavement stuff that he needed professional musicians to play. I'm sorry, but it's true.

29. Radiohead - Kid A
OK Computer seemed so tame and normal when this came out. Both beauty and guts are on full display on this album. It's still hard for me to fathom that this was only Radiohead's fourth album. Wow.


28. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Hey, looky what I found: another post-9/11 album. I feel a themed list coming on. Like the Cat Power album, this one was written and recorded prior to the attacks on September 11th, but the feelings and sentiments are profoundly dead-on. This makes two albums in a row in which Thom York appears.


27. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Soundscapes and corn fields in summer are all you need to know.


26. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
This was Oberst's best folk album and it was accompanied by his Faint-inspired Digital Ash.


25. Caribou - Andorra
Drums. Drums. Drums. This album is so textured and perfect. #25 enters sacred territory on my list.


24. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
Cluttered and whispered, this album should have been a hit, but no one heard it. That is, until Natalie Portman handed her headphones over to that guy from Scrubs.


23. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
There must be a name for the syndrome in which bands record their best album first, leaving the remaining material unwanted. This album is so good, it would have ruined a lot of careers. Interpol was never the same.


22. Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
This one is raw and full of life and emotion. I've said it before, but if you're not hooked after the first track, forget it.


21. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
My family used to spend summers camping and traipsing around Michigan. This album doesn't just remind me of those days, it makes me long for them to return, awkward adolescence and all.

Greatest Drummers Ever.

This is the essential living in misery list of greatest drummers...ever.

OK. So, I have to qualify this post. I'm only counting drummers I have seen in person and actually remember. I'm sure I'm skipping someone and I'm sure you'll all point out drummers missing from my list, but I don't care. Leave your comments and post something on your own blog. For now, enjoy my top 5, in no particular order.
James Lo (Chavez, enough said) - Hands down, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen behind a kit. Just listen to Ride the Fader with a pair of headphones. It will become quite clear to you that this man should not be questioned. Since seeing this band in 1996, I have compared every drummer to Mr. Lo. He is one bad-ass mother...

Chuck Palmer (Earwig, Capital class of '97) - I actually found Chuck's MySpace page, but it does little to prove my point. He drummed for Earwig who played all over Columbus back in the day. Chuck always got so much out of this shitty little drum kit. I've rarely seen a drummer beat his skins so hard. Chuck attended Capital University in Columbus (where I went to school) and studied music in their conservatory. He introduced me to this Japanese drumming he was into...oh, and that dude from Chavez.

Steven Drozd (The Flaming Lips, recovering drug addict) - It's too bad that Steven Drozd is so good at so many instruments, because he has always been one of my 2-3 favorite drummers. He would hover over a kit with not shirt and sweat profusely all over the kit and beat those drums like a sledgehammer on concrete. The dude was intense as a drummer but has softened as he has moved away from the kit. The most disappointing thing for me when The Lips backed up Beck several years back was that Drozd barely played any percussion.

Ahmed Gallab/Daniel Snaith (Caribou, last Thursday night) - Have I not raved about this kid enough? Of course, the sonic cacophony created by Gallab and Snaith together was like nothing I've ever seen. Unbelievable.

Jeremiah Green (Modest Mouse, Satisfact) - I don't know if Green has been the same since he broke down several years ago, but he used to be the best underage drummer of the underground in the mid- to late-nineties. He was so magnificent that Isaac Brock's big ideas could actually come to fruition despite the lack of horn sections, keyboardists, and ex-Smiths guitarists. When Modest Mouse was a three-piece, Green was easily the equal to Brock's guitar-bending, lisp-heavy romps.

I know this list is incomplete, but I was hoping that a few of you would contribute your thoughts on the greatest drummer ever. Comment below...

Thursday Night in St. Louis: Caribou

I feel I have very few opportunities left to see great live shows before I have another mouth to feed. Last night was the perfect opportunity to take in one of those shows. (Saturday will be another.) Caribou played the Billiken Club on SLU's campus and was featuring a bright new artist of the underground.

Billy, the two Justins from Bald Eagle and I piled into the BE van to see Ahmed Gallab of Columbus, OH's own and Emergency Umbrella signee Sinkane play drums for Caribou. I had never met the guys from BE, but I can tell you that they are honorable gentlemen with a sharp wit and sharper tongue. Again, another trip to St. Louis resulted in good conversation and some good rock 'n roll.

After arriving at SLU's campus and killing some time, we were able to meet up with Ahmed after his sound check. We added another guy to our group and headed to The Tap Room, Shlafly's downtown restaurant. The Vietnamese Po' Boy was delish, and the conversations humorous. We laughed and discussed everything from Canadian prog bands to the best video game controllers to the great white shark. All of this over a few sandwiches.

While Billy and Ahmed talked business, some of us took in the opening act, Fuck Buttons. Yes, you read that correctly. Fuck Buttons sounded exactly as you would imagine. While Caribou filled the stage with guitars, two drum kits, and various synthesizers, FB set up a folding table and some laptops.I don't want to be too critical, but it kinda sucked buttons. There's just something missing from watching two kids play iMacs. This was the twosome I suspected Rob Gordon signed to Top 5 Records in High Fidelity. Some kids apparently loved FB. I just didn't get it.

As Caribou began setting up, I wondered how their sound would translate to a live setting. I had only recently picked up Andorra, the most recent release from Daniel Snaith's project, and was somewhat unfamiliar with the rest of the discography. Ahmed had introduced us to "Danny" earlier and he seemed a nice enough guy. This was aprapos for the dreamy, nonthreatening soundscapes on Andorra. I wondered if it were possible to recreate such sounds in a live venue. I also wondered how two drum kits fit into the equation. My interest was peaked.

The Billiken's stench of "wet burritos", ridiculously high temperatures, and poor sound system did not dampen Caribou's phenomenal set of drones, big beats, and psychedelia. Snaith effortlessly moved between guitar, drums, synth, and recorder while handling a good part of the vocal duties. While the other players worked guitar, bass, and synthesizers from behind, the other star, Gallab, played his kit across from Snaith. Ahmed is easily one of the top five drummers I've seen in-person, in my lifetime. (I feel a blog post coming...) All in all, the band was incredibly tight and sounded even bigger than they do on record. It was like watching My Bloody Valentine if they came up in the late sixties and added Keith Moon to their lineup. It really blew me away.

Besides the thrilling set from Caribou, I discovered what many in the underground are already fully aware of: Ahmed Gallab has "superstar potential" written all over him. Not only is he a gifted drummer and musician, but Ahmed has a charisma rarely seen...well, anywhere. His friendliness is genuine. His knowledge of music is both rich and unique. Drum and cymbal companies want to sponsor him and bands want him behind their kits. Pitchfork even wants to break him. The man is going to be huge. Besides, he's from Columbus.

As you can see, the night was loaded with good times and will not soon be forgotten. If this happens to be one of the last shows I see for a long time while my kid grows up, that will be OK by me. Thursday night was enough show for me for a while...or until The Walkmen hit town this weekend.