At the end of 2009, I attempted to make a list of the greatest albums and songs of the 00's. Looking back now, I can see so many flaws with that, because I have discovered so much more music from the decade now and fell deeper in love with a lot of albums I had already discovered. So, for the sake of self redemption, I think I'm going to give this another go.
#20 For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2007)
"C'mon Skinny Love, just last a year"
The story of why and where this album was recorded, and the means with which it was, is almost more legendary than the album itself. Here you have a heartbroken guy, secluding himself in a cabin for three months with only minimal recording equipment, getting everything out in song. All his personal trouble, lack of perspective, love, and loss. And the whole thing aches with self induced loneliness. So what we have here is perhaps what Henry David Thoreau would have recorded while he was at Walden Pond, or maybe what Moses would have recorded while scouring the wilderness for 40 years. But without speculation, it's something completely original and worth listening to for every feeling human.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssdgFoHLwnk)
#19 Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol (2002)
"Sleep Tight. Grim Rite. We have two hundred couches where you can sleep tonight"
Interpol has been one of the most disappointing bands in recent memory. When you go back and listen to something as amazing and original as Turn on the Bright Lights, and then you seek for something even close to it's brilliance in their later catalog, it's flat out depressing. But I suppose we always have this true gem to go back to. What many consider the beginning of the "post punk revival" (which I consider an extremely redundant term), this is the album that jump started the movement that included bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys. But more importantly, this album brings us back to the brilliance of Ian Curtis or Echo and The Bunnymen, without sounding just like Ian Curtis or Echo and the Bunnymen. This sounds like Interpol, at the peak of their brilliance, one album into their career.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA5xtHxfiTI)
#18 Illinois - Sufjan Stevens (2005)
"Ancient hieroglyphic, or the South Pacific, Typically terrific, busy and prolific "
In 2003, Sufjan Stevens made a decision that he was going to make an album for all 50 states. Starting with Michigan that same year, he attempted to tackle such a project. Well, that hasn't really worked out as he planned it to, but thank heavens he started, because he gave us Illinois. Although the album was recorded in New York City, it gives us a vision of Chicago. An extremely happy vision of Chicago, and almost surreal. And I must say, if I ever really wanted to go to Chicago, it was after listening to this album for the first time. Thank heavens I got the chance.And although he works through his Fifty State Project moniker, giving us many references to big events in the states history, it's also one of Stevens' more personal albums, going beyond Illinois and letting us know a little more about Stevens.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TboOfiTjhU)
#17 Dear Science, TV on the Radio (2008)
"Storm, wind me out. So I can feel it in another way, they won't talk about"
I can distinctly remember buying Dear Science. Some albums that happens. I can remember going into the Graywhale in Salt Lake City, and picking it off the Indie rack without hesitation with remarkable clarity. I also remember what came before that, when I was home barely discovering TV on the Radio and their work. I remember being blown away by "Dancing Choose". I remember falling instantly in love with "Golden Age". I remember actually loving music that was barely coming out, which hadn't happened before then. This was clear back in September of 2008, when I was still mildly musically inept. I still am, of course, as there is always so much more to discover.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzDhzdsbM0g)
#16 The Moon & Antarctica - Modest Mouse (2000)
"Early Early in the morning it pulls all down on my sore feet. I want to go back to sleep"
Modest Mouse is one of the bands that were Indie heroes that music elitists pushed on everybody as one of the best bands around. And then "Float On" was a hit, and everybody pushed them on everybody as one of the best bands out there. But disregarding all the hype surrounding the group, and what do you have left? Well, you got one darn perfect album. The Moon & Antarctica, released after their celebrated and excellent "The Lonesome Crowded West", this is Modest Mouse soul searching into the surreal, writing lyrics, in the tradition of the great Jeff Mangum, that are easy to relate to, but don't make any sense. And accompanied with some of the most original music, the ability to make that comparison is amazing in itself.
#15 Elephant, The White Stripes (2003)
"I'm gonna fight em' off, a Seven Nation Army couldn't hold me back"
Oh The White Stripes, how we will all miss thee. No artist for the last ten years rocked as hard as you did, no artist of the last ten years played one second shows, surprise concerts for fans on a bus, or made perhaps the greatest guitar movie of all time with Jimmy Page and The Edge. No artists wrote as quirky, innocent lyrics, and no artist had as much an impact on straight up, blues based rock and roll as you did. I wish I could have seen you live at least once. Why no surprise show in Spanish Fork? Hmph. But when it all comes down to it, I suppose I can still come back and listen to Seven Nation Army and let it pound my chest into utter respect, or listen to Ball and Biscuit and make my fingers bleed trying to imitate Jack's guitar playing. I suppose that's all we can do now.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY)
#14 Stankonia, OutKast (2000)
"Power Music, Electric Revival"
OutKast was always one of the most original hip/hop groups around. Back in the days before "Hey Ya!", before everybody and their dog rightfully knew about the genius of Big Boi and Andre, they came out with a little album called Stankonia. And Stankonia was one of the best hip hop albums ever released. Hearkening back to the days of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest much more than Dr. Dre or The Notorious B.I.G., this is a big revival of the golden age of hip hop. The whole album makes you want to dig deeper and try to understand how they could possibly put that many sounds into one song, and still rap genius lyrics to them. It makes you wonder how Andre's mouth could possibly move that fast to spit out that many lyrics into one line. And it makes you wonder why in the world hip hop doesn't sound a whole lot more like this.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBcdDVii5s4)
#13 Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem (2007)
"That's how it starts. We go back to your house. You check the charts. And start to figure it out"
Gosh I love James Murphy. The guy just exemplifies exactly what kind of musician I would want to be, and he just writes flat out genius songs. He perfectly manages to balance fame and a normal life, and that's exactly what I'd want. And when the news that LCD Soundsystem was breaking up, it just about broke me up. I can hardly imagine a world where songs like "Something Great" or "Get Innocuous" aren't coming out. I can hardly imagine hearing no news about James Murphy and the boys getting together and recording, or touring, and getting quite excited. But since it's all over after their final show in April, what do we have left? Well, we got "All My Friends". And truly, if anything would suffice for a break up of a band, that song should do it. The greatest song of the decade should, at least, tide me over until James Blake gets up and going. But Sound of Silver is something every record collection should have, if nothing else, for remembering how amazing James Murphy was and is, and as a perfect build up to their last masterpiece, This is Happening (2010)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fur59kO-1g)
#12 Since I Left You, The Avalanches (2000)
"Since I left you, I found a world so new"
Somehow, these Australian boys exemplified the feeling of discovery and creation, traveling and adventure. Somehow, using almost all samples from other people, they built something entirely new and original that everybody can feel. You put this album in your ears, and you can go to any corner of the globe. It's surprising that this much originality can come from doing nothing but sampling others, but I suppose DJ Shadow should have learned me well enough. And The Avalanches continue to learn me over and over again. I even tried to make a song using samples after listening to this over and over again, and it wasn't exactly the greatest thing I've ever tried, but it was fun doing it. And it was then I realized just how artistic these guys actually are, and how much respect they deserve. And not just because, thanks to them, I've stared up at a ceiling and adventured in New Zealand at the same time.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg0su8HnHFs)
#11 White Blood Cells, The White Stripes (2001)
"Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell"
Here is the album that made Jack and Meg rock stars. Here is the album that made just about everyone fall in love with The White Stripes, and here is the album that is now making just about everybody cry because it's all over. White Blood Cells, released on an indie label at first then re-marketed on a major, was the first truly amazing White Stripes album. You listen to "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and you tell me you aren't amazed. Or you watch the "Fell In Love with a Girl" groundbreaking LEGO music video, and you tell me, besides the fact that you were probably dancing your head off, that your mind was not blown. And last of all, you listen to the most wonderful, gorgeous, and purely innocent song that is "We're Going to be Friends", and you tell me that you are not going on a nostalgic craze for the good old days, and don't have one of the best feelings one could possibly have while listening to music. All these things The White Stripes have given us have left an amazing mark on music, and no amount of break ups or side projects will ever change that.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi1v-Jvw6ns)
#10 Kill the Moonlight, Spoon (2002)
"Won't you come out tonight? Don't let it get you down"
Spoon was one of the most consistently amazing bands of the decade. I mean, can you remember Spoon ever having a bad, or even mediocre, album? They remind me of Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young's run in the seventies, where pretty much everything they turned out was great. But on top of all the pile of Spoon's amazing work, sits Kill the Moonlight, the pinnacle of their amazing music. Interesting, because this is Spoon's "use the studio as an instrument" album, which often results in self indulgent, spacey albums. But Spoon must have done it a whole lot different then everybody else, because this turned out to be their most direct and straight forward. And it just flat out has the best songs, like "The Way We Get By" and "Don't Let it Get You Down", and the amazing and original "Paper Tiger'. This is just Spoon churning out their best, which is what they always do, but this time they actually churned out the best they ever did. And that makes this pretty darn perfect
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XapfIDd6v8)
#9 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective (2009)
"I don't mean, to seem like I care about material things, like my social status"
Oh Animal Collective, how I love thee. How you so rapidly improved over the course of ten years to give us one of the most creative, original, and happy albums ever made. How you built up to the excellence of Sung Tongs, and how you built up from that to the perfection of Merriweather Post Pavillion. How you beautifully integrate Beach Boys style harmonies together with Aphex Twin style electronics. And how you write lyrics that remind us of actually good things, like love and being good to people, instead of trying to be abrasive or controversial.You are truly one of the greatest bands around, and thank heavens that you're still together, making amazing music like "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes", so I can still look forward to your next big move everyday. But until then, I can just listen and re-listen to this beauty here, and let it's optimism and joy remind me of the things that really matter. One of them being music.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zol2MJf6XNE)
#8 Person Pitch, Panda Bear (2007)
"I do love you, and I want to hold onto you for always"
What a stroke of luck that this and Merriweather Post Pavilion ended up right next to each other! I mean, seriously, who planned that? In all seriousness, this album, in my mind, is inseparable from the one that precedes it, and please, rearrange the two between the two places as you see fit. But for me, Person Pitch might just be a little bit better than the group effort. Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) will always be my favorite member of Animal Collective, because what he brings to the group is my favorite thing about Animal Collective. He brings The Beach Boys, the dream pop, and the family man type aesthetic. And this album is just all those things exemplified, with, of course, electronic influences all over the place as well. But regardless, just as Merriweather Post Pavilion exemplified joy, so to does this, except in a different way. Merriweather makes you happy right off the bat, while Person Pitch gives you a warmer feeling the more and more you listen to it. Eventually, that feeling is deeper in Person Pitch than it is in Merriweather, although Merriweather will always be revisited for the party. Person Pitch is simply the coming home.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTnBc_-QCXk&feature=fvwrel)
#7 Agaetis Byrjun, Sigur Ros (2000)
"Starir á mig lítill álfur"
Our only album on the list that is in a foreign language, welcome to Sigur Ros. Sung in Icelandic for most of it, and then sung in a gibberish language invented by the band on "Olsen, Olsen", this album to me exemplifies why music is a universal language. This is without a doubt the most beautiful album of the decade, and yet, it's not sung in English at all. The whole thing just fills the soul with understanding even though you can't understand, and with love for music. This would be my number one album pick for a night of stargazing, and for good reason. This album is probably one of the closest experiences to spiritual one could come across in non-classical music, and I believe people are picking up on that. Scouring Youtube for Sigur Ros videos, many of them have religious and spiritual overtones. And many of them have beautiful scenery and pictures of, you guessed it, the stars. Of course, with the music industry endlessly trying to label everything, this was dubbed apart of the "Post-Rock" movement. And if this is what music is going to sound like in the future, then I welcoming it with open arms.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gL6L3xaNy0&feature=related)
#6 The Blueprint - Jay-Z (2001)
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the eight wonder of the world"
Jay-Z changed rap forever back in 1996 when he came out with Reasonable Doubt, because up until then, Rap was either mildly classy (A Tribe Called Quest) or was about how you're no longer a gangster and are awesome cause you can rap (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg). But then Jay-Z rocked everybody off their horse, because here was a guy who actually WAS a gangster, who actually did live in the projects, and had lots to say about it. Now that's pretty much all rap is, and just as Jay-Z said, "Lotta rappers out there trying to sound like Jay-Z". Yeah there is, have you heard Drake? Jay-Z number two. But after Reasonable Doubt, he changed Rap once again, but in a different way. The Blueprint wasn't trying to shock us all, it was trying to change that controversy into something everybody could get into, which is exactly what it accomplishes. It's called The Blueprint, which is one of the greatest titles of an album ever, because that's exactly what it is. It is The Blueprint for an entire decade in hip/hop. Tons of rappers who was going to be huge later on started off here. Ever heard of Kanye West? Well he got his big break helping produce this thing here. Eminem? Course, he was huge already, but one of his greatest raps is right here, on "Renegade". Point being, this is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. "Can't leave rap alone, the game needs me", Jay-Z raps in "Izzo". Well, it sure as heck did.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r47r-k7dQ0)
#5 Is This It, The Strokes (2001)
"I'm in the sun sun having fun, it's in my blood! I just can't help it!"
You know, everytime I listen to Is This It, I feel like I should be wearing a leather jacket, riding down the streets of New York City in a limo. I don't know why that is, but for some reason I feel like The Strokes exemplified that kind of feeling. Oh, I adore this album. I remember buying this one too, quite clearly. I remember I bought it the same day I bought two other CD's, Radiohead's Hail to the Thief and Arctic Monkeys Favorite Worst Nightmare. At first, I enjoyed Arctic Monkeys the most, and The Strokes the least. I listened to all three of the albums riding home from Ogden on the bullet train, and found myself going back over and over again to Is This It. At first the only song I liked was "Last Nite". Then "The Modern Age". Then "Hard to Explain". Then "Take it or Leave it". And it slowly just grew and grew on me until it was the most played album in my library. And it continued to be for almost a month, until I slowly grew out of my Strokes-only phase. But The Modern Age, among others, is still in the top ten most played songs of all time on my library, and I still simply cannot get enough of this album. You listen to it and see if you feel the same. Preferably in a limo, if at all possible.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfamwv1kR4M)
#4 Funeral, Arcade Fire (2004)
"They Say it Fits, if you let it. Love was made to forget it"
If there ever was a rock album that made playing the cello or the viola dang cool, it was Funeral. Okay, maybe that's not the best way to start a description of Funeral, considering it's one of the most emotional and honest albums of all time, and that almost sounded demeaning. But still, the string arrangements on here made me at least want to give an orchestral instrument a try. Still do. But apart from the gorgeous strings, Funeral is quite the experience. This is one of those albums that you'd lend to a friend and they'd never give it back. This is one of the albums that you'll lay in your bed and listen to over and over again, and lose hours and hours of sleep on behalf of. And this is one of those albums that will become extremely nostalgic after only one listen, and will contain so many memories within it's notes and rhythms. This is just one of those near the top of the shelve, always near the CD player, most played albums that nobody can ever forget. And Arcade Fire deserves all the praise and fame they are getting now for giving something as good as this to us all. Because not a whole lot of bands, people, or musicians are ever capable of something quite like it.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxkK06HlgqA)
#3 Discovery, Daft Punk (2001)
"One More time, we're gonna celebrate, oh yeah, all right, don't stop the dancing!"
After years and years of electronic music, two french guys finally hit the exact right place to make it appeal to everyone. After Kraftwerk pioneered with Trans-Europe Express, and The Human League and New Order made it danceable but not pure electronic with "Don't You Want Me?" and "Blue Monday", after Brian Eno tried to make it easy listening music with "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" and Aphex Twin tried to expound on that with "Selected Ambient Works". After The Prodigy made the beats huge, and The Chemical Brothers tried to push that commercial, two french guys finally made the big Discovery. Put all these things into a blender, with pop sensibilities and melodies, and you've got yourself electronic music that appeals to the masses. Without Daft Punk's Discovery, there would be no Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, or Jason Derulo. There would be no "I Gotta Feeling" or "Dirty Bit". No "Baby". No "Sexyback". No "Magic". Certainly no "Fireflies" and most definitely no "Stronger". Heck, Kanye, without Daft Punk, could have still to this day been #1 hitless. Usher would still be a straight Prince rip off (well, more than he already is), and Kesha's name would still be spelled with an S. (There would also be no LCD Soundsystem, for all you people who think the world would be a lot better off without the artists I previously listed) High School Dances would sound nothing like they do now. Parties would sound nothing like they do now. Your iTunes library would probably be at least 250 songs shorter. Daft Punk's Discovery really made such an impact that it's impossible to even try and reverse. And without Daft Punk, what we consider dancing music would be so completely different, we wouldn't even recognize what we are talking about. Thank you Daft Punk. And I mean that as honestly and as truly as I possibly could. You made life one heck of a bigger party.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN2hntZBIUQ)
#2 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco (2002)
"I am an American aquarium drinker"
Wow, what an album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, when first released, had so much hype surrounding it that it was almost instantly and universally hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time, listed alongside such albums as Pet Sounds or In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. And then as the years went by, it slowly dropped down to being a let down, and not exactly what everybody thought it was at first, and perhaps not all THAT good. And then as we reached the end of the decade, I believe everybody actually went back and listened to it again, because once again, it was universally hailed as perhaps the greatest album of the decade. This is an album that sticks with you long after you've listened to it, and I must say, I think I've listened to it more than any other album on the list. Well, perhaps besides the next one. But every time I hook up my Ipod, every time I think about listening to music, I can't ever think of a good reason not to listen to "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" and start this musical experience all over again. And so that's normally what I do. From "Ashes of American Flags" to "I'm the Man who Loves you", from "Kamera" to "Jesus, etc"I simply cannot nor want to get enough of this album. I think it will always be my default, the album I listen to when I don't really want to listen to anything else. I always want to listen to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Because there's simply no reason why anybody wouldn't want to listen to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It's beautiful, accessible, emotional, happy, and perfect in every way.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlxH9-TYseY)
#1 Kid A, Radiohead (2000)
"There are two colors in my head, what was that you tried to say?"
And the one constant from my last list, the one thing that hasn't changed, is Kid A. The number one best album of the decade. But if I was to tell you just how perfect this album is, just how amazing and forward thinking it is, just how mind blowing and yet entirely close to my heart it is, I don't think I could even come close to you simply going and listening to it. This is an album not for a time, but for all time. This is an album that will become something more than just an album to you, and more like a blessing. This is music that will touch your soul in ways you didn't even know was possible, and that will take your mind out of every trouble or care you have and let you just sit back and enjoy life for a second. This album could take every single emotion your feeling that day and sympathize with you, even if nobody else can. It's something else entirely, almost of another realm. I truly cannot praise this album enough, and putting it at the number one best album of the decade doesn't even cut it close. Just go get yourself a nice pair of headphones, sit back, and listen to this album, and you'll understand everything that makes this perfect. Fair warning: it could be life changing. Just saying.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onRk0sjSgFU)
Songs:
10. We're Going to Be Friends -The White Stripes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi1v-Jvw6ns)
9. Crazy In Love - Beyonce & Jay Z (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD57OrPaX0A)
8. 99 Problems - Jay-Z (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRcDsFZLIFc)
7. Paper Planes - M.I.A. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSBOw51z9YU)
6. Maps- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jdcOXDl-bA)
5. One More Time - Daft Punk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN2hntZBIUQ)
4. Hey Ya! - OutKast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytxZdmSqr0)
3. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe500eIK1oA)
2. My Girls - Animal Collective (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zol2MJf6XNE)
1. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fur59kO-1g)
:)
