Favorite Albums of the Decade: 40-31

Day 2 of my favorite albums of the decade is upon us, with albums 40 through 31 coming today. Before we start that, a recap of the list so far (you can see that post here):

50. Andrew WK - I Get Wet
49. The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike
48. Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
47. Badly Drawn Boy - About a Boy Soundtrack
46. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
45. M.I.A. - Kala
44. of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
43. Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
42. The Stills - Without Feathers
41. Cake - Comfort Eagle


40. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

Recommended Track: My Girls

Why I Love It: While the cries of "album of the decade!" may have been a pinch strong at this album's release, the hype that this was Animal Collective's best yet was not. This is AC distilling their sound into more of a pop structure, as you can sense Panda Bear's influence (after 2007's stellar Person Pitch) becoming more and more prominent throughout. This may be the definitive headphones and audiophile album of the decade, as this album is all about rich textures and layers of sound. Not only that, but when they take us through the chorus on "My Girls" and we get the gleeful "Ohhh!!", there may not have been a more euphoric moment from music this decade.


39. The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder (2007)

Recommended Track: 7 Stars

Why I Love It: The Apples in Stereo were another out of nowhere band for me, regardless of the fact that they had been around for 16 years before I knew any better. This album is one that is filled with delicious vocoder driven vocals, 70's pop instrumental arrangements, and a sunny disposition mostly about...science? Whatever it is really about (obviously I am all about the lyrical content here), this album is one that surprised in its ability to alternately get me screaming out vocals and to regress into a far more contemplative state. This is not an album weighed down by import, but mostly one wondering "can you feel it." Yes we can, and it feels good.


38. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006)

Recommended Track: Shakey Dog

Why I Love It: For all of the reasons Raekwon's Cuban Linx sequel is a success, so is this album. While for the most part Wu Tang Clan had a quiet decade, Ghostface exploded to become the most dominant voice from that crew. With his searing vocals, Ghostface tells us yarns of what a day to day life for a coke pushing gangster is like on the East Coast. Especially on "Shakey Dog", which is, to me, the apex of rap as a form of inner city storytelling. Not only that, but we get all kinds of guest appearances (including an honest to god Wu track), comic book and kung fu flick nods, and we learn a little about the metric system on the way as well. Who saw that coming?


37. The 88 - Over and Over (2005)

Recommended Track: Nobody Cares

Why I Love It: The 88 released one of the best albums of the 1960's, giving us rather straight forward pop rock tracks with soaring vocals, clap along rhythms, and tracks about sweet things such as coming home to your love, or things of that sort. Of course, the fact that it was released in 2005 to relative obscurity sort of alters that concept a bit, but that does not rob this album of any of its brilliance. While their follow up was...not strong, this album (which I found when I first started reviewing albums at my radio station in college) is laden with pop gems that I'd say match up with nearly anything from this decade.


36. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours (2008)

Recommended Track: Hearts on Fire

Why I Love It: Cut Copy is a group that so effortlessly fused indie pop, electronica, and influences from the 1980's into their sound on this album that they were pretty much impossible to be denied. While it's true this album really doesn't intend to be much more than an album that is light, airy, and fun to dance to, it doesn't really matter. Cut Copy is so obviously comfortable with their identity and their sound on this album that everything they do ends up sounding like everything you wanted to hear from them, but you didn't even know it. That's how you know it's good.


35. Muse - Absolution (2003)

Recommended Track: Butterflies and Hurricanes

Why I Love It: Muse is one of the most incredible bands on the planet, as in many ways they are about as talented as anyone out there. For example, Matt Bellamy, lead singer, guitarist, and pianist for the group, can do all three things about as well as anyone in music today. Whether you're looking for a classically trained piano piece in the midst of a track, or an absolutely insane riff, or some of the most beautiful vocals you'll hear from any man, they'll deliver this and plenty more. This album became a very popular one because of a few standout singles, but the depth of the album is where the gems are hidden, such as the more slow burning pieces like "Butterflies and Hurricanes" and "Blackout."


34. Cursive - The Ugly Organ (2003)

Recommended Track: Art is Hard

Why I Love It: "When you get on stage and they scream your name...oh Cursive is so cool...". From the very moment I heard those moments, with the former part sang in standard style and the "so cool" part in the background with muted vocals, I immediately knew I was a little bit in love with this band. At first, I was drawn in by the arty aggressiveness of "Art is Hard" and "Some Red Headed Slight of Hand", but later on I was pulled in by the more introspective moments like "The Recluse" and "Staying Alive." About that time I started to realize just how stellar of an album this was, and it ended up being my favorite album by one of Saddle Creek's absolute finest. Front to back, this album is loaded with power, brains, and a hidden soft streak that they'll scream at you to ignore. Brilliant.


33. Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005)

Recommended Track: I Summon You

Why I Love It: First, I have to say that if I was going to make a list of favorite tracks of the decade (I may still do that), "I Summon You" would have to be up there for the top prize. This album followed their less structured and more eclectic album Kill the Moonlight and really focused on focusing the bands strengths into more straightforward tracks. For the most part it was a success, as tracks like the aforementioned "I Summon You" and "My Mathematical Mind" end up being every bit as wonderful as anything else in the Spoon discography. However, it falls somewhere in between the spontaneity of Moonlight and the polished pop sound of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and that lack of identity keeps it in the 30's for me.


32. Phantom Planet - The Guest (2002)

Recommended Track: One Ray of Sunlight

Why I Love It: Alright, cool it with the laughter. If you're thinking "really? the band that made the O.C. theme song?" well, you'd be right. That is in fact this band. However, hidden under that overplayed (but infectious) track is an album that is 60's bubble gum pop at its finest. Loaded with more hooks than a meat locker and featuring more toe tapping beats than almost anyone should be expected to handle, this was my album of choice for one entire summer during the middle of this decade. It still stands up to the test of time as an album that will get spins from time to time, just because every once in a while you need a little bit of pop in your life.


31. Air - Talkie Walkie (2004)

Recommended Track: Alone in Kyoto

Why I Love It: Whether it's the simmering creepy beauty of "Run", the effortless cool of whistle happy "Alpha Beta Gaga," or the Eastern quietness of standout track "Alone in Kyoto", Parisian duo Air takes us on a journey through their sound on this album. The way they structure their purely electronic sound gives the album the feel that it is more organic than your average album of this sort, giving it additional weight and soul throughout. This is their masterpiece in my mind, and one of the best electro pop albums of the decade, assuredly.

"The Muse" Rocks Italy

In modern day music, many artists put on live performances on television shows that are not exactly "live." Quite often the network putting it on will require them to perform to a track to ensure the quality of the performance, and if I was a betting man I'd say that most of these artists don't mind having to do that. I mean come on, performing live is stressful. It's a lot easier to just fake it.

Evidently, Muse is not one of those bands (another reason as to why they are one of the coolest bands around). Recently they appeared on an Italian talk show in which the show told them to perform to a track and the show incessantly referred to them as "the Muse." So, as a bit of revenge the band gave their performance with each band member playing a different instrument than usual, most notably lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist playing the drums like he was an old windup drumming monkey. It's pretty fantastic, especially considering you can tell that no one at the "performance" could tell any difference between that and what Muse should have been like. Go Italia!

Concerts are my favorite things

So, as I said in the title, concerts are pretty much my favorite things. I'm a huge fan of music as it is a big part of most every aspect of my life. I never write without it, never work without it, and the majority of my free time activities involve it - yet I can't play a note on nearly anything? Odd. Growing up in Alaska though, I never had a lot of opportunity to see a lot of shows. The first show I ever went to was MC Hammer (with Boyz 2 Men opening, the 6 year old in you fellow 23/24 olds just dropped their jaws in envy - don't deny it), and the majority of other events I went to rarely expanded outside of shows my parents saw such as Reba McEntire or Neil Diamond (with the latter being one of the best performers I've ever seen).

In one of my last years in Anchorage before I went to school, I caught the Offspring with Millencolin opening, and I was instantly hooked. I LOVED the concert experience. It was so invigorating, and I was enraptured with hearing a favorite band playing all of their songs, and I had discovered a new band to follow by seeing their opener. It was an eye opener and a half, and soon after moving to college I quickly started seeing shows.

Starting with the unparalleled genius of Andrew WK at a small club in Spokane, Washington, I managed to see 140+ bands after that show in October/November of 2002 until now. Not a crazy amount for many, but for a kid that grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and went to school at the University of Idaho, it was plenty. Bands seen ranged from musical giants like Radiohead and the Wu Tang Clan, to bands that took giant leaps over the time period such as Death Cab for Cutie and the Shins, to emo/punk/screamo stars early in their career like My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday, to the stars of festivals such as Bumbershoot in Seattle and the Warped Tour at the Gorge (for a full list of bands I've seen, see here)

As I changed, my concert going habits changed, going from "always up front" to my current state of "up front for pictures, but then I'm outta there," and I went from going to shows with big groups of friends to quite often flying solo. It didn't matter. I loved it all.

The point is, I'm not done yet. Just because I'm in Anchorage again does not mean my aspirations to see great live music has changed. With the current slate of upcoming music in Anchorage, it hardly has to. However, there are many bands that I really, really would like to see at some point, which is the point of this exercise.

Below, I have a breakdown of the top 10 bands I'd like to see, with a little snippet of why I want to see them more than the rest. They're of course revealed Rick Dees style, from 10 to 1.



10. Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is a pretty unique artist. He for the most part records all of his albums by himself, but due to the orchestral nature of the albums and the rather large sound he creates, it is obviously impossible for him to perform them live. Without help, that is. The man is simply one of the best artists making music today, and even though I know it'd be tough for his traveling band to recreate his extremely complex sound, I still would love to see him live, if only to see the cheerleader bits and dance sequences in between songs, as he and his bands often perform at his shows.

See above to watch Sufjan perform his track "Casmir Pulaski Day" off Illinois.



9. Incubus (But only before they released Light Grenades and A Crow Left of the Murder)

Incubus is a very perplexing band to me. S.C.I.E.N.C.E. is one of my all time favorite albums, and with two of their albums (Make Yourself and Morning View) they have one of my favorite three album samples of any band. Yet I cannot stand their two most recent ones or their debut. So Incubus places on my list, with one caveat: they only play music off those three that I love. Very unlikely I'm sure, but at the very least it'd be worth it to see them once and chance that they're feeling saucy that evening.

See above for them performing their track "Vitamin" off of S.C.I.E.N.C.E.



8. Beastie Boys

These guys were my favorite band for quite some time, and they still are one of my all time favorites. They've fallen off in my book over the last couple albums, but I love brushing off my Sounds of Science greatest hits album every once in a while and just throwing down 50 straight Beasties tracks. I missed an opportunity to see them (TWICE) last year at Sasquatch, and I'm sure it would have been a blast, but it wasn't meant to be - yet. The reason they are this low considering my love for them is frankly, rap translates poorly live. It's not who they are, it's what they perform.

See above for the Beasties performing "Ch-Check It Out" off recent album To the 5 Boroughs on David Letterman.



7. Anathallo

Based off sheer volume of performers, Anathallo should win with seven total members cramming on stage. This band made my favorite album of 2006 and one of my favorite albums ever with Floating World. They're not very well known, but those who know them love them and those who've seen them live rave about them, as they are very interactive and a ton of fun to see live. Never had the opportunity to see them, but I cross my fingers every day that they'll be added to Sasquatch.

See above for the band performing "Dokkoise House" from Floating World.



6. Eels

Eels are a "band" that only features one permanent member: Mark Oliver Everett, also known as "E." This band has been one of my favorites for a long time, as they've released only good albums throughout the history of this band. They never stick with one simple style, and they always challenge themselves to try something new. I've heard mixed things about them live, but I love them enough that I simply have to see them at least once. Plus, anyone who has an original piece of art from Y the Last Man in his bathroom is cool in my book (E does).

See above for them performing "In the Yard, Behind the Church."



5. the Strokes

The Strokes are unusual band. They're one of the biggest "hype" bands of the 00's, but they've managed to continuously expand their sound throughout their career, growing more polished and arguably improving with every new release. Even though due to familiarity, classic debut Is this It maintains its status as my favorite, I love all three albums whole heartedly. For this reason, and for the fact that I think there would be a decent chance lead singer Julian Casablancas may fall asleep on stage, they are number five with a bullet.

See above to see the band perform "Reptilia" off album Room on Fire.

4. The Flaming Lips

This band is supposed to be about as much fun as any band around live, and you know what? I'm seeing them in May, closing out the Sasquatch festival in massive amounts of style with their special U.F.O. show. I cannot wait!

This band is one of the strangest around, and assuredly their live show will match. The good news is, their live show is a spectacle and they are supposed to sound perfect, so what more could you ask for out of a performance?

See above for them performing "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots."

3. Rage Against the Machine

The band that put on one of the greatest shows I've ever seen (on DVD, I'm a cheater) is back together, and I would absolutely love to see them live before they break up again (as they assuredly will). This band is one of the tightest groups live, and their sound and energy are hard for anyone else in the world to match. I'm envious of anyone who has seen them.

See above for them performing "Testify" at Coachella 2007.




2. Sigur Ros

Ironically enough, the first place I ever saw or heard of this band was live, with the Icelandic band performing track "Svefn-g-englar" live on HBO's old concert series Reverb. As I watched the lead singer sing and play his guitar with a violin bow, I knew immediately that this was the most beautiful music I had (or maybe ever would) hear. They are really 1b, but someone had to finish second and the first band could not be overtaken.

See above for the band performing "Hoppipolla" off album Takk....

1. Muse

Maybe the most powerful rock band in the world today, Muse makes some of the most epic and driving and hauntingly beautiful songs you will likely ever hear. The mere fact that they do it with just three members is even more incredible, and lead singer Matthew Bellamy may be the single most talented frontman of any band around today. All four of their albums are pretty much genius, but it was Absolution that really made me stand up and take notice. Interestingly enough, they just released a live album titled H.A.A.R.P.and the votes are in - it's one of the best live album/DVD combos out there. Color me not shocked in anyway.

See above for the band performing "Blackout" from Absolution.