2000-2009:90-81

90) Damien Jurado - On My Way to Absence
Musically this sounds like a positive album. Jurado softly croons through most of the songs, lulling the listener with acoustic guitars and reserved pianos and gentle percussion. It's all very serene. But then, of course, you tune into the lyrics and suddenly your whole world is devastated. And just to make sure your soul is adequately crushed he scalds you with surprising vitriol in the song "Icicle." So awesome.
Damien Jurado - White Center
Damien Jurado - Icicle

89) Chris Staples - Blackest Hair, Bluest Eyes
Not quite lo-fi, not quite hi-fi, Christ Staple's first (and so far only) commercial solo release is a mid-fi exploration of mid-western Americana folk rock. A few tracks can be found on his previous two self-produced independent releases, but if you're like me you own all three anyway.
Chris Staples - Blackest Hair, Bluest Eyes

88) Uncle Bob Drives a Combine - Episode III: The Journey Begins
This album is a mind-boinking trip. Episode III tells the story of a man who heads for the city, meets his robot spirit guide (?!) and is eventually befallen by calamity. The music is one part Western soundtrack, one part grindcore, one part sci-fi, and one part... farm. It all comes together to form a killer brain hemorrhaging experience.
Uncle Bob Drives a Combine - Interlude V: Moo!

87) Jose Gonzalez - Veneer
The most relaxing music ever. Gonzalez's voice is gentle, his guitar is gentle, and his songs are perfectly and subtly crafted. Most surprising is his heart-squeezing rendition of "Heartbeats," originally done by the sharp Swedish electronic duo The Knife.


86) Frank Black and the Catholics - Black Letter Days
A good collection of solid catchy, bluesy (but not the blues), acoustic and plugged-in rock. It made the dissolution of the Pixies easier to tolerate, although they're back together now so it really doesn't matter. Everybody wins.
Frank Black and the Catholics - Chip Away Boy

85) Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three
From their first full-length studio album, Ozma delivers the nerdy power-pop. The best and worst lyric you'll ever hear, from "Apple Trees":

"Take a number like 5, times 10, times 10 again.
500 miles of apple orchards to defend."

Rock and Roll is full of goofy lines like that. Also, track four is a big blatant ode to Natalie Portman. It's called "Natalie Portman."
Ozma - Shooting Stars
Ozma - Battlescars

84) Suffering & the Hideous Thieves - Real Panic Formed
From the very first track (about anti-depressants!) to the last (an eleven-minute lyrical foray into emotional self-torture following the disintegration of a relationship), Real Panic Formed is an unhappy, though probably very necessary, listening experience.
Suffering & the Hideous Thieves - The Other Side of the Moon
Suffering & the Hideous Thieves - Sex is Dead

83) Air - Pocket Symphony
The music of Air is very chill and is the perfect soundtrack to anything. Driving? Eating? Love-making? Dying? Any given song from Pocket Symphony has it covered.
Air - Once Upon a Time

82) Extol - Synergy
Synergy, when it was first released, was a severe departure for the band musically. Suddenly Extol was a thrash metal band instead of a black metal one. For better or worse, due to this shift the songs of Synergy are more accessible than the ones found on their previous albums. Regardless of how this effects you as a metal-head, be assured that their metal-playing abilities were not diminished. Not in the slightest.
Extol - Grace for Succession

81) Songs: Ohia - Didn't It Rain
Minimal and dreary, this album showcases Jason Molina's excellent song-crafting abilities. A rung below Americana, a rung above folk, a rung with some blues influence, and a rung unremoved from indie lo-fi, these tunes are deceptively difficult to define but enthralling to hear.
Songs: Ohia - Two Blue Lights

2000-2009:100-91

100) Hopesfall - The Satellite Years
Though a far-cry from Frailty of Words and No Wings to Speak Of, The Satellite Years is still full of melodicore goodness. "The Bending" continues to be one of my all-time favorite songs.
Hopesfall - The Bending

99) Death Cab For Cutie - We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes
Released March of 2000, this is DCFC's second full-length release. The songs are soft and creamy and, at the right times, bouncy. Gibbard is a great songwriter when he's paying attention.
Death Cab For Cutie - For What Reason
Death Cab For Cutie - Lowell, MA

98) Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide
From the band's final album (so far... they've reunited this past summer and people keep talking about new material), The Rising Tide is tight and explosive. It does lack the rawness that made their previous albums emotional rollercoasters to listen to. Nevertheless, a weak SDRE is mightier than most anybody's strongest anything.
Sunny Day Real Estate - Snibe

97) The Gloria Record - Start Here
Though active for eight years, The Gloria Record released exactly one full-length album before splitting for other endeavors. This is that record, and it is golden. Despite the dense sonic richness of the music, these songs evoke human fragility. Highlights include "Ascension Dream," a song about intense regret after running over a deer.
The Gloria Record - Ascension Dream
The Gloria Record - Good Morning Providence

96) Starflyer 59 - Old
Starflyer 59 is probably the most consistent band in the world, at least in terms of musical quality and the regularity of new content. As Starflyer's been known to linger in low-tempo ranges, Old is full of mid-to-up-tempo tunes to catch the ear of finicky new listeners. Also, lots of peculiar atmospheric elements.
Starflyer 59 - Underneath

95) Goldfrapp - Supernature
Not disco, but certainly disco-inspired. For whatever it's worth I've heard samples of this album used on TV a lot. The groovy tunes are danceable and the ballads are dreamy. Great stuff.


94) Elevator Division - Years
A staple in the KC music scene for a while, ED played downcast rock that retained enough pop sensibilities (read: HOOKS) to keep the listener perpetually engaged. They put on great live shows and served to remind us what good music is all about. It looks like you can get a used copy of Years through Amazon for $0.01 (+shipping, of course). That's a good buy.
Elevator Division - Radio
Elevator Division - Rearview Mirror

93) Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
On the complete opposite end of the music spectrum is Deerhoof. Zany, quirky, and frantic (and very much musically capable) Deerhoof toned it down slightly for Friend Opportunity. While this made them more accessible, it did little to deter the band's awesomeness.

Deerhoof - +81

92) David Bazan - Curse Your Branches
Released in September, Bazan's long-awaited full-length album did not disappoint. More sonically diverse than anything he did with/as Pedro the Lion, Bazan still sings about the hardest subjects, holding the ugly mirror to our faces while we try to ignore the things that wreck us.
David Bazan - Please, Baby, Please

91) Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
This is MtB's first full-length album, released in 2002. The song-titles have nothing to do with the music itself, and all they really sing about are girls and booze. Still, they do it so well.
Minus the Bear - Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!

2000-2009:110-101

The span between 2000 and 2010 were, historically, a peculiar set of years. This was my generation's decade and appropriately they were, event-wise and life-wise, culturally and personally, highlighted by the highest of highs and marred by the lowest of lows.

The soundtrack to our decade is adequately representational and, fortunately enough, supremely enjoyable. Musically the Aughts far exceeded the nonsense that was the Nineties.

Unfortunately I was not able to slim down my top picks to the best five or ten or twenty. I counted 110 albums that were absolutely necessary to include on this best-of list. Be happy I ranked them for you. I usually don't do that. So, for the next several weeks we are going to take a listen back at the albums (compact disc, vinyl, or otherwise) that made the last ten years tolerable.

I know there are a vast number of superb LPs, EPs, Internet-only releases, etc., that never crossed my ears. I can't listen to everything. I have better things to do. So what we have are my personal picks that, in some way or another, moved me, shook me, and/or dropped me dead. These are collections of songs that worthy to be shared and enjoyed by others.


110) mewithoutyou - [A-->B] Life
The band's first blistering release. While the band continues to be awesome, they've never thrown punches as hard as they did with A-to-B. En Francais, even.
mewithoutyou - Bullet to Binary.

109) Living Sacrifice - Hammering Process
Released in 2000, Hammering Process set the bar in br00tality. Most other songs from most other albums sound pithy in comparison.
Living Sacrifice - Bloodwork.

108) Arcade Fire - Funeral
Our first Canadians on the list. Quebecois at that. An Indie darling, at least until Neon Bible was released, Funeral is pleasantly dense, lulling but ungentle, and anthemic.
Arcade Fire - Wake Up.
Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels).

107) Dntel - This Is The Dream of Evan and Chan
As this is a single containing five versions of the same song, I am probably cheating here. I completely don't care. A lot of remixes don't do justice to the original. But these remixes, as they build on the themes and elements of "Evan and Chan," remain true while simultaneously exploring the bounds of the song. Track 6, "Your Hill," is a keeper as well.
Dntel - (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan.
Dntel - (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan [Barbara Morgenstern Remix].

106) St. Vincent - Actor
Marry Me was excellent. This follow-up is more excellenter. Angular, catchy, bizarre but familiar, Actor illustrates how and why Annie Clark is new American Kate Bush.
St. Vincent - Actor Out of Work.
St. Vincent - Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood

105) The New Pornographers - Challengers
The New Pornos got serious with Challengers while still maintaining the sugeryness that made their previous albums sparkle. The only thing I could have asked for was more Neko Case voicebox. But then it would have been a Neko Case album, and there already are a couple of those to come.

The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour.

104) Ladytron - Velocifero
Picking up where Witching Hour left off, Velocifero is a catchy cool display of electro-rock fuzz. Two songs are sung in Bulgarian, which I think is fantastic as Bulgaria is vastly underrepresented in the modern indie rock scene.

Ladytron - Black Cat.

103) Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
They may be Joy Division rip-offs, but if you are going to rip-off a band it might as well be a good one. Bright Lights is tic-toc steady and a little more goth (in the early-80s punk sense of the word) than anybody wants to admit.
Interpol - NYC
Interpol - Obstacle 2.

102) Mouse Fire - Wooden Teeth
These hooks are so killer that the corpses are still bobbing their heads. Pop-rock with a furled brow. Pop-rock without the frills.
Mouse Fire - Feel Good Drag

101) Beach House - Beach House
Haunting and bendy, like lucidly finding ones' self in a dream. They say their follow-up, Devotion, is even better, but I haven't had a chance to listen to that one yet, and my list is already made, so self-titled it is!
Beach House - Master of None
Beach House - Auburn and Ivory

Stay tuned.

The Bipedal blog is being resuscitated for an end-of-the-decade send-off.

Stay tuned.

2000

The year 2000 does not seem like such a long time ago... and yet it was! Nine years have passed since the Y2k scare, since we exited the 1990s, since Bush, Jr., first entered the White House. A lot really has happened between now and then. I had to make a lot of personal adjustments as well since this was also the year I graduated from high school and entered college. Music was also turning a corner as certain scenes died (ska, industrial) and others (rap-core, metalcore, revitalized hardcore, and something we mislabeled as "emo") took off. Of these I tended to favor the sad stuff because, obviously, nobody on Earth could possibly understand how I felt.

We're not going to look at the outright emo-y stuff because, in retrospect, quite a bit of it was actually quite annoying. Instead we'll focus on these five performers who were (and some continue to) express loss and doubt and shame in an authentic and ear-pleasing manner.

Lock the door so nobody will see you cry. We're going to revisit some of the music that made gray clouds weep cold rain... IN THE YEAR 2000!



Bear Quartet - Helpless
The Bear Quartet are, at last count, a quintet from Sweden who, despite having been around for twenty years, remain fairly obscure. They cover a myriad of noisy genres, from straight up rock to electro-pop to post-punk, but excel when they tone it down for the weepy ballads. In "Helpless" the lyrics are vague (and Swedishly accented), but the stumbling acoustic guitar and pitter-pat percussion and the wispily sung chorus convey soft forlorn emotions that are bittersweetly familiar, even if there's not really anything identifiable to put your finger on.

Kind of Like Spitting - Birds of a Feather
In 2000 Ben Barnett, who pretty much IS Kind of Like Spitting, released (at least) three full-length albums and a split, and there were probably some other EPs recorded that year as well. He is a prolific beast, yet his songwriting remains uncompromised. Two things stand out in this song... well, way more than two, but these are the things that grab me hardest: 1) the violin that winds its way through the music like a thin stream of water, and 2) the closing lines of the song. It's all a little bit angsty, but in a resigned sort of way rather than the more irritating overwrought sort of way.

Damien Jurado - Tonight I Will Retire
This was the very first Damien Jurado song I ever heard, and it is still one of my favorites. I couldn't understand how such joyful things like embracing your lover and going to heaven could end up being so dang sad. Listen to the lyrics and hear it all unfold. The instrumentation doesn't add much in the way of happiness as it's only Jurado's soft voice over top sparse piano playing and even sparser percussion. It's a bleak recipe for complete and utter sadness. Enjoy! By the way that's David Bazan on keys and drums, and sources tell me that even the album's name, Ghost of David, refers to Mr. Bazan. Why don't they just get a room?

Pedro the Lion - Bad Things to Such Good People
So... David Bazan. He can and will devastate you. The story told in this song makes a little bit of sense on its own, but to be fully appreciated it should be taken within the context Winners Never Quit which tells the story of two brothers, one a successful politician, the other a screw-up. There's a lot of drama and "Bad Things", located near the end of the album, describes some of the aftermath. It's amazing how many emotions this one song can elicit, all of them negative. What's completely positive, though, is Bazan's acoustic guitar-playing. It churns and gallops as he wails about familial disappointment and spiritual crises. This album changed the way I thought about music while depressing the heck out of me.

The Gloria Record - A Lull in Traffic
This title track from The Gloria Record's A Lull in Traffic EP. It's a musical departure (or advancement) from the band's previous work in that there is a lot more going on here sonically. While the band's first recordings seemed to pick up where Mineral left off, the initial pop of the very first note from this, the very first song from the EP, indicates that the music is going to hover in a more etheral direction. And it certainly does. "A Lull in Traffic" (both the song and the entire album) sound like Christmas songs for the wary. Lyrically every line of this song is a keeper even though nothing is really being described. It's like hearing a vague outline to the story of a failed life, and you can interpret the middle as you like.

Jesper Norda Update

If you enjoyed Jesper Norda's Little Ones EP as much as I did (it was amongst my favorite releases of '08) then you'll be happy to know he has posted some new material, We Have the Guts EP, available to freely download and listen. As before this new collection of music is very low-key and stripped bare and carries on like a brooding inner monologue (that is, if that inner monologue were backed by a piano and delivered with a Swedish accent).
Jesper Norda - Ami's Song

However if cold introspection isn't your thing, but groovy synth-pop is, then check out the duo If There Is Something, another Norda-involved project shakin' things up on the opposite end of the musical spectrum. Again, the entire release, titled Put Your Jacket On, is free to have and to hold, so get on that.
If There Is Something - The Joy Of

Happy Valentine's Day

It's a great day for those of us in love.
And for all you other suckers...
there's always next year.

Valentine's Day = the Chicago Cubs of holidays.

The Status - Happy Valentine's Day