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'because your dreams need help to flow..'
(Cranes - Future Song)
  
Albums of a
Decade
2000-2009
Check out any major chart
to cover this period and Radiohead will rule, but I kinda lost interest after seeing them live in 1996. I've heard bits
and pieces of Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief and
In Rainbows, always kept defending the band to people who bash just
because of popularity, that's my contribution to their godlike status in
'alternative' music. For a more personal point of view, a balanced Top 10
is in order. But first, let's chat a little bit ('a little bit, a little
bit in love with you..') about ten years of technical development,
magnificent ('magniiiiiiiiificent..') albums that didn't make the cut and
my own shortcomings ('this is radio nowhere..'). Luckily it's still a
matter of taste, so I can get away with anything.
There's no denying that the rise of mp3 has changed the industry and that
the revolution is far from over. Stunning is the major shift for many
consumers in the way they listen to their music: complete albums have been
replaced by single tracks, shuffle is abundant, thousands of songs fit in
our pockets, online services let us know exactly what our friends are
listening to at any moment. Rich musicians complain about illegal
downloading, while starting bands see a company free opportunity to reach
a worldwide audience. Old farts whine about having to be able to touch the
music you buy, a complete generation couldn't care less and will never
experience the amazing smell of a brand new release. It's really an
exciting era, with so much happening and everyone deciding for themselves
how they want to deal with the many cool possibilities. You'd almost
forget the most important thing is still the same. There's so, SO much
great music out there.
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Still, if for some
reason or none you don't do it anymore: try and buy a disc in a real
store every now and then, it's just amazing to ride home with the
album in your backpack. Real fun comes when forums burst with
anticipation for a new Cure (Bloodflowers in 2000, The
Cure in 2004 and 4:13 Dream in 2008) and on the day of
its release you read stories about fans at stores all over the
world. Nowadays pirates have everything available before the legal
ships do, it takes an enormous self control to not give in to the
temptation.
Three more bands
with exactly three top notch studio albums this decade:
Brown Feather Sparrow (Wide Awakens Everything, Let's Be
Fine, Brave)
Cranes (Future Songs, Particles and Waves, Cranes)
Mojave 3 (Excuses for Travelers, Spoon and Rafter,
Puzzles Like You) |
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Je suis désolé,
scusi, förlåt, this list is so English it's embarrassing. Of course
all kinds of lame excuses and farfetched reasons are widely
available. I value lyrics I completely understand and can sing along
to. There aren't many UK/US based bands that don't sing in English,
while the other way round/around is extremely common. All the best
female singers come from Scandinavia (plus Iceland) these days, but
hardly any of them sing in their native tongue. Some very great
bands come from the same area, though hardly singing at all, so
don't blame me. In the end I'm not afraid to admit it's just
superfluous laziness and then whip out some name like Françoiz
Breut, whose beautiful Une Saison Volée is a true hidden gem.
Some more amazing ones from 2005 ended ex aequo eleventh, making it
the best year without an obvious standout. Godmother of folk Vashti
Bunyan released her first album since 1970: Lookaftering is
very highly enjoyable. The Decemberists continued their claim to
indie fame with Picaresque and Emilíana Torrini became a
Fisherman's Woman. Hands down the most essential album of the
year however: Antony's, with a little help from Johnsons, unequalled
tearjerker I Am a Bird Now.
Even more decade
recommendations, guaranteed to lighten up your dark life:
Tenhi - Väre (2002, Finland), snowy taiga and
glacial lakes, let's emigrate
Stina Nordenstam - The World is Saved (2004, Sweden),
ultimate fragility
Midaircondo - Shopping for Images (2005, Sweden), ladies and
bleeps
Studio - Yearbook 1 (2007, Sweden), club tropicana drinks are
still free
She & Him - Volume One (2008, USA), Zooey & M. go
adorable fifties
Pendragon - Pure (2008, UK), epic progrock refuses to keep
things short
John Frusciante - The Empyrean (2009, USA), guitar hero
without console |
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No movie soundtracks/scores (Donnie Darko
comes to mind), no maestro (like Bob Dylan), no instrumental, no
classical, no gangsta rap, no Marco Borsato, is this list to be taken
seriously? Yes, very or no, very not at all! Because these ten albums
rocked my decade, offered comfort when humans couldn't, probably saved my
life nine times over, all you have to do is value myself to realize how
unimportant these are. Do you follow, coz I sure don't, so put on your
headphones!
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10. Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy
Mindless Self Indulgence, 2000
Let's say it one more time: industrial
jungle pussy punk! Actually MSI is none of that, it's just pubescent
loudmouthing, highly revolting and exciting, childish and perfectly
nihilistic. In less than an hour no less than thirty tracks get spit
out, in alphabetical order to add even more insult. Sex is
everywhere, mixed with shit, cocaine and hatred, in other words: fun
fun fun! Frankenstein even brought forth two classics:
Faggot, on which to jump around the room with your boner, and,
no kidding, romantic Seven-Eleven, about girlies who stay up
all night. |
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9.
This Is the Life
Amy Macdonald, 2007
Yes, multimillion
selling records can be absolutely amazing and simply
irresistible. While walking around town with favorite music playing,
it's fun to watch other people pass by and guess what they are
listening to. In 2008, if you wanted to have a real chance of
getting it right, you should've guessed Amy Macdonald. This Is
the Life is the decade's most perfect feelgood pop album, with
the title track being the ridiculously big hit. After two years of
major airplay it still hasn't become annoying, same goes for all
other tracks. Enjoy, then enjoy some more. |
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8. Telewizor
Paprika Korps, 2004
Polish reggae/ska/punkrock, now that's
when the world starts feeling great! Sure, in their own words, you
still shouldn't trust no one who claims to be voice of a generation,
but riddim is a guide which will lead you through the life. From
start to finish, Telewizor is crampacked with
bounce-through-the-room material, great for physical workout with
political undertone, grinning history lesson here and there.
However, main attraction is the neverending groove, reminiscent of
Mano Negra, merging styles, subjects and languages like there's no
tomorrow. |
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7. Secret
South
16 Horsepower, 2000
David Eugene Edwards
preaching live is of the most impressive things in music history,
without exaggerating. Gasping for air. Essential in the nineties,
his first band grew to become a living legend. Although a couple of
other records were released later, compilations and traditionals,
Secret South could be considered to be the last true 16HP album.
It's an intense folk masterpiece, making God accessible to even the
most devout atheist. Country way beyond silly dance, religion
lightyears away from mindless following, in one awe inspiring
package. |
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6. Sevas Tra
Otep, 2002
Otep Shamaya doesn't even have to be
played backwards to feel all the demons residing in her, gnawing
away at her soul. Nevertheless, the flesh really starts to rip and
the heart gets torn apart when memories of childhood emerge:
cutting, screaming, possession, confession and revenge, an
unbearable amount of rage. Sevas Tra is terrifying as hell
though convincingly the only escape. Last track Jonestown Tea
says it all, when the secrets explode into horror poetry. We all die
like cartoons, she whispers. Tears, sweat and an insane amount of
blood.
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5. The
Jade Motel
Zeigeist, 2008
Internet kicks ass.
Without it I would never have met the emigrated Uzbek neon lady who
sent me so many great tunes, including 'how gay can you go'
Zeigeist, from Sweden. Their fellow countrymen Thermostatic have
proven to be an even bigger addiction, but The Jade Motel
will be remembered as a starting point. And the band/theater broke
up after this electropop debut, creating the possibility of cult legend.
Obvious influences like Kate Bush, Depeche Mode and Bee Gees lead to
eurythmic final Dawn/Night. Shivers down the spine, to the brightest of days. |
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4. Turn on
the Bright Lights
Interpol, 2002
Without hesitation:
Interpol is the best band in the world, but more about that later in
the live section. The poetry on Turn on the Bright Lights is
astounding: subway is a porno, two hundred couches, love being a
pony and of course the stabbing yourself in the neck part, each and
every song is a maze. Defining anthem Obstacle 1, exhausting
magnum opus Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down, the
provocative detuning while playing The New, this structure
almost collapses under the strength of its parts. Built in New
York, 2001. |
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3. This Is Forever
She Wants Revenge, 2007
Not in a million decades She Wants
Revenge beats Interpol, but when it comes to composing an album, they
kick fucking ass. In all its overwhelming arrogance This Is
Forever is very hard on the broken girl who fucks up love, but
embraces her at the same time. After overture First, Love she
dresses in black and stays that way until the very end, when
similarly monotonous Rachael tries to grasp the fact that
everything is a lie. The answer might break the hole in her heart.
Believe it or not, this is a pounding dance album, brave enough to
be honest.
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2. April
Sun Kil Moon, 2008
When a new album by Mark Kozelek
arrives, the only thing to do is turn off all the lights, lie down,
close your eyes and let peace of mind take over. Nonsense slowly
fades away, out of the window while driving through America and
Europe. The middle part of April, starting with the surreal
soft ooomph in Heron Blue, is when respiration returns to a
healthy state. This is not about happiness, it aims for something
higher, called serenity. Not since Neil Young's Sleeps with
Angels has music been this cleansing, full of breathtaking
landscapes and melancholia.
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1. Leaving
Eden
Antimatter, 2007
It's extraordinarily
hard to introduce Antimatter, because most people form their opinion
after hearing one song and cement it during the second. Leaving
Eden is truly an album. It needs time, it deserves time, it
actually feels insulting to play only bits of it. Ambient
progressive rock at its very finest, this is a journey into the
deepest depths of despair, a sinus ending at rock bottom. When
finally the guitar and violin of Fighting for a Lost Cause
enter the tortured mind and reach climax, an inescapable ocean of
tears breaks through the surface. Speechless. |
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