2010.5

it is what it is. i've listened to all these fine recordings........ALOT!

1. band of horses - infinite arms
2. beach house - teen dream
3. stars - the five ghosts
4. jewel - sweet and wild
5. orion - s\t
6. butch walker - i liked you better when you had no heart
7. against me - white crosses
8. jesse malin - love it to life
9. shout out louds - work
10. midlake - the courage of others
11. surfer blood - astro coast
12. the national - high violet
13. harlem - hippes
14. woods - echo lake
15. joanna newsom - have one on me
16. sam quinn - the fake that sunk a thousand ships
17. bss - forgivness rock record
18. gaslight anthem - american slang
19. the tallest man on earth - the wild hunt
20. strange boys - be brave

Lady Gaga - A Takedown of 'The Fame Monster'

I once lived in a fairy tale world where the only place I had ever run into Lady Gaga was interweb news articles about how weird she dressed.  Her music?  Limited to less-than-3 second bursts, and watching Cartman do 'Poker Face' on South Park (didn't even know it was a Lady Ga Ga song, until then).  Oh, how sweet those old days were!

You see, back then, I had a strange fascination and appreciation for Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, or Germie, as I like to call her.  I remember the first time I ever saw her was wearing that crazy Kermit outfit that I'd seen previously somewhere else.  Now, it's not easy being green, but Gaga really pulled that look off.  I mean, look at that!  It's just glorious.

Then there was the whole 'Lady Gaga' has a penis thing, which I didn't quite understand...she ain't got no dick, guys!  I mean, she's not exactly the hottest Pop Star, but she's not a fucking man.  I laughed, nonetheless, and would click links that debated whether or not her junk was bigger than Justin Timberlake's whenever I saw them on buzzfeed.com.

I started to appreciate her Pop Sensibility...remember, I had still not paid a damn bit of attention to her actual craft, singing pop music, but rather, I started to appreciate that when she made headlines, it was usually just weird eccentric stuff; crazy outfits, wild live shows, falling down on stage...shit like that.  She's weird, and drives press that way, but she's not exploiting herself in some shameful way, like Jersey Shore and other 'Reality TV' is training the youngsters of today's Pop Culture World to do.

This, to me, was a breath of fresh air.  Even if she sucked musically, at least she kept it truly real.  No drug stories, no sex tape, no sniping with the West Coast Lady Gaga about who has the best vinyl prom dress for their date with the Queen of England.  And hell, we haven't really had a good Pop Diva live show like hers since Madonna's 'Truth or Dare' tour!

So it was with trepidation that I chose to actually wade into her music.  The first chink in my Gaga armor was around the time of Pitchfork's year end lists, when Gaga had something like 3 of the 5 top ranked pop songs, as voted by Pitchfork readers.  I mean, what the hell?  That's just craziness.  I pondered whether there was some value in liking her 'ironically', in some sort of backwards Indie Rock way...like, maybe she drew influences from some lost genre of awesomeness.

Then, I saw the Pitchfork review of her latest album, 'The Fame Monster'.  A 7.6?!?!?!, I mean, that's higher than they scored freaking 'Hazards of Love' last year.  All the while, I'm seeing nothing but crazy images of this chick, playing in front of huge crowds...her album is getting rave reviews from all the media outlets.  It's a 76 on Metacritic, and that's saying something, since some of those outlets don't normally review this genre, and aren't set up to be overly flattering to it.

So I broke down and found a torrent.  My initial surprise at the length of the album (it's only 8 tracks) again made me step back and think about what was going on...Does she have amazing self-editing powers, choosing not to throw three singles in with 7 filler tracks and 2 remixes?  I mean, this is totally unheard of in this day and age!  As Roxio worked it's magic on my blank circular, soon to be obsolete disc, I actually had a moment of anticipation to hear this thing.  I even pondered the egg on my face for having dismissed her all this time, and wondered if we might be ushering in a new era of Pop Music; one where we could actually depend on the artist to deliver on some promises, rather than just suck the (failing) industry's tit.

Then I hit play, and all that came crashing down.  The opener, which I guess is a single, 'Bad Romance'...let's just say it's catchy.  Catchy like the fucking clap.  It's got a rehashed 80's/90's Skate Rink beat, bad Cher-esque 'oh-oh's', and (thankfully) barely recognizable cliched ass lyrics.  That, my friends, is highlight of this clusterfuck.  The second track, which I think is about lusting after a Mexican guy, might be the worst song I have ever heard.  It's like Ace of Base threw up all over Shakira, and Britney Spears's dog lapped it all up.  And I'm being as nice as I can be.  I listened to this whole thing, twice.  I promised myself after the first go that I wouldn't do it again, but I made myself give it another try.  MISTAKE.  It's even worse upon a second listening.

So listen, kids.  When you are looking for inspiration for your next big pop album, take a listen to what Lady Gaga says:

"I spent a lot of nights in Eastern Europe, and this album is a pop experimentation with industrial/Goth beats, 90's dance melodies, an obsession with the lyrical genius of 80's melancholic pop, and the runway. I wrote while watching muted fashion shows and I am compelled to say my music was scored for them."

And then do EXACTLY the opposite.  As a performance art piece, I think she's pretty damned brilliant.  Hell, I want to wear Kermit outfits, and make the Queen of England chuckle, too!  As a musician, she's turning over old leaves...ones that we should have burned and destroyed a long time ago. 

Mountain Man

Everyone needs some good folk in their life. These guys are doing it right

Album Review - Vampire Weekend 'Contra'

I love Contra.  Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start...you know what I'm talking about!  There's not a greater feeling in the world than taking out a huge alien egg pod with the spread gun...Oh, this isn't the place where we talk about Nintendo games from the 80's?  This is the forum for discussion on today's best Paul Simon clone?  My bad.  We can do that too!

I have to admit, the release of Vampire Weekend's new album snuck up on me.  I was still reeling from my enormous undertaking from the end year...writing capsules for those 100 albums nearly killed me.  And the fallout from the peanut gallery...'How could such and such be 3 albums ahead of my favorite album!  Your entire list is compromised!'  Perhaps the most vocal criticism of my Top-100 list was leveled at the placement of Vampire Weekend's first album, which I think I put at #22, conveniently in front of the trifecta of Ryan Adams releases from 2005.  You'd have think I dropped an atomic bomb on Ryan Adams's entire legacy.  Suddenly, this ranking defined my musical tastes in a way that I was not prepared for.  I just dig that Vampire Weekend album...a lot.  It's catchy, has no serious flaws, and reminds me of my childhood safaris in Africa.

So, with trepidation, I listened to this new Vampire Weekend release, worried that I'd have some kind of internal backlash against liking it, since so much of my musical existence suddenly hinged on whether or not it was good.  This, on the backs of low expectations, in general, had me worried that I'd find this album as attractive as a double shot of leprosy and AIDS.  Even before my Top-100 list, I'd have given them 50/50 odds of spitting out total crap for their follow up...I mean, there were many reasons to expect them to fail (or, at least be lackluster).  For instance:

1. The hype factor - My god, the hype!  We all remember 2007, when the 'blue CD-R' floated around with a bunch of tracks from these guys, and everyone 'in the know' hopped directly on the bandwagon.  This was followed by wide release, and a continued 'ZOMG, these guys are awesome' rampage, that included a very high profile small venue tour, and good press from basically every media outlet in existence.  It looked like one of those PR masterpieces, where everything falls together, just like the marketing department drew it up.  Music isn't made for PR, though, so wouldn't two years of getting their dicks sucked by EVERYONE go to their heads, resulting in an abortion of a sophomore release?  Isn't our society built around building people up as high as we can, only to tear them down the second they show themselves to be less than perfect?

2. The douche factor - I bought the new LP, and I half expected it to come with a Ezra Koenig limited edition J Crew sweater vest, a thesaurus, and a coupon for 50% off your next visit to Starbucks.  These guys put the 'indie hipster douchebag' in Indie Hipster Douchebag.  Elitist, pretentious, and excruciatingly trendy.  I sometimes feel like Starbucks threw up on me when I get through listening to them. 

3. The copycat factor - Everybody and your Mom is now putting out syncopated African styled pop beats.  The market is flush with Peter Gabriel retro-love.  14 year olds everywhere are getting into Paul Simon's 'Graceland', instead of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.  This equals backlash, backlash, backlash.  Especially amongst the trendiest of the Indie Hipster Douchebags, who can't afford to buy this year's sweatervests, because they are spending all their money on Animal Collective remixes.

Vampire Weekend, backs against the wall, did the unexpected, however.  They went out and made the 'Eff You' album of the year, revisiting everything they did right on their debut...but reinventing themselves in the process.  They have essentially taken what they do best, and put it right back out there.  I'd call this album 'triumphant', but since they have egos the size of the moon, already, I'd rather go with 'they met their own expectations'.  The pretentiousness?  It's still steeped in here, but it's not quite as Oxford Comma-ish.  The lead track, for example, probably raised the Google ranking of the obscure beverage Horchata well beyond it's cousins Komboucha and Kefir.  Luckily, that shit is catchy, or I'd curse them for that.  If Starbucks is listening, I'd get that crap on your menu ASAP.

Overall, though, I'm impressed with the maturation of the lyrical content.  It doesn't feel like a bunch of poetry some Lib Arts major scribbled on the back of his retro Trapper Keeper, this go-round.  Couple that with stronger production values, and more intricate musical composition, and you can see why I'm high on this thing.  Take the first single, 'Cousins', which is a complex, odd rhythm (ska?  Cali-surf rock?  Where my Africa at, Ezra!?!?), and non-sensical (so it can't piss you off with pretentiousness!) lyrics...I think it's the highlight of the album. 

So, is it as good as their first album?  It's catchy as hell...Horchata, White Sky, Diplomat's Son, Cousins...all these could have found a home on that first album's lineup.  But I don't find it quite as accessible.  This could be due to the fact that I'm a virgin listener to this new one...I've got maybe 5 spins on it.  That first album...hell, it's like the back of my hand, at this point.  Familiarity will determine this one's legacy, but by the Out of the Box litmus test, this release far exceeds my expectations. 

Score: 9.1 Sweater Vests

top 60 of '09

here she is:


1. grizzly bear - veckatimest
2. the antlers - hospice
3. vetiver - tight knit
4. jonsi and alex - riceboy sleeps
5. the rural alberta advantage - hometowns
6. phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
7. animal collective - mpp
8. mountains - choral
9. the avett brothers - i and love and you
10. atlas sound - logos
11. sonic youth - the eternal
12. holopaw - oh glory, oh wilderness
13. metric - fantasies
14. nurses - apples acre
15. third eye blind - ursa major
16. silversun pickups - swoon
17. our lady peace - burn burn burn
18. gomez - the rising tide
19. the dodos - time to die
20. conor oberst - outer south
21. ducktails - landscapes
22. langhorne slim - be set free
22. the cribs - ignore the ignorant
23. great lakes swimmers - lost channels
24. megafaun - gather form and fly
25. ben kweller - changing horses
26. bonnie prince billy - beware
27. real estate - s/t
28. mum - sing along to songs you don't know
29. andrew bird - noble beast
30. girls - album
31. maria taylor - ladyluck
32. david bazan - curse your branches
33. the veils - sungangs
34. here we go magic - s/t
35. woods - songs of shame
36. magnolia electric co - josephine
37. imogen heap - elipse
38. the maccabees - wall of arms
39. the warlocks - the mirror explodes
40. harlem shakes - technicolor health
41. sunset rubdown - dragonslayer
42. throw me the statue - creaturesque
43. mount eerie - the winds poem
44. jason lytle - yours truly, the commuter
45. sleeping at last - storyboards
46. the blackheart procession - six
47. sea wolf - white water - white bloom
48. devendra banhart - what will be will be
49. built to spill - there is no enemy
50. jay reatard - watch me fail
51. tortoise - beacons of ancestorship
52. dinosaur jr. - farm
53. the fresh and onlys - grey eyed girls
54. sondre lerche - heartbeat radio
55. thee oh sees - help
56. the acrtic monkeys - humbug
57. kevin devine - brothers blood
58. dan deacon - bromst
59. papercuts - you can have what you want
60. volcano choir - unmap

Andrew's Top 20 Albums of the Decade

20. Pinetop Seven - The Night's Bloom

If you aren't familiar with these guys I urge you to waste no time in investigating this album. Hell, any of their albums are a safe starting point (this one just happens to be my personal favorite). It's one of the most hauntingly gorgeous albums I've ever heard. If you feel the need to catagorize your music I guess you would classify it as Americana. Lush, cinematic, and not clinging to any one particular genre. These guys sound like what Wilco could have evolved into if they hadn't gone the dad rock route. This is art in its finest aural form.

19. The Books - Lost and Safe

This album makes me want to take up scrapbooking! What better way to spend a friday night then sprawling out on your living room floor with a shit ton of funky scissors and elmer's glue, while you pastiche the best memories from your lastest excursion the the county fair? Sounds awesome right? Let me explain myself. I imagine The Books locked away behind closed doors, spending countless house scouring through snippets of audio samples. I also imagine The Books are very picky in selecting their samples(sorta like a fat kid deciding on which toppings they want on their pizza. You know, the type of decision you don't take fucking lightly). I'm not sure how they do it, but when they piecemeal all the samples into one tapestry of sound, it comes together as one of the most coherent albums I've ever encountered. Listen closely and you're sure to hear something new with each and every listen.

18. Grizzly Bear - Horn of Plenty

I'm well aware the Yellow House was an album that bloggers the world over jizzed their collective pants over(it should be noted that I too love YH). Something about this album keeps me coming back. There is a mythical quaility to this album that I just adore. I imagine this as the soundtrack to a late night foray into the woods of some enchanted kingdom where fear and beauty potentially lurk around every corner.

17. Elliott - False Cathedrals

Man, it sure is hard to believe it's been 9 years since this beauty has been released. I always consider it a shame this band never broke through to the mainstream. To me a they are the American Radiohead. A lofty claim for a small emo band from Louisville, KY you might think? No question about it, but to me it couldn't be truer.

16. Eluvium - Talk Amongst the Trees

The cover says it all for this one. I never tire of this albums ambiance bouncing around my cranium. The hazy guitar loops almost beg you to lose yourself in them. I'm a huge fan of everything this guy does, but for whatever reason I have the most time invested into this album.

15. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Yeah, yeah we've all heard the story over and over. Every time I hear the story I feel like I should like the album a litte less. Kind of like how every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten. Despite all the hype, this work has all the calling points of an album of the decade. I suspect Justin Vernon will keep making good music but I somehow doubt he'll be able to live up to the ingenuity contained in these grooves.

14. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi

I was able to find this gem of a triple LP while browsing in a local record store this year and that has made all the difference. I've always sort of admired BOC from afar, like the hot chick in your freshman economics class. You fawn over her but you would never be so bold as to engage her. Well, I took the plunge and engaged this masterpiece and it in turn engaged me like no other. This album is like Kid A on acid with more of an IDM bent. I am really looking forward to spending some more time with this album during the winter months. To me this album can be summed up in one word: glacial.

13. Animal Collective - Feels

This album is impossible to classify and I love every second of it. I hear bits of tribal, pyschedelia, prog, folk, rock and just about every other genre that you can pull out of a hat. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but somehow they make it work. This album is insanely cohesive. As varied as it sounds, it still sounds as if it was all cut from the same piece of cloth. Transition is the name of the game on this album. It nicely bridges the gap between Sung Tongs and Strawberry Jam. Currently, I happen to think this is their best work. It will be interesting to see how kind time is to Merriweather Post Pavillion. Hey Ron, they actually play instruments on this one too!

12. The Arcade Fire - Funeral

This album pretty much speaks for itself. I remember the first few times I listened to it. The experience was the equivalent of discovering an exotic island that had never been set foot on by a human. I was hearing something I'd never heard before. Something utterly breathtaking and gorgeous. It was almost like I didn't want to tell anyone about it, I wanted to keep this little island as my own special secret.

11. Mum - Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today Was Ok

Wow. I don't even quite know what to say about this album other than the fact i've never heard anything remotely like this. The charms of this album have left me speechless for many years. This album makes me feel good....damn good actually(almost like I am floating through fields of the greenest grass as the sun warms my body) It has an inquisitive child-like quality that never grows old to my ears.

10. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Top notch songwriting chops + Top notch vocals = an album for the ages

(I love her use of imagery on this album, it almost has a gothic feel to it.

9. Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle

This is the album that changed my listening habits forever. I remember my first lonely saturday night spent with this album. I wasn't sure what to make of the hushed tones and apparent intimacy. But I kept coming back to be lulled by it's gentle embrace. Fads and tastes come and go but I'm sure this album will remain with me for life.

8. My Morning Jacket - At Dawn

Of course I love Z and It Still Moves etc. However, this is the MMJ album that really does it for me. It sounds like a 74 minute and 21 second walk down a lonesome country dirt road. I'm in for the long haul. There is only one way to listen to this album and that is all the way through.

7. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antartica

It's hard for me to believe that some suit at Epic records thought this was a good idea to release. Not because it's not awesome, just because it just doesnt seem like major label fodder. Turned out that suit was right, I hope someone gave him a raise, because after Good News.... these guys sold a fuck ton of records. This one isn't nearly as accessible as the aforementioned but if you give it some dedicated time it will reward you with benefits aplenty. This one is very much an album in the truest sense of the word.

6. Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks

It blows my feeble mind that this guy isn't more well known than he is. Hear me out people, this album is a M.A.S.T.E.R.P.I.E.C.E! He dubs himself "post classical" whatever that means or matters. But if you must have a genre for his tunes, there you have it. The album is based on Kafka's Blue Octavo Notebooks. This an absolutely moving and gorgeous gem of piano album. It brings to mind ivy clad castle turrets under a damp cloudy sky. Ah, what I am saying? Did I i just say masterpiece? Well, not in the sense that you thought I said masterpiece....Just listen to the damn thing!

5. Sigur Ros -()

This album proves that pretentious doesn't necessarily equal bad or annoying. This is a stunner of an record folks. It glistens, shimmers, and builds into one hell of a climax. If you like epic or grandiose, this is your new favorite album!

4. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Personally, this as been as big of a "grower" album as there has ever been for me. At the time I first heard this, I just didn't really care a whole lot for it. But the internet was awash buzz, so I dutifully returned to it many times over and eventually fell in love. This sounds like a short wave radio broadcast that you happened to stumble upon one very late night and were never able to remove from your subconcious. This album stays with you.

3. Wilco - A Ghost is Born

Essentially YHF and AGISB are a tie, it's just impossible for me to pick one over the other. I have a very hard time putting this album into words. Perhaps that's why I have such a strong relationship with it. I do sense a lot of pain and anguish on this record. Oh and did I mention it shreds?!

2. Ryan Adams- Hearbreaker

Where do I even begin? What would I do without his music? As you can tell, I classify myself as a blatant fan boy and I happen to think the man can do no wrong. I also love the fact that this album is named in honor of Mariah Carey.....true story. This is the perfect blend of country, rock and folk in no particular order. Emmy Lou Harris and David Rawlings bring out the best in DRA. In fact, so much so that I wish they'd all do another album together. This album is like the strange love child of Gram Parsons and Husker Du. You can definitely tell the dude has listened to a lot of punk music in his life. Even though the sound isn't technically there, the influence is undeniable.

1. Radiohead - Kid A

This album needs no introduction and my shitty descriptions would do this album a genuine disservice.

Albums of the Decade: 2000-2009

Holy shit, the decade is over already.  Seems just yesterday I was wearing a Hypercolor t-shirt that had a lewd pun about my golf clubs.  Oh, wait, that wasn't this past decade?  Whatever.

With every 10 year span comes a 10 year 'Best Of' list.  We can probably thank MTV for this, though VH1 really took their baton and ran with it.  Or maybe we can thank that John Cusak movie...no, not the one with the boombox, the one where he made mix tapes as an excuse for sleeping around on his girlfriend.  Thanks for that, John.

So, with that, I bring you my own personal Top-100 Albums of the Naughts.  I really ranked 217 albums, but I'm going to trim things down here, so I can squeeze a capsule in about each one.  This page serves as the central hub, where you can click through to any part of the series, which will be broken down into '10's.  It's a process, guys.  A process.

This is just one humble douchebag's viewpoint.  Maybe we can get Andrew and Ryan to share their own, in their own unique way.  I know Andrew digs that underground glockenspiel scene more than I do, and Ryan, well, his list will probably be 95% Dub and 5% Screamo. 

Stay tuned for updates, and stick around for the best album of the decade.  It's sure to floor you (did the Spice Girls have an album out this decade?).

Links to the Lists

Ron's Albums of the Decade - #100-91
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #90-81 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #80-71 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #70-61 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #60-51 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #50-41
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #40-31 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #30-21 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #20-11 
Ron's Albums of the Decade - #10-1 

Andrew's Top-20 Albums of the Decade