Geekscape Does the Best Music of the Decade!
I’m sorry, but we’re far too busy listening to the amazing tunes Noel Nocciolo, Nar Williams and William Bibbiani have put on their Best Music of the Decade lists to write a proper introduction.
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…Oh man, can you hear that bass line… ?!
——- NOEL NOCCIOLO’S BEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE ——-
Judging art is both painstaking and ridiculous, in a way. It is like the comparison of pineapples to mangos, to Fuji apples, to kiwi. In the end, you have a big fruit salad. Kind of like this list, which caused me to have a few spats with my boyfriend, who I’m sure will be a little more than irritated that I’ve left off Daft Punks’ Discovery. It’s such a shame that we have so many talented people making music these days, both recognized and unrecognized in the mainstream; it would just be easier if we wanted to recognize mediocrity.
My criteria is simple: the album had to be excellent from start to finish. No weak middle, not heavy on the first half, just start-to-finish GREAT…and you must feel something while you listen. My apologies to Arcade Fire, Amy Winehouse, My Morning Jacket and OutKast; you fell into one or the other.
In crafting this list, I specifically chose to leave off pertinent artists. In doing so, I’m listing a few VERY honorable mentions for the decade; albums cut by artists who put out some of the best records of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s:
Bob Dylan’s gorgeous Modern Times, 2006.
Paul McCartney’s Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, 2005, produced by Nigel Godrich, who had a hand in 3 of the albums that made my list.
Fleetwood Mac’s (minus Christine McVie) Say You Will, 2003.
Neil Young’s bluegrass opus, Prairie Wind, 2005.
2002 saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s The Rising, which was the groups’ first album in eighteen years, and the final product was well worth the wait.
We waited even longer for Brian Wilson’s lost opus, Smile, which saw the light of day in 2004. Madness? Genius? Both.
I vacillated between the inclusion of the idea of “everything old is new again,” with George and Gilles Martin’s new mixes and mashups of some of the most recognizable Beatles cuts, which provides the soundtrack to LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. The material is old, but the sound is new, and it was released in 2006. I kicked it off at the last minute in order to make room for artists who helped define the music of the last ten years.
So without further explanation or qualification of intention, here is my list. Love me or hate me, let’s go. (Oh, and big thanks to Andrew and Coleman for both being helpful and being really annoying during the list-crafting.
1. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2001.
Before 2001, Wilco released three albums: A.M. in 1995, a double-disc, (1996’s Being There) and an album that could arguably be called a pop-rock record, (1999’s Summerteeth). In 2001, their lives changed for the better, for the richer, for the more interesting; and all of a sudden, (well, actually, it wasn’t sudden, but that story has been told and retold enough) we have Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It was a risky leap, but one that took a group with all the talent and chops in the world, forward; and changed the business aspect of the music business.
2. Dr. Dog, We All Belong, 2007.
Dr. Dog is what happens when the brilliant spirits of The Beach Boys, The Band and The Beatles are channeled and recorded for a new generation of on analog tape by a couple of dudes from Philadelphia. We All Belong is everything that is good and right with music.
3. Wilco, A Ghost Is Born, 2004
If the chicken came before the egg, then the chicken is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and Ghost is the egg. The cover of the album is appropriately a big white egg, which is probably why I felt compared to share that random musing. They go hand in hand, these two. By crafting Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, they were then able to put to music what a panic attack sounds like, and still retain a few country-influenced tracks, experimental rock and roll and piano pop, with a side of strings. And therein is the Ghost.
4. Radiohead, Kid A/Amnesiac, 2000, 2001.
About thirty songs were tracked for Kid A. This album duo could have been released together, but they didn’t want a double album, so they kept a portion of the material and released it as Amnesiac. Radiohead’s fourth/fifth albums cracked open an experimental, artsy, weird, whatever egg, and influenced the next generation to let their freak flags fly. Also, one of my best friends used to make out on a regular basis to these two in college. I, on the other hand, listen to them when wanting to drift to sleep on an airplane. Do with that what you will.
5. Beck, Sea Change, 2002.
One of the most depressing, and yet oddly uplifting, albums I know. Precipitated by the breakup with a girlfriend, Beck took a leap outside of his norm, and this is what came out.
6. The White Stripes, Elephant, 2003.
This is where I admit that I didn’t jump on The White Stripes train with the rest of the world. However, I think that Jack White is one of the greatest musical minds to come out of the decade, and Elephant was the marked start of everything great that came after, be it The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, the production and guitars on Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose, the soundtrack contributions to Cold Mountain, and the last two albums from The White Stripes.
7. Dixie Chicks, Taking The Long Way, 2006
Love them or hate them for shedding the pretense and being who they truly are, the Chicks put out an album that was equal parts beautiful songwriting and instrumental craftsmanship and middle fingers in the air, both to George W. Bush and the faction of the country who hate based on a five-second sound-bite. The revamped girls from Texas proved that they were worthy of the hype associated with their first four albums; co-wrote every track, and sang from their souls in every song.
8. The Flaming Lips, At War With The Mystics, 2006
I could have easily listed 2002’s Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots in the number eight spot, but I think this is actually a musical and lyrical step up, though in the same psychedelic-confetti-filled-animal-costumed-vein. Wayne Coyne and Company get downright sardonic at times, almost like a big middle finger wrapped up in a pretty pink taffeta bow.
9. Jay-Z, The Black Album, 2003
What was initially billed as Jay-Z’s last studio album, this saw the fingerprints of every pertinent rap producer, and DJ Danger Mouse’ unauthorized mash-up album with The Beatles’ White Album. I got 99 problems…
10. Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous, 2004.
There is magic found herein, from start to finish. Lush and poppy, twangy country, rock and roll riffs, tongue in cheek, serious stories. It is a mini-adventure I always enjoy taking.
——- NAR WILLIAMS’ BEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE ——-
1. Bjork, Vespertine, 2001.
The Icelandic genius has made a career of delighting me with creative ways to form beat, melody, and lyric into music that sounds of another world altogether, and I think Vespertine is the pinnacle of her ongoing experiment. It’s a folktronica album that utilizes audio samples by Matmos, harps, music boxes, choirs, and of course Bjork’s striking vocals to create an intimate, dreamlike experience that has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Quite simply, I think it’s the most beautiful record ever made.
2. Radiohead, Kid A & In Rainbows, 2000, 2001. (Because it’s impossible for me to pick one over the other.)
3. Wilco, A Ghost is Born, 2004. (I prefer this follow up to their critical darling Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.)
4. Boards of Canada, Geogaddi, 2002. (Best electronica of the 00s came from these guys.)
5. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes, 2008. (Best folk rock harmonies since Crosby, Stills, and Nash.)
6. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, 2005. (Wailing vocals, melodic synths, and galloping guitars. What’s not to like?)
7. Marumari, Pathscrubber, 2005. (Relatively obscure electronica artist’s final record, a brilliant musician.)
8. The Strokes, Is this It?, 2001. (Scruffy retro garage pop at it’s best.)
9. Tunng, Mother’s Daughter and Other Songs, 2005. (A British folktronica gem.)
10. Sun Kil Moon, Ghosts of the Great Highway, 2003. (Dark, brooding, country rock.)
——- WILLIAM BIBBIANI’S BEST SONGS OF THE DECADE ——-
1. Hope There’s Someone, Antony & The Johnsons, 2004.
Made me cry. All I’m saying.
2. Still Alive, Jonathan Coulton, 2007.
Not only is it a great song, but coming at the end of the decade’s finest videogames it sticks with the listener because it feels like we really earned it.
3. Stan, Eminem, 2000.
There weren’t many great ballads this decade, but the winner was clearly this early favorite about the downfall of a troubled hip hop enthusiast, and the object of his affection, superstar Eminem, who at the end of the song finally sits down to write a heartfelt reply only to remember upon completing it that the recipient is dead, which is actually kind of funny if you think about it, but hey, still sad.
4. Heavyweight Champion of the World, Reverend & The Makers, 2007.
One of those rare catchy songs that’s about something interesting: making compromises for temporary convenience that ultimately sacrifice spiritual fulfillment. It’s not often that you find yourself chanting “Just be like everybody else” and feeling good about it.
5. 1234, Feist, 2007.
Another freakishly catchy song, albeit with a less interesting subject. Sweet and heartwarming, even if I will probably always associate it with an ipod commercial.
6. Paper Planes, M.I.A., 2008.
Although the trailer from Pineapple Express made it famous, the endlessly listenable nature of the song made it a classic.
7. I Can’t Decide, Scissor Sisters, 2006.
As kooky as it is malevolent. One of the happiest miserable songs ever made.
8. Hot N Cold (Simlish), Katy Perry, 2008.
Katy Perry’s bubblegum pop numbers always benefitted from a bit of tongue, firmly planted in cheek that is, but this version of the single from the Sims 2: Apartment Life soundtrack, with lyrics translated into utter nonsense, tops them all. As bizarre as it is joyous.
9. Down with the Sickness, Richard Cheese, 2002.
The only cover I’d allow myself on the list (although Gin & Juice by The Gourds belongs right up there as well), Richard Cheese’s brilliant lounge version of one of the decade’s most generic metal songs elevated both genres to new heights.
10. Hit in the USA, The Beat Crusaders, 2004.
The theme song from the merely decent anime series Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad was easily one of the catchiest rock tunes of the decade.
——- WILLIAM BIBBIANI’S BEST INDIE SONGS OF THE DECADE ——-
Giving credit to my two favorite indie bands in Los Angeles:
Her Name Isn’t Alice, Swordfights
All of Swordfights’ songs are great, but Her Name Isn’t Alice, about a guy much like yourself debating whether or not to talk to a pretty girl across the room, whose name may or may not be Alice, was one of my favorite songs of the decade. She’s So Dangerous comes a close second.
http://www.myspace.com/swordfights
Bloody Hands, Torches in Trees
Previously called The Siamese Guns, Torches in Trees’ exceptional song about… well, I’m not sure, actually… is nevertheless inventive, propulsive and unforgettable.
http://www.myspace.com/torchesintrees
——- WILLIAM BIBBIANI’S BEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE ——-
1. Trapped in the Closet, R. Kelly, 2005.
The decade’s weirdest story, and in many ways creepiest album. Brilliant in its unbridled vanity.
2. Gorillaz, Gorillaz, 2001.
Try not bobbing that head. I dare you.
3. Volume 1, She & Him, 2008.
Zooey Deschanel was the one actor this decade who actually managed to put out a great album. Like a young Loretta Lynn, Deschanel belts out the best retro tunes I’ve heard in, well, at least ten years. Not a sour note in the whole bunch.
4. She Wants Revenge, She Wants Revenge, 2006.
The decade’s second-creepiest album included danceable, unforgettable and outright bangin‘ songs about stuff like… doing your SISTER?!
5. Roadkillovercoat, Busdriver, 2007.
For lyrical prowess, no one beat Busdriver this decade. Listen and learn.
6. Look Into the Eyeball, David Byrne, 2001.
Maybe Byrne’s best album, and I consider Byrne my favorite musician, possibly ever. U.B. Jesus, Desconocido Soy, Like Humans Do, Broken Things… every song on this album is a classic.
7. Tenacious D, Tenacious D, 2001.
The decade’s funniest album (although Flight of the Conchords came close… twice) also featured some stellar music from Jack Black and Kyle Gass.
8. Folk Uke, Folk Uke, 2005.
The funniest, and therefore best, folk music this decade came from Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson (Arlo and Willie’s daughters), in this infectious album featuring such instant classics as “Shit Makes the Flowers Grow” and “Motherfucker Got Fucked Up.”
9. Radiodread, Easy Star All-Stars, 2006.
Radiohead put out some great albums this decade, but this reggae and ska re-imagining of Paranoid Android only made me rediscover their earlier brilliance. Perfect party music.
10. Klein Bietje Wyn, Len Ashton, 2000.
Don’t ask how I discovered this, but this album – mostly in Afrikaans – is one of the weirdest but most joyful albums you’ll ever hear. “I’ve got a never-ending love for you-ou…! That’s all I really want to do…!”
