Of this list.
A new one is about to start.
15. City of Caterpillar, City of Caterpillar (2002)Another band created from collective Pageninetynine, City of Caterpillar made music less chaotic and heavy, in favor of huge, sprawling, meditative screamo songs more in the vein of post-rock. The song titles alone are worth the listen. "And You were Wondering How a Top Floor Could Replace Heaven".
14. At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command (2000)This legendary post-hardcore group released one of the most important albums of the decade before breaking up, and some members going on to form the progressive The Mars Volta (whose Deloused has been criminally excluded from this list). That band has nothing on Relationship, a hardcore game-changer. They managed to turn this into a critical and mainstream success, but it isn't like anything made before it. Each song is constructed quite differently than the next. From the non-stop ferocity of "Cosmonaut" to the contemplative vengeful malice of "Invalid Litter Dept", to the hit single "One-Armed Scissor", which reveals a poppy side of the band, this album is as close to perfection as this kind of music could get.
13. Bear Vs. Shark, Right Now, You're in the Best of Hands. And if Something isn't Quite Right, Your Doctor will Know in a Hurry (2003)I couldn't tell you what this is. It's part danceable indie, part pop/punk, tiny part hardcore. The vocalist doesn't really scream, but his voice is very strange, and when he yells it sounds pretty close. These songs are loud, upbeat and fun, but always with a nice emotional punch, and enigmatic lyrics. When "Ma Jolie" slows down at the end, it becomes absolutely beautiful. "Kylie" is a longing, angry masterpiece. "MPS" is the most enigmatic of all, but slowly reveals itself to be a beautiful balad to the disease of the same name.
12. Circle Takes the Square, As the Roots Undo (2004)With lots of weed comes great music. So proves Circle takes the square, a young band from Georgia who obviously smoked their brains out. Technically, this music is a bit unbelievable, it's so chaotic at first, but reveals itself to be some of the most calculated and precise musicianship I've ever heard. The vocals are harsh and raspy, and the lyrics nonsensical in their poetry. Each song tells a different, drugged out style story, all sounding very different, yet tied together as a whole. It's hard to listen to these songs by themselves. The climax of the album is in track 7, "Kill the Switch", a 10 minute magnum opus.
11. Murder By Death, Who will Survive, and What will be Left? (2003)A lone shooter drunkenly fires on the devil in a saloon in Mexico. He flees as the devil starts to take revenge on the town. The gunman fights with his conscience until he comes back to set what he did right. But is it too late? The children have already been turned into zombie henchmen for the devil. People are hanging themselves. The devil has literally set the fields ablaze. But with few survivors, he'll make a desperate last stand, praying to God, "I'll be waiting for him, let the devil come".
The cello player is also really attractive.
10. cLOUDDEAD, Ten (2004)We all knew the end was coming, each tiny cLOUDDEAD release was numbered 1 through 9. Then came their only proper full length, a pop/hip-hop masterpiece with vocals from Doseone and Why? and production from Odd Nosdam. It's the best Anticon effort to date, and Why? and Doseone are absurdly entertaining together. The lyrics are surreal, and the music dream like, as in "Dead Dogs Two", which plays like a summer mirage. They even add some Marry Poppins homage into a couple of tracks.
9. The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas (2002)Darnielle's last self-tape-recorded album is his career masterpiece. Each little story, set in Western Texas, is told lovingly and emotionall by John and his guitar. "The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton" is one of his greatest songs, and an anthem to rebellious youth and the power of dreams. These songs are funny, sardonic, sometimes cheesy, and always from the heart.
8. The Weakerthans, Left and Leaving (2000)Before they evolved into their country tinged rock, The Weakerthans were busy leaving their punk rock past behind. This is their first album away from said past. It's a terribly sad and thoughtful album, reminiscing on good times gone, and loves that past him right by. The opener is ballsy in its refusal to build to anything more than the quiet reflection of the things he's lost that it is. "Watermark" might be the only uplifting moment, but it doesn't last, and it also reveals a longing for a time that got away. The title track is the one that gets my vote for best Weakerthans track, with its beautiful guitar and meditation on the geography of a changing city and how it affects a man.
7. Fugazi, The Argument (2001)Fugazi is one of the greatest bands of all time for a reason. They shaped emo, made punk evolve, and write some of the most deceptively complex songs to grace either genre. Their (most likely) final album is a wonderful swan song, showing the ever changing sound of the band at a great balance between heavy ("Epic Problem") and quieter, more meditative ("Argument"). It's still as socially conscious and angry as ever, just more mature than it used to be. "Cashout" is a stand out among many masterpieces with its infectious "rock out" guitar riffs.
6. Daft Punk, Discovery (2001)Need I say anything else, other than:
ONE MORE TIME!!!
5. Envy, A Dead Sinking Story (2003)No screamo band is more epic, more emotional than Japanese group Envy. This is their greatest work. 9 impossibly huge and heart-wrenching tracks built to make you cry. Seriously. Cry. They became a post-rock band after this, confirming my suspicions that they drew a lot from that genre. If there was ever one screamo/hardcore record to listen to in your life, I'd say this is the one. It's undeniably beautiful, and the vocal screams are so clean and crisp as opposed to the usually ugly style.
4. Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism (2003)Death Cab's gretest is an emotional event. Ben Gibbard knows how to make you sad, and exploits that to great rewards in this album. "Tiny Vessels" is a cold rock song, about loveless sex. "Expo 86" is folk like in its despair of a relationship that will always fail. "Passenger Seat" is a beautiful piano ballad about long nights with best friends. But the greatest acheivement is the 8 minute title track about love and distance. Ben Gibbard puts his sould into every word, and it's heartbreaking.
3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven! (2000)4 tracks. 80 minutes. Building crescendos, haunting feild recordings, crushing guitars, penetrating strings. powerful percussion. This album is a miracle. There will never be anything like it again.
2. Against Me!, Reinventing Axl Rose (2002)/Acoustic EP (2001)/Crime as Forgiven by... (2001)Against Me! have changed so many times it's ridiculous. Every album has a fan base ready to cry "SELL OUT" for each new album. These two EPs were acoustic offerings that led to the electric album in 2002, featuring most of the EPs' songs, plus some new ones. Each sound is different, but all equally as powerful. Against Me! play punk rock in a very expressive way, and Tom Gabel's voice is a force of nature. "Those Anarcho Punx are Mysterious" is one of the most emotional songs ever crafted, and it's a satire on the punk lifestyle these guys live, how knowingly absurd it can all get.
1. Cursive, Domestica (2000)Tim Kasher's rendition of his own divorce in concept album form is as ugly and beautiful as relationships can be. With its repeating imagery, and musical motifs, it's one of the most well written albums ever made, and features some of the most complex emotional material I've ever heard in song. It's all very drunken, and Kasher's out of tune guitar is perfectly suited to the sometimes puposefully ugly material. Seeing this band twice in the past 2 weeks has only reconfirmed what I've always thought of them. They are the greatet artists of conveyed emotion in every facet of their music; lyrics, vocals, music. It's my perfect album. And I love how Kasher considers this the fantasy ending of his own relationship. The album couple doesn't break up. They stay together in what has to be the worst happy ending ever. In a monster confrontation in the final track. The man breks down, and screams "I LOST THE WILL TO FIGHT". Good reason to stay together.
So with the list being done, there is one more musical release I must mention that isn't actually an album.
Against Me!, Disco Before the Breakdown EP (2002)Against Me!'s finest EP came after Reinventing Axl Rose, and featured 3 new brilliant tracks. It's their best all around release. Each song being something of a masterwork. The title track is a horned out punk anthem to homosexual love and secrecy. It's easily one of their most emotional songs. "Tonight We're Gonna Give it 35%" is a '70s style rock songs about life and faith. "Beginning in an Ending" is a return to folk style music. It's a lo-fi acoutic song that is probably actually a verbal abandon of om's anarchist ideals, but is also a beautiful meditation on what is actually important. It's also a beautiful end of an Against Me! era, as their music would never be as raw or powerful again. Goodbye No Idea, DIY, folk punk forever.
Wow. It's actually over. Next is films of the decade. Then the year's best albums and films.
I'm a list man!
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