the decade in albums, part 6

60. L'Antietam, Family (#1-10) (2006)

Family is a compilation of vinyl and unreleased tracks from the young screamo band, but the first 10 tracks are obviously a cohesive whole album. It goes "Intro to "Outro" of songs that all bleed into each other. Too bad they didnt't release it properly, as it's their best music to date.

59. Malady, Malady (2004)

A group featuring former Pageninetynine and City of Caterpillar members, they play hard rock with screamo influences. Crushing guitars and nasally bellowing singer. The quieter passages within the songs are where the real gold is.

58. Kenmores, Lorpor (2003?)

Lorpor was never released, only passed around on CD-Rs after the greatest local band from Baton Rouge to ever exist broke up. The story of a janitor who accidentally inherits the government secret that the world is about to end. Insane stuff. Brilliant emo rock masterpiece. On track 9, the world ends, it's the greatest sounding apocalypse I've ever heard.

57. Japandroids, Post-Nothing (2009)

Young Canadian rock duo that knows exactly how to convey the need to get away from everything, and the pains of young love. Some people say it's immature music. I say their simple, minimalist songs convey exactly what they're going for. "I Quit Girls" is full of this young energy, and is a wonderful ballad to the hopeless lover.

56. Boris, Flood (2000)

Boris' crowning masterpeice finds them mixing their stoner/doom sound with beautiful, ambient post-rock. It's well over an hour long, but stays engaging the whole way through. Maybe I like it so much because it never dips into the harsh noise that they put into most of their releases.

55. Mclusky, Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)

Andy Flakous (now of Future of the Left) started here, in a punk spirited rock outfit shooting bile all over its dumber-than-them listeners. Mclusky is funny, witty, angry, and you're stupid. "Lightsable Cocksucking Blues" is one the greatest songs ever written.

54. Explosions in the Sky, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Thos Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever (2001)

Definietly the Texas post-rock outfit's greatest acheivement to date. It's all your standard soft-loud-soft-loud modern post-rock formula, but these songs are energetic and beautiful enough to transcend what would normally be just another pretty album in the genre.

53. The Weakerthans, Reconstruction Site (2003)

The Weakerthans dip into a country accented indie rock is remarkable in its emotional scope. John K. Sampson imbues every longing line with a nostalgic sadness for childhood, friendships, lost relatives, and even his hometown. Even though he constantly reminds us how much he hates Winnipeg.

52. Taking Back Sunday, Tell all Your Friends (2002)

Yeah, everybody laugh, but I love this emo/pop punk's debut. It feels more honest than the other bands of the same genre and time (NFG, The Used, Midtown), and a little less cheesey as far as the emo lyrics go. They also get pretty clever with making their adult themes teenage accessible. "Great Romances of the 20th Century" was a great single, and "Head Club" is a wonderful closer. Emo/pop punk can be good, Dammit!

51. Tunes for Bears to Dance to, Tunes for Bears to Dance to (2003)

The happiest screamo band you'll ever hear. They shout things like "We'll stay friends forever", "Where did Waldo go", "Livejournals suck" (back when that was timely), and most amazingly in the closer "Take my hand as dirft towards happiness." All these songs are impossibly fun and uplifting.

50. Gospel, The Moon is a Dead World (2005)

A prog-rock band hiding inside the body of a creamo band, Gospel play huge, operatic songs that are simply flooring. The experimentalism aspect make this a fresh screamo album.

49. Every Time I Die, Hot Damn (2003)

Metalcore that leans heavily on the metal side of the equation. The is fast and chaotic, tinged with a good bit of southern rock. People don't give this band much credit, but they were one of the few innovative metalcore bands before they started to suck. Check out single "Ebolarama" for proof of this.

48. La Quiete, La Fine non e La Fine (2004)

This section of the list has been very screamo heavy. I don't think it lasts, but this entry is easily one of the best of the genre. La Quiete explodes out the gate and never stops with La Fine. This is really just a giant burst of energetic, emotional music.

47. Bright Eyes, Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)

Conor Oberst's masterpiece is a long epic of folk art about politics, lovers, and the loss of one's way and faith in the world. It's angry, harsh, pretty, and thoughtful.

46. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, No More Shall We Part (2001)

Nick Cave's most contemplative album to date might be a masterpiece in his career, but he's done so much great stuff it's really hard to say. This one's heavy on the piano rock, and it's the most emotional album I've heard of Cave's, although I've not heard them all.

The decade in albums, part 5

75. Moonsorrow, Verisakeet (2005)

5 huge tracks delivering the most epic, blackened folk metal you could ever imagine, sprinkled with mesmerizing interludes of crackling wood and crowing birds. It all flows so organically.

74. Sine Nomine, This Machine is Malfunctioning (2003)

Grind is something I usually hate. It sounds to me like short, cold exercises in calculated speed, with horrible vocals screamed indiscernibly over the music. Sine Nomine proved grind could be more. Instead of quick songs, they play lengthy grind that incorporates elements of screamo, making for a much more pleasant sounding grindcore.

73. Future of the Left, Travels with Myself and Another (2009)

A hard rock dance album. These angry songs are witty and funny musings on all things stupid and banal, while also being really catchy. "Arming Eritrea" is a hard hitting anthem that immediately establishes the album as real force of drunken power.

72. Boris, ...At Last -Feedbacker- (2003)

Boris drone metal masterpieces is one of the many genres of heavy, loud music they've managed to successfully navigate over their many years. I don't know how they manage to be so consistent while never sitting still stylistically, but they really pull it off.

71. Majority Rule, Interviews with David Frost (2001)

Heavy hardcore punk/screamo with dual vocalists with very scary voices. They play expressive violence that has been heavily influential since its release.

70. Dillinger Four, Situationist Comedy (2002)

Dillinger Four's pop punk masterpiece is perfect all the way through, but it's opener "Noble Stabbings!" is their magnum opus, a two minute to remind everyone that punk can be simultaneously powerful, rebellious, and and fun as hell.

69. Lucero, Lucero (2001)

Lucero's brand of alt-country has never changed, so it makes sense that their debut was their best. Perfectly realized ballads of loss, love, guitars, bar fights and road trips. There's an inherent sadness in Ben Nichol's drawl that makes this album a staggering work of honest emotion.

68. Desaparecidos, Read Music/Speak Spanish (2002)

Conor Oberst briefly put off another Bright Eyes album to make an angry indie emo album about the banality and stupidity of the middle class and suburban nightmare. It's amazingly on point and surprisingly heartfelt, and proves that maybe Oberst's talents really belong in a heavier outfit.

67. The Lawrence Arms, The Greatest Story Ever Told (2003)

Drunken pop punk from Chicago featuring two vocalists who both write at varying degrees of quality. Most of this album is amazing dark pop punk, while a few songs are actually terrible. Luckily those goods songs are seriously good.

66. L'Antietam, Arthur Carr (2007)

Harcore infused screamo from a few really young guys who shouuld not be able to write as well as they do. Short songs that pack enough build and emotion to get your heart pumping.

65. Botch, We are Romans (2000)

Released on New Years Day, 2000, this has remained one of the most important and influential metalcore releases ever made. Members from this went on to create such amazing bands as Blood Brothers, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and Minus the Bear.

64. The Spectacle, Rope or Guillotine (2004)

Briliant crust-punk from Norway.These songs are long, loud, and crushing. Anarchy is stupid, but these guys make it sound so good. I got to play with this group. Their live show was hauntingly good.

63. Mount Eerie, Wind's Poem (2009)

Phil Evrum's "black metal" album is totally not a black metal album, it just features layered, distorted guitar playing. It's a dark, lo-fi masterpiece similar to The Glow, Pt 2, but recorded much deeper in that cave of his. The result is even more moving than his Microphones output.

62. Morrisey, You are the Quarry (2004)

All comeback albums need to be this good. Morrisey's brand of pop is as good as his work immediately following the Smiths on this record.

61. The National, Boxer (2007)

A haunting, dark rock record. The vocalists brings to mind Ian Cutis if Curtis was in a band that sounded really good was able to actually evoke emotion, like Boxer does so amazingly well. This record is quiet for the most part, making the few explosions even more powerful. Fucking "Apartment Story", right?

The decade in albums, part 4

So this is taking me forever. I'm going to lighten up on the self-indulgent descriptions and thoughts and get through this before I'm dead. And I've got to get to those movies.

90. Racebannon, Satan's Kickin Yr Dick In (2002)

Simultaneously chaotic and catchy hardcore that sometimes dips into noise rock. The vocalist has a voice unlike any other I've ever heard. His voice is so high and strange, but he looks like a fatter, taller Henry Griffin.

89. Skagos, Ast (2009)

Easily the best metal band of the 2009. Canadians who play very much on the pretty side of black metal. Huge, expansive and twisting songs featuring plenty of acoustic and piano passages.

88. Army of Ponch, So Many You Could Never Win (2002)

Heavy, fuzzy emo punk from Florida. Clean vocals wail over loud guitars in what was easily one of the best releases from No Idea Records this decade. Amazing standout track with "Those Old Hurts".

87. Madvillian, Madvilliany (2004)

A bonafide, undeniable hip-hop masterpiece. Madlip's production is staggering. MF Doom's lyrics, humor, wit, voice, and vocabulary all floored me the first time I heard this. That dude is crazy. What the fuck is that mask about?

86. Madeline, Kissing and Dancing (2004)

She says she was born in Louisiana, but this beautiful folk singer writes everything from Georgia. It's too bad. She's so friendly. Oh, and her music is honest, so innocent on the surface, yet layered to reveal more with repeated listens.

85. Natural Snow Buildings, The Dance of the Moon and the Sun (2007)

The French drone master's greatest work to date. Two and a half hours of beautiful sounds brought together by slow, building chants. It requires patience at first, but it's awe inspiring.

84. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)

This obviously requires no description. It's at the top of everyone's list. I'll just say that "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" is a flat out undeniable masterpiece.

83. Raein, Il n'y a pas d'orchestre (2003)

Featuring members of La Quiete, it's all about the short and fast sceamo featuring heavy use of clean guitars. The title comes from Mullholland Dr. (No hai banda! There is no band!), so you know they're cool. The album reaches its apex at track 8 when they all start yelling "THIS IS MY TIGER SUIT!". I'm still not sure what it means.

82. Wolves in the Throneroom, Diadem of 12 Stars (2006)

They're the band to listen to to transition into metal, with they're noticeable influences of post-rock and shoegaze, but that doesn't make them any less legit. They go for the whole European pagan thing, but it works for these Olympia, Washington born hairy men.

81. M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005)

M83's masterwork is his most emotionally stirring. The dialogue samples can be a bit melodramatic, but it doesn't detract too much. I've heard no other electronic music to move me as much as this does.

80. Alcest, Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde (2007)

French black metal veteran Neige decided to embrace the fact that modern black metal is very similar to shoegaze and just rolled with it. You could call this a My Bloody Valentine rip off, but why? It's so good on its own. These are dense, beautiful tracks.

79. Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass (2007)

He's always preaching some life lesson, but it's okay. He hides the messages in his enigma style lyrical imagery, and it's brilliant. I don't feel like I'm being taught to. His metaphors are smart, but they don't try so hard as to be distracting. The title track is the real keeper here. Oh, and he can spit faster than anyone alive not named Doseone.

78. Fear Before the March of Flames, Odd How People Shake (2004)

When metalcore was ruled by bros toughing up the genre (fucking Bury Your Dead), Fear Before decided to redefine the genre with their debut. They ripped apart the toughness, ditched the breakdowns, and created an aggresive, yet vulnerable album that has stumped any metalcore listener to ever hear it. Metalcore for pretentious, artsy fartsy kids, I guess.For whatever reason, they quickly disintegrated into a shitty, run of the mill band, but this album is a testament to a truly original sound.

77. Bright Eyes, Fevers and Mirrors (2000)

The most accessible Bright Eyes album featured Conor before he got too political, but after he had learned how to really right an emotionally devastating song. He wrote a whole album's worth here. "Haligh, Haligh, a lie, Haligh." Jesus, that song hurts. This is not pussy emo, it's emotionally honest, bitter folk from a young poet.

76. Brand New, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me (2006)

The second successful reinvention of one time pop punkers Brand New is a frustrating, anticlimactic, slow album about one man's frustrating, anticlimactic relationship. She never would marry him, but he'd write a few indie/emo masterpieces while he suffered. This is the angriest, most adult album ever made by a band that routinely sells out shows to 15-year-old teenage girls.

The decade in albums, part 3

105. Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs (2008)

After their dreadful mainstream pop/rock debut, Plans, I'd mostly given up on Death Cab ever releasing anything good again. Narrow Stairs truly surprised me. These 11 tracks, all dealing with a painful loss, from a mother to innocence, revealed a profound maturity in Ben Gibbard's writing since Plans. How this was such a mainstream success, I can't really figure. The songs are slow, build naturally to anticlimactic endings, and are as longingly sad and beautiful as anything on their early masterpieces.

104. Modest Mouse, The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

This is widely considered one of the best albums this decade by music critics, and I can see why. It's full of creative guitar riffs, a great vocalist, inventive and weird lyrics, and shows a mastery of pop song writing. It gets a bit long, and there are some less than stellar filler tracks, but the great handily outnumbers the average.

(As a present to Earth, Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters released an album of Modest Mouse covers, mainly from this album, called Tiny Cities. It's a must-listen.)

103. Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (2008)

Two Pitchfork favs in a row. This won't likely happen again. Fucked Up's brand of hardcore/punk is infectiously catchy. It's almost wrong. And it's, dare I say, pretty? Hard to imagine when you know a fat vocalist named "Pink Eyes" is screaming at the top of his lungs about mushrooms and Jesus. Hearing the up to 17 guitar tracks going at once creates a huge, deep sound that makes you want to get up and thrash around.

102. The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, Dissertation, Honey (2003)

Jazz-punk. Spastic, hyper, biting jazz-punk. And it's so fun. This young band put a jazzy swing into their snotty punk formula to make one of the most successful genre-benders I heard all decade. A saxophone adds a whole emotional layer to what might otherwise easily be forgettable punk. Their songs were short and sweet, and the vocals energetic and sassy.

101. Defiance, Ohio, Share What Ya Got (2003)

This fine folk punk band from the Plan-it-x label are probably mostly associated with the popularity of Against Me! early in the decade. They share similarities, and sometimes ideals, but Defiance, Ohio is definitely their own band with their own sound. Playing completely acoustic, with some strings, male and female vocals, they make moving folk punk that's easily accessible. Share What Ya Got is their finest offering to date, combining angry social unrest anthems with intimate ballads. I'll remember this album forever because of standout track "Bikes and Bridges", a fist pump anthem that bleeds into a poetic chant with "Heart aren't made of glass...". It's heartbreaking stuff that gets me every time. This might even deserve to be higher.

100. Drudkh, Autumn Aurora (2004)

This is finest offering from what has to be one of the most consistent and greatest black metal bands making music in the 2000s. This Ukranian group refuses to take press photos, promote their album, interview, or even tour, but their music really speaks for itself. It's beautifully atmospheric, recalling images of the forests and nature of Europe. It's incredibly easy to get lost in these sprawling tracks, as they wind through fantastical, dreamy landscapes. For the record, the album they released in 2009, Microcosmos, is almost just as good

99. Rx Bandits, The Resignation (2003)

Rx Bandits started out as just another annoying, immature ska group capable of some catchy riffs. Each successive album has been more experimental and innovative than the last, leading all the way up to this years Mandala. But their greatest success was back in 2003 when they really shed their simple ska past for the first time, in favor of a jazzy, reggae-ish, rock sound. After a throw-away first track, the album really gets going with standout track "Prophetic", and never stops. The album builds to emotional highs with crushing guitars and beautiful horns.

98. Mono, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shine (2004)

Mono has been playing some of the best post-rock around for over ten years. With Waking Cloud...they perfected their formula. Epic songs, huge guitars, beautiful keys, and some strings thrown in for good measure. Everything gelled on this album, and the results are staggering. It's enough to make anybody cry.

97. Menomena, Friend and Foe (2007)

This was the first Menomena album I'd ever heard, and it blew me away. From opener "Muscle 'N Flo" to the end, it's wonderful drum loop insanity. These songs are wonderfully poppy, yet brimming with intense emotion. "Wet and Rusting" is one of the best singles of the decade.

96. Altar of Plagues, White Tombs (2009)

More black metal. This is from a small, unknown band that really got shit done with their debut. Four tracks of sprawling hell get done what most metal bands could never do. They've perfected the truly unique version of American black metal. No paganism or nature, just the hell of industrial wasteland. They also pretty things up a bit. White Tombs could easily be lumped into the post-rock/black metal category.

95. Dillinger Four, Versus God (2000)

It's just so hard not to love these guys. Fast pop punk at its finest. They know their way around catchy riffs and melodies. I can't ever skip a Dillinger Four song. This was their first offering of this decade, and it was the first where the two weird sounding vocalists started to complement each other perfectly. Every track is a standout, partly because they mostly sound the same, but more because they're all amazing.

94. Bike for Three!, More Heart than Brains (2009)

Think Postal Service if they were hip-hop and way cooler. You know I love Ben Gibbard, but he has nothing on the intimate, yet distant cross continental colaboration between Anticon rapper Buck 65 and Belgian producer Greetings from Tuskan. "Lazarus Phenomenon" is still my favorite song of 2009, and most of the tracks are almost as good. For two people who have never met, these songs are amazingly intimate, seemingly written about the strange relationship, like in "Let's never meet". It's all close to perfect. Buck 65's stream of conciousness poetry flows beautifully over Greetings intricate procuction.

93. Agalloch, Ashes Against the Grain (2006)

Agalloch mix black, folk, heavy, doom, and drone metal, with a good serving of neofolk thrown in on Ashes. Acoustic passages melt into slurring distortions that convey desolation in a way I've never heard elsewhere. Black metal vocals enhance the experience. These guys play long and epic, but it's worth every minute.

92. Krallice, Krallice (2008)

While not techinically a black metal band, Krallice is close. They play ridiculously long songs at impossible speeds, slowing down only to end a song and start another. It's pretty absurd, but as far as metal goes, it's some of the most fun to listen to. They recently expanded their line up, adding another crazy fast guitarist. What's up with these freaks?

91. Sun Kil Moon, April (2008)

Mark Kozelek again. More slow, and deliberately paced masterpieces from a slowcore legend. These songs have an average length of over 7 minutes, the lyrics are deceptively simple, and the music is never anything but quiet. But this album is so heartbreaking, it's unreal. How Kozelek can make me want to cry with only a few slurred phrases is uncanny.

The decade in albums, part 2

119. Old 97's, Satellite Rides (2001)

The Old 97's have long been my favorite country band. Their songs are heartfelt and catchy, and often uplifting. "Rollerskate Skinny" is a perfect marriage of pop and country. "Question" might be an example of a perfect song. A love song about proposing is about as cheesy as it could get, but they pull it off magically.

118. Anaal Nathrakh, The Codex Necro (2001)

Anaal Nathrakh play a unique combination of black metal and grindcore. I usually loathe grindcore's cold, abrasive sound, but it works here. It combines with black metal to evoke frightening images of industrial wastelands. These guys have yet to release a bad album, but The Codex Necro, their first, remains their most fully realized work.

117. Deftones, White Pony (2000)

I've been really surprised to see this on more than a couple decade end lists. It's a great album, but I never really knew anyone besides me had noticed. With White Pony, Deftones broke away slightly from their nu-metal chains and created a deeply contemplative and soulful heavy record. "Change" and "Digital Bath" are two great standouts here.

116. Hot Water Music, A Flight and a Crash (2001)

Hot Water Music's greatest achievements were all in the late '90s, but after signing to Epitaph they proved they could still crank out their powerful brand of punk rock successfully. The title opener is one of the greatest album openers I've ever heard, and most of the tracks are great head banging, sing-a-long anthems.

115. One Reason, All Rivers Run South, All Roads Lead Home (2003)

This Southern infused folk punk band released an emotional bomb on the punk scene from out of nowhere with this record. From the Plan-it-x stable, this group featured male and female vocals yelling about anarchy and white guilt. It's wonderful. They made the line "the songs that we sing will have meaning," a regular chant among my friends.

114. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yanqui U.X.O. (2002)

People seem to overlook this album because it didn't hold a candle to their previous releases. Well, not holding a candle to a few of the greatest records of all time is okay,because this is still great in its own right. The songs are epic and beautiful, and the dystopian hell imagery evoked by the music can be down right disturbing. And "Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls" is definitely one of the best Godspeed tracks.

113. NOFX, Pump Up the Valuum (2000)

Yeah, I included NOFX. After the heavy hitting humorless 18 minute epic "Decline", NOFX came back the next year with a brilliantly crafted comic album. "My Vagina" aside, these songs are all legit, and this record marks the first time the group acknowledges their comfort with being old men in a young man's punk world. I consider most of these songs classics, but if I had to pick favorite, it would have to be "Herojauna", a semi-ballad on the relationship between state and drug use.

112. Do Make Say Think, Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn (2003)

Do Make Say Think play a great style of jazz-infused post-rock, and this record is their best. It's the most epic, and features the most variety of any of their releases. It plays out in three distinct movements, the first being the best, opening with the beautiful "Fredericia."

111. The Microphones, The Glow, Pt. 2 (2001)

Phil Everum's lo-fi psycadelic folk thing never gets old for me. This massive album feels like one big exercise in dark, haunted isolation. This also feels like it was recorded in a cave, enhancing the mood. It's not quite the level of his Mount Eerie project that started a couple years later, but it's still truly great.

110. Red House Painters, Old Ramon (2001)

Mark Kozelek's legendary slowcore band played all throughout the '90s, and only released one album this decade. It seems like no one cares about it, but it's almost as great as their peak releases. Mark's writing is simple, yet poetic, and the music slowly sweeps through a range of emotional levels.

109. We Were Promised Jetpacks, These Four Walls (2009)

Jetpacks will probably never escape the shadow of their more popular Scottish labelmates Frightened Rabbit and Twilight Sad, but this release proves they've got a sound and energy to make it on their own. "It's Thunder and Lightning" sets the mood for 40 minutes of Scottish dudes rocking the fuck out. Initially, I didn't take to this, but it keeps growing on me. I can't stop singing these tunes.

108. M83, Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts (2003)

No M83 album has sounded the same, and they've all been great, but their electronic semi-instrumental shoegaze album, Dead Cities..., is one their best. This album feels like a journey through a landscape of industry noise, all repetitve and druggy.



107. Moonsorrow, Kivenkantaja (2003)

Moonsorrow from Finland play blackened folk metal in the form of huge metal epics. This is their first great release, and the first displaying their matured folk influences. They also begin their love for extremely long songs here. Sometimes brutally agressive, but other times mellow and uplifting.



106. Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf (2002)

For years, I only knew this band for "No One Knows." Then I actually listened. QotSA are a band that knows how to masterfully mix radio-friendly rock, such as "Go With the Flow", to genuine stoner metal. It's really strange, when you think about it, but unnoticeable when listening to it. Josh Homme is a rock god, and having Dave Grohl contribute the best drumming he's ever done sure helps this one reach classic status.

The decade in albums

I have been heavily into music since I was going into the second grade. I love it. This was a great decade for me. My musical horizons are expanding all the time. I need to consume as much as I can. I started off this decade in a strange pop-punk-that-i-mistakenly-called-emo phase in in 1999 that spilled over into this decade, briefly. I got past it quick. But even some of that spillage made it on my list of bests. It's not all bad. Hell, if well-respected music critics can dig Fall Out Boy and praise Britney Spears, I can like the occasional Taking Back Sunday album.

So here I begin another list. Is that all I do now? Maybe.
It's in descending order. No closed eye scrolling necessary.

135. Ulver, Perdition City (2000)

So one of the greatest and most influential black metal bands of all time decided to fuck-start everybody's heads and kick the decade off with a total break from their previous material. They went electronic. Mind blow. With the exception of a couple duds in the middle, Perdition City offers epic, and memorable electronic experimental music classics. Opener "Lost in Moments" and closer "Nowhere/Catastrophe" are classics of any genre.

134. Natural Snow Buildings, Shadow Kingdoms (2009)

The third album released this year by drone lords Natural Snow Buildings is easily their best. This year. It's my second favorite of 16 they've released in the 2000s. 12 of those have been in the past two years. Here the songs are huge and the imagery vivid, as always. At over 2 hours, it's a huge commitment, but Shadow Kingdoms is worth every beautiful moment.

133. Sleepwalker, ? (?)

I can't find anything on this group. I don't actually know when this came out, or if Sleepwalker is actually their name. I do know, however, that this is an amazing black metal release. Epic, frigid songs melt into warm acoustic passages. Moving stuff.

132. Loisirs, Glamoroso (2004)/Submerge Par le Sublime (2006)

Two very similar but fantastic records from French screamo-ish/pop outfit Loisirs. Glamoroso is a bit uneven, but features classics "Paquerette" and "City Song". Submerge is great pop/hardcore fusion all the way through. Their songs are fast and lean, but always catchy, with a great pair of fun vocalists.

131. Tegan and Sara, So Jealous (2004)

After the few Ani Difranco-mimmicking folk records they released first, I'm not sure how Tegan and Sara came to pop deconstruction music they play now, but somehow, in 2004, something strange obviously happened. So Jealous perfectly combines elements of every pop song you've ever heard to create the catchiest shit you'll ever hear. I drove around in my car with friends for hours singing these songs. I don't know how they crafted these, and I know they'll never do it again, but this one is special. (Pitchfork be damned!)

130. Lucero, Tennessee (2002)

Lucero has a pretty simple formula: country guitars and Ben Nichols raspy southern drawl. But damn if it doesn't get you every fucking time. The third Lucero album was made as the Against Me! fans really started picking up on his act, me being one of them. His songs of heartbreak and the rode eat you up inside, and make you want to drink something strong. Simply put: fucking awesome.

129. Skeletonwitch, Breathing the Fire (2009)



I just recently found my way to Skeltonwitch. I initially didn't expect much, as I'm no huge fan of thrash, but their particular blackened melodic style really works. Short fast songs manage to be epic and moving at the same time. And the cover art is ridiculously awesome.



128. The Black Heart Procession, 3 (2000)

I've never been able to articulate a good description of this band's sound. They do a mix of a sort-of Western thing like early Murder by Death, '90s slowcore like Low, and straight up indie-rock. They've also been one of the most consistent groups this decade. 3 is their most successful release yet. It's black as death, but Pall Jenkins' eerie yet also soothing vocals pull you through.

127. Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)

It's hard to believe there was a time before Kanye was Kanye when my friend could randomly pop in a hip hop record I hadn't heard that got me so immediately as this album did. I could probably never hear this for the first time now and love it. But back then, this guy's ego felt tounge-in-cheek, and his songs were masterfully crafted pop anthems. He never was that great of a rapper, but he did something right with The College Dropout.

126. Please Inform the Captain this is a Hijack, Please Inform the Captain... (2003)

Formed by punk legend Mike Kirsch after the demise of his group Bread and Circuits, Please Inform the Captain... was an experiment in punk with sampling. Five long pop punk songs are cut with heavy samples of old radio PSAs and political speeches. It was surprisingly effective. The released one more in 2006 that was almost as good, but made the samples their own tracks. Kirsch is now kicking ass in the heavier punk outfit Baader Brains.

125. Sean Price, Sean Price Superstar (2007)

Sean Price used to be a huge MC in the popular Heltah Skeltah. Now it seems that no one cares. Thing is, he knows no one cares, and he doesn't give a fuck about them. Nor does he give a fuck about how he used to be. He knows he can cut anything down with his words. And he does. This is angry fucking music.






124. Love Like.... Electrocution, Love Like.... Electrocution (2003)

Hailing from Australia, this young group practiced a unique style of screamo/punk. This album is barely 20 minutes long with 11 tracks, but it packs quite a punch. Their Aussie voices even remain intact. The songs are catchy, and also technically inspired. It's great stuff all around. I can't figure out what ever happened to these dudes.

123. Justinbailey, Bury Me with My Money (2005)

So I know they're local and I'm friends with a member, but these guys are for real. With their full length, they finally shed the skin of their former punk band Skullniks for a mature post-hardcore sound. These songs are all fantastic. I'm still waiting for them to finally break out, or record something new, but I'll always have this as a heavy local classic. "Part II" is just unreal.

122. Shining, IV - The Eerie Cold (2005)

I won't lie to you and say that all of Shining's albums don't sound almost the same, but somehow IV manages to be more memorable than the other 5 albums these Norwegians have put out before and since. This band is pure, cold despair, and they want you to hate it. They even say so in the first track. This is for their own fucked up selves, and you can fuck off. Unfortunately for them, they decided to create some truly mesmerizing , frozen black metal for me to enjoy.

121. Lightning Bolt, Hypermagic Mountain (2005)

Two weird ass dudes making chaotic, loud sounds. That's the Lightning Bolt way, and it's never faltered. This is their best offering. Moments of beauty shine through the chaos. And this band's live show is always worth a mention. They really make you need to dance.

120. Regina Spektor, Songs (2002)

Regina's second album was the only one I could ever take all the way through. Ditching the upright, and much of that weird funk/jazz thing she was unsuccessfully trying, Songs was just a cute Russian girl and a piano. The tunes can be weird, and the lyrics off-putting if you're not in the right mood, but she also creates some emotional melodies that tend to stay with you. I've always been a sucker for "Samson", and was sad that she included it on her pop record several years later. The original is easily one of my favorite singles this decade.



I will return

2000s documentaries

Documentaries are a funny thing. They all claim to tell the truth, but they are, of course, all full of shit. The ability to manipulate through editing kind of discredits any possible truth a film claims to present. Take The King of Kong, for example. It's a fantastic story of an underdog getting his due against a big bad. Any further research reveals that almost none of it actually took place the way it was presented. None the less, it's a fantastically crafted and immensely enjoyable film.

Because of this, I am skeptical of all documentaries. One has to be really fucking engaging for me to sit through it, and this decade has produced many of them.

Here is my list of the best documentaries released in this decade that I've seen:

(Sorry to all the Michael Moore lovers. All of his films this decade have been worth watching, but these were all better. And as always, I'm fucking right.)

16. No End in Sight (2007)

Honestly, the super serious political documentary is not something I usually go for. They tend to be the most boring, and the all-to-obvious political agendas of most of these filmmakers often feels in the way. I got past all that for No End in Sight. It's all about the Bush Administration's handling of the Iraq war and occupation, and how as long as his policies stand, the U.S. ain't ever getting out. More than just talking heads, and featuring a top-notch score are only a couple of the reasons why this is a must-see.

15. Fuck (2006)

This one is just really fun. Fuck is all about how the word became such a bad one, and the it's taboo status in major media outlets. It's really funny, and even thought-provoking. It's fun pondering who decided fuck was so evil.

14. Standard Operating Procedure (2008)

Errol Morris is undeniably a master filmmaker. His classic The Thin Blue Line is one of the greatest docs ever made. Here, he turns his focus to the prison torture photo incident in Iraq at Abu Gharaib a few years ago. Academy award-winning Taxi to the Dark Side tackled the same subject, but in a boring, style-less way. Standard Operating Procedure uses an intense visual style, incorporating real footage and recreations, to tell its story.

13. Wordplay (2006)

This entertaining doc was seemingly made because of the hype surrounding similar Word Wars about the competitive scrabble world. Wordplay takes place in the world of big crossword tournaments. It focuses on a couple of guys trying to win the title, and intercuts that with celebrities and such talking about their love for doing crosswords. It's probably as silly as it sounds, but it works.

12. This Film is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Kirby Dick's condemning investigation of the very secretive MPAA is informative and frustrating. Learning how much the MPAA really is bullshit is infuriating, but Dick keeps it fun and humorous. He even includes footage of his appeal of this movie in front of their council.

11. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)

This is a look into the famous cult songwriters life. It's full of joy, pain, tears, laughter, and beautifully simple music. I'd never heard of Johnston before seeing this, but I knew I loved him immediately. There might not even be anything terrifically speacial about this movie, I don't know. It just really worked for me.

10. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Probably the most thorough study of anything fucking ever, Thom Anderson's three hour look at Los Angeles' portrayal in films throughout history is totally exhausting, but very much worth the time and effort. Anderson is obviously in love with his home town, but is deeply critical of the face it has shown in film. Of all the films on this list, this one is the least capable of bullshit, not trying to show anything but film clips showing Los Angeles. Because of the hundreds of clips shown, it will never be released properly on dvd or any other format, but it is available legally online for free.

9. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. Macnamara (2003)

Errol Morris finally won an Oscar for his 2 hour interview with one of our countries most hated politicians, Robert Macnamara, the man blamed for Vietnam. The film portrays a normal man thrown into a conflict he didn't know how to handle. The man understands why he was so hated, and that makes it even sadder. The guy might be lying about everything, but for the run-time of this film I'm totally engaged in Macnamara's confessions.

8. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009)

This played the festival circuit unsold for well over a year, and I really don't get how. The saga of Anvil, a band struggling to make it big since they formed in 1972, is a wonderfully uplifting tale of the bonds of friendship and the strength of dreams. Sure, it's about metal, and has some metal music in it, but it's really not about that. Seeing what they go through day to day is heartbreaking, but their unflinching optimism and spirit bring tears of joy by the end.

7. Grizzly Man (2005)

Werner Herzog's chronicle of Timothy Treadwell, a man who lived with and was eventually killed by bears, is a fascinating look at obsession and its power. Herzog really knows what exactly to show and not to show the audience, keeping us intrigued the whole way through. Seeing a man lose himself to his obsession, and knowing he was actually killed by it, is horribly painful.

6. Man on Wire (2008)

James Marsh's doc is another one about an obsessed asshole, except this one,Phillipe Petit, wants to tightrope between the WTC towers. Petit's interviews are a highlight. His narcissism is somewhat endearing and his eccentricities are entertaining. But the greatest part is the Rififi-style break-in and rope set up over night. It's tense.

5. The Five Obstructions (2003)

Master provacateur Lars von Trier turns his focus away from hating women and America to famous Danish short-filmmaker Jorgen Leth. He challenges him to remake his famous short film "The Perfect Human" five different times, each with different and stingent restrictions. The idea of revisiting art so many years later is compelling, and Lars von Trier is such a fucking asshole, it's wonderful.

4. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father (2008)

The story of a man killed by his wife whom is not brought to justice is horrifying and sad. Watching the deceased's parents forced to be social with their son's murderer just so they can see their grandchild was almost too much. This was made by his best friend, and is one of the most emotional experiences I've ever had watching any film. It's a little flawed, poorly paced in parts, but its emotional honesty is too sincere to for its flaws to hurt the film.

3. The King of Kong (2007)

As I wrote above, this is an underdog story. It's total bullshit. It features an evil, rich tyrant with loyal henchmen, and a nobody hero just trying to get what he has earned. It's also about a man trying to get credit for getting the highest donkey kong jr. arcade score. Yeah, that's right. It's put together perfectly. By the end you'll literally be yelling and cheering for our hero.

2. Jesus Camp (2006)

This is the story of an evangelical summer camp for evangelical children. It's one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Religion is scary. These children believe whatever their parents tell them. But what's really scary is that an evangelical person could watch this same film and see it as something praising their beliefs.

1. Lake of Fire (2007)

Tony Kaye's first film since American History X, is a indepth look at abortion and the two sides surrounding it in America. Brilliantly filmed in black and white, Kaye has no problem showing both sides at their ugliest, but also at their most moderate. He seems to truly understand the gray area surrounding the issue. It's also a truly informative experience, even having the guts to show us an abortion, uncut. It's my favorite documentary of the decade, and possibly ever. I could never look at abortion the same way again. It is truly a perfect film.