I write you from a brisk morning in San Francisco. This year has seen many changes in my life as well as all of the world. I moved to an island in the Pacific, and America welcomed in a man from this same island into the White House. However, despite the positive changes this year, it cannot be argued that this decade as a whole has been full of paranoia and fear unknown since the 1980s. As a nation, it seems we have regressed to the Reagan years, despite significant changes in power and administration. Perhaps the new year will bring something better...but I digress. Politics aside (or because of them), the music of the 2000s has been simply amazing. Fusion occured in all genres, and music became much more available to all of us on a global scale. 2009 was no exception, and in fact some very forward-thinking music came out even in the last months of the year. With these thoughts, I give you two lists. Enjoy.
TOP ALBUMS OF 2009
10. Dirty Projectors- "Bitte Orca"
To not include this one would be foolish. I am a latecomer to the DPs, in terms of actually enjoying their work. This accessible and fun record changed all that for me, especially the spotlight on the two female voices in the group. Loved it!
9. Busdriver- "Jhelli Beam"
Busdriver loves to hate on his 'indier-than-thou' fanbase, but on Beam it seems he reaches out to them for the first time. He spits rage on 'Least Favorite Rapper,' and never lets you forget that he is one of the most unique voices in the business. I don't mind drinking the Hatorade with this one.
8. God Help the Girl- "God Help the Girl"
God help us when Stuart Murdoch decides he's finished with recording. This record got me through many a rainy day in Honolulu. The female voices were a clever gesture. Let's hope he does another!
7. Wavves- "Wavves"
Did this record actually kind of suck without people caring? In my opinion,yes, but it's a record that you can love and hate in equal measure. I believe that in fact, its supposed to be enjoyed this way. For every irritating song with the word 'goth' in it, there's the all -out hedonism of "Teenage Super Party" and "Lover." Plus, its 100% unique. Let's hope Nathan Williams and Zack Hill of the legendary Hella can make an even better one next year.
6. Thieves Like Us- "Play Music"
OK Euros, I know this first came out in 2008. But for us US fools, it wasn't released until 09, so I'm putting it here. Not to mention this record would truly be a crime. Retro without being totally annoying, plus with just enough tounge-in-cheek lyrics to keep a bedroom dancer happy. Just try not shaking it to "Drugs In My Body" I dare you.
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- "It's Blitz"
Like many of the YYYs records, this one ended up growing on me despite my wanting to totally hate it at first. Karen O really does channel a mess of ups and downs into her music, and at first that can be intimidating to one's ears. But this one truly is a winner, with its fiery licks and electro sounding drums. I remember my first reaction to Zero being "Oh great, she's gone all Kate Bush on us." But I was wrong...she just went all Karen O on us.
4. Sunset Rubdown- "Dragonslayer"
I was truly blown away when I heard this all the way through. Thus far, it is the only SR record I've been able to make it through, and what a satisfying journey it was. Spencer Krug truly is a musical genius, and this record proves it. "Paper Lace" (the new version) is a triumph, and one of my favorite songs of 2009. Epic.
3. Super Furry Animals- "Dark Days/Light Years"
After nearly an entire decade of mediocrity, SFA came back to remind me why I loved them in the first place. Never has "Moped Eyes" sounded better than in Honolulu, the land of mopeds. Psychadelic and forward-sounding, despite Gruff Rhys becoming quite long in the tooth. Lovely!
2. Girls- "Album"
Yeah, you knew this one was going on there. This record is the only one on this list that really could have been made in another decade, if not another year. It truly sounds timeless to me, but if I had to compare it to anything it would be early Spacemen 3 with Roy Orbison singing backing vocals. Fantastic, heartwrenching, and perhaps unrepeatable. I hope they can make another.
1. Animal Collective- "Merriweather Post Pavillion"
Finally, the record that AC were born to make. They couldn't deny their rave-culture roots forever, and at last they got a chance to express them on equal leanings with their folk songs. Made for midnight dancing, but works just as well in the daylight.
AND.....
DON'T QUIT YET....
THE BEST RECORDS OF THE 2000s!!
10. PJ Harvey- "Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea"
Peej hit pay dirt with this, one of the first records of the 2000s. Written before 9/11, it predicts uncannily the sense of paranoia and sadness we'd all be feeling only a year later, with songs like "This Mess We're In." Like many others, I also found myself loving this record much more a year after it came out, and still find it haunting and beautiful....but those of you who listen to my show already know this (its my ending theme.)
9. Xiu Xiu- "Fabulous Muscles"
Thank you, Jamie Stewart, for introducing me to experimental music. Guaranteed, had I not seen Xiu Xiu at the Che Cafe and heard this record, John Cale and Sun O))) and everybody else interesting would never have reached my ears. Every Xiu Xiu record is an experience, but this one has never been matched in terms of its raw nerves and its political statements. The year Caralee McElroy joined the band, and remained faithfully with them til 2008.
8. Animal Collective- "Merriweather Post Pavillion"
This record ended the decade on a high note. I have to say it is probably my favorite record of theirs, and thus here it is again!
7. Arcade Fire- "Funeral"
Did any of us resist this at the end? Let's face it, as the era of downloading began we all went running to our computers to score this one. It made a mint for Itunes, and a mint of memories for us. I'm sure all of us has had at least one defining "Arcade Fire" moment of the decade... and I'm not telling :)
6. OutKast- "Speakerboxx/The Love Below"
Haven't enough words been spoken about this dynamic duo? I would sing their praises forever, had I the ability to do so. Can they make a little spazzy girl love to shake it like a polaroid picture? Yes, they can.
5. OutKast- "Stankonia"
As much as I love Outkast's double album, their collaboration is always stronger than their weaker moments. "Stankonia" was the record I left high school on, and thus it is forever burned into my memory, specifically during Seinor Prom and carpool. "Do you really wanna know about some gangsta shit?" we asked the golfers in our neighborhood, drunk as hell and yelling out the top of our limo. Somehow, they didn't.
4. Jens Lekman- "Night Falls Over Kortedala"
Boy, it was hard for me to decide between this and "You're So Silent, Jens." At the end, this one wins out only for "Shirin." One of the most perfect songs ever written, and one perfect for the 2000s, Shirin tells the tale of white guilt, and not being able to understand the pains of others despite trying to. Lekman acknowledges his love for the hairdresser anyway, and in doing so made a believer out of me. And "that voice." A winner, a guilty pleasure, and a drop of blood in my glass of milk.
3. Belle and Sebastian- "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
For me, a young kid going to school in Edinburgh, this album is wedded to memories of joy forever. A perfect summer record, and one in which Stuart Murdoch finally dropped the dour veneer of his former chronic fatigue and just "stayed loose." Production by Trevor Horn is a plus, and I don't care what you guys say :)
2. Bonnie "Prince" Billy- "Sings Greatest Palace Music"
OK, another cheat...most of these songs came out in the 90s. But I was too young then to know of their genius. Through this record I learned of their infinite beauty. Despite this record receiving largely negative reviews, I believe that the country versions of the Palace Music songs stand up against the test of time. Indeed, having seen the "Prince" himself this year, he sounds more like this album then ever. "You Will Miss Me When I Burn" is heaven and hell itself in a single song...unlike anything else. Keep making music Will, for all of us sinners.
1. Daft Punk- "Discovery"
Could it be anything else? There has been no record more influential this one. Coming out in 2001 in March, this record was perhaps the peak of joy for me and for America as a whole. The comedown may have been brutal, but at least we had this futuristic saga to keep us company. Leiji Matsumoto and Kanye West agree with me, so it must be the truth.
NEXT WEEK "STORIES FROM THE CITY" RETURNS! STAY TUNED!
Aloha,
ADHDJ
