Posts tagged as:
Hey, Effers, and welcome back to the Triple M at its regular time! I bet you thought/were hoping that I was finished with my Best of the Decade musings. Well, not quite, I’m afraid. See, the past ten years have been rather remarkable ones, musically speaking. Say what you will about the decade itself; a [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
10) PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, Polly Jean Harvey’s “New York” album, is the most accessible record in her extraordinary catalog. In comparison to the melancholic and frenzied moods of her prior work, Stories could almost be considered light-hearted. It [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
20) The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free (2004) On the surface, A Grand Don’t Come for Free is the story of a thousand British pounds – that’s even more in dollars, Effers – that go missing from the protagonist’s house without explanation. But that’s only part of the story; Mike Skinner does [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
30) MGMT – Oracular Spectacular (2008) Oracular Spectacular stands as definitive proof that “serious” music can also be fun. A mish-mash of 80’s synthpop, 70’s disco, and a 60’s hippie mindset, this was one of the decade’s most exciting records. Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser were able to mine their varied influences and come out [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
40) Florence & the Machine – Lungs (2009) On her debut album, Florence Welch deals in unhealthy relationships, violent mood swings, revenge fantasies, and generally miserable subject matter. Yet Lungs is rarely depressing. The Annie-Lennox-meets-Kate-Bush aesthetic of Welch’s music creates an uplifting mood that is irresistible. “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” is a prime example: [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
50) Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009) It took four albums for French rockers Phoenix to break through here in the States. It makes you wonder what we were waiting for. In 2009, Phoenix garnered well-deserved attention with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, a record loaded with melodies that refused to be denied. “Countdown” was an insightful, [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
60) Gillian Welch – Time (The Revelator) (2001) In 1992, Gillian Welch moved to Nashville on the basis of her record collection. There she met David Rawlings, together with whom she would form a successful songwriting partnership, creating music that incorporated elements of Americana, folk, bluegrass, and gospel. On 2001’s Time (The Revelator), the pair [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
70) The Secret Machines – Ten Silver Drops (2006) The Secret Machines second full-length was a marked evolution from 2004’s Now Here Is Nowhere – which itself had garnered critical attention. The laid-back, extended jams and krautrock of that record were present here as well, in the form of songs like “Daddy’s in the Doldrums” [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
80) Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (2009) There’s a sound of mystery about this album. It contains melodies firmly rooted in the past, yet the arrangements sound fresh and original. Look no further than the opener, “Southern Point”, to experience this sensation. The juxtaposition of sparse piano with lush harmonies makes “Two Weeks” a stand out [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
90) Primal Scream – XTRMNTR (2000) Bands are often at their best when they’re pissed off. Primal Scream provided support for this theory on their sixth album, XTRMNTR, a seething set that called on everyone to “subvert normality” on the album opener, “Kill All Hippies”. Razor-sharp electronica, rock, and punk combined with politically conscious lyrics that railed against government [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }