i’m partial to the night sky. i’m vaguely attracted to rooftops. and i love Freelance Whales. Freelance Whales is a random group i stumbled upon (where else) on XMU. they kinda reminded me of favorites Postal Service or even stupid Owl City (not a fan) at first, but now i’ve found they are much deeper [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Ahhhh…. Prince…. How I listen to thee, through the years and decades and never tire of thee. Big Sigh. I really can’t think of another artist whose music gets as much excitement after the one-thousandth play as it did the first. You might tout, “What about Michael?” but if I hear “Don’t Stop Til You [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief So, I tuned into the Haiti benefit show/tel-a-thon a couple of days ago. Blown. Away. What did you guys think? Did Jennifer Hudson make anyone else tear up? What was going on with Madonna’s face? Did you like the song Jay-Z, Bono, and Rihanna did? [...]
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: [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]