Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Best Albums of the Decade: #40 - #31

Here's part two of my best albums of the decade. For #50 - #41 click HERE....

40) Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit (released in 2006 on Matador) – Not as important to me as their early music, but the record has a looser vibe that makes it fun to listen to. We’re still waiting for the proper follow-up.



39) The Avalanches: Since I Left You (released in 2000 on XL) – Infinitely more interesting than Girl Talk. According to their Wikipedia page it contains 3,500 samples. Still no follow-up, but supposedly their working on clearing samples.



38) TV on the Radio: Dear Science (2008 on Interscope) – One of those rare bands that gets better with each release (so hopefully their hiatus does go on indefinitely). Like most bands with multiple songwriters there can be a little inconsistency at times.



37) Peter Bjorn and John: Writer’s Block (2006 on Wichita) – I feel like a lot of folks still dismiss these guys as a one hit wonder. But this record’s solid all the way through (and the one before it, Falling Out, might even be a little better).



36) Everest: Ghost Notes (2008 on Vapor) – These guys toured with Neil Young and Wilco and still didn’t get a whole lot of attention for this record. While most bloggers were scouring the internet to find musicians who just learned to play guitar last week and record straight to ghetto blaster, I was listening to this.



35) Aloha: Some Echoes (2006 on Polyvinyl) – Indie prog? I’m not really sure why I got so into it, but I probably listened to this record more than their moms and girlfriends.



34) David Vandervelde: The Moonstation House Band (2007 on Secretly Canadian) – Another artist where I feel like I’m his biggest fan. There are some definite Bolan/T. Rex-isms but that’s fine and dandy with me.



33) Spoon: Girls Can Tell (2001 on Merge) – It was great living in Austin when Spoon was at its peak. Britt Daniel seems to hate LA so much, they never seem to put on an interesting show here, but I saw some good ones in Austin. Possibly the most consistent band of the decade.



32) The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic (2001 on Mint) – With so many mediocre bands out there why don’t more singers/songwriters put their egos aside and join together? They were my go to band of the decade for uplifting music.




31) The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002 on Warner Bros.) – This was the beginning of the end of one of my favorite bands. The best songs have been licensed in so much crap, it’s hard to hear them objectively anymore. Hopefully they find their way again.

No comments: