This is it, ladies and gentlemen! The TOP TEN! I know you're all as excited as I am and I'll have more than enough to say about these last ten songs--all of which I would undoubtedly put on a list of top 50 songs of all time--so let's get the ball rolling right away...
10. Funeral Diner - This Truly Is God's Country
Yeah, yeah, more screamo. Hear me out. There was a period a few years ago for a couple of months where I just didn't see any point in listening to any band but Funeral Diner because nothing else measured up. Funeral Diner is one of those bands where no one instrument is the real star of the show because they all mesh together as one so perfectly. However, I will say that Matthew Bajda is one of my top 5 drummers of all time...even now that I don't listen to much Funeral Diner--or screamo in general--anymore. This song, like a lot of the screamo songs on the list, was picked because of the truly special "moments" in the song moreso than the song as a whole--a distinction which is even more apparent in the highest ranked screamo song on the countdown. Don't take that to mean that these screamo songs aren't great all the way through. It's just that screamo songs do tend to rely on dynamics and emotional peaks and valleys and builds and payoffs to carry most of their emotional weight. In the case of this song, these "moments" are not only brilliant musically but lyrically as well. In fact, as hard as it may be to believe, the lyrics may even overshadow the music in some places. When vocalist Seth Babb wails "the holes you dig are always deeper though better informed" I can't help but get goosebumps. And, of course, the song's main climax in which he shrieks "as much as it hurts, they were right when they said: 'change is the only constant'" will always take my breath away no matter how many times I hear this song.
9. The Lawrence Arms - Your Gravest Words
Easily the catchiest, most accessible song in the top 10, The Lawrence Arms get their only nod in my top 50 for a song I've probably listened to more times than almost any song I've ever heard (there might possibly be 2 or 3 that I've listened to more times...if only I'd had a last.fm count my whole life). For a pop punk song, you can't do any better than this. One of the most beautiful chord progressions you'll ever hear begins the song and flows through all the choruses like sheets of rain washing down on your face. Now, for those not familiar with The Lawrence Arms, their music is unique in that guitarist Chris McCullough writes about half of the songs while bassist Brendan Kelly writes the other half. Much like The Beatles did, Chris and Brendan each sing lead vocals on their own respective songs, so their albums are split between "Chris songs"--they tend to be a little on the softer, prettier side--and "Brendan songs"--falling on the harder, more punk rock side of things--which make for an interesting experience. This is probably the perfect embodiment of a "Chris song." Beautiful, powerful, catchy as all hell and dripping with his uniquely low-pitch, smooth, melodic voice (as opposed to Brendan's gritty punk voice). When he croons "I am a satellite, never getting signals right. You are a constellation. I can barely make you out tonight. The city lights are burning too bright." it will melt your heart, I can almost guarantee it.
8. Envy - A Far-Off Reason and Yaphet Kotto/This Machine Kills/Envy - A Collaboration Song
These two songs appear on the greatest split record I've ever heard in my life. For those not "in the know", a split record is a record that features songs by more than one band (usually two bands, three in this case) that is generally a collaborative effort between the two bands, at least to some extent. Some bands cover one or two of each other's songs when they do a split together (as is the case with the Alkaline Trio/Hot Water Music split). I used to own a split 10" by Envy (who are from Japan) and a band called Iscariote who are Italian and they did a cool thing where each did one song in the other band's language with lyrics written by the other band's lyricist. This split is unique in that it features three bands (there are certainly other splits between three or more bands but most features just two) and, moreso, because the three bands collaborated on the final song on the record. This split stands as the best split I've ever heard for several reasons: 1. the three Yaphet Kotto songs on this split are, in my opinion, the best songs they ever wrote, 2. the way this split is organized, with Yaphet Kotto's powerful but more up-tempo songs leading off, This Machine Kills's solid, chaotic, but ultimately least exceptional songs in the middle, with Envy's masterfully powerful contribution and the subsequent brilliance of the collaborative track bookending the record perfectly...the organization reminded me a lot of the way you're taught to write five-paragraph essays in middle school and high school: second best argument first, third best argument second, best argument first, 3. Envy's contribution itself...incredible, and 4. A Collaboration Song. I absolutely, positively had to list both "A Far-Off Reason" as well as "A Collaboration Song" simply because they are two of the greatest songs of this decade respectively. "A Far-Off Reason" is really the song that made me stand up and take notice when listening to the record. I had enjoyed the contributions of Yaphet Kotto and This Machine Kills albeit a bit passively. However, when I first heard the intensely moving chord progression at the heart of this song, my jaw dropped and my eyes started getting misty. Then there's a moment where the music drops out for an extended period of time and all you hear is screaming off in the distance. I don't want to ruin the surprise but pay close attention during this part. When I heard it, I stopped what I was doing and was pretty much frozen in the same position for the rest of the song. "A Collaboration Song?" I can't even describe it. You have to hear it for yourself. It's a religious experience.
7. City of Caterpillar - ...And You're Wondering How a Top Floor Could Replace Heaven
This song is the true embodiment of the statement I made in my Funeral Diner blurb in reference to "moments." This song features some of the best "moments" in any song I've ever heard in my life--and they happen almost one on top of the other. I must warn you not to be deterred by the raucous, somewhat chaotic beginning of the song. The raging tide of the song soon settles some of the most beautiful atmospheric passages ever put to tape. I can sit here and try to describe what these brilliant moments sound like (all the stars falling to earth is one image that comes to mind) but I could never do them justice. All the velvety layers and swirling textures surround your head and immerse you in a warm, starry experience that I highly recommend to everyone. EVERYONE.
6. Radiohead - The National Anthem
I have to say, honestly, if there were to be a national anthem for this decade or even this millenium, you'd have a hard time doing better than this. This isn't really even one of my absolute favorite Radiohead songs--it's way up there but maybe just short of a top ten--but it is a perfect microcosm of not only Radiohead's artistic and musical prowess but of the music industry as a whole: an unsettling, undeniably catchy and yet incomprehensibly chaotic cacophony that snowballs into a most beautifully decimating conclusion. It's sparse and a bit disjointed lyrically but perhaps fittingly for a song so chock full of notes that bite and scratch and clash with each other in a wonderful garbage pile of juxtaposed beauty and ugliness, musicality and amusicality. A perfect way to summarize this song is a quote I used time and time again to describe avant garde black metal band Deathspell Omega's discordant 2007 masterpiece "Fas -- Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum": Only truly great musicians could create something this amusical.
5. Converge - Heaven In Her Arms
And you thought "The National Anthem" was chaotic. I should warn you all that this is arguably the most abrasive and least accessible song on the entire list. Enter at your own risk. If you do take the plunge, you'll be holding on for dear life for the entire ride. Set partially in a 7/4 time signature that comes off more like a 7/8 with the scathing pace of the song, it features one of the most devastatingly powerful riffs you'll hear in any metal or hardcore song along with Jacob Bannon's trademark bloodcurdling screams and, of course, Ben Koller's ever-transient, ever-mindblowing drum work. A somber tone and a 4/4 time signature kicks in for an epic bridge that sees Bannon shrieking maddeningly: "forgive me for the sadness and the bringing of you down...I just needed a lover and I needed a friend...and there you were, running from forever like all the rest." However it soon becomes clear that all this was just a prelude for an epic conclusion that's as emotionally powerful as it is crushingly heavy: "three simple words bled me dry: I love you."
4. Tool - Rosetta Stoned
This is the one song on the countdown that features an intro that's fairly essential to the experience of the song, especially because the two tracks bleed together. In fact, I really like to start listening to this song with an interlude that sits one track previous to the intro for this song because it serves as a great preface for the "Lost Keys"/"Rosetta Stoned" experience. And "Rosetta Stoned" is certainly a fitting title for this song. It's really only something that obsessive Tool fans--read: most real Tool fans--are consciously aware of but this song has pieces of other Tool songs scattered all over the place. That's not to say they sampled other songs or ripped riffs straight out of old songs and pasted them into this one. However there are certainly very distinct homages to many of Tool's songs hidden within the song. Comparisons can be drawn between parts in "Rosetta Stoned" and parts in songs such as "H." and "Third Eye" that are a frequent topic of discussion on Tool message boards--I would know. In many ways this song really is kind of a "rosetta stone" for Tool's music and a very interesting microcosm of their catalog. Tool has almost become known for these sort of 10+ minute epics that rollercoaster up and down and side to side and upside down countless times and while this is no "Third Eye" it certainly earns its place on the pantheon of Tool epics as well as a spot in the top five of this countdown.
3. Between the Buried and Me - Mordecai
On sheer musicality alone, this song blows every single one on this list away and then some. The opening seconds set the perfect tone for this punishing whirlwind of blinding metal riffing and constantly transitioning tempos. The guitar work here is second to none, all at once technically masterful, totally organic, and melodiously impressive. If all the chaos and noise isn't your cup of tea, I urge you to brave the storm for a little longer because the song closes with a beautifully epic and moving passage that includes a truly great guitar solo that very much serves the song as opposed to the guitarist's ego. I dare you not to get goosebumps during the soaring melody of "from the reciting of the show...from the plip in the shevanel...from the grind that annoys...and the sarcasm they all hate"
2. Converge - Jane Doe
This is the emotional 11+ minute conclusion of the album with the same name...and a fitting conclusion it is. An album as powerful and as challenging as this deserves nothing less than a towering, spiraling, desperate epic. One of the greatest shows I've ever seen was a Converge show where they closed their set with this song and I have to admit that I literally wept seeing them perform this song. Such an overpowering emotional song with Jacob Bannon musing during the choruses "IIIIIIIIII waaaaaaaant ouuuuuuut." The outro is a crushingly beautiful bookend to a magnificent, majestic song. Powerful beyond belief.
AND THE GREATEST SONG OF THE DECADE IS...
1. Thrice - For Miles
I have to admit I feel a little guilty putting this at the top spot because I feel like I probably have an overwhelming bias toward this band but at the same time I just don't fucking care. This song is just achingly, impossibly beautiful. I can't even describe how much this song moves me. The beautiful piano line. Dustin Kensrue's incredibly voice. Ridiculously powerful lyrics. Spacey guitar work in the chorus. A towering bridge with a fantastic guitar riff. And an outro that will make the hairs on your neck stand up. No praise I can give this song is too high. No description I can give can capture its captivating beauty for you. You just have to go buy yourself a copy of "Vheissu" and wait patiently for track 5 so you can experience it for yourself.
Well, that's it...the countdown comes to its dramatic conclusion. I hope it was as fun for you--all two of you reading this--as it was for me.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Top 50 Songs of the 2000s (20-11)
I know, I know, I've been slacking on this...but look on the bright side, we're now into the top 20. I personally am pretty excited because we're starting to get into some songs that I'm really gonna have a hard time not gushing like a fanboy about. Just looking over the top 10 right now, I can't wait to blather on and on and bore everyone to death about these 10 songs...they really are some of my favorite songs of all time...anyway, on with the show...
20. Mono - Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
I'm convinced that this song is the audio incarnation of falling in love. It really does sound like a song from a movie soundtrack that would be played over a romantic, exhilarating new year's eve scene where two anxious, smitten lovers play out an out-of-this-world first kiss as brilliant fireworks explode over their heads. The great thing is that you can pinpoint exactly where the kiss happens and the fireworks explode at the overwhelming climax of the song. Listening to this song after smoking a little herb and hearing that burst-and-bloom climax explode all around you is the closest thing to a fireworks display literally going off inside your head. It's not particularly complex for the 8 minutes it takes to play out but that's really part of the beauty of it...it's simple but breathtakingly majestic.
19. Baroness - A Horse Called Golgotha
I had to go back and amend my list to allow for this song because I am officially 100% sure that this is the best song Baroness has ever written. It features a majestic intro that serves as a perfect preface and then it launches headfirst into the epic guitar harmonies that line the entire song. The verse features a nice transition into some almost Torche-esque hook-driven heavy psychedelic pop which transitions back into an extraordinarily powerful chorus. I absolutely can't get enough of the guitar solo on this song and the scathing tone with which it drips. There's another solo like this in the song "Jake Leg" but it's nowhere near the brilliance of this solo...one of the best solos I've heard in quite a long time to be honest. And then what puts it over the top is the way it comes crashing to a close with a soaring instrumental outro that will send chills down your spine.
18. System of a Down - Question!
By a long margin, this is the most challenging, creative, and perhaps the best-crafted song in System of a Down's catalog. The haunting picked acoustic intro gives way to a sick riff in 5/4 time which then gives way to a highly complex 9/8 time verse that I had to listen to about 10 times before I could really figure out what time signature it was in, especially the way it's phrased. It also features one of the signature epic choruses of the "Mesmerize/Hypnotize" double album with their best soaring harmonies since the closing moments of "Chop Suey!" It's so rare nowadays to see a band that can challenge listeners with truly unique music that features things like odd time signatures or complex song structures and still garner massive popularity along the way. System of a Down is one of those bands. I can really only think of maybe two other examples of such bands--each is featured twice in the top 15 of this countdown.
17. Mare - They Sent You
I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone that this is probably the most esoteric selection on my list. It is certainly my opinion that Mare is by far the best band to ever record only five original songs and go almost completely unnoticed, even in the underground. I was lucky enough to see this band live--ironically we got there late and missed the first song they played, which was this song, a fact that haunts me to this very day--and they played to a room that would have held about 50 people at capacity and probably held about 20 that night. I guess it's not difficult to imagine this band not being for everyone. Their music is extremely challenging and complex, similar in many ways to the music of Baroness in that they are able to so seamlessly combine so many different elements and push genre boundaries. However, their approach is far more avant garde than that of Baroness, opting for towering, unsettling atmospheres and brooding, restrained rhythms, often not staying on a beat for long if there even is a beat. This song is a mindfuck from the very beginning, leading off with some very eerie programming and singing before nosediving into massive stoner rock riffs with beautifully complex guitar chords that are about as far from power chords as you can get and still be ridiculously heavy--this guitar work has actually been a major influence on my playing and my songwriting as a whole. The most compelling moment of this song comes toward the end as the music abruptly pauses for a very ominous guitar chord that almost sounds like an alarm being sounded, a chord which is then coupled with some distortion and some huge, sluggish stoner riffing to create a truly ominous atmosphere--an atmosphere abandoned as abruptly as it is ushered in as it quickly gives way to a beautiful guitar outro that almost speaks to you, saying: "everything is ok now."
16. At the Drive-In - Invalid Litter Dept.
A far cry from the chaotic assault of the rest of the "Relationship of Command" album, this song showcases the lighter side of At the Drive-In with a beautifully unsettling guitar line as its centerpiece. The verses are noticeably relaxed compared to much of this band's work but they're juxtaposed very nicely with rapid-fire incendiary spoken word vocals to create an interesting urgency among the restraint of the instrumentation. The vocal ramblings are also interspliced with the catchy and haunting melody of "dancing on the corpses ashes." The choruses are catchy and a bit more rowdy but ultimately play into the relaxed atmosphere of the song perfectly. What really puts this song over the top is what happens after the music abruptly stops toward the end of the song for vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala to whisper "dancing on the corpses ashes...dancing on the corpses ashes." You'll see...
15. Dredg - Triangle
Another track that is very much enhanced by being preceded by an interlude that makes for a very fitting preface. Much like Baroness's "Wanderlust", however, it stands up spectacularly on its own. What really made me pick this over other Dredg songs--and there are certainly a number of them I could have picked--is the fact that this song is almost like 2-3 songs put together, abruptly but seamlessly changing gears twice in the first two minutes and even a couple times after that to some degree. After those two minutes the song is truly allowed to settle in and even without all the abrupt pacing changes stands as one of Dredg's greatest achievements in songwriting and melody as well as lyrics. Some brilliantly poignant moments in this song include singer Gavin Hayes soaring through one of my favorite lyrics ever--"and it's not impossible for flowers to bloom and grow next to graves when babies are born in the same buildings where people go to pass away"--as the instruments trail out momentarily behind him and a droning chant of "we live like penguins in the desert...why can't we live like tribes?" in the song's bridge.
14. Radiohead - Idioteque
Leave it to Radiohead to write a discoteque song that is all at once the best discoteque song you'll ever hear and a big "fuck you" to discoteque in general. This is probably the most well-known example of Radiohead's trademark knack for marrying aggressive yet organic sounding techno beats with sometimes-eerie, sometimes-serene, always-beautiful melodies. I can still remember seeing this song performed on Saturday Night Live and Thom Yorke flailing his head around screaming "ice age coming! ice age coming!" An interesting aspect of this song is how much it has been connected with 9/11, with one fan even making a very interesting and relevant music video for the song using some interesting footage and photography. In fact, if you want to go even deeper, there's a whole passage in Chuck Klosterman's book "Killing Yourself to Live" about how he Radiohead might have accidentally predicted the events of 9/11 with their "Kid A" album--not literally, of course, but there are definitely some very interesting parallels.
13. Bright Eyes - Nothing Gets Crossed Out
As is often the case in the music of Conor Oberst, this song is carried predominantly by the power of his lyrics. A solemn, self-reflective, nostalgia-inducing merry-go-round ride of achingly powerful lines like "I know I should be brave but I'm just too afraid of all this change", opening lines "well the future's got me worried such awful thoughts, my head's a carousel of pictures, the spinning never stops", and boyhood laments of how he "fell under the weight of a schoolboy crush, started carrying her books and doing lots of drugs." But as is also often the case with Conor's work, the lyrics are nestled on a solid foundation of beautifully crafted music, including a gorgeous, starkly sweet bridge that gives way to a powerful conclusion as Oberst wails: "So when I'm lost in a crowd, I hope that you'll pick me out. Oh, how I long to be found. The grass grew high. I laid down. So now I wait for a hand to lift me up, help me stand. I have been laying so low. Don't wanna lay here no more."
12. Envy - Chain Wondering Deeply
There's really only one word that inevitably comes to mind when one talks about Envy, there's no avoiding it, it's the only one that lives up to what this band is capable of: EPIC. With songs that sprawl over 6, 7, 8, even 9 minutes sometimes and echo with the majesty and ferocity of Vesuvius, it's hard to avoid using the word "epic" when describing any Envy song--and no song they've written better embodies that than this one. It's not hard to imagine what's about to be unleashed upon you when you hear the haunting opening moments of this track but even then it can take you by surprise. I know I keep using this adjective (among others) but this song is truly one where the music (and specifically the guitars) truly tower over you like skyscrapers. That is, until the harrowing bridge of the song which features a twinkly guitar line that will pluck at your very heart strings--and if I'm being overly cheesy, it's purposefully. The only problem listening to this song is that if you don't have the whole album playing then the ending is awkward since it tumbles immediately into the next track on the album. That aside, though, if you truly love powerful, epic, dramatic music, this song just might change your life.
11. Tool - Right in Two
I have to say it's really a damn good thing that Aenima was released in 1996 otherwise I might have put half that album on the list. Tool's output in this millenium has never really lived up to the sheer brilliance of that album but, to be fair, that would be nearly impossible. Their last album, "10,000 Days" came much, much closer than 2001's "Lateralus" did--I often say that "10,000 Days" is the album I expected and the album Tool was capable of when they came out with "Lateralus" even though I still adore "Lateralus." This song is one of the main reasons why. Lyrically it's definitely one of my favorite Tool songs, to the point that if I were to quote every line I love in this song, I would probably end up covering at least 75% of the song. It also features a breathtaking tabla solo by drummer Danny Carey in the interlude that I had the good fortune of witnessing live and is truly something to behold--actually the tabla solo on the record is not even close to being as amazing as the one he played live. Add in the fact that this song is somehow in 11/8 time and still feels pretty much like a straight up 3 and you absolutely have yourself one of the greatest songs of this decade.
Tune in tomorrow for the TOP TEN. I keep staring at the top ten as I write this and drooling all over myself at the prospect of discussing these songs. Since I can barely contain my excitement, I'll give you guys a little teaser: 6 of the top 10 slots are occupied by bands who have already had at least one song on the countdown, one of which appears in the top ten twice...and yet doesn't even hold the top spot. Excited? I AM!
20. Mono - Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
I'm convinced that this song is the audio incarnation of falling in love. It really does sound like a song from a movie soundtrack that would be played over a romantic, exhilarating new year's eve scene where two anxious, smitten lovers play out an out-of-this-world first kiss as brilliant fireworks explode over their heads. The great thing is that you can pinpoint exactly where the kiss happens and the fireworks explode at the overwhelming climax of the song. Listening to this song after smoking a little herb and hearing that burst-and-bloom climax explode all around you is the closest thing to a fireworks display literally going off inside your head. It's not particularly complex for the 8 minutes it takes to play out but that's really part of the beauty of it...it's simple but breathtakingly majestic.
19. Baroness - A Horse Called Golgotha
I had to go back and amend my list to allow for this song because I am officially 100% sure that this is the best song Baroness has ever written. It features a majestic intro that serves as a perfect preface and then it launches headfirst into the epic guitar harmonies that line the entire song. The verse features a nice transition into some almost Torche-esque hook-driven heavy psychedelic pop which transitions back into an extraordinarily powerful chorus. I absolutely can't get enough of the guitar solo on this song and the scathing tone with which it drips. There's another solo like this in the song "Jake Leg" but it's nowhere near the brilliance of this solo...one of the best solos I've heard in quite a long time to be honest. And then what puts it over the top is the way it comes crashing to a close with a soaring instrumental outro that will send chills down your spine.
18. System of a Down - Question!
By a long margin, this is the most challenging, creative, and perhaps the best-crafted song in System of a Down's catalog. The haunting picked acoustic intro gives way to a sick riff in 5/4 time which then gives way to a highly complex 9/8 time verse that I had to listen to about 10 times before I could really figure out what time signature it was in, especially the way it's phrased. It also features one of the signature epic choruses of the "Mesmerize/Hypnotize" double album with their best soaring harmonies since the closing moments of "Chop Suey!" It's so rare nowadays to see a band that can challenge listeners with truly unique music that features things like odd time signatures or complex song structures and still garner massive popularity along the way. System of a Down is one of those bands. I can really only think of maybe two other examples of such bands--each is featured twice in the top 15 of this countdown.
17. Mare - They Sent You
I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone that this is probably the most esoteric selection on my list. It is certainly my opinion that Mare is by far the best band to ever record only five original songs and go almost completely unnoticed, even in the underground. I was lucky enough to see this band live--ironically we got there late and missed the first song they played, which was this song, a fact that haunts me to this very day--and they played to a room that would have held about 50 people at capacity and probably held about 20 that night. I guess it's not difficult to imagine this band not being for everyone. Their music is extremely challenging and complex, similar in many ways to the music of Baroness in that they are able to so seamlessly combine so many different elements and push genre boundaries. However, their approach is far more avant garde than that of Baroness, opting for towering, unsettling atmospheres and brooding, restrained rhythms, often not staying on a beat for long if there even is a beat. This song is a mindfuck from the very beginning, leading off with some very eerie programming and singing before nosediving into massive stoner rock riffs with beautifully complex guitar chords that are about as far from power chords as you can get and still be ridiculously heavy--this guitar work has actually been a major influence on my playing and my songwriting as a whole. The most compelling moment of this song comes toward the end as the music abruptly pauses for a very ominous guitar chord that almost sounds like an alarm being sounded, a chord which is then coupled with some distortion and some huge, sluggish stoner riffing to create a truly ominous atmosphere--an atmosphere abandoned as abruptly as it is ushered in as it quickly gives way to a beautiful guitar outro that almost speaks to you, saying: "everything is ok now."
16. At the Drive-In - Invalid Litter Dept.
A far cry from the chaotic assault of the rest of the "Relationship of Command" album, this song showcases the lighter side of At the Drive-In with a beautifully unsettling guitar line as its centerpiece. The verses are noticeably relaxed compared to much of this band's work but they're juxtaposed very nicely with rapid-fire incendiary spoken word vocals to create an interesting urgency among the restraint of the instrumentation. The vocal ramblings are also interspliced with the catchy and haunting melody of "dancing on the corpses ashes." The choruses are catchy and a bit more rowdy but ultimately play into the relaxed atmosphere of the song perfectly. What really puts this song over the top is what happens after the music abruptly stops toward the end of the song for vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala to whisper "dancing on the corpses ashes...dancing on the corpses ashes." You'll see...
15. Dredg - Triangle
Another track that is very much enhanced by being preceded by an interlude that makes for a very fitting preface. Much like Baroness's "Wanderlust", however, it stands up spectacularly on its own. What really made me pick this over other Dredg songs--and there are certainly a number of them I could have picked--is the fact that this song is almost like 2-3 songs put together, abruptly but seamlessly changing gears twice in the first two minutes and even a couple times after that to some degree. After those two minutes the song is truly allowed to settle in and even without all the abrupt pacing changes stands as one of Dredg's greatest achievements in songwriting and melody as well as lyrics. Some brilliantly poignant moments in this song include singer Gavin Hayes soaring through one of my favorite lyrics ever--"and it's not impossible for flowers to bloom and grow next to graves when babies are born in the same buildings where people go to pass away"--as the instruments trail out momentarily behind him and a droning chant of "we live like penguins in the desert...why can't we live like tribes?" in the song's bridge.
14. Radiohead - Idioteque
Leave it to Radiohead to write a discoteque song that is all at once the best discoteque song you'll ever hear and a big "fuck you" to discoteque in general. This is probably the most well-known example of Radiohead's trademark knack for marrying aggressive yet organic sounding techno beats with sometimes-eerie, sometimes-serene, always-beautiful melodies. I can still remember seeing this song performed on Saturday Night Live and Thom Yorke flailing his head around screaming "ice age coming! ice age coming!" An interesting aspect of this song is how much it has been connected with 9/11, with one fan even making a very interesting and relevant music video for the song using some interesting footage and photography. In fact, if you want to go even deeper, there's a whole passage in Chuck Klosterman's book "Killing Yourself to Live" about how he Radiohead might have accidentally predicted the events of 9/11 with their "Kid A" album--not literally, of course, but there are definitely some very interesting parallels.
13. Bright Eyes - Nothing Gets Crossed Out
As is often the case in the music of Conor Oberst, this song is carried predominantly by the power of his lyrics. A solemn, self-reflective, nostalgia-inducing merry-go-round ride of achingly powerful lines like "I know I should be brave but I'm just too afraid of all this change", opening lines "well the future's got me worried such awful thoughts, my head's a carousel of pictures, the spinning never stops", and boyhood laments of how he "fell under the weight of a schoolboy crush, started carrying her books and doing lots of drugs." But as is also often the case with Conor's work, the lyrics are nestled on a solid foundation of beautifully crafted music, including a gorgeous, starkly sweet bridge that gives way to a powerful conclusion as Oberst wails: "So when I'm lost in a crowd, I hope that you'll pick me out. Oh, how I long to be found. The grass grew high. I laid down. So now I wait for a hand to lift me up, help me stand. I have been laying so low. Don't wanna lay here no more."
12. Envy - Chain Wondering Deeply
There's really only one word that inevitably comes to mind when one talks about Envy, there's no avoiding it, it's the only one that lives up to what this band is capable of: EPIC. With songs that sprawl over 6, 7, 8, even 9 minutes sometimes and echo with the majesty and ferocity of Vesuvius, it's hard to avoid using the word "epic" when describing any Envy song--and no song they've written better embodies that than this one. It's not hard to imagine what's about to be unleashed upon you when you hear the haunting opening moments of this track but even then it can take you by surprise. I know I keep using this adjective (among others) but this song is truly one where the music (and specifically the guitars) truly tower over you like skyscrapers. That is, until the harrowing bridge of the song which features a twinkly guitar line that will pluck at your very heart strings--and if I'm being overly cheesy, it's purposefully. The only problem listening to this song is that if you don't have the whole album playing then the ending is awkward since it tumbles immediately into the next track on the album. That aside, though, if you truly love powerful, epic, dramatic music, this song just might change your life.
11. Tool - Right in Two
I have to say it's really a damn good thing that Aenima was released in 1996 otherwise I might have put half that album on the list. Tool's output in this millenium has never really lived up to the sheer brilliance of that album but, to be fair, that would be nearly impossible. Their last album, "10,000 Days" came much, much closer than 2001's "Lateralus" did--I often say that "10,000 Days" is the album I expected and the album Tool was capable of when they came out with "Lateralus" even though I still adore "Lateralus." This song is one of the main reasons why. Lyrically it's definitely one of my favorite Tool songs, to the point that if I were to quote every line I love in this song, I would probably end up covering at least 75% of the song. It also features a breathtaking tabla solo by drummer Danny Carey in the interlude that I had the good fortune of witnessing live and is truly something to behold--actually the tabla solo on the record is not even close to being as amazing as the one he played live. Add in the fact that this song is somehow in 11/8 time and still feels pretty much like a straight up 3 and you absolutely have yourself one of the greatest songs of this decade.
Tune in tomorrow for the TOP TEN. I keep staring at the top ten as I write this and drooling all over myself at the prospect of discussing these songs. Since I can barely contain my excitement, I'll give you guys a little teaser: 6 of the top 10 slots are occupied by bands who have already had at least one song on the countdown, one of which appears in the top ten twice...and yet doesn't even hold the top spot. Excited? I AM!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Top 50 Songs of the 2000s (just missed the cut)
I thought it only fair to do a little side feature about the songs that would have been on the list if I only had the energy to do a top 100 instead of a top 50...but uh...fuck that...so here's a look at the tracks that just missed the cut:
Sigur Ros – Untitled Track 1
Converge – You Fail Me
Converge - Plagues
Queens of the Stone Age – First It Giveth
Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows
Queens of the Stone Age – Feel Good Hit of the Summer
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Pt. 1)
dredg – Of the Room
Mastodon – Sleeping Giant
Mastodon – March of the Fire Ants
Streetlight Manifesto – A Better Place, A Better Time
Deftones – Passenger
Deftones – Change (In the House of Flies)
The Mountain Goats – No Children
System of a Down – Toxicity
System of a Down – Lost In Hollywood
System of a Down – Soldierside
The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site
The Weakerthans – Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call
The Weakerthans – Presience of Dawn
Ben Folds – Still Fighting It
Propagandhi - Mate Ka Moris Ukun Rasik An
Propagandhi – Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes
Propagandhi – Purina Hall of Fame
Thrice – Hold Fast Hope
Deathspell Omega – Bread of Bitterness
Funeral Mist – Circle of Eyes
A Perfect Circle - Judith
Circle Takes the Square – Interview at the Ruins
The Hold Steady – First Night
Talib Kweli – Get By
Majority Rule – The Sin in Grey
Aphex Twin – Vordhosbn
The Bouncing Souls – Night Train
The Bouncing Souls – Anchors Aweigh
Bright Eyes – Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh
Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre
Dr. Dre – Still D.R.E.
Eminem – Kill You
Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia
Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends
John Mayer – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
John Mayer – The Hurt
Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Slow Cheetah
Thursday – Paris In Flames
Thursday – Standing On the Edge of Summer
Thursday – How Long Is the Night?
Thursday – War All the Time
Sigur Ros – Untitled Track 1
Converge – You Fail Me
Converge - Plagues
Queens of the Stone Age – First It Giveth
Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows
Queens of the Stone Age – Feel Good Hit of the Summer
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Pt. 1)
dredg – Of the Room
Mastodon – Sleeping Giant
Mastodon – March of the Fire Ants
Streetlight Manifesto – A Better Place, A Better Time
Deftones – Passenger
Deftones – Change (In the House of Flies)
The Mountain Goats – No Children
System of a Down – Toxicity
System of a Down – Lost In Hollywood
System of a Down – Soldierside
The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site
The Weakerthans – Psalm for the Elks Lodge Last Call
The Weakerthans – Presience of Dawn
Ben Folds – Still Fighting It
Propagandhi - Mate Ka Moris Ukun Rasik An
Propagandhi – Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes
Propagandhi – Purina Hall of Fame
Thrice – Hold Fast Hope
Deathspell Omega – Bread of Bitterness
Funeral Mist – Circle of Eyes
A Perfect Circle - Judith
Circle Takes the Square – Interview at the Ruins
The Hold Steady – First Night
Talib Kweli – Get By
Majority Rule – The Sin in Grey
Aphex Twin – Vordhosbn
The Bouncing Souls – Night Train
The Bouncing Souls – Anchors Aweigh
Bright Eyes – Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh
Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre
Dr. Dre – Still D.R.E.
Eminem – Kill You
Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia
Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends
John Mayer – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
John Mayer – The Hurt
Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Slow Cheetah
Thursday – Paris In Flames
Thursday – Standing On the Edge of Summer
Thursday – How Long Is the Night?
Thursday – War All the Time
Top 50 Songs of the 2000s (30-21)
Sorry for missing a day or two but now is the time to start getting excited cuz we're starting to get into some songs I really, REALLY like a lot. Once we start getting into the top 20 I'm gonna start really gushing uncontrollably about some of these songs. Well let's get started already...
30. Mono - 16.12
A few years ago a friend of mine told me there was this band from Japan who were kind of in the same style as Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai and that I should check out their (at the time) newest album entitled--brace yourself--"Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined." I'm always up for some good epic ambient post-rock type stuff so I checked out the album. This is the first song on that album. It's a long journey, clocking in at over 10 minutes, but when the 10 minutes are over it will seem all too soon and you'll be anxiously awaiting the rest of the album. It starts with the soothing sound of waves crashing on a shore, soon joined by some solemn violin harmonies, both of which eventually give way to the quiet first of many layers of sound that lay one on top of the other gradually as the song progresses. The driving force of the song soon becomes apparent in a perpetually ascending delay-soaked tremolo-picked guitar line climbing to towering heights before exploding into a beautiful climax which eventually trails off back into the subtle tones of the intro of the song.
29. The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Another fantastic opening track of an album that really impressed me when I heard it. The Arcade Fire has a really great sense for making music that is at once memorable, accessible, unique, compelling, dramatic, and interesting, something exceedingly hard to do. This song is such a joyful explosion from the very first note, it's no wonder they made it track 1 on their breakthrough "Funeral" album. At times this band actually tends to remind me a little bit of Jimmy Eat World with their use of sweet, twinkly indie rock moments, however Win Butler's wild wailing vocals lend the music a captivating, almost At-the-Drive-In-esque exuberance and does so much to make their sound truly their own.
28. The Weakerthans - Aside
If you've ever seen the movie Wedding Crashers, chances are you've heard this song without even knowing it--it's the song that plays over the closing credits. I can remember walking out of the theater after seeing the movie and being taken by complete surprise when I heard John K. Sampson's unmistakable voice over the end credits of a "Frat Pack" movie. Sampson is undoubtedly one of the least well-known great songwriters of this generation and you don't have to listen to very many Weakerthans songs to figure out why. His undeniable wit and charm shine through not only in his brilliant lyrics but in the songs themselves. This is probably one of the more simple but also more powerful songs in The Weakerthans' catalog and is, of course, chock full of amazing lines including a fantastic bridge--"Circumnavigate this body of wonder and uncertainty armed with every precious failure; an amateur cartography. I breathe in deep before I spread those maps out on my bedroom floor"--and an unforgettable chorus--"and I'm leaning on this broken fence between past and present tense...and I'm losing all those stupid games that I swore I'd never play...but it almost feels OK."
27. Outkast – B.O.B.
In the Pitchfork Media feature I cited as my inspiration for this little article of mine, this song was given the honor of being the #1 song of the decade. The reasoning is sound enough, specifically when you factor in popularity and social relevance more heavily. As Pitchfork says, "'B.O.B.' is not just the song of the decade--it is the decade" going on to note that with Bombs Over Baghdad, Outkast "effectively craft[ed] a fast-forwarded highlight-reel prophecy of what the next 10 years held in store." It's hard to argue considering that the very title of the song was eerily prophetic but the power of this song goes so far beyond its title and subject matter. It's such a glorious onslaught of danceable but incendiary bombast that its universal appeal should be no surprise and the soulful choir makes this song almost a religious experience.
26. Envy - Color of Fetters
The first (and certainly not the last) Envy song on my countdown. Envy is an epic screamo band from Japan and when I say epic I mean...EPIC. The great thing about this song is that it doesn't waste any time, it grabs you right from the get-go and doesn't let go. Characteristically of Envy, this 7 minute ride is wrought with dynamic contrast and powerful moments from the swirling opening to the desolate middle refrain and so, so much more. I can't do much to describe the roller coaster ride you embark on when listening to an Envy song, you're just going to have to take the ride for yourself.
25. Tool - The Grudge
As much as I love everything Tool has ever done, I've always felt like Tool was capable of much more with the "Lateralus" album. It's still an incredible record but I felt like it was a bit weighted down by its own self-conscious arty-ness and that a few of the tracks were weak by Tool standards ("Schism", "Parabol"/"Parabola", "Ticks and Leeches"). Still it did offer some typically brilliant moments that Tool can always be counted on for, such as "The Patient", the epic prog-driven suite of "Disposition"/"Reflection"/"Triad", and this immensely powerful opening track. Set in the challenging time signature of 5/4 with a sort of 3ish feel to it, this song features some of the best songwriting Tool is capable of such as the fleeting pounding riff with the bass drum doubling in speed under it every measure and then giving way to a beautifully desolate bass line which builds (with the help of the drums) and carries over into the verse. It also features one of the great ending climaxes of any song in Tool's catalog and that's a major compliment because that's really Tool's modus operandi.
24. Baroness - Rays On Pinion
I vividly remember the first time I heard Baroness's "Red Album"--of which this is the opening track. I smoked a huge bowl and put on this record as I packed another one. When those opening guitar tones hit my stoned ears it was like biting into a filet mignon you can cut with a butter knife...and it was only going to get better. The lead-off track of "Red Album" is a much more raucous one than "Wailing Wintry Wind", much heavier on the heavy stoner riffage and classic rock guitar noodling with the exception of the intro, however there is no shortage of Baroness's impeccable sense of melody.
23. Converge - Thaw
This may be one of the hardest songs for most people reading this to get into for many of the same reasons I named it one of my top 50. This song is just one serious mindfuck--sonically it just sounds to me like a person in the depths of a serious mental breakdown. And you'll know when they snap as this is one of the most powerful moments on the entire "Jane Doe" album--very lofty praise, well deserved. If you're one of the few who is actually interested in checking out the songs I'm talking about on this list, definitely keep a very open mind when going into this one (and also make sure to listen to it all the way to the end or you might miss the best part).
22. Bright Eyes - From a Balance Beam
Another one of the Bright Eyes catalog that is overflowing with potent imagery and powerful lyrical lines. This song became something of a rallying cry for me personally in the months leading up to last year's election and with lines like "so I wait for the day when I hear the key as it turns in the lock and the guard will say to me 'oh, my patient prisoner you've waited for this day and finally you are free...you are free...you are freezing." One of the more powerful Bright Eyes songs in Oberst's catalog with some scathing but beautiful songwriting and absolutely incredible lyrics.
21. Thrice - Daedalus
On Thrice's "The Artist in the Ambulance" album they had a song called "The Melting Point of Wax" that was written from the point of view of Icarus. Icarus was the son of Daedalus and they were both imprisoned by the Minotaur in the Labyrinth so Daedalus constructed wings for the two of them to escape using wax, string, and feathers from nearby birds. Where "The Melting Point of Wax" is full of the youthful exuberance of Icarus wanting to "touch the sun" flying on "secondhand wings", "Daedalus" has a mournful tone of a loving father worrying for his son, a very potent metaphor for fatherhood. Singer Dustin Kensrue soars on a desperate bridge: "Oh Gods, why is this happening to me? All I wanted was a new life, for my son to grow up free. Now you took the only thing that meant anything to me. I will never fly again. I'll hang up my wings." When I say this is one of the most powerful and one of the best songs Thrice has ever written, you should know I'm not fucking around here.
30. Mono - 16.12
A few years ago a friend of mine told me there was this band from Japan who were kind of in the same style as Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai and that I should check out their (at the time) newest album entitled--brace yourself--"Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined." I'm always up for some good epic ambient post-rock type stuff so I checked out the album. This is the first song on that album. It's a long journey, clocking in at over 10 minutes, but when the 10 minutes are over it will seem all too soon and you'll be anxiously awaiting the rest of the album. It starts with the soothing sound of waves crashing on a shore, soon joined by some solemn violin harmonies, both of which eventually give way to the quiet first of many layers of sound that lay one on top of the other gradually as the song progresses. The driving force of the song soon becomes apparent in a perpetually ascending delay-soaked tremolo-picked guitar line climbing to towering heights before exploding into a beautiful climax which eventually trails off back into the subtle tones of the intro of the song.
29. The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Another fantastic opening track of an album that really impressed me when I heard it. The Arcade Fire has a really great sense for making music that is at once memorable, accessible, unique, compelling, dramatic, and interesting, something exceedingly hard to do. This song is such a joyful explosion from the very first note, it's no wonder they made it track 1 on their breakthrough "Funeral" album. At times this band actually tends to remind me a little bit of Jimmy Eat World with their use of sweet, twinkly indie rock moments, however Win Butler's wild wailing vocals lend the music a captivating, almost At-the-Drive-In-esque exuberance and does so much to make their sound truly their own.
28. The Weakerthans - Aside
If you've ever seen the movie Wedding Crashers, chances are you've heard this song without even knowing it--it's the song that plays over the closing credits. I can remember walking out of the theater after seeing the movie and being taken by complete surprise when I heard John K. Sampson's unmistakable voice over the end credits of a "Frat Pack" movie. Sampson is undoubtedly one of the least well-known great songwriters of this generation and you don't have to listen to very many Weakerthans songs to figure out why. His undeniable wit and charm shine through not only in his brilliant lyrics but in the songs themselves. This is probably one of the more simple but also more powerful songs in The Weakerthans' catalog and is, of course, chock full of amazing lines including a fantastic bridge--"Circumnavigate this body of wonder and uncertainty armed with every precious failure; an amateur cartography. I breathe in deep before I spread those maps out on my bedroom floor"--and an unforgettable chorus--"and I'm leaning on this broken fence between past and present tense...and I'm losing all those stupid games that I swore I'd never play...but it almost feels OK."
27. Outkast – B.O.B.
In the Pitchfork Media feature I cited as my inspiration for this little article of mine, this song was given the honor of being the #1 song of the decade. The reasoning is sound enough, specifically when you factor in popularity and social relevance more heavily. As Pitchfork says, "'B.O.B.' is not just the song of the decade--it is the decade" going on to note that with Bombs Over Baghdad, Outkast "effectively craft[ed] a fast-forwarded highlight-reel prophecy of what the next 10 years held in store." It's hard to argue considering that the very title of the song was eerily prophetic but the power of this song goes so far beyond its title and subject matter. It's such a glorious onslaught of danceable but incendiary bombast that its universal appeal should be no surprise and the soulful choir makes this song almost a religious experience.
26. Envy - Color of Fetters
The first (and certainly not the last) Envy song on my countdown. Envy is an epic screamo band from Japan and when I say epic I mean...EPIC. The great thing about this song is that it doesn't waste any time, it grabs you right from the get-go and doesn't let go. Characteristically of Envy, this 7 minute ride is wrought with dynamic contrast and powerful moments from the swirling opening to the desolate middle refrain and so, so much more. I can't do much to describe the roller coaster ride you embark on when listening to an Envy song, you're just going to have to take the ride for yourself.
25. Tool - The Grudge
As much as I love everything Tool has ever done, I've always felt like Tool was capable of much more with the "Lateralus" album. It's still an incredible record but I felt like it was a bit weighted down by its own self-conscious arty-ness and that a few of the tracks were weak by Tool standards ("Schism", "Parabol"/"Parabola", "Ticks and Leeches"). Still it did offer some typically brilliant moments that Tool can always be counted on for, such as "The Patient", the epic prog-driven suite of "Disposition"/"Reflection"/"Triad", and this immensely powerful opening track. Set in the challenging time signature of 5/4 with a sort of 3ish feel to it, this song features some of the best songwriting Tool is capable of such as the fleeting pounding riff with the bass drum doubling in speed under it every measure and then giving way to a beautifully desolate bass line which builds (with the help of the drums) and carries over into the verse. It also features one of the great ending climaxes of any song in Tool's catalog and that's a major compliment because that's really Tool's modus operandi.
24. Baroness - Rays On Pinion
I vividly remember the first time I heard Baroness's "Red Album"--of which this is the opening track. I smoked a huge bowl and put on this record as I packed another one. When those opening guitar tones hit my stoned ears it was like biting into a filet mignon you can cut with a butter knife...and it was only going to get better. The lead-off track of "Red Album" is a much more raucous one than "Wailing Wintry Wind", much heavier on the heavy stoner riffage and classic rock guitar noodling with the exception of the intro, however there is no shortage of Baroness's impeccable sense of melody.
23. Converge - Thaw
This may be one of the hardest songs for most people reading this to get into for many of the same reasons I named it one of my top 50. This song is just one serious mindfuck--sonically it just sounds to me like a person in the depths of a serious mental breakdown. And you'll know when they snap as this is one of the most powerful moments on the entire "Jane Doe" album--very lofty praise, well deserved. If you're one of the few who is actually interested in checking out the songs I'm talking about on this list, definitely keep a very open mind when going into this one (and also make sure to listen to it all the way to the end or you might miss the best part).
22. Bright Eyes - From a Balance Beam
Another one of the Bright Eyes catalog that is overflowing with potent imagery and powerful lyrical lines. This song became something of a rallying cry for me personally in the months leading up to last year's election and with lines like "so I wait for the day when I hear the key as it turns in the lock and the guard will say to me 'oh, my patient prisoner you've waited for this day and finally you are free...you are free...you are freezing." One of the more powerful Bright Eyes songs in Oberst's catalog with some scathing but beautiful songwriting and absolutely incredible lyrics.
21. Thrice - Daedalus
On Thrice's "The Artist in the Ambulance" album they had a song called "The Melting Point of Wax" that was written from the point of view of Icarus. Icarus was the son of Daedalus and they were both imprisoned by the Minotaur in the Labyrinth so Daedalus constructed wings for the two of them to escape using wax, string, and feathers from nearby birds. Where "The Melting Point of Wax" is full of the youthful exuberance of Icarus wanting to "touch the sun" flying on "secondhand wings", "Daedalus" has a mournful tone of a loving father worrying for his son, a very potent metaphor for fatherhood. Singer Dustin Kensrue soars on a desperate bridge: "Oh Gods, why is this happening to me? All I wanted was a new life, for my son to grow up free. Now you took the only thing that meant anything to me. I will never fly again. I'll hang up my wings." When I say this is one of the most powerful and one of the best songs Thrice has ever written, you should know I'm not fucking around here.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
And the Nominees Are...
I thought it would be fun if I made a list here of all the albums I'm currently considering for my customary list of the top 10 records of the year...here are (some of) the nominees for 2009 (there could certainly be new contenders arising between now and December 31st):
Thrice - Beggars (likely will be #1 barring some sort of miracle)
Converge - Axe to Fall
Baroness - Blue Album
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Amorphis - Skyforger
Kylesa - Static Tensions
Isis - Wavering Radiant
Dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Buried Inside - Spoils of Failure
Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Coalesce - OX
Thursday - Common Existence
The Mars Volta - Octahedron
Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead - The Century of Self
Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot
Wu Tang Clan - Chamber Music
Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Russian Circles - Geneva
Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky
Thrice - Beggars (likely will be #1 barring some sort of miracle)
Converge - Axe to Fall
Baroness - Blue Album
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Amorphis - Skyforger
Kylesa - Static Tensions
Isis - Wavering Radiant
Dredg - The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Buried Inside - Spoils of Failure
Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Coalesce - OX
Thursday - Common Existence
The Mars Volta - Octahedron
Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead - The Century of Self
Poison the Well - The Tropic Rot
Wu Tang Clan - Chamber Music
Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Russian Circles - Geneva
Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky
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