Music: Best of the Oughts

I don't devour music anywhere near as maniacally as I used to. While I once bought four or five CDs a month (and had to physically restrain myself from buying more), now it's no more than two or three a year. And I typically don't delve into new (to me) artists, but usually fall back on the tried and true that I'm already familiar with. Since the best-of-year lists I used to crank out annually in the eighties and nineties would be laughably thin now, the end of the first decade of the 21st Century (or Oughts, for lack of a better term) gives me the excuse to compile a best-of-decade list here. Albums are limited to those released during the decade that I've heard in their entirety which, sad to say, is probably no more than twenty in number, although no such restriction is imposed on the songs list which thus gives the songs a bit more variety than the albums side.

Top Ten Albums

1. Morphine, The Night (2000)

Though Cure For Pain hit me more viscerally - somewhere in the sternum, at high volume - it's The Night that I keep coming back to, wondering what intriguing directions the band might have taken if Mark Sandman hadn't been taken away so suddenly.

 

2. Tom Waits, Orphans (2006)
Sprawling three-disc collection that shows Waits from every angle, from bluesy swamp rock to poignant balladry to wryly comic insanity. Portions of this were previously released earlier, but there's enough new material here to not qualify as anthology.

 

3. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Hearts of Oak (2003)

Loud and raucous yet thoughtful, Leo channels everyone from Joe Strummer to Paul Weller to Graham Parker to stellar effect.

 

4. Tommy Stinson, Village Gorilla Head (2004)

The most wonderfully pleasant musical surprise of the decade. The Replacements' incorrigable enfant terrible grows up without mellowing. This is miles better than anything his old bandmate Paul Westerberg has put out solo.

  

5. Mark Sandman, Sandbox (2004)

An unusual career retrospective of Sandman's various musical endeavors, primarily Morphine and Treat Her Right but also numerous side projects. Unusual, in that it's not a greatest hits but instead unreleased or limited-release material, much of which is every bit as great as what his bands put out as regular releases.

 

6. Joel R.L. Phelps & the Downer Trio, Inland Empires (2001)

Lovely collection of covers, from Fleetwood Mac, Steve Earle, Iris Dement, the Go-Betweens and Townes Van Zandt, plus Phelps' heartbreaking tribute to his late sister, "Now You Are Found."

 

7. Elliott Smith, From a Basement on the Hill (2004)

Another musical genius who left us too soon. This album, pieced together after his sudden death, is too scattershot to be considered amongst his best work, but even substandard Elliott Smith is superior to almost anything else out there. "Fond Farewell" is great (but not the ominous premonition you might expect it to be), as is the stunning closer "A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity To Be Free" which even hints at an emergent political consciousness.

8. The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow (2003)

Their first album was ragged, their third overly slick, but this - their second - nailed it perfectly.

9. Victor Krummenacher, Bittersweet (2001)
Best known as co-founder and bass player of Camper Van Beethoven, Krummenacher's deep and thoughtful solo work bears little resemblance to the giddy mania of his old band. In a good way.

10. Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs (2008)

I actually like the band's earlier stuff much better, but this is the only DCFC album I've heard in its entirety. Plus I'm giving it props for being the album that first established Maddie as our little indie rocker.

 

Honorable Mention:

Built to Spill, Ancient Melodies of the Future (2001)

Glenn Mercer, Wheels in Motion (2007)

The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday (2005)

Yo La Tengo, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (2000)

Billy Bragg, Mr. Love & Justice (2008)

Top Ten Songs (Not Appearing On The Top Ten Albums)

1. Ted Leo, "Loyal To My Sorrowful Country" (from Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead, 2003)

Ted is pissed as hell, and he's not going to take it any more. And neither should we.

 

2. The Mountain Goats, "Palmcorder Yajna" (from We Shall All Be Healed, 2004)

Certainly the most rousing song ever written about recreational drug abuse in a seedy motel. And the headstones climbed up the hill.

3. Orchestra Morphine, "The Night" (from Live On Tour, 2000)

Yes, more Morphine material. After Sandman's death, his bandmates Dana Colley and Billy Conway were joined by many of Sandman's friends from the Boston music scene to form a big band that performed Morphine songs. This version of the already-great "The Night" is a revelation, turning the moodiness of the original into a rousing New Orleans jazz funeral, and is as fitting a tribute to Sandman as I can think of.

 

4. Okkervil River, "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks" (from Down the River of Golden Dreams, 2003)

A human monster begs listeners to remember that he is indeed human, and maybe not that different from everyone else. I wish more Okkervil River sounded like this, instead of reminding me way too much of Counting Crows.

5. American Music Club, "Patriot's Heart" (from Love Songs for Patriots, 2004)

Slow, grinding, filthy yet sensual. Mark Eitzel squeezes out every drop of empathy within him and pours it into this song.

  

6. Ben Folds, "The Luckiest" (from Rockin' the Suburbs, 2001)
The message of this charmer is something I remind myself every day. When Folds sticks to emotional, heartfelt songs like this and eschews the smartassery, he's a brilliant artist. Unfortunately, he quite enjoys smartassery.

7. Billy Bragg, "Take Down the Union Jack" (from England, Half English, 2002)

One of our most thoughtful public commentators rings down the curtain on England's role of prominence in world affairs.

8. Yo La Tengo, "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind" (from I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, 2006)
Droning, guitar-god rock at its finest. If you prefer the less eclectic, 1992-vintage Yo La Tengo, check this one out.
  

9. The Decemberists, "The Engine Driver" (from Picaresque, 2005)

Melodic and lyrically significant song, one which even inspired me to begin writing a novella (since abandoned) of the same name. Thanks anyway, Colin.

10. Chin Up Chin Up, "Virginia Don't Drown" (from We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, 2004)

Ah, what could have been. Sigh.
 

Honorable Mention:

Lou Reed, "Caroline Says" (from Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse, 2008)

Teenage Fanclub, "It's All in My Mind" (from Man-Made, 2005)

The Walkmen, "The Rat" (from Bows + Arrows, 2004)

The Clean, "E Motel" (from Getaway, 2001)

Tom Waits, "Alice" (from Alice, 2002)

Reissue

Big Dipper, Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology

I'm still puzzled how I could possibly have missed out so completely on Big Dipper the first time around. Not to mention the rest of the music-loving public. Fun, energetic music full of big hooks and memorable choruses. In a fairer world this band would have been as big as the Pixies.

Inspired Album Title

Radiohead, Hail to the Thief

For no other reason than the fact that the 2001-08 span regrettably made the decade one which it will take decades to recover from.