50 BEST DAMN ALBUMS OF '00-'09

KEXP is asking listeners to vote for their favorite albums of the 00s. So, of course I participated, but the minute I started scanning the list, and realizing that I could only choose 5, my brain just started laughing at itself! Only 5 for 10 years of great music? And even if I could magically come up with 5 records, how could I ever possibly rank those 5.

Well, as a response to the KEXP list, and as a cathartic exercise, I present to you, my top 50 albums of 2000-2009, in ranked by “blew me away” factor combined with overall staying power and top-to-bottom strength. There are many other songs, or tracks, or downloads as they say, that I love, but we are looking at entire albums here. The only rule being, only one album per artist.

I’m sure in another ten years, if I go back and rank these same albums, the list will look very different. Hell it would look different tomorrow, but this is all just in good fun, so here you go

1. The Wrens The Meadowlands - Still blows me away.

2. Sigur Ros () - Still their best, most affecting work, listening to this album is truly a gorgeous experience

3. Carissa’s Wierd I before e - I'm cheating here, in a sense, since this is a live album, but it's so darkly lovely, so full of pain and beauty, and such wonderful, simple elegant and surprising songs

4. Cold War Kids Robbers & Cowards - my favorite rock album of the decade

5. Rainer Maria Long Knives Drawn - my second favorite rock album of the decade

6. Sun Kil Moon Ghosts of a Great Highway - I never get tired of this album

7. Interpol Antics - Turn off the Bright lights almost beat out Antics, but basically they are both amazing

8. Radiohead Hail to the Thief - the most influencial band of the last 15 years.

9. Nada Surf Let Go - Fruit Fly is one of my all-time favorite songs...a great pop rock album

10. Devotchka How It Ends - suffered from being overplayed but still fantastic music

11. Modest Mouse The Moon and Antartica - the last great Mouse album

12. And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead Sources, Tags & Codes

13. Danger Doom The Mouse and the Mask

14. Mclusky Mclusky do Dallas - My love is better than your love we take more drugs than a touring Funk band, SING IT!

15. The Walkman Bows + Arrows

16. Sonic Youth Murray Street

17. Explosions in the Sky The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place

18. Mates of State Our Constant Concern

19. LCD Sound System Sound of Silver - "Someone Great" top 5 songs of the decade

20. Deltron 3030 - I nearly forgot this came out in the 00s!

21. Spoon Girls Can Tell

22. The Postal Service Give Up

23. Stars Heart

24. The Doves The Last Broadcast - probably i'd rank it higher in the list if i felt like editing this thing more

25. Bjork Vespertine -

26. The New Pornographers Electric Version

27. Mogwai Happy Songs for Happy People

28. 764-HERO Weekends of Sound - how did i not know about this band when they were actually still a band? Unsung heros of PNW rock

29. At The Drive-in Relationship of command - one armed scissor

30. Sleater-Kinney All Hands on the Bad One

31. Silver Jews Bright Flight - fucking brilliant

32. M83 Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts

33. The Dirty Three Whatever You love, You Are

34. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

35. Beck Sea Change

36. The Streets a grand don’t come for free - This is one of the most underrated hip-hop albums ever, but maybe that's because its not really a hip-hop album but something else entirely. I love it.

37. PJ Harvey Songs from the City, Songs From the Sea

38. Sufjan Stevens Illinois - Oh, Sufjan, will the hipsters ever let you back into the cool club?

39. Busdriver Roadkillovercoat - what did he just say??

40. Ghostland Observatory paparazzi Lightening - beloved by many but now in danger of being forgotten about, can they ever get the energy back of their first two albums?

41. The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

42. Mark Lanegan Field Songs

43. Red House Painters Old Ramon

44. Death Cab For Cutie We Have the Facts and We are Voting Yes

45. Dan Deacon Bromst

46. Ulirch Schnauss A Strangely Isolate Place

47. Tapes ‘n Tapes The Loon

48. The Rosebuds Birds Make Good Neighbors - all their records are equally sweet and nice

49. Aloha Some Echos - probably the band you have not heard of on this list. You should.

50. TV On The Radio Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes - the first 6 songs of this album are the best thing that band has ever done

50.5 (Tie) Astronautalis Pomegranate, Shenandoah Davis We Camera, Huma We Are Here For You

Art Quickie #7 - Margie Livingston @ Kucera

When I was a young lad, recently BFA'ed and fresh on the Seattle art scene (by which I mean going to art openings, talking shit, and wondering why I wasn't getting noticed, like all young artists are supposed to do) I kept coming across Margie Livingston's work. SOIL, Greg Kucera were her main haunts, but she seemed to turn up everywhere.

To be completely honest, I never really got it, her work at that time...well I did get it, but I didn't understand really what it was that made her do these paintings of lines and shapes, seemed to be variations of variations of variations. Of course, at the time I didn't understand that Margie was painting these works from a sort installation-like structures that she assembled in her studio. Sticks, strings and the like, with a variety of light sources. Her entire body of STRUCTURE paintings was so damn painterly in process and subject and that alone should have gotten me. For I fancied myself a painter's painter. After a sort anyhow.

A few more years went by, and I started to see and understand things more, and my respect and interest grew in her work. But I always wondered, how would her work develop? How long would she keep painting those structures in her studio? Would her successes keep her repeating herself, or would she push things?

These are the kinds of questions that artists should be asking of themselves and their peers. However, the answers are not so simple. Morandi made a career out of painting the same 5 bottles for most of his life. But then again Basquiat repeated himself to no end, and was burnt out and dead by 30. Who's to say?

Any who, I'm getting off track, and this is supposed to be an Art Quickie. But all these thoughts are what went through my head when I walked into Greg Kucera the other night. Lo and behold, with this new show "Riff" Margie has taken her studio practice and rethought many aspects of what sort of art can be produced in such a setting. I don't wish to give too much away, I think that a certain delight is had in experiencing these new works in person. So go see it!

But I will say that some of the art produced is from her STRUCTURE series but these new paintings are somehow more loose and yet tighter and take the series to a more vividly robust realm. The other works in the show could be roughly described as painting deconstructions. Call them painting sculptures, sculptural paintings, paint installations...call them what you will, they are delightful and interesting to look at, which is no easy thing. Check it out.

As a bonus, Greg Kucera is also showing a selection of nice, trendy-looking works by Whiting Tennis, and some delightful, whimsical, cat vs paper bag sculptures by Edward Wicklander.

It has been a privilege to watch Margie's work develop through these years.

We Built This To Leave

Our show is up! We Built This To Leave opening reception November 6, 6-11pm. Show runs through November 29 at Vermillion gallery. Come check it out! Me, Trevor Johnson, and Sharon Arnold.

Art Quickie #6 - Karen Sargsyan

Firstly, sorry for the very gray photo. this work is much more vibrant and pretty, but my cell phone is not a good camera. Look here for better pics: Karen Sargsyan or search.


Ambach & Rice is the new hot gallery in town, if you haven't heard. I stopped by with Nicole on Saturday to check out this show Abroad Understanding, by Karen Sargsyan. Very strong show! My first impression of the work was that the figures had a very NW coast Salish and also Inuit feel to them...I thought it likely this was a local, maybe Vancouver artist...however I was off base on that.

Karen hails from Armenia, by way of the Netherlands. His figures tell the story of a usurped king. Clearly borrowing on myth and legend from several sources. Really I didn't get too into the story so much, I just enjoyed the beauty and craftsmanship. Karen is a master of cut paper, a trend in recent contemporary art that is getting more and more sophisticated. I can only imagine the challenges of trying to pack up and ship these fragile creations!

Okay, this is an art quickie, right? So i better cut it off here. However, let me add that A & R are starting off strong in Ballard (they've taken over the OKOK space) and they might be a strong start of making a case for Ballard (and Cap Hill) to become replacements for the Pioneer Square scene, as downtown continues to push galleries further and further away. This show is one of the stronger gallery shows I have seen in recent memory, it's a museum quality exhibition, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in Ballard.

ElectroPopShoeGazerIndieHipHopRock 1

Am I dying a blogger death by only updating every 3 weeks? Probably. Oh well, who cares.

I keep wanting to steer this blog towards art related subjects only, but I just don't think it will happen, and for now, I'm going to stick with my random eclectic musings on music, film, "culture" and occasionally art. Which pretty much means lots of reviews of music and film. Sorry if that bores y'all! I'll try to get stronger content on here in the future.

Speaking of stronger content, have you seen the latest City Arts Magazine? There's a nice piece in there on Sunny Day Real Estate by yours truly.

One more thing, before I get to my reviews "ElectroPopShoeGazerIndieHipHopRock" is going to be the name of all my music posts, joining Art Quickies and The Current Cinema as repeating columns.

New Built To Spill?!!! How come I didn't know this was happening until I saw the record in the store? Have I lost touch completely? Wait, don't answer that. There is No Enemy is excellent. Easily their best album since Keep It Like A Secret. Doug and the guys seem to have settled comfortable into the organic jam session song writing style that they used exclusively on the last release. This album brings more flowing, nice pretty songs with that strongly familiar BTS sound, but it's tight and strong front to back. It's a mature work from one of the most honest bands working today. 4 Molos

I have to admit that I don't really understand what Islands are all about but they have released one of the catchiest pop indie rock albums of recent memory. I had some of these songs rolling around in my noggin almost immediately after first lesson. The album, in question, is called Vapours and it is very good. It's a bit glam, almost silly, but somehow smart and sentimental too. A couple of misses on the record (like the song with the voice-effect that as Nicole says, only belongs on Daft Punk records) but even the misses are really damn catchy. Something must be in the water in Quebec because Montreal has been one of the best music scenes in the world over the last few years. 3.5 Molos

Local darlings Grand Hallway released their second album Promenade not long ago. Tomo Nakayama is one hell of a song writer. There's no getting around it. Sometimes listening to this band makes me think of a more humble Elton John with quirky orchestral elements. All indie pop sweetness. Love songs. Will bands ever tire of writing love songs? Would any one want them to stop? Likely the answer is no. 3.5 Molos

Kittens and puppies.

Godzilla has been waiting for a Sunny Day to wake up

I haven't been bloggin' much. To be honest, I'm not sure if my blog will continue to be a big part of my web presence. With facebook, flickr, and plain-old email taking up so much time, and with my occasional writing assignments for actual print (you know, like words on paper and stuff, you might remember them), this here little blog is taking a back seat. Plus, you know there's the art, the job, the lovely Nicole, the friends and the family to spend time with (not necessarily in that order).

But I will do more, I promise.

It will just be in the sputtering installments that by now you all should be used to. And if you ain't having it, then stop reading, nimrod!

Still with me? Okay, here's a few things I have encountered:

You have only till Oct 3rd to see a lazy-ass GODZILLA sleeping between, well around really, Open Satellite's giant pillars. Go East. The artists in SIMPARCH have created a delightfully snoozy monster well worth the trip. Art can still be fun and actually create child-like responses that are honest, on occasion. 3.5 Molos.

Go see Sunny Day Real Estate's reunion tour! They are bringing it like they did in 1994, except with less hair. Or maybe that is just me who has less hair. I have seen them twice in the last 2 weeks and the first show, at Tacoma's Hell's Kitchen no less, was a spine-tingling, amazing experience. Plus, it got so loud i had to wear earplugs for the next show 2 days later, in Portland. So I didn't really get to hear the Portland show, but i briefly listened to their new song, that's right, they have a new song, and it was tight. Plus, you can get Diary and LP2 on Vinyl! Sing it! SDRE Tacoma Show: 5 Molos. SDRE Portland show 4.5 Molos. Diary reissue 5 Molos. LP2 reissue 5 Molos

Grand Archives released Keep in Mind Frankenstein which follows up last year's self-titled Subpop debut with another batch of happy/sad slightly folky mellow moody indie rock songs. This one is slower, darker, and a lot less eccentric than the debut. A far more enjoyable listen overall, everything on it just feels much more considered. Although it is lacking the punchy delights of songs like Torn Blue Foam Couch and Southern Glass Home. Still, like everything that is remotely connected to Carissa's Weird, from Grand Archives, to S, to Sera Cahoone and of course even Band of Horses it is full of sad, wonderful beauty. Even the failures that this group of artists have done are still better than most of the crap out there. Keep in Mind Frankenstein is no failure, it's a mature, record from a prolific songwriter searching for a new post Carissa's Wierd world to play in. 4 Molos

Time to break out the scarves people, winter's a coming!



thank you to slog/open satellite and the flickr photographer that i borrowed these images from. feel free to steal any of my pics from the web, anytime.

Pop-gazer

Hello dear readers, it has been a while! This post is all about music, and I'll try to keep it brief. Well, no promises on that. After all, I just turned in 1500 words for an article I'm writing on Sunny Day Real Estate's reunion tour, and it was supposed to be 1200, which, frankly, isn't so bad, only 300 words over. But I'll tell you, at one point that piece was at like 2600 words...any who, I'm rambling and you all don't give a damn.

So let's get to the music reviews:

Really, what is the big deal with Yacht? Sure they have a couple really catchy songs, but they are pretty much just standard pop-indie danceable rock songs. Okay, yes the guy is from Portland...well Astoria really. And the stuff sounds like it comes out of NY, so that ins kind of interesting. Are there a lot of Yachts in Astoria? I imagine more sea-going vessels in those waters, after all the entrance to the Columbia river, with it's currents and sand bars, is one of the most dangerous waterways in the world. This is true. There's an army of tug boats and such whose job it is to guide ships through the mouth. Any who, wasn't I going to talk about music or something? Yacht, oh yeah. See Mystery Lights. Okay it's a pretty fun album. I'm equally delighted and annoyed by this music. Couple of stellar tracks though and it's pretty cool that it's from Astoria. In short, it is excellent indie dance rock pop so if that is your thing you will not be disappointed. 3 Molos

John in the Morning is probably responsible, personally for like 36% of all album sales decisions in Seattle, that is, all those people out there at Easy Street, Sonic Boom, Everyday Music sitting there thinking, "I'd like to get some new music, but I just don't know what I want..." Well they remember that song that John has been playing lately, or that album that he recommends and pick it up. Nothing wrong with that, John has great taste. The man has turned me on to so many bands that I can't hardly imagine living without...bands that I might never have heard otherwise. KEXP in general is a godsend.

So upon john's recommendation and having never listened to it at all, I picked up the new album by The Horrors Primary Colors. And it's pretty damn good. The good people at Sonic Boom had left a label on the album, that read"Moody Brit goths overcome their awkward stage of being lame and concocted an excellent follow-up that is pretty awesome actually" I can basically agree with that. The lyrics are mostly standard love songs, juvenile even, but for what is lacking in the words, the band makes up for in the driving music. I hear a lot of Film School, The Doves, and My Bloody Album amongst others in the guitar and rhythm and if you like those bands, and can imagine a sort of lighter blended version of all those influences, you will enjoy this album. Definitely a surprisingly strong release, thanks John! 4 Molos

Combine Yacht with The Horrors, add a female singer/songwriter, and make it a bit more earnest in its pop-gazing rock (I totally just invented that term-pop-gazing. like shoe-gazer but your head is up and your foot is tapping...right?) and you have Metric's Fantasies. I enjoy this album. I've never paid any attention to the band before, so I'm wondering now what I have been missing out on, as this is ther 4th album. Probably more sweet, tight sing-able rock music. Okay, good stuff, not groundbreaking, but good. 3.5 Molos

What about the new Cave Singers album? It will surely be on top of a lot of lists at the end of 2009, especially around the PNW. Yeah it's good, real good. It's a more rock version of their stellar first album. Turned up the rock, and turned down the folk, but they still do keep it folky, so all you beards out there wont be disappointed. 4 Molos

Okay folks, all for now, although let me add that the live album by K'naan Dusty Foot on the Road is very well done. It does a great job of capturing what surely must a be a stellar live performance. Having never seen him live, nor being very familiar with the music I find myself very much enjoying this performance. 3.5 Molos


Later y'all.