FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE DECADE

Ten years into a new millennium and we already have what this new generation would call its classics. Yet, with the Internet, iPods, an endless list of indie bands, and the ability to listen to world music like never before, the term classic itself is something that is proving to be more and more culturally, generationally, and tastefully relative. Of course, this doesn’t mean that there are no longer any stone-cold, bona-fide classics, it just means that deciphering them is harder than ever and thanks to this tool we call the Internet, even shmucks like me can have a voice as to what is and isn’t a classic. With this in mind, I have spent some time thinking and listening to these albums that have had a certain impact on me at some time in my life and although they may not be “the greatest”, they certainly are my favorite and I can’t help but think that the spirit of the two are somehow connected. And to prevent changing my list again I present to you my list of my favorite albums of the decade:

1. Interpol-Turn on the Bright Lights

When an album combines so many elements about the struggle of living in the world, it is hard not to listen. Released in 2002, Turn on the Bright Lights captures the themes of loneliness, pain, and heartbreak with shades of Joy Division all in the backdrop of a New York that was still reeling from the biggest catastrophes it had ever seen. Recorded just a month after 9/11, the new York band went to the studio and churned out a classic in Turn on the Bright Lights. While the album can be seen in its historic contexts, the real aspects are ones of inner struggles.

Compliating his personal anguish, singer Paul Banks expresses the many voids life can have as he cries out to the world. At times, he seems to be self-destructive “I’ll stand by all this drinking if it helps me through these days” yet still he has enough faith to empower him through “I think love is in the kitchen with a culinary eye/I think he’s making something special and I’m smart enough to try.” The mood of the album carries one into depths that touch upon every emotion all within a 65 minute time frame. With this album, Interpol was not only thrust into stardom, it also seized the opportunity to let the world know about the perils of loneliness and how with just a little hope, one can get through anything. For this, it is an album that will enjoyed for decades to come.

2. Queens of the Stone Age- Songs For the Deaf

One of the hardest rock albums of the decade is also one of the best as well. The Palm Desert rockers created their chief work with their 3^rd album while remaining true to what made them famous in the first place: sometimes silly, tenacious sounds that provoke you get a little wild. This album, which chronicles a fictional journey from Chino, CA to Palm Springs, is loaded with powerful jams like the title track and “First It Giveth“. Not too many skits, not too much craziness, and lyrics that anyone could relate to: “I just need something good to die for/to make it beautiful to live.” Poignant words such as these add a meaningful tone to an album that is as in your face as it is fun.

3. Beck- Sea Change

Break up albums are the most gut-wrenching ones. No Beck album, or any album this decade for thatmatter, was as moving as this 2002 classic. Just weeks after Beck’s break up with his long time girlfriend, he went to the studio and poured out his heart to create the best album of his career. With a clear influence from famous French singer Serge Gainsbourg, the L.A rocker reached deep into his soul and produced a gem for the world to see. If you have never felt the pain of someone ripping your heart out, you can surely imagine it here with songs like “Lost Cause” and “Lonesome Tears” that pry out the most anguishing emotions one can ever find. Beck creates an aura of emotion that sounds just as painful as if the breakup happened yesterday.

4. Arcade Fire-Funeral

The hype was real. This band is a mash of stadium pounding jams that are as breathtaking as they are moving. Very few albums have the power to make people across many genres stand in awe and this is

exactly what Funeral accomplished. With a heavy emphasis on the power of dreams and the youth that they spawn from, the Canadian rockers performed with such emotion on every track that one doesn’t

know whether to know whether to start a youth revolution or to listen to it again.

5. Strokes- Is This It?

OK, leave all of your prejudices here. Who cares if everyone wore their shirt and who cares whether or not they received too much press? Julian Casablancas and company earned every bit of it and with this album started a trend of countless knock-off bands that still appear today. And it is hard to find another band that sparked such a widespread response in such a short span. As scattered as it is truthful, Is This It? gave a glimpse to what having fun meant to a couple of kids in pre 9/11 New York.

6. Daft Punk- Discovery

Calling this album the Sgt. Pepper of electronic music is pointless and insulting to groups like Kraftwerk. Yet, this doesn’t matter at all because this album doesn’t need to have a comparison, it is Discovery. It is one of the albums that marked a generation. Whether you want to believe it or not, these songs couldn’t escape you. Whether it was the thematic “One More Time” or the out of this world ecstasy of “Digital Love”, these songs created a world full of exuberance that invited you to join and dance. From the opening track to the end, Daft Punk reached the top of the proverbial electronic music mountain. And with a couple of exceptions, it is quite lonely up there.

7. Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America

If you think stories of kids drinking, partying, and having a good time have no tragedies or consequences, a listen to this album may change all of that. Nestled between wisdom and nostalgia, lead vocalist Craig Finn tells tales of love and confusion in adolescence: a time when nobody is really sure of anything. The sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing stories shed light on what it means to be young in a land that is unforgiving. Accounts of kids having nothing to do except party are personified on tracks such as “First Night” and “Stuck Between Stations” which retain ounces of youth to songs on an album that are told from the perspective of someone who has seen these tales all too often. Yet, the mix of joyful exuberance of youth and the knowledge only acquired through age allows this album to be nostalgic but at the same time real.

8. The Rapture-Echoes

With an endless amount of bands and music at one’s disposal, it is harder for a band to stay pertinent for longer than what seems like a millisecond. For the Rapture, that millisecond was 2003 and that pertinence was in the form of Echoes which has seemingly been forgotten in the mix of the decades greatest. This couldn’t be any more unfortunate. The loud yelps of lead singer Luke Jenner only provide for a unique contrast that blends an upbeat tempo to lyrics of grief and solitude. The album, one of the most enthralling, sophisticated albums seen in years, mixed a reflective vibe while begging you to forget it all and dance.

9. TV on the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain

The band’s subsequent album, Dear Science, got all the love, but by then TVOTR was already trying to do something different. With Return to Cookie Mountain, Tunde Adembimpe and the bunch are at their apex. Much slower and melodic than Dear Science, each song is very delicate while at the same time oscillating between up-tempo songs like the popular, “Wolf Like Me” to the dreamier “Wash the Day.” David Bowie even got into the mix as he contributed on the track, “Provinces.” The lush, full sounds of an exceptional album produced by David Andrew Sitek makes many music lovers want to frequent Cookie Mountain.

10. Radiohead-Kid A

Radiohead is great, we all know. This album is classic. What else can I say that already hasn't been said?

11. Kanye West- College Dropout

While it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about Kanye West without mentioning his antics, it would downright sinful not to include at least one of his albums on the list of best albums of the decade. Kanye West showed the world that you could talk about loving your friends and Jesus while wearing pink and still be cool (that alone makes him worthy of being on some type of list.) And it all started with this album which propelled him from the timid new Roc-A-Fella member to the world-famous jackass we see today. Yet, despite taking pride in selfishly grabbing the spotlight and being childish on many occasions, it is easy to forget that he once represented hope for so many as he relayed powerful messages of social commentary in songs like “Fly Away” as well as deep, sentimental (yes, Kanye) in tracks such as “Family Business.” If you are sick of Kanye today, maybe another listen to his best album may remind you why everybody was so infatuated with him in the first place. Heck, even the Kanye of today will be humbled by this experience.

12. Cut Copy- In Ghoust Colours

When a band says that they haven’t reached their true sound it is usually a cliché statement or perhaps a euphemism for “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” But, the Australian duo did just that in their 2^nd album which powered the group to stardom with stadium style tracks such as “Hearts on Fire” and “Lights and Music.” After this album, it is clear to see achieved sound is a treat to all those who have a listen.

13. Franz Ferdinand- S/T

Who knew crying over girls could be so much fun? While singing about boredom, heartbreak, and other such nonsense, Franz Ferdinand manages to make it all remarkably entertaining. “Take Me Out” is not only a rather complex song, it maintains some edginess to it that makes it as fresh today as when it came out 6 years ago. But, their hit only scratches the surface of what is a surprisingly full album which is a joy to listen to start to finish. Even if their appeal has been worn out in the decade, it is hard to deny the brilliance that the Scotland brought to the rock world with lyrics full of heartbreak and loss.

14. White Stripes- Elephant

Oh, where would rock be without Jack White? The leader of the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather, Jack White and his partner Meg, put out so many great albums this decade that if one were to randomly choose from any of them, it would not disappoint. Yet, it was this album which both stood as a classic while making Jack White a rock star in a decade pretty much absent of them. It is hard to deny to talent and tenacity of such an artist who has been the head of rock for every year of this decade and this is the album that started it all.

15. LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver

James Murphy issued in a type of music we now like to call dance-punk. The name is a bit misleading for Murphy sounds like anything but punk in songs like “Someone Great” or “All of My Friends” which are two of the most memorable songs of the decade if for nothing else but the lyrics alone. Aside from the words, Murphy’s slow progression of each song ensures a gentle ease into each track which works wonders for Sound of Silver as it provides for a full album of coherent grace.

The Best of the Rest

No Age- Nouns

In Nouns, Los Angeles rockers Dean Allen Sprunt and Randy Randall created a sound that was a mélange between Sonic Youth, Dinosuar Jr, some surf rock, while capturing the spirit of the southland. A hard feat, no doubt. But, the duo obviously didn’t plan this and it would be quite an insult just to say their second album is just a mere panache of previous works. Rest assured, the sound advances way beyond this as Sprunt and Randall sing with such fervor on each track that emotion oozes out of every song and spills out onto the ambient noises that blend each track together. The fact that just two guys can create such a uniquely sounding atmosphere is quite compelling even to those outside the weird land of L.A.

Nas-StIllmatic

You see, I had to put a Jay-Z album on this list, but I couldn’t put one on without putting a Nas album in front of it. In other words, Nas utterly destroyed his competitor in the disturbingly vicious track “Ether.” Besides Illmatic, Nas never seems so focused and it almost seems as if Jay-Z should deserve some credit for bringing out the best in the Queensbridge rapper. But, save that thought for another blog because here, all the love is going to Nas who is one of the most forgotten names when it comes to speaking of classic artists. Perhaps, it is the very solemn and realistic nature of the streets displayed on such tracks such as “Got Yourself A Gun” and “One Mic” that prevent him from gaining any real stardom. But, that’s okay, Nas fans prefer the nasty, rugged style that paint a real picture of life in the tough streets of Queens.

Jay-Z- Black Album

Well, I guess success is the best revenge. Instead of going back and forth with Nas, Jazy-Z essentially said, “Screw this, I’m just gonna make millions.” And boy did he ever. Jay-Z paraded his way to the top of the charts with this victory lap of an album. And what was he celebrating? Being Jay-Z. In this album, listeners got a deep look into the life of Sean Carter which seemed to be quite a challenge, but as Jay-Z said himself, “I’ve never sat around feeling sorry for myself, if you don’t give me heaven, I’ll raise hell.” While sounding a little bit like teen queen, Jay-Z lets everyone know that he is in it to win it and with The Black Album he did just that.

Portishead- Third

When a band comes off a 10+ year absence, they usually tend to fall into the category of Chinese Democracy (sorry Gun N Roses fans) which otherwise means, what once was popular, no longer has an influence on any topic of the day. Essentially, they become irrelevant. Remarkably, Portishead not only avoided this with but went above and beyond the call with their 3^rd album which could be called a sort of resurrection if it weren’t for the fact that Third made it seem as if the Norwegian trio had never left. With their ever popular dreary, ambient sound, Portishead eclipsed their previous plateaus with hard knocking jams such as “We Carry On” and “Machine Gun” while maintaining their soul with classic airy songs such as “Hunter.” It’s nice to see band come back after a long hiatus and, dare I say, be at their artistic best.

Dirty Projectors- Bitte Orca

These rockers provoke such an extremely clean sound that I feel refreshed every time I hear them. Their melancholic nature brings about imagery that can only be described as downright beautiful. It’s a very classy demeanor that one draws from listening to Bitte Orca and still this happens without pretention. While staying true to their earlier sounds, these Williamburg art rockers offered African influenced music and did it with such style that everyone took notice.

Justice- Cross

While inevitably following in the footsteps of their costumed counterparts, the French duo hoped to make a name for themselves and along with monstrous sounds and killer music videos, they did just that. Even besides “D.A.N.C.E”, Justice commenced their album with “Genesis” which is one of the most dramatic openings heard in sometime. With each listen one can hear the faint hints of 50 cent and many other artists that the French artists samples. Is that “Stay Fly” I hear on their track “Ttthhheee Pppaaarrrtttyyy"? Awesome.

Eminem- Marshall Mathers LP

Ah, it sure is nice thinking back on the times when Eminem was way too angry. In his demonic wrath, he somehow managed to reach audiences across the globe, which is a tad scary, but at the same time awesome! In the midst of talking about killing, raping, and taking drugs, he delivered all of these devilish lyrics with a hint of sarcasm that left audiences with a choice: either laugh and accept the “joke” or be considered as being out of touch or too old to understand, which is pretty clever in itself. However, with each sly remark, one could see the hurt behind Eminem. In this album it is clearly evident that he feels his only real weapon to the world, creativity, under attack from an overwhelming audience of critics who claimed he was bad for the youth. Sure, his retaliation isn’t conventional, but it is certainly honest and for an artist of his caliber, we couldn’t ask for more.

Bon Iver- For Emma, For Ever Ago

Locking yourself in a cabin in the wilderness for three months after a breakup probably isn’t the best way to deal with things, but after a listen to this album, one cannot argue with results. Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon said good bye to the world as he remained in solitude for three months in a Wisconsin cabin after a bad breakup. What could have easily turned into a sob story was rather transformed into a remarkable work of art that gently allows one’s worries to subside. The brilliance of the album is in the fact that Vernon was able to tackle his hurt and loss with such calmness that lifts him free of the natural responses of loathing and despising his former partner. Rather, it seems Vernon’s method of attacking the pain is through peacefulness which is quite refreshing to hear.

Lupe Fiasco- Food And Liquor

Somehow lost in the discussion of great albums of the decade, Lupe Fiasco seemingly came out of nowhere when he introduced the world to a love story between a boy and his skateboard. Since “Kick, Push”, Lupe has had much more success but the quality of his subsequent work never reached the level of his first album which was as subtle and mysterious as any album one will find today. Rather than lose everyone with his syntax, Lupe delivers steady punch lines that grasp the attention of even the casual listener. Lupe speaks to all but through a microscope of knowledge that is made cool by the Chicagoan’s smarts and skills. Now if he could have cut the last track by say…12:13, it would have been much appreciated.

Cam’ron- Purple Haze

Before the album, Cam’ron had been king of the singles which has been a curse for countless rappers this decade. However, along with help with his Dipset counterparts and Kanye West, the rapper created 24 powerful, sometimes funny, and sometimes rough tracks that make the album seem shorter than 77 minutes. Cam'ron seems to be as free and daring as he ever was which leads to an album which seems to get better which each track. Put simply, Purple Haze is clearly the pinnacle of an artist with his utmost focus.