When Cam and I were figuring out what feature should kick off a music blog that happens to coincide with the beginning of a new decade, it only seemed natural to recant the best of the old. We may not be among the clergy of the Church of Indie Music at Pitchfork or Spin, but we've got a right to our layman's opinion, right? So this is more of a smattering of my tops from the aughts, the records that saw me through all of high school and college, through Laguna Beach and the War on Terror, through break-ups and teen angst. I guess it's pretty reflective of those times, but they're indelible now.
Elephant - The White Stripes (2003)
Nothing sounds angrier than two detroit kids locked in daddy's basement with a four track. Elephant proved that irony, folk and feedback were a deadly combination. Only Jack White could induce anxiety with a Burt Bacharach cover. After recovering from a decade of 9th generation grunge and boy bands, the world of music needed to get its ass kicked with just a guitar and a drumkit.
Frances The Mute - The Mars Volta (2005)
I'll never forget the first time I heard this. I was already hooked with De-loused in the Comatorium, so I remember being really excited when this leaked in late '04. It was captivating; the raw melancholy of Cedric's vocals, the shifting instrumental intensity complimented by oceanic jams and ambient white noise. My brooding high school self connected to the narrative of a lost soul searching for his familial roots. Cassandra Gemini was worth the price of admission alone.
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New (2006)
I don't know if anybody else noticed, but pop-punk died this decade. It was slurped into the even more vacuous void of MOR and radio-friendly music pop-rock, and Brand New arrived just a little too late to ride on its coattails. They instead resurrected the ghosts of Kurt Cobain and Morrissey (ok, so he's not dead, but his career is) and produced a work of lyrical beauty. Too tortured to be pop, too bombastic to be punk, it falls into the 2000s decade as a masterwork of the catch-all "alternative" genre.
There's No 666 In Outter Space - Hella (2007)
AKA There's No Way To Make Math Rock Accessible. Throwing jarring vocals over threatening-to-erupt drumming and some sick guitar and bass interplay didn't even bring this band close to the mainstream, although it did draw a lot of (some unfair) Volta comparisons. It remains one of the greatest experimental albums of the decade.
Relationship of Command - At the Drive-In (2001)
This album spelled the end of the so-called post-hardcore genre, but remains its finest example. The production is the perfect balance between sleak and raw, and the group somehow managed to mesh balls-to-the-wall slam anthems with tripped-out experimentation. Too bad it was their last release -- this band had so much character and energy that (its spawn) The Mars Volta lack and Sparta desperately tries to re-ignite. Even die-hard Volta fans can't deny that it'd be awesome to see one of the greatest live acts ever perform these songs once more.
Hail to the Thief - Radiohead (2005)
I'm allowed to have a Radiohead album on my list, right? Where other RH albums lull, this one rocks out or baffles. This is one of the greatest headphone albums ever made. Why it's not more well-liked, I don't know. No other album since OK Computer combines killer guitar licks with sonic experimentation to this magnitude.
Light Grenades - Incubus (2006)
I guess I'm a tool for liking Incubus, but to be fair, this is the highlight of their career. The surfer dudes from Calabasas retained enough of the nu-metal/punk funk of the previous decade to keep old fans on board while appealing to a new generation with a more timeless appeal.
Origin of Symmetry - Muse (2002)
Even if its follow-up flowed a bit better as an album, this is Muse's most aggressive and musically complex album. Radiohead-ish jams like 'Space Dementia'; prog rockers like 'Butterflies and Hurricanes'; and an amazing cover of Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' all make this my favorite record from one of my favorite groups. It's too bad that Black Holes and Revelations is a total cash-in. I think this incredible era for this band is over. They're still a great live act, though, and these songs translate on stage amazingly.
Digital Ash in a Digital Urn - Bright Eyes (2005)
I don't get people's obsession with I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. The simultaneous release of Digital Ash got completely eclipsed by the boring acoustic poetry reading. Consequently, people missed the true genius -- a dark electronic twist on Oberst's punk-folk experimentation. This album almost gives off Radiohead vibe (although the music industry certainly doesn't lack Radiohead clones), but the experimental nature doesn't detract from the poetry. I'd go so far as to call it the new Dark Side of the Moon.
Silent Alarm - Bloc Party (2004)
Bloc Party ran for Senate and called us up to let us know it was sexy dance time. Silly Bloc Party, everyone knows you can't dance to guitar rock. But if you could, it would totally be this album.
Sleeping With Ghosts - Placebo (2003)
There's a special place in my heart for Without You I'm Nothing, but this was Placebo's most impressive album as a whole. This was my high school soundtrack -- angry, sad, sexually confused and frustrated, this album spoke to me and all kids who were too stoic to be emo. It opens angry, builds anxiously and concludes wistfully, just like... life?
