Music My 50 favorite albums of the past decade.

Direckshun · 09-28-2009, 10:09 PM

The decade's coming to a close. I've got another website where I list this stuff, but I felt I might as well list it here, too. I go five at a time, randomly, so don't expect regular updates.

This is just for me, so feel free to let this thread slide.

Thanks for any comments, though.

50. Earth, Hex; or Printing in the Infernal Method (2005)

Hex is to be lost in the woods. It is the sound of resignation. It is the sound of a knowing traveler, with any destination as his destination, and civilization nowhere close. Yes, it does tease the imagination: if you were perpetually lost, what would you become? Exactly how much of your humanity can you retain, isolated and hopeless? Hex is a hell of a concept album: it strips down the notion of rock music to such extreme measures that the songs barely exist. It's an awfully nihilist sound, and it's incredibly easy to fall into when you're depressed. This is the music you look forward to when you have nothing else to look forward to.

49. Man Man, Six Demon Bag (2006)

If there were ever a bar that was so fiendishly cool as to ritually use Man Man as their cheery drinking songs for every patron to swing their pints to, I don't know if I'd ever go home. Six Demon Bag is, for my money, the best Man Man album. Full of nickolodean madness, genuine humor, and a little piss and vinegar, the band also dials up the pathos on this album. Their usual clown car antics aside, Six Demon Bag shows that while they may not have a way with words, Man Man are truly great lyricists. Perfect combination of oddball music and good ol' American heart 'n' soul.

48. Feist, Let It Die (2005)

"The saddest part of a broken heart, isn't the ending, so much as the start. Losing your mind for the sake of your heart." In a decade of ADHD, it's lyrics by the likes of Feist that are worth slowing down for. Let It Die's gentle rock explores the grey lines that surround any relationship, successful or fleeting. The time you start to let go. The snowballing effect of two people engrossed with one another. Attempting to put Humpty back together again. Before the limelight engulfed her, Feist's words were what mattered. And when all the attention fades, her lyrics will be there to buoy her.

47. Prefuse 73 / The Books, Prefuse 73 Reads the Books EP (2005) [EP]

For a fleeting twenty minutes, this union between an experimental hip hop producer (Prefuse 73) and experimental doo-dadders (the Books) is nothing short of magic. The Books' constant knick-knacking with their various found sounds turns out to be a great canvass for Prefuse 73 to play with and rearrange like magnetic lettering on a refridgerator. Prefuse underscores the entire venture with conventional 4/4 beatwork to keep everything from straying too far, and the result is a pop album that sounds like virtually nothing else. There are not two boring seconds on Prefuse 73 Reads The Books, one of the best pure listens of the past 10 years.

46. Lali Puna, Tridecoder (1999)

Tricoder, Lali Puna's debut, is one of the most incredibly intimate albums where you have absolutely no idea what's going on. Though the indie-tronica outfit meticulously calculates their albums, they always tend to have a stream-of-consciousness aspect to them. As a result, you don't listen to their music as much as you do absorb it. The album is punctuated throughout with miniature beats and Valerie Trebeljahr's whispered, 6-inch voice, as if you're almost listening in on a secret. You'd never notice this tiny, quiet band if you weren't actively seeking them out, but their sound is capable of cradling you, like a beanbag chair, when discovered. "If you want to know who I am, just ask me."

09-28-2009, 10:09 PM	Topic Starter
Direckshun __ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $4173447	My 50 favorite albums of the past decade. The decade's coming to a close. I've got another website where I list this stuff, but I felt I might as well list it here, too. I go five at a time, randomly, so don't expect regular updates. This is just for me, so feel free to let this thread slide. Thanks for any comments, though. *50. Earth, Hex; or Printing in the Infernal Method* (2005)** Hex is to be lost in the woods. It is the sound of resignation. It is the sound of a knowing traveler, with any destination as his destination, and civilization nowhere close. Yes, it does tease the imagination: if you were perpetually lost, what would you become? Exactly how much of your humanity can you retain, isolated and hopeless? Hex is a hell of a concept album: it strips down the notion of rock music to such extreme measures that the songs barely exist. It's an awfully nihilist sound, and it's incredibly easy to fall into when you're depressed. This is the music you look forward to when you have nothing else to look forward to. *49. Man Man, Six Demon Bag* (2006)** If there were ever a bar that was so fiendishly cool as to ritually use Man Man as their cheery drinking songs for every patron to swing their pints to, I don't know if I'd ever go home. Six Demon Bag is, for my money, the best Man Man album. Full of nickolodean madness, genuine humor, and a little piss and vinegar, the band also dials up the pathos on this album. Their usual clown car antics aside, Six Demon Bag shows that while they may not have a way with words, Man Man are truly great lyricists. Perfect combination of oddball music and good ol' American heart 'n' soul. *48. Feist, Let It Die* (2005)** "The saddest part of a broken heart, isn't the ending, so much as the start. Losing your mind for the sake of your heart." In a decade of ADHD, it's lyrics by the likes of Feist that are worth slowing down for. Let It Die's gentle rock explores the grey lines that surround any relationship, successful or fleeting. The time you start to let go. The snowballing effect of two people engrossed with one another. Attempting to put Humpty back together again. Before the limelight engulfed her, Feist's words were what mattered. And when all the attention fades, her lyrics will be there to buoy her. *47. Prefuse 73 / The Books, Prefuse 73 Reads the Books EP* (2005) [EP]** For a fleeting twenty minutes, this union between an experimental hip hop producer (Prefuse 73) and experimental doo-dadders (the Books) is nothing short of magic. The Books' constant knick-knacking with their various found sounds turns out to be a great canvass for Prefuse 73 to play with and rearrange like magnetic lettering on a refridgerator. Prefuse underscores the entire venture with conventional 4/4 beatwork to keep everything from straying too far, and the result is a pop album that sounds like virtually nothing else. There are not two boring seconds on Prefuse 73 Reads The Books, one of the best pure listens of the past 10 years. *46. Lali Puna, Tridecoder* (1999)** Tricoder, Lali Puna's debut, is one of the most incredibly intimate albums where you have absolutely no idea what's going on. Though the indie-tronica outfit meticulously calculates their albums, they always tend to have a stream-of-consciousness aspect to them. As a result, you don't listen to their music as much as you do absorb it. The album is punctuated throughout with miniature beats and Valerie Trebeljahr's whispered, 6-inch voice, as if you're almost listening in on a secret. You'd never notice this tiny, quiet band if you weren't actively seeking them out, but their sound is capable of cradling you, like a beanbag chair, when discovered. "If you want to know who I am, just ask me."
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