a relief pitcher with good tastes in music by liking Pearl Jam

It's so easy it's not even fun.

Never saw them play.

I only ever saw them during their Us v. Ticketmaster run in the late '90's, at a show in Golden Gate Park. Eddie Vedder had a terrible case of the flu or something, and only made it through about five songs before apologizing to the crowd and disappearing backstage -- Neil Young took over after that.
But during those five or so songs, Pearl Jam was freakin' incredible. I wasn't (and still am'n't) much of a fan, but their live power was undeniable.

But during those five or so songs, Pearl Jam was freakin' incredible. I wasn't (and still am'n't) much of a fan, but their live power was undeniable.

I (actually) never saw them play, but Eddie Vedder was the main musical guest at a Conan show I went to see a few months ago. (Mike McCready showed up for a song too.) He has incredible stage presence and talent. Even backed by a brass band he was impressive.

The Conan tour had two shows in Seattle; the musical guest at the other was Dave Matthews. I felt very lucky.

I only ever saw them during their Us v. Ticketmaster run in the late '90's, at a show in Golden Gate Park. Eddie Vedder had a terrible case of the flu or something, and only made it through about five songs before apologizing to the crowd and disappearing backstage -- Neil Young took over after that.

I saw them in Sacramento on this tour. I think they're ok, though I don't still listen to them. On the plus side, I came away from that show a big fan of Bad Religion.

This seems like a good thread, but my Ipod has gone stale and I need to add some new stuff. Recommendations please! I think I'm going to get the Stax box set and I've already added my girl's gigantic collection of 90's Brit-pop and Shonen Knife and Josh Ritter and old roots blues guys like Son House. What else do I need?

It's so easy it's not even fun.

Yes, because you don't like Pearl Jam his musical taste is clearly awful.

Shooty: Get Porcupine Tree. I really believe there's something in their catalog for everyone. Probably their CD with the best "pop" songs is Stupid Dream. If you want to try Youtubing a song to hear it first, I would go with "Pure Narcotic" off that CD.

Shooty: Get Porcupine Tree. I really believe there's something in their catalog for everyone. Probably their CD with the best "pop" songs is Stupid Dream. If you want to try Youtubing a song to hear it first, I would go with "Pure Narcotic" off that CD.

Will do. Thanks Biff.

edit: OK. Porcupine Tree is on the list. I'm checking out Free Energy right now, and I think they're on the list, too. Pretty snazzy.

Shooty: the first Stax set is 99% wonderful; the later sets are still good but more erratic.

If you like roots blues guys: Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt were a couple of great 60's comebacks. Thanks, folk revival!

I'm also curious about new bands. I get most of my stuff from the SF Library nowadays (the recent Dolly Parton box set is fantastic) and there are lots of names I recognize but don't know what's good -- Death Cab, Ted Leo, LCD Soundsystem, etc., etc. What's good, BBTFers?

They've been around a few years now and just put out their second album, but for good, newish pop I like School of Seven Bells quite a bit.

And definitly not new, but for something artsy and still good fun, Deerhoof.

If you like roots blues guys: Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt were a couple of great 60's comebacks. Thanks, folk revival!

I'm on it.

I'm also curious about new bands. I get most of my stuff from the SF Library nowadays (the recent Dolly Parton box set is fantastic) and there are lots of names I recognize but don't know what's good -- Death Cab, Ted Leo, LCD Soundsystem, etc., etc. What's good, BBTFers?

Me, too. I'm very square about the new bands.

I still like Pearl Jam, and I still like Eddie Vedder. I know that is uncool.

I also like Gomez and Sleigh Bells. Not sure if they're cool. Hope Shooty can help me.

And definitly not new, but for something artsy and still good fun, Deerhoof.

Pretty good. Pop needs more Asian American frontwomen, too. On the list!

I also like Gomez and Sleigh Bells. Not sure if they're cool. Hope Shooty can help me.

Never heard of them. Pavement is really the last band I followed and looked forward to new releases. I've spent the last 10 years listening to Dylan and Jazz and Blues and whatever new stuff my girl happens to pick up. I was kind of a weirdo that way when I lived in Williamsburg.

If you like the Stax stuff, maybe check out Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Janelle Monae. They've got throwback sound out the wazoo.

Ted Leo is awesome, following in the XTC/Jam/Split Enz mold of punky pop rock.

Death Cab - the middle albums are probably the best, We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes and the Photo Album, their sound softened considerably with Plans and now they're just kind of wimpy radio rock.

LCD Soundsystem is 80s electro with a dash of indie rock. Fun for parties, not really "album listening."

Generally listening to: Spoon, New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, Los Campesinos, The Futureheads, and lately, the vintage works of Doug Martsch (Built to Spill and The Halo Benders.) And a lot of Loudon Wainwright.

Never heard of them.

Check out Gomez on YouTube; try a song called "Little Pieces."

I have been listening to more classical and blues at home lately--very basic, iconic, stuff--Mozart, Muddy Waters.

Also, you blew off my email this week.

Pop needs more Asian American frontwomen, too.

There's an absolutely wonderful Filipino-American band from San Francisco named Julie Plug that mixes Britpop/shoegazer influences with '60s pop. Lead singer Des De Leon is really, really, good. They've only put out two albums, but both are worth getting.

Julie Plug

Also, you blew off my email this week.

I'll have to look for it. I often go a week or two without checking my e-mails. I have a neurotic tendency to feel burdened by my e-mail account sometimes.

Pop needs more Asian American frontwomen

The new Blonde Redhead comes out in a few weeks. I've always been a fan, but the last couple albums, Misery is a Butterfly and 23, are just about perfect, imo.

Talking cutters [...] with Kerry Wood

Dang, I was hoping this article contained his expert ranking of orthopaedic surgeons...

Porcupine Tree is really the only band anymore where I closely follow new releases, because I'm consistently amazed by each new album (though their latest was their weakest in at least 15 years). I still feel lucky to have randomly discovered them when I did, because it truly was random. A song of theirs came on the radio for some reason (I've never heard them on the radio other than this one time) and I loved it. I looked up the lyrics online and the only link was to a message board for the band because it was a song ("Trains", which I also highly recommend) off an album In Absentia which had not yet been released. I filed it away in my memory banks, and a couple months later when I was browsing in a Newbury Comics (this was back when I had disposable income to buy CDs) I saw the CD and bought it on a lark, was hooked, went through their back catalog, etc., etc. I'm still not sure why that song came on the radio that day, but I'm very happy it did.

Their progression as a band is fairly interesting to me, too. It started out in the late 80's/early 90's as Steven Wilson (current lead singer/guitarist/songwriter/etc.) basically just putting songs together in his garage pretending to be a legendary rock band, and it was very weird, kind of psychedelic stuff. They eventually got enough of an underground fan base that Wilson had to recruit members so the band could tour, and the sound transitioned into (I'm going to sound so lame here) these huge, ambient soundscapes. They then transitioned into the more poppy sound I recommended to Shooty earlier, but still with a couple long, ambient songs per album. In Absentia marked the transition from that sound to a heavier, progressive-metal sound, which is where they are today, but there's still a lot of variety in songs per album.

Man, I love this band.

(These days, they're still not widely known but they have enough of a dedicated fanbase that new releases make respectable Billboard chart entries. Their latest, The Incident, debuted at #25.)

I'm also curious about new bands. I get most of my stuff from the SF Library nowadays (the recent Dolly Parton box set is fantastic) and there are lots of names I recognize but don't know what's good -- Death Cab, Ted Leo, LCD Soundsystem, etc., etc. What's good, BBTFers?

Favorite bands of the past decade:

1. Death Cab for Cutie. Pros - Incredible melodic sense; great dual guitar dynamics and texture (very few solos); intelligent, thoughtful lyrics. Cons - Most of the lyrics are about breakups and disillusionment; best work is fairly quiet and subtle. Recommended album - Transatlanticism.

2. PUFFY (Puffy Amiyumi). Pros - What commercial pop would have sounded like if The Buzzcocks had conquered the world. Power-pop of the highest order, with two women singing in unison. Cons - 90% of the songs are sung in Japanese; a bit too eclectic (disco, ska, etc. excursions) for their own good. Recommended album - Honeycreeper.

3. Stars. Pros - Also great melodic sense; well-done male/female vocals, both solo and duets; great storytelling songs; keyboard-led but still an indie rock band. Cons - a bit arty and over the top at times. Recommended album - Set Yourself on Fire.

4. The Hold Steady. Pros - Self-proclaimed best bar band in America; mixes the E-Street Band with The Replacements; intelligent, wordy songs about kids making bad choices. Cons - Craig Finn can't really sing; some songs a bit too wordy and self-referencial at times. Recommended album - Separation Sunday.

5. Bloc Party. Pros - wonderfully spiky indie-rock guitars (at least at the beginning); perceptive songs about being an outsider (gay, black) in modern British society; band has matured quickly over three albums, making work a journey in progress. Cons - band has matured quickly over three albums, making work sound a bit fragmented and disjointed. Recommended album - Silent Alarm.

Stars! I actually know of them and have one of their albums--Heart--which I like.

I still love Pearl Jam. I have been to a ton of shows, and they are still, by far, the best live act I have ever seen.

If you are looking for newish stuff, check out The National. I know they just broke and its trendy, but they are fantasic. Just Fantastic, every album is great, some are super deluxe great.

If you are looking for new, new, new music, try J Roddy Walston and the Business, they just released their first album on Subpop. Think Kings of Leon meets Queen.


If you want music reccomendations, every year, there is a top 10 list of albums in the lounge, I think it goes back 6 years or so. Its still in the archives.

if The Buzzcocks had conquered the world.

In mine. They did.

I know Eddie Vedder gets a lot of crap for using his brooding, angsty persona to (presumably) get women. Hey, we do what we gotta do. He could have picked a much douchier persona, and he just so happens to make some pretty cool music and play some badass live shows with the one he chose. I'm a fan.

Three Mile Pilot - Another Desert, Another Sea

Not my favorite album of theirs, but probably easily the most accessible.

Recommendations"

1) Devotchka. Their last 2 albums - How it Ends and A Mad and Faithful Telling - are modern classics, IMHO. It's like David Byrne was kidnapped by the Soviets, fed X for a few years, then was rescued by gypsies. Great stuff.

2) Thievery Corp. Anything of theirs is just spot on, but you probably know that already.

3) Silversun Pickups. Their latest, Swoon, is a solid piece of rock.

4) Anything by Andrew Bird, esp. Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs, Armchair Apocrypha & Noble Beast.

5) Woods are a great young band, their last couple albums are solid.

6) Massive Attack's latest album is as good as anything they've done.

7) If you're up for some crazy electronica, the latest albums by iTAL tEK, Distance and Nosaj Thing are really well done.

8) Young bands: Wild Beasts, Pela (broke up recently, but their debut album is great), The Big Pink, The Orange Peels, Best Coast, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

I suppose I should have guessed this thread would have turned into a music thread.

My Pearl Jam fandom begins and ends with Ten. I was right in their wheelhouse for Vs. (in college at the time) and it left me cold and nothing since has impressed me.

Albums I've loved from recent years, most of which have popped up on their fair share of critics' lists, which is how I usually find this stuff:

Deerhunter - Microcastle

(Not sure how to describe them - wikipedia says elements of noise/art rock, shoegazing, post-punk and pop)

Japandroids - post-nothing

(Brilliant guitar-drums duo)

Wavves - King of the Beach

(Snotty kid pop-punk that for some reason I can't get enough of)

Best Coast - Crazy for You

(My Bloody Valentiney-pop with a sort of surf rock and/or 60s girlpop touch)

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

(Very strange and fun sort of friendly angular indie pop)

Blonde Redhead - 23

(Just terrific indie rock)

Wolfmother - Wolfmother

(Exuberant non-ironic classic rock)

No Age - Nouns

(More noisy post-punk)

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

(Bouncy energetic French electropop)

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion

(Joyous and hypnotic experimental rock)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

(Lovely quiet interesting pop)

Oh, one of these? Favorite bands of the 00s:

band / album / song / type
Passion Pit / Chunk of Change / Better Things / synth-pop
Stars / Heart / Heart / emo
Bishop Allen / Charm School / Things Are What You Make Of Them / playful
Pinback / [unclear, all are about as good] / Soaked / hipster-nerd
Phoenix / Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix / Love Is Like A Sunset / indie
Beulah / The Coast Is Never Clear / If We Can Land A Man On The Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart / aggrieved
Elliott Smith / Figure 8 / Junk Bond Trader / suicidal

Pinback

I'd go with Summer in Abaddon. Easily my favorite of theirs.

My favorite albums I've picked up in the last year or so are:
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
The xx - xx
Kevin Drew - Spirit If...
Dino Jr. - Farm
Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

I highly recommend checking out the Amazon mp3 deal of the day. They usually have decent stuff for about $4. And your local library.

This is am old post detailing a few favorites, where you could only list a band once.

1. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation, Sister, Washing Machine, most of their stuff
2. Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane over the Sea, On Avery Island
3. You am I – Hi Fi Way (my favourite Aussie album ever)
4. Stone Roses – Self Titled (adored)
5. R.E.M. – Their first five
6. The Wrens – meadowlands (my favourite album of last decade - easily)
7. Pavement – everything
8. Fugazi – everything
9. Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff
10. Nirvana – Nevermind
11. Beulah – When your heartstrings break and Coast is Never Clear
12. Hold Steady – almost killed me - seperation - boys and girls
13. Wire – Pink Flag (best punk album I own)but Charis Missing is awesome as well
14. Television – Marquee Moon (Marquee Moon is also my favourite song ever)
15. Mercury Rev – Deserter’s Songs
16. Mission of Burma – Vs. (the best thing to come out of Boston, except their baseball team)
17. Minutemen – Double Nickel on the Dime (thanks scotto)
18. Husker Du – New Day Rising - Zen Arcade
19. Spoon – everything
20. The Jam – All Mod Cons
21. Arcade Fire – Funeral (suburbs is great so far)
22. Flaming Lips – Soft Bulletin
23. The Walkmen – Bows & Arrows ( I think You & Me will eventually over take it)
24. Beastie Boys – Check Your head (just over PB)
25. Teenage Fanclub – Bandwagonesque
26. Big Star - 3 classic albums here
27. Replacements – Let it Be and Tim
28. The Afghan Whigs – Congregation (better than Gentleman IMHO)
29. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth
30. Dinosaur Jr – Green Mind and everything before it
31. Gang of Four – Entertainment!
32. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
33. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
34. Pixies – Surfer Rosa (I prefer this over Doolittle now)
35. Belle & Sebastian – If you are felling sinister
36. Archers of Loaf – Icky Mettle
37. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights – it all went downhill after this
38. The Clash – London Calling
39. Spiritulalized - Ladies and Gentleman we are Floating in Space
40. Galaxie 500 – On fire (actually their first three)
41 - Broken Social Scene
42 - Dismemberment Plan
43 - Les Savy Fav
44 - The National

Also Weezer (pinkerton) Modest Mouse (Moon & Antartica), the Who (take a pick), the stones (exile), Strokes (Is this it?), Beatles (take a pick), Ben Folds Five (debut album), the Drones, Midnight Oil (early stuff) , Animal Collective and Panda bear, Okervill River and Deerhunter, Yo La Tengo (take a pick), Built To Spill (perfect from now on), Queens of the Stone Age (Songs for the deaf) .

and so much more like

Titus Andronicus - Future of the Left - Los Campensinos! - Bombadil - Antlers - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Destroyer - Fcuked Up

I'll stop now

I only ever saw them during their Us v. Ticketmaster run in the late '90's, at a show in Golden Gate Park. Eddie Vedder had a terrible case of the flu or something, and only made it through about five songs before apologizing to the crowd and disappearing backstage -- Neil Young took over after that.

A black day in the history of San Francisco rugby/Gaelic football, since they ripped down all the goalposts for the show and never put them back up. Also totally wrecked the field for months.

5. Bloc Party. Pros - wonderfully spiky indie-rock guitars (at least at the beginning); perceptive songs about being an outsider (gay, black) in modern British society; band has matured quickly over three albums, making work a journey in progress. Cons - band has matured quickly over three albums, making work sound a bit fragmented and disjointed. Recommended album - Silent Alarm.

Also in the cons I would put them neutering their drummer. Matt Tong's performance in the first album is truly extraordinary, and I think a lot of the verve left their subsequent albums because they decided to stop letting him play. They have an incredible talent back there, and they're totally wasting him.

Let's see..other random thoughts... Ted Leo is great. He writes pretty much the same album every time, fortunately it's a good one. Fast-paced hooky pop-punk about a socially conscious English major who goes out to see the world. It can sometimes sound a little bit pretentious, but it's usually too self-conscious to step over that line. His last album, the Brutalist Bricks, was very good and ventured out of his comfort zone a bit more than usual, with some touches of funk and so on. Puts on a good live show for dirt cheap too.

I really want to hate the xx, since I've had it up to here with middle-class English kids with awful haircuts and hoodies. But it really is a very good album, with considerably less earnest look at me attention seeking that is the death of the kids I describe in the first sentence. It will be interesting to see how they progress; their first album is a little samey. It's still good, but they can't afford to put out a second album of minimalist groove-pop where they whine about sex.

Has there ever been a band who broke up as long as Dino Jr. did and came back with so many bullets left? Beyond and Farm are the two great albums and Been There All The Time is an awesome ass-kicking riposte to the hordes of overly contemplative minimalist indie pop records people wank on about.

About Porcupine Tree... am I the only one who finnd Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident somewhat below par for them?

Great album you don't hear too much about: Jim Carroll's Catholic Boy. He's the guy who write The Basketball Diaries and as you'd expect, the lyrics are well written and punchy. But they stand on their own as rock lyrics and the music, which is New Wavey with strong punk undertones, is hooky and well crafted.

I was shooting a training video in a Red Roof Inn lobby in about '91 when a long-haired guy came in. Me and the camera were blocking the coffee machine and I noticed he was patiently waiting until we finished the shot. I asked how he took his coffee and got him a styrofoam cup full, black. Later, the director, a fiftyish gent, went over and chatted with this guy as he was loading some stuff in the back of a trailer with his bandmates. What band are they? I asked him when he got back. "Pearl Jelly" he replied. That man I served coffee to? Eddie Vedder. And now you know. . . the rest of the story.

Mission of Burma have returned after a massive layoff in similar style to Dinosaur Jr , Flynn

Thanks guys. I knew I could use your obsessive nerdiness for my own use. Mwhahahahahaha! Just bought the Free Energy album (it was cheap!) and am working through the rest of the suggestions on the thread. I actually did just buy a National cd last week because I'd been hearing a lot about them and decided, what the hell, I'll give it a shot. Julie Plug is, unfortunately, not on Itunes. I might have to buy an actual piece of plastic for that one.

Favorite bands of the past decade:

1. Death Cab for Cutie. Pros - Incredible melodic sense; great dual guitar dynamics and texture (very few solos); intelligent, thoughtful lyrics. Cons - Most of the lyrics are about breakups and disillusionment; best work is fairly quiet and subtle. Recommended album - Transatlanticism.

2. PUFFY (Puffy Amiyumi). Pros - What commercial pop would have sounded like if The Buzzcocks had conquered the world. Power-pop of the highest order, with two women singing in unison. Cons - 90% of the songs are sung in Japanese; a bit too eclectic (disco, ska, etc. excursions) for their own good. Recommended album - Honeycreeper.

3. Stars. Pros - Also great melodic sense; well-done male/female vocals, both solo and duets; great storytelling songs; keyboard-led but still an indie rock band. Cons - a bit arty and over the top at times. Recommended album - Set Yourself on Fire.

4. The Hold Steady. Pros - Self-proclaimed best bar band in America; mixes the E-Street Band with The Replacements; intelligent, wordy songs about kids making bad choices. Cons - Craig Finn can't really sing; some songs a bit too wordy and self-referencial at times. Recommended album - Separation Sunday.

5. Bloc Party. Pros - wonderfully spiky indie-rock guitars (at least at the beginning); perceptive songs about being an outsider (gay, black) in modern British society; band has matured quickly over three albums, making work a journey in progress. Cons - band has matured quickly over three albums, making work sound a bit fragmented and disjointed. Recommended album - Silent Alarm.

You wouldn't happen to be a single 25 year-old girl from Minneapolis, would you? *fingers crossed*

I'll second robinred's recommendation of Gomez.

Coorey has the best suggestions here, but he cheated and gave a "best albums of all time" list.

Mission of Burma have returned after a massive layoff in similar style to Dinosaur Jr , Flynn

Totally slipped my mind, and I went to one of the gigs on their reunion tour. Oof.

Bombadil

Nice.

After years of doing the greatest bedroom flop music this side of Robert Pollard...Dean Wells (aka The Capstan Shafts) has gone and dun it by forming a full Pitchforkian band and releasing "Revelation Skirts"

Me sad to a degree.

I think we had a "best albums of the 00s" thread about the time Pitchfork came out with theirs. Doesn't mean we can't do it again!

My list (in no order) I'll do top 20 for now:
The Dismemberment Plan- Change
The Microphones- The Glow Pt. 2
The Strokes- Is This It
Interpol- Turn on the Bright Lights
Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Broken Social Scene- You Forgot It in People
The Wrens- The Meadowlands
The Unicorns- Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?
Ghostface- The Pretty Toney Album
The National- Alligator
Wolf Parade- Apologies to the Queen Mary
Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Bloc Party- Silent Alarm
The National- Boxer
Panda Bear- Person Pitch
Aesop Rock- Labor Days
Sunset Rubdown- Dragonslayer
Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion
Menomena- Friend & Foe
Voxtrot- Raised By Wolves/Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives EPs

My list: Top 25 albums of the decade
Top 5:
1. Carissa's Wierd - Ugly But Honest
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
3. Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8
4. Tegan and Sara - The Con
5. The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!

Also: Top 50 songs of the decade

About Porcupine Tree... am I the only one who finnd Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident somewhat below par for them?

The Incident is below par (by their standards), but I would recommend giving FoaBP another listen. I was lukewarm at first, but now it's my second favorite behind Lightbulb Sun.

Lifted from my post in our ongoing vote for the top albums of the decade at woxy.com, may it rest in peace. I also used the Coorey-suggested-but-ignored method of only using a band once.

1. Exploding Head - A Place to Bury Strangers
2. All Things Forest - Palomar
3. 100 Broken Windows - Idlewild
4. Catastrophe - Rainer Maria
5. Twin Cinema - New Pornographers
6. Carnavas - Silversun Pickups
7. Oh Inverted World - The Shins
8. A Family Afloat - Bound Stems
9. Ten Silver Drops – Secret Machines
10. Separation Sunday – The Hold Steady
11. Anytown Graffiti – Pela
12. Last Light – Matt Pond PA
13. Meadowlands – The Wrens
14. Spooky Action – The Celebrity Pilots
15. Source Tags and Codes - …Trail of Dead
16. Isolation Drills – Guided by Voices
17. Fantasies – Metric
18. The Body, The Blood and the Machine – The Thermals
19. Boxer – The National
20. The Man Named – Travis
21. Sing Sing Death House – The Distillers
22. A Certain Trigger – Maximo Park
23. Neon Bible – Arcade Fire
24. Hearts of Oak – Ted Leo
25. Satellite Rides – Old 97s
26. The Life Pursuit – Belle and Sebastian
27. Lightning, Thunder Strike – The Go Team
28. The Meaning of 8 – Cloud Cult
29. The Decline of British Sea Power – British Sea Power
30. Kid A – Radiohead
31. Behind the Music - The Soundtrack of Our Lives
32. The Rhumb Line – Ra Ra Riot
33. Is This It – The Strokes
34. Kill The Moonlight – Spoon
35. All We Could Do Was Sing - Port O’Brien
36. Sumday – Granddaddy
37. The Crane Wife – The Decemberists
38. Lohio – The Ass Ponys
39. La Peste – A3
40. The Strangest Things – Longwave
41. Employment – Kaiser Chiefs
42. Know Your Enemy – Manic Street Preachers
43. The Beginning Stages of the Polyphonic Spree – The Polyphonic Spree
44. Accelerate – REM
45. Asleep at Heaven’s Gate - Rogue Wave
46. Empire Strikes First – Bad Religion
47. Skeleton Jar – Youth Group
48. Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol
49. Sigh No More – Mumford and Sons
50. Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio

The new Janelle Monae album is really really great and has only a couple of blah songs despite being an 18 track concept album. The same could be said for the new Big Boi, minus the concept album part, and it's great to hear him and Andre on a track together again even though their verses don't really have any synthesis. Will second the Titus Andronicus and Best Coast recs earlier in the thread, since those are the two new rock albums I've listened to most in the past week since school started again.

2. All Things Forest - Palomar

Well played. That's a really under-rated record. I find a few of the tracks a little dull, but when it's good it's really good. It's the sort of music that sounds like it should be easy to make but very few bands manage to actually do well.

You wouldn't happen to be a single 25 year-old girl from Minneapolis, would you? *fingers crossed*

Um, no. But I'm flattered. I think. :-)

44. Accelerate – REM

I was very surprised by how good this was. I wasn't expecting too much before listening to it.

Baldrick Posted: August 28, 2010 at 07:26 PM (#3628842)

Also: Top 50 songs of the decade

I mentioned on the soccer thread I while back how much I liked your Top 50 songs list. There's some fantastic stuff there!

Balrick is the reason I have Bombadil - what a frigging great album. Played it again this morning and last night at work.

So many way to die!!!

Coorey has the best suggestions here, but he cheated and gave a "best albums of all time" list.

Good old cut and paste

This year has been awesome btw!!!

In a little ordr refelceting love at the highest level

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor -brilliant from beginning to end, ferocious start and epic climax)
Broken Social Scene - FRR - I love it - every song is a new and exciting journey
Tame Impala - Best aussie album this year and in a while
Arcade Fire - Suburbs
Spoon - Transference ( I am so glad I gave this album the time of day, it will go down as one of their real under rated gems)
Lc! - Romance is Boring
New Pornographers - National - Hold Steady (still have not totally gotten into)
I grabbed the Refused re-issue and went nuts on it for a month or so - epic stuff.
Besnerd Lakes and Miles Kurosky are great as well

New Walkmen and Deerhunter albums soon - can't wait!!!

The Incident is below par (by their standards), but I would recommend giving FoaBP another listen. I was lukewarm at first, but now it's my second favorite behind Lightbulb Sun.

After many listens, my favorites are still the more psychedelic albums and In Absentia.

I was very surprised by how good this was. I wasn't expecting too much before listening to it.

I was as well. My feelings about REM generally line up with Phil's above.

Itunes doesn't have Stupid Dream by Porcupine Tree. Is there a second choice for a poppy entry to the band? Just uploaded The Strokes (why did I think they were from Norway?) and the Rhino reissue of Digital Underground. That Rhino is releasing Digital Underground makes me feel very old. It irritates me I have to depend on MP3's for this stuff now but since the death of Tower and Virgin I have no luck looking for CD's in NYC. I've tried a couple of times at J&R or Barnes and Noble with a list of stuff I heard on Pandora, but have had no luck. When e-readers kill off bookstores I'm going to be very depressed. Media is probably the only commodity where I enjoy browsing. Anyway, back to checking out your suggestions for which I'm thankful to youtube for the first time in my life.

Checking out your blog now, Griff.

Is there a second choice for a poppy entry to the band?

I was about to recommend Lightbulb Sun (still mostly poppy, with just a couple long, proggy songs), but that and Stupid Dream appear to be the only two albums iTunes doesn't have by them. Hm.

You could go to http://www.burningshed.com/store/porcupinetree/collection/94/, which has FLAC downloads of those two CDs for $8 US.

Which Bombadil album is the great one? Tarpits and Canyon Land? They (he?) sound good.

I was about to recommend Lightbulb Sun (still mostly poppy, with just a couple long, proggy songs), but that and Stupid Dream appear to be the only two albums iTunes doesn't have by them. Hm.

Itunes is spottier than I imagined it would be. Why wouldn't they have these albums?

Why wouldn't they have these albums?

Not sure. They were out of print for a while, but got re-released in 2006, so that shouldn't be the reason...

I gotta recommend Griff's blog. Y'all should check it out.

Which Bombadil album is the great one? Tarpits and Canyon Land? They (he?) sound good.

They are both great - but Tarpits is a little hidden gem (thanks once again to Baldrick)

38. Lohio – The Ass Ponys

Holy ####, the Ass Ponys were still around this decade?!

This year has been awesome btw!!!

Its been fantastic, the midlake and band of horses albums have been very, very good as well.

I strongly suggest to everyone they check out spinner.com while they are in their office. Their "listening party" streams most of the weeks new releases for an entire week. Its a fantastic website.

Anyone else use grooveshark.com to find music? It's a revelation, at least to this luddite idiot.

I gave up on the stealing music game a couple years ago. I stick to Amazon for mp3's, pretty much exclusively. But I will check out an album on Grooveshark (go Gators!). I figure it's a decent compromise.

Double-post, due to the incredible lameness of the daily 1:10 AM shutdown.

Lifted from my post in our ongoing vote for the top albums of the decade at woxy.com, may it rest in peace. I also used the Coorey-suggested-but-ignored method of only using a band once.

This list, and all lists in this thread so far regarding the 00's are seriously lacking "Welcome Interstate Managers" by Fountains of Wayne.

I know it may be less indie, but it was moreso at the time, and Muse's "Absolution" deserves mention as well.


15. Source Tags and Codes - …Trail of Dead

Saw this album release show in NYC, was incredible.

Whoops, no, I saw the "Worlds Apart" album release in 2005. Still a great show, but Source Codes and Tags is a better album.

Which Bombadil album is the great one? Tarpits and Canyon Land? They (he?) sound good.

I think all their stuff is good, but yeah, Tarpits and Canyonlands is the great one.

I only ever saw them during their Us v. Ticketmaster run in the late '90's, at a show in Golden Gate Park. Eddie Vedder had a terrible case of the flu or something, and only made it through about five songs before apologizing to the crowd and disappearing backstage -- Neil Young took over after that.
But during those five or so songs, Pearl Jam was freakin' incredible. I wasn't (and still am'n't) much of a fan, but their live power was undeniable.

I was at that show!! It was friggin' hot, and the concert when on for hours. My buddy Jeff fell asleep in the sun and had horrible sunburn that took three weeks to heal. My girlfriend and I were red as lobsters, and I nearly got killed in the pit when someone knocked my glasses off and I dove to find it.

Young was incredible that day, turned me into a big fan of his.

It WAS blazing hot, I remember that.
I brought a big spray gun filled with cool water, and made a lot of friends very quickly.

Whoops, no, I saw the "Worlds Apart" album release in 2005. Still a great show, but Source Codes and Tags is a better album.

Agree - Madonna is an excellent album as well. I hear their last album was good as well, but have not heard it yet.

I buy all my music either as CD still or emusic. You still can't beat buying an album still at the store and talking music with the locals at the store - it won't last long though

Has there ever been a band who broke up as long as Dino Jr. did and came back with so many bullets left? Beyond and Farm are the two great albums and Been There All The Time is an awesome ass-kicking riposte to the hordes of overly contemplative minimalist indie pop records people wank on about.

Those two recent Dinosaur Jr albums are absolutely fantastic.

I think all their stuff is good, but yeah, Tarpits and Canyonlands is the great one.

That's the one I got. My girl even checked the Ipod to see what I was playing which is a small victory for me--she's the music snob in the family and my taste is usually mocked.

It WAS blazing hot, I remember that.
I brought a big spray gun filled with cool water, and made a lot of friends very quickly.

My roommate went to that concert and I remember being jealous about him getting bonus time with Neil Young. I'm not really a Pearl Jam fan but that peerformance of Rockin in the Free World they did with Neil Young on MTV was the best musical performance I ever saw on the tube. I still like Mirror Ball, too.

I still like Mirror Ball, too.

I treasure my Merkin Ball CD.


Those two recent Dinosaur Jr albums are absolutely fantastic.

Wait, what? 1991 called and wants to know WTF. To the internet!

Heh, yeah. People who gave up on them during their Sire Records period (understandable, although I think those albums were great in their own way) might be very surprised to hear what the band sounds like now with the original Jayloumurph lineup.

I treasure my Merkin Ball CD.

I don't know what this means!

I don't know what this means!

Merkin Ball CD (EP)

Just a little 90's music completist nerdery.

Yes, because you don't like Pearl Jam his musical taste is clearly awful.

Yep.

I treasure my Merkin Ball CD.

That's a tough find--I've only seen it on vinyl.

I'm no expert on new artists, but I've gotta think "The Rising" has to be on a "Best of The '00s" list

So what is the guilt ratio I should have for downloading a bunch of stuff from Griffey's site but having also just bought a ton of stuff from J&R and Itunes? Does it wash? There's no way I can afford to buy all of this stuff. 10 bucks a pop adds up quick and that Stax box set may as well been made of literal gold.

I figure for every CD I buy, I can copy a half-dozen from the local library or from friends. I also scour the used CD's at Amazon.

I haven't purchased a CD in years.

It's sad and it does make me feel slightly bad, but by illegally downloading music I have saved a TON of money, and I've added gazillions of albums to my collection that I probably would have never bought. Hell, I even save storage space.

If I was still paying for all of my music, honestly, I probably wouldn't be as much of a music fan anymore. I'd probably be the guy that picks up the new Radiohead and Flaming Lips albums but has no idea what else is happening - halfway a Dad's taste in music. Now with the threat of a wasted $10-20 gone, I can range wide over the musical landscape and I come up with a lot of great stuff.

I rarely buy new music and have never downloaded anything illegally (I doubt I'd even know where to do that). But I get tons of new (to me) music all the time from the library and the used selection at Amazon, I am probably about three years behind on new releases, but that does not bother me in the slightest.

I''m far too late to this party to contribute much at this point, but I wanted to mention that, great as The Hold Steady are, their new album is terrible. However, the album Fiestas + Fiascos by Lifter Puller (Craig Finn's first band) is outright amazing.

If I was still paying for all of my music, honestly, I probably wouldn't be as much of a music fan anymore. I'd probably be the guy that picks up the new Radiohead and Flaming Lips albums but has no idea what else is happening - halfway a Dad's taste in music. Now with the threat of a wasted $10-20 gone, I can range wide over the musical landscape and I come up with a lot of great stuff.

I am about to expose myself to a ton more stuff than I would have by just buying CD's alone. I guess as long as I'm contributing some money to the industry, I won't keep myself awake at night worrying about the downloads.

Merkin Ball CDs are rare? I don't even know where mine is anymore.

damn it

it's great to hear him and Andre on a track together again even though their verses don't really have any synthesis

Where do you hear Andre on the Big Boi album?

Merkin Ball CDs are rare? I don't even know where mine is anymore.

Nah, there's a bunch of them on Amazon for less than $3.

I generally try to always buy CDs from my favorite bands as well as new releases I like. I try to save the downloading for older albums (pre-2000) that I've missed out on.

Re. the Dino Jr. question. The Wrens went seven years between Secaucus and The Meadowlands. I have not listened to post-2000 Mission of Burma, but there was a 22-year period between Vs. & ONoffON.

Menomena's new album, Mines, is fantastic.

You should not feel guilty about downloading individual tracks. Not even a little bit. A pretty big portion of the stuff on my blog is fully legal, approved for distribution. And the stuff that isn't is 95% of the time just unofficially legal. As in: the bands and labels understand that for people who want to pirate music, blogs are the least efficient way to do it. And since blogs provide some content to go along with the songs, they're far more likely to cultivate interest in the band.

Bombadil (much discussed in this thread) is a great example. They're a great band on a tiny label. They have a fantastic live show, but can't really tour. So how are they going to get their name out there? One easy way is to make a strong album and then have some blogs talk it up. I recommend it to Phil, he loves it as much as me, and recommends it to more people. They sent me a free CD, and I feel confident I've been responsible for a dozen or more people buying it.

If you're paying $0 a year for music, yes you should probably feel a little guilt. But if you're still buying records now and then, if you're going to shows, etc. then you can probably sleep easy.

have never downloaded anything illegally (I doubt I'd even know where to do that).

It is, in fact, exceptionally easy. You could be downloading Modest Mouse's entire discography (or Season 3 of Deadwood, or a camcorder recorded Russian language version of Scott Pilgrim vs The World) in about 4 clicks.

But if you're still buying records now and then, if you're going to shows, etc. then you can probably sleep easy.

Amen. Also, while I used to pirate music through Napster, I am perfectly willing to pay $0.99 or so per track.

It is, in fact, exceptionally easy.

Oh, I don't doubt it. I could just ask my stepson, he apparently spends most of his free time downloading movies and music. For some reason, back in the day the whole Napster thing passed me by and I never bothered keeping up with the technology involved in doing it. The whole torrent thing seems confusing to me.

But if you're still buying records now and then, if you're going to shows, etc. then you can probably sleep easy.

You know, this sounds like a nice little bit of self-justification.

This year I'll probably spend $400 on concert tickets, and $0 on recorded music. And download maybe 50-75 albums. I don't think that the former excuses the latter. Obviously it doesn't bother me too much, because I keep doing it, but I certainly do not feel justified or that I have a clean slate. I think the extra money I spend on concert tickets is totally irrelevant.