My Top 100 Albums of the Decade (90-81)
90. The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious (2000)
"Do what I please, gonna spread the disease because I wanna"
What is punk rock? Is Green Day punk rock? Or was Green Day once punk rock, but now, it's not? The likes of My Chemical Romance and Fallout Boy, those groups can't be punk, can they? Did punk only exist in the late '70s, and everything since is post-punk, or something else entirely? Was London Calling punk? Sandinista? Nirvana? Should punk rock - itself a subgenre - have its own subgenres, like pop-punk, garage punk and hardcore punk? Is punk rock dead?
Only within punk rock can this line of redundant questioning seem even remotely logical. Punk is so shaped by its ethos that it's far easier to describe it in terms of fashion and attitude than it is to explain the actual musical qualities of punk rock.
Which leads me to one final question, regarding The Hives. Can punk rock wear a suit? Apparently, it can.
The Hives - "Main Offender"
89. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
"It's always better on holiday, so much better on holiday ... that's why we only work when we need the money"
I was a little late to hop on the Franz Ferdinand train. Sure, I loved "Take Me Out" as much as the next guy, but I didn't buy the album right away. And when I finally did get the album, I thought it was good, but not great.
Sometimes though, certain music just hits you in the right way, at the right time. I had finished college and I was bouncing in and out of temporary jobs. Too early one morning, I started my drive to work (I was working at a bulk mail center for the U.S. Postal Service at the time) and put this in the CD player. It was December, it was cold, and it was before 6 a.m.
The album kicks off with "Jacqueline." There's that little slow part at the beginning, then the song changes. The guitars rage, and that lyric above comes out.
I felt better that morning.
Franz Ferdinand - "Michael"
88. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (2005)
"Please please please, no more melodies, they lack impact, they're petty, they've been made up already"
An album's back story has absolutely no bearing on what I think of the end result. Extraordinary Machine has a tale behind it, which Wikipedia covers well enough. Sure, if you care enough, you can debate differences between the two versions of the album.
But you're not listening to that story on your headphones. What did finally see the light of day here was very good. And that's what matters.
Fiona Apple - "Parting Gift"
87. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (2008)
"To be lonely is a habit like smoking or taking drugs, and I've quit them both, but man, was it rough"
I've always liked Rilo Kiley, but moreso as a singles band. So in hindsight, I don't know why I was surprised when I liked Jenny Lewis' solo album better than anything else I've heard from her or her band. Perhaps I get attached to the concept of a band, and it's hard to accept a solo act or side project improving upon that. But that's silly. Maybe Lewis is just getting better - a good singer/songwriter becoming great - and this, her most recent album, is just part of that evolution.
Jenny Lewis - "Godspeed" (live)
86. Beulah - Yoko (2003)
"Can you get me there, friend? Without a soul to sell along the way ... the devil rides with me again, he always says everything's okay"
Beulah's last album was darker than anything else the group had ever done. As such, it was a little slower. This is the last gasp of a band that knew it was dying.
I saw Beulah on its last tour in 2004, at Pittsburgh's Rex Theatre. It was kind of a sad show. Don't get me wrong, the band sounded great. Singer Miles Kurosky even took requests. But half of the somewhat sparse crowd was sitting, while the other half was standing in front of the stage. And the Rex isn't one of those clubs with a few seats in the back. Most of the floor is taken up by seats. So it looked strange.
And Kurosky knew it. At one point, he wondered why everyone wasn't standing up. He went on to say something about how we were young, and we didn't have dead-end jobs yet, and we should want to stand at a rock concert. It wasn't your typical stage banter - it was honest sentiment from a guy who wouldn't be touring the country and playing music with his band anymore.
Anyway, I took a friend to the concert, and he didn't know anything about Beulah. He wanted to sit. And since I dragged him along, I didn't feel like making him stand up. But it still bothers me a bit. I've always been a stander. Sitting, especially at that show, never felt right.
Beulah - "Landslide"
85. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Pig Lib (2003)
"And the water dripping from the faucet is like Mardi Gras on the 12th of June"
With the exception of "1% of One," Pig Lib isn't that much different than most Pavement albums (though not up to that level). Clever lyrics and songs that sneak into your head, though Malkmus' melodies were better before and would be again.
Stephen Malkmus - "Dark Wave"
84. Saturday Looks Good to Me - Every Night (2004)
"But now you're out of breath from your cheap cigarettes and the wrong side of 7 am ... You can't sit still, but you eventually will, 'cause every night comes to an end"
Most modern groups who adopt a 60's sound polish the songs until they shine. SLGTM buries their songs in fuzzy lo-fi. At its worst, Every Night can sound a bit amateurish, but if you're not a downer, it's easy to give in to its nostalgic charm. I won't even call it faux-nostalgic. It's too sweet.
Saturday Looks Good to Me - "Since You Stole My Heart" (live)
83. Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005)
"I got a feeling, it don't come cheap, I got a feeling, oh, then it got to me, it took its time workin' into my soul, I gotta believe it come from rock 'n' roll"
At this point, Spoon was a confident band ready to expand its sound. "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" was a statement, but the remainder of the album found the band jumping around, free to be funky ("I Turn My Camera On") or beautifully restrained ("I Summon You").
Spoon - "I Turn My Camera On"
82. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)
"I told you I was trouble, you know that I'm no good"
Winehouse is an immense talent and one of the most distinctive voices to emerge this decade. Back to Black shows - as if there was any doubt - that there will always be a place for big, brassy, dramatic soul songs. This album has so much life - let's hope Winehouse keeps hers intact.
Amy Winehouse - "Love is a Losing Game"
81. The Thrills - So Much For The City (2003)
"So much for the city, tell me that you'll dance to the end, just tell me that you'll dance to the end"
Yeah, they're Irish guys singing about California, but who cares where they're from? These are great summer songs. I've never been to California, either, but I get it.
The Thrills - "Big Sur" (Top of the Pops)