Kuuso on 6/12/2009 at 01:20

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As always, a decade holds so much music in it that singling out ten is a bit silly. However, here goes my list:

1.http://intothemusic.ca/images/uploads/covers/Venetian_Snares_-_Rossz_Csillag_Alatt_Szuletett.jpg
Rossz Scillag Allat Született (2005) by Venetian Snares

This could have easily ended up as a project of raping classical artists, but it actually just bring them alive more than ever. Bartok will never sound the same after listening to this record. The sheer skill required to weave those classical samples so effortlessly in midst of all that breakcore barrage is mind-blowing. It's even more so after throughout listen of the record, there's so much going on. Dancing on the verge of chaos, it never tips over.

This one was a real eye-opener for me. Made me appreciate music in a new way.

2.http://www.rinneradio.com/images/disco/pan.jpg
Pan (2004) by Rinneradio

Electronic music at it's best. Ambient landscapes and pinches of techno weaving itself into soft drum'n'bass beats that's muddled up a bit with jazz influence. This coupled with Tapani Rinne's absolutely incredible soprano saxophone. The sweetest sax you'll ever hear. It's an experience to listen to Pan.


3.http://www.motherjones.com/files/legacy/riff_blog/mojo-cover-radioheadkida.JPG
Kid A (2000) by Radiohead

Albeit In Rainbows has better invidual songs, Kid A is superior to any Radiohead record in terms of wholeness. Nothing is better than a good band discarding what they've done before and going to a different direction. This album is the reason Radiohead is the defining band of 00's. They not only survived the jump from 90's to 00's, they made half of the indie bands that are making music today.

I respect Radiohead greatly for making this of a bold move with their music.

4.http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/1245/cover_141592172004.jpg
Raise Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000) by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

The definitive "post-rock" album. Every track is superb. The album is extremely coherent, and would not work with any of the tracks taken from it. Unlike their first album, it doesn't suffer from using too many samples and too many sections of silence, but mixes those parts up with the actual musical content incredibly well. The crescendos, for this reason, are far more effective than on any of their other releases.

5.http://cover6.cduniverse.com/CDUCoverArt/Music/Large/7301600.jpg
The Fountain Soundtrack (2006) by Clint Mansell

This is the best movie soundtrack ever made. Actually, It's not just a soundtrack, it is the movie in the form of music. It's also a brilliant record on it's own with it's organic, droning sounds and amazing crescendos. I could write a thesis on how the music works on it's own and alongside the thematical substance of the movie, but I'll just conclude saying it's simply brilliant.

Reminds me to see Moon and get it's soundtrack as well.

6. http://betyg.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/antlers.png?w=350&h=350
Hospice (2009) by The Antlers

An extremely earnest and heart-wrenching story of death and love. The lyrics are worth of a proper prose and the band uses effects well to make delicate sound. The most emotionally involving album I have heard.

7. http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/1743/ryksoppmelodyamgj0.jpg
Melody A.M (2001) by Röyksopp

The huge success this album garnered wasn't for nothing, since Melody A.M is just the perfect down-tempo electronic music album. The sounds Röyksopp make on this record are always round, warm and relaxing. The sparse vocals are always perfectly placed and produced. Seemingly their curse, they haven't really produced anything as great as this of late.

8. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_68wkl2XsVXU/Sk_aCYf71UI/AAAAAAAACS0/GdtFr0Fq1mw/s400/Vuk+(2009)+The+Plains.jpg
The Plains (2009) by Vuk

At last a solo female artist that is simply stupid to compare to others, since the list would end up something like " she's like Björk and her backup singers hanging out with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave with Annette Peacock ja Meredith Monk singing at the background with Stever Reich peeking around the corner". Vuk is just herself, just like the best solo musicians always are.

9. http://www.freakdancerecords.net/images/luomis-reprint.jpg
Pog-O-Matic Pogomén 30000 (2004) by Luomuhappo

Suomisaundi Psy-trance. If you listen to that kind of music, you'll see why this is great.

10. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fi/8/85/CMXAion.jpg
Aion (2003) by CMX

Brilliant songwriting, brilliant compositions, toppled with the most interesting lyricist that has graced modern music. Aion's depth and variety is astonishing and when viewed alongside other works by this band, it makes you appreciate music more.

Muzman on 6/12/2009 at 01:47

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I have the same problem. The-album-as-artform is a kind of criticism I can appreciate, but I rarely engage on that level. Even less these days. I'm flat out thinking of ten albums from this decade I listened to in this decade and really liked all over.

Spitter on 6/12/2009 at 11:07

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That's an awesome list and I considered putting Aion and The Fountain soundtrack on my own list too. I'm going to need to check out some of the other stuff on your list! And yes, definitely see Moon if you haven't, it's one of the few genuinely excellent scifi movies of the decade.

Fingernail on 6/12/2009 at 11:58

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I'm going to make a list of albums that were not necessarily amazing or that I even like, but that hold particular significance for me in the past decade, which is after all the decade in which I started to seriously engage with music (not strictly true).

10. Youth and Young Manhood - Kings of Leon
I can't stand the Kings of Leon now, and I don't think this even held much lasting significance at the time, but it was out and in the car the first summer my brother was back from university. So was ZZ Top, but this is meant to be a list of this decade so I'm trying to keep it vaguely in line.

9. Hail to the Thief - Radiohead
Probably their second worst album above Pablo Honey, this was the first Radiohead album whose release I was really aware of (as a fan, that is - I distinctly remember seeing videos from OK Computer at the time, and being about 9 or 10, for whatever reason, really disliking it), and the first one I bought myself (my brother had supplied me with OK Computer a couple of years earlier).

8. Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Again, the first Nick Cave release to hit my awareness (I'd heard my brother's Best Of previously - there's a running theme here, isn't there?), and actually one of my favourite of his albums. Of his recent work, I currently prefer it to Dig!!! and Grinderman in terms of sound. "Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed" half sung/spoken is a great opening to that side.

7. Takk - Sigur Ros
I can't remember how this came about exactly, but after I heard it I went on a bit of a Sigur Ros spree, buying all of their previous albums in a month. Don't listen that much anymore, then Hoppipolla was everywhere, well you all know. For a while it was the shit though, although it was never the kind of music I wanted to make myself.

6. You Are the Quarry - Morrissey
Morrissey's great "comeback" album is not really that great, and his comeback has since proved to be somewhat weaker than previous solo outings. Nonetheless, I had become a fan of the Smiths by this point, so it was gratefully recieved. Eventually led to me seeing him live too, which was no bad thing, and poking into his back catalogue (oo-er), with Your Arsenal and Vauxhall and I proving particularly enjoyable.

5. Yoshimi.... - Flaming Lips / Room on Fire - the Strokes
The thing with these albums is that they were big albums at school for the musical crowd - the guys who'd be reading the NME. The thing is I was never one of those, perhaps even at the time I knew they were just following whatever critical trend seemed to be going on. Either way, it was considered cool to listen to these in the lunch hour for a while, and I never was.

4. The Flying Club Cup - Beirut
Do you remember when rock was about rebellion, about being different from your parents? I sure don't. My mum likes this, and who could blame her? It's pretty. Pretty insignificant in many ways, but pretty.

3. Neon Bible - Arcade Fire
The thing with this is that I feel like I can see all sides of it, and that makes me feel powerful. That I can hear the Bowie, I can hear the Springsteen, makes it more meaningful in some way. It's taste-affirming. The work of fans. But they are bringing something too.

2. The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
You should listen to this album. It will teach you things. Things about how constructing a decent production can be learned from historical "great albums", but how a modern day teenage audience will rarely be able to put the pieces together and spot the theft (inspiration?). Things about how music can be labelled as one thing or another whilst sharing almost all of its sound and features with music that belongs to another label. And actually, people do still respond to albums. Number 2, though, really?

1. In Rainbows - Radiohead
A Radiohead album for my time which is actually great! An album that manages to be forward and backward looking! A Radiohead tour that I get to see! I was in the right place at the right time.


PS. I don't think you should take the order seriously, I didn't. It was a case of, ok, um, what next? Although in some ways In Rainbows belongs at the top, it's also skewed because it's probably the most recent album of real significance for me, and I'd always priviledge my current taste over what I may have listened to in the past.

Scots Taffer on 6/12/2009 at 13:41

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This is true. I'll endeavour.