Brandon's favorite albums that happened to be released between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009

Again, this is not definitive, and it's not meant to be definitive. These are, as the title of this post reflects, just some of my favorite albums that happened to be released between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009. This is not everything I liked from the decade. I limited it to one pick per artist, although if there are other albums I really like by them that were released this decade I do make a note of that. Other than number one it's not really in any order. The decision to list 15 was pretty arbitrary. No 2009 releases were listed.

So...bring on the indie rock! [featuring Kanye West]


Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot


Alejandro Escovedo: A Man Under the Influence


Jennifer O'Connor: Over the Mountain, Across the Valley, and Back to the Stars


Sufjan Stevens: Illinois [but sometimes Seven Swans]


Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes


The Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas [but sometimes The Sunset Tree, and occasionally Get Lonely]


Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah


Beulah: The Coast is Never Clear


The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday [but depending on the situation, Boys and Girls in America]


The National: Boxer [but now and then, Alligator]


The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic [and rarely Electric Version, and sometimes to be contrarian, Challengers]


Spiritualized: Songs in A&E


Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand


Stars: Set Yourself on Fire [sometimes In Our Bedroom After the War]


Spoon: Girls Can Tell [this one was close: sometimes Kill the Moonlight and other times Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but I think Girls Can Tell is just a personal favorite]


Anrew Bird: Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs


The Decemberists: Picaresque


Kanye West: Graduation [sometimes 808s & Heartbreak, and other times Late Registration]


Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood [but Blacklisted has her best song]


Silver Jews: Bright Flight

Brandon's 20 favorite albums of 2009

This has been floating around Facebook for a few days, but here it is on the blog. This is my no means meant to be definitive, but rather it's just my favorites of what I've listened to. It is in rough order. What'd I miss this year, what else would I like?

Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion

RIYL: Life; music


The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You

Recommended if you have a heart; or if you're the tin man and don't.


Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

RIYL: pop music


The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

RIYL: Indie pop music


Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

RIYL: Albums with great covers; fifteen minutes of swamp noise


Metric: Fantasies

RIYL: Songs that should be listened to at night


Tegan and Sara: Sainthood

RIYL: Two to three minute long indie rock songs; Canadians


Ha Ha Tonka: Novel Sounds of the Noveau South

RIYL: Missouri between St. Louis and Kansas City


Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

RIYL: songs with birds in the title


Wilco: Wilco (the Album)

RIYL: 101.9 FM; bands that have songs about themselves


Thao and the Get Down Stay Down: Know Better, Learn Faster

RIYL: Asian Americans


Scotland Yard Gospel Choir: …And the Horse You Rode In On

RIYL: Belle and Sebastian; Chicago


Justin Townes Earle: Midnight at the Movies

RIYL: Country, folk, country-folk


Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career

Recommended if you are twee


Andrew Bird: Noble Beast

RIYL: Andrew Bird


Dinosaur Jr.: Farm

RIYL: whatever alternative rock is


The Thermals: Now We Can See

Recommended if you're interested in hearing what a band who really hated George Bush sounds like now that George Bush is no longer president.


Marissa Nadler: Little Hells

RIYL: Reverb vocals


St. Vincent: Actor

RIYL: Songs about show business

The Mountain Goats: Life of the World to Come

RIYL: The Bible (probably as literature)

Precursor to lists

I think years and decades are pretty arbitrary markers of eras in popular music. What makes the 2000s the 2000s, and what makes something released in October 1999 markedly different from something released in February 2000, other than that only one can be included in a "Best Albums 2000-2009" list? Mark Grace had the most hits in the 1990s, and Todd Zeile had the most errors in the 1990s, but really, what importance to either of those statistics have (beyond being cool trivia answers) when neither of those guys are going to get into the Hall of Fame of anything beyond "Cubs players beloved by certain groups of women in Lincoln Park between 1989 and 2002." (and a larger question of whether anyone...ever really loved Todd Zeile is certainly debatable)

Still, I'm a sucker for lists. It's hard to have a list of you don't set these markers, or else you just have a bunch of records (not that there's anything wrong with just having a bunch of records, and in fact, sometimes it's cool to just have a bunch of records). In the coming weeks, there will be lists. There will be a Favorite Albums of 2009 list, and there will be a Favorite Albums of the 2000s list. These lists will ultimately not mean much other than display how much I think I like Spoon.

I also might be moving this over to Wordpress but I haven't decided yet. In the end I don't think there's much of a difference considering that I don't really mess with layout that much, but I like the [preliminary] way this Wordpress looks.

Ok, let me tell you what it's like every time Pitchfork puts out a list

Me: Dude, how could p4k rank [this band] number [x] on their list?! Like what the hell?
Juan: Man, it's pitchfork.
Me: Yeah, I know, I shouldn't get worked up, it's just a list.
Juan: Yeah.
Me: But I like lists. Lists are fun.
Juan: Lists are good.
Me: They didn't release their number one yet, but know it's gonna be Radiohead.

[today's "[this band]" was Vampire Weekend, and "[x]" was equal to 51, on their top albums of the 2000s list. I'll probably do a fave albums of the decade list sometime soon. I can say one thing with some certainty: Vampire Weekend will probably not make it.]

Video killed the something something

Pitchfork's top 50 music videos of the 00s

This is one of those things that's going to keep me up all night.

We're number five!

The Society of American Travel Writers has named Chicago the number five city in North America for live music behind New Orleans, New York, Austin, and Nashville. We're followed by Memphis, Montreal, Las Vegas, Branson (, Missouri), and Denver.

Having only been to Chicago I can't say anything about any of those other cities, but it doesn't seem that off base, at least in the top seven. Funny how no west coast cities made the list, although a general "music scene" is probably different from an "indie scene," at least to the Society of American Travel Writers. No Seattle, no San Francisco...hm. Curious omissions, I think, but that's just me.

Still though, hey Chicago!

[via gapersblock.com]

We yelled "LIST THE RAT!"

...and then they did.

Good list. It's worth checking out back from number 500. Nice job, Pitchfork, it was fun.

Got My Name From Rock and Roll

American Songwiter counted down the Top 20 Jeff Tweedy Songs. Here's the list, along with a link to their post on each song:

20. The Long Cut
19. That's Not the Issue
18. Promising
17. She's a Jar
16. I Can't Keep From Talking
15. Impossible Germany
14. Wilco (the Song)
13. Gun
12. Sunken Treasure
11. Laminated Cat aka Not For the Season
10. Remember the Mountain Bed
9. Please Tell My Brother
8. Jesus, etc.
7. Heavy Metal Drummer
6. New Madrid
5. Hummingbird
4. A Shot in the Arm
3. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
2. Ashes of American Flags
1. Misunderstood

I don't disagree too much with this list, and especially not number one, since that song provided the URL for this blogspot.

Brandon's top 20 Jeff Tweedy Songs (not in any order except for Misunderstood)--

Misunderstood
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
Sunken Treasure
Jesus Etc.
Via Chicago
Shot in the Arm
Radio King
Dreamer In My Dreams
Someday Soon
Spiders (Kidsmoke)
Acuff-Rose
Screen Door
Gun
Too Far Apart
That's Not The Issue
Muzzle of Bees
Ashes of American Flags
Pot Kettle Black
Hummingbird
Hotel Arizona

My other list is: "The 19 songs from Being There, and 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart'"

Edited to add: I don't really think any songs from the two most recent albums should make the list, but I will say that I feel really good when I listen to Wilco (the song).

I want my MTV

MTV lists their top albums of the year, and there's overlap with four that were on my list (five, really, since Dinosaur Jr. would make it now). I should stop caring about stuff like what MTV thinks or what Pitchfork thinks, or whatever. Yeah, exactly. Like, y'know, whatever.