Brings all new meaning to the song...

Old Bastard of the Week: Al Davis

Favorite Album 2007: Songs III: Bird on the Water -- Marissa Nadler

I didn't listen to a whole lot of new music last year -- it was mostly spent watching movies (hint) and digging into some older stuff that I felt I had looked over. I made sure to pay attention to the stuff that I had initially been looking forward too (Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Kanye West), but the stuff I was listening to most was from the 60s and 70s. Then one day, I took a chance on a little record that seemed to be getting a lot of buzz called Songs III: Bird on the Water, and really fucking loved it. Definitely wasn't the best album released that year, but it was certainly the one I enjoyed the most -- even more than Graduation. Marissa Nadler is a solid singer/songwriter with a really interesting voice, and the overall experience of the album is altogether enthralling. Pick it up if you haven't given it a listen. Although you should have.

So that's it -- those are the albums. Here's a recap for you:

1987: Paid in Full -- Erik B. and Rakim
1988: Daydream Nation -- Sonic Youth
1989: Paul's Boutique -- Beastie Boys
1990: Repeater + 3 Songs -- Fugazi
1991: The Low End Theory -- A Tribe Called Quest
1992: The Chronic -- Dr. Dre
1993: Archers of Loaf -- Icky Mettle
1994: Cheshire Cat -- blink-182
1995: The Bends -- Radiohead
1996: Entroducing... -- DJ Shadow
1997: Either/Or -- Elliott Smith
1998: In The Aeroplane Over the Sea -- Neutral Milk Hotel
1999: Things Fall Apart -- The Roots
2000: The Moon and Antarctica -- Modest Mouse
2001: The Blueprint -- Jay-Z
2002: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -- Wilco
2003: untitled -- blink-182
2004: The College Dropout -- Kanye West
2005: Illinois -- Sufjan Stevens
2006: The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me -- Brand New
2007: Songs III: Bird on the Water -- Marissa Nadler

Fine, just fine.

Awesome.

Kid Sister featuring David Banner -- "Family Reunion"

Download MP3 here. So good.

Favorite Album 2006: The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me -- Brand New

What a solid record this is -- and one that certainly wears its influences on its sleeves. Jesse Lacey and co. not only comprise what is, in my opinion, the best band out today, but they also have incredible taste in music. On The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (a name conceived after a conversation about Daniel Johnston -- awesome), you can hear shades of the loudness of The Jesus Lizard, the drone of The Jesus and Mary Chain, the lo-fi of Archers of Loaf, and the melody of Modest Mouse, all the while creating a sound completely singular to BN. This record is their most poetic, noisy, artistic and darkest record to date, vastly outshining their two previous efforts. Lacey's lyrical ability are essentially unmatched in the genre, and they're at the forefront here. The musicianship takes a step up, too, with each track boasting a different sound and style -- the two "instrumental" tracks are some of the most engaging of Brand New's career.

Although they are notorious for being just as mysterious as their music (although this image is completely fabricated by the emo-drones on AP.net with nothing better to talk about), the band seems to be working on some new material. TDAGARM was about as highly anticipated as an album can get -- this next one seems to be even more so.

Great album. Great band. Fuck yes.

Key tracks: "Sowing Season (Yeah)", "Jesus Chirst", "Degausser", "Limousine (MS Rebridge), "You Won't Know", "Luca", "Untitled"

Next week: 2007
Hint: Awesome last name...

So I think this next one will be the last one -- I'll save my favorite album of 2008 for the requisite end of year list. This has been fun though, and I'll most likely end up doing something pretty similar in the following days...wait and see.

Favorite Album 2005: Illinois -- Sufjan Stevens

Every so often, a really fucking good album comes out. One so fucking good that it finds an audience in virtually everyone -- the songs are so well crafted, the lyrics so thoughtful, that anyone and everyone can find SOMETHING to like about it. Case in point: Illinois, by Sufjan Stevens. An album that was loved by critics, fans, and even MTV, Stevens went from indie obscurity to indie Elvis with this record. Part of his famed "50 States Project", in which Stevens plans (or rather, planned, at this point) to do an album for each state, highlighting different aspects of each one, creating a grandiose experience completely singular to each record. Illinoise was his second effort -- its predecessor, the good-but-not-great Michigan, was merely a glimpse into Stevens' knack for extravagant musical imagery. Ostensibly a folk record, Illinois is truly a pop masterpiece, showcasing the masterful songwriting and a key wit of Stevens'.

Each of the songs is like a mini-event, and some of them are capable of creating entire moods and feelings with the right setting. The first time I heard "Chicago", I was driving down a lonely country highway just as the sun was setting over the hills of western Oregon. An entirely out of body experience, I realized then that few people were skilled enough to craft this kind of emotion through song: Sufjan was truly something special, as was this wonderful record.

Now let's get him off his ass and make him record another one!

Key tracks: All of them -- each one is necessary to the entire experience.

Next week: 2006
Hint: Daniel Johnston

Favorite Album 2004: The College Droput -- Kanye West

To me, if The Blueprint is considered the Godfather of modern hip-hop, than Kanye West's debut The College Dropout is Goodfellas -- not quite as innovative, but chock full of attitude, swagger, and a likability that only a persona of West's stature could create. Straight out the gate, Kanye was on point, and lord knows he hasn't missed a beat yet.

The story of this album is simple, and you've heard it all before: he secured a production deal with Roc-A-Fella Records, quickly becoming the go-to guy for beats with an R&B/soul infusion that could still get played loudly in your whip without fear of you being shot and/or religiously converted.

But, as most actors would tell you, all Kanye wanted to do was dance! -- or, barring that, rap. He was told not to give up his day job even as he was crafting beats to some of Hova's classics -- which was distressing to young Kanye, especially since his day job consisted of assistant managerial duties at Wet Seal. Finally, after some relentless badgering, Roc-A-Fellas agreed to sign an album deal, although they had no clue how to market such an animal ("Dame, why he ain't got a jersey on?" "I coulda swore I saw him roll outta here with a backpack on, g!")

The plan paid off though, and truly, the rest is history. What we have here, though, is a collection of fourteen amazing hip-hop songs and seven weird skits that make up one of the best hip-hop releases of the decade. If you don't already know, I'm not even gonna waste my time.

Key tracks: "All Falls Down" "Spaceship" "Jesus Walks" "Through the Wire" "School Spirit" "Get 'em High"

Next week: 2005
Hint: Superman

Favorite Album 2003: untitled -- blink-182

That's right, untitled. Not self-titled -- untitled. Such a pet peeve.

Anyway, this is my favorite album from my favorite band. Don't really wanna go into how much I like it, or why I think it's good, cause I'd be here all night. I'll just say: Never has an album changed the way I think about music, life or love the way this one did. Call me insane, or stupid, or whatever, but it's true. I love it.

Key tracks: All of them

Next Week: 2004
Hint: the birth of an international asshole.

Favorite Album 2002: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -- Wilco

2002 was a good year. So many great albums. Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot barely beat out the competition, but I'd like to bring attention to some really amazing albums that almost edged it out:
The Second Stage Turbine Blade -- Coheed and Cambria
Didn't It Rain? -- Songs: Ohia
In Search Of... -- N.E.R.D.
Blazing Arrow -- Blackalicious
The Big Come Up -- The Black Keys
Box Car Racer -- Box Car Racer
The Eminem Show -- Eminem
Heathen -- David Bowie
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots -- The Flaming Lips
The Rising -- Bruce Springsteen
Lifted -- Bright Eyes
Wiretap Scars -- Sparta
Turn On the Bright Lights -- Interpol
Lord Willin' -- Clipse
One Beat -- Sleater-Kinney
Sea Change -- Beck
The Lost Tapes -- Nas
You Forgot It In People -- Broken Social Scene
Phrenology -- the Roots
Quality -- Talib Kweli

Yeah, making a decision here made my head hurt, so I'm not gonna write anything about Wilco's amazing Yanee Hotel Foxtrot -- just know that it's really, really amazing, and I like it slightly better than some of those albums up there. Crazy.

Key Tracks: "Jesus, Etc.", "Ashes of American Flag", "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", "Pot Kettle Black"

Next Week: 2003
Hint: untitled.

Pizza

Favorite Album 2001: The Blueprint -- Jay-Z

Figured I'd do this back to back, since I'm a little behind here.

Anyway, every hip-hop album I've posted here I consider to be a classic -- one of those albums that are just essential for any hip-hop fan not only to own, but to memorize and to obsess over; Jay-Z's The Blueprint is absolutely no exception. This is the album where Hova, along with up and coming producers Just Blaze and Kanye West, changed the face of modern hip-hop and ushered in a new sound that has truly set an unattainable bar. Prior to The Blueprint, mainstream hip-hop producers had largely eschewed music sampling in favor of a more keyboard-driven sound (characterized by a shifting, syncopated rhythm, similar to samba or jungle music). The Blueprint, however, revived musical sampling as a common practice in hip hop music and dislodged the digital keyboard-driven production style as the dominant sound in hip-hop music. Containing a unique and balanced blend of soulful samples that had both street credibility and mainstream appeal, the album garnered a major stylistic shift in not only production but in lyrical content and approach as well. As soon as people heard "Takeover", they knew -- shit was about to be different. And how true it was.

Key tracks: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Takeover", "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)", "Renegade" feat. Eminem, "Hola Hovito"

Next week: 2002
Hint: No idea -- too much shit happened in 2002. Gotta think about it.

Favorite Album 2000: The Moon and Antarctica -- Modest Mouse

Fast & slow, rowdy & subdued, angry & poignant: this album basically has it all. In their weird, did-someone-forget-to-tune-the-guitar kind of way, Modest Mouse nailed it on this album. I've always loved Isaac Brock's pop sensibilities, and this was the first album where he really seemed to embrace the art of melody. Musically, the album paints a beautiful landscape, and when coupled with the introspective lyrical ability of Brock, tracks like "3rd Planet", "Gravity Rides Everything" and "Lives" truly resonate. Still, like any good Modest Mouse record, the more aggressive efforts ("Life Like Ashes", "A Different City") fall in nicely. This album can definitely be seen as a precursor to the band's current sound and symbolizes a change of sorts in Brock's attitude towards the craft. Good stuff.

Key Tracks: "3rd Planet", "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes", "Paper Thin Walls"

Next Week: 2001
Hint: 5 Mics

Favorite Album 1999: Things Fall Apart -- The Roots

The Legendary Roots Crew are one of a kind, and this is their most realized body of work, in my mind. Everything from the instrumentation to the Black Thoughts conscious and hard hitting lyrics and flow -- everything that makes the Roots amazing really makes this record shine. Few albums manage to simultaneously be this informative, political, and downright groovy: it's the kind of shit you can bump at a barbecue or to inspire your mind. It's just a solid, quality album and a must-own for any hip-hop heads. Plus, there's a bunch of nice little factoids nestled in:

-This was the first album Philly native and Roc rocker Beanie Siegel appeared on, rapping alongside Dice Raw on the track "Adrenaline!". He snuck onto the album after a week-long jam session with the band.
-Eve (at the time, signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, and known as Eve of Destruction) also made her debut appearance on Things Fall Apart, on the track, "You Got Me".
-Chicago's own Common appears on the track "Act Too (Love of my Life)", who's verse is a continuation of his song "I Used To Love H.E.R.", where he speaks of hip-hop as a woman.
-The outside musicians who contributed to the album (mainly D'Angelo, James Poyser, and Jay Dee) went on to form the Soulquarians collective with ?uestlove and Pino Palladino.
-The last song to be included to the final selection was "Double Trouble", featuring Mos Def. Initially, the song was supposed to feature a guest appearance from Mos' Black Star partner, Talib Kweli but due to the format of the track, it was decided to make it a throwback to the Run D.M.C./EPMD tag-team style of rap, with just two MCs.

Awesome.

Next week: 2000
Hint: Clava Studios

So we're entering a new decade next time: recap? Recap.

1987: Erik B. and Rakim -- Paid in Full
1988: Sonic Youth -- Daydream Nation
1989: Beastie Boys -- Paul's Boutique
1990: Fugazi -- Repeater + 3 Songs
1991: A Tribe Called Quest -- The Low End Theory
1992: Dr. Dre -- The Chronic
1993: Archers of Loaf -- Icky Mettle
1994: blink-182 -- Cheshire Cat
1995: Radiohead -- The Bends
1996: DJ Shadow -- Entroducing...
1997: Elliott Smith -- Either/Or
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel -- In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
1999: The Roots -- Things Fall Apart.

Nice. Quite nice.

Favorite Album 1998: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea -- Neutral Milk Hotel

Not only my favorite album of 1998, but my favorite album. Period. To me, it's perfect in every single way possible. Catchy, lyrical, layered and beautiful. From the opening "King of Carrot Flowers," In the Aeroplane Over the Sea shifts from acoustic folkiness to loud, fast punk rock with little or no warning. It features a noisy horn section and a dreamy singin' saw, all rolled into a package that does a credible job of blending Sgt. Pepper with early 90's lo-fi. Aeroplane is a veritable manifesto of the different ways to make pop music. Whether it's the somber title track, the haunting "Two-Headed Boy" or the frenetically rambunctious "Holland, 1945" (one of my favorite songs of all time), the album ebbs and flows between brilliance and madness -- which, in frontman Jeff Mangum's world are inherently interchangeable.

Magnum writes songs that read like bad dreams. He inherits a world of cannibalism, elastic sexuality and freaks of nature. We can only assume he likes it there. It is a spiritually motivated work conceptually based on the beauty to be found in the horrific fate of Anne Frank. During live performances, including the one released under the title Live at Jittery Joe's, Mangum has described some of the songs off this album as based on urgent, recurring dreams he had of a Jewish family during World War II.

Sadly, any new material from Neutral Milk Hotel is all but impossible. Thankfully, we have the glory of Aeroplane, an album that only comes along every so often, when a group of artists create something so singular that it continues to find new appreciators each and every day.

Key tracks: All of them.

Next week: 1999
Hint: Girl. Church. Ace. Riot. Baby.

Survivors by Errol Morris

Acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris creates a short film for the Stand Up For Cancer benefit. The film is comprised of reflections from people who have survived cancer, as well as their friends and loved ones, with the ever-elusive Morris occasionally heard interacting with them in the background.

Art by Gary Hume

Favorite Album 1997: Either/Or -- Elliott Smith

I truly can't say enough about this man, or this album. He left us far too soon, but it's these early albums of his that hint that his tragic suicide might have been all but inevitable. Still, the music on Either/Or is as heartbreakingly beautiful as the man himself; a departure from his previous release, the self-titled Elliott Smith, and his second effort for the Kill Rock Stars label, Either/Or features a natural progression away from the raw, acoustic stylings of his first album and into a more layered, instrumental approach. Elliott played every note of music on the album, from the guitar to drums, to bass and piano. This was ambitious at the time, as he was more accustomed to a simpler style. The transition was easy enough, however, as he crafted some of greatest pop tunes of the '90's, some of which were used for fellow Portlander and close friend Gus van Sant's commerical hit "Good Will Hunting". The title of the album is derived from the Søren Kierkegaard book of the same name. Smith stated in a few interviews that the album follows the Kierkegaard philosophy in relation with the absurdist struggle between choosing an aesthetic life and an ethical life. By this time, Smith's already-heavy drinking was now being compounded with use of anti-depressants. At the end of his tour in support of the album, an intervention was staged by close friends of his in Chicago, but it proved ineffective.

His death effected many, but each of his fans still hold a strong devotion for one of the greatest songwriters of all time, especially in his native Northwest. After his death, Gus van Sant was asked to surmise his music in the best way he could: after some thought, van Sant plainly but eloquently stated: "His songs sound like Portland." And what a truth that was. One can easily see the sweeping skyline, the cloudy skies and prolific bikers dodging traffic while listening to tracks like "Rose Parade". This album, like each of his efforts, truly paint a portrait.

He will forever be the truest and the bluest.

Choosing this album eventually proved not to be too difficult, but I did pass over some gems, including Radiohead's OK Computer, blink's Dude Ranch, Green Day's Nimrod, Biggie's Ready to Die and a few others.

Next week: 1998
Hint: Mugnam

So-so

Favorite Album 1996: Entroducing... -- DJ Shadow

Unfolding like a surreal film soundtrack on which jazz, classical, and jungle fragments are artfully blended with turntable tricks and dialogue snippets, Endtroducing...took hip-hop into the next dimension. You wouldn't know it, but DJ Shadow didn't compose a single note of original music for this album -- rather, he took every jazz, soul, rock, pop and hip-hop sample you can possibly imagine and took them to a place that can only be described as futuristic: Entroducing... came out more than ten years ago, but it still sounds like it comes from another galaxy completely. Simply put: it's a perfect record -- completely and entirely essential.

Key tracks: All of them. Again.

Next week: 1997
Hint: Alas, I have no idea. Again. I'll decide later.

Favorite Album 1995: The Bends -- Radiohead

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Such an easy move. But come on: was there a more artistic, jarring, edgy album released in the 90's without a naked infant on the cover? The answer is unequivocally "no." This is the album quintessential for '90's alt-rock -- THE album. There were anthemic, atmospheric ballads ("High and Dry"), hard-rocking radio tunes ("Just"), and evidence of their growing penchant towards keyboards and a more broad experimentation ("Planet Telex"). The album came out during the height of the '90s Britpop movement, benefiting from renewed press attention to British guitar music. However, in the band's home country, Radiohead's music was rarely grouped with Blur, Pulp and other so-called "Britpop" acts, instead receiving some acclaim for diverging from the fashionable aspects of the scene. This was due praise, as "The Bends" is truly a record without comparison, at least at the time. It was also the first Radiohead album to include production assistance from engineer Nigel Godrich, though its main producer was Abbey Road veteran John Leckie.

It's a classic. Fuck predictability.

Key Tracks: All of them.

Next Week: 1996
Hint: He's white? Seriously?

Favorite Album 1994: Cheshire Cat -- blink-182

It was hard choosing an album for this year, since there were so many amazing ones. However, I settled on the first blink record as being my favorite of '94. To me, it showcases their pop sensibilities that I adored so much in such a raw way. It's a blueprint for the kind of music they would eventually make, and the songs here are as catchy and clever as anything they've ever made. It's not my favorite album of theirs, and it's far from the best album released in '94. But it's definitely my favorite. So there.

Key Tracks: "Carousel", "M+M's", "Does My Breath Smell?", "Football Boy"

Honorable mentions for '94: There's Nothing Wrong with Love by Built to Spill, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement, Weezer ("Blue Album"), by Weezer, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik by Outkast, Illmatic by Nas, Dookie by Green Day, and a shit load more.

Next week: 1995
Hint: A total cliche

Yesssssssssssssssssss

Semtex confirms it this morning -- new Yeezy in December. Apparently the 4th album isn't called Good Ass Job like it was rumored for so long, but regardless of the title I couldn't be more excited. The new single "Love LockDown" is set to drop any minute. Awesome.

Speaking of Good As Job, though, I had heard he was like 4 or 5 tracks into finish that album, so maybe he scrapped the whole thing? Or this album turned into that one? Guess we'll find out soon.

Also, I'm posting my favorite album for '94 here in a lil bit. Still haven't decided, but I'm damn determined.

Murder By Death -- Sometimes The Line Walks You

Awesome.

Favorite Album 1993: Icky Mettle -- Archers of Loaf

One of the most impeccable and crucial releases of the early-nineties indie rock scene, Icky Mettle is the debut record from the great Archers of Loaf. After the success of the independently released single "Wrong", the band signed with Alias records and the label released "Web in Front" as the second single. The song received some moderate college radio play and the band became a well-known fixture within the vibrant scene.

Archers of Loaf weren't afraid to be loud -- the guitars on Icky Mettle are anything but complacent, a sound that fit in well during indie rock's early years. Other bands, like Dinosaur Jr. and Superchunk, were doing similar things, but Icky Mettle has a trademark sound that truly stands on its own: tt blasts your eardrums with a hard edged melody all its own. Truly a classic. A frenzied, blaring staple.

Key tracks: "Web in Front", "Might", "Learo, You're a Hole"

Next week: 1994
No hint, this time. There were so many great records put out in '94, I've yet to decide what I'm picking.