We Are the Innovators, They Are the Imitators

Here we are, Christmas Eve Eve... Hours away from the time when children are at their most excited... kind of like the audience who was lucky enough to be present when our next album was recorded.

NUMBER 8:

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos

The second live album on our top 20 of the decade was called, by allmusic.com, "one of the best live recordings of the past 30 years". They won't get much argument from me.

It is clear that My Morning Jacket is one of the most important bands of the past 10 years. Picking a favorite of their oeuvre is not as easy, as they are consistently excellent in the studio. The high, echoed, silo sound of It Still Moves and the proto-Prince keyboards of Z are worlds apart sonically, but linked in their key elements - excellent guitar playing, a rock-solid rhythm section, and strangely obtuse lyrics. The true way to hear this band, though, is live - as evidenced by their headlining, star-making turn at the 2008 Bonnaroo festival (and their eardrum-torching set at the Kool Haus in Toronto in Spring of that year - yeah, I was lucky enough to be there).

Okonokos was recorded at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The accompanying DVD has had praised heaped upon it, but the music is what carries the day. The band's power is undeniable, but can switch to complete subtlety if need to be - check "Golden" - easily Mrs. Cuddle's favorite MMJ track - a beautiful acoustic guitar ode to the next plane of existence, it floats along on a beautifully picked lead guitar line and gentle slide guitar backing. The band's music is hook-laden, and ever-propelled by Jim James' broken falsetto. His howling lead vocal on the coda of the album's opener, "Wordless Chorus", is chill-inducing. Disc 2 really shows off the band's chops - the extended jams of "Steam Engine" and "Mahgeetah" are one thing, but the back to back colossuses of "Dondante" and "Run Thru" are downright epic. They seem to have movements much like classical music pieces and each reach deafening crescendos. The crowd is whipped into a frenzy with each passing moment, as if they understand that music history and the ascension of a legendary band is occurring in front of their eyes.

My Morning Jacket has been feted by publications, blogs, and critics alike (and has even been the subject of an episode of American Dad - if you haven't seen it, check out the episode "My Morning Straightjacket" here). The tracks below give a taste of the power of this band and this album. Please check them out and share them.

Okonokos - "Dondante"

Okonokos - "One Big Holiday"

Okonokos - "I Will Sing You Love Songs"

Happy Holidays, enjoy friends and family, and new music everywhere...

If You Don't Bring Up Those Lonely Parts, This Could Be A Good Time

Greetings faithful readers... the list marches on with what can truly be considered a formative album of my musical education. As we push on to Number 1 of the decade, many more of these records are associated with specific times and places in my life - knowing exactly where I was when each album was purchased, the thoughts that raced through my head the first time I listened, how each changed me. Enough build-up...

NUMBER 9:

Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights

It was late Summer 2002 when this album landed in our collective consciousness. I was a fourth-year medical student on a collision course with residency less than one year later. It was an exciting, nerve-wracking, and confusing time. Feeling worn out from reading up on the interpretation of EKGs and cardiac disease in adults (and bored to tears, given a career in pediatrics was already in the cards for me), I felt that a break was needed. The future Mrs. Cuddle was busy working late at her given rotation at the time, so a well-deserved trip down to New World Record on Elmwood (R.I.P) was in the cards. Cruising around the store that night, I stumbled upon a listening station with 10 new releases cued up. My eye drifted toward an album whose stark black and red cover looked interesting. The blurb on the poster noted allusions to shoe-gaze and, of course, Joy Division (I know, that comparison is played out and over-used, but applicable). The sound that came out of the headphones in the subsequent minutes was unlike that of any other band that I was aware of at the time (at least, bands that were still making records). It sounded as if someone had taken an early 1980s British post-punk band and filtered them through the lens of the new millennium. I needed this record. I needed to obsess over this record. That's exactly what I did.

Arriving back home at our small apartment, I cued the disc up on the system, sat across the room on the couch, and just listened. I was surrounded by jagged guitars, pounding bass lines, and a voice that didn't just echo Ian Curtis', it improved it. The future Mrs. Cuddle arrived home, heard the disc, and was just as enraptured in its seductive draw.

Somehow, Interpol managed to make a debut LP that sounded self-assured and polished, yet completely ground-breaking. They had quietly released 3 EPs to that point, but no one was quite ready for the impact of Turn On The Bright Lights. "Untitled" starts the proceedings with a circling guitar line that is chased by a bouncing bass line and alarm-call rhythm guitar. "Obstacle 1" is the albums first true masterpiece - and clearly where the Joy Division comparisons came from. Paul Banks sings as if he's exasperated and fearful all at once, over a cacophonous rattle of guitars, bass, and menacing lyrics. With 1 minute left in the track, the band brings the song out of the depths with a major key bridge, before coming to a sudden, halting conclusion. "PDA" sounds more like an outtake from Television than anything that ever came out of England. The remainder of the album is no less brilliant, hitting high note after high note throughout its tension-filled songs of post-millennial life. This record acted like a clarion call to other NYC-based post-punk wannabes to resurrect this genre. Many imitators have tried to achieve what Interpol did with Turn On The Bright Lights - they've all failed. Indie rock is littered with bands whose sound is nothing more than a cheap knock off of bands that have come before. Interpol managed to improve upon a sound that many felt didn't need updating. The past decade has been much better for it.

Turn On The Bright Lights - "Obstacle 2"

Tomorrow, Number 8. Until then, be well.

Don't Say A Word, The Last One's Still Stinging

It's hard to believe that there are only 10 days left in 2009. Wait... there are 10 albums left on my list... hmm...

NUMBER 10:

Spoon - Girls Can Tell / Kill The Moonlight

It was just way too tough to separate these two albums. Released back-to-back in 2001 and 2002, these are the albums that launched Spoon to critical acclaim. After having been unceremoniously dropped by Elektra Records the previous year, Spoon made the jump to indie juggernaut Merge. The Durham, NC label couldn't have been happier.

Tense, taut rhythms, sparse instrumentation, "just enough" production, and Britt Daniel's vocal delivery equal two of the best back to back albums you'll find. Girls Can Tell kicks off with "Everything Hits At Once" - check out the repeated and deceptively simple organ line that runs throughout the song and is parroted by a touch of xylophone. This song sets the mold for what makes Spoon great - they know that they don't need bells and whistles to make a song great. The album also contains one of Spoon's masterpieces - "The Fitted Shirt". A walking bass line, simple guitar fills, and the singer longing for a simpler time - "when we used to say ma'am and yes sir". Who ever said that a little nostalgia had no place in modern rock?

Kill The Moonlight isn't quite as polished and angular as Girls Can Tell. It's clearly more experimental and loose, but no less inventive. Take the opening track, "Small Stakes". In the hands of almost any other artist, it would fall into a classic verse-chorus-bridge pattern, but with Spoon, that big bridge never comes. The song is propelled forward by a driving fuzzed guitar line that, on first listen, seems like it should explode into a wall of sound. That it doesn't explains what sets it apart. "The Way We Get By"? A theme song for indie stoners everywhere. "Stay Don't Go" includes human beat-box throughout. "Jonathon Fisk" is the proto-punk anthem of the record and deserves to be heard at sporting events everywhere. The album closes with "Vittorio E", an acoustic ballad with beautiful background harmony.

As the decade progressed, Spoon pushed their sound to new directions (with the dark, but equally excellent Gimmie Fiction and the neo-soul workout of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga), and they continue to push the envelope to whichever direction suits them. January 2010 will bring us the release of Transference, Spoon's first entry into the next decade's best of list. If you haven't heard this band before, by all means, enjoy.

Girls Can Tell - "The Fitted Shirt"

Kill The Moonlight - "Jonathon Fisk"

Tomorrow, Number 9... Number 9... Number 9... (no, it's not a Beatles record)... be well...

People Say That Your Dreams Are the Only Things That Save Ya

Hello again, fearless readers... As we prepare to jump into the next portion of the Decade's Best, let's take a minute to think about how nice the weather was in the Buff today... feel kind of bad for those down the East Coast being hammered with snow (sorry, Baltimore), but, our time is certainly coming sooner or later. Anyway, here we go...

NUMBER 15:
Eels - With Strings: Live At Town Hall
I can almost guarantee no one else posting a list of the best albums of this decade has this album ranked, but that's fine with me. To the uninitiated, the Eels may be known only as a one-hit-wonder ("Novocaine for the Soul", from the underrated Beautiful Freak, 1996), but the work that Mark Oliver Everett has amassed over the past 10 years stands alone in its naked emotion. To anyone not familiar with where Everett is coming from, by all means, read Things The Grandchildren Should Know, his autobiography (easily one of my favorite books of the decade). You'll have a true appreciation for someone who was able to harness a completely fucked up childhood (and life in general) and make beautiful music from it.
I could have easily chosen Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, the Eels excellent 2005 double album, at the 15 slot, but I think that this album really crystallizes what makes the Eels songs so heartbreakingly beautiful. The use of all acoustic instruments, including plenty of strings, puts Everett's fragile voice at the forefront and forces the listener to face his demons with him. The covers on the album are carefully chosen as well - Bob Dylan's "Girl From the North Country" and the Left Banke's "Pretty Ballerina" are great, but Johnny Rivers' "Poor Side of Town" has forever been marked with Everett's stamp - even the original can't compare. Other highlights include the theremin-soaked "Flyswatter", Eels favorite "My Beloved Monster", and a complete reworking of "Novocaine For the Soul". I've decided to post quite a few tracks from this record, as I think it deserves to be heard by many more folks. By all means, dive in.
With Strings: Live at Town Hall - "Railroad Man"
With Strings: Live at Town Hall - "Novocaine For the Soul"
With Strings: Live at Town Hall - "It's A Motherfucker"

NUMBER 14:
The White Stripes - Elephant
This record is a monster. In fact, I really feel guilty that there wasn't a place for it in the Top 10, as it is as re-listenable as albums get. There isn't a bad track amongst the album's 14 cuts, and some are just stone-cold classics. "Seven Nation Army" received more airplay and attention than most other cuts on Elephant, and rightfully so - it's a beast of a song, punishing the listener with a massive thumping bass line throughout its almost 4 minute running time. The cover of Burt Bacharach's classic "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" isn't a complete reinvention, although it is tough to listen to the Dusty Springfield or Elvis Costello versions without thinking about Jack White's guitar solo superimposed in them (the sexy black and white video with Kate Moss doesn't hurt, either). "Ball & Biscuit" (available below) is 7 minutes of pure throwback blues, and the album's standout track. White Blood Cells may have been the album that launched the Stripes to world-wide acclaim, but Elephant put them in a league all their own (unfortunately, Get Behind Me Satan almost derailed the entire outfit).
Elephant - "Ball & Biscuit"

NUMBER 13:
Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP/Fleet Foxes
I'm very proud to have jumped on this bandwagon well before the band set foot on the stage at Saturday Night Live at the beginning of this year (yeah, that sounds like indie-hipster posturing, but whatever). The Sun Giant EP appeared kind of out of nowhere on the Sub Pop label in early 2008 and heralded the onslaught of honey-voiced harmonies that litters the indie world today. By the time their self-titled full length dropped in the Spring of 2008, the buzz around the band had built to a frenzy, and with good reason. The easy comparison is with CSNY, mostly for the harmonic textures found throughout the album's 11 tracks. It is clear that this record wouldn't have sounded out of place in the late 1960s. Robin Pecknold, the Fleet Foxes' lead singer, has a voice that seems effortless, yet carefully honed. This album also sounds great no matter what the season - it fits well in a warm summer night next to a bond fire and a frigid winter evening next to the fireplace. Ethereal, pastoral, gorgeous. A classic.
Sun Giant EP - "Drops In The River"
Fleet Foxes - "Sun It Rises"

NUMBER 12:
The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Unlike Live at Town Hall, this is an album that most music critics can agree on placing in list after list of the Decade's Best. Like Fleet Foxes, this band carried an enormous amount of buzz with it as Funeral was released. It easily lived up to the hype. Boasting an amalgam of instruments and sounds unheard previously, the Arcade Fire came screaming out of Canada with both guns blazing. Every time I hear "Wake Up" I get chills. Using it in the Where The Wild Things Are trailer? Tears. Seriously. Anytime a band can conjure that type of emotion, it's got a winner on its hands. The album is complex, layered, and full of surprises. A cornerstone of this decade's indie music foundation.
Funeral - "Wake Up"

NUMBER 11:
The Strokes - Is This It
Another album that clearly has a place in all Best of the Decade lists (at least, those worth their salt), The Strokes' debut record sounded as if it was unearthed from a locked vault of 1970s New York City rock and roll. Like a lost transmission from CBGBs, Is This It shot out of the gate with a laid-back, self-assured vibe that owed its very existence to The Velvet Underground, Television, and early Talking Heads. Even though the American press hyped the record, the British press was even quicker to crown it as the Second Coming. Many British publications have placed this album at the top of their lists for greatest albums of all time. The album was released just weeks after 9-11 in the US, further underlining its NYC connection.
All of this would be pure hot air if the songs weren't so good. The album is easy to listen to over and over and over again. "The Modern Age", "Barely Legal", and "Someday" are just consistently excellent. Through it all, Julian Casablancas' voice lays behind the beat, loping along with his trademark sleepy drawl. The songs are deceptively simple and unbearably catchy - an easy recipe for success. Critics weren't as kind to the Strokes' follow-up, Room On Fire, but for my money, that album is almost as good ("What Ever Happened?" might be their greatest song). The Strokes may have made their last record (while rumors of a reunion in 2010 have been tossed around, multiple members of the band have put out solo records or new projects, and we all know what happens to bands when the members start having success elsewhere...), but we'll always have Is This It to remind us of their prowess.
Is This It - "Someday"

We'll delve into the top 10 with our next post. Until that time, and as always, be well, enjoy, and listen...

The Best Song Will Never Get Sung, The Best Life Never Leaves Your Lungs

Greetings faithful readers (assuming there are any of you)...
As promised, today starts our climb toward The Ideological Cuddle's favorite albums of this decade. The list is varied, very personal, and unlikely to agree with anyone else's list (but hey, isn't that the advantage of having one's own blog?).
Today, we'll highlight some artists who deserve honorable mention, re-releases that were heads and shoulders above the rest, and albums 20 through 16 on our list of favorites. Albums 15 through 11 will be highlighted tomorrow, and albums 10 through 1 will each have their own blog post, as there's plenty to say about each of them. Be sure to click on the links after each album for MP3s of some of my favorite songs.
Without further adieu, here we go...

RE-RELEASES OF THE DECADE:
I guess it would be remiss not to mention the Beatles reissues here, and, I have to admit, I wasn't going to jump in with both feet to the frenzy, but then heard how crisp and fantastic that Abbey Road sounded. I was hearing things that I never noticed before. Paul's bass may have been brought a little too close to the front of the mix, but the sound is unparallelled.

Billy Bragg - Volume I and Volume II - These two boxed sets cover all of Sir Billy's recorded output from his first EP, Life's A Riot with Spy Vs. Spy, through England, Half English. Each of the discs is lovingly remastered with a bonus disc of demos, b-sides, and period-specific rarities. It's the Holy Grail for those of us who have been influenced by Bragg's music. Absolutely Essential.

Robyn Hitchcock - Reissues (including the Luminous Groove and I Wanna Go Backwards box sets) - Yep Roc has done an amazing job of bringing this wonderfully strange and beautiful artist's work to the masses. Covering most of Hitchcock's essential work (we're still waiting for someone to get the rights to his A&M albums so that Globe of Frogs and Queen Elvis can see the light of day again), these CDs shine a bright light on the wondrous art of this singular artist. Often described as a strange amalgam of John Lennon, Syd Barrett, and Bob Dylan, Hitchcock's imagination and craft are on display with these reissues. For the novice, start with I Often Dream of Trains or Eye. Those looking for a little bit more adventure can jump into Fegmania! or the live album Gotta Let This Hen Out! with both feet.

HONORABLE MENTION:
To The Band With the Best Collection of Records This Decade, None of Which Made the Top 20:
The Drive-By Truckers
This band is tremendously consistent. In fact, they are so consistent, it was almost impossible to pick a favorite amongst the 5 original albums, 1 live album, and 1 odds 'n ends collection they released this decade. Decoration Day and The Dirty South might be the front-runners, but Brighter Than Creation's Dark isn't far behind. As was outlined on their own blog post earlier this year, the Truckers focus on true southern life. Their music is raw, emotional, and is chock-full of kick-ass rock 'n roll. Word has it that they'll be releasing their first album of the next decade in March, 2010, having recently signed to ATO Records, so this crew will be getting a jump on the rest of the competition for the next decade.

Drum roll please... into the top 20 albums of this decade (according to The Ideological Cuddle):

NUMBER 20:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus
A towering achievement in a career that is full of them, Cave's double album concept project never fails to amaze me. There are so many nuances to the songs and the lyrics, that repeated listens are always rewarded. Some feel that Abattoir Blues is the rock 'n roll disc, while The Lyre of Orpheus is the ballad record, but it's not fair to pigeon-hole each of these pieces of art like that. The songs on the set are dripping with menace and malice, lust and horror. "Get Ready For Love" starts the proceedings with fire and brimstone, "Hiding All Away" is just vicious, and "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" might be the most grandiose tune Cave's ever done. "Easy Money" and "O Children" are absolutely heartbreaking (can anyone other than Nick Cave make suicide and murder sound so beautiful?). The companion piece, The Abattoir Blues Tour 2004 is very worthwhile too, if nothing than for the sheer volume of music contained within - 2 CDs and 2 DVDs of Cave and the Bad Seeds doing what they do best.
Abattoir Blues - "There She Goes, My Beautiful World"
The Lyre of Orpheus - "Supernaturally"

NUMBER 19:
Beck - Sea Change
Easily Beck's most mature album, Sea Change is also his "break-up" album. Completely melancholy from top to bottom, but also completely amazing. The songs are beautifully crafted and show that Beck can do so much more than mix beats.
Sea Change - "The Golden Age"

NUMBER 18:
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Indie rock's first super group had quite the decade. It was very difficult choosing a favorite amongst the New Pornographers' 4 offerings over the past 10 years, as each is consistent and varied. When I really broke it down, Mass Romantic won out on the strength of it's Dan Bejar songs "Jackie" and "To Wild Homes". To those not familiar with the Pornographers, all you need to know is that Neko Case, Dan Bejar, and Carl "AC" Newman are three of the most talented indie pop songwriters and singers alive. Put them together, and, many times, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As others have said, in a fair alternate universe, this album would have charted catchy song after catchy song, making the New Pornographers household names and international superstars. Since this is reality, you'll have to judge for yourself:
Mass Romantic - "Jackie"
Mass Romantic - "The Slow Decent Into Alcoholism"

NUMBER 17:
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
OK, this might represent this list's first "great upset". Skimming some of the other "Best of the Decade" lists has clearly shown that most choose Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as Wilco's great contribution to this decade. While clearly a phenomenal album, YHF seems to profit from the mythology that surrounds it - you know, Wilco makes amazing record, record company dumps band and record, band leaks record, finds new label and rockets to critical acclaim and international fame. As I thought about the songs on each record, I found that I clearly reached for the songs on A Ghost Is Born more frequently than those on YHF. "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is over 10 minutes of prog-rock/krautrock heaven, "The Late Greats" is as catchy as Wilco gets, "Hummingbird" is delicate and beautiful, and "At Least That's What You Said" has some of the crunchiest guitar licks ever found on a Wilco record. This album is varied, balanced, and genius. And all without a mythology surrounding it... it's just waiting to be re-discovered.
A Ghost Is Born - "At Least That's What You Said"

NUMBER 16:
Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
Quiet and hushed in instrumentation, pastoral and aching in tone, Our Endless Numbered Days brought Sam Beam's unique musical view to the masses (since many didn't pay attention to The Creek Drank the Cradle or The Sea and The Rhythm EP). The album rocketed Iron and Wine to indie stardom and Sam Beam's songs to big movie soundtracks everywhere. Early pressings of the album included a bonus EP which included "Hickory", a gem of a tune that somehow missed the cut for the album proper (it can now be found on the b-sides compilation Around the Well). The details of Beam's lyrics in this tune are what set it apart from its contemporaries - "The money came and she died in her rocking chair/The window wide and the rain in her braided hair" is just one example. Beam would go on to expand the Iron and Wine sound throughout the rest of the decade, but has never quite been able to match the artistic achievement of this record.
Our Endless Numbered Days - "Each Coming Night"

Until tomorrow, with albums 15 through 11, be well, enjoy, and listen...

It Burns Being Broke, Hurts Being Heartbroken, And Always Being Both Must Be A Drag...

The holiday season is deeply upon us. The stresses of daily life compounded with the strain of the holidays equals major issues for some. What better way to let loose than throw some killer parties...
To celebrate, we here at the Ideological Cuddle are prepping a massive end-of-the-decade set of posts celebrating our favorite music from the past 10 years. It's hard to believe that the 'Oughts' are almost over and a new decade will be dawning. It's even more difficult to believe some of the records that came out in this decade (it's already been 9 years since Kid A, REALLY???). I have a huge list of albums that inspired me and pushed me along over the past 10 years and can't wait to share my favorites with you. I encourage all dear readers out there to leave your comments with your favorites from the past decade as well...

One of the bands that will definitely be included in the Decade's Best is the Hold Steady. I realized that I hadn't posted anything about this raucous bunch of Minnesotans (via Brooklyn) to this point as I was going through their back cataglogue (completely encompassed in this decade, by the way). Craig Finn's lyrics and delivery are steeped in the mythology of youth, the drug culture, deviant behavior, and even more deviant sex. There are recurring characters (most famously, Charlemagne, Holly, and Gideon), religious allusions, literary references, and, of course, killer parties. Finn has been accused of being all the things that his music embraces, but he's said time and again that his lyrics are merely a reflection of the things that he's seen and heard. Seeing this band live is the way to go, as they might be the best at what they do (call it what you will - bar band rock, indie rock, whatever) in all of music. You won't have a better time at a rock show and you won't feel closer to a group of fellow devotees than you will at a Hold Steady show. They tour constantly, so you shouldn't have trouble catching them anywhere in these here 50 states (heck, they even came to Buffalo this year).

So what's the link between The Hold Steady and the holiday season? This band just makes you feel good - that's exactly what we all need at this time of year. As the snow falls (sometimes in horizontal sheets in our neck of the woods), the shoppers flood the roads, and the stress levels rise, its good to know that there are bands out there cranking out rock and roll the way it was meant to be played - loud and energetic and frenetic - and transporting us to all those dirty places where they throw such Killer Parties...


Here's a little taste of the boys in their element - courtesy of Ideological Cuddle favorite, Daytrotter :
The Hold Steady Live from South By Southwest (via Daytrotter):
Sequestered In Memphis
Constructive Summer
Stay Positive
Sweet Payne

And a bonus live-in-studio track of The Hold Steady covering Led Zeppelin:
Your Time Is Gonna Come

Until next time (and the beginning of the Decade's Best posts), be well, de-stress, and listen...