I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart

Greetings Ideological readers. Today's post has a very somber tone, as our beloved US men's hockey team was thwarted from attaining an improbable gold medal by none other than Sidney Crosby in overtime (and yes, those of us in Buffalo who follow hockey could have told you that he would be the one to beat Ryan Miller - we've seen it way too many times). We're still very proud of our team and its silver medal, but being rewarded for losing is never the way to go.

What better way to "celebrate" our collective melancholy than with a post about Mark Oliver Everett and the Eels. Unquestionably modern rock's greatest hopeless depressive, Everett has lived the life to back it all up. Check out his fantastic autobiography Things the Grandchildren Should Know for the full details of how absolutely fucked up his life has been - available from the official Eels website here.
He is truly an artist who has channeled his pain into great art. Sometimes, as with the Eels latest album - End Times, Everett takes depression to the extremes and ends up barely listenable. When he's on, though, his songs are achingly beautiful and, in paradoxical fashion, almost uplifting.
There's no bad place to start with the Eels. Their first "official" album (Everett put out two albums as E in the early 1990s), Beautiful Freak, almost became nothing more than a one hit wonder vehicle, as its first single, "Novocaine for the Soul" hit big. With time, the album was recognized as the quirky masterpiece that it is. Some find Electro-Shock Blues (written in the wake of his sister's suicide and mother's death from cancer) to be the "essential" Eels record, but 2000's Daisies of the Galaxy is better, for my money (not that you can go wrong with the Eels - all of their albums are solid). As outlined in this previous post from the Decade's Best List, With Strings: Live at Town Hall is another favorite of ours from the Eels catalogue, for its reworking of classic Eels tunes and perfectly-chosen covers.
For the uninitiated, here are some of our favorite Eels tracks in chronological order (links to tracks courtesy of Lala.com):
From Beautiful Freak:
"Spunky"
"Beautiful Freak"

From Electro-Shock Blues:
"Going to Your Funeral - Part I"

From Daisies of the Galaxy:
"Grace Kelly Blues"
"It's a Motherfucker"
"Wooden Nickles"
"Jeannie's Diary"

From Souljacker:
"Dog Faced Boy"
"Souljacker Pt. I"
"Bus Stop Boxer"

From Shootenanny!:
"Dirty Girl"
"Saturday Morning"

From Blinking Lights and Other Revelations:
"Blinking Lights (For Me)"
"Suicide Life"
"Railroad Man"
"I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart"
"Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"
"If You See Natalie"
"Losing Streak"

From With Strings: Live at Town Hall:
Screw it, you need to hear the whole thing: HERE

From Useless Trinkets:
"Fucker"
"Mr. E's Beautiful Blues (Remix)"
"My Beloved Mad Monster Party (BBC)"

From Hombre Lobo:
"That Look You Give That Guy"
"In My Dreams"

From End Times:
"End Times"
"Little Bird"

Sit back, relax, don't have any sharp objects nearby, and enjoy.
And, oh yeah, screw you, Sidney Crosby.

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...

You and I Belong in the Same Time and Place

This post comes one day too late, but I think that it's appropriate that I am able to reflect on the events of the past two days before blogging about them. My sister was married yesterday, and I can't imagine a better way to spend time with a large number of people that I love. I held it together pretty well (no crying for this guy - at least, none that anybody saw), but can't be more proud to be a brother-in-law to my sister's soul mate. Seeing them together, seeing my parents having a great time, spending the evening with my lovely wife (we'll celebrate 5 years together in about two weeks)... can't think of anything better.

I had planned a wedding mix of songs for your enjoyment, but it came out as more of a love mix... I don't think that any of these songs are "traditional" love songs, but they all mean something very important to me. I hope you enjoy them, and check out the artists who perform them (if you aren't well-acclimated with their work already). A word on the last song - the live version of "Killer Parties" by The Hold Steady really rings true, and not just in the lyrics and the feel of the song, but in Craig Finn's comments leading into the tune... "There is so much joy in what we do here" - you can feel it in his voice... that's how I felt yesterday...

Robyn Hitchcock - "I Feel Beautiful"

Eels - "My Beloved Monster"

Rhett Miller - "Question"

The National - "Lucky You (Live from Daytrotter)"

Band of Horses - "No One's Gonna Love You"

Leonard Cohen - "Ain't No Cure For Love (Live)"

M. Ward - "Poison Cup"

The Jayhawks - "All the Right Reasons"

Camera Obscura - "The Sweetest Thing"

The Hold Steady - "Killer Parties"

Until next time, be well, love all, and listen...