Gospel Gossip: Favorite Albums of the Decade
Broadcast Ha Ha Sound: “Pendulum” has to be one of the best songs ever: it’s so uninhibited by convention, yet it’s got this addictive groove that you just want to listen to over and over again. On top of that, the album pushes their obsession with space-pop and The United States of America to the extreme. Definitely way ahead (or behind?) its time. [Purchase]
Air The Virgin Suicides Soundtrack: Probably the strangest album we fell in love with. Came across it one way or another a long time ago. It wasn’t until it came up during practice and we’re like, “Remember that album? Used to listen to it all the time.” Much of its charm is how the songs were intended to be background music for the film. So that provided for a unique mix of early ’70s production, angular jams, and messed up electronica. Still a good listen. [Purchase]
Deerhunter Cryoptograms: We were floored when this album came out, Cryptograms was unlike anything else at the time, in fact I remember lots of people hating it because it didn’t seem to make up its mind about whether or not to be experimental, and if it went one way or another, it was an embarrassing hack job. To us, it was one of those milestones like Psychocandy or Ramones that blended the push and pull of noise and pop and ushered in a new era of music. [Purchase]
Yo La Tengo And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out: This is actually the first Yo La Tengo album we listened to when it came out, so it’s got a special place in our hearts. Turns out, it’s fantastic and totally unlike anything they’ve ever done. Actually, its pretty weird: very lethargic and ambient; a mix of long brooding songs, and adultish pop. But stuff like “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House” and “You Could Have It All” are absolute gems. [Purchase]
Panda Bear Person Pitch [Purchase]
Cat Power You Are Free [Purchase]
Electrelane No Shouts, No Calls… we all love this record to death. It’s very minimal with an icy-cold production, which highlights the songwriting and the mood—something that didn’t really happen much on albums this decade. The drums are really creative, the singing and guitars way catch. It’s a shame they are inactive right now. [Purchase]