Power of 2: Favorite Albums of the Decade
We had to do separate lists because, while we do share many influences, we have fairly differing opinions on our top five records of the decade. Here they are in no order:
[Joe Clark]
Do Make Say Think Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn: This is the one album I make sure I have enough time to listen to without stopping. I specifically save this one for long drives. As far as songwriting influence goes, this tops my list. [Purchase]
Brian Wilson SMiLE: This album has history. It’s one thing to have a fully dynamic and
seamless album, but that can only take an album so far. This album has had time to age like a fine wine on the shelf, only to be opened and ingested decades later. [Purchase]
Fog Ditherer: A recent discovery. I tried not to prematurely include this on my list
so I made myself listen to it so much I’d get sick of it. Well that hasn’t happened yet, so here it is. By the way, never trust Pitchfork, they’re schemers. [Purchase]
Radiohead Amnesiac: I don’t understand why this album is so overshadowed by Kid A. It’s the most interesting album to me because every element that makes Radiohead a great band is evenly dispersed into it. [Purchase]
Amnesiac: Electronic, Raw, Human, Guitars, Sad, Funny, Weird, Potent, Frightening.
Kid A: Electronic, Sleepy.
mewithoutYou Catch for Us the Foxes: Just a personal favorite that defines a very specific time in my life. The memory is so potent when hearing it I can even remember specific foods and smells and locations. I don’t know, it’s weird, just go listen to it. [Purchase]
[Max Becker]
Deftones White Pony: This album really showed me that “heavy” music doesn’t all have to be the same. When I started listening to Deftones, I was also listening to all the generic metal crap that you would hear on the radio. Like all Deftones albums (except maybe Adrenaline), White Pony stands out from the rest of the genre by exploring all aspects and ranges of the band’s musical abilities and by experimenting with their sounds, structures and mood. [Purchase]
Enon High Society: Usually when an album is as schizophrenic as High Society, it comes off as inconsistent, pretentious or experimental, but this album goes so far beyond genre hopping, each song seems to come from a different band. High Society changes pace and mood to tell a story. Definitely an album that can be listened to no matter how you’re feeling, or what you’re currently in to. [Purchase]
Guided By Voices Human Amusements at Hourly Rates: This one is kind of a cheater. This epic, 32 track album was released in the past decade, but it’s a compilation of earlier songs. Lo-fi, high-fi, pop, punk, melodramatic, this album has all the greatest Guided By Voices songs. Even at 32 tracks, you won’t get sick of it if you listen all the way through, there’s so much going on, and so much passion. [Purchase]
Modest Mouse Building Nothing Out of Something: Again, another cheater here. This album is a compilation of rarities and B-Sides from Modest Mouse’s first few albums but was released in early 2000. This is my favorite Modest Mouse album, and it’s interesting how these are the songs that either didn’t make the cut for a different album, or were somehow considered to be not as good, but when all of these songs are put together on one disc, they create an amazing and surprisingly cohesive album. [Purchase]
Sigur Rós ( ): This album had a huge impact on me. I hadn’t heard any Sigur Rós before when a friend lent me the album. The packaging is brilliant; besides the band’s name it is completely wordless and contains a book of nearly blank pages for the listener to write down their own interpretations of the lyrics. The only images are vague tree shapes that span the pages. The album and songs are all untitled and the words are sung in a made up language. The album is hauntingly beautiful, nightmarish and hopeful. As a whole, this album is truly a piece of art. [Purchase]