Best of the Decade: Albums

There’s a bunch of catching up to do with best of lists. Look for the best film and TV of 2009 tomorrow, but for now, here’s the best albums of the decade…

10. Justice – Cross - I like a lot of things about Daft Punk’s Human After All, but Cross seems a lot more like the second best Daft Punk album of the decade. Of course, Justice do have their own slightly harder aesthetic, crafting some of the most intense dance songs of all time on tracks like “Phantom” and “Stress.” But, they could still kill it on the best hipster dance anthem of all time, “D.A.N.C.E.”

9. Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters - The album leads off with a succession of instant classic hits, ranging from the glam rock of “Laura” to the rock stomp of “Take Your Mama” to the Moroder inspired neo-disco of “Comfortably Numb.” Those three songs alone would make a classic album, but the rest of the album doesn’t let up. It’s one of the all time great debut albums.

8. The Raveonettes – Pretty in Black - The Raveonettes are a strange case for me, I like everything they’ve done, but I absolutely love this album. They bring the hidden darkness of 50s pop to the fore, crafting songs that seem to come from another world. Rockers like “Somewhere in Texas” or “Twilight” are great, but the best song for me is by far the ballad “Uncertain Times.”

7. The Polyphonic Spree – Together We’re Heavy - On their first and third albums, the Spree generally played tightly structured songs, only on this album did they sprawl out for epics befitting the massive size of the ensemble. One of my all time favorite concert moments was hearing them open their 2004 Irving Plaza set with “We Sound Amazed,” with a sound so huge it literally shook their floor. This album feels very much of a piece, moving seamlessly through longer and shorter songs and culminating in an epic callback to the sun, that brings it full circle with their first album.

6. Junior Senior – Hey Hey My My Yo Yo - One of the greatest pop albums of all time, every song on here is an ecstatic, instantly catchy piece of musical candy. “Take my Time” is a great 80s style dance track, but the high point is the soaring tribute to music “I Like Music” which soars to Michael Jackson heights of pop greatness.

5. Phoenix – Alphabetical - Phoenix broke out with their fantastic fourth album this year, but I still don’t think they’ve topped the smooth synth sound of their second album. Very emotional, but still danceable, the album features the most consistently catchy songs of their career. “Run Run Run” is haunting, layered and totally danceable, and is always the highlight of their live set. If you’ve only heard their most recent stuff, dig back and check this one out.

4. Belle and Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress - A controversial album for many of their fans, DCW saw Belle and Sebastian shift to a more poppy direction, a change that obviously worked very well for me. Virtually every song on here is a joyous anthem, from the cheeky opener “Step into My Office, Baby” to the 80s inspired closer “Stay Loose.” The album features killer guitar solos on “Loose” and “Roy Walker,” but the high point for me is the anthemic “If You Find Yourself Caught in Love,” a pure piece of sonic joy.

3. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible - I loved many of the 00s’ anthemic multi-instrumental bands, but none of them matched the work that Arcade Fire did on their second album. Diversifying their sound from their already great first album, they crafted one of the deepest, most moving albums I’ve ever heard, full of incredibly beautiful moments. From the climactic crescendo of “No Cars Go” to the majesty of “Intervention” to the cathartic release of energy in “Ocean of Noise,” it’s an album of moments that will last forever.

2. Lovage – Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By - I’ve tried to find more albums like this after listening to it, but nothing else has matched. Dan the Automator’s production lays a soft bed of strings and mood that perfectly accompanies the vocal interplay between Mike Patton’s animal growls and Jennifer Charles’ sexy purr. It’s an album that builds its own world, alternating between skits that poke fun at the very idea of a sexy album like this, and songs that deliver on the title’s promise.

1. Daft Punk – Discovery - You could make a very convincing argument that every trend in 00s pop music began here. Autotune’s roots lie in the vocoder on “One More Time,” and were catapulted to prominence when Kanye sampled “Harder Better Faster Stronger.” The 70s cheese synth aesthetic started out as weird here, but has now become pop, thanks to bands like Phoenix and MGMT. And, most importantly, the album made it cool for music to be fun and pop and cheesy without worrying about “authenticity” or “selling out.” Discovery is as pop as it gets, and that’s its joy! It puts a smile on your face, starting with the greatest album opening run of all time, seamlessly transitioning from the disco pop perfection of “One More Time” to the hard rock dance blend of “Aerodynamic” into the 80s synth cheese perfection of “Digital Love” into “Harder Better Faster Stronger.” No album makes me as happy as this one, and no album has influenced the past decade of music more than Daft Punk did with this masterpiece.

Best of 2006: Top Fifteen Albums

Has anyone else on the internet done a top albums of the year list yet? I don't know, I haven't seen any. Seriously, I'm a bit behind on this, but there's some different picks, so perhaps you'll find somethin worth checking out.

15. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat: Few albums create such a well defined world as this one does. The title track features a fully developed narrative that makes it hard to believe Jenny was a child star, not a poor girl in the South. The songs are in a country gospel style, but there's enough of the driving rhythms of Rilo Kiley to keep things interesting. "The Big Guns" is suitably charging, while "Rise Up With Fists" has a wonderful, relaxed rhythm. But, the highlight is the ethereal "Born Secular," a startlingly beautiful mix of vocal harmonies.

Standout Track: Born Secular

14. Nelly Furtado - Loose: She's got the best song of the year on here with 'Maneater,' relentless, 80s inspired, but distinctly 00s. Timbaland fills the album with weird, expansive synths, in simple, but memorable lines. The synth part on 'Promiscuous' gives a great base for the flirting vocal interplay between Furtado and Tim. I've heard that song so many times and it just never gets old. Other strong stuff is the wistful finale, 'All Good Things,' and the glitchy, trip hop 'Afraid.' A lot of people criticized Nelly Furtado for putting on a new persona for the album, maybe that's true, but just listening to it, you get a standout example of distinctly 00s pop.

Standout Track: Maneater

13. Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom: Mike Patton is the most versatile vocalist working today, able to seamlessly move from assaultive screaming to smooth crooning. His best work is distinctly experimental, and the greatest knock on this album is that it's something of Patton by numbers. But, Patton on autopoilot is still worlds better and distinct than most people at their best. 'Five Seconds' is one of the nastiest album openers I've heard in a while, starting with the ultra smooth delivery of "Strolling through the slaughterhouse of love," eventually cutting into his more assaultive scream style for the chorus, then quickly scaling back for the verse. That's what makes Patton so special, the contrast and variety of his vocals. This album has a whole bunch of great stuff, particularly 'Mojo' and 'I'm Not Alone.'

Standout Track: Five Seconds

12. Men, Women and Children: Electrodancerock is my favorite musical form to emerge here in the 00s, and I think bands like The Rapture are one day going to be hailed as pioneers. They opened the door for a band like Men, Women and Children, one of the smoothest fusions of dance and rock to emerge yet. The album opens with gnashing guitars, then segues into an ultrasmooth disco rhythm. That perfectly sums up what the band does, mix rock and dance elements into something that's a lot of fun to listen to. There's no bad track here, you could drop any of these on a club floor and get people moving.

Standout Track: Time for the Future (Bang Bang)

11. Bruce Springsteen - The Seeger Sessions (We Shall Overcome): This album initially seemed the definition of throwaway, if Rod Stewart is any indication, the covers album is a prime sign of artistic atrophy. Rather than approaching these songs with an acoustic, one man style, Springsteen arranges them for a full Dixieland band and creates one of the most fun albums of the year. I love the extended instrumental solos, particularly on 'O Mary, Don't You Weep' and 'Eyes on the Prize.' More than any other album this year, I wish I could just jam with these guys, drop my own solo in there. This is exactly what a cover should do, preserve the message of the original song, but expand on it in some way.

Standout Track: Eyes on the Prize

10. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That: I've got to start by saying that this album was a bit of a disappointment. Alphabetical is one of my all time favorite albums and it took a while to get used to their new direction. However, there is a lot to appreciate here. 'Long Distance Call' joins the pantheon of their other perfect pop singles. The other songs rely less on their trademark warm synths, going for a straight rock direction. 'Sometimes in a Fall' builds to a fantastic release in the chorus, and emotion infuses all the songs. Still, it feels less distinct than their best work, and that's why this is ten, while Alphabetical was the second best album of 2004.

Standout Track: Long Distance Call

9. Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors: He keeps the momentum from 2004's brilliant You are the Quarry going with another fantastic set of songs. You'd think the guy would have less angst at this point, but there's still plenty of emotional trauma to draw from. The epic opener 'I Will See You in Far Off Places' is full of eclectic instrumentation, making it unique from other work in his catalogue, but it's the driving rock songs like 'You Have Killed Me' and 'In the Future When All's Well' that form the core of the album. The ridiculously excessive finale 'At Last I Am Born' is distinctly Moz in its theatricality, no one else could pull off that song, but he does it seamlessly.

Standout Track: The Youngest was the Most Loved

8. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics: As with "It's Never Been Like That," this album had the misfortune of following two masterpieces. I think the Lips did a great job of building on what worked in 'Bulletin' and 'Yoshimi,' and also bringing in new elements. No one sounds like they do on the bizarre pop of 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song' or 'The W.A.N.D,' but my favorite moments from the album are the Pink Floydian 'My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion' and 'Pompeii am Gotterdammerung.' Those songs feature absolutely gorgeous psychedlic instrumental sections.

Standout Track: My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion

7. Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape: Making a comparison that will likely cause rock purists to cringe, this is the "Amnesiac" to "Love Angel Music Baby"'s "Kid A." That album was a revelation with its 80s inspired pop songs. It's one of my favorite albums of the decade. This one has some songs that are just as good as the best on there, "Sweet Escape," "Early Winter," "4 in the Morning" and particularly "Wonderful Life" are all perfect. Unfortuantely, the other songs are more disparate in quality, the opening single, "Wind it Up" is pretty bad, and there's a few forgettable crunk sounding songs mixed in there as well. I think listeners of the future will view this album and its predecessor as one unit, and likely appreciate it more as a result. But, if you were to take the six best songs off this album and the six best off "LAMB," you'd have the best pop album of all time.

Standout Track: Wonderful Life

6. The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes: From 80s inspired pop to 60s inspired pop, this is just a perfect a record. 60s girl group music was great, and this stands with the best of it. The lush strings and vocal harmonies help make the simple songs sonically memorable. The lyrics are clever, and things never repetitive, a major potential problem with a group like this. Any track on here could be a single.

Standout Track: Pull Shapes

5. Scissor Sisters - Ta Dah: Continuing the journey through decades, we stop at the 70s, for another fantastic era aping pop album. The opening track, 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin', co-written by Elton John, inhabits the same space as the Beegee's best work. 'Lights' is another high point, using a great horn line for a song reminiscent of 'Superstition.' 'Land of a Thousand Words' and 'I Might Tell You Tonight' are top notch ballads and 'Kiss You Off' proves they can still do more modern style electropop. It's shiny, smooth pop, and I'm really hoping to get to see them live in March.

Standout Track: I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

4. Goldfrapp - Supernature: Continuing their evolution from ambient downtempo songs to driving glamrock pop songs, this album proves they weren't lying when they titled an album "We are glitter." The albums opens with a string of three perfect pop songs, the atmospheric synths of their early work still present, but now backed by club style bass. There's a bit more humanity in a song like "Ooh La La" and particularly the finale "No. 1" than in their early work. "Time Out From the World" proves they can still do lower tempo, chilled tracks, but it's the driving pop songs that linger. They've released five singles off the album and they're all great songs. This is their best album yet, and I hope they continue to evolve in this current direction. My only request would be that she brings back the siren-like high pitched vocals used on 'Lovely Head,' mixing that with these club style songs could create something totally new.

Standout Track: No. 1

3. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds: Of all the albums on this list, this one feels the most like one cohesive work. While his debut had some killer singles, it didn't really flow. Here, the tracks bleed into and out of each other, stretching out into interludes that bridge them together. More generally, the album moves from the ultratechy mechanical opening, with the title track and 'Sexy Back,' gradually becoming more organic, culminating in the acoustic finale. Unlike a lot of people, I thought 'Sexy Back' was a fantastic first single, and it sounds even better in context, after the almost Nine Inch Nails style title track. Timbaland drops so many fantastic instrumental loops in here, each song feels like it has the potential for a great ten minute club mix. I already covered My Love here, some other standouts are 'Love Stoned,' which starts as a driving club song and segues into a gorgeous indie rock style by the end. 'What Comes Around...' isn't quite 'Cry Me a River,' but it's pretty damn close. There's not a bad track on here and they flow so well together, Timberlake and Timbaland are working on a whole different level from everyone else in pop music. I'm glad that some of the most popular songs of the year are also some of the best.

Standout Track: My Love

2. Cansei de Ser Sexy - Cansei de Ser Sexy: Another mix of dance and rock, this album is just so now, breaking down generic boundaries and, above all, embracing a pop sensibility. Their disco style basslines are infectious, as in the opening buildup on 'Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above.' The driving 'Alala' and hilarious 'Art Bitch' are also highlights. The album is unrelentingly dirty, something I didn't even notice for a long time, because I was so caught up in the driving dance beats. It's simple, but infectious, if you wanted to show someone where music is going, you couldn't do much better than giving them this album.

Standout Track: Music is My Hot, Hot Sex

1. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit: It feels like ages since I heard this album, but in that time, nothing has topped it. I think Dear Catastrophe Waitress is their best album, but it wasn't a sustainable direction, this album is the perfect fusion of all the different eras of B&S, while at the same time establishing a more upbeat status quo. A track like 'Sukie in the Graveyard' might have been played as a lowkey acoustic number in the past, now it's uptempo, with a great synth line and a killer guitar solo. 'White Collar Boy' is a great anthemic track and 'Song for the Sunshine' is a weird, 70s style funk song. The other albums on this list generally take one thing and do it well. This album is all over in terms of style and tempo, while still maintatining a cohesiveness. No song this year can match the fragile pain of 'Dress Up in You,' but one track after we're into the exuberant 'Sukie in the Graveyard.' No band today can match the scope of their catalogue, and the quality of this album bodes very well for their future. I can't wait to see what's next.

Standout Track: Sukie in the Graveyard

Belle and Sebastian @ Battery Park

I Fought in a War//Another Sunny Day//The Model//Sukie in the Graveyard//Don't Leave the Light on Baby//La Pastie de la Borgiosie//Jonathan David//If She Wants Me//If You're Feeling Sinister//Lord Anthony//Dirty Dream Number Two//Funny Little Frog//I'm a Cuckoo//Your Cover's Blown//The Wrong Girl//White Collar Boy//Sleep the Clock Around

Encore:
Star Spangled Banner//Boy with the Arab Strap

For the third time in eight months, I got to see Belle and Sebastian live. This was their second best show, not quite up to the performance at the Nokia theater in March, but better than their previous outdoor show at Across the Narrows in October.

The thing I really liked about this show was that they mixed up the setlist. They've got a huge back catalog, and always do a good job of mixing new and old stuff. Freed from the need to promote the new album, they went back to some older stuff, particularly Fold Your Hands Child, which had four tracks. It was cool to hear 'The Model' and 'Don't Leave the Light on Baby,' and you can never go wrong with 'The Wrong Girl,' the one song they've played every time I've seen them.

Other highlights were a really tight version of 'La Pastie de la Borgiosie' and a majestic 'Lord Anthony.' Hearing that song on the album, it doesn't sound like it'd go over great live, but it really built and ended up as a highlight of the show. That song in particular was helped by the presence of a string section, which Stuart claimed approached them that morning. Most of their newer songs are based around synths, so there's not a huge need for a string section, but if they've got them around, it definitely helps fill out the sound.

'Your Cover's Blown' should be played at every one of their shows, it's a great mix of disco and epic rock. 'I'm a Cuckoo' was my favorite song they played, though I would have loved to hear 'If You Find Yourself Caught in Love.' Along the lines of those anthemic pop songs, 'White Collar Boy' has been taken up a notch with each playing and it rocked here. The bass line is fantastic.

I usually prefer the newer songs, but it was great to hear the three best songs off 'Boy with The Arab Strap,' the title track, 'Dirty Dream No. 2' and 'Sleep the Clock Around.' I hadn't heard 'Sleep' live before, and it was a great set closer.

So, it was great to hear a bunch of different stuff live, and it was really great that it didn't rain. The sound quality at the venue was top notch and it was just a lot of fun to be outside watching a great show. I'm guessing this will be their last trip to New York for a while, but I'll definitely be there when they come around in a couple of years to support the next album.



Related Posts
Belle and Sebastian: 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress' (11/10/2005)
Top 20 Belle & Sebastian Songs (2/28/2006)
Belle and Sebastian @ The Nokia (3/4/2006)

Top 20 Belle and Sebastian Songs

I'm going to see Belle and Sebastian and The New Pornographers Friday, a concert I am psyched for. And to prepare I've been listening to a bunch of stuff by both bands, and that prompted me to make a list of the top B&S songs. Originally it was going to be ten, but the top ten is heavily weighted to one album, and I felt to be fair, I should expand the list. So read on and discover the best songs of one of the world's best bands...

20. Dylan in the Movies (If You're Feeling Sinister) - This was the first Belle and Sebastian song I really liked, mainly because it's a catchy, ingenious chorus: "Don't look back, like Dylan in the movies." There's a great build during the chorus, and there's something funny about this really impassioned plea being backed up by an obscure allusion to a 60s documentary.

19. Family Tree (Fold Your Hands...) - This is a song in which a girl gripes about the shallowness of her high school friends, and high school life in general. Lyrically, it's a strong plea against materialism in favor of art, which is effective, and the narrator does seem like the sort of fangirl who would probably really enjoy B&S. The part of this song I really like is the chorus at the end, "If my family tree goes back to the Romans, then I will change my name to Jones," and so on. Very catchy and clever, and the rhythm of the vocals throughout the song is satisfyingly unique.

18. I'm Waking Up to Us (I'm Waking Up to Us) - This is from one of their 2001 LPs, a bridge between the "sad bastard" era and the hyperpop of their latter incarnation. This song reminds me a lot of Love, the 60s band, a major B&S influence. It's got that 60s style vocal harmonizing, and the multitude of voices is something unique to B&S. Like a lot of 60s pop, it's a bit of downer in terms of subject matter, but the music is upbeat and jamming, another hallmark of a B&S song.

17. The Wrong Girl (Fold Your Hands...) - I mentioned before abut the two phases of B&S, and nowhere is this more evident than on the underappreciated Fold Your Hands. The album starts out in Sinister mode, but by the end, you can hear the start of what would develop on Waitress, and this song is a great example of that. The simple chorus rocks, and the swirling strings make it more impressive. Structurally, it's a precursor of I'm a Cuckoo.

16. Me and the Major (If You're Feeling...) - This is a great example of an early period Belle and Sebastian song, intricate lyrics and folky acoustic style. The highlight of the song is the ripping harmonica solo in the middle, it's nasty and makes this song special. And the "snow is falling" outro is fantastic.

15. White Collar Boy (The Life Pursuit) - Like The Wrong Girl, this is a song with a simple, anthemic chorus that's just irresistably catchy. The title part of the chorus is great, but the highlight of the song is the call and response with "She said “You ain’t ugly, you can kiss me if you like,"" which is followed by "Go ahead and kiss her," a great example of the multiple vocalist stuff they do so well. It's a catchy, remarkable pop song.

14. The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner (Jonathan David) - This is the sort of audaciously pretentious title that only B&S could pull off. Once again picking up the track theme, this is a mini epic. It's a big buildup and the catharis when the title is stated is great. Ride through the field indeed.

13. Dress Up in You (The Life Pursuit) - I'm usually more into the upbeat, rocking songs by B&S, but this lowkey ballad proves an exception. This is another song about a girl wronged by her more popular friends. The highlight of the song is the telloff "They are hypocrites, so fuck them too," which builds to a fantastic trumpet solo. I always love when they let the instrumentalists go, and this is a fantastic, emotional solo that makes the song infinitely larger.

12. Sukie in the Graveyard (The Life Pursuit) - This has been called the Belles' first dancable song and it's pretty impressive. The ascending line that leads into, and continues throughout, the song is great, and provides the base for one of the more interesting characters in the B&S pantheon. This song reminds me of Six Feet Under, you throw art school and the graveyard together and that's what you get.

11. Don't Leave the Light On Baby (Fold Your Hands...) - This is a downbeat song, like Belle and Sebastian doing Portishead. The really successful thing about this song is the contrast between the noir, low vocals of the beginning and the shining ethereal vocals of the chorus. It doesn't sound like any other song that they've done, it's much darker musically.

10 Sleep the Clock Around (The Boy with the Arab Strap) - I used this song in my film, Ricky Frost, so I now associate it with that movie, but that only enhances my appreciation of it. The vocal delivery is almost monotone, but still rhythmic, fitting in with the bubbling music underneath, culminating in the instrumental solo in the middle of the song. I'm not sure what instrument that is, but it's great.

9. Your Cover's Blown (Books) - This is the pop epic that's so rich it could almost be an album in itself. The song starts out in a kind of lowkey disco mode, before blowing up into an anthemic groove for the chorus, speeding things up for a chaotic section of the song and then finally bringing it down to acoustic for the finale. It's quite an accomplishment, hearing the song mutate is a lot of fun, it's like all the eras of B&S were synthesized into one.

8. I'm a Cuckoo (Dear Catastrophe Waitress) - This is one of a string of incredible songs off of their best album. The verses are so full of energy, like they're trying to burst into the chorus, and when the chorus finally does arrive it's an upbeat march. I'm a big fan of the instrumental jams that follow each statement of "I'm a Cuckoo." Every moment of this song is just full of fun and greatness.

7. Roy Walker (Dear Catastrophe Waitress) - This is a 60s style song, with a tinge of Western. It's a really catchy chorus, but the highpoint of this song is the scorching guitar solo that occurs about midway through. It takes the song out of the comfort zone and into an edgy, exciting realm, and then when the chorus returns, it feels even more exciting than it did originally.

6. Step Into My Office Baby (Dear Catastrophe Waitress) - Full of double entendre, and backed by a fun, upbeat arrangement, this was the perfect song to announce the new B&S to the world. I love the way the song slows to a near halt, then gradually starts up again building to a final statement of the chorus. It's so happy, if you don't like this song, I sentence you to listen to Staind on repeat for all eternity.

5. Stars of Track and Field (If You're Feeling Sinister) - This is perhaps their signature song and with good reason, it's a warm, textured song with cutting lyrics. The imagery is vivid, but what makes it such a great listen is how well orchestrated it is, a big jump from the comparatively minimal Tigermilk. The trumpet work here is a highlight.

4. Lazy Line Painter Jane (Lazy Line Painter Jane) - This song is an enigma for me. I read the lyrics and ponder, is she pregnant and having a child, is she having sex, possibly with a girl? I don't know, but what I do know is that the interplay between the male and female vocal on the track is great, and regardless of what it means, the parts about "the first bus out of town" sound great, and by the time we finally get to the title statement, it's a driving stomp, a fitting conclusion to a great song.

3. If You Find Yourself Caught in Love (Dear Catastrophe Waitress) - Say a prayer to the man above...for this song! It's the best of their poptastic anthemic tracks. I really like the message of the song, and the way the lyrics remains sophisticated even though on the surface the song is pretty simple. What's astonishing about the song is that every part feels like a sing along chorus, this was a highlight when I saw them live back in October, and I'd love to hear it again on Friday.

2. Stay Loose (Dear Catastrophe Waitress) - The last track of an album often hints at a potential new direction for the band, going beyond what the rest of the album did. Think "Day in the Life" on Sgt. Pepper or "Street Spirit" on The Bends. Stay Loose is one of those tracks, unlike anything else B&S have ever done. The song has a techno 80s feel, with a slight android quality in the vocals in the verses. This builds up to a more jamming chorus, and ultimately to the nastiest guitar solo in the band's history. I love the repeated guitar arc in the middle and that ultimately fades out the song. It's a completely different texture for the band and it works wonderfully.

1. I Love My Car (I'm Waking Up to Us) - And at last the apex of the oevure. I Love My Car starts out as a fairly standard, 60sish pop tune, in which the narrator points out all the things he loves more than "you." I'm liking it, but then things go to another level, and the song takes on a heavy jazz type feel, and drops an incredible trumpet solo on us. This trumpet solo just comes out of nowhere and transforms the song into something that feels like a 1920s speakeasy. I play trumpet myself, so I'm a bit biased towards songs that use it well, and this one certainly does. The instrumental sections of this song are just unbelievable, and that makes it Belle and Sebastian's best song.

Belle & Sebastian: 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress'

A new Belle and Sebastian album is looming close on the horizon, and judging from the couple of new songs I heard at Across the Narrows, it's going to continue with the style they created on their previous album 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress.' Even though I love their early stuff, I'd say that DCW is by far their best album, one of those really special pieces of pop, where every song is brilliant and just listening to it really makes me smile, something that none of their previous albms, no matter how good, can do.

The album kicks off with 'Step into My Office Baby,' a fantastically cheesy song that consists of a series of offce work related double entendres, such as the chrous:

"We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I’m going to give you the job
I’m pushing for a raise
I’ve been pushing now for days"

The lyrics are fun and playful in a way that none of their songs prior were, just going so far over the top you can't help but laugh, and the music backing it all is great as well, with a nice drum pattern and some cool backup vocal stuff on the middle "I'm a slave to work..." section.

After this great opening they segue into the title track, which is a bit darker, but nicely backed by a driving string line. I love the way that B&S work a lot of instruments into their songs. The strings make this song work. After that is the laid back "If She Wants Me," which has a great chorus and a nice happy, but resigned feel.

"Piazza New York Catcher" is more in line with their early stuff, a song where the lyrics are the main focus, and are backed by acoustic guitar work. It's a funny song, with the great line, "Piazza New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay," one of those really witty things that they manage to work into their songs. I like the fact that you can listen a B&S song either as a great musical piece, or if you single out the lyrics, most of their songs tell an interesting story.

On this album they've embraced a 60s pop feel. Some of their EP stuff flirts with it, like Dog on Wheels, but the closest predecessor to this is 'Legal Man,' with its 60s spy movie feel. 'Asleep on a Sunbeam' definitely has the hippie pop feel, with one of the few vocal contributions from Isobel.

Next up is one of the album's best tracks, a near perfect pop track, 'I'm a Cuckoo.' It's not a particularly retro feel here, it's just an upbeat, well constructed song. I love before the chorus when Stuart has a long line of words to fit into a small space, and the instrumental section after the end of each chorus is great as well. It's a joy to listen to.

Next up is 'You Don't Send Me,' another strong track, followed by 'Wrapped Up in Books,' which I love. The ascending scales after the title lyric are great. 'Lord Anthony' follows, which is the most old style B&S track on the album, but it really works here. I love the story of the song and the light instrumentation. The lyrics have a very unique flow, constructing sentences in a way different from virtually any other band I've come across. The highlight here is the end of the track.

My second favorite song from the album is 'If You Find Yourself Caught in Love,' which is so over the top joyous it's unbelievable. The lyrics here are great, twisting the typical "I'm alone and sad" emo thing into a really upbeat happy anthemic song. The 60s style echo backing vocals are great, and for such a poppy song, the lyrics are interesting as well. So, check this one out, it's genius.

It's followed by Roy Walker which is also retro feeling, but a bit more country. It's another great track, with the questing chorus and excellent horns throughout. And the album ends with its best song, "Stay Loose." Here they move from 60s style to 80s style, with some keyboards and vocal distortion. It's unlike any song they've done and is one of those great album closing tracks that hints at the potential of what the band could be. I love everything about this song, the way the band enters on the chorus, and best of all, the great guitar soloes at the middle and end of the track. It's one of those songs where you just don't want it to end.

There's really not a bad song on this album, and there's some extraordinary ones. I love the blend of poppy sound and structure with the really complex, interesting lyrics, and the full, varied instrumental backing. Busting out strings and horns is always great, and it really works well here to create some fantastic songs. While I love their other albums, this new incarnation of Belle and Sebastian is an improvement on the old.

Across the Narrows Festival

I just got back from the epic concert event, Across the Narrows, a festival featuring The Raveonettes, Belle and Sebastian, The Polyphonic Spree and Beck, and some other bands who I did not go early enough to see. It took two hours via Metro North and Subway to get to Coney Island. The concert was held at Keyspan Park, where the minor league baseball team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, play, and it worked great for the concert. The stage was in the center of the field, so you could see from the stands, but there was also a general area where you could go as far front as you could get. I watched the first three bands I saw from very close to the stage, in a whole mess of people.

One note on the setlists below, I just put down all the songs I remembered them playing, roughly in order, but it's by no means exact. Still, it'll give you an idea of what was played.

The Raveonettes
You Say, You Lie//Attack of the Ghost Riders//Red Tan//Sleepwalking//Ode to L.A.//My Boyfriend's Back//Do You Believe Her?//Somewhere in Texas//Love in a Trashcan

So, the first band I saw was The Raveonettes. I actually started listening to them because they were going to be at this show and I figured I might as well know as many bands as I could to get my money's worth, and I ended up loving their stuff. They've got a dark 50s rock feel, like something that belongs in a David Lynch film. Their first album picks up on the simple driving elements of 50s rock, the same stuff that provided the foundations for punk. But with their most recent they branch out into 50s pop, and create some fantastic songs.



They opened with a nasty version of "You Say, You Lie," and I mean the good nasty. The song's three minutes on the album, but must have been at least five there, with some great extended instrumental stuff. That's my favorite element of seeing a band live, watching the ways they can transform the song through the medium of live performance, and this song was probably the highlight of their set, despite not being that remarkable on the album.

The most notable thing about their live show was how the lighter. poppy songs from "Pretty in Black" are turned into hard rockers like the stuff off the first album. Everything was heavier, more bass driven, and it worked really well. I don't think the crowd was that into them, but that's more because people were likely there to see Belle or Beck, and The Raveonettes were just a bonus along the way.



The other highlight of the set was "Sleepwalking," which is perfect for live playing, with its drastic changes in tone and tempo. It's always good to make people really want to her the rocking out part of the song again by interrupting it with something slower. Unfortunately they were cut off with one song to go, which I'd guess was "Uncertain Times," or at least that's the one track I really wish they'd played but didn't.



So, on the whole The Raveonettes were awesome. I was near a guitarist who either Indian or really tan and he was totally rocking out. And their singer is beautiful and has great stage presence. This is a band I definitely want to see again, I'd go to their NYC show next week, except I've got to be at school.



The Polyphonic Spree
Have a Day//It's the Sun//Hold Me Now//New Song//We Sound Amazed//Move Away and Shine (In a Dream)//What Would You Let Go//Everything Starts at the Seams//When the Fool Becomes a King

The Polyphonic Spree were my main reason for going to this show. It's a 45 minute bus ride and hour and a half train ride to my house from school. Then another two hours on trains to get to the show, then reverse all that, plus $55 for the ticket. But it's all worth it if it means getting a chance to see The Polyphonic Spree perform again. I saw them back in August of 2004 and it was the best concert I've ever been to, completely overwhelming.

I was a bit disappointed when they opened with 'Have a Day,' probably their weakest song, and choosing to open rather than the perfect opener "We Sound Amazed," made it even tougher. But they rebounded with a great rendition of 'It's the Sun,' and their set gradually kept building and building in quality.



I was able to get much closer to the band, and they were more spread out than at Irving Plaza, so I was able to observe a lot more of the instruments in use. They had an awesome electronic clarinet played by the floutist that produced some great noises. And there was also a really cool moog, an instrument played by waving you hands near it to make strange noises. Together these two and the keyboard were used to great effect during instrumental breakdown type sequences.

They played a new song which sounded pretty good, but it's tough to evaluate on one listen, especially in a live context. It was cool to hear Move Away and Shine, which is their most recent release and top notch stuff. The one misstep was a long version of "What Would You Let Go" which just died on the crowd, it's not a bad song, but it should be used more as a bridge between their bigger stuff, rather than as such a long piece in and of itself.



However, in the final couple of songs they did, they were the best I've ever seen them. "We Sound Amazed" was awesome, and was soon followed by what must have been a fifteen minute version of "When the Fool Becomes King." The Spree's songs are perfect for a live venue because they're so big and anthemic, and "Fool" is perfect because of its many stops and starts, letting them play with the audience. During the song there was an odd bit where the whole band froze and Tim wandered around looking at them. And after going through this whole song, they returned to the refrain from "It's the Sun," and just took it beyond, one of their drummers was just throwing stuff over, it was amazing. To do such a long buildup and then have this astonishing payoff, I was totally caught up in it, and the audience was thoroughly 'converted' by the end of the performance.

I would say this was even better than the first time I saw them. The sound quality was much better, as much as I loved the first show, I could barely hear during the second half of the performance, being outside worked better. And I can't wait for them to come around again.

Belle and Sebastian
Stars of Track and Field//The Wrong Girl//Electronic Renaissance//The Boy with the Arab Strap//Me and The Major//Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner//I'm a Cuckoo//If You Find Yourself Caught in Love//Judy and the Dream of Horses

Belle and Sebastian were the other major reason I went to the show. I only started listening to them earlier this year, but they've since become one of my favorite bands and I was psyched to see them live. Now, as they were getting ready to go on I saw a line of four people holding violins. This was the band's string section, and it was huge. With the four violins, there were twelve people in Belle, and only coming after The Polyphonic Spree could this seem like a managable number.

It seems like most of their fans are still most enamored of their early work, particularly "If You're Feeling Sinister." Now, I love that album, but I actually prefer their more recent stuff, "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" is their best work. But, whenever they broke out a vintage track, the crowd went wild, most notably with the opener, "Stars of Track and Field." This is one of their best songs, and it was cool to hear it live.

The band seemed a bit disorganized. With The Spree, all their songs flowed into one another, building momentum, but Belle would stop between songs to rearrange instrumentation, slowing things down. I was impressed by how many instruments everyone could play, Stuart shifted between guitars and keyboard, and the others bounced around as well. I loved when they broke out the string section, and the trumpet bits were a highlight too, though the best instrumental portion was the harmonica solo on "Me and the Major."



While their early work is great, it's less conducive to live performance. I liked hearing those songs, but you can't really get into them as an audience member. But that's part of the problem with transferring certain kinds of music to a live venue. Can you really 'rock out' to dark, slow songs? However, that wasn't a big problem, since most of the songs they played were more uptempo.

My favorite song they did "If You Find Yourself Caught in Love," a solid song on the record, but phenomenal live. I had the problem that I don't know their catalogue that well, so a lot of the time I'd be struggling to figure out which song it was until they got to the chorus. They closed with a great rendition of "Judy and the Dream of Horses," which went over big with the crowd.

After listening to them, I was contemplating leaving. I'd been standing for four hours wedged in between a whole bunch of people, and it was taking a toll. I know Beck's singles and a few other songs, but I haven't listened to too much of his stuff. However, I got some food, ate it and then saw that Stuart of Belle and Sebastian was over signing autographs, so I got my ticket signed and asked him about the upcoming Belle and Sebastian comic, which he doesn't seem to be too involved in, though I guess the fact that it's adaptations of his songs means he did play a role. So, it was cool to talk with him, and by the time that was done, Beck was on, and I figured I might as well stay.

Beck
Black Tambourine//Girl//Devil's Haircut//Guero//Loser//Minus//Emergency//Guess I'm Doing Fine//Lonesome//Hotwax//Where It's At//Get Paid//Broken Drum//Lost Cause//Do You Realize//Golden Age//Clap Hands//Sexx Laws//Mixed//Epro

I started out at the back, watching the set from a distance. They had a very cool video backdrop, which was being mixed by a video DJ. So that threw all sorts of strange colors onto the performers. It was cool to hear 'Girl' and 'Loser,' songs I knew. As the set passed, I gradually moved forward and was getting more and more drawn in. The dancy rock worked really well live and there was all kinds of odd dancing going on in the crowd. His stuff works great live and he had a surprisingly strong stage presence.

This was backed up by a guy who was described as being responsible for "percussion and body movements." He broke out the break dancing favorites, the robot, the pulling yourself up from the ground, etc, and he was wearing the obligatory 70s police sunglasses, which were widespread today.



So, I loved Beck's set. He did a really cool acoustic part in the middle, where his band sat down to eat dinner, and after a couple of songs they started to use the plates and glasses as percussion instruments, eventually performing 'Golden Age' with this dinner table backing. I'm really glad I stayed, his set was top notch.

After it was over, I was hit in the face by something. I thought that was nasty, but I looked up and there was a guy saying "Setlist," so I looked down and there was a crumpled up piece of paper with the setlist on it. So, that explains why the one setlist here that's actually correct is for the guy who's work I don't even know. So that was a nice bonus, and by this time I was so tired from standing for six hours that I was able to zone out on the ride home and it went by quickly.

All the artists were great, but I also have to respect this concert for running on time. Everyone went on pretty much when they were supposed to and the time between set changes was minimal. I'd love to see this become an annual thing. And one other note, I didn't take any of these pictures, I just linked them off people's flickrs.

Next Weekend

Next weekend is looking to be one of the high points of the year, fitting a whole bunch of great events into one three day stretch. It all begins Friday when I'm going to Yale to see David Lynch give a lecture called "Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain." I love Lynch's films, he's one of the most consistently challenging filmmakers out there today and his best films are enigmas that require multiple viewings to fully understand. I always like to meet the people behind the works of fiction I love, and Lynch is way up there on my list.

But besides the fact that he's made so many great films, I'm also really interested in hearing what Lynch has to say about the brain and the creative process. The reason for this lecture is that he's doing a tour of colleges in order to raise awareness about his foundation devoted to making meditation available to school children. In Lynch on Lynch, he spends a long time talking about his creative process, and how he's not so much making the story as tapping into some higher plane that he receives the story from. So, he'll sit in a chair and wait for the story to come to him, quite similar to the idea of the Immateria that Alan Moore talks about in Promethea. So hearing him talk more about this in person should be pretty interesting.

And maybe he'll give some details on Inland Empire, it's supposedly been in the works for a couple of years now, and is supposed to premiere at Cannes in May, so he's probably pretty far along with it. Plus, he's got a great voice, and hearing Gordon Cole live should be fun.

So, that's Friday, then Saturday I'm going to see Serenity, Joss Whedon's film. I was supposed to see it a few weeks ago when Joss appeared here, but I was shut out, so I'll finally get a chance Saturday. It'll be cool to see what Joss can do with these characters to build off the series, though I doubt it'll be one of the all time great films, it's almost guaranteed to be entertaining. Plus, I'm really interested to see how it does at the box office, I just don't see high grosses, but considering its low budget, I doubt it will lose money.

Then Sunday is another major event, the Across the Narrows concert in Brooklyn. The premise of this music festival is to have simultaneous concerts in Brooklyn and Staten Island, one on each day of the weekend, for four concerts total. They're all pretty good, featuring such bands as Oasis, Doves and The Killers, but the best one for me was the second Brooklyn one featuring The Polyphonic Spree, Belle and Sebastian, The Raveonettes and Beck.

The Polyphonic Spree put on the best concert I've ever been to when I saw them last. The sound was completely overwhelming as 25 people played with such enthusiasm. After a really long wait, followed by a flute solo, the pounding entrance on 'We Sound Amazed' was a completely overwhelming wall of sound, literally shaking the floor beneath me. The whole show was phenomenal, the lights coming on as they sing "It's the sun!" Most Spree songs fit perfectly in a live setting, with their anthemtic choruses and massive instrumental portions.

This show will probably feature some material from their new album, the Thumbsucker soundtrack. Being a soundtrack, there's not that many fully realized songs on there, but 'Move Away and Shine' is one of the best songs The Spree have ever done and I'm really looking forward to hearing that one live. They're just so energetic, it's impossible not to enjoy one of their shows.

The other band that made this show an essential one for me is Belle and Sebastian. I started listening to them earlier this year, and I've become a huge fan. Their songs are very smart, lyrically clever like The Smiths. I usuallly don't care much about lyrics, but theirs really capture your attention, most notably on 'Storytelling,' a song about the rules of writing a story which is really funny and catchy.

But, even without the great lyrics, the music on their songs is great. They use a lot of big instrumentation, featuring strings, synthesizer and most notably a trumpet. The instrumental solo on 'Sleep the Clock Around' is beautiful. I also like the way they integrate the multiple vocalists. One of the best moments in their work is on 'Lazy Line Painter Jane,' when a female vocalist comes in, just taking control of the song, elevating it. I've been binging through their alubms lately, trying to get caught up for this concert. So far all their stuff has been pretty solid, though the best is 'If You're Feeling Sinister' and 'The Boy with the Arab Strap.' I've still got to get through the second disk of Push Barman Open Old Wounds and Dear Catastrophe Waitress before the concert.

These two drew me to the concert, but knowing about the other bands, I figured I'd check them out so it wouldn't just be waiting around be the two bands I did like, and I'm really glad I did. The Raveonettes are one of my new favorites, I've been listening to a lot of their most recent album, Pretty in Black. The album reminds me a lot of David Lynch in the way it has a very dark, yet 50s feel. The songs have guitar and vocal parts that are very 50s, and they even cover 'My Boyfriend's Back.' But, their 50s is a darker version, it's almost a post apocalyptic reconstruction of the 50s.

The best track is 'Uncertain Times,' a love song that reaches epic heights, with a great guitar part driving it. 'Sleepwalking' is a bit more rocking, driving track. But nearly every song on the album is solid, seeming to come from a distorted time warp. Their earlier work is more conventional and modern sounding, but still fun to listen to, and I'm really psyched to hear them live.

So, this will be one long, hopefully awesome concert. I've got the dream that The Polyphonic Spree and Belle and Sebastian will combine for a track, bringing it to 35 people on the stage, though the tone of their songs are so different, it might be tough to do. But regardless, seperately they'll have enough awesomeness to carry it.

Artists I've Been Listening To...

First off, the North American trailer for Wong Kar-Wai's 2046 is now available here. It looks great, and really captures the feeling of the film. I suppose I'd be inherently partial to it because it focuses so much on the stuff from the future sections of the film, which I'd consider to be the best thing WKW has ever done.

The film drops on August 5, but I already have the DVD. However, I will be seeing it in the theater very soon. On June 15, Wong Kar-Wai is appearing and doing a Q&A at a screening of the film at Lincoln Center. I've never seen a WKW film in the theater, and 2046 is a really astonishing visual experience, so that alone is worth it, but it's also WKW live. I always like to meet film people and hear them talk about the process, especially if they are total storytellers. While Martin Scorsese may have made some great films, he doesn't usually make the stories himself, so you can't get a sense of his whole process, whereas with WKW or Joss, they do everything, and are a lot more interesting to talk to. In the past few years, I've met a lot of my idols, and this is another one to add to the list. I'd still really like to meet Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, though that's not likely to happen unless I make it over to the UK.

So, that should be very cool. Now I'm going to quickly go over some of the music I've been listening to lately because I've definitely been branching off in some different directions.

Electric Light Orchestra - I've been listening to a lot of the Electric Light Orchestra, a band from the 70s that is most famous for their songs "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Evil Woman." When I was very young I remember hearing "Evil Woman" on some Disney special, over a montage of their villains, but I could never remember what the song was. This was when I lived in my old house before 1990, I don't know how I could have remembered this for so long, but last year I heard the song in Mocon and it came back to me. The song had remained with me for 15 years, it's a great song, but even so I found that pretty strange.

Anyway, I grabbed the song and some of their other stuff, but only started listening to the albums recently. I've been listening to a lot of A New World Record and Out of the Blue, both great albums, though I prefer Record. Electric Light Orchestra is an ancestor of a lot of the current artists I love most. Perhaps the best description of the band I could give would be a combination of Daft Punk and The Polyphonic Spree, probably my two favorite current artists, so ELO is understandably a favorite of mine. From Daft Punk they drew a synth based, quasi-dance sound, with frequent use of vocoder, the Electric part. From The Spree they draw the frequent use of big orchestration, with a ton of different instruments at work, the orchestra part. On their best songs, they rock hard, while sounding unlike any other band around.

Their most bizarre song is "Mission," about some aliens who come to earth. It's all over the place, and has the sort of over the top hyperbole that only 70s rock can provide. If you recall "Stonehenge" from Spinal Tap, this is the sort of song that was parodying. Definitely worth checking out. Other standout tracks are the really rocking "Do Ya" and "Livin' Thing," as well as the more subdued "Summer and Lightning" and "Turn to Stone."

Annie - Annie is a relatively new artist, who has put out just one album, Anniemal, which actually hasn't even been released here. Said album is awesome, an amazing pop confection, where pretty much every song is catchy, solid listening. She hails from Iceland, and has more electronic based production than your average album made here. I love the electronic stuff found in much of Europop, and this is one of the best examples of it. Her voice isn't that great, but woven into the music, it's phenomenal.

Her best song is "Heartbeat," which uses a pounding drum over the chorus to simulate her heartbeat as she gets to know someone over the course of a night. I love driving repeated riffs in a song, and the hearbeat drumming just propels the song forward. I think pop has gotten a bad name, and the perception is that albums that sound like this are just "commercial," while darker, less instantly accessible albums must be more artistically relevant. However, music is ultimately about sound, and this album just sounds great all the way through, perfectly constructed pop.

Belle and Sebastian - I really liked their soundtrack for the movie Storytelling and I finally caught up with their albums. So far, I've heard If you're Feeling Sinister and The Boy with the Arab Strap. I really like their sound, it's got a lot of varied instruments and similar to The Smiths, an interesting mix of heavy subject matter and light music. It's really pleasant sounding music, with a bit of 60s flavor. Their best tracks are "Stars of Track and Field" and "Like Dylan in the Movies."

Rachael Yamagata - She's another fairly new artist, with only one album to her credit, Happenstance, and it's a great album. Yamagata reminds me a bit of Aimee Mann in that she is a singer/songwriter, but places a lot of emphasis on the backing tracks and overall production. Too many singer/songwriters focus only on the lyrics, but her tracks are fully realized songs. She rocks pretty hard, and has a great range of darker stuff, like "Under My Skin," and light, poppy tunes, like "1963."

She does a great job of writing lyrics that sound good when sung. "Be Be Your Love" has a great chorus that might not read well, but sounds great in the context of the song. Similarly, "I'm loving you like it's 1963" paints a picture of the world the song is trying to evoke and sounds great as a chorus. While I do love Aimee Mann, her songs are rather similar, while these have great variety, both in terms of music and in terms of theme and atmosphere they are trying to evoke.