This decision was surprisingly easy. It is impossible to list all the "good" albums of the last ten years but it is easy to say the BEST one: (drum roll leads to...)
Radiohead's Kid A is by far the greatest album of the last ten years. An incredible followup to one of the best albums of the 90's, OK Computer, Kid A somehow took an apocalyptic idea and made it optimistic. While OK Computer felt apathetic and angry (very generation-x) Kid A seemed to shout "well, we're not gonna take it anymore." It opens with the haunting "Everything in its Right Place" where the hypnotic chord structure and melody seems to melt the mind of the listener and the band together preparing them for a truly amazing experience. I felt like Radiohead jumped inside my brain in "How To Disappear Completely" as the melody and guitar accompaniment seem to battle over words like "I'm not here, this isn't happening". The battle continues until finally the vocals concede and angrily fly into the texture into a very unsettling sound. My personal favorite track that Radiohead has created is "Idioteque". Here they seem to be shouting a rally call to everyone who is sick of "the man" calling the shots. Its a protest song in essence. Each line strikes a voice inside your head to think twice about the short statement and then the seemingly nonsensical combining of the random lines feels like it has meaning and importance. The sampling from the Lansky piece repeated over and over remains interesting despite literally only having one chord in the entire song. Lastly I want highlight "Morning Bell". This song is a fantastic sample of Radiohead's style, how they take every element of the band and treat them as equals. Each member of the band is incredibly talented and this song is a perfect example of how their performance gifts, song-writing, and creativity are unsurpassed. The song is in 5/4 meter and the lyrics are rather violent: "cut the kids in half". Throughout the album the band member challenge themselves, playing new instruments and making new sounds incorporating new technologies. "Morning Bell" is sad, angry, and gives the mood of an upset disenfranchised culture. Radiohead is better at creating a mood than any other band around these days. For all of these reasons and more, Kid A is my choice for album of the decade and an album you should all go out and buy if you don't already own it.
As for the year, there have been many great and highly anticipated releases of 2009. First my shame on you's:
- The Mars Volta: Octahedron. This album was terrible. Imagine a great band like the Mars Volta dumbing down their music to make it more commercial. Well what's left? This album sounds like a worse band trying to sound like the Mars Volta. Don't get me wrong, there's one or two good songs, but an all around waste of money.
- Muse: The Resistance. My suspicions that Muse is the worst band ever are proven appropriate by their latest album. This is clear plagiarism of better bands like Radiohead and Queen that actually made me angry while listening.
- Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Its Blitz!
- Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
- The Decemberists: The Hazards of Love
- Regina Spektor: Far
- Pearl Jam: Backspacer
- The Antlers: Hospice
- Brand New: Daisy
- Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
- Japandroids: Post Nothing
- Fever Ray: Fever Ray
- Various Artists: Dark Was The Night
- Imogen Heap: Eclipse
- YACHT: See Mystery Lights
That 1977 photo is of Kazuo Ohno, the now 103 year old Butoh dancer. If you can't read the top there, my choice for album of the year is Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light. This album is in a world of its own, delicate, passionate, and sophisticated. Antony's songwriting is incredible and only matched by the fantastically minimalistic orchestrations. The Crying Light is a daring followup from his last album, the star-studded I Am A Bird Now (featuring artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhart, and Boy George) and it delivers. The music is figurative and literal poetry. Tracks I recommend you listen to (to convice you to buy it) are: "Epilepsy is Dancing", "Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground", "One Dove", "Another World", and "Aeon". Bravo Mr. Hegarty, This is a masterpiece.
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