VISKTERISK*

.....And I'm back, with a playlist!

2010-08-15T00:52:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to me! I have been recently quite busy with everything else, so no updates here. However, I have found a free minute (even though it is 11:55 on Saturday night), so, updates!

My new direction on this thing is to throw out playlist ideas, whether or not they are fully formed. I'm starting today with an easy one - Covers! The best covers bring something new to a song and, in some cases, overshadow the original.

Here's the playlist, with comments:

1. Creep - Scala. If you have seen any movies recently, you'll probably recognize this as the song from the new Facebook movie. Scala's version of Radiohead's classic really highlights the uneasiness of the lyrics - I think it is even more disturbing than the original.

2. Such Great Heights - Iron and Wine. I also love the Postal Service's version, but Sam Beam imbues the song with a sadness that isn't present in the original - he makes it a totally different song.

3. The Sweat Descends - Art in Manila. Les Savy Fav's version has more energy, but this one has more bite.

4. I Will Survive - Cake. I love the low energy flavor that Cake brings to this disco classic. Plus, a killer trumpet solo never hurts.

5. This Land is Your Land - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. This is the credits music from Up in the Air. I'll confess, I've never consciously listened to the Woody Guthrie version, and Ms. Jones' version pretty much guarantees that I never will.

6. Hurt - Johnny Cash. Yes, Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails - not the other way around. In any case, the Man in Black lends an additional gravitas to this song that Trent Reznor's rage couldn't.

7. Since U Been Gone - Ted Leo. An acoustic take on Kelly Clarkson's smash, this one makes the list for diving into Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Yes, Kelly, we all know you ripped off the bridge from Maps - Ted Leo just makes sure no one is confused.

8. Toxic - Local H. Yes, we're in the pop idol cover section.

9. You are the Blood - Sufjan Stevens. I didn't know this was a cover (I'm sorry Castanets), but Sufjan's take on this song is amaaaaaaazing. Totally worth the 10 minute playing time.

10. Feel Good, Inc. - Rhythms del Mundo. This one is almost a remix, rather than a cover, but I'll let it slide. I had no idea that The Gorillaz's hit was missing some Latin flavor, but I was wrong.

11. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix. Sorry Bob, but Jimi wins. This is the quintessential cover that trumps the original.

12. Turn the Page - Metallica. This one probably adds the least to the original of any song in the playlist, but c'mon, it's Metallica.

13. Any Major Dude Will Tell You - Wilco. Original by Steely Dan.

14. Thirteen - Elliott Smith. This one is almost a carbon copy of Big Star's* version, but c'mon, it's Elliott Smith.

15. Mr. Grieves - TV on the Radio. I already sang this one's praises in my entry on Young Liars in the First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with 200. It is hasn't lost any awesomeness since then.

16. The Mercy Seat - Johnny Cash. As good as Mr. Cash is when he writes his own songs, I think I like his covers even better. He keeps the anger of Nick Cave's original, but also tinges it with resignation. Beautiful.

*I read that Katy Perry's hit California Gurls was spelled with a U as a tribute to September Gurls by Big Star. Alex Chilton had just passed and one of the producers suggested the spelling change, and Katy agreed. I wish I could say this makes me think more highly of Katy Perry, but in her comment about it, all she could say was "one of the members had just passed", and she did it as a favor to her producer - plus "the kids like those variations". Wow.

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 10-1.

2010-07-04T21:25:00.001-05:00

Alright, kids! The time you have been waiting for has arrived! The top 10! One thing I find of my favorite albums - those that I would classify as "great" - is that several different songs have been my absolute favorite from the album at one time or another. I'll list these for the top 10.

10. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens (2005)

In one of Chuck Klosterman's books (I can't remember which one), he tells of a question he likes to ask people at parties. He asks people what musicians they would choose to start a supergroup. You get to pick a singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer, and a multi-instrumentalist, and they perform songs that you write. The first person that jumped into my head for the multi-instrumentalist was Sufjan Stevens*. Nowhere are Stevens' many talents better on display than Illinois, the second entry in his aborted 50 states project (though it appears he never intended to finish). Stevens layered instrument upon instrument to accompany his geographic and historical tour of Illinois.

Album Highlights:

John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
Chicago
Casimir Pulaski Day
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!
The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders

*The full band (Indie Rock version):
Lead Singer: Leslie Feist
Guitar: J Mascis
Bass: Kim Deal
Drums: Bryan Devendorf (the National)
Multi-Instrumentalist: Sufjan Stevens

I have no idea if this would actually work, but it'd be fun.

9. Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers (2005)

The magnus opus of a great band. Much of the praise around this album (and the piece that differentiated it from the earlier two records), was the coming out party of drummer Kurt Dahle. The drums on this album rocked - in particular, Bleeding Heart Show and Stacked Crooked. I just caught these guys in concert and Kurt was awesome. Not only did he kill it on the drums, but also provided backing vocals and whistling (while still drumming*) and also played guitar on the verses of one song, then drummer the chorus. Pretty awesome.

Album Highlights:

Use It
Bleeding Heart Show
Stacked Crooked

*Try doing this. This is super hard.

8. The Midnight Organ Fight - Frightened Rabbit (2008)

This one is a brutal break up record. Dude was not feeling good about anything. Luckily for us, Frightened Rabbit* made a completely amazing album about it. This album is so good, I'll even ignore the title - possibly the worst euphemism for sex I've ever heard. Plus, when Chuck used 'Backwards Walk' in one of their episodes, the producers/censors didn't edit out the "you're the shit and I'm knee deep in it" lyric. Hooray for swearing on TV!

Album Highlights:

Modern Leper
Backwards Walk
Old Old Fashioned
The Twist

*The first time I saw Frightened Rabbit was at an outdoor concert at the Memorial Union in Madison. They weren't all that well known. Some kid came up to me and asked who was playing and I told him. He said, "Frightened Rabbit, is that kind of like Modest Mouse?". Only later did I realize that he had thought that up earlier and went around asking people so he could look witty.

7. The Stage Names - Okkervil River (2007)

That Will Sheff is a clever boy. 'Plus Ones' is the song that really sold me on Okkervil River. By adding one to the numbers in famous songs (51st way to leave your lover, 9 miles high), he nails the feeling of expend-ability when you are no longer needed in a relationship. Try to count the allusions he uses* in the lyrics. It is way fun.

Album Highlights:

John Allyn Smith Sails
Plus Ones
Unless It's Kicks
Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe

*Use Your Allusion is not to be confused with Use Your Ilusion. Also, don't use Poe - I got Poe.

6. In the Reins - Iron and Wine/Calexico (2005)

This is the scrappy overachiever of my list. I downloaded it sometime in 2005 and almost deleted it several times over the next two years. However, in the summer of 2007, something clicked and I could not stop listening to this album. I like to call this the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of my collection. Two great tastes (Iron and Wine, Calexico) that are somehow even better together.

Album Highlights:

History of Lovers
Sixteen, Maybe Less
Burn that Broken Bed
In the Reins
Dead Man's Will

5. Push Barman to Open Old Wounds - Belle and Sebastian (2005)

Ok, I admit to cheating a couple times before (Voxtrot, Okkervil River), but this is seriously cheating - and this time I didn't intend to cheat*! Well over half of this album was released as singles in the 90s. The band then added a couple singles from the early 2000s and released them as this double CD. Anyway, this compilation features Belle and Sebastian at the peak of their powers. Some of the older, more fey stuff to appease the old times mixed with signs of their more upbeat, rocking numbers of recent albums. Awesomeness.

Album Highlights:

Lazy Line Painter Jane
Legal Man
Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner
I'm Waking Up to Us
Jonathan David
String Bean Jean

*If you really feel cheated, bump all lower entries up one spot and add it Blackwater Park by Opeth. How's that for an album switch?
4. Separation Sunday - The Hold Steady (2005)

...And we've reached the apex of the Hold Steady's career. Craig Finn's twisted tale of Holly, backed with the best classic rock in 30 years, reaches heights that few others can touch. When you can write lyrics that inspire wikis and the music that backs it is powerful enough that fans have made a map of the places you reference in your songs, you know you have done something right.

Album Highlights:

Cattle and the Creeping Things
How a Resurrection Really Feels
Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
Hornets! Hornets!
Your Little Hoodrat Friend

3. Funeral - Arcade Fire (2004)

This is very likely the most influential indie-rock album of the decade (Is This It might give it a run for its money), and it is easy to see why. Sincere, but not too earnest, personal, but accessible, throw in a little bit of bombast and some epic sing-a-long choruses, this one fires on every cylinder. I think 7 of the 10 songs have been my favorite on this album as some point.

Album Highlights:

The Neighborhood Quadrilogy
Rebellion (Lies)
Wake Up
Crown of Love

2. Boxer - The National (2007)

Let's see, what makes the National great? I tried to write my own reasons, but in the end, I pretty much just stole from this article in the New York Times. Yes, it is about the making of their latest album, High Violet, but it pretty much says exactly what I want to, but much better.

Album Highlights:

Fake Empire
Mistaken for Strangers
Start a War
Ada
Apartment Story
Squalor Victoria
Brainy

1. The Meadowlands - The Wrens (2003)

We have finally come to the end. This was the one album that I didn't have any trouble ranking. Number one with a bullet, as they say. This album finally clicked for me in late 2006. Their exploration of the transition into adulthood and leaving behind the young life as they passed into their 30s and started settling down resonated with me even though I was still in school and roughly a decade younger. I can't say this album actually changed my life, but it did sum up much of my life at that time, and isn't that part of the purpose of art? To express the things that you can't express?

Album Highlights:

Happy
Everyone Take Sides
13 Months in 6 Minutes
Boys, You Won't
Hopeless
She Sends Kisses
13 Grand
Ex-Girl Collection

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 20-11.

2010-06-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

The top 20 is upon us. Let us not dilly dally.

20. Alligator - The National (2005)

Okay, I'm at least 2 years late on this comment, but the National threw their support behind Obama in the 2008 election. To help support the campaign, they created merchandise with Obama's picture and the phrase "Mr. November", a track from this album.

Seems to make sense, right? Elections are in November, they want Obama to win, and Obama is certainly a better choice than Derek Jeter. The problem comes when we start thinking about the lyrics to 'Mr. November'. The chorus is fine:

I won't f*** us over, I'm Mr. November
I'm Mr. November, I won't f*** us over.

Sounds like a good thing for a president, right? However, the pre-chorus is where I get confused:

I'm the new blue blood
I'm the Great White Hope
I'm the new blue blood

There are two options here. Option one is that we can treat this as irony, which kind of undercuts their support of Obama. Option two is that Obama's campaign and subsequent election has truly ushered us into a post-racial age where no one sees any inherent contradiction here. I'm voting option two.*

*Please note - this section was written with tongue firmly placed in cheek. I actually think the shirt is awesome.

19. Electric Version - The New Pornographers (2003)

More goodness from Canada's premier indie-rock supergroup*. This one is a little tighter than Mass Romantic and the listeners reap the benefits.

*I guess this would be an example of a retroactive supergroup. Each of the members' main projects have grown in concert with the New Pornographers.

18. Chutes Too Narrow - The Shins (2003)

Fun Fact! James Mercer bought Elliott Smith's house in Portland. He should turn it into some sort of indie rock shrine.

17. The Moon and Antarctica - Modest Mouse (2000)

Isaac Brock is underrated as a lyricist, I believe. He isn't a rich storyteller, but he does have a way of turning a phrase so that is just sticks in your head. My favorite examples:

I wanna look out the window of my color TV - 'A Different City'
Our ideas held no water but we used them like a dam - 'Missed the Boat'
You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death? - 'Ocean Breathes Salty'
Other people's lives seem interesting 'cuz they ain't mine - 'Other People's Lives

16. Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Belle and Sebastian (2003)

Man, Stuart Murdoch can write an extended metaphor. "Step Into My Office, Baby' uses the workplace as an extended metaphor for "relationships"*. The video is quite a bit less subtle:

*Read "sex"

15. Apologies to the Queen Mary - Wolf Parade (2005)

I like to imagine that Wolf Parade is apologizing to this man:

Possibly for spelling his sign wrong:

14. Hometowns - The Rural Alberta Advantage (2009)

Yes, the vocals will draw comparisons to Jeff Magnum, but this album is a stunner all the way through. I especially love the hectic percussion.

13. For Emma, Long Ago - Bon Iver (2008)

This is the absolute best winter album I own. The sparseness and the seclusion of the lyrics and sound always make me wish I was listening to this in the middle of winter in front of a fireplace. Also, bonus points for representing Wisconsin.

12. Neon Bible - Arcade Fire (2006)

It is a little bit strange that this record is considered darker than their debut (which was titled Funeral), but so it is. This one is stuffed full of stellar songs - 'No Cars Go', 'Neon Bible', Intervention', '(Antichrist Television Blues)' just to start - and it makes the best use of a full organ in rock music since maybe In a Gadda Da Vida.

11. Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio (2006)

I'm a little surprised this one didn't make the top 10. Its first 5 songs might be without compare. 'I Was a Lover', 'Hours', 'Province', 'Playhouses', and 'Wolf Like Me' will stand up to any first 5 songs.

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 30-21

2010-06-12T01:36:00.000-05:00

30. Stay Positive - The Hold Steady (2008)

America's Best Bar Band™* continues on with another excellent album. If there is one thing the Hold Steady does well, besides storytelling, killer riffs, and singalong choruses, it is writing bookends for their albums. The first and last song of every album is pretty much killer.
Consider the following:
Openers:

Positive Jam - Almost Killed Me. Not their best, but still establishes the themes of the record.
Hornets! Hornets! - Separation Sunday. This is more like it! A driving start - 5 stars all the way.
Stuck Between Stations - Boys and Girls in America. Arguably their most popular and definitely one of their best. My second most played Hold Steady song.
Constructive Summer - Stay Positive. My most played Hold Steady song. Great shout out sections (Double whiskey coke no ice).

Closers:

Killer Parties - Almost Killed Me. Still the go-to show closer.
How a Resurrection Really Feels - Separation Sunday. Sums up the Holly narrative, killer outro.
Southtown Girls - Boys and Girls in America. Probably the weakest closer of the group, but still has a killer Thin Lizzy-ish solo.
Slapped Actress - Stay Positive. Again, amazing closer.

6 of those 8 songs are rated 5 stars by me. That's a way to start and end an album.

*Though people like to call them this, I actually prefer their outdoor shows. Outside on a summer day with a beer in hand and the Hold Steady rockin' it - that's just about perfect.

29. The Body, The Blood, The Machine - The Thermals (2006)

Yup - more goodness from the Thermals.

28. Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes - TV on the Radio (2004)

Album #3 for TVotR on the countdown. I'd like to take a second and give a shout out to Kyp Malone. While I like many, many pieces of TV on the Radio, what pushes them into McDonald's territory* is Kyp's falsetto. The super high octaves he pulls on "Poppy" totally make that song. Plus, check out this beard! How can you not love a guy with a beard like this?

*I'm lovin' it. What's that? That didn't work for you? You don't like references to bad fast food marketing slogans? Me neither. If I had an editor, he would definitely make me remove it. Darn you, non-existent editor!

27. Figure 8 - Elliott Smith (2000)

This is the first Elliott Smith album I fell in love with. Elliott Smith also tops my list of artists I wish I was aware of while they were still making music*. I didn't really need to be listening to Creed and Staind in high school, did I? I think the answer to this is "You don't ever need to be listening to Creed and Staind." Well, thanks 2010 self - where were you 15 years ago?

*The rest of the list:

Elliott Smith
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Pixies
The Wrens (yes, I know they haven't broken up yet - Keeping People Waiting since 1989!).

26. The Rhumb Line - Ra Ra Riot (2008).

Ra Ra Riot is pretty much a perfectly-formed pop band. They have an excellent singer, fantastic drummer, solid guitarist and bassist, and they make excellent use of the cellist and violinist in the band. Plus they write great songs. That's about all you can ask for, right?

25. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon (2007)

This is Spoon's fourth entry, which pretty much puts them in the running for Artist of the Decade! Spoiler Alert: They finish 5th in my rankings. I'll display the final totals for the contenders (along with my not-so-scientific methodology) after I finish the top 100.

24. Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird (2007).

One of the more accomplished musicians on my list (and the only professional whistler I know), Mr. Bird is quite the sight to see live. I was as intrigued by how he made music as I was by the actual sound. It is very impressive to watch him loop sample of himself playing (in real time) using various foot pedals and loop effects, all while playing the violin and singing. Very cool.

23. Black Sheep Boy + Appendix - Okkervil River (2005).

Again, this is technically cheating, but I did see that they are releasing these two albums together as a double album, so I'm counting it. It must be difficult when you write too many good songs to include on one album, so you have to release an Appendix to it that includes two more killer songs (No Key No Plan and Missing Children), among others. Then, as if that wasn't hard enough, the next time they recorded an album, they had enough for two albums, each of which made my top 35 (The Stand Ins and Stage Names)! That's rough.

22. Boys and Girls in America - The Hold Steady (2006)

This is the Hold Steady at the peak of their powers - not their best album (that's still upcoming), but when they were the biggest force. Tangent: how are singles actually chosen from albums? Sometimes it is obvious ("Wolf Like Me" is pretty obviously the best and most appealing song from Return to Cookie Mountain). However, while I love "Chips Ahoy", it has no business being the lead single from this record. "Stuck Between Stations" is easily the better song (both critically and among most THS fans, I believe).

21. Seven Swans - Sufjan Stevens (2004)

Maybe this isn't high praise, but Seven Swans is one of my favorite albums to listen to at night while falling asleep. I love to lay in bed and listen to each song, picking out each instrument as it is added in (guitar, banjo, piano, bass, vocals....) while the soothing sounds of the album lead me to sleep.

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Now playing: 65daysofstatic - Retreat! Retreat!
via FoxyTunes

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 40-31.

2010-06-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand back to it. I wasn't planning on have this countdown take like a month, but hey, I gots stuffs to do. Ya knows whats I'm sayin', youse guys*?

*Inside joke alert! My guess is that precisely zero people reading this will get this, but, hey, what's a blog for if you can't make inside jokes that no one on the Internet will get?

40. Alopecia - Why? (2008).

I never knew I had a itch that only a weird blend of indie rock and hip hop with an unorthodox flow and ultra confessional lyrics could scratch. It turns out I do. And I am serious about ultra confessional lyrics. On the album, Yoni calls it "stuff I can't admit to my head shrinker", but he seems to have no problems putting it on tape for random strangers to listen to. Since this is a family blog, I'll spare the details - pick up the album if you're curious.

39. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -Wilco (2002).

Odds are, if you have made it 60 albums into this, you know about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (or as I like to call it, "suck it, major labels!"), so I won't waste more words on the album. However, I do think more people should use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet in their daily conversations*. This would give even the most boring conversations a much more interesting and confusing bent.

[Friend enters, stage left]
Friend: What are you watching?
Me: I'm watching some old November Bravo Alpha games on Echo Sierra Papa November Classic. Alpha Charlie Green had an awesome perm/jheri curl!
Friend: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
Me: (Romeo Oscar Foxtrot Lima Mike Alpha Oscar)
[End Scene]

* One of my friends in grad school was in the National Guard. He had all sorts of problems when we'd use Greek letters. We'd be talking about alpha, beta, gamma.... and he'd always say "alpha, bravo, charlie". Hilarious (Math jokes!).

38. Receivers - Parts and Labor (2008).

When humans and robots can stand this ridiculous sexual tension no longer and one brave human and one rogue robot give in to forbidden, forbidden love, this is the album that their great grandkids (grandroids?) would make if they listened to a lot of Queens of the Stone Age and TV on the Radio*.

* I could totally write for Pitchfork.

37. Oh, Inverted World - The Shins (2001).

For both this album and the next album on the countdown, I think the title of the album sums up the artist quite capably. When I read "Oh, Inverted World" in my mind, the combination of surprise and melancholy in the phrase fits very well with how I think of the Shins. So, good job Shins!*

*I made it the whole blurb without referencing "changing your life"! I win!

36. Castaways and Cutouts - The Decemberists (2002).

This album inspired one of my favorite things to do when I visit other places. What I like to do is visit specific landmarks or places referenced in songs that I like. For example, the song "Grace Cathedral Hill" references both the titular Grace Cathedral Hill and Hyde Street Pier, both of which I noticed while wandering around San Francisco on vacation. Fun times.

35. Hospice - The Antlers (2009).

While I don't often pay attention to the lyrics - so by extension, I don't get much of the emotion in lyrics - I do throughly enjoy hearing the emotion in the singer's voice. This album's vocals are some of the most beautifully emotional vocals I've heard. The guy's voice just gets me.

34. The Stand Ins - Okkervil River (2008).

Really, all I need to say here is "Lost Coastlines", but the rest of the album brings it as well. Hooray, Will Sheff!

33. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008).

Sons of Guns! The harmonies on this album slay me. Even better, they sound just as tight live. If I had my druthers, I would have swapped this album with #32 and put Z by My Morning Jacket before that, so I could have a had a killer trifecta* of vocalists that always get compared to each other.

*Okay Blogger spellcheck, how to you not recognize "trifecta", but you will suggest "perfecta" to replace it? Has anyone in the recorded history of the world uttered the word "perfecta"?

32. Everything All the Time - Band of Horses (2006).

A stunning debut. Shortly after they released this album, I saw Band of Horses at the Paradise Lounge in Boston. Because of the hype around their debut, they were headlining this set. However, Everything All the Time is only 10 songs and a hair over 30 minutes long. This makes for a short headlining set. They played the entire album, except for St. Augustine, and two covers, and they were done in like 40 minutes. I'm pretty sure the opener actually played longer than Band of Horses. So, up and coming bands, take note: Do not gather too much hype too early, or you won't have enough songs to play when you tour.

31. Mass Romantic - The New Pornographers (2000).

Aaah, The New Pornographers. Causing awkward conversations between parents and children since 2000. I like to think of the New Pornographers as the indie-rock Planeteers. The individual members are pretty good - they possess certain powers, do good things, etc... - but when their powers combine, they are........Captain Planet! Here's the breakdown:

AC Newman -------->Ma-Ti (Heart)
Neko Case ---------->Linka (Wind)
Dan Bejar ----------->Wheeler (Fire)
Kathryn Calder ----->Gi (Water)
Kurt Dahle ---------->Kwame (Earth)

(sorry John Collins and Todd Fancey - you guys can fight it out for Gaia and Suchi)

Perhaps at some point I'll extend this comparison to the Captain Planet villains. Maybe using Chickenfoot? Damn Yankees? Velvet Revolver?

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Now playing: Comedy Death Ray - Comedy Death-Ray Radio 07
via FoxyTunes

More People You'll See at Summer Concert Festivals

2010-06-05T10:45:00.005-05:00

A couple days ago, I posted a fun game you can play at summer music festivals. It eventually turned into a a list of types of people you'll see at the festivals. In the interest of completeness, I compiled some more categories of what people will be wearing - however, I couldn't come up with a guess as to who they will be seeing. Bonus points to you if you can figure it out.

Thousands and Thousands of Ironic/Nostalgic T-Shirts

Seriously, you will see every ironic/nostalgic t-shirt you've ever seen, as well as some new ones. Just by the sheer numbers, there is no way to guess who these people will be seeing.

Outlandish Coordinated Outfits

I think the main purpose of this is to identify the people they came with (and to be weird). Some of the notable examples of this I saw at Sasquatch!:

Red and white striped Waldo shirts.
Superhero costumes*
Gold sequined clothing

* During Mike Birbiglia's set, a conga-line of people dressed as superheroes - Batman, Spiderman, the entire set of Power Rangers, among others - made its way through the Rumpus Room crowd and exited as quickly as they came. It most circumstances, this would qualify as surreal, but it's kind of expected behavior at Sasquatch!.

The Corporate Shill Douchebag

Pretty much this guy (at least I hope he's there to sell Rockstar and didn't actually have this in his wardrobe):

Green Man!

It appears Green Man is ubiquitous now. Though the Green Man I saw had an opening for the face, so I had to deduct points.

Green Man's Cousin Who Took Too Much Acid And Now Sees Everything In Weird Colors

Fun Fact: This bodysuit was manufactured by Fila! Evidently they thought there would be a market for this thing.

Adults Wearing Babies

This is more common than you'd think.

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Now playing: Dessa - Seamstress
via FoxyTunes

Sasquatch Day 3

2010-06-01T02:00:00.004-05:00

Quick hits:

This one is not specifically Sasquatch-related, but when am I ever going to write about agriculture? Around Quincy, WA, the crops in the field are labeled, so people know what is growing in the field. I think this is neat, but only because they have a wide variety of crops - it wouldn't work so well in Iowa (corn, beans, corn, beans....). Here is all the labels I can remember:

Grapes
Concord grapes
Wine grapes
Apples
Gala Apples
Golden Delicious
Fuji Apples
Cherries
Cherry trees (not sure why they separated those)
Grain corn
Seed corn
Sweet corn
Wheat
Alfalfa
Beans
Lima beans
Sunflowers
Onions
Potatoes
Radishes
Seed (always on the same field as radishes)
Nursery (?)
Diary Heifers (not technically a crop)
Grass hay
Grass pasture
Walnuts
Timothy (I don't even know what this is)
Spearmint
Peppermint

Two sweet intros today at Sasquatch. Zooey Deschanel introduced Todd Barry (this made me decide to drop in on the She and Him set for a while - I was planning on skipping it for all of the Mountain Goats set. I ended up splitting the two). Then, Todd Barry introduced the New Pornographers. More bands should do this.
Boooo to the Seattle Rock Orchestra for two reasons. First, they played too loud, which threw off Todd Barry's set. Second, they evidently played all of Funeral by Arcade Fire. If my band scored a spot at Sasquatch, I don't think I would waste it playing all covers. Weird decision.Edited: Sorry Seattle Rock Orchestra. I retract my earlier boo. A bit of cursory research would have revealed that you were asked to play Funeral. As for the loudness complaint, I should probably pin that on the organizers, if anything. Many apologies.
John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats has a weird cadence in his actual speaking voice. He emphasizes words slightly differently in a sentence than most people would. Today, I figured out it is similar to the cadence Mitch Hedburg uses! Awesome!
Two alcohol enforcement stories:

A girl had her Nalgene attached to the bottom of her backpack. I saw an Alcohol Enforcement guy stop her to make sure it was just water. She unscrewed the lid (leaving it attached to her backpack) and bent over so he could sniff its contents. It looked quite a bit like he was sniffing her butt. Pretty funny.
At the Band of Horses show, Alcohol Enforcement (AE) confronted a guy behind me concerning the contents of his Camelback (like a backpack, but it holds water and there is a straw so you can drink out of it). After finishing inspecting the backpack, the AE guy warned the guy next to him (who had taken a hit off of his marijuana pipe right before AE started questioning), to keep his doobin' more discreet. Can someone explain to me the logic of this? If the first guy had alcohol in his Camelback, he would have been removed. However, a dude smoking a pipe is only warned?

Bands seen:
- Tame Impala
- Todd Barry
- Drive-By Truckers
- Dr. Dog
- She & Him (partial set)
- Mountain Goats
- Band of Horses
- New Pornographers

I'll probably do a final post on all of Saquatch later this week, then back to the top 100!

Sasquatch, Day 2

2010-05-31T12:59:00.003-05:00

Quick Hits:

If you ever have a chance to see They Might Be Giants in concert, I suggest doing so. Even if you aren't a huge fan of their music, they put on a hilarious stage show. Excellent stage banter, plus a puppet show! I hope to get some pics up shortly.
Mike Brigglebee is hiliarous as well. (yes, I know that is not his real name - it's a call back to a previous joke!).
Tegan and Sara were adorable on stage, as well as very complimentary of the audience.
Leftover highlight from day 1: Yoni Wolf of WHY? rocking some sweet Beyonce dance moves during a breakdown.
Scheduling complaint: Midlake and Local Natives playing at the same time. It seems to me that there is significant overlap in the fan base for these two bands.
Open question: How much do bands get paid for playing a festival such as Sasquatch? Just wondering.
Pavement had a great comment about scheduling as well. The last time they played the Gorge (1995), they were between Sinead O'Connor and Cypress Hill. This time, they were sandwiched between LCD Soundsystem and Massive Attack. Not exactly appealing to the same fan base are we?
Bands seen:

Midlake
Local Natives
They Might Be Giants
Mike Birbiglia
Tegan and Sara
LCD Soundsystem
Pavement

Sasquatch, Day 1

2010-05-30T03:06:00.002-05:00

Quick thoughts from Sasquatch Day 1.

So, remember in my last post, when I said mentioned wearing ironic t-shirts, specifically Kenny G? Well, I saw a Kenny G shirt today!
Also, Patton Oswalt made a Nickelback joke. I'm prescient. The joke was that the Nickelback lead singer could have a stroke which paralyzes half his face and he wouldn't sound any different.
Hooray!

Plentiful free water
Fantastic Venue
Good weather (though chilly by the end)
Being able to bring food in

Booooo!

Poor beer selection. Come on Sasquatch. We're in the Northwest! Give us some decent options! Coors, Miller, PBR, and Corona (Mexican Miller) don't cut it.
No hand sanitizer outside port-o-potties
Scheduling The National, WHY?, and The Hold Steady at the same time!

Bands Seen:

Minus the Bear
Portugal. The Man
Patton Oswalt
Broken Social Scene
WHY?
The Hold Steady
Nada Surf
My Morning Jacket

I'll try to post a little more tomorrow, including more Hipster Stereotypes! Now I am sleepy.

Fun Game to Pass the Time at Summer Music Festivals

2010-05-28T23:45:00.003-05:00

Hi kids!

I'm going to take a brief break from the top 100. Instead, on the eve of the Sasquatch! music festival, I'm going to give you all a fun game to play when you make the trek to one of the many summer music festivals! No matter how good the festival, there is always dead time. Here's a fun way to pass that time!

I call this Hipster Stereotypes! It's pretty easy to play. Here's what you need:

1. A list of all the bands that are playing the festival you are at
2. A passing to thorough knowledge of at least some of the bands, and what type of people they attract as fans.
3. The gift of sight* (glasses/contacts/Lasik ok)

Here's how to play!
1. Walk around (or just sit in a high-traffic area).
2. Notice what people are wearing.
3. Try to guess what band/attraction each person is here to see.
4. Try to find a person for each band on the schedule (or at least, each band you are aware of).

* For a greater challenge, try using your other senses instead! For example, smelling people (most effective if Phish is playing), or, for the more bold, tasting people (make sure to take some crackers or a nice sorbet as a palette cleanser between tastings!).

Here are some handy-dandy categories to get you started, culled from my past experiences:

Band T-Shirts (Easy)

These are the people wearing t-shirts of the actual bands in the festival. Come on, guys. Not only are you making this too easy, but you are violating the concert t-shirt etiquette.

Band T-Shirts (Medium)

These people are wearing t-shirts of bands that are related other bands on the schedule. Some of these are easier than others. There are also sub-categories in this category:

The old band
- For example, the guy wearing a Mission to Burma shirt is likely here to see Pavement
The side project/previous band
- Someone wearing a Carissa's Wierd t-shirt is more than likely here to see Ben Bridwell in Band of Horses
The related/similar band

That guy wearing a Belle and Sebastian shirt? Probably going to be at the Camera Obscura show.

Band T-Shirts (Ironic)

These fall into one of the following sub-categories:

Nostalgia - Popular band from before the wearer was born - probably the 80s. Example: Duran Duran.
Completely Different Genre - probably country or soft jazz. Example: Brooks and Dunn, Kenny G.
Mainstream Artist That Is Not Headlining - major artists that aren't hip (or headlining). Example: Maroon 5.
Bands whose t-shirts no one should ever wear - Example: Nickelback.

Band T-Shirts (Hard)

These can either be obscure bands that you haven't heard of, or bands that don't seem to fit. It can be hard to determine whether or not people wearing these band t-shirts are being ironic or not. For example: My Chemical Romance shirts. Who are you here to see? I can't figure it out!

Anything Glowing or Blinking

These people are likely here to go to the rave tent, listen to techno, and probably take drugs.

Animal Costumes

Most likely, these people will be at a Flaming Lips concert. They might also take drugs.

Plaid Button-down Shirts with Pocket Protector

Almost certainly there to see They Might Be Giants (or Devo).

Douchebags

These (dudes) are here to see the headliner and whoever the late night act is. I suggest avoiding these folk.

The Mountain Man/Hippie Chick

These would be the easiest to identify by smell (or taste, i suppose). Odds are, they are here to see Phish, Devandra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, or maybe Blitzen Trapper.

See! Isn't stereotyping fun! I'll keep my eyes out for these (and more!) over the weekend. If I'm lucky, I'll try and post some pictures.

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 50-41.

2010-05-26T02:09:00.006-05:00

We have reached the top 50!

50. Rabbit Fur Coat - Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins (2005).

Jenny takes a left turn from Rilo Kiley and ends up with and old school gospel record (though without the gospel themes) and the Watson Twins add some sweet harmonizing. Jenny also has the distinction of being the most magnetic performer I've seen in concert* - not necessarily the best performer, but the one I could least take my eyes off of.

* Second place: Tunde Adepimbe of TV on the Radio. That dude owns the stage.

49. Let It Die - Feist (2005).

I guess this is the indie rock crush section of the top 100. If I could choose one person to sing to me before bed (lullabye or otherwise....), it would be Leslie Feist.

48. Good News for People Who Like Bad News - Modest Mouse (2004).

I ran my car into a cop car the other day. One of my favorite opening lines - a hilarious premise just shrugged off in the next line. I suppose it fits the theme Isaac Brock was shooting for in Float On, but it still seems like a missed opportunity. Fortunately, Modest Mouse didn't miss their opportunity for breakthrough success on this album. While not as awesome (or abrasive) as some of their earlier albums (Lonesome Crowded West), it served as an excellent starting point for many (me included).

47. Turn on the Bright Lights - Interpol (2002).

Fun fact! A Google search for Interpol brings up the band before the international organization.

46. Dear Science - TV on the Radio (2008).

I like the idea of an open letter to science* in general. Here's how mine would read:

Dear Science,

You are awesome. Without you, we wouldn't have computers or TVs or iPods. Our fiction would remain ordinary. We would have nothing to drop when trying to inform the populace. I wish more people would like you instead of thinking you are for nerds. Although, if that were the case, maybe you wouldn't be so awesome? Actually, stay elite science. I'm okay with hoping people get science puns**.

Love,

Viskterisk*

* Science, in this case, is defined as physics, chemistry, math, engineering, and the cooler parts of biology (molecular biology - you're in, botany - take seat). Sociology? Psychology? no dice***

** My favorite science pun that no one got: I was talking with a co-worker over lunch and he made the comment that he didn't always feel like he was married (or something to that effect). To which I replied, "So she's kind of like Schrodinger's spouse, eh?" [cue crickets].

*** I was in a bookstore today where Sociology, Psychology, etc. were in a section labeled: Social "Science". Awesome.

45. All Hour Cymbals - Yeasayer (2007).

This one came completely out of left field to throw me out at third base - kind of like the first time someone tried to go first to third on Ichiro (yes, I know that was right field). I did not expect to like this one as much as a did. However, the rhythms and the falsetto and the yelping and the layers of sound blew me away. On that note:

Dear Music Venues,

Please learn how to mix concerts correctly. I know concerts are supposed to be loud. However, without the right mix, everything just sounds like bass and drums. For some bands, this is okay. However, with a band like Yeasayer where much of the appeal is the mixing of different sounds and rhythms, too much bass kind of ruins the whole experience.

If it turns out my hearing is going bad, I retract this complaint.

Best,

Viskterisk*

44. Sunset Tree - The Mountain Goats (2005).

I am going to make it through this year if it kills me. That is all.

43. The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place - Explosions in the Sky (2003).

It has been said many times before, but listening to Explosions in the Sky makes everything you do more epic. Struggling to get housework done? Throw on some EitS and you'll be heroically slaying the vicious Dust Bunny instead of just vacuuming them. Just walking around downtown? Listen to Your Hand in Mine and you'll be exploring virgin planets instead. Taking a nap? Well, I guess naps can't get much more epic than they already are.

42. Almost Killed Me - The Hold Steady (2004).

Fun Fact! I discovered both the Hold Steady and the Mountains goats in the same article in The New Yorker of all places*.

* I just set a personal record for prepositions used in one sentence.

41. The Reminder - Feist (2007).

Did I mention that I love Feist's voice? I love Feist's voice.

The First Decenniel Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 60-51.

2010-05-23T22:24:00.009-05:00

60. Tallahassee - The Mountain Goats (2002).

Yet another concept album on the list, though I guess this is more like a short story set to music (or is that what a concept album is?). John Darnielle might be one of my favorite people in the music business. He's huge metal fan (even writing an entry on Black Sabbath in the 33 1/3 series, which is all kinds of awesome) but made his name writing most spare acoustic tracks. He tells sweet stories in concert - my favorite was about some of the awesome stuff in some of the books that didn't make it into the Old Testament. Also, there is something incredibly awesome about a whole bunch of people joyfully singing "I hope you die! I hope we both die!"

59. Ones and Zeros - Immaculate Machine (2005).

Did you know there are only 10 types of people in the world? Those who understand binary and those who don't. Math! I love me some math jokes. I also love me some Immaculate Machine. They make an excellent addition to the New Pornographers family tree.

58. Gimme Fiction - Spoon (2005).

More goodness from Spoon. I'm reasonably sure that Britt Daniel is incapable of writing a bad song. "I Turn My Camera On", "My Mathematical Mind", "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" - all stellar.

57. The Trials of Van Occupanther - Midlake (2006).

This album would have received consideration if "Roscoe" was the only song on the album. Throw in "Head Home", "Van Occupanther", and "Young Bride", and this is a no-brainer. Very odd album cover though.

56. Raised By Wolves + Mothers, Sisters, Daughter and Wives + Your Biggest Fan - Voxtrot (2005/2006).

Yes, I'm combining 3 EPs into one super album. Yes, this is blatantly cheating. But you know what? It's my list, so I'm doing it. Plus, this is how I normally listen to these EPs, as one cohesive album.

55. The Dirty South (2004) 54. Decoration Day (2003) - The Drive-By Truckers.

Two entries for the price of one! As I mentioned in my Taxonomy of 5 Star Songs post, the Drive-By Truckers are undeniably awesome, but all of there albums/songs are so good, I have a hard time singling them out. The Drive-By Truckers are one of the bands that made me rethink my blanket aversion to country music*. While they aren't all country, they have enough elements of country music that I can't really dismiss country out of hand like I used to. I now realize I made the rookie mistake of judging the entire genre based on what was played on mainstream radio. Oops. Sorry country music - I'm more open-minded now.

* Other bands that helped: Johnny Cash, Neko Case, and Lucero.

53. Night Falls Over Kortedala - Jens Lekman (2007).

Lekman's songs can be alternately sweet, sad, odd, and hilarious. The wry self-deprecation on "Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig" is completely endearing.

52. Girls Can Tell - Spoon (2001).

Since I've already had two Spoon entries, I'll use this space to make a plea directly to Spoon.

Dear Spoon,

Please please please please play "Fitted Shirt" the next time I see you in concert. I know you have lots of good songs, and people probably request a whole bunch of them, but "Fitted Shirt' is one of the awesomest songs of all time. I know you're going to play "Underdog" and "The Way We Get By" - those songs are awesome too - but if you add "Fitted Shirt", I'll be forever grateful.

Thanks,

Viskterisk*

51. From a Basement on the Hill - Elliott Smith (2004).

I miss you Elliott Smith. Can you come back as a zombie? I'm pretty sure zombie Elliott Smith would still make better music than, say, Nickelback (even without fine motor skills).

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 70-61.

2010-05-22T16:33:00.003-05:00

And I'm back. Sorry for the delay - I had a class reunion last weekend and this week was quite busy. However, I'm now in sunny Seattle and have some time, so back to it!

70. Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) - Cloud Cult (2008).

I couldn't get enough of this album in summer 08. Everyone Here is a Cloud is an an unstoppable force of nature. I was helpless against it's powers. That said, there is no excuse for naming your album two times. Parentheses are a cop-out. Pick a name and stick with it Cloud Cult.

69. The Satanic Satanist - Portugal. The Man (2009).

By far the best thing to ever come out of Wasilla, Alaska. In fact, I'm reasonably sure that John McCain could have done better in the 2008 election with a little known indie rock band as a running mate (until they titled their album "The Satanic Satanist" - that would probably rub some voters the wrong way).

68. Cease to Begin - Band of Horses (2007).

As it turns out, I don't have anything interesting to say here. All I can come up with is that the phrase "cease to begin" kind of reminds me of the word "commencement". Commencement means "to begin", but I used to think of it as meaning "end". Fascinating, eh?

67. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists (2006).

What can I say, I'm a sucker for concept albums about old Japanese folklore*. One of my favorite things about the Decemberists is the long, three part stories within songs. I guess this is called Prog Rock, but I'm not going to admit to liking that.** This album has two of them! The Island, and the The Crane Wife 1 &2 and The Crane Wife 3 song pairing. If you have 25 minutes to kill, go find them on YouTube.

* You don't want to know how much money this costs me. My record collection is like 70% filled with records like this.
** One thing I do like doing is creating sets of songs that tell a story in their song titles. Someday I'll have a radio show that will do only this - play a series of songs that tells a story with the titles. First show:

If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next - Manic Street Preachers
Missing Children - Okkervil River
No Children - The Mountain Goats

See how fun that was!

66. Young Liars - TV on the Radio (2003).

Okay, I'll be honest. I have no idea how this one made it this high. I do like it quite a bit, but it's just an EP. However, if I ever join a college a capella* group, we are definitely going to sing the version of Mr. Grieves that is on this record.

* Yes, that is a capella group references in 2 different write ups on this list. I'm disappointed in me too.

65. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008).

Excellent summer music. Plus, how many bands can reference L'il Jon in a song named after obscure grammatical conventions (The Oxford comma)?

64. Kill the Moonlight - Spoon (2002).

Best bands named after kitchen utensils:

1. Spoon

2. the Knife

3. Shonen Knife

4. Scissor Sisters (I assume they were named after kitchen scissors, not regular scissors).

5. Skillet

6. Rob Zombie's Cauldron of Cheese Graters

63. Hail to the Thief - Radiohead (2003).

Maybe Radiohead should have made the new Robin Hood movie instead of Ridley Scott. I probably would have seen it then.

62. The Shepherd's Dog - Iron and Wine (2007).

I like my Iron and Wine with more instrumentation on the side*. Sam Beam, despite having one of the best names in music (and it isn't even a pseudonym), has been subject to some backlash after adding more instrumentation to his once spare songs. Elliott Smith and the Decemberists have also experienced this. This always seemed a little narrow-minded to me. I get that you are going to prefer some albums over others, but when your favorite artists grow as musicians and try different things, it can also open up the listener to different types of music. I say to try and grow with your favorite musicians, don't blame them for not making the same type of music every album.

* If i had an editor, this sentence would certainly be cut**. Hooray blogs!

** Actually, i would probably have to rewrite this whole blurb. Nope - too lazy.

61. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (2002).

More Japanese concept albums! (maybe). When I kids, I'm going to play them Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1 to stress the importance of taking vitamins. How else is he/she going to be strong to fight [pink robots]?

What do you get when you cross northwest Iowa and cheezy 80s rock?

2010-05-11T19:37:00.003-05:00

Yep. That was the entire city of Sioux City lip-syncing/singing "We Built This City" by Starship. Come on, Sioux City, you couldn't even come up with the rest of the lyrics? Must I do everything for you?

We built Sioux City
We built Sioux City on pigs and corn (x2)

Say you don't know me, or recognize our bluffs
Say you don't care who does that kind of stuff
Knee deep in the heartland, growing all your food
So many friendly people saying "Hey Dude"

Explorers playing baseball,
Bandits playing football
Don't you remember?
We built Sioux City
We built Sioux City on pigs and corn!
We built Sioux City, we built Sioux City on pigs and corn
Built Sioux City, we built Sioux City on pigs and corn

That was off the top of my head in 5 minutes. C'mon, Sioux City, you're better than that.

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Now playing: The National - Sorrow
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: The National - Sorrow
via FoxyTunes

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 80-71.

2010-05-11T19:04:00.016-05:00

Before we start in again, I direct your attention to my friend's list of the best albums of the Aughts. It will be worth it, I promise.

80. Misery is a Butterfly - Blonde Redhead (2004)

Blonde Redhead belongs is a band that the singer's voice should drive me far, far away*. However, it blends so well with the rest of the sound that I actually end up really liking her voice in context.

*Other bands in this list:

Clap Your Hand Say Yeah
The Decemberists
The Hold Steady
Neutral Milk Hotel
Rural Alberta Advantage
Destroyer

79. Strange Geometry - The Clientele (2005)

This is pretty much exactly the type of pop music you'd expect from a guy name Alasdair. Quiet, orchestral, thoughtful music.

78. God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl (2009)

So, Stuart Murdoch gets bored with making amazing music in Belle and Sebastian, writes a bunch of songs, holds open tryouts on iMeem for female singers, puts out this awesome album, and is currently turning the album into a film. Not too shabby. Anyway, I love the vocals on this album (the contest winners).

77. Hold On Now, Youngster - Los Campesinos! (2008)

Fun, high energy pop music from the UK (that's three in a row). Plus, I love punctuation in a band name*. Bonus points for clever lyrics (if a little melodramatic).

* Honorable mentions for this list include two other punctuated bands: The Go! Team, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

76. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse (2007)

Modest Mouse + Johnny Marr? Yes, please. This album cover also ranks highly on my list of favorite album covers of the decade.

75. Summer in Abaddon - Pinback (2004)

Not so fun fact: Abaddon essentially means "Hell". So, Summer in Abaddon doesn't sound so fun. However, this album is significantly more enjoyable.

74. Shake the Streets - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (2004)

Two incredibly awesome things about this album: 1. The song "Me and Mia" (probably the best song ever about eating disorders). 2. The list of medications in "Heart Problems". Ampicilin, Bepridil, Chloroquine, Cisapride...

73. Abattoir Blues - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2004)

This is kind of cheating, since I only have half of this album. I'm missing the whole Lyre of Orpheus part. However, There She Goes, My Beautiful World by itself is more than enough to make up for the missing half.

72. Fate - Dr. Dog (2007)

Feeling nostalgic for the 60s? Dr. Dog has the cure (cue rimshot). You can pretty easily pick out the Beatles/Beach Boys/Band influences, but who cares? Those bands are good.

71. The Mouse and the Mask - Danger Doom (2005)

Well, we've reached the end of hip hop on this list. This one has a little bit of everything: Danger Mouse laying the beats, MF Doom, guest spots from Talib Kweli and Ghostface Killah (among others), plus all the Adult Swim you can handle. Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Space Ghost appear on the album and there are tons more references to other shows. Good stuff.

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Now playing: The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
via FoxyTunes

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 90-81.

2010-05-08T23:49:00.013-05:00

Round 2!

90. Fantasies - Metric (2009).

Another band I stayed away from because I thought they were too electronic. When will I learn?
89. Black Holes and Revelations - Muse (2006).

I had kind of forgot about Muse until I caught them at Coachella. They killed it. Absolutely an incredible show. Matthew Bellamy is on my current list of Indie Rock Guitar Heroes*.

*Other members:

Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady
Ted Leo of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead
J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.

88. Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia - The Dandy Warhols (2000).

Fun Fact: When I lived in Portland, I worked at Sunset High School. This is the same high school that Courtney Taylor-Taylor matriculated!

87. Crack the Skye - Mastodon (2009).

I've recently entered a metal kick, which was largely fueled by Mastodon. Leviathan, their previous album, almost made the list as well.

86. In Rainbows - Radiohead (2007).

Somewhat surprisingly, only 2 of Radiohead's 4 albums this decade (not counting Knives Out) made my list. Which is the other one? You'll have to wait and see.

85. The Life Pursuit - Belle and Sebastian (2006).

Oh, Belle and Sebastian. I love you. I don't care that Jack Black thinks you write sad bastard music. Sometimes you feel like a sad bastard, you know? Anyway, you should go on tour more often.

84. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix (2009).

Is it me, or does that pink blob in the background kind of look like the state of Arizona?
Why would they be bombing Arizona? If it is over the use of the name Phoenix, sorry guys, but I think Arizona wins this one.

83. Z - My Morning Jacket (2005).

Good album, crappy album name. Pretty much impossible to Google. The worst ever example of this is Album by Girls.

82. Picaresque - The Decemberists (2005).

The Decemberists are the leaguer leader in DSPS (Dictionary Searches Per Song) by quite large margin. Folderol. Tamarack. Palaver. Cormorant. Bombazine. Palanquin. Stevedore.

81. Oh, You're so Silent Jens - Jens Lekman (2005).

My favorite Swede. Jens was born in Angered, Sweden. How awesome of a town name is that? More towns should be named after emotions. Depressed, NM. Relieved, GA. Antsy, WY.
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Now playing: Portugal. The Man - Chicago
via FoxyTunes

The First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"! Numbers 100-91.

2010-05-08T21:08:00.015-05:00

Welcome to the First Decennial Viskterisk* 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200"!

*That's the name of this blog.

This is a listing of my favorite albums of any year that started with "200". This includes all music from 200 A.D., 200 B.C., etc. However, I haven't found much recorded music from those times, so they might be underrepresented on this list.

Methodology:

For each album, I compared it to every other album (starting from the bottom of the list) until I found an album that was superior. I used the following criteria when comparing albums:

Estimated number of times I played the albums end to end.
How much do I like this album right now?
Former Love Quotient - how much I loved this album in the past
Which album would I choose to listen to right now?

In the event of ties, I used Best Song as the tiebreaker.

Now, without further ado, I present my 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200", with random commentary on each one.

100. These Four Walls - We Were Promised Jetpacks (2009).

Seriously, who doesn't like Scottish accents? Also, where is my jetpack? I need it to fight the moles.

99. Now We Can See - The Thermals (2009).

Politically charged punk rock. Why couldn't I have discovered this Portland band when I lived in PDX? I imagine they would have put on a killer show at the Doug Fir.

98. Antics - Interpol (2004).

Fun fact: I resisted Interpol for a long time because I thought they were electronica or something. As it turns out, I was incorrect. Interpol does sound like the name of a crappy European techno band though.

97. Elephant - White Stripes (2003).

My favorite album by a band artistically influenced by a Dutch art movement. Plus, it's an excuse to link to one of my favorite videos of all time.

96. Never Better - P.O.S.* (2009).

You can have your East Coast and West Coast rappers. I'll take the Midwest Coast (Great Lakes Coast? No Coast? Corn Coast?) every time (well, at least this time).

Tangent! When P.O.S. last played in Madison at the High Noon Saloon, he did one of the most awesome things I have seen at a concert: he didn't play an encore. Nope, he just kept playing until he was done (giving us about an extra song). Encores are pretty much played out. Everyone knows the band is coming back out to play more, why go through the charade? The only time encores are meaningful/memorable are when the crowd simply won't accept that the show is over and the band has no choice but to play more songs. This has happened twice to me. The first time was The Hold Steady at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge. The second was The Wrens at Schubas in Chicago. Both times the crowd erupted - we had accomplished something! These were rewards for the crowd. Most encores are punishments (they rob you of songs).

*In college, I was in a fake band with my friends Nate and Garry called P.O.S. It stood for Poop On Satan, which I still find hilarious.

95. Rook - Shearwater (2008).

This is easily my favorite record by a guy who wrote his master's thesis about a bird. It is also my favorite record by a guy who was interviewed in Scientific American. Jonathan Meiburg - you definitely make my Geeks of Indie Rock Hall of Fame* (which is no small feat).

*Other inductees, off the top of my head:

Colin Meloy (Decemberists) - PhD in Literature
Brian May (Queen) - PhD in Physics, built his own guitar.
ummmm....i can't really think of any more

94. Reunion Tour - The Weakerthans (2007).

This one is a fairly recent discovery for me. Lots of songs about Canada, including a song about curling!

93. You Forgot It In People - Broken Social Scene (2002).

This one would rank much higher if I were a real critic and had to consider things like "influence" and "groundbreakingness". It also has the lowest awesomeness per member percentage (APM)* of any album on the list. That's what you get when you have 17 members in your band.

*Awesomeness per member=100/(rank*# of band members)

92. Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds (2001).

Dude rocks the piano, what can I say? Also, college a capella groups love this guy. I'm surprised he hasn't been on Glee yet (maybe he has, I don't actually watch Glee. I side with Community. Go Human Beings!).

91. Dark Was the Night - Various Artists (2009).

The only compilation on my list. There are some clunkers on there (looking at you Riceboy Sleeps), but amazing songs by Yeasayer, The National, and Sufjan Stevens more than make up for it.

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Now playing: Broken Social Scene - World Sick
via FoxyTunes

Taxomony of 5 star songs

2010-05-01T09:33:00.004-05:00

I've recently started compiling my 100 favorite* albums of the aughts**. One of my criteria/tiebreakers was best song, which logically led to the question of what makes a song great. Here's a partial list of the reasons I consider a song great:

*Favorite, not best or greatest. I'm not that cocky.
**Yes, i realize the aughts technically run from 2001 to 2010. I just don't care that much.

It is 100% awesome

The king of all songs. Often, I compliment the artist out loud when one of these songs ends. Man, that Ted Leo can write a song. The best example I can give here is Fake Empire by The National. It has 40 more plays than any other song in my iTunes.

It makes a killer reference

Let's call this one cognitive assonance*. If I like something, and you like the same thing, I'm more likely to like you. Thus, if a band references something that I like in a song, that will bump my rating up a couple spots. The most frequent genre this one applies to is Hip Hop. Here's Let it Rattle by P.O.S.. There are multiple cognitive assonances at play here. First, I heard of P.O.S. because he brought Craig Finn of The Hold Steady on to a track his previous album, Audition. Second, he references a stellar Mitch Hedberg bit. Listen for it at 0:34 in the video below. Third, he references The Big Lebowski at the end ("You're out of you're element, Donny. Shut up.") Check it out at 3:04.

*I wanted to use the transitive property here, but my math snobbery didn't permit it.

Emotional connection

This is obviously the most difficult to explain, but these are often my favorite songs. These songs bring me back to a very particular time/place. My favorite example here is the entire Meadowlands album by The Wrens. I fell in love with this entire album during my time in Boston. The album is full of uncertainty about the present, regret about the past, and ambivalence about the future, which pretty much nailed me in 2006-2007. I listened to this one almost everyday when walking to BC. Not necessarily good times, but awesome music.

That one awesome section

Perhaps the best example of all time for this is Bohemian Rhapsody, actually has two That Awesome Sections. The first is the entire second half of the song. The second is the headbanging section. Yes, you know what one that is.

I'm going with two examples of this. The first is Ambling Alp by Yeasayer. This is a very good song anyway, but the awesome part is the breakdown in the middle with the staccato triplets and the falsetto (not coincidentally, two of the greatest musical inventions). The awesome part starts at 2:24:

The second example is Fools* by The Dodos. This awesome part is the post-chorus that interrupts the time signature a little bit (maybe it is in 11/8?). Anyway, check it out at 1:23:

* I'm a little ashamed to admit that a Bud Lime commercial made me like this song. Also, Lights Out by Santogold and Daylight by Matt and Kim were brought to my attention by liquor ads.

Greater than the sum of its parts/Guilt

The best analogy here is the 2006 Eastern Conference NBA All Stars. This was the year after the Pistons won the championship with 5 very good starters (Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, and Chauncy Billups), but no superstars. for the 2006 All Star game, four of these were added to the Eastern Conference squad (not Prince). Essentially, they were elected because they were the best players on the best team, not because they were individually awesome. It felt like they should have some reps on the All-Star team.
Anyway, that's how I feel about all of the Drive-By Truckers albums I own.

Nostalgia/Inertia

Admittedly, these are two sad reasons that a song has 5 stars. If I had my druthers, I'd probably knock them down a star, but I'm a big softy. These are songs I really liked at one time but either my tastes have changed or I came to my senses. Sorry Soundgarden (you still have a cool video though):

Fun to play/pretend to play

Back when I pretended to play guitar, I added a bunch of tracks for this reason (looking at you Yellow Ledbetter). Now, most of these come from Rock Band/Guitar Hero. Best example of all time: Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce. I wouldn't have gone near this song without Guitar Hero 3. It also gets bonus points for the picture-in-picture on the guitarists fingers during the solos.

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Now playing: The Rural Alberta Advantage - Four Night Rider
via FoxyTunes

*An Explanation, or: Rejected Titles

2010-04-30T23:41:00.005-05:00

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Now playing: The Weakerthans - The Prescience of Dawn
via FoxyTunes The title of this blog* is a shameless ripoff of the Posterisk, which is a feature of the great Joe Posnanski's blog. I recommend you stop reading this and read his blog instead. Anyway, a viskterisk is a tangent to whatever else I'm talking about that I feel the reader needs to know. If I were writing a book or thesis, these would be footnotes**. However, my HTML isn't up to that challenge yet. Plus, then I would have to change the name of this thing.

* Oh, the ironing! The the spell check feature on Blogger doesn't recognize blog as a word.
** For a master class in footnotes, read anything ever written by David Foster Wallace. Here's one of my favorites.

As promised, here are the rejected titles for this blog:

Astervisk
A Column in Ebony Called "Musings"
Why, yes, the world does revolve around me!
I don't really have too much to say right now
I am Important! Listen to me talk about Important Things!

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Now playing: The Weakerthans - Our Retired Explorer
via FoxyTunes