An Ear For An Era: 2003

2003 was a year of the heavy hitters. The big dogs. Massively massive albums. The year of over selling things.

I turned 20. That was pretty neat.

It was also the first year I really started getting into the "ranking the albums of the year" practice that I have obsessed over since. The year I recognized years as the next unit up from album. This year was way better than that year. The basis for this whole thing, I guess, kind of came from these exercises. So all of these albums I'll talk about, let's just say they could all be called album of the year. Maybe. We'll see how this goes.

The #1 Dance Punk or Whatever Album of 2003:
Pitchfork ranked the #1 album of 2003 as Echoes by The Rapture. I wonder if they have any regrets about that. It seems like they were trying to capture the band that most exemplified the most NOW sound of those days. Or something. The whole dance punk craze. But damn it, it is an amazing album. Does it outrank the other ones I'm going to talk about? I guess Pitchfork thinks so. What is it about this album? I have no qualms calling it the best entry in that whole dance punk world. DFA production. Passion upon passion. It really is punk rock. I think I probably got into this around 2004. But maybe that all ages dance night I went to would play "House of Jealous Lovers" and I got really good at dancing listening to that song. When I started going to Lipgloss (the 21+ "hipster or whatever" dance night) in 2004 it was possibly my #1 jam.

The Rapture "House of Jealous Lovers"

Lesser dance punk entries (I guess I can use this format):

• Metric- Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? Right before they really hit their peak, this debut album is a good taste of the good stuff.
• Electric Six- Fire. Kind of ridiculous. I still enjoy about 3 of the songs but it feels pretty dated compared to the rest of the crop.
• Ladytron- Softcore Jukebox. Can I put a mix tape here? Ladytron demonstrated their impeccable taste with this mix including My Bloody Valentine, Pop Levi, and a bunch of people I haven't heard of. And closed it off with Nancy & Lee!
• Ima Robot- Ima Robot. They were pretty fun. I saw them live at the Larimer Lounge (I bet Black Black Ocean opened up the show) from the front row. Good times!
• Les Savy Fav- Inches. Okay, there is nothing at all "lesser" about LSF. They are kings of this stuff. Inches was a compilation in reverse chronological order of a series of singles they put out over the years. Behold! De-evolution! But a good third of those singles were from 2003 anyway. So this album just kicks off with a series of amazing dance punk tracks of pure energy and pandemonium. Possibly my favorite 6 tracks by the band.
• Black Black Ocean- Operacion and Vultures for Permanent Fix. They were my favorite local Denver band. Always getting uncomfortably close. I'll talk about them more when I talk about their final album.
• The couple songs LCD Soundsystem put out in 2003 were great. "Give It Up" is still an all-time favorite. I kind of want to do that song karaoke some day.
• Let's put Polysics here! Neu is such a masterpiece in their new wave psycho psycho punk style, probably their best. Before Myspace Records or whatever discovered them, they were just a crazy Japanese band that Asian Man imported. I had no reference for this sound, as much as they insisted Devo were their major influence. It just sounded out of this world to me. This album in particular, it is a little more nuanced than Hey Bob! My Friend! It has some slower songs that build energy and the whole album is just pure joy.

Polysics "Black Out Fall Out"

The #1 Album of I Still Listened to Some of The Same Bands I've Always Listened To:
I'm sure much of the indie/emo crowd ranked the #1 album of 2003 to be The Ugly Organ by Cursive. If I'd been honest at the time I probably would have as well. I probably had it way up there. One of the first albums I pre-ordered from the record label for mailorder. I got it at my place in Boulder. And listened to it on vinyl. A lot. It was just so brutally honest about the artistic process and other personal things that just came crashing out. Such a good sound of chaos as well, with minor chords being played on said organ. Yet promising. The cello (this is their only full album with that cello!!) just brings in the hope and the sadness. I just think of the end of the song "A Gentleman Caller." When the cello comes in. Here, just listen to it (listen to the whole song):

Cursive "A Gentleman Caller"

The cello is what I associate with the line "the worst is over..."


Honorable albums of I still listened to some of the same bands I've always listened to (?):

• The Lawrence Arms- The Greatest Story Ever Told. Probably their most concepty album. And I loved it from the first notes I heard of it. This was when they were my favorite band. It just kind of felt like a celebration of how awesome they were.  And the three years between this one and the next one made it feel like some sort of final statement on the "middle" era of the band. They were very productive up until this point. Anyway, this was probably easily in my top 5 at the time.
• Alkaline Trio- Good Mourning. Such a complicated relationship I have with Alkaline Trio. I loved their first couple, hated Infirmary, and then quite liked Good Mourning, but not enough to buy anything they've put out since. I listened to this one like 6 times in a row once I got it and I got quite fond of it. Good personal songs, good sadness.
• Mike Park went solo (officially) on For the Love of Music. Less ska, very personal acoustic music. Gotta dig it.
• The Smoking Popes went Christian (officially) with the band Duvall. I liked the songs that were less obvious about being preachy. I saw them live. It was great and I thought it would be my only chance to see members of the actual Smoking Popes live.
• Ted Leo & The Pharmacists- Hearts of Oak. For some reason I didn't get into them as much as my peers at the time but now I know better. This is some great punk rock.
• The Honor System- Rise and Run. They brought a lot more energy into their sound here while keeping the passion and poetic political lyrics. Fantastic!
• The Weakerthans- Reconstruction Site. All of his albums are so great. All.
• Black Eyes- Black Eyes. Holy crap. I need to listen to this one over and over again. I didn't get this album until they'd broken up even though I got their second one. Another case of things being hard to find back in the day. But this is one of the best hardcore albums I own that I haven't listened to enough.
• The Suicide Machines tried to redeem themselves with A Match And Some Gasoline. I liked it okay. It sounded just like their first two albums, which were the ones I liked.

Officially The Best Acoustic or Something Music of 2003:
I didn't know anything about Sufjan Stevens until Illinois, but the start of his 2 States Project was Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State. A lovely album of sadness and sorrow and some hope as well, a very personal album and a great showcase of his arranging skills. You can just hear the love he has for the state all over this album.

Honorable Acoustic or Something:

• Songs: Ohia put out the album Magnolia Electric Co and it was fantastic stuff.
• The Handsome Family- Singing Bones. Hey, it has that True Detective song on it! 
• Jose Gonzalez- Veneer. Because it is the one.
• Cat Power- You Are Free. This showed her starting to branch out and incorporate different styles/arrangements. I haven't given this one its fair shake but I've been obsessed with everything she's put out since, and listening to this recently I could tell why. Here's another one for the obsession.
• Nina Nastasia- Run to Ruin. This was the Nina Nastasia album it took me forever to track down. But I've been a fan of hers since right around this time. She was probably the first female solo artist for me to get into. I just love how she puts her voice up and down like a rollercoaster on "I Say That I Will Go."

Nina Nastasia "I Say That I Will Go"

The Greatest Hip Hop Album of The Entire Year of 2003:
This is another one that is obviously well regarded a dozen years later. Or should I say another TWO? That's right, I'm talking about Outkast. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Because my ex girlfriend was obsessed with Outkast I was able to be aware of this when it was new. Also there was the fact that nobody on this planet was going to escape "Hey Ya!" the earworm that would not go away but would not get old. The Onion mini-headline "Outkast Universally Accepted" kind of said it all. We were all cool with Outkast at this time. I feel like everything's been said about this. Big Boi's Speakerboxxx is a crazy accomplishment in that it is a full album where it's all bangers, no bar is wasted, it doesn't let up. It gets overlooked because of its game-changing accompanying disc, but on its own it could be the #1 hip hop album of the year or more. And then Andre 3000's The Love Below is a crazy good experiment that went right. Channeling Prince, it's not really hip hop at all. Just brilliant experimental pop music. I don't know, have you heard "Hey Ya" before? It's a pretty catchy tune!

Honorably Hip Hop:

• Kid Koala- Some of My Best Friends Are DJs. A DJ album! All scratches! I discovered him through the fact that he worked with Deltron 3030. And then I found out he had solo material. This is so like nothing else I'd ever heard. Jazz music created by turntables. Far out, man!
• Madlib- Shades of Blue. Then this similar idea but way different execution. Madlib remixing/reimagining the Blue Note catalog!
• Jaylib- Champion Sound. The album with Jay Dilla rapping! And Madlib! The two most respected producers in early '00s hip hop (don't quote me on that) working together to mixed results. Hey, I like the song with Talib Kweli!
• Hieroglyphics- Full Circle. I don't know this one as well as their other one but they are quite a crew.
• Jay-Z- The Black Album. It took me longer than perhaps it should have for me to discover this one. I finally did before he came out of retirement, so I did get to experience it as his "final album." Such a great final statement for an artist to make, all-encompassing, his autobiography. And "99 Problems." Of course. The whole thing just sounds like victory.
• Ludacris- Chicken N Beer. This one holds a special place in my heart because it's the first Ludacris album I actually bought. It's a bit ridiculous but has a couple songs I still like quite a bit, particularly "Hip Hop Quotables."

The Probably One Of The Most If Not The Most Loved Album 12 Years Later Album of 2003:
In retrospect, this might be the real #1 album of 2003 as a universal truth. Depending on your opinions of Outkast and The White Stripes and whatever. But this one has really stuck around. I'm talking of course about Give Up by The Postal Service. One of those albums I can completely agree with my wife on (although The Ugly Organ also shares that distinguishment). Sure, "Such Great Heights" may have been overplayed but these days it is still a treat to hear. Ten tracks that all kind of have the same feel, but it's such a great feel. Tamborello's production toed the line between cold and comforting, distant and embracing. Something completely organic produced by something completely digital sounding. Gibbard's vocals were completely on point, his lyrics relatable and familiar, it's just a lovely unassuming record that accomplishes so much. A little side project that may have been the best work either of them ever put out.

The Postal Service "Nothing Better"

And Finally! My Officially Declared Album of 2003 As Declared In 2003 So It Doesn't Matter What I Think 12 Years Later:
When I got De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta I didn't know what prog was. I thought it was something boring like jazz. I only knew that this was a crazy ambitious album with lots of long songs, arranged like a crazy symphony. It was the guys from At The Drive-In with all the vision and to me it was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard. I remember listening to it once and thinking, "why do I even listen to pop music? I should start only listening to music like this." I thought it was so beyond everything else out there. So I had to call it my #1. Someone else on my message board put it a little lower on his list saying he didn't rank it higher because he doesn't actually listen to it enough. I chided him (slightly) and said that was his problem, not the album's. Of course, now I know what he meant. It's not like your personal ranking can't take personal subjectivity into account. Anyway, looking at all the other stuff that came out this year, I can't say I still think this is the best of 2003 but it's a hell of a ride all the same. They had a way with energy, these guys. It translated well from At The Drive-In because they were able to harness crazy amounts of energy and then unleash it in such a beautiful way.

The Mars Volta "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)"

The Rest of the Honorable Mentions:

• Hail to the Thief by Radiohead was the other album I put up on top of my list at the time, maybe at #2 or 3 or 4. The other one I listened to when I wanted to get away from all the "pop" stuff. Good and political and stuff. I liked the politicalness of it.
• I don't know where to put Feast of Wire by Calexico. It is awesome and probably deserving of being #1 on some list somewhere. #1 Calexico? Maybe!!
• Early Okkervil River! I got a song off of Down The River of Golden Dreams once upon a time because I liked their name. I liked that song. I looked for their stuff everywhere and eventually gave up. The song was "The War Criminal Rises and Speaks." I still love that song. Eventually they got very popular and I became more of an official fan.
• Is Apple O' Deerhoof's best? I think of it as quintessential Deerhoof-from-before-I-knew-them.
• Janelle Monae's debut Audition gives just the faintest hint about what she would go on to achieve.
• Poodle Hat was Weird Al just throwing it all out the window. That's what I felt when I heard what the album would be called and saw the cover. Is that his most random cover? Might be. Just might be. In general it may be a slightly lesser Weird Al album, but that might just be my opinion. But there are some gems, especially "Bob." Doing an artist parody of Bob Dylan and making every line a palindrome is one of the most poetic things one could do. I still can pull out random lines from that song to demonstrate palindromes. A Toyota's a Toyota. Do Geese See God? Do Nine Men Interpret? Nine Men, I Nod.
• Yeah, Goldfrapp was neat too.
• So was The National!
• And Beaulah. Yoko was their last album! It was funny, it took me forever to get Yoko even though I loved the band because I'd found an exclusive indie record store "demos" version of it, so I already had and knew all the songs, just in demo version. When I finally got the album, I think I decided I liked the demo versions better...
• Hey, early Dirty Projectors!
• Where else do I put Elephant by The White Stripes? This seems so wrong to put them way down here! But they did get their due. I remember tons of magazines and such put this as their #1 album of 2003 so who cares if my little blog throws it down here? I didn't really get into The White Stripes until their next album. "Seven Nation Army" is a classic tune though. And it seems like they're having fun. Expanding their palate a bit. 
• Oh, if I only had known about TV On The Radio in 2003. The Young Liars EP came out and would have blown me away. I waited until they had a full-length album before finding out about them though.
• The New Pornographers - Electric Version. Because they are fun!
• Is Transatlanticism the best Death Cab for Cutie album? Please discuss.
• Elvis Costello doing piano based love songs! North is the name of the album. Pretty good, but I like everything he does.

What Happens Next?
I'm glad you asked! After 2003 comes 2004. 2004 includes music from the likes of Annie, Arcade Fire, Battles, Black Black Ocean, Black Eyes, some album from Brian Wilson called Smile, CocoRosie, Descendents (!), DeVotchKa, a double Elvis Costello release, The Ex, Franz Ferdinand, The Go! Team, Jens Lekman, some kid named Kanye West, Le Tigre, Madvillain, Modest Mouse gets huge, Scissor Sisters, TV On The Radio, and !!!. Among other things.

An Ear For An Era: 2001

A Space Odyssey. Still the first thing I think of when I hear "2001." Even though experiencing it first hand it didn't feel like science fiction. It was an incredibly transformative year for me personally and for the country and the world, for better or worse. At the time it just felt like life was happening. The expected (going to college, hanging out with my same friends), the unexpected, I just took it as it came. Lived in the moment as I felt necessary.

I'm not sure what I'm getting at here. I just feel obligated to make this a pretty reflective piece for 2001.

It was so long ago when I listened to this stuff. Or about a month. I just took a long break before writing this. We'll see how it goes. It's really just guideposts for things that have always been in my head for years.

Like Radiohead's Amnesiac. Silly enough, this was my first Radiohead album. I think. If I remember correctly. Best Buy or someone had a deal that if you got Amnesiac you'd get half price on another Radiohead album or something, and I think I also got OK Computer.  But I liked Amnesiac quite a bit pretty quickly, particularly the driving beats on "I Might Be Wrong." The closest link to punk I could find, even though it was miles away from everything else I listened to at the time.

Electroclash was starting to gain steam in 2001, not that I would have known/cared about it at the time. A few years later I'd get way into it for about a year though. Miss Kittin & The Hacker's First Album was a great dance party with all the appropriate filthy/sexy songs that just turn the party up that much more. And "La La Land" by Green Velvet would be one of my favorite songs in 2005 dance mode. Finally (not really electroclash but dancy), the self-titled debut from !!! had "Intensify" which is still probably my favorite live song by them.


Remember those "The" bands? They were supposedly saving rock and roll or something? I saw it as a stupid thing at the time, they were not original, they were just playing garage rock. And rock and roll didn't need saving. I'd been listening to rock and roll for quite some time, punk rock for about 5 years at this point and it was doing just fine. So I saw through the BS that MTV was trying to feed me. The Strokes? You gotta be kidding me. The dude just got a record deal because he's related to someone important. I think. I eventually did cave, YEARS and YEARS later, and got Is This It. It's a decent record. Maybe above decent. The media just turned me off to them before I could have given them a chance at being relevant to me.

The same thing happened to me with The White Stripes. Another damn "The" band thinking they are so cool with their costumes! What about music? Focus on your music, not your image! Of course, the music on White Blood Cells is some of the greatest music created this century so I really must have given them no chance at all. I probably only heard "Fell in Love with a Girl" and assumed they were just another Strokes-type band. Oh, the years I wasted not listening to The White Stripes. This has since become one of my favorites if you can't tell.

Gorillaz got quite popular in their own way. I was dating a girl obsessed with Blur so she was also into Gorillaz. I couldn't really get the appeal, although it would be pretty soon after this that I'd discover how awesome Del the Funky Homosapien is. But that album, I like it quite a bit in retrospect.

What I was into was indie rock! Built to Spill, yo! I remember a bunch of hipsters (before those were a thing everybody hates) were in my dorm cafeteria sitting within earshot. They were talking about Modest Mouse and Built to Spill and I thought, "Wow! Somebody else knows about these bands!" I did not go talk to them because I still thought I was cooler than them and/or not cool enough for them. One of the dudes ended up being in a couple of my film classes though. Anyway, Ancient Melodies of the Future is a pretty good title for an album put out in 2001. Especially for something you're listening to in 2015. I don't know, my main memory of Built to Spill is putting this song on pretty much every mix CD I made for anyone from 2001-2005.

Built to Spill "The Weather"

Former (and current) Pixie Frank Black put out an album with The Catholics called Dog In The Sand. I remember seeing a postcard thing for the album at Albums on the Hill when I visited Boulder for some reason (before going to college). I eventually got the album but one song I heard early, I think from illegal downloading way back when, "If It Takes All Night" has stuck with me for the past 14 years as a favorite.

I remember the day Fugazi's last album The Argument came out. Because that was the day in college I went to Wax Trax after class to pick it up. And the accompanying Furniture EP, of course. You know, 2001 was also the year I saw Fugazi. I turned 18 in 2001 and they played in Denver the night before my birthday. So I hit midnight on my 18th birthday in the front row of the Ogden Theater listening to maybe the most legendary band of my youth. Unfortunately, the Fugazi Live Series has not posted that show yet. I was hoping it'd be up before I listened to 2001! Anyway, that was an amazing life experience. What to say about the album though? Who knew it would be their last? It is as epic as anything else they did, so it's a fitting farewell. I just want more, always.


The Hip Hop:
Word of Mouf was a great continuation of the fun and silly Ludacris I liked so much a little later. Jay-Z and Nas had quite the words for each other on their respective releases. I liked Jay-Z's better. The Blueprint is pretty classic and in addition to "The Takeover" it has my favorite Eminem song, his collaboration with Hova called "Renegade." But you probably already know that song. Oh, and Dilated Peoples' Expansion Team was fantastic. I only recently acquired that one so I'd only known "Worst Comes to Worst" before this.


Remember in the last entry when I explained my thoughts on Suicide Machines' self-titled album that angered me so? I think some of that anger pushed me to be overly judgmental of another of my favorite bands. Asian Man Records has always had a policy of supporting their artists as they get too big for such a tiny label and need to move on. But when Alkaline Trio moved to Vagrant Records, I was pretty furious. This was a band I took VERY personally, because they had spoken to me on such a personal level at a critical time in my development. So the idea of having to share them with people not cool enough to track them down on their own made me pretty sad. But I also like to think I gave them a chance. When the track listing for From Here to Infirmary came out, I remember just being so excited about the prospect of Dan singing a song called "Crawl" or Matt singing one called "You're Dead." But then the album came out. And I hated it. When, to be fair, I probably should have only liked it a little less than Maybe I'll Catch Fire. But "Stupid Kid" was all over MTV and some of those songs were just not up to par lyrically. When you have to have the lyrics "In case you're wondering we're singing about growing up..." then maybe you're either being too cryptic otherwise or you don't think too highly of your audience's ability to understand a song. Anyway, listening to the album in 2015 I realized it's pretty decent. It's got some good songs on it. They couldn't just keep making Goddamnit.

On the other hand, related band The Lawrence Arms continued their ascent into my heart with a split EP with The Chinkees called Present Day Memories. The four Lawrence Arms songs instantly became some of my favorites, so perfectly expressing the exasperation of loneliness and laziness and not finding your way out. Only The Lawrence Arms could speak so boldly with a sigh in a song...

The Lawrence Arms "Hey, What Time is 'Pensacola: Wings of Gold' on Anyway?"

And the triptych concludes with The Honor System. 100% Synthetic sees them moving a little away from the Broadways influence and rocking just a little bit harder without sacrificing any of the passion that made them great.

Cursive was in between their two great albums so of course they put out their great EP Burst and Bloom. "Sink to the Beat" is my go-to when I want to convert someone to the greatness that is Cursive. So I'll play it for you now in case you didn't know and feel the need to know.

 Cursive "Sink to the Beat"

The final album by The Wunder Years was an EP recorded in Fort Collins. I have to credit The Blasting Room for bringing so many great bands through our small city outside of Denver, providing many great memories and making so many records feel all that more personal, knowing they were recorded in my hometown. I think I saw The Wunder Years three times. One of the times was at The Back Alley, a tiny venue that didn't last long but was my favorite venue while it was around. Have I already told this story? I don't know. It looked like it was a 21+ show so I emailed the band asking about it because I was only 17 or 18 or so. He wrote back saying I should be able to get in. I went and I got in. And he found me and somehow knew I was the one that had written (maybe I was obviously the youngest person there?) and asked if I got in okay. What a guy! Anyway, Function Over Fashion is a great final word to go out on for The Wunder Years as well as a look into the future of Brian's next band The Ghost. Just a harder take on things with that much passion.

The Smoking Popes' final album was full of covers and pretty good. But my interest gravitated toward former Smoking Popes guitarist Tom Daily. First I heard him cover their rarity "First Time" and just destroyed it. Will never get over that version. Then I ran across his album The Burlington Northern, which quietly became one of my favorite albums. Something I can't really relate to with anyone, because I don't think any of my friends really listened to him. I got one friend to enjoy "What's It Like?" by putting it on a mix (and I think I also played "First Time" for him) but beyond that, this is my own personal treasure. It feels like a very personal record filtered through lots of digital effects that aren't meant to cover anything up, but rather bring you in. Pique your curiosity with some echoes here or there but bring you in with some straightforward melodies and lyrics. I guess it's my original, personal version of The Postal Service.

Another former Smoking Pope (and Alkaline Trio drummer at the time) Mike Felumlee took part in a message board I posted to and founded an awesome record label, and I became a fan. He put out an album called 64 Hours and it was a great collection of Smoking Popes-style pop with his own personal take.

I guess Beulah fits here because indie pop or whatever. The Coast Is Never Clear was their best album in my opinion, a great combination of cynical lyrics and Beach Boys-meets-90s-indie-pop music. References to Stephin Merritt. It's just so upbeat and good sounding to deliver such hatred, it's a wonderful thing. La la life sucks! Perfect for me in the early 2000s.

What can I say about Polysics? I have to say something about Polysics. When I first heard them it was on an Asian Man Records compilation and I didn't care for them. Too weird somehow for me in 2001. Even though I was way into weird in 2001. It didn't take me too long to get curious enough to listen some more though, because as "too weird" as it was it still had me curious. I think my friends learning and doing a goofy dance to it helped. So anyway, eventually I just went for it and got their first album (to be released in America) called Hey! Bob! My Friend! and I haven't looked back. They idolize Devo, they play a similar new wavy type music with a ton of energy. Perfect for freakin' out squares and going crazy over.

And I'll end it with some ska. Acoustic ska. Chris Murray from King Apparatus put out a simple solo album on Asian Man Records called 4-Trackaganza! I quite enjoyed it but it came to mean so much more to me. Early in the morning on September 11th, I was in my dorm when the phone rang. My roommate had gone to class but his sister called and I answered it. I don't remember the exact conversation, other than her telling me that we were "under attack" and to turn on the TV and that a plane had gone down near "the 'Burgh" (he was from Pittsburgh) but his family was okay. And I turned on the TV and it was on when he came back to the dorm. I gave him the message from his sister. I don't remember much else. I feel like we were more in disbelief than anything. Not visibly upset, but not knowing what to think or how to feel. It took me days to process what had happened and what was going on around me, all the hatred that was coming out, everyone saying to bomb Afghanistan, all the racist talk that became so rampant. We were inevitably headed for war and beyond my selfish concern about being of age for the draft and being sent there myself (obviously there was no draft), I was just concerned about the direction the world was heading. Then one day on shuffle this song came on and while it didn't make me feel better about anything, it helped articulate my concerns.

Grandma's sewing denim patches on the pants of destiny
at the dawning of an era, watching history repeat
it's lookin' like the easy answer is to blame society for the wars
they were swimming in the ocean 'til they crawled up from the sea
then one day they started dying, 'til the last one disappeared
no they never saw it coming, though the signs were there to see
            -Chris Murray, "Dinosaurs"

Other things:

• The final piece from The Impossibles. 2001 I was in the CU marching band and we went to Austin. We met up with the Texas trombone section and one suggestion was to go see The Impossibles. Unfortunately, us punk rock band geeks got outvoted and we ended up playing a drinking game at some house somewhere. I did not drink. The end of that story. Oh yeah, the piece. 4 Song Brick Bomb. An EP with...4 songs. Great stuff.
• The first Quasi album I got was The Sword of God. It has the song "It's Raining," which might be my favorite of theirs.
• "Crystal Frontier" may have been Calexico's finest achievement.
• I remember "Rockin' The Suburbs" by Ben Folds! That one amused me. Turns out that record has a few great songs on it.
• 2001 was when Adult Swim was getting started on Cartoon Network. My beloved Space Ghost Coast to Coast had an expanding universe with lots of great shows. One of these was The Brak Show (not to be confused with Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak). In one episode, Zorak has something removed from his throat and he ends up having a singing voice not unlike the popular boy bands of the era. All of this is to say I still have the songs from that episode. Zorak singing about kicking your ass. Good stuff.
• Thelema is a nifty little EP by Murder City Devils.
• Amethyst Rock Star is a great intro to Saul Williams and he would turn out to have a big impact on me personally.
• That Pigeon John Is Clueless album is kind of funny in its very Christian messages on a couple songs. I'm glad he toned that down a little later on.
• Perennial favorites Enon put out a collection of loops called On Hold. It was pretty rare but I eventually picked it up at a show. It's pretty great for what it is. I used to think it needed some rappers to rap over some of the tracks on some sort of remix version to give it more exposure, but this last time listening to it I realize it is dynamic and interesting without the aid of others. Just a really cool album.
• Spoon was really finding themselves, but I didn't get into them quite yet. But Girls Can Tell is pretty great, a band that would end up being one of the most consistent in rock.
• The Ex was still amazing all these years later on Dizzy Spells.
• After hearing the song he was featured on on the 6ths album, I had to hear more from Momus. Eventually I tracked down his album Folktronic and paid a pretty penny for it. Must have been an import or something. Most of the album is silly and ephemeral and not really worth listening to much, but there are a couple songs that break through the silliness to reach something profound. "The Lady of Shallot" is a mixtape favorite.
• Rufus Wainwright's Poses is a great, personal, devastating album.

Next Time:
2002! The last palindrome year of our lives! Let's see...Trail of Dead! Early Amy Winehouse stuff! My first hip hop purchase (and favorite for a long long time), Blackalicious! A personal favorite Elvis Costello album! The greatest Enon album! Yoshimi! Perfecting Loneliness! The Lawrence Arms reaffirm my love yet again! Early LCD Soundsystem songs! Talib Kweli! Wilco! Lots of great personal stuff here.

An Ear For An Era: 2000

In the year 2000...

I remember when 2000 was far away. And then not so far away. And then the past. And Conan continuing the "In the year 2000" skits regardless. It's just a number. An idea. It used to be the idea of the future. So whatever the number is. It's just a number. When everybody was freaking out about Y2K and apocalypse and whatnot I just kind of laughed it off because of how arbitrary numbers are anyway.

2000 was the year I started my senior year in high school, it was a year I started off by being blown off by my friends but hanging out with my brother so it's fine, it was the year I got a serious girlfriend and went to school dances instead of making movies on school dance nights.

The future.

Now 15 years gone.

Music blog.

I'm going to start off the actual portion of this that is not a meaningless/meaningful introduction by talking about hip hop. 2000 was an insane year for great hip hop. I didn't know at the time because my mind was still closed, but there was a lot.

Soon to be one of my favorite MCs Del The Funky Homosapien had a very fantastic album Both Sides of the Brain that for a long time was the most recent Del solo album so it always felt like latter era Del. He's really upped his productivity in recent years, however, and now I guess I'd call it "mid period" because it is still pretty far removed from his early 90s repertoire. Same attitude, new production. But of course the big one was Deltron 3030, his project with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala. The future! Not sure how much I need to explain to this audience, but this concept sci-fi album is so much fun to listen to, as Del seems to bring out the best in Automator and vice versa (Koala's input is somewhat limited in comparison to his solo stuff...). It's just vivid, it's catchy, and impeccably done all around.

Deltron 3030 "Virus"

More hip hop, quick rundown style...
Ludacris, whom I would pretty soon discover for myself, has been historically viewed by me as just a fun, funny MC without too much to say. I think he's broken that stigma but he was very entertaining on Back for the First Time. De La Soul's Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump is a great showcase of a band still at the top of their game a decade in. Quality Control by Jurassic 5 is kind of a peak for the group creatively as a bunch of MCs that manage to find a level of harmony rarely heard in this century's hip hop, and also exemplified by the dual-DJ attack and "Swing Set," an awesome track of a couple DJs just showing off in a way that usually only MCs attempt. Speaking of DJs (producers?), Quasimoto is an interesting showcase of Madlib's behind-the-mic skills. I don't have the Wu-Tang Clan album The W, but I have "Gravel Pit" and yeah. You know that one is grand. Umm, Train of Thought by Reflection Eternal starring Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek is master class 2000 hip hop.

And of course Outkast. Stankonia was the last super collaborative album they put out together and pretty much the best. "Ms. Jackson" and "B.O.B." and other songs I haven't given their proper due. But "B.O.B." will always get me going nuts. I hated Eminem at the time but he's grown on me a little. The homophobia is pretty awful but he's not the only one with awful homophobia in his music from this time, so I guess he shouldn't have been singled out as much as he was...I know Common was guilty of some homophobia as well but Like Water For Chocolate is praised. And it should be for most reasons.

And now the stuff from the genres I really listened to back in 2000.

I hate being one of those guys that gets mad at a band for going in a new direction or whatever because you're the artist/follow your muse/etc, but The Suicide Machines really pissed me off when they put out their self-titled album in 2000. My saviors, a band that helped me understand this complicated world and work through it, put out some awful pop music and I was pissed. I took it personally. They kind of made up for it later, realizing their mistake and signing to an indie label and being punk again, but my relationship with what was once one of my favorite bands was never the same.

One of my oldest shirts is what I now kind of use to prove my punk rock credentials. It's from the CD release show for Problematic by All. You can barely read it, but it spells out the show date in 2000. At the time it seemed like I was late to the party on it, but at this point 15 years are a lot of years.  I don't listen to Problematic all that often but it does take me back. Not my favorite All record but still good.

The Impossibles got back together while I was still into their ska stuff. And became sort of power pop, in a way that outside observers said they sounded like Weezer (in a good way). I had not really listened to much Weezer, but you can give The Impossibles credit there, for directing me that way. Because Return is a fantastic pop album with great hooks and great heartbreak. "Never Say Goodbye" was my anthem when I was graduating high school. Not that I see any of those people anymore (with approximately 1 exception), so maybe I should have said goodbye?

I don't know how many friends I introduced to the brilliant Shellac when I discovered them, but people did not need to be post-rock/math-rock/experimental music followers to follow the message on "Prayer to God." Profane, hilarious, but so true to the raw emotions that people have, when I was faced with a similar situation the song just got stronger and stronger to me (but still funny, because I'm not a psychopath that takes it seriously). The rest of the album 1000 Hurts is part of what got me into the post-rock stuff later on, but it's easy if you've had a broken heart to latch right on to this song.

Shellac "Prayer to God"

I was always a few steps behind my friends on The Weakerthans. Not sure why. I love their music. Pretty astonishing that this was a guy from Propagandhi being poetic and not political. But John K. Samson is among the greatest lyricists not only in indie rock but in rock. "How I don't know what I should do with my hands when I talk to you, how you don't know where you should look...so you look at my hands." Oh yeah, the album is called Left & Leaving. Fantastic stuff.

Speaking of lyricists, Stephin Merritt. This is the right-after-69-Love-Songs Stephin Merritt and even though the 6ths album Hyacinths and Thistles was not as well received critically, I feel like he was still on a roll. There are plenty of songs on this album that could have been 69 Love Songs standouts, particularly "As You Turn to Go" and "You You You You You."

Cursive's Domestica was one of my favorites. An examination of a bitter divorce with nothing held back. A modern Here, My Dear. But emo or whatever. I just always loved how Tim Kasher seemed to know exactly what he did wrong and acknowledged his weaknesses on here, not really pointing the blame in any direction but exploring the roots of the problems. It's uncomfortable but everything from his wife's point of view is the most poignant and you can see that he understands it. This will always be my favorite Cursive album because it taught me to look at myself and examine my own flaws in this area, and hopefully avoid making some of the same mistakes. This song I take very personally because it echoed the mistakes that I would eventually learn from in my relationship at the time to be a better partner today.

Cursive "The Martyr"

When I introduced my friend to the music of The Broadways, he said they reminded him of this other band that I should check out. So I was really excited to hear this band that sounded like The Broadways. But then when I heard them I couldn't really figure out the similarities he'd drawn between the bands. But it didn't matter because this was one of the most intense, aggressive, energy creating bands I'd ever heard. I made an analogy a while back on this blog about a band creating all this potential energy and releasing it and I don't remember who I was talking about, but the same could be said for At The Drive-In. Then I saw them on Letterman and knew I HAD to see them live. Then they broke up.

At The Drive-In "One Armed Scissor" Live on Letterman

I saw a very early The Mars Volta show a little while later but it just was not the same.

In the summer of 2000, Asian Man Records put together the Plea for Peace tour featuring all of the great bands on its roster. Maybe the best lineup I have ever seen. And my family was going to fly out to Florida on vacation the day before the show got to Denver. Somehow I convinced my brother to wait back with me so I could go to this show and convinced a friend who wasn't really interested in that type of music to go with me so I wouldn't be driving to Denver alone. And I SOMEHOW convinced my parents to let me and my brother drive across the country to meet up with them in Florida. All of those pieces fit together and I got to go to this show. And I will never forget that experience. The skapunk of the past (MU330! Mike Park doing Skankin' Pickle songs with them!) met the melodic punk of the future (Alkaline Trio! The Honor System! The Lawrence Arms!) and it was an amazing experience.

Alkaline Trio quickly became one of my favorite bands when they put out Maybe I'll Catch Fire, an album I could get and not feel awkward about its title. While not as great of an album as Goddamnit, it was special and it showed me some dark visions and introduced me to their world. The Honor System was close enough to The Broadways that I was immediately hooked. Single File was their debut and really echoes "Dan songs" by The Broadways. The passion in the political. Similar guitar licks.

And of course The Lawrence Arms. Ghost Stories is still my favorite album of theirs. Walking out of the concert I saw Brendan talking to some dudes in the alley and I told him he'd played a great show. And that was the first time I addressed him at a Lawrence Arms show. This practice would lead to him recognizing me and remembering my name and having longer conversations as the years went on. Anyway, a few years later I was talking to Brendan in one of our longer conversations about Ghost Stories. How it was my favorite and people don't seem to get it. And it was so validating when he agreed with me and said that it's kind of the measure of the real fans, because it really takes time to get it but then it comes together. This is a cold and distant record. The production is "gritty," I guess you could say. I like the word cold for it though. You need to embrace it and warm it up and then it speaks to you. Personal stuff. Poetic stuff. I could pick any song to play for you here because they are all special to me. This was when I really got into Chris' songs in particular. I'd appreciated him in The Broadways but he sounded quite a bit like Dan. He was unique here. I could really feel that he meant what he was singing. I don't know man, what do I say about this album? Criminally underrated. They don't even play these songs anymore. That's fine, you move on. But it will always be my special gem. Due to a fluke on my ipod this played twice and for the first time in the project I did not skip the repeat because I just couldn't stop it. I just had to let it play, once I heard the opening chords, through the secret tracks without skipping past the silence. Because even the silence between "The Last One" and its bonus tracks is part of the experience to me.

The Lawrence Arms "Ghost Stories"

They also put out a split EP with Shady View Terrace in 2000. It was the first step in a brand new direction for the band that is considered the classic, favorite era. A little "better" produced but still amazing. Especially those damn Chris songs...

I remember when Elliott Smith died (I know, not way back in 2000 but this is apparently his last album). I hadn't been a huge fan but one of my friends had. We heard he'd stabbed himself in the heart! We listened to a lot of depressing music but that kind of sealed the deal as him being the pinnacle of that. And from there, it seemed too real for me to approach it without taking it seriously and with the highest amount of respect. This has always put a certain amount of elusiveness on his catalog for me.

Elliott Smith "Can't Make A Sound"

Also Noted.

• Planes Mistaken for Stars! I had the "Fucking Fight" 7" and its intensity was just ridiculous. I only saw the band live a handful of times despite them being all over the Denver indie/emo/whatever scene but every time was very memorable and intense and terrifying. Legends around these parts. The Knife in the Marathon EP was fantastic as well but didn't have the insane intensity of that 7".
• The Dandy Warhols' Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia is kind of a classic of urban Bohemia. That's pretty much what I'd call it.
• Hot Hot Heat certainly was different in these days.
• The first Jill Scott album is fabulous. I wouldn't discover her until around '07.
• I haven't listened too much to Sufjan Stevens' debut A Sun Came, but it's quite pleasant.
• Yeah White Stripes, thisclose to legendary status...
• The distant warmth of Kid A is a brilliant album that I couldn't think of what to write about, so it's just "noted" even though many would consider it the best album of 2000. Take that, expectations!
• Once all of Coldplay's albums were on Amazon for like 50 cents each or something so I got them, thinking "ha! Take that, Coldplay! That's what your catalog is worth!" But now I have to actually listen to them in this thing so who's laughing now? They have a couple decent songs though.
• I saw The New Pornographers last year for the first time in concert (I know!), and they neglected to play the standout track from their debut album Mass Romantic, "Letter From An Occupant." I know, right??
• And Neko Case solo. So country back then. But she's always had that voice!
• Flogging Molly is entertaining.
• Cat Power's deconstruction of a covers album is really cool and really frustrating. Just sing the chorus!
• Don Caballero, one last hurrah of the classic lineup.
• Add Float by Aesop Rock to that hip hop list above. Good year indeed.
• Enon was one of my favorite bands and I'm throwing their debut down here?? Believo! was awesomely diverse and catchy yet only hinted at their future prowess.
• The last Man or Astroman album for a while was A Spectrum of Infinite Scale and for a long time it was the only one I had of theirs on CD. Anyone who can make a compelling track by recording the sound of a printer printing something that they programmed is pretty brilliant in my book.
• There's too much to write about! Daisies of the Galaxy by Eels!
• American III by Johnny Cash!
• Avalanches! Since I Left You is a party!
• Ghostface Killah! Supreme Clientele! I told you it was a year of hip hop!
• I didn't listen to much Modest Mouse in 2000. I know my girlfriend liked their 90s stuff but I didn't get The Moon & Antarctica until later on. Kind of a new direction for them but a fascinating one.

Next Time...
2001 was a big year of changes in my life and in the world. But this is about music. 2001 had some good music by artists such as Beulah, Built to Spill, Dilated Peoples, Ee, the last Fugazi album, Gorillaz, Jay-Z taking over, The National, Polysics, Pulp, The Strokes, Tom Daily, and !!!, among other things. Happy new year!