Back to the list this week. If you are jumping into the list here and want to enjoy from the beginning, the countdown starts here.
30. White Blood Cells - The White Stripes
One of the better music-related discussions I had this year was with my friend Michael. He dared me to try and find a more iconoclastic musician from our generation than Jack White. I couldn't. He's simply taken over this decade. So now when you go back to this breakthrough album, you can't help but hear the foundation of what would come for the next handful of years. Namely, ROCK.
At the time, Jack and his fake sister Meg were lumped into other "The" bands like "The Vines" and "The Hives". Heard from them lately? Thank God they've faded into the ether. Hotel Yorba and Fell In Love With The Girl are so raw that they seem simple. But there is nothing simple about the Blues soaked sing-alongs. It's always been an album I can crank to 11, and feel better. With a decade full of amazing, but depressing music, this still shines like a beacon of adolescent fun.
29. Game Theory - The Roots
It amazes me that this band now calls it's peers Kevin Eubanks and Paul Shaffer. They are one of the hardest working groups in all of show business, as their live shows have become legendary. But that hasn't always translated on their albums. I think you can skip every other one. If you are now starting to get into them because of Fallon, don't skip this one.
This is a very dark album created in a very dark time. One name that covers the entire record like a dense fog is George Bush. Starting with False Media where Black Thought takes the persona of someone in the evil empire, the weight of 9/11, Katrina, and all the smaller but just as significant changes to american domestic policy coloring in the cracks in each beat. I like the walk this album takes you through. It may not be pretty, but it's real.
28. A Rush Of Blood To The Head - Coldplay
I'm always amazed by how many people hate this band. I guess the same way I'm amazed by people who hate U2. Coldplay have given me some of my favorite big group musical moments this decade. I've seen them in small venues in Chicago on their first american tour, all the way to Webley stadium closing out the Viva La Vida tour this year. And each time, they give every ounce of themselves to their fans. I admire that.
Plus, they put together one of the best arena rock albums ever in AROFTTH. I remember how much I loved Parachutes when it came out, and didn't even buy this one for about a year after it came out. But now, it's clear this is the superior album. It's more mature, and that has let it stand the test of time much better than Spiders, Yellow and the rest of the songs on the first album. And The Scientist became one of my favorite songs since I put it on the mix we have played in Caleb's room every night since he was born. That first year, sitting with my son at 3am and the weight of the world on my shoulders, it always set my mind at ease. Like all good Coldplay songs, it's topic is ambiguous, so you can make it your own. For me, it has a message of redemption through logic. I think we all would like to go back to the start sometimes.
27. O - Damien Rice
Schmaltzy. Over emotive. Accurate descriptions of Damien's first album. But at it's heart, it's more than the scream-singing and quiet-loud-quiet progressions. First, it's a fantastic breakup record. You feel trapped in a remote cabin throughout with only your thoughts of what could have been to keep you company. So you go mad. With Damien.
Now to the ironic part of this album. This is my wife and I's album. We listened to it together countless times. And we've sung the songs on road trips, and quiet nights sitting in our living room. A big reason I love it is because she loves it. This is a woman who loves The Young And The Restless, so the over-expression probably plays well to her. On top of that, to see Damien belt out The Blower's Daughter acoustic with absolutely no amp in a concert hall is a wonder. It proved to me these songs are really meant for a stage.
26. I Am A Bird Now - Antony And The JohnsonsOne of my regrets about living in Dallas is that I can't put this album on when there is two feet of snow outside on a chilly Chicago January day. The music is so sparse throughout this beautifully sad record, it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense on a sunny day. I love owning the actual vinyl version just because the front cover photo so perfectly captures the mood. I can stare at it while Antony takes me on a tour of his tortured soul.
As I've grown older this decade, and have made the largest jump in maturity I'm sure I'll ever experience in my life, true art about transformation makes more sense to me. Even though literally much of this album confronts a transformation of sexuality, it rings just as true to me about going from single and alone to married with a family of my own. It's a wonderful reminder we are all works in progress, on a journey till the day we die. And we all Hope There's Someone there to take care of us when that inevitable day comes.
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