matt cleveland
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This week in The Program, bendblock and I are listening to two new albums. The first is the new release from roots-pop powerhouse, Dr. Dog. The second is Beck’s newest effort and his last with his label.
Dr. Dog: Fate
and
Beck: Modern Guilt
Check back in a week or so, and we will have posted our thoughts on these two albums. If we haven’t, poke us with a sharp stick or something!
Wondering what The Program is all about? It's never too late to join in the fun. Click here to learn the origins of The Program. Or check out my MOG for up-to-date information about The Program. Consider yourself invited.
This week in The Program, bendblock and I are listening to two new albums. The first is the debut album from the newest Scandinavian songstress, Lykke Li. The second is the newest effort from New York’s favorite guitar-based electronica duo.
Lykke Li: Youth Novels
and
Ratatat: LP3
Check back in a week or so, and we will have posted our thoughts on these two albums. If we haven’t, poke us with a sharp stick or something!
Wondering what The Program is all about? It's never too late to join in the fun. Click here to learn the origins of The Program. Or check out my MOG for up-to-date information about The Program. Consider yourself invited.
This is a list of my favorite albums for each year I’ve been alive. I tried to stay away from compilations, mainly because I’m an album lover, and there are enough albums put out each year that I was able to find at least one to slot as my favorite. I also didn’t include ep’s or soundtracks (except for runners up).
I sorted my iPod library by year, and started at 1979 and worked my way down to 2008. It took me about four days to actually complete the list, and I learned a lot about my music listening history in the process. First of all, no surprise here, there wasn’t a whole lot of solid music that spoke to me from the late 70’s through most of the 80’s (save Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, R.E.M. and Springsteen), so there were few runners up for top slots in those years. Once the ‘90s hit, the choices got a lot harder and basically came down to me trying to represent my favorite artists in at least one year slot. Also, the closer I get to 2008, the more runners up there were. It’s probably because I listen to more music today than I did in the early years, or maybe music speaks to me more these days, or maybe there are more artists making better music these days. What do you think? What are your favorites for each year you’ve been alive?
1979
Merle Haggard: Serving 190 Proof
This is one of the first albums I remember hearing spinning on the record player in my Mamaw’s house. I hated it then. I love it now. Runner up is Bob Dylan: Slow Train Coming
1980
John Lennon: Double Fantasy
This was John’s first album in 5 years and the only album he put out during my lifetime. He was killed 2 days before my first birthday. If I had known then what I know now, I’m sure I would have cried. I probably cried anyways since I was a 1-year old and all. Runners up are The Blues Brothers Soundtrack and Emmylou Harris: Roses In The Snow.
1981
Grateful Dead: Reckoning
This is a great acoustic set by The Dead and the first album of theirs I ever picked up.
1982
Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska
This has always been my favorite Springsteen. "Atlantic City" is one of the greatest songs ever.
1983
David Bowie: Let’s Dance
This is one of my favorite Bowie albums. It’s fun, and there are some great under appreciated songs here.
1984
Bob Marley: Legend
Yeah, I know it’s a compilation, but damn, it’s amazing. My first Marley love.
1985
Tom Petty: Southern Accents
Who didn’t love watching the blonde chick get carved up like a sheet cake in "Don’t Come Around Here No More"? The title track is great too. Petty is one of America’s finest southern rockers.
1986
Paul Simon: Graceland
A beautiful album about a beautiful place. Chevy Chase was great in that "You Can Call Me Al" video too.
1987
Lyle Lovett: Pontiac
Great album from Lyle. It doesn’t get much better than "If I Had a Boat."
1988
Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man
I love his voice and his songwriting. "Tower of Song" is one of my all-time favorites. Runner up is The Beatles Past Masters Volume 2 (only because it’s a compilation).
1989
The Jayhawks: Blue Earth
There’s some great songs here. The Jayhawks were one of Alt. Country’s early pioneers. However, if I had picked the album that I actually listened to the most in 1990 it would have been Prince’s soundtrack to the Batman movie.
1990
Uncle Tupelo: No Depression
This debut from Tweedy, Farrar and company became the spring board for Alt. Country and gave name to a movement.
1991
Phish: A Picture Of Nectar
This was a fun Phish album, although not my favorite. But I have to admit, this was the year I bought my first album with my own money. It was Genesis’ We Can’t Dance. Runner up is R.E.M.: Out of Time.
1992
R.E.M.: Automatic For The People
Their masterpiece. Runner up is Eric Clapton: Unplugged
1993
Ben Harper: Welcome To The Cruel World
1993 was an amazing year for new artist debuts. It was hard to narrow it down from a list that includes Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Radiohead and The Verve. But this is my personal favorite.
1994
Jeff Buckley: Grace
I guess the early 90’s is when my ears really turned on to music. Many runners up include Dave Matthews: Under the Table and Dreaming, Elliot Smith: Roman Candle, G. Love & Special Sauce’s self-titled debut, Johnny Cash: American Recordings and Tom Petty: Wildflowers. But it’s hard to put any above this one.
1995
Son Volt: Trace
The first post Uncle Tupelo album from Jay Farrar wins this year with its gorgeous songwriting. Runners up are Ben Folds Five’s self-titled debut, Ben Harper: Fight For Your Mind, Elliott Smith: self titled, Radiohead: The Bends, The Screaming Mimes: Respectable Barbeque, Wilco: A.M.
1996
Wilco: Being There
Even though there is something I love about every Wilco album, this is still my favorite. Songwriting just doesn’t get better than "Misunderstood" and "Sunken Treasure." Runners up are Beck: Odelay, Dave Matthews Band: Crash: Johnny Cash: Unchained and Wallflower: Bringing Down The Horse.
1997
Elliott Smith: Either-Or
I love Elliott Smith’s songs, and this is a great album full of some of his best work. Runners up are Ben Folds Five: Whatever and Ever Amen, Ben Harper: The Will To Live, Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind, Paul McCartney: Flaming Pie and The Verve: Urban Hymns.
1998
Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Still Lucinda’s finest album to date. Great rural (and local for me) songwriting. Runners up are Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue, Dave Matthews Band: Before These Crowded Streets, Medeski Martin & Wood: Combustication, Phish: Story of the Ghost and Whiskeytown: Faithless Street.
1999
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Luther College
This album (along with The Beatles’ White Album) challenged my music listening habits in the late ‘90’s and turned me from a exclusive Contemporary Christian/Christian Rock listener into music addict I am today. So, no matter what anyone else says about the dude, I thank God for Dave Matthews. Runners up are Asie Payton: Worried, Ben Folds Five: Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, Counting Crows: This Desert Life, The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin, My Morning Jacket: The Tennessee Fire, Tom Waits: Mule Variations, The White Stripes’ self-titled debut and Wilco: Summerteeth.
2000
North Mississippi Allstars: Shake Hands With Shorty
They will probably never top this album, but they are still one of my favorite live bands, not to mention I gave them a ride in my Saturn once. Runners up are Beck: Mutations, Coldplay: Parachutes, Elliott Smith: Figure 8, Johnny Cash: American III: Solitary Man, Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker, Shelby Lynne: I Am Shelby Lynne, The White Stripes: De Stijl and Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
2001
Ben Folds: Rockin’ The Suburbs
I think this is Ben Folds most solidly written album. Great grooves and great stories. Runners up are The Be Good Tanyas: Blue Horse, Death Cab For Cutie: The Photo Album, Gillian Welch: Time (The Revelator), Jay Farrar: Sebastopol, Kings of Convenience: Quite Is The New Loud, M. Ward: End of Amnesia, My Morning Jacket: At Dawn, Pete Yorn: Musicforthemorningafter, Ryan Adams: Gold, Spoon: Girls Can Tell, Whiskeytown: Pneumonia, The White Stripes: White Blood Cells and The Word’s self-titled debut.
2002
The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
I remember the first time I heard this album in my campus housing my senior year in college. I was in the apartment alone, and I had just gotten the album in the mail after a friend had recommended it. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was one of the weirdest, most beautiful albums I had ever heard. Many runners up include Beck: Sea Change, The Black Key: The Big Come Up, Blind Boys of Alabama: Higher Ground, Bruce Springsteen: The Rising, Drive-By Trucker: Southern Rock Opera, Iron & Wine: The Creek Drank The Cradle, Jack Johnson: Brushfire Fairytales, Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around, Josh Ritter: Golden Age of Radio, Rufus Wainwright: Poses, The Walkmen: Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone and Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
2003
The Postal Service: Give Up
This amazing group combines Dntel’s electronica with Ben Gibbard’s songwriting/vocals and Jenny Lewis’ vocals. This album is one of my favorites of the millennium. Runners up are Cat Power: You Are Free, Damien Rice: O, Dave Matthews: Some Devil, Death Cab for Cutie: Transatlanticism, The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music, José González: Veneer, Josh Ritter: Hello Starling, Josh Rouse: 1972, M. Ward: Transfiguration of Vincent, My Morning Jacket: It Still Moves, Richard Ashcroft: Human Conditions, The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow, Sufjan Stevens: Michigan, Sun Kil Moon: Ghosts of The Great Highway, The White Stripes: Elephant
2004
Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
I first heard this album while streaming some Yahoo radio at work. Songs from this album just kept coming on, and every time I heard one I would have to bring up the little box and find out who was making those beautiful noises and had that great voice. It was always Sam Beam, and I was hooked. Runners up are Air: Walkie Talkie, Arcade Fire: Funeral, Devotchka: How It Ends, Elliott Smith: From A Basement On The Hill, Feist: Let It Die, Jolie Holland: Escondida, Kings of Convienience: Riot On An Empty Street, Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose, Modest Mouse: Good News For People Who Love Bad News, The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed, Sufjan Stevens: Seven Swans and Wilco: A Ghost Is Born
2005
Ryan Adams: Cold Roses
Ryan Adams can write some amazing songs. He doesn’t always deliver, but in 2005 he put out three solid LPs…three LPs…one of which was this amazing two-discer. Runners up are Bright Eyes: I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning/Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, Death Cab For Cutie: Plans, Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine, M. Ward: Transistor Radio, Neil Diamond: 12 Songs, Ryan Adams: Jacksonville City Nights, Spoon: Gimme Fiction, Sufjan Stevens: Illinoise and The White Stripes: Get Behind Me Satan.
2006
M. Ward: Post-War
M. Ward’s work is polished old-style pop. He uses old instruments, old amps and writes songs inspired by old music. But his albums are always fresh, and this is among his best work. Runners up are Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy: The Letting Go, Cat Power: The Greatest, Cold War Kids: Robbers & Cowards, The Decemberists: Crane Wife, The Flaming Lips: At War With The Mystics, Gnarles Barkley: St. Elsewhere, Josh Ritter: Animal Years, Midlake: The Trials of Van Occupanther, The Mountain Goats: Get Lonely, Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings The Flood and Peter Bjorn & John: Writers Block.
2007
Josh Ritter: The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter’s albums are amazing…all of them. But this would have been a pretty boring list if I had just put his albums as my favorite each year. Same way for Ryan Adams, Iron & Wine, M. Ward, The White Stripes and Wilco. Their albums consistently speak to me. But this album is fantastic and contains one of the finest songs ever penned, "Temptation of Adam." Many runners up include Andrew Bird: Armchair Apocrypha, Arcade Fire: Neon Bible, Bright Eyes: Cassadaga, Devendra Banhart: Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Dr. Dog: We All Belong, Feist: The Reminder, Iron & Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog, José González: In Our Nature, Kings of Leon: Because of The Times, LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver, Magnolia Electric Company: Sojourner, The National: Boxer, Okkervil River: The Stage Names, Radiohead: In Rainbows, Ryan Adams: Easy Tiger, The White Stripes: Icky Thump and Wilco: Sky Blue Sky.
2008
Mason Jennings: In The Ever
This is in a close tie right now with Eef Barzelay’s Lose Big. But today, I’m digging on this one a little more. The songwriting is simple, beautiful and true. Runners up are The Black Keys: Attack and Release, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy: Lie Down In The Light, Coldplay: Viva La Vida, Death Cab For Cutie: Narrow Stairs, Drive-By Trucker: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut, Hayes Carll: Trouble In Mind, Jakob Dylan: Seeing Things, The Mountain Goats: Heretic Pride, The Raconteurs: Consolers Of The Lonely, She & Him: Volume One and Sun Kil Moon: April.
MOG Meter
Comments
Lykke Li’s debut takes elements of electronica and mixes in a good portion of pop, soul and dance music with a dash of handclaps and steel drum for a charming album. It’s eclectic from start to finish with sounds that remind me of Elvis Costello, Air and Feist. It mixes in various instruments from synth sounds to classical Spanish guitar to horns to piano with minimal percussion to crazy vocal effects and I think even a children’s choir gets some play here. It’s a fun summertime record. Thumbs up.
Ratatat’s third effort was a little underwhelming to me. It’s got what I like about Ratatat – innovative mix of guitar and electronic music – but for the most part, it doesn’t have the variety throughout that I would have liked to hear. There were no peaks and valleys to the track flow. All the songs had a very similar feel. It was just kind of boring. Thumbs down.
7-23-08
Lykke Li: Youth Novels
Here is another great example of why we insist that the program include at least three or five plays through of an album before we "review" it. I really disliked this record the first three times I heard it. But then it started to grow on me. The silly, girly, poppy lyrics started to have some depth and Li's vocal timing around the sparse beats started to remind me of mo-town pop at times and her playful tone started to grow on me. I found myself in the strange position of humming and whistling "I like it's salt, I like it wet, I like my make-up in a mess..." while on the way to watch the new, uber-dark "The Dark Knight" movie. In the end, I don't love this album, but I do see why it warranted international attention and I agree with Matt that it is a fun, fluffy summer record. And on another level it's a great example of how the Program saves us from overlooking good music that doesn't grab our attention immediately. Thumbs up.
Ratatat: LP3
My love for Ratatat began when I heard them on a "sound button" between NPR stories and dug them up from the depths of the internet. My appreciation for the durability of their music despite repeated listens came during this past year of graduate school. When I really need to get to work, I usually put on Ratatat's 2nd album, "Classics." The combination of uptempo hip-hop-phat beats with structured, fugue-like guitar and keyboard layering propels me forward into reading, writing or shuffling through endless vocabulary cards. The only problem is that, if there's a guitar or keyboard around (as there usually are at my desk) I tend to pick one up and start playing along. In fact, as a musician, Ratatat is some of the most fun music to play along with. So when I heard that they were due for a new album I was terribly excited. I even bought tickets to their upcoming show in September. I can't wait to see how they pull this off live.
As for the album, I was curious to see if they would stick with the formula or try to do something different. The core sound is the same but there are a lot more quiet, down-tempo interludes between powerful, rocking tracks. I was surprised at the amount of auto-harp on the album. I disagree with Matt that there is not as much variety or flow. Where "Classics" and the Self-Titled Debut record just had ten solid, 3-4 minute stand-alone tracks of righteous rocking out, "LP3" actually works as an album. It starts somewhere and moves somewhere else. The peaks are tracks like 2 Falcon Jab, 4 Mirando (the single and most true to the "Classics" sound), 8 Imperials (which showcases fugue-al arpeggios that synth-freaks and classical heads can both groove to) and the list goes on. Also, if you put the tracks up against the tracks on the prior two albums you'll notice that there is more development and progression within each track. It's not just adding more layers then running back to the hook.
I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition of acoustic instruments (harpsichord, autoharp, classical guitar) with MPC programmed beats and palm-muted electric guitar and bass on track 9 Dura. What start out as distinct almost dissonant elements from different eras are blended together around a slow groove.
That said, I do agree with Matt that this album doesn't have the immediate grab that "Classics" does. I still love handing that album to people and watching their eyes light up to hear genre's bent and transgressed in surprising ways. As one friend put it recently,
"I love the distorted guitar as a part of an electronic sound. makes for a unique blend of two things I've traditionally enjoyed separately. like pizza and ketchup. they go well together...who knew?" If "Classics" is an album of pizza and ketchup then "LP3" adds more complexity to the recipe and expands their palette and ours. I taste more every time I listen. Thumbs up.
We obviously like this genre of music for very different reasons. But for me this albums peaks were so slight and the valleys were so shallow (in hookieness) that I found myself being bored by it. There were alot of the interludes, and they distracted me more than they moved the album along for me. I can see where intentional repeated listens focusing on instrumental choices and layering and progression will divuldge more of what I'm not getting from it, but that's just the differences coming out in both our listening styles. Classics rocks, though!