My Ten

Okay, here's mine, in non-dramatic fashion.



1. Cibo Matto--Stereotype A (1999). 

Unlike anything else out there. Tight beats a trombone solos with Japanese rapping over the top of it all. Why can't they get back together?



2. U2--All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000). 

U2's return to earnest rock-n-roll after the po-mo mess of Pop. There's a reason why these guys are the biggest band in the world.

 Arena sound with an intimate touch.

3. Vampire Weekend--Contra (2010).

 Love the complexity and musicality of this group. Witty, wistful lyrics too. 

Any band that writes a song about the Oxford comma is okay by me.

4. DJ Dangermouse--The Grey Album (2004)

. The best mashup/remix out there. Dangermouse has been behind some of the most innovative stuff of the past decade (Gnarles Barkley, Broken Bells).

 Beatles' White Album + Jay Z's Black Album = great music.

5. Kanye West--808s and Heartbreak (2008). 

So what if the guy is, in the words of the President, a "jackass." He has a melodic sensibility that is absent from other hip-hop artists. What's cool about this album is that West uses old 808 symthesizers from the 1980s for a kind of retro sound.



6. Regina Spektor--Begin to Hope (2006)
. Regina Spektor writes beautiful music, sings in a range of vocal styles, and explores some big questions.



7. Postal Service--Give Up (2003). 
Minimalistic synthpop in the style of Yaz, with Deathcab frontman Ben Gibbard. If you've watched television within the past five years, you've heard Postal Service tunes, especially in the advertisements. 



8. Arcade Fire--The Suburbs. I'm going to grab this one before anyone else does (since Eric took "Funeral"). This band manages to critique and romanticize life in the suburbs at the same time. If you grew up in the burbs during the 70s, this album is pure nostalgia. 



9. Adele--21. (2011). I am a recent convert to Adele, making me pretty late to the party. But I can't stop listening to 21, now my favorite breakup album. Adele has an amazingly expressive voice, both sorrowful and buoyant, like the blues itself. She had me with her cover of the Cure's "Lovesong."



10. The Strokes--Is This It? (2001)
. Put it on. Turn it up. Three chords never sounded so good.

Let's get this party started

It appears as if Death Match '99 isn't going to write itself. While we wait for a few others to decide if they're in or out, why don't we post some music?

Here is my tentative list*:

1. Sufjan Stevens "Seven Swans"
2. The Weakerthans "Left and Leaving"
3. Massive Attack "Mezzanine"
4. Low "Things We Lost in the Fire"
5. Gorillaz "Demon Days"
6. Moby "Play"
7. Arcade Fire "Funeral"
8. Radiohead "OK Computer"
9. TV on the Radio "Dear Science"
10. Pedro the Lion "Winners Never Quit"

Other albums that I may still be pondering (not meant to be exhaustive): Cat Power, "You Are Free"; The Decemberists, "Picaresque"; Regina Spektor, "Begin to Hope"; Ben and Bruno, "100 Grim Reapers"

Some of these are sentimental. Many are albums that I had to buy after hearing them once (if Jason ever joins, he can relate).

"Seven Swans" --despite Nate's intense hatred of this album**, it is glorious...my favorite Sufjan. He made it before many of the hipsters knew him, and that may have helped.

"Left and Leaving" -- I've heard them called punk folk. Sounds about right. What I like best, though, are the lyrics. John K. Sampson is a modern day Carl Sandburg***.

"Things We Lost in the Fire" -- Do I love it because it's so dark? Maybe.

"Demon Days" -- don't question...just listen

"OK Computer" -- Since it came out in '98, I'm using an exception, unless I find that you're not having any of it.

"Winners Never Quit" -- I take back what I said about "Things We Lost in the Fire." This one is dark.

"100 Grim Reapers" -- this one may creep into my top 10. It's from Peter Brant, who used to be local and now seems to have a crazy following. One of the songs on here ("Pack of Light Blue Birds") is in my top 10 songs of all time.

*I reserve the right to make some changes while awaiting the completion of submissions. You may also reserve the same right, provided you recognize that once it's on, it's on.

**Nate has never bothered to listen to it, though he hates it all the same. Nate is the poorer for it.

***If Carl Sandburg were actually a good poet, still worth reading.

It's Death Match '99.

Now it's your turn.