My Top 10 Albums of the Decade (Haas)

Before I start, I would just like to say how hard it was to narrow this down to 10 albums. I am sure I will get ridiculed for some of my selections but I was honest to myself and its what I came up with. The 10 spot was up in the air, so if I could I would like to list some honorable mentions before we get into the meat and potatoes.

Honorable Mention:

Robbers and Cowards, Cold War Kids

Rabbit Fur Coat, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

American Idiot, Green Day

Illinois, Sufjan Stevens

Sea Change, Beck

Here is my 10 favorite albums from the 2000s:

10. Farmhouse, Phish
People say Phish's albums suck and you gotta hear them live to really appreciate what they do. Well that may be somewhat true, but the Farmhouse CD was probably played hundreds of times by myself the year I graduated high school. It will always have a special place in my heart and I can't leave it off this list. The dreadful "Heavy Things" aside, this album plays straight through on my stereo to this day.


9. The Swimming Hour, Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire
Admittedly I listened to this album about 7 years after it was released. It is probably one of the most beautiful records I can think of. It is influenced by so many different kinds of music its amazing how it all came together. It has a song for everyone and transcends time. Andrew Bird's masterpiece.



8. Funeral, Arcade Fire
This high energy debut from one of the best emerging bands hit me right away with the song "Wake Up". Then I listened to "Rebellion/ Lies" and didn't look back. The lyrics, diversity in instruments, and just plain emotional rollercoaster that this album takes you through never gets old. I see Funeral as the ultimate coming of age record of the decade.



7. Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
At the start of the decade I would have never seen myself listening to any sort of electronic synth dance music. LCD Soundsystem is the group that changed all that. They brought me into the fold and opened up my ears to something new. Sound of Silver is a great party CD, and the title of the single "All My Friends" could not be more fitting.



6. Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Bright Eyes
Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis' studio experiment with synth may have upset some of their most hardcore fans, but it won me over. This album sounded so strange to me at first listen and I really couldn't tell if it was good or bad. Over time it grew on me and songs like "Arc of Time" and "I Believe in Symmetry" were ingrained in my head. After that the rest of the songs fell in line and I was hooked.

5. A Ghost is Born, Wilco
When this album came out I went to see Wilco at a bar near NIU. My face was melted. The extended guitar solos and experimental jams were refreshing and play great live. Jeff Tweedy plays guitar on Ghost more than any other Wilco record. This was Wilco's last great album and marked the end of Tweedy's addiction to painkillers. Hmm? correlation? Songs like "Handshake Drugs" and "Spiders/Kidsmoke" will never be composed again.

4. Elephant, The White Stripes
When "Seven Nation Army" got massive radio play The White Stripes blew up. While they probably gained fair-weather fans based on that single alone, I could not stop listening to Elephant on the whole. Elephant is just absurdity raw at times and then you get hit with a country jingle. Jack White is basically saying take it or leave it, hate it or love it, this is what I'm giving you. Simple and catchy songs are littered throughout.

3. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips
When Yoshimi came out I was told by a friend that I HAD to listen to it. It was like nothing else out there, he said. "The 'she don't eat jelly' band?" I replied. Well I gave it a listen and saw how far that weird band from the 90's had come. Yoshimi is epic, its weird, and trippy. Yet it has so many songs to sing along with Wayne Coyne too. One of the best concept albums to date.

2. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Bright Eyes
This is one of the greatest albums from one of the greatest modern songwriters. Its like a modern day The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The sweet country folk on this record turns out classic song after classic song. They are intense and emotional and no one could do this except Conor Oberst. Its an everyman CD and a real piece of Americana.

1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco
To quote a fellow Claptrapper, "My favorite album from my favorite band, this was really a no-brainer." Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was a game changer for me. It made me realize what great bands who try something different and challenging can create. Take the simple folk song and then blow it up. At first listen it was chaos, but eventually it all came together. The lyrics and voice of Tweedy on top of the mixing of Jim O'Rourke and the late Jay Bennett make this album the best of the decade. I know every word and still hang on every note. When this claptrapper gets drunk, this is the first album he goes for. And this claptrapper gets drunk a lot.

Lala.com Review

Forget about any music you currently download for free before you read. This more about a legit music site that I think has moved in the right direction. Lala.com is one of my favorite new websites out there today. It blows away any music provider on the web. The founder believes that almost everything lives in the browser and I agree. Just think all the times you listen to music at home or at work. Instead of paying for those songs through iTunes for .99 a song or a monthly fee subscription based site like Napster. For Lala.com, the first listen is free, then all you need is 10 cents a song and you can listen any time you want in your browser. For the songs you want to download and listen on your mp3 player for your travels to the job or when your working out, you can buy a DRM-Free download for .89. You can also upload any mp3 you currently own to your Lala account for free and again since this lives in the browser, you can access it at any computer. It also has all the social aspects of the site if you want it, you can be given recommendations to artists and follow other members to see what they're listening to and all that jazz. There is no software, no advertisements, and you can access your music if you have an internet connection. I think giving the option to buy a web album or the mp3 and being able to upload anything you already own was a fantastic idea for music fans.

This is not a public service announcement for anyone who downloads pirated music. It's just an FYI for those who don't choose that route. This seems to be the best option out there. Below are some quotes from the press.


"This unique, inexpensive model enables Lala to do something nobody else can: offer an encyclopedic, licensed, on-demand music service that doesn't include a single advertisement."


"Lala May Have Just Built The Next Revolution In Digital Music. The company has the best streaming music product on the Internet today, and a business model that doesn't burn cash... It's the joy of using products like Lala that keeps me excited about startups."

Lala.com

My Top 10 Albums of the Decade (OD)

Over the next few weeks, members of Claptrapped will be posting their top 10 albums of the 2000s. Stay tuned for our Top 10 albums of 2009 sometime in December.

Here is my 10 favorite albums from the 2000s:

10. It Still Moves, My Morning Jacket
I really like this album top to bottom. “Magheeta” sets the tone right from the beginning. Heavy reverb on vocals throughout the album provides an eerie, but pleasant, sound. This is the album that turned me onto My Morning Jacket, and it’s probably my favorite album from them.



9. A Ghost is Born, Wilco
I’m not the biggest Wilco fan, but I love this album. It features a good mix of tight, solid songs and extended, experimental songs. While Yankee Hotel Foxtrot might be more well-known and have more allure, A Ghost is Born is a better album in my opinion.



8. Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
This punk-dance album is just plain fun. It features songs that build in energy to the point of explosion, the best of which being “All My Friends” – a song that begins with a simple piano part that builds throughout the entire 7.5-minutes. Other favorites on this album include “Us v. Them” and “Watch the Tapes.”



7. Apologies to the Queen Mary, Wolf Parade
My favorite aspect of this album is the way lead singers Spencer Krug (keyboard) and Dan Boeckner (guitar) alternate songwriting duties. It provides such a good balance, yet doesn’t sound disjointed. I love “Shine a Light,” and then two songs later comes a truly great rock and roll song: “I’ll Believe in Anything.”



6. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips
Although not as good as Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi holds a special spot in my heart. (Soft Bulletin was released in 1999, or else it would definitely be in my top 10 list.) The album is trippy and nostalgic, and it has a ton of songs that are fun to sing along to when you see the Lips live.



5. In Rainbows, Radiohead
Not only did Radiohead break waves by releasing this album early in an online format with a “pay what you want” option, but they managed to come out with a very solid album in In Rainbows. This album features one of my favorite Radiohead songs of all time – “Reckoner.”



4. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
My No. 1 album of 2008, Fleet Foxes was a breath of fresh air with an old-time sound. The vocal harmonies of the group and the songwriting skills of Robin Pecknold make this a must-listen album.




3. Funeral, Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire shows off its strong suit right from the start of this album – high energy, multiple instruments, thoughtful lyrics. The album flows wonderfully, especially “Wake Up” > “Haiti” (my favorite song on the album) > “Rebellion (Lies)”. Funeral is moving and uplifting, and it’s an album I can listen to over and over again and not get tired of it.


2. Boxer, The National
I don’t think I could count the number of times I have listened to “Fake Empire,” the first song on The National’s Boxer in the past couple years. The way the song builds with the piano and culminates with a swirl of guitars and horns sums up The National perfectly. I love the way the three songs in the middle of the album – “Slow Show,” “Apartment Story,” and “Start a War” – tell a story, and I think it’s the highlight of the record. Boxer plays with your emotions in an ultimately satisfying way.


1. Kid A, Radiohead
My favorite album from my favorite band, this was really a no-brainer. Kid A was way ahead of its time. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 10 years since it was released. I think part of what made this album so great for me was the surprise of it. I hadn’t read much about it before its release, and I was expecting something similar to the band’s previous release, OK Computer. The difference was shocking, and it showed why this is one of the most talented bands making music today.

2010 Lollapalooza suggestions

Today, the Lollapalooza mailing list sent out an invitation to suggest 5 bands that fans would like to see at next year's festival. Unfortunately, I can't find a link to the voting, so I think you have to access it from the fan email list.

I think this will be my 5 suggestions:

1. Arcade Fire
2. Beck
3. Wolf Parade
4. Yeasayer
5. M83

Who would you vote for?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Claptrapped.

There are several Halloween shows going on in Chicago this weekend. I am going to see The Monster's of Folk but all I can think about is what musical costume Phish will be wearing out in California. The band is playing Festival 8 out there and has promised to cover one of the following albums. What album do you think they should do? Something old? Something new? Something weird? Just please not something by Michael Jackson!

Past Phish Halloween "costumes" have included the Beatles ('The White Album'), the Who ('Quadrophenia'), the Talking Heads ('Remain in Light') and the Velvet Underground ('Loaded').

UPDATE: THEY PLAYED THE ROLLING STONES: EXILE ON MAIN STREET

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

A few months ago I opened an issue of Rolling Stone and saw a two page picture of whats posted to the right. It was the "Artist to watch" section. The picture alone had me intrigued because I have always had an affinity for what I guess I would call family bands. Its mostly groups that seem to eat, sleep, and live together at all times, but its really more about harmonizing and hitting joyous climaxes in songs...in unison. You know groups like The Beach Boys, The Jackson 5, The Mamas and Papas, The Grateful Dead, and even The Everly Brothers. Confusing lineup eh? Anyway, these guys looked like relatives of Devandra Banhardt but slightly-less weird. They look like your average run of the mill hippies instead of far-out cultist freaks. In other words not scary hippie. I continued to read and was even more perplexed to find out that there is not an Edward Sharpe in the band. The lead singer used to be the lead man of a punk/dance band called Ima Robot. This band did not look like they used anything with electricity besides a microphone. I had to listen to this. Their debut is called 'Up From Below'. At first listen I loved it. They are basically a psychedelic folk band reveling in the old styles of the aforementioned family bands. Its a bit 'chanty' and over joyous but is no doubt a record even your Mom might like. The first track "40 Day Dream" is very Motown and before you know it you are singing along to the chorus line " the magical mystery kind"! There are some who would discount Ed Sharpe and the Mag Zeros as a group making nostalgic music as a gimmick, especially given the lead singers background, but I dare you to not let this record grow on you. It seems like it was meant to be listened to on whole, but if you want a quick pick me up try out songs like "Home" and "Jangling".


They are playing at Lincoln Hall on November 27th.


MP3 "40 Day Dream"

Portugal. The Man - Schubas

Last Saturday was a day I was looking forward to for some time and it did not disappoint. Finally we were able to see Portugal. The Man at a small venue -- Schubas on Belmont and Southport. They had a hell of a performance at Lollapalooza in front of a much larger crowd, so I could not wait to see them at Schubas. Since they were playing to their core fans, I definitely felt a difference in music style. They seemed to experiment a bit more with their sound while still sounding tight. John Gourley came on stage of course with the patented hooded sweatshirt and his usual small talk in front of the sold-out crowd. They started the concert off in a way that would make any jam band proud. Portugal also pulled out some out-of-the-blue transitions to MGMT and Three Dog Night. They had a pretty good mix of songs from their four albums, which I was thrilled to hear. By the end, the four members from Alaska went through their set flawlessly and then came back on stage for the encore and rocked out to"Chicago" from their first album "Waiter: You Vultures!" It seemed to be a perfect way to come back from an encore. Overall the show had a ton of energy and emitted soul, rock, and psychedelic influences. I thought they really impressed the Chicago crowd.

The band afterwords hung around and took some pictures with us, which you don't see every day. Thanks for the great concert, Portual. The Man!

Below is a video from the sold-out show on Sunday at Schubas performing "1989" and "Our Way."

Zero 7: Yeah Ghost

I discovered this little band about 4 or 5 years ago just on a whim. I was just getting into downtempo electronic stuff at the time and happened upon Zero 7's The Garden. I had never heard a note of these guys and the cover looked interesting so, I picked it up. What I heard can only be described as infectious, warm, tight little songs just oozing out of my speakers. I later found out that this band was featured heavily in the movie Garden State. I have been a huge fan ever since. On their most recent Yeah Ghost, Zero 7 makes new inroads into their musical style. While mostly being known for Sneaker Pimps-like droning, catchy tunes, this time around they go for a more upbeat poppy sound. The core of Zero 7 is England's Henry Binns and Same Hardaker who have a flair for switching back and forth between acoustic instruments and electronic ones.

Sia Furler, an ever constant contributor is absent from this effort, however, newcomer Eska Mtungwazi lends her voice to a couple of tunes on the album. The first being "Swing", a song that seems taylor made for an ipod commercial, along with "Ghost sYMbOL", and aptly-named, haunting ditty that plays tricks with her voice. The high point of the album for me is "Everything Up (Zisou)", a track where Binns is credited as the vocalist. Something about the way his voice mixes with the foot tapping pace of the song has made it one of my most replayed songs currently.

Zero 7 always has a way of creating works of art that stay in my head and my stereo for large amounts of time and I think it would do most anyone lots of good to give these guys a listen. I do suggest however starting with their older stuff and going from there so you can follow the evolution a bit closer. This album on its own is probably the weakest effort by Zero 7... But that doesn't necessarily mean it has any less impact.

EDIT: Zero 7 will be playing at Metro on December 4th.

ALL of you should go.

Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer

I was pretty excited when I bought Sunset Rubdown's latest album, "Dragonslayer," earlier this summer (still can't get over that summer is over). It had received solid reviews from many sources, and I was already a pretty big fan of their album "Shut Up I am Dreaming." However, I just could not get into this album the first few times through. It couldn't grab my attention.

As you may or may not know, I am a big Wolf Parade fan. Spencer Krug -- keyboardist/co-frontman of Wolf Parade -- heads Sunset Rubdown, and I think this may have been where my initial disappointment originated. I wanted to hear Wolf Parade, but I wasn't getting it.

"Dragonslayer" is not Wolf Parade. It's a little magical, almost giving me a "medieval" feel -- like the music could accompany a story of kings , and knights and serfs and (yes) dragons. It does feature the classic Krug "Oh's" and "Ah's," as well as some strikingly visual lyrics. ("Hope that you died in a decent pair of shoes./You got a lot of long walking to do.")

This album has really grown on me in the past month. Once I stopped wanting it to be something it wasn't, it really set in, and now I find myself listening to it in entirety -- multiple times in a row. There are only 8 tracks, but each is a decent length, and each kind of tells its own story. The one song I don't dig all that much is the 10-minute final track -- "Dragon's Lair" (but I do love the word play of the song title).

So I'd say give this album a shot. It might not stick at first, but can definitely grow on you.

You can listen to the album on the band's Myspace page.

You're All Idiots

Craig's right. We're all idiots; any other way you choose to look at this would just be wrong. How else do you explain the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, Britney Spears, The NOW Cds, Daughtry, U2, Kelly Clarkson? Crap all of it. Has music or musical taste always been this bad? Growing up I can remember my 'sister' listening to jokes such as MC Hammer and NKOTB, and I'm sure there was a bit more crap floating around those days. Going back further I'm not going to touch the 70s and 80s, and corporate boy bands have always existed or at least as early as The Monkees, but lately it seems to be coming at exponential rates. I get a chill up my spine when even considering where we might be without the Internet giving life to independent labels. Without it would we be forced, even more so, to consume the likes of American Idols, Light Rock, and Disney Channel chastity rock? This is a problem, I can't just be imagining things.

The questions keep coming. Who's responsible for this? Is censorship winning? Illegal downloads: helping or hurting? Pearl Jam at Target? Wilco teaming up with the Chicago Blackhawks? Starbuck's Cds? Super Bowl Halftimes?

Okay I realize the last paragraph or so may have been a little if not completely confusing, but my question is simple: Is music decomposing in front of us? If so, whose fault is it and how can it be stopped?