It was good to see Primal Scream get T50 as that record is top-5 of the decade for me. I haven't heard many of the other records on the list so far, but I'll be sure to check many of them out.
The only surprise so far is Is This It at number 23, bested by an album by The Thermals I've never heard of before. It's safe to assume Radiohead will dominate the top 20 considering Hail to the Theif's high placement, with all three of their other studio albums likely to make the cut. I can't envision anything but Funeral or Kid A taking the top spot given the indie-oriented nature of the list so far.
I'm getting the sense that when the dust settles once all the EOD lists are in, the Mountain Goats will have a significantly larger presence on AM than they currently do. Right now, John Darnielle's confessional-bordering-on-TMI autobiographical project is represented by two Bubbling Under albums (THE SUNSET TREE and GET LONELY), but this EDL list already has two -other- MG albums on it, one of which (TALLAHASSEE) shows signs of popping up on these lists with regularity.
I can't envision anything but Funeral or Kid A taking the top spot given the indie-oriented nature of the list so far.
I wouldn't be too surprised if Kid A and Funeral took one and two on every single indie-oriented decade list.
Surprising to see Strawberry Jam above MPP. Jam is my second favorite album by AC, but to place it above MPP and Person Pitch is pretty crazy. So far I really like the list though.
I like that list too !
I have put Strawberry Jam above MPP on my top 200 list, and Feels is even higher on my list, for being one of the most evocative albums ever.
I'm really glad to see Relationship on Command earn the praise it deserves, it is my favourite "punk-related" album of the decade, the perfect mix of Nevermind and the Stooges.
The Body, The Blood, the Machine would not be that high on my top but still it deserves acclaim too, the first half is really great and A Pillar of Salt is the most energizing song of the past few years. Even if I grow up, I still need angry rebellion albums, I just need them wittier than in my teenage.
I still wait to see In Case we Die in a list... how could the critics forget this album
11. Outkast - Stankonia (LaFace, 2000)
12. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (DFA, 2007)
13. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights (Matador, 2002)
14. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (Kranky, 2000)
15. Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun (Fat Cat, 2001)
16. The New Pornographers - Electric Version (Matador, 2003)
17. Radiohead - Amnesiac (Capitol, 2001)
18. The Knife - Silent Shout (Mute, 2006)
19. The National - Boxer (Beggars Banquet, 2007)
20. Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You (Kill Rock Stars, 2001)
21. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino, 2007)
22. The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine (Sub Pop, 2007)
23. The Strokes - Is This It (Rough Trade, 2001)
24. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command (Grand Royal, 2000)
25. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (Merge, 2002)
26. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (Island, 2000)
27. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (Capitol, 2003)
28. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks, 2007)
29. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino, 2009)
30. Battles - Mirrored (Warp, 2007)
31. The Mountain Goats - Tallahassee (4AD, 2002)
32. The Futureheads - The Futureheads (679, 2004)
33. The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed (4AD, 2004)
34. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar, 2005)
35. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (Def Jam, 2006)
36. M.I.A. - Kala (Interscope, 2007)
37. The Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island, Burn (2003)
38. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (Sub Pop, 2005)
39. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Wichita, 2005)
40. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell (Interscope, 2003)
41. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House (Warp, 2006)
42. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (Kill Rock Stars, 2002)
43. Primal Scream - XTRMNTR (Astralwerks, 2000)
44. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (self-released, 2005)
45. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (V2, 2000)
46. The National - Alligator (Beggars Banquet, 2005)
47. The Avalanches - Since I Left You (Modular, 2001)
48. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (Ba Da Bing!, 2006)
49. Deftones - White Pony (Maverick, 2000)
50. Sigur Rós - takk… (Geffen, 2005)
Radiohead - Kid A (1st)
Arcade Fire - Funeral (2nd)
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (maybe Elephant)
EIther Kanye West of Jay Z but not both
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Interestingly enough Hospice received a perfect 10 from these guys, so we may see The Antlers inside. Wouldn't that be exciting!
i don't think Antlers are top 10 of the decade material, though they are quite good (and their live show is amazing, better than their album) though i do like it more than In Rainbows so i'm rooting for it to at least beat that.
Aw man, I was pretty happy with this list until they revealed #10-#1. How could they leave out In Rainbows? Also, Funeral is definitely not better than YHF, Moon and Antarctica, or Kid A. I'm disappointed. :(
I agree. Funeral is great, but Foxtrot and Kid A redefined the way music sounds, where as Funeral leans pretty heavily on late 70s Bowie and early 80s post-punk.
Still a great album, I just think #1 is a tad high.
i bought The Moon and Antarctica based off Pitchfork's list and i must say i'm rather disappointed with it. it's a good album, it starts off strong (not masterpiece strong, but strong) and then it gets lost in a sea of filler with a few other good songs sprinkled in. Not top 10 of the decade for me at all. On another note i'm glad In Rainbows isn't in the top 10. Perhaps it belongs on the list but I'm not so rabid a fan as many on here.
i bought The Moon and Antarctica based off Pitchfork's list and i must say i'm rather disappointed with it. it's a good album, it starts off strong (not masterpiece strong, but strong) and then it gets lost in a sea of filler with a few other good songs sprinkled in. Not top 10 of the decade for me at all. On another note i'm glad In Rainbows isn't in the top 10. Perhaps it belongs on the list but I'm not so rabid a fan as many on here.
Yes! thank you those are my thoughts exactly. The first three songs are great, but I can't really listen to the rest. I can't understand all of the acclaim.
Moon & Antarctica isn't the type of album where every song's great, but it all builds up the a fantastic mood piece.
I feel the same way about The Glow Part 2. Both are more about the album as a whole than about what songs you can break off and put on your ipod shuffle.
I agree. Funeral is great, but Foxtrot and Kid A redefined the way music sounds, where as Funeral leans pretty heavily on late 70s Bowie and early 80s post-punk.
Still a great album, I just think #1 is a tad high.
What exactly is it about YHF that's so groundbreaking? I like it, but I've never really thought of it as innovative. I mean, a song like Heavy Metal Drummer is just pure power pop.
Heavy metal Drummer isn't innovative...but songs like "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", "Radio Cure", "Ashes of America Flags" and "Poor Places" are.
The choices in sound and arrangements show great ingenuity. The combination of John Cage-esque
musique concrète with Wilco's more traditional influences (Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Big Star) makes YHF the most engaging album of the 00s to me. It works both on an intellectual level and on a more populist level.
YHF is also more subtractive than additive. Where as an album like The Soft Bulletin, Funeral, or heck, even Wilco's own Summerteeth pumps up the music with ornate instrumentation, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's use of sound is very economical. There might be dozens of different sounds in "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", but they always come on at different times, so as to never overwhelm the listener until the climax.
The album is about communication, and imo the noise represents the emotional static that gets between us in every day life. The lyrics and and the occasional monotone vocals support this. I always admired the album because every artistic choice seemed tempered instead of being made "for music's sake".
I really think YHF is every bit as original as Kid A. It might not be as weird as Kid A, but it definitely carved out it's own niche and unmistakeable sound without eschewing songcraft, and it deserves praise for that.
Maybe I haven't totally answered why it's innovative, but at least I hope I've answered why I think it's one of the finest albums of the decade.