Albums
1. Franz Ferdinand (2004): Fun, fey, formidable, and just a tad forbidding. Great rock & roll, and a really strong collection of songs.
- In Rainbows (Radiohead, 2007): Past their own hype?
- SMiLE (Brian Wilson, 2004): Brian Wilson circa 1967 is in, and nobody does it better than him. Everybody misses the harmonies of The Beach Boys and the playing of the Wrecking Crew, but I’m glad he finished his symphony. Check out the Purple Chick mix to hear a different reconstruction.
- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Wilco, 2002): (KC’s review).
- Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (The Flaming Lips, 2002): Lush, corny, and deep, all at once.
Songs
1. “Young Folks” (Peter Bjorn and John, 2006): And I guess that they just don’t know.
- “Atoms For Peace” (Thom Yorke, 2006): Refusing to give up on those who do give up.
- “Bro’s” (Panda Bear, 2007): Chamber slop.
- “Chicago” (Sufjan Stevens, 2005): Letting go.
- “Clark Gable” (The Postal Service, 2003): Movie love.
- “Clocks” (Coldplay, 2002): There’s something kind of John Tesh about it, with Radiohead in the veins.
- “Crazy” (Gnarls Barkley, 2006): Great groove.
- “Gila” (Beach House, 2008): Dig that organ.
- ”Girls Of Wild Strawberries” (Guided By Voices, 2004): Bittersweet.
- “Happy” (The Wrens, 2000): Hurt but free.
- “Hey Ya!” (Outkast, 2003): “Shake it, sh-sh-sh-shake it.”
- “Kite” (U2, 2000): Another song about letting go.
- “Maps” (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 2003): Stay.
- “Mississippi” (Bob Dylan, 2001): His best song in a generation.
- “My Doorbell” (The White Stripes, 2005): A guitar hero picks up the keys and stays true to form.
- “Poker Face” (Lady Gaga, 2008): Catchy.
- “Read My Mind” (The Killers, 2006): The Boss meets Joy Division. It was a good decade for Ian Curtis tributes (c.f., Editors, Interpol, The National, even the Control biopic).
- “Scarecrow” (Beck, 2005): Beck does “Billie Jean.”
- “Someone Great” (LCD Soundsystem, 2007): Death is hard.
- “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone” (Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, 2003): Precious indie, but I like it.
- Madonna: “What It Feels Like For A Girl” (2001); “Hung Up” (2005); “Give It 2 Me” (2008): Sounds real good on the dancefloor.
- The Strokes: “Hard To Explain” (2001); “Last Nite” (2001); “The End Has No End” (2003); “You Only Live Once” (2006): The new old wave failed to make much of its influences, but… I believe.
