Sean’s Top 5 albums of the decade

Circulatory System – Self-Titled (2001, Cloud Recordings)

An album full of catchy sounds and melodies. From the very first track, “Yesterday’s World”, you are hooked. This album made my summer in 2005, four years after its release!

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Caribou – Andorra (2007, Merge)

Caribou’s Daniel Snaith completely blew my mind with this record. I loved his previous release, Milk of Human Kindness, but Andorra is in a league of its own. All of the tape loops, melodies, and beats you could want are in this album. I listened to it non-stop for about six months. The live shows are incredible too!

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The High Llamas – Can Cladders (2007, Drag City)

This album is a bit different for Sean O’Hagan and crew but I still love how mellow and happy it is. The perfect mixture of Burt Bacharach & Brian Wilson.

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Of Montreal – Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies (2001, Kindercore)

A great concept album from Kevin Barnes and this Athens, GA based group. Think Paul McCartney meets David Bowie!

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Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002, Nonesuch/Warner Bros.)

This album has always amazed me. This album made me a fan of Jim O’Rourke’s production skills and Jeff Tweedy’s voice.

Honorable Mentions are….

Yo La Tengo – Summer Sun (2003, Matador)
M83 – Saturdays=Youth (2008, Mute)
Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature (2007, Mute)
Belle & Sebastian – Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant (2000, Matador)
Jim O’Rourke – Insignificance (2001, Drag City)
Masters of the Hemisphere – Protest A Dark Anniversary (2002, Kindercore)
The Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (2003, Dirtnap)
The Clientele – Strange Geometry (2005, Merge)

I’m sure I’ll kick myself later about missing a few other great albums. It was a good decade, for some. Haha.

-Sean

Lance’s Top 5 Albums of the Decade

Someone once wrote in a music review that our generation currently possesses the ability to listen to more music, in more ways than any generation that has preceded us. It’s a strange thought, really. I’ve all but abandoned my car radio for my iPod; I read 5 different internet music ‘zines before taking the recommendation of a friend of mine in Baltimore via Facebook of a new band that put some demos on MySpace. And did I mention YouTube?

Anyways, for our first music post, we came to a decision: rather than give 3 long, overlapping “Best of 2009” lists, we would shorten (and expand) to a Top 5 format, so that readers could get a better idea of the tastes and leanings of the individual writers at this blog.

So, here goes (in no particular order):