The List (Part 4)

For 100-91 (Part 1), click HERE.
For 90-81 (Part 2), click HERE.
For 90-71 (Part 3), click HERE.

70) The Thrills - So Much For The City (2003)
For a band born and bred in Ireland, these guys sure have a thing for California. With song titles that include "Big Sur," "Santa Cruz," and "Don't Steal Our Sun," you'd think The Thrills stole a page out of Brian Wilson's songbook. Sure this band got their big break on The O.C., but this should not undermine the musical complexity of this quintet's debut disc. Beach Boy harmonizing mixed in with organs, mandolins, and even harmonicas a la Neil Young make So Much For The City the most Americana disc this side of Dublin. The band's follow-up discs (2004's Let's Bottle Bohemia and 2007's Teenager) went largely unnoticed, but do manage to recreate the formula from City.


69) Beck - Sea Change (2002)
2002 marked a new a milestone for Beck with the appropriately titled Sea Change. Known mostly for his largely experimental catalog and signature idiosyncratic lyrical flow, this album is a complete departure for Mr. Hansen -- one that highlighted his ability to get a little sentimental on us. A record that revolves heavily around the ending of a relationship, this one's a tearjerker, as evidenced by tunes such as "Guess I'm Doing Fine," Lonesome Tears," and "Lost Cause". The formula seemed to work for Beck, as this was his highest charting album to date -- hitting the coveted #8 spot on the Billboard 200. Oddly enough, one of the record's cuts, "The Golden Age," was used as World Series music.


68) Coldplay - Viva La Vida (2008)
Chris Martin (and the other three anonymous Coldplay band members) could have given us a second helping of the slop that was 2005's X&Y. But instead they opted to get their hands dirty and really bounce back from mediocrity on this year's Viva La Vida. Featuring everything from straight up iTunesy pop ("Viva La Vida") to 90's shoegaze ("Yes"), Coldplay really took advantage of Brian Eno's expertise on this new one. I'll spare the details on this one because I am sick of writing about this band. But if you're so inclined, much more of my take on this disc can be found HERE.


67) Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll (2005)
The debut from these South-Londoners ushered in a new genre of rock known as "art wave" in Great Britain -- a movement that included fellow countrymen Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. Calling a spade a spade, this music is as barebones as it gets: layered three-chord crunch backed by Eddie Argos' straight-to-the-point storytelling lyrical sense. Just listen to "Good Weekend" and you'll see that these art punks are as down to Earth as rockers get. They get my seal of approval based on their live show alone -- one that often includes a white screen with projected lyrics as they are spewed from Argos' mouth.


66) Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways (2006)
American V, the final sessions before the legend's passing, is a celebration of his life as much as it's a foreshadowing of Cash's death. The morbid crackle in his voice is an instrument all its own on the album -- one that is as crucial as any other on Highways. Cash was a trooper during these final sessions, even boldly recording the days following wife June Carter's death. This album is wonderful bookend to an illustrious career, and even debuted at number one -- his first since Live At San Quentin in 1969. The standout track is "Like The 309" -- Cash's heartbreaking last original and solid indicator that the Man In Black was finally at peace before leaving us.


65) The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)
Before UPS drove "Such Great Heights" into the ground with their incessant ad campaigns, Death Cab's Ben Gibbard and Dntel's Jimmy Taborello collaborated on a pretty sweet electric indie side project about five years ago -- one that got so big, it managed to (at the time) eclipse each member's respective main project. The album went gold before any Death Cab For Cutie album ever earned this status. Spawning several hit singles that were featured in countless movies, television shows, and commercials, this was really the album that put Gibbard on the map. But don't hold your breath for another Postal Service album anytime soon -- Gibbard's got his hands full with Death Cab right now, and in May, Ben was quoted as saying that he doesn't expect to release another PS album "before the end of the decade."


64) Bruce Springsteen - Magic (2007)
Again, I'm biased to musicians who hail from the Garden State. But even I'll admit it doesn't take a lot of convincing to throw a Springsteen album on this list. Although the man lost his touch in the 90's, he came roaring back this decade thanks to his 9/11-inspired opus The Rising and brought the E Street band with him. After a couple of side projects (Devils & Dust, and The Seeger Sessions) the band was back for good with 2007's Magic. And don't think age has softened Mr. Springsteen. Leadoff single "Radio Nowhere" is the most aggressive work he's given us to date. But there's something for everyone here that makes this effort, well, magical. Tunes like "Livin' In The Future" and "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" scream Springsteen from yesteryear, which is always music my ears.


63) Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (2007)
Girl's got some problems, but MAN can she sing! I didn't buy into the hype until I actually listened to this album a few times through. I will legitimately go on the record to say that if this walking disaster has the same good fortune as say a Scott Weiland (who is miraculously still alive), then she will be more than a one trick pony here. Bridging the (rather large0 gap between today's pop and classic 60's era Motown, this singer is also surprisingly a songwriter -- collaborating with Mark Ronson on most of the songs on her American debut disc. If she's ever sober enough to get her shit together and make a follow-up to last year's sensation, there's no doubt in my mind that we'll be hearing about this gal for years to come.


62) Kings of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood (2003)
This Tennessee-based Southern-rock/garage band consists of a trio of precocious brothers, and their cousin -- all of whom share the same last name (Followill). Youth and Young Manhood was a brilliant debut for a group who's members were mostly under the legal drinking age at the time of release. And whether you know it or not, you've definitely heard KOL before, if not on the TV commerical/video game soundtrack circuit. Before these guys struck it big in the States, they got huge in Europe where they opened for the likes of The Strokes and U2. Since the release of their debut, the band has put out two more phenomenal records and actually has another one on the way due this fall.


61) Bob Dylan - Modern Times (2006)
Sure, Dylan's voice is shot on this record. But then again, this man was never really known for his set of pipes. Modern Times is really a continuation of Love & Theft -- an album that departed from Dylan's stylistic folk rock and leaned towards pre-rock blues, rockabilly, and even jazz. Taking advantage of his exremely talented touring band, Dylan gives us lesson in how music used to be made before over-produced records became all the rage. At it's core, each cut on Modern Times sounds as if it was recorded in one take -- making this one anything but modern. Despite a few questionable lyrical references (Alicia Keys, really?!?!), Dylan's still got his edge as America's greatest living songwriter.

Where Beck's At [This Fall]

A week after releasing Modern Guilt, Beck announced the first dates of his headlining tour today, which hits the theater/ballroom circuit in late August. Nothing has been confirmed for New York yet, so let's keep our fingers crossed. Here are the confirmed tour dates:

08/21/08 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
08/22/08 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Festival
08/24/08 - Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphiteater
08/30/08 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09/19/08 - San Diego, CA - Street Scene Festival
09/20/08 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl
09/22/08 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
09/23/08 - Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium
09/25/08 - El Paso, TX - Abraham Chavez Theatre
09/27/08 - Austin, TX - Zilker Park, Austin City Limits Festival
09/29/08 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
09/30/08 - Minneapolis, MN - Wilkins Auditorium
10/02/08 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
10/03/08 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom

Guilty As Charged

With the exception of maybe Ryan Adams, I can't think of a musician this decade that has been as consistently prolific as Beck. And as as I'm sure Adams can attest to, this penchant for productivity can be as large a burden as it is a gift -- one day delivering universal praise, the next summoning up the wrath of every reviewer this side of Wednesday. Case in point: 1999's Midnite Vultures earned an 85 on Metacritic, yet was named the 50th 'Worst Album Ever' by Q Magazine. Sea Change, Beck's first effort of the 21st century, was arguably his best to date -- showcasing the post-pop troubadour's vulnerable side on a mellow collection of ballads that could jerk a tear from even the most callous of critics. After a brief hiatus, Mr. Hansen got back to his old self again, giving us the experimental one-two punch that was 2005's Guero and 2006's The Information (and even a remix album wedged in between). Although well-received by pretty much anyone who knows anything about music, these albums failed to catch on commercially, registering nary a blip on our our collective musical radar.. Down for the count? I think not. Alas, seemingly out of nowhere, Beck is releasing his EIGHTH studio album tomorrow, just a year and a half later. And it looks like he's back with a vengenance, recruiting fail-proof producer Danger Mouse and his good buddy Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power) to lend their helpings on the album's tracks. You'd think that Beck's experimentalist tendencies coupled with all this collaboration would amalgamate a wonderous wall of sound, right? Wrong. What we get here is the most stripped-down Beck record since Sea Change, minus the melancholy. Those longing the funk and swagger of an Odelay or a Vultures might be a little disappointed, but after taking a step back and forgeting that this is indeed Beck creating a minimalist lo-fi vibe, naysayers might discover that this is a solid effort by ANYONE. It doesn't take a keen ear to realize that this one's got some dark undertones. Leadoff dreamy single "Chemtrails" has distorted "end of the tunnel" vocals that croon about boats sinking and getting "swallowed by an evil sea." Not exactly sunshine and flowers here. The Sonic-Youth sounding "Gamma Ray" lists every natural disaster imaginable to man: hurricanes, melting ice caps, fires -- you name it. The jazzy "Walls" is about -- you guessed it -- walls falling down. The album reaches it's highest peak on the second to last track, "Profanity Prayers," which could have very well been b-side from the now classic SY record Rather Ripped. It's difficult to tell what Beck is thinking about at times (afterall he IS a Scientologist) but he doesn't exactly have to spell out that there is political element to Modern Guilt. But hey, this is an election year after all, right? And although this album is a vast change from his previous releases, this is not say that he doesn't have a good thing going on here. Beck has mastered the art of being consistently different, as remains the case with Guilt. The sum of the parts makes the whole thing pretty damn good.

My Rating: 7.8/10

Where It's At

It looks like everyone's favorite musical Scientologist is back. Although we've been teased with Beck's damn good single/video for "Chemtrails," little information has been circulating about Mr. Hansen's upcoming album. That is, until now. It was announced today that Modern Guilt, Beck's eighth studio album (gotta applaud prolific artists), will be released July 8th on Geffen. Other than hearing the first single, all I really know is that this one is produced by Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley fame) and will, according to Stereogum, "vacillate between economy and experimentation, hybrid and pop classicism, while consistently manifesting Beck and Danger Mouse's shared interest in psych-rock, folk, electronic minimalism and orchestration." Whatever that means. Anywho, Guilt has already been generating some buzz in hipsterland, and hopefully this will allow Beck to bounce back from 2006's forgettable The Information. Here is Modern Guilt's suprisingly bland artwork with tracklisting:

1. "Orphans"
2. "Gamma Ray"
3. "Chemtrails"
4. "Modern Guilt"
5. "Youthless"
6. "Walls"
7. "Replica"
8. "Soul of A Man"
9. "Profanity Prayers"
10. "Volcano"