So it is coming towards the end of the decade, and a wonderful decade at that. The past few days I have been thinking back and then the question arose within my head, 'What have been the best albums of this decade?'. So I thought I would do my own countdown. Choosing 10 is an enormously hard thing to do, so I am going to do my own top 4 albums of the decade. I am doing 4 because there are only 4 albums which I can put my hand on my heart and say I think are my favorite albums of this decade. I don't want to list any albums I am not 100% sure about. And bear in mind, these are MY top 5 albums of the decade. I would also like to point out that I have not done this in order of greatness or superiority.
1. We Are Scientists - 'With Love and Squalor'
Whilst I did mention that this is in no order whatsoever, I have to say this is definitely my favorite album of the decade, and I have no regrets after saying that either, it really is my top album of the decade. Released in October 2005, the album still sounds as fresh as a daisy to this day, four years later. I bought this album at the airport just before I flew to Florida for two weeks. I had heard 'The Great Escape', off of the album, and so was tempted to hear the rest of the album. I listened to it for the first time on the plane and I was absolutely blown away. The first thing that struck me were the drum-beats. Michael Tapper was the perfect WAS drummer and his use of offbeat rhythms and very mathematical beats blew my mind. I think any drummer could listen to this album and instantly appreciate the skill involved and the thought behind each tiny aspect of the drums. Unfortunately Tapper left the band after the album was released, and I don't think they will ever release any album as good as WLAS because of this. Every song is brilliant, simple yet so easy to relate to. Keith's use of delay and tremolo picking throughout the album has been a huge influence to the way I play guitar my self, the riffs aren't complex yet they work perfectly with the music and are extremely contagious. Every time I listen to this album I feel as taken aback as the first time I listened to it, and I think any album that can do that deserves a pretty high ranking, so well done, WAS.
2. Death Cab for Cutie - 'Plans'
Second up is another band that I first really discovered in Florida. Whilst over there, we went to Hard Rock Live to see if we knew anyone who was due to play in the next two weeks. Death Cab for Cutie were playing on October 31st, Halloween. I hadn't really heard much of their stuff, but me, my brother and my dad booked tickets anyway. They were touring to promote 'Plans' just being released, and so the set was laden with songs off of 'Plans', and my god what a brilliant night. That show has probably been the most influential to me, and the album itself is a masterpiece. The opening song, 'Marching Bands of Manhattan', introduces you to a sound that only Death Cab could call their own, and the song teases you with what is to come during the rest of the album. Organs, jangly guitar, beautifully arranged drums and the soothing vocal of Mr Gibbard dictating that 'your love is gonna drown'. What more do you want from the first track of an album? One thing I firmly believe is that 'Plans' is the best produced album I have heard, ever. Seriously, it is absolutely flawless when it comes to production value, and listening to this album with a good pair of headphones on is a completely different experience; you will hear things you wouldn't have previously heard, and the use of stereo image is incredible. If an alien came down from space and asked for an example of great production, you would sit that alien down and let him listen to 'Plans'.
3. Radiohead - 'In Rainbows'
So I'm sure you knew this was going to be here at some point, and well done you were right. But it has every right to be. After the mediocrity of what was 'Hail to the Thief', it was heart-warming to find that 4 years later they were still capable of producing absolutely brilliant, virtuous music comparable to the greatness of 'OK Computer'. 'In Rainbows' found the perfect balance between the all-out rock angst of 'The Bends' and the experimental voyages found on 'Amnesiac' and 'Kid A'. The first two songs, '15 Step' and 'Bodysnatchers' are very good examples of this, both songs proving their worth in different ways. Most of all, this album basically slapped the majority of bands and songwriters in their metaphorical faces, showing them all how to REALLY write songs and then perform them flawlessly in a live situation. The Scotch Mist video podcasts which they posted on Youtube proved this, showing the band playing the songs in their rehearsal space. 'In Rainbows' contains an array of emotion, the beautiful, dreamy quality of 'Nude' and 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi' and the frankly raw sound of 'Jigsaw Falling into Place' are very different, but they work so well together on the same album. 'In Rainbows' made a huge statement that they really are a band not to be reckoned with (excuse the pun) when it comes to musical ability and sheer talent.
4. Muse - 'Origins of Symmetry'
I have always loved Muse since I can remember first getting into music, and to be honest, all of their albums have meant a great deal to me, but I think it has to be 'Origins of Symmetry' that gets it's place on the pedestal. It still amazes me how this album was released in 2003; it is timeless. 'Origins of Symmetry' is simply terrific, and I think this was the album that told the world they were more than just an overblown rock band; they were going to take the world by storm and sell out stadiums. The opening riff to 'New Born', the main riff of 'Plug In Baby', the arpeggiated intro to 'Bliss', the general insanity of 'Hyper Music', this was a band that weren't afraid to go against the grain, experiment and create brilliant music all at the same time. Bellamy is a fantastic composer, and some of the more exotic, spanish-influenced songs such as 'Screenager' and 'Darkshines' are a testament to this. I think the heavy, dark quality of this album is what attracts me to it the most. I am a sucker for moody, dark music and this is bang on the money. Playing along to 'Plug In baby' never gets boring, either.
So there you have it, my top 4 albums of the decade. There are so many runners up I don't even want to list them, go and check my Last.Fm if you want to see my most listened to albums, but I believe those 4 albums have shaped me as a person and musician. Plus the fact that they are generally bloody great albums.
This took way longer than I expected it to but I hope you now know a little bit more about the music I enjoy. Please tell me what your favorite albums of the decade are, who knows, some of us could find a new favorite band... x
