In order to keep up with time, I'm cutting out the comments from ## 5-3. If you'd like those filled in at some point...ah who am I kidding? You're not going to ask, and I couldn't be bothered even on the off chance that you do.
Be under no illusions about this list. It is filled with terrific music. If you're in need of freshening up your musical tastes, or sceptical about the previous decade's music, why not try and get your hands on all or some of the albums I've championed? I may not convince anyone to become a Christian, but I'll be damned if I don't influence people's taste in music!
#6. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2008)
Why it makes the list
I care quite a bit about lyrics, which makes the placing of Bon Iver’s debut at number six a great mystery. Why? Because I have absolutely no idea what he’s singing about most of the time. It sometimes feels like I’m listening to an album by Chewbacca, so indiscernible are the sounds coming from Justin Vernen’s mouth.
I’m overstating the case, of course, and if truth be told, I kind of like the mysterious nature of the album’s content. Who doesn’t like a good mystery to be solved? And besides, musically, this album hits all the right spots. Great melodies, catchy guitar riffs, peaks and troughs - all with a constant falsetto-ed male voice high in the foreground. This is an album I thoroughly enjoy listening to, and what really surprised me is how well the songs translate to a live performance. The Bon Iver show at last summer’s Galway Arts Festival was outstanding. If you haven’t been introduced to Justin Verner, then do yourself a favour and get to know him immediately.
Favourite tracks
Lump Sum, Blindsided, Re: Stacks
#5. Put Your Ghosts To Rest - Kevin Devine (2007)
#4. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes (2005)
#3. Picaresque - The Decemberists (2005)
#2. Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams (2000)
Fact about the album
It is named after the word on a tee-shirt that Mariah Carey once wore.
Why it makes the list
For those of you who don’t know, Ryan Adams releases one album roughly every 25 minutes. Therefore it is little wonder that there are more than one of his frequent efforts on this list. But Heartbreaker was the first, and it remains my favourite.
It is a simple album, with plainly crafted songs void of frills and tricks (except for the opening track, which features 37 seconds of arguing about Morrissey). The opening proper is the foot-stomping, honky-tonk track ‘To Be Young’, but it is something of a false start, because the rest of the album most certainly doesn’t follow suit.
Rather, we’re “treated” to the expressed emotions of someone who has clearly just had his heart tossed into a blender which was then turned up to 11. But unlike many other albums dominated by heartbreak, Ryan Adams manages to capture emotions in a way that we can relate to rather than laugh at (I’m looking at you, James Blunt). There is a rawness about this album that I love. Just listen to the way he sings ‘Don’t Ask For the Water’ and you’ll see what I mean.
If the album at number one is unified by a theme or motif, Heartbreaker is unified by a feeling; a brutal feeling that most people with a heartbeat have felt or will feel at least once in their life. As one reviewer puts it, it is like the soundtrack to the last 10 minutes of a relationship. Adams manages to put into song many of the things which go unsaid. It is the album I wish I could write, but would never dare to because of how wrong it could go. It is also an album that gives country music a good name, and so for that alone it deserves to be praised.
What memories does it evoke?
This was an important “Declan: The College Years” album. From all of the feelings those years entailed to arguments with a classmate concerning which Ryan Adams album is better -- Heartbreaker or Gold -- listening to these 15 tracks brings me back to the days of Metric Spaces and Topology.
Favourite Tracks
Call Me On Your Way Back Home, In My Time of Need, Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
#1. Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon (2003)
Fact about the album
Boxing is a favourite sport of frontman Mark Kozelek, which might just explain why three of the songs on this album are named after boxers - Glenn Tipton, Salvador Sanchez and Duk Koo Kim. Also, the final song on the album -- Pancho villa -- is a toned down version of the earlier track Salvador Sanchez. I didn’t realise this until after roughly a year of listening to the album. I’m an idiot.
Why it makes the list
To call an album your favourite of a decade’s worth of music is quite something. Ghosts wasn’t an instant hit for me, but it had enough solid tracks to make me come back for a bit more. One of those was ‘Carry Me Ohio’, which is basically Sun Kil Moon’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘American Pie’. It fits comfortably on a list of great songs with the word “Ohio” in the title, with an instantly memorable/likable riff and poignant, autobiographical words:
Once I explored the album in greater depth all sorts of hidden gems just appeared as if from nowhere. There were tracks which catered for all tastes - upbeat folk, downbeat ballad, rock anthem, Mexican-sounding instrumental; what more could you ask for?
And then there’s ‘Duk Koo Kim’. Listen to that song four times in a row and that’s an hour of your life that you won’t get back. At last count, it stands at an impressive 14 minutes 32 seconds, but not a jot of time is wasted. Those first few strums are haunting, with the remainder of the song rising and falling every couple of hours. It is surely the piece de resistance in Sun Kil Moon’s repertoire, showcasing everything that Mark Kozelek is known for.
The thing I love most about Ghosts of the Great Highway -- the thing that puts it where it is on this list -- is how unified it is. It is no mere random collection of good songs thrown together. There is a thread running from track one to ten, which makes the whole even greater than the sum of its parts. This is an album lover’s album.
What memories does it evoke?
I rented the film Shopgirl simply because Mark Kozelek had a minor role in it and a couple of Sun Kil Moon songs were also featured. As a film, Shopgirl was anything but memorable, but because of its association with Ghosts of a Great Highway any time I hear the album I generally think of a rather creepy Steve Martin trying to woo Claire Danes which large black gloves. I’ll leave you to fester in that disturbing image.
Favourite tracks
Carry Me Ohio, Duk Koo Kim, Last Tide
Be under no illusions about this list. It is filled with terrific music. If you're in need of freshening up your musical tastes, or sceptical about the previous decade's music, why not try and get your hands on all or some of the albums I've championed? I may not convince anyone to become a Christian, but I'll be damned if I don't influence people's taste in music!
#6. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2008)
Why it makes the list
I care quite a bit about lyrics, which makes the placing of Bon Iver’s debut at number six a great mystery. Why? Because I have absolutely no idea what he’s singing about most of the time. It sometimes feels like I’m listening to an album by Chewbacca, so indiscernible are the sounds coming from Justin Vernen’s mouth.
I’m overstating the case, of course, and if truth be told, I kind of like the mysterious nature of the album’s content. Who doesn’t like a good mystery to be solved? And besides, musically, this album hits all the right spots. Great melodies, catchy guitar riffs, peaks and troughs - all with a constant falsetto-ed male voice high in the foreground. This is an album I thoroughly enjoy listening to, and what really surprised me is how well the songs translate to a live performance. The Bon Iver show at last summer’s Galway Arts Festival was outstanding. If you haven’t been introduced to Justin Verner, then do yourself a favour and get to know him immediately.
Favourite tracks
Lump Sum, Blindsided, Re: Stacks
#5. Put Your Ghosts To Rest - Kevin Devine (2007)
#4. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes (2005)
#3. Picaresque - The Decemberists (2005)
#2. Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams (2000)
Fact about the album
It is named after the word on a tee-shirt that Mariah Carey once wore.
Why it makes the list
For those of you who don’t know, Ryan Adams releases one album roughly every 25 minutes. Therefore it is little wonder that there are more than one of his frequent efforts on this list. But Heartbreaker was the first, and it remains my favourite.
It is a simple album, with plainly crafted songs void of frills and tricks (except for the opening track, which features 37 seconds of arguing about Morrissey). The opening proper is the foot-stomping, honky-tonk track ‘To Be Young’, but it is something of a false start, because the rest of the album most certainly doesn’t follow suit.
Rather, we’re “treated” to the expressed emotions of someone who has clearly just had his heart tossed into a blender which was then turned up to 11. But unlike many other albums dominated by heartbreak, Ryan Adams manages to capture emotions in a way that we can relate to rather than laugh at (I’m looking at you, James Blunt). There is a rawness about this album that I love. Just listen to the way he sings ‘Don’t Ask For the Water’ and you’ll see what I mean.
If the album at number one is unified by a theme or motif, Heartbreaker is unified by a feeling; a brutal feeling that most people with a heartbeat have felt or will feel at least once in their life. As one reviewer puts it, it is like the soundtrack to the last 10 minutes of a relationship. Adams manages to put into song many of the things which go unsaid. It is the album I wish I could write, but would never dare to because of how wrong it could go. It is also an album that gives country music a good name, and so for that alone it deserves to be praised.
What memories does it evoke?
This was an important “Declan: The College Years” album. From all of the feelings those years entailed to arguments with a classmate concerning which Ryan Adams album is better -- Heartbreaker or Gold -- listening to these 15 tracks brings me back to the days of Metric Spaces and Topology.
Favourite Tracks
Call Me On Your Way Back Home, In My Time of Need, Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
#1. Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon (2003)
Fact about the album
Boxing is a favourite sport of frontman Mark Kozelek, which might just explain why three of the songs on this album are named after boxers - Glenn Tipton, Salvador Sanchez and Duk Koo Kim. Also, the final song on the album -- Pancho villa -- is a toned down version of the earlier track Salvador Sanchez. I didn’t realise this until after roughly a year of listening to the album. I’m an idiot.
Why it makes the list
To call an album your favourite of a decade’s worth of music is quite something. Ghosts wasn’t an instant hit for me, but it had enough solid tracks to make me come back for a bit more. One of those was ‘Carry Me Ohio’, which is basically Sun Kil Moon’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘American Pie’. It fits comfortably on a list of great songs with the word “Ohio” in the title, with an instantly memorable/likable riff and poignant, autobiographical words:
Can’t count to
All the lovers I’ve burned through
But why do I still burn for you?
I can’t say
Once I explored the album in greater depth all sorts of hidden gems just appeared as if from nowhere. There were tracks which catered for all tastes - upbeat folk, downbeat ballad, rock anthem, Mexican-sounding instrumental; what more could you ask for?
And then there’s ‘Duk Koo Kim’. Listen to that song four times in a row and that’s an hour of your life that you won’t get back. At last count, it stands at an impressive 14 minutes 32 seconds, but not a jot of time is wasted. Those first few strums are haunting, with the remainder of the song rising and falling every couple of hours. It is surely the piece de resistance in Sun Kil Moon’s repertoire, showcasing everything that Mark Kozelek is known for.
The thing I love most about Ghosts of the Great Highway -- the thing that puts it where it is on this list -- is how unified it is. It is no mere random collection of good songs thrown together. There is a thread running from track one to ten, which makes the whole even greater than the sum of its parts. This is an album lover’s album.
What memories does it evoke?
I rented the film Shopgirl simply because Mark Kozelek had a minor role in it and a couple of Sun Kil Moon songs were also featured. As a film, Shopgirl was anything but memorable, but because of its association with Ghosts of a Great Highway any time I hear the album I generally think of a rather creepy Steve Martin trying to woo Claire Danes which large black gloves. I’ll leave you to fester in that disturbing image.
Favourite tracks
Carry Me Ohio, Duk Koo Kim, Last Tide
No comments:
Post a Comment