#19

Z by My Morning Jacket (2005)



It was hard for me to decide which MMJ album to put on this list. I own two of their other albums, At Dawn and It Still Moves. Both of these are epic, American rock masterpieces. They ramble through the sunny brightness and gothic darkness of Southern-tinged music. And both albums are probably more representative of the Kentucky-based band than the lighter Z. However, Z is the most enjoyable MMJ record. With this album, the band cut down on album length and injected variation into their sound. There's a bit of the ethereal here, some soul there, a little jam band over there, some Beach Boys sounds here, and (of course) a hefty serving of Southern fried rock. In fact, My Morning Jacket's real draw might be their unique blend of straight up reverb drenched rock with a bright 60's style pop sensibility. This album is perfect for road trips on partly cloudy days. It conjures images of washing cars in July....getting soaked with the sudsy water in the oppressive heat. It's like going boating on the lake or vacationing at a nice beach. It's also great barbecuing music. This is a summer album if there ever was one. You can almost see the heat shimmering above the pavement. The standout moment for me is track 8, "Lay Low." This is a driving rock song. It begins with an interesting percussion beat with a simple but effective electric guitar riff. Jim James amazing voice enters from whichever dimension it echos from and the song gradually builds momentum. This breaks with the energizing second half in a flurry of guitar soloing. Two guitars get their chance to shine here, inter playing with each other over a plinking piano and driving percussion. I'm always so energized and just plain happy every time I hear this track. The atmosphere chills out a bit with the next song, then the sun finally sets with the moody last track. A great album by one of the best bands around these days.

# 20

I've decided to fashion a return to the blogosphere. The "indie" music nerd that lives so vividly inside me couldn't resist the creation of an essential album list. However pointless these "best of" lists are, I must take a stab at making one for my own inner peace. Album analysis is actually an extremely fun activity. Sitting down with (or hilariously dancing to) the exciting range of musical styles provides endless joy. Music can enhance the sensations and perception of your own world or they can vividly create their own. And joy can be found in the process of quantifying the very diverse music. So here I am, quantifying what I consider to be the best albums of this decade, the 00's, the Naughties, the Aughts, the whatevers. Keep in mind the strong subjectivity of this list. I am in no way trying to remove my personal feelings and associations with these albums from this list. Art mingles very strongly with the observer (listener), so I feel I should not try to disassociate my personal attachments to these works of art. These are very much my favorite albums of the 00's...



20. The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian (2006)


Belle & Sebastian have been a staple of the indie scene since their breakthrough album If You're Feeling Sinister in 1996. They basically perfected low key soft pop enhanced by witty storytelling lyrics. Ten years later they shifted their sound towards the rock end of the spectrum. With this album, they released an energetic soft rock collection of mini pop masterpieces. The tone is still very much light and fluffy, but the atmosphere contains an extra charge. The songs here are pretty much all major key and upbeat. The great thing about this album is the beautiful simplicity of the songwriting. We have all heard songs like this throughout our lives and the listener instinctively "knows" each song. While this doesn't provide much excitement from the exploration in new sound, it evokes a sense of comfort. The listener feels like they have always experienced good memories with this album. The familiar chord changes and sparkling melodies conjure a joyous sense of fun and happy nostalgia. Another great aspect of the album is the expansive production. All the songs sound vast and thick. Each instrument sounds heavy and syrupy. This adds a colorful dimension to the potentially boring songwriting. This is an album to dance to at parties (or on your own), it's for Sunday afternoon drives, it's an album to create bright, joyous memories to. One of the essential pure pop releases of the decade.