What a dreadful decade for music. As bad as the film industry became, popular music is an engine driven by American Idol and the hip-hop fad of the moment. The days of the garage band making it big are all but dead. Any real musician runs to country in hopes of salvaging a career or at least making enough money to fund a living. But every dark cloud has a silver lining, and the aughts were no exception. Some of my favorites.
1. Saves the Day: Stay What You Are (2001) – While emo existed in one form or another since the early 1980s, former punk rockers seized on Weezer’s Pinkerton as inspiration for the weepy, teary-eyed and emoting song about love lost or never had. Most of the genre is pure crap, with the exception of a decent track here and there from a My Chemical Romance or Hawthorne Heights. But like all garbage there is a few treasures to be found.
Saves the Day was the prototype band of this genre, a label that may not entirely fit given the exceptionally dark and twisted lyrics and the seminal punkish-pop guitar work. Stay What You Are is like the Pixies meet Cheap Trick.
Several break ups and lineup changes decimated what could have been the best band of the 2000s. But the bands work will remain the high-water mark for the decade because of Stay What You Are, a classic album that does what classic albums do – capture a tight, creative unit at a particular moment in time. Short, sweet and to the point rock tracks, backed by that now too-familiar vocal style – but in 2000 the sound was resoundingly fresh after a decade of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder imposters.
What separates Stay What You Are from the myriad of copycats is the highly talented rhythmic guitar work and tight songwriting chops, not too polished, unlike the children it spawned. How I weep for what might have been.
2. Coheed and Cambria: Second Stage Turbine Blade (2002) – After 15 years of alterna-pop three-minute cheese, Coheed and Cambria hit the decade like a storm with Second Stage Turbine Blade, the concept album of all concept albums,. With lyrics and story from a sci-fi novel, the band blended cosmic geekry with epic lyrics. But the meat and potatoes was the rocky riffs, brilliant lead work and a hard rock attitude that brought out the best of influences from Rush and 70s progressive rock.
Nevermind the high-pitched vocals or that the lead singer looked like a castoff from “Where the Wild Things Are,” Coheed and Cambria’s first album was a galactic tour de force, ripping through instrumentals and tight rock tracks like the band invented it. Whether it was the other-worldy “Time Consumer” or the straight up rocker “Devil in Jersey City,” the band created a masterpiece that showed good music, no matter the scale or the time length of songs, will get attention and sell to any audience. The band enjoyed a brief stint in the MTV rotation for its efforts, proving the point.
Later albums proved worthy with tracks like “The Running Free” or “The Suffering,” but the band’s new found popularity brought out a pop and commercial streak that dampened the effort. Capturing Second Stage Turbine Blade again was impossible, as it should be.
3. Muse: Absolution (2003) – Muse is now a continental phenomenon in Europe, becoming the band of the moment for the pretentious set. But behind that facade of Radiohead-like coffee house pecking order nonsense is a band with terrific self-awareness that bases its self on musicianship and old-fashioned grit.
The solo in “Hysteria” may be the best pop guitar work of the decade. There for all is a brilliant bass line and rhythm build up, leading to an absolute killer tune that has become a television staple. The album is full of treasures, instrumental bits and the customary cheesiness one would expect from a band with the name “Muse.” European or not, they do rock credit and unlike their rabidly growing fan base, can at least take themselves unserious.
4. Joe Bonamassa: Sloe Gin (2007) – Bonamassa becaue a virtuoso blues staple in the earlier part of the decade as an opening act for B.B. King and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. His blues work hit its apex with “Blues Deluxe,” the 2004 album that combined the best of his efforts to that point.
While on tour with Steely Dan, Bonamassa listened to the crowd react to the band’s repertoire of hits. Bonamassa decided there he would change his approach to writing. He replaced his entire band and hired Kevin Shirley as a producer and created You and Me, a classic rock-meets-blues masterpiece that opened the door for a whole new audience.
It was all an appetizer for Sloe Gin, a myriad of cover songs and originals that featured plenty of acoustic guitar, as well as Bonamassa’s increasing range as a vocalist and player. Combining original blues elements and blending in various styles from country to hard rock, Sloe Gin was the next step in his evolution as a song writer and performer. Bonamassa quickly blossomed from a club player and a regular on the blues circuit, to playing before thousands, headlining festivals and touring amphitheaters on a regular basis – not bad for an artist with virtually no mainstream studio or media help.
Bonamassa’s work has created a template for blues and rock players to follow without bowing to the aplomb of the major studios – the grandest achievement of the decade.
5. Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf (2002) – Was it post-grunge? Post-metal? No one knew in 2002, and no one knows now, except Songs of the Deaf was one of the best rock records of the decade. Guitarist Josh Homme used his own de-tuned rhythmic guitar goodness to crank up the rock in a decade that sorely needed it. From “No One Knows” to the short-and-shrill “Millionaire,” the band’s approach to music had the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the molars. Driving drums, followed by an abrasive guitar and a bass that found its way through the creases, and an irreverent approach to music that was quite refreshing in the era of self-important pop princesses and rap mega-egos.
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Way to beat me to the punch. P.S. While not as awesome as other decades, per se ya honor, you just need to look in the right places. I’ll get to the full list once I have time to digest Them Crooked Vultures and the new Gov’t Mule on my road-trip later this week, but a for-the-moment primer:
Drive-By Truckers/Decoration Day, Southern Rock Opera, Blessing and a Curse, The Dirty South — Politics-schmolitics, and alt-country be damned. These guys RAWK, especially live.
Paul Westerberg/49:00 — An equally stunning and frustrating non-stop, continuous-play exercise in everything that makes Mr. PW one of the greatest songwriters of the last 30 years: sensitive balladeer, whiskey-soaked barfly, power-pop god, sentimental classic rocker. Best thing he’s done since the Replacements went the way of the dodo.
Marah/If You Didn’t Laugh You’d Cry — Philly’s Bielenko brothers may be the anti-Ray and Dave Davies of the new millennium, getting along musically and personally yet alienating bandmates to the point they rarely have the same players on consecutive albums, but they found the best, most melodically raucous combination for this album. Best Replacements/Springsteen/Faces/Beach Boys album never-before released.
To be continued…
I’ve got to throw Foo Fighter’s Skin and Bones in there.
1. Johnny Cash – American IV: The Man Comes Around. Recorded just before the Man in Black’s death. My favorite tracks are the title song, Hurt, and the Streets of Laredo, but the whole thing makes my heart ache.
2. Garden State Soundtrack. THE soundtrack of the decade, and it only gets better every time I listen to it.
3. Angels & Airwaves – We Don’t Need to Whisper/I-Empire. Tom DeLonge brought the same awesome energy to this band that he brought to Blink-182, and combined it with the the kind of epic songwriting and powerful guitar licks that haven’t been heard since the heyday of U2.
4. Flogging Molly – Drunken Lullabies. Can’t make a best album list without some Celtic rock, and this little beauty was the best of them all. Pure foot-stomping, fist-pumping, head-banging awesomeness.
5. Barenaked Ladies – Maroon. BNL is a perfect tonic for most of the modern rock bands- their songs are light and fun, and they absolutely refuse to take themselves seriously. One of the true highlights of my college years was seeing them live in concert, with The Proclaimers (the “I Would Walk 500 Miles” guys) as their opening act. Great stuff.
Honorable mentions: TobyMac – Portable Sounds, for being the best Christian rock album I’ve ever heard, and The Right Brothers – No Apologies, for proving that you can be a proud right-winger and still rock as hard as anyone out there.
Nice call with Flogging Molly! Pardon slight holiday pimp, but have you had a chance to check out friends of RF3D The Sandcarvers? Great Celtic rock from the US heartland.
Nah, can’t say I’ve heard their stuff, Eric. I’ll have to YouTube them.
Ditto Johnny Cash’s album…
Sufjan Stevens… “Illinois”… the only song I’ve heard about John Wayne Gacy — and it’s odd — in a good way.
Agree with Muse also…
The Raconteurs — Consolers of the Lonely… I like Jack White — don’t want to hear it.
European or not they do rock….they…being English and England not being short of a rock pedigree why would it be a surprise?
England has a rock pedigree?
I could have explained that line better. Talking to those in their 20s (at least the ones I’m in contact with), rock today is more associated with Radiohead – not exactly Black Sabbath. I’d say Muse (at least on Absolution, some of their newer stuff is rather eclectic for the hard rock label) is more beholden to the Sabbath tradition than the newer European-ized music like Coldplay.
Fair enough!
I’m having trouble remembering any albums I bought in the last ten years, so I’ve got a bit of a mental block — most of the stuff I bought the last decade was actually recorded before 2001, so it’s kind of difficult.
1. Cosmic Egg – Wolfmother – These guys are unapologetic, balls-out psychedelic hard rock. Fans of Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Soundgarden should definitely give them a try. At least do yourself a favor and listen to “Pilgrim” or “In the Castle.”
2. Wolfmother – Wolfmother – Yeah, they’re that good. Well really, it’s all frontman Andrew Stockdale. This debut album featured a completely different lineup save for him, and they had that classic rock sound back then, too.
3. Elephant – The White Stripes – This band’s also pretty much all about the frontman, but man, is he talented. Everyone knows “Seven Nation Army,” and “Ball and Biscuit” has a Robert Plant swaggering bravado that’s so authentic and all kinds of awesome.
4. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures – Sounds about how you’d expect: Led Zeppelin meets Foo Fighters meets Queens of the Stone Age. John Paul Jones has still got it and he’s the real driving force behind the sound, but Josh Homme and Dave Grohl make for some kickass collaborators.
5. And You Were a Crow – The Parlor Mob – Don’t let the tactless attack on Bush in the first song turn you off completely. These guys have real talent and obviously know what real rock is. They just need to drop the angry political jabs and crank the volume on the instruments.
Big fan of Wolfmother.
They must have forgotten about Coheed and Cambria’s epic rise from their single Welcome Home, that song i believe brought them up even higher, because that song was totally a new sound, and just had amazing riffs.
Welcome, Juranski! Thanks for the comment. Make yourself at home…
What about Light Grenades by Incubus? That is the best album since The White Album by The Beatles.
Welcome Ebyness. Better than “Rocky Raccoon?”
i would like to save the reputation of australian music of this decade from being limited to wolfmother (that really shouldn’t get a mention here at all as the only goal they have achieved is some slight commercial success overseas) by putting a word out for karnivool’s debut album themata. i cannot describe the awesomeness of this album. mylove for this album started with youtubing them, and after that video i went out to buy the album, thats right… BUY!!! it was just that good, i suggest anyone who reads here to have a looksee at this album, whether it be through youtube or some other means. seriously doooooo iiiit!!!!
Welcome, rock socks! I like Australian rock and would buy the album, but how can we dance when our Earth is turning?
Get Thunderstruck.
i hate fake “rock,” so i’m going to lay down some of the best in no particular order.
1. Metallica: death magnetic. metallica recovered from such an atrocity as ST….i refuse to name it.
2. Alter Bridge: blackbird. this cd does a good job at showing emotion without being emo! plus the idea of creed without scott stapp, you can’t go wrong there.
3.Shinedown: the sound of madness. no one can deny that as far as vocalists go, Brent smith is a god among mortals. and the new guitarist formerly of silvertide tries some different styles for the bands 3rd and probably most successful album yet.
4.Dope: no regrets. hard but not like the drug. they did a really awesome job on their latest cd which compelled me to get their whole discography. pretty impressive.
5.Foo Fighters: Echoes, Silence, patience & grace. this album really got me interested in Foo Fighters. so even though Nirvana is dead and gone it’s nice to know at least one of them survived the tradgic loss of cobain. i’m of course reffering to sir Dave Grohl. was the drummer for Nirvana and is now the single founding member of FF. he made their first album solo, and they have truly evolved and never once lost their touch of genius. that’s what i’m absolutely sure are probably the best albums i can think of in the past decade. i hate all those fake rock fags coming from every which way. there was only one good euro- invasion and it came and left before my time. acdc is the most overrated POS on the face of this pitiful planet. they suck so much because all their songs contain minimal subject matter, and have little musical appeal. they lack vision of a true rock band, they are just corporate sell outs who should never have gotten lucky. i’m sick of this BS emo crap. i can only hope that emo “music” slits its wrists in a successful suicide attempt! \,,\(0_0)/,,/ rock on all!
Welcome bob rocker! Rock on! Rock on, indeed!!
Totally with you on Death Magnetic and that emo crap of bull, bobrocker. AC/DC? No problem agreeing to disagree, not so much.
1: Coheed And Cambria – Second Stage Turbine Blade
2: System Of A Down – Toxicity
3: Wolfmother – Wolfmother
1)Coheed and Cambria:Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
2) Coheed and Cambria:In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3
3)Coheed and Cambria: Second Stage Turbime Blade
4) Coheed and Cambria: Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star Volume 2: No World For Tomorrow
5) Coheed and Cambria: The Year of The Black Rainbow!!!!!!!!!
WOOOO COHEED ALL ALBUMS. Year of The Black Rainbow already beats this #1 album.
HECK YEAH lol. In Keeping Secrets is just as amazing and creative and original as The Second Stage. and you have to give Coheed and Cambria more credit. A. The Story changes so the music has to. B. Each CD evolves to a new genre with a new twist without alienating you as to which band is playing the songs. C. They went through a time where the band almost broke up and died off, during which Claudio did some co writing which led to the “more mainstream not as awesome as SSTB” sound that people talk about. but I’m glad they get the acknowledgement.
I agree w/ Anonymous, Coheed & Cambria rock!! I’d put it in another order but yeah, pretty much awesome!
Welcome, Child of the Fence! Stick around!
Are you serious?! I think you need to learn about a band before you post something about them. I mean, I’m proud that Co. & Ca. got the number two spot…but they were never influenced by Rush you idiot. And ALL of their albums are equally as good as SSTB. This “commercial streak” you’re talking about is the COMICS that go along w/ the story! That, Kill Audio comics, and merch. That’s it. They’re not turning into KISS or anything. F*ckin’ learn your facts you ignorant prick.
Andrew you seem…what’s the word…upset. If you are the lead singer of the band or are married to a band member then I completely understand. Otherwise you could possibly be overreacting.
Andrew Kilgannon, They were slightly influenced by all good bands on the radio when they were growing up so technically Rush may have been one of them. BUT the reason people assume that Rush is their influence, is because of a misunderstanding. Claudio says one of the bands it’s safe to say they sound like, is Rush, and that when people ask about their genre the band says “we like to go with Progressive” Also, Dude rock on. the comics and all the stuff Claudio is writing, creating, and working on is super kick ass and I agree they will always be who they are and not like “KISS” and etc.
Merry Christmas, Andrew.
You kiss your mother with that mouth?
Wow Andrew, relax a little, sheesh lol. But, he does make some great points. Get ahold of The Amory Wars, read them and get a MUCH deaper understanding of the music of Co&Ca. Claudio is nothing short of genius in what he has done/is doing with the music!! ……oh and his hair is nothing short of awesome
oh, and Rufus….well done with the title of your page. ON THREEDONIA!! I have two cats. A Mancoon named Rufus T. Firefly, and a Tabby, named S. Quentin Quail…thought you would appreciate this
Andrew, how more wrong could you be? Claudio had mentioned on a couple of occasions that the idea for the story, (originally named The Bag.On.Line Adventures of Coheed and Cambria) was sparked by Rush, and the music shows traits similar to Rush’s. How could Claudio NOT be inspired by Rush, a band known for possibly the best Concept Albums up until Coheed and Cambria started making music. Although the newer Coheed music’s roots lie squarely with Iron Maiden (both Good Apollo albums.)
I bet you also think that SSTB was not at all influenced by the band ‘At The Drive In’. Heh, it’s OK – we were all clueless once just like yourself. Just remember: “Don’t let them scare you.”
However, my dear DEAR Matt. If you have actually watched “The Fiction Meets the Real” documentary, they’ll say in there that NONE of them ever really listened to Rush until AFTER the band was being compared to them… Yes I know Rush is “prog. rock” or whatever you want to call it and that 21:13 is a direct comparison to 2112, but that’s IKtSSE. SSTB is not a “Rush-type” album.
Go read this. 2nd or 3rd question.
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2005/04/14/Spectrum/Interview.With.Coheed.Cambrias.Joshua.Eppard-925299.shtml
Guys, guys, guys. Love to have you here, but we only get this heated ’round these parts on matters of Vince Flynn/Mitch Rapp vs. GI Joe. Don’t make Floyd bring out the dread pictures to hose anyone down, God help us please.
SSTB is a great album. IKSSE:3 no doubt was The Best album of the DECADE. Start to finish, the hard Rock thrashing, lyrical masterpiece of track 2. To the beautiful rhythm and musicianship of The Faint of Heart. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 kicked the door right open for Co and Ca, and haven’t looked back since.
ok, you need a voice from someone who doesn’t listen to the radio or watch mtv. so here i am to give you a true list of top 5.
1. Sound Tribe Sector 9 – Artifact. not only was this the best album of the decade, but possibly of all time. you’ve obviously heard nothing like this before. drummer is insane.
2. Coheed & Cambria – Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV,
Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness. it’s hard to pick the one that makes my list but in my opnion this is their most complete work. so much passion and complex songwriting.
3. Prefuse 73 – One Word Extinguisher. again, hard to pick the only album that will make my list because everything this guy puts out is golden, but i think this is the one that slightly stands out from his other releases. also, he has mentioned that this is his personal favorite. he is a genius. everything is perfect. every sound in the forefront or background is perfectly put. everyone i show him to, whether they are metal heads, country fans, pop slaves or hip hop gangstars, they are all like “damn who is this?”
4. Pnuma Trio – Character. This is the first studio release by this band but their first album was actually a live album. i think it makes a statement when a bands first release is a live album. but they really showed what they can do in a studio with this release. pure magic.
5. Infamous Stringdusters – Fork in the Road. i know this is coming from left field because of the genre but you have to sit down and listen to this. Virtuosos at every instrument. powerful song writing. really gives you good feelings listening to this. great album for road trips.
it was hard to keep it to five so i’m listing other honorable mentions from the decade too.
Fall of Troy – Doppelgänger.. amazing record, really hard to follow this one but they came close with phantom on the horizon.
Flying Lotus – Los Angeles.. this album is ridiculous. really is a staple from the LA beat scene, kinda defines what is going on out there right now.
Finch – Say Hello to Sunshine.. finch really shocked their followers by taking a huge leap in the right direction, leaving some of the more shallow ones behind. the difference between this and the last album is ridiculous. the songwriting is fascinating and the lyrics are so very deep. i see this as a prog album for sure. it was really hard for me to leave this one off the top 5 list but for some reason i did.
MewithoutYou – [A--> B] Life.. such raw passion that is never really explored in later albums. this is a very solid release front to back. they were really into what they were doing.
Minus the Bear – Menos el Oso.. hard to pick the one minus the bear album to put on here but they just can’t be left without being mentioned in the best of the decade, especially when saves the day was ranked first.
Sinead O’Connor – Throw Down Your Arms.. she was diagnosed with a life threatening disease and never thought she would sing again. she spent some time in Jamaica and became immersed in rastafarianism and decided to put out a reggae album. she recruited sly and robbie for the music and never looked back. this is such an amazing record. hearing an irish person singing reggae is surprisingly refreshing and she puts soo much of her soul into it.
skream – watch the ride.. my guess is you have never even heard of dubstep.
zilla – all iz.. completely improvised front to back. this is an amazing album alone but when you consider that it is completely improvised, no songs written prior to turning on the mics and recording, it just blows your mind. not to mention just 3 people in the band. this music will take you to new hieghts of consciousness.
oh, your welcome.
-http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=644472324
Vader: Ditto to your IKSSE3 comment. By far my favorite Coheed and Cambria album. There was so much beauty in that album, yet in still turned up the thrashing guitars to make a magnificent rock album. Brilliant.
ok, you need a voice from someone who doesn’t listen to the radio or watch mtv. so here i am to give you a true list of top 5.
1. Sound Tribe Sector 9 – Artifact. not only was this the best album of the decade, but possibly of all time. you’ve obviously heard nothing like this before. drummer is insane.
2. Coheed & Cambria – Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV,
Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness. it’s hard to pick the one that makes my list but in my opnion this is their most complete work. so much passion and complex songwriting.
3. Prefuse 73 – One Word Extinguisher. again, hard to pick the only album that will make my list because everything this guy puts out is golden, but i think this is the one that slightly stands out from his other releases. also, he has mentioned that this is his personal favorite. he is a genius. everything is perfect. every sound in the forefront or background is perfectly put. everyone i show him to, whether they are metal heads, country fans, pop slaves or hip hop gangstars, they are all like “damn who is this?”
4. Pnuma Trio – Character. This is the first studio release by this band but their first album was actually a live album. i think it makes a statement when a bands first release is a live album. but they really showed what they can do in a studio with this release. pure magic.
5. Infamous Stringdusters – Fork in the Road. i know this is coming from left field because of the genre but you have to sit down and listen to this. Virtuosos at every instrument. powerful song writing. really gives you good feelings listening to this. great album for road trips.
it was hard to keep it to five so i’m listing other honorable mentions from the decade too.
Bjork – Homogenic.. i can’t believe i’m not including this in top5 but i think this is a more personal album becasue of what it brought me through at the time and the amount of wisdom i personally gained from her.
Fall of Troy – Doppelgänger.. amazing record, really hard to follow this one but they came close with phantom on the horizon.
Flying Lotus – Los Angeles.. this album is ridiculous. really is a staple from the LA beat scene, kinda defines what is going on out there right now.
Finch – Say Hello to Sunshine.. finch really shocked their followers by taking a huge leap in the right direction, leaving some of the more shallow ones behind. the difference between this and the last album is ridiculous. the songwriting is fascinating and the lyrics are so very deep. i see this as a prog album for sure. it was really hard for me to leave this one off the top 5 list but for some reason i did.
MewithoutYou – [A--> B] Life.. such raw passion that is never really explored in later albums. this is a very solid release front to back. they were really into what they were doing.
Minus the Bear – Menos el Oso.. hard to pick the one minus the bear album to put on here but they just can’t be left without being mentioned in the best of the decade, especially when saves the day was ranked first.
Sinead O’Connor – Throw Down Your Arms.. she was diagnosed with a life threatening disease and never thought she would sing again. she spent some time in Jamaica and became immersed in rastafarianism and decided to put out a reggae album. she recruited sly and robbie for the music and never looked back. this is such an amazing record. hearing an irish person singing reggae is surprisingly refreshing and she puts soo much of her soul into it.
skream – watch the ride.. my guess is you have never even heard of dubstep.
zilla – all iz.. completely improvised front to back. this is an amazing album alone but when you consider that it is completely improvised, no songs written prior to turning on the mics and recording, it just blows your mind. not to mention just 3 people in the band. this music will take you to new hieghts of consciousness.
oh, your welcome.
-http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=644472324
Glad to see CoCa’s recognition…I never for a moment thought of them as pop and commercial, so perhaps I resent that. Love to see them recognized however, I’m always trying to share their great music with people I meet.
Many thanks to all those who brought up Coheed & Cambria. Nothing like catching up after missing the parties, and diggin’ what I’ve delved into so far.
I’m just gonna give you five off of the top of my head, because I can never definitively come up with a list like this. It just has never been possible for me to nail down things like this or carve them in stone. Carrying on… :
1. Coheed and Cambria – SSTB
2. Tori Amos – Scarlet’s Walk (Okay, it is no Boys for Pele, but still)
3. Porcupine Tree – In Absentia
Man, this is difficult. My mind automatically cancels the words “last decade” and searches the albums in my brain and I go to Priest and King Diamond and Aerosmith and Rainbow and Thin Lizzy and Color Me Badd and Savatage and Type O Negative and … well I think it is easy to see where my heart majorly leans to.
Doubly hard when one considers Air Supply did not record an album in the past decade.
Nor Grand Funk Railroad. Such is life.
More stream of consciousness nominees…
Slobberbone/Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today (2000) — Brent Best is Paul Westerberg with a twang, and occasionally even better in the lyrics department. Like any great rock and roll band, you never know when these guys’ songs are going to fly off the rails, blazing along all the while. Sorry, though. Rawk and roll.
The Drams/Jubilee Dive (2006) — Three parts Slobberbone + two parts Budapest One = angelic harmonies, go-for-the-throat arena rock, and more amazing words from Best. In a perfect world, Kings of Leon would be these guys “go-fers.”
Speaking of Grand Funk, I caught them locally with Kulick and they just rocked it.
No offense, Charlene, we’re thrilled to have you commenting in Threedonia, but “Grand Funk” and “they just rocked it…” If you look up redundant in your Funk and Wagnall’s you’ll find those two phrases side by side.
What, no one’s mentioned Tool’s 2001 album Lateralus? That completely blew the lid off any alternative rock or alternative metal album. It, too, has gone double platinum and received a lot of airtime. They were even Grammy nominated for the song “Schism.” They totally defied the commercialism that dominated the performing arts this decade and the ones before us, but yet no one wants to mention them.
I do have to say that I’m glad that Queens of the Stone Age AND Coheed and Cambria both have spots on the list, as well as Saves The Day. Good taste you all you guys! Considering Coheed is my favorite band, I’ll be biased and put their first album first.
1. Second Stage Turbine Blade by Coheed and Cambria
2. Broken Boy Soldiers by The Raconteurs
3. Rated R by Queens of the Stone Age
4. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3 by Coheed and Cambria
5. Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age
“Good taste you all you guys”
As much as I’d like to share the credit, that’s all Eric Porvaznik. The Dude’s forgotten more about pop music than I’ll ever know!
Anyone who puts GA1 or GA2 as the best Coheed album is flat out stupid. IKS is their best, followed VERY closely by SSTB.
And Andrew’s right, they never really listened to Rush until AFTER they were compared to them with Claudio’s singing, the rock opera/concept album/band/discography ideas, their musical style, and 21:13. Learn your shit before you go trying to trash a fan Matt et. al.
Your a fuckin idiot.. about the only thing u got right is the fact that it was a shit decade for music… Coheed and cambria .. such tracks as “the suffering” and “the running free” are the only worthy ones..? They are the tracks that are closest to pop trash not the rest of their tunes.. wtf? you know nothing.. and as if hawthorne heights ever had a good track????? waaaaaaa.. your insane
It’s “YOU’RE INSANE” not “your”, but you did spell “shit” correctly, good job
THANK you. Someone else who shares my opinion.
Duly noted, Rufus.
I dearly love pretty much all of the C&C albums and videos, but probably the best one is:
Coheed & Cambria – Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV,
Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
Audioslave. The only band I got excited about in the last decade besides C&C.
Los Lonely Boys are worth a listen too, if you like Texican style. I do.
Hmmmm, my opinion:
1. Coheed and Cambria: Second Stage Turbine Blade (I understand how some can love the later albums more, but for the post CoCa fans, ie Shabutie, SSTB is the stuff dreams are made of)
2. Florence and the Machine: Lungs (Newer album, but definitely one of the best I’ve heard in a loooong time.
3. Modest Mouse: The Moon and Antartica
4. Placebo: Sleeping With Ghosts
5. Citizen Cope: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings
Yeah, this was harder than I thought. Most of all my favorite albums were before the last decade. Kudos for mentioning Saves the Day, they always stuck out in my head.
What about Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Colors, Skyforger, Funeral, SMiLE, Van Lear Rose, The Moon and Antarctica, It Still Moves, The Formation of Damnation, and Miss Machine? There’s been TONS of good music this decade, it’s just not very visible.