411 Music Ten Deep 10.16.09: Top Ten Albums from 2000

Posted by Andrew Moll on 10.16.2009

From Outkast's Stankonia to A Perfect Circle's Mer de Noms and from Radiohead's Kid A to Elliott Smith's Figure 8, take a trip back to the beginning of the decade for the list of 2000's best albums in this week's edition of 411 Music Ten Deep!


(Disclaimer: All opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of 411 Music and its staff.)


Hello and welcome to the lucky number thirteenth edition of Ten Deep, presented to you by 411 Music. In this space last week I talked about the upcoming Red Sox-Angels series and little did I know that a few short days later Boston's season would be over due to the ineptitude of Jonathan Papelbon, amongst other things. I'm pretty sure I didn't jinx them or anything since the team wasn't really that good to begin with, so at least I can sleep somewhat well at night.

In completely other news, as you can probably guess from this week's headline, we're starting a new venture here at Ten Deep that will extend thru December and I am quite excited about it all. Before that, though, let's take a look at the (small amount of) comments and one very interesting e-mail from last week and the list of the Top Ten Garage Rock Songs.





"Psychotic Reaction" should be #1.

Shadows of Knight's 1965 version of "Gloria" was better than Them's... and a much bigger hit in the US.

"I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time" by the Third Bardo should have made the list (and been in the top 3)!
Posted By: Trashy (Guest) on October 09, 2009 at 10:18 AM

I'm aware that the Shadows of Knight's version was more successful than Them's but I disagree with you that their take was better. To me, no version, except Patti Smith's can really compare with the version by Them. Just my opinion of course.

Wouldn't Neil Young be considered the god-father of grunge?
Posted By: Mikel (Guest) on October 09, 2009 at 06:20 PM

Yes, he probably would be. I'm not quite sure how that relates to garage rock or anything mentioned in the column, but it's still true.

And finally, I received this e-mail last week and I now present it to you:

Regarding your comment about the Standells creating an "anthem for their hometown"; Sorry, but the Standells are all from So. California. Even more sorry; I am a life-long Dodgers fan (Red Sox 2nd).





The Standells performed at Fenway Park in Game 2 of the 2004 World Series, 2005 Home Opener, & 2007 in the ALCS playoffs when the sang the National Anthem. Also in 2007, The Massachusetts House & Senate passed a joint resolution officially decreeing the Standells citizens of MA and honored Dirty Water (performed by the Standells) as the official victory song of the Boston Red Sox. You can read about the Standells in the book "Love That Dirty Water - the Standells and the Improbable Red Sox Victory Anthem" (http://www.rounderbooks.com/archives/2005/02/love_that_dirty.html , available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Target, and other retail outlets.



Best Regards,



Larry Tamblyn

Founding member of the Standells

Now, assuming this actually is Larry Tamblyn (and I have no reason to believe it isn't) then I appreciate that he took the time to read and write and I apologize for incorrectly referencing Boston as the Standells hometown.

I actually didn't know about the joint resolution that had been passed so that's actually a pretty cool factoid. So again, my thanks to Mr. Tamblyn for writing me and hopefully we'll be seeing The Standells playing "Dirty Water" at the 2010 World Series. Now, on to this week's list.



Top Ten Albums from 2000



Let's all think back to the year 2000. We had survived Y2K and were right in the middle of the internet bubble that was primed to burst. Napster was the hot thing but it too was ready for a fall as Metallica got a tad bit perturbed about the whole "people getting our music for free" thing and sued the company. But most importantly we were witnessing a historic Presidential campaign as Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush battled for the right to be commander in chief. And since this is America, an actual election wasn't enough as we got an extra month of counting hanging chads just to find out Bush would be President. Musically, boy bands were at the top of the charts, with Britney Spears and more nu-metal bands than you can shake a stick at not far behind.

So let's a take a look at the best of the best from the year 2000 right after these honorable mentions.


Some Honorable Mentions: A Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms...; Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors; Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele; Pearl Jam - Binaural; The White Stripes - De Stijl




10. Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R


Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri's previous band Kyuss had specialized in heavy stoner metal and their first album as Queens of the Stone Age was full of distorted riffs that also managed to bring in plenty of melodies as well. Those two styles are merged even better on the group's second album Rated R. Calling QOTSA a group at this point may be overstating it a bit, though, as it was really Homme and Oliveri plus a rotating bunch of musicians including frequent contributor Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees. With this album Homme really began to open up his songwriting, especially on the poppier "In the Fade" sung by Lanegan and the moodier "Auto Pilot" with Oliveri on vocal duties. The band can still wail and rock, though with kick ass tracks like "Tension Head" and the drug anthem "Feel Good Hit of the Summer."





Rated R also gave the band a radio and MTV with "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" which is still one of the band's best examples of the marriage heavy and psychedelic riffs with pop sensibilities. The band would further perfect that formula for their next album, but this record stands as their transition from riff monsters to a band that was capable of creating songs that were powerful and chaotic ("Quick and to the Pointless") or songs that ended up in horn freakouts ("I Think I Lost My Headache"). With Rated R, QOTSA began to establish themselves as one of the best rock bands of the decade.





9. A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms


Much like Queens of the Stone Age, the lineup of A Perfect Circle has been a bit of a revolving door, but the group's core has remained intact, when former Nine Inch Nails and Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel recruited drummer Josh Freese and Tool singer Maynard James Keenan to form APC. Their debut Mer de Noms is a majestically beautiful hard rock record that showcases the passionate singing ability of Keenan. Combined with Howerdel's amazingly textured guitar work, it all combines for an emotional record that is heavy enough to compare favorably with Keenan's work with Tool but is also different enough so as not to be just more of the same. The album is incredibly atmospheric at times, with some extremely effective use of strings on standout tracks like the ballad "3 Libras."





Keenan is usually at his best when he's both aggressive and vulnerable yet always teetering on the edge with his emotions about to overcome him completely. We see both those sides on tracks like "3 Libras" and "Judith," his hell-be-damned condemnation of someone's trust in God despite all the bad things that have happened to them. Those tracks, combined with the killer groove of a song like "Thinking of You" and expressive lyrics like "I am, I will/So no longer will I/Lay down, play dead/Play this/Kneel down/Gun-shy martyr, pitiful/I rose, I roared/I will, I am," from "Rose" make for an stunning and original album. Allmusic.com put it best when they said that APC was a band "that nobody realized was needed until it happened." That sums the band and Mer de Noms up pretty well since they filled a hard rock void that has been left unfilled since the group went on hiatus a few years ago. Luckily APC is working on new material and hopefully a record as good as Mer de Noms is on the way.





8. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica


It's interesting to listen to The Moon & Antarctica nine years after it was released, since in the meantime Modest Mouse became unlikely rock stars. You hear the songs and want to figure out exactly what it was that the mainstream was able to latch onto from the respected indie rockers. But it's pretty soon before all that stuff goes away and you're left with fifteen excellent tracks that come together for one of the decade's better alternative albums. The band had made their name with spastic indie rock, but The Moon & Antarctica, their first major-label album, saw the bend strip things down slightly for an ambitious record that stretched the band's sound. Opener "3rd Planet" sets the tone right from the top, with a schizophrenic rhythm and some great Isaac Brock lyrics, like the genius "Well, the universe is shaped exactly like the earth/If you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were." The next track "Gravity Rides Everything" manages to be both restrained and sporadic and is another gem.





Atonal guitars and frantic vocals are all over the album, but they're also broken up by unexpected detours, from the disco bass line of "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" to the epic reach of "The Stars Are Projectors" that nearly enters into post-rock detours with the surging violins and grand scope. There are also plenty of pop hooks throughout these songs that give clues as to why Modest Mouse would find the type of success they have years later. The Moon & Antarctica is an imperfect record that sometimes reaches a bit too far and could probably be cut down a bit, but these imperfections are part of the band's charm. Isaac Brock is a fearless songwriter and this album is the best realization of his talents.





7. Elliott Smith - Figure 8


Figure 8 was the last album Elliott Smith released before his death and it saw him continuing in the lush pop direction he had so successfully moved towards with his previous album XO after years of being a lo-fi songwriter. Although it's not nearly as orchestral as its predecessor, Figure 8 still sees Smith working with different sonic textures that serve to highlight some of the best melodies that The Beatles never wrote. The lyrics are still self-pitying and depressive, but now done with a flourish. When he sings "Everything means nothing to me" or "But I better be quiet now/I'm tired of wasting my breath/Carrying on, getting upset," there's a certain beauty to it. Just like with The Moon and Antarctica not everything really works, I never need to hear "In the Lost and Found" again, but just as with that album, Figure 8 earns points for reaching beyond what we had heard before on previous albums.





As with all of his works, the specter of Smith's death inevitably hangs over each song, fairly or not. Certain lyrics can be read into far more than they would have it written by someone else; the ironic thing is that, like I mentioned before, some of those types of lyrics are presented in a sad-sack manner. Sure, there's a large sense of melancholy to the album, but there's also a sense of joy and hope that is unmistakable. Even when reaching larger heights and becoming more orchestral, there's still a feeling of modesty to the songs; it shows the type of everyman quality that helped make Smith so beloved. It's a shame that we never got to hear more from Smith, but there are still albums like Figure 8 with which we can appreciate his genius.





6. Q and Not U - No Kill No Beep Beep


Ian MacKaye's Dischord Records, the home to Minor Threat, Fugazi, Jawbox and numerous other punk bands, isn't exactly known for its sense of fun and danceability. Q and Not U looked to change all that with their debut No Kill No Beep Beep an album that was both dance-punk and aggressive indie pop. Despite any differences in genre they may have from the prominent D.C. bands of the past, Q and Not U still excel in the kind of jittery post-punk that so many area bands were good at. A song like "Hooray for Humans' sounds like it's in a hurry to get somewhere even it's not sure where it actually is, complete with non -sequiturs like "No scissors in bed/Tired of waking up/With a new haircut every morning/So it's no scissors in bed." The vocals are just like the guitars, acting as short bursts of noise that are on frequent attack mode. The result is one of the most energetic dance records you're ever likely to hear.





The lyrics themselves don't really seem to mean much ("It's the fashion self-informed/Versus Mr. Navy-Blue-and-Black/It's the fashion we contract" is pretty cool, even if it may very well represent fuck-all), but that completely misses the point. Q and Not U's lyrics are supposed to represent how they feel instead of what they feel, if that makes any sense. The slow-building "Kiss Distinctly American" may have lyrics like "We kiss goodnight with a firm handshake/And it's lights out for Catholic computers," but it's all about the feeling of the song rather than any religious statement. And if No Kill No Beep Beep feels like one of the most fun albums of the decade to listen to, that's because it is in addition to being one of the more original ones as well. It also stands out in its own scene, since it's difficult to imagine Fugazi yelling "D.O.W.N. and that's the way we get down!" with as much gumption as Q and Not U do.





5. OutKast - Stankonia


It's rare when a group has the ability to stand so far outside its genre and still be able to not only become a huge commercial success but also force the genre to shift around them since their impact is so far-reaching. But that's exactly what Outkast did with Stankonia, the critically acclaimed smash that made them superstars, but was also their last great moment as an actual duo. Andre 3000 and Big Boi have gone their separate ways now, but back in 2000 when they were still a cohesive unit capable of anything. And they tried it all on Stankonia, s sprawling, twenty-four track, seventy-three minute album that sure as hell reaches far beyond its means. But if there is anything hip-hop needs, it's more artists willing to take chances and there's no doubt that's what Outkast did best. Mostly, Stankonia is a fun album and it sure seems like the two had the time of their lives making it and never getting bogged down in much. Any group that can say "Cooler than Freddie Jackson sipping on a milkshake in a snowstorm," can't be taking themselves too seriously.





The album is taking to another level, though by the presence of two of the best hip-hop songs of the 200s in "Ms. Jackson" and "B.O.B." With "Ms. Jackson" Outkast constructed an impassioned plea to the grandmother of his out-of-wedlock child that touches on both personal and societal problems. With plenty of raw emotion and regret coming through in the song, it definitely ranks as one of the group's achievements. So too is "B.O.B." the song that Pitchfork recently named the best of the decade. I won't go that far, but it's definitely the most hyperkinetic hip-hop songs I can remember hearing. It's rapid-fire pace and kitchen –sink production is stunning no matter how many times you hear it and the best example of the heights Outkast was capable of. It's unlikely they'll get the opportunity to match it, but Stankonia is such a great album that the group doesn't need another statement as they out everything into this one.





4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven


I've fawned over GY!BE before in this column, but really no amount of fawning or accolades can really do the band their music justice. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven is but another example of the kind of powerful and moving art that the band specialized in. The album is a double album of four distinct parts, each around twenty minutes in length. It's an impressive effort and one that only a band like GY!BE would be able to even attempt without coming off as pretentious and foolish. That the band not only does it but makes it one of the best post-rock albums ever made is a testament to their unrivaled abilities. Better than just about any band, this one realizes that music and emotion don't just go hand-in-hand, but are in reality one-in the-same with music the conduit to which we are able to feel things that we couldn't have otherwise. Those types of experiences are all over this album and were what the band was so great at.





To break up the album into the four individual parts and their sections is to somewhat miss the point as the album is intended to be hears as one complete document. Besides to mention the stunning beginning of "Storm" with "Levez Vos Skinny Fists Comme Antennas to Heaven" is to the part of "Sleep" entitled "Monheim." It all makes for one wholly original piece of work that challenges conventions of the band and their work. It's easy to write off the post-rock formula of quieter start, slow build, bombastic end, but again, that's unfair to the work of the band, as Skinny Fists shows GY!BE tweaking their sound and continuously evolving. The fact that this album isn't the group's crowning achievement just goes to show how amazing their catalog as since a record this good simply adds to their legend instead of creating it.





3. The Avalanches - Since I Left You


Culled from an estimated 3,500 different samples, there's little that can be done to prepare for the barrage of melodies, hooks, songs and more thrown at you with Since I Left You. But unlike the problem that plagues fellow mashup artist Girl Talk, it never becomes exhausting to listen to; the album is such an infectious listen that it begs to be heard as many times as possible. And while Girl Talk songs end up turning into a game of "spot the sample," the Avalanches constructed an album full of shifting moods and feelings that could still be the soundtrack to your next house party. In fact, Since I Left You surely has to rank as one of the most purely enjoyable albums ever made. There's not a song on here that doesn't reveal something new about itself through each repeated listen, and that's just part of the fun since it's a great listen when not worrying about how it all came together.





Of course, the album almost never came together at all since, as you'd imagine, it would probably be difficult to get three thousand samples cleared. Somehow, someway though the album was released almost exactly as it was originally intended to, including a sample of Madonna's "Holiday" on the track "Stay Another Season." Thankfully, too since it's impossible to imagine the album sounding any other way than which it does, from the romantic opening title track to the manic "Frontier Psychiatrist." An electronic album made through the music of others shouldn't be this beautiful and intimate, but it is because the Avalanches did such a great job of not only choosing the right samples, but also putting them in the right place for the maximum emotional impact. Don't let any preconceptions about mashups or electronic music get in the way of your enjoyment for this stunning piece of work.





2. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command


At the Drive-In always sounded like a band ready to implode at any minute; it's what gave their music its unmatched visceral energy. So it surprised no one when the band fell apart earlier this decade right when it seemed like they were about to hit it big, but not before the release of their classic album Relationship of Command. Opener "Arcarsenal" is an immediate shot from a cannon that leaves no doubt as to the type of energetic and frantic rock the album is about to deliver. Singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala unleashes his blood-curdling scream numerous times during the record and it never loses its power as the rest of the band pounds away furiously behind him. Whether he's singing about the murder of young women in Mexico, non-operational ships, or ransom negotiations, Bixler-Zavala is always extremely impassioned as each word he sings is the only thing of importance to him at that exact moment.





Taking the emo of bands like Rites of Spring up a notch or twelve, ATDI made an earnestly aggressive album that is really incomparable in modern rock. The amazing thing is they're able to keep up the intensity for the entire album, never once wavering or succumbing to the temptation to calm things down with a ballad. Nope; when "Enfilade" ends it leads right into the crazy "Rolodex Propaganda" which heads to the powerful "Quarantined." Relationship of Command is all guns blazing, all the time. Unfrotunately, just as it seemed like the album and its lead single "One-Armed Scissor," one of the best songs of the decade, would break ATDI into the mainstream they splintered into Sparta and The Mars Volta. Any anger or frustration that was built up in the band was put to good use though as it led the way for one of the most powerful albums ever made that's as sincere as it is loud. That kind of combination can't be forced or created, but rather can only come naturally from a group capable of such a feat.





1. Radiohead - Kid A


Choosing Kid A as the best album of 2000 was pretty much a foregone conclusion for me. It not only stands out of place now, and not only did it stand out of place with what was popular when it was released, it stood out of place even with that people expected Radiohead to sound like. Following the success of OK Computer, people hailed Radiohead as the Next Great Rock Band, a title the group, and especially Thom Yorke, couldn't have been excited about. So what does the Next Great Rock Band do as a follow up to one of the best rock albums of all-time? Ditch the guitars and create an atmospheric and emotional electronic album, of course. There's nothing even resembling a six-string featured on the album until long after people expecting to hear the next OK Computer had turned the album off. It's their loss, though since Kid A not only exceeded what people though the band could do, but exceeded OK Computer as an album itself, guitars be damned.





Yorke's warbled and distorted voice stands out on the sparse opening two songs, "Everything In Its Right Place" and the title track. But "The National Anthem" proved that even though Radiohead was moving in a new direction they weren't completely abandoning the idea of making exciting music. In fact, no song in the Radiohead catalog has as much primal energy as that one. The free-jazz freakout is one of the most amazing things put to album this decade, and it's something the band smartly wouldn't try to recreate for the rest of the album. There's a cold isolation to Kid A that is never really comforting, but the reason the albums works is because it's never alienating. We're all in this mess together, so to speak. No album that year, and few since can match the quality and importance, not to mention the mythology, of Kid A; even with great songs, a classic album has to stand for something more than just the music it contains and delivers there. Taking the themes of Brian Eno and updating them for the twenty-first century only turned Radiohead into not the Next Great Rock Band, but instead gave them the title of World's Biggest Rock Band; it's just that they sounded a little different than what we've come accustomed to, and thankfully so.



That'll do it for this week folks, thanks for reading. If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to let me know, and make sure to leave your own lists in the comments. I'll see you all next week. And if you're out on your bike tonight, do wear white.