Athens Ear Buds Best of the Decade, Part 1 (12-24-09)

Here you'll find Part One of participating Athens Ear Buds contributors' picks for Best of the Decade. Part Two will appear on Monday. These local musicians and music fans submitted varying numbers of CDs, and in the free and easy spirit of this year-old Athens NEWS music feature, I didn't feel inclined to enforce any rigid guidelines.

My list is perhaps the lamest of all, since it's missing a lot of the best stuff I listened to over the past decade. This is because two weeks ago my iTunes library got gobbled up by that evil spinning ball that plagues Macintosh users. The music files still exist, though without the library organization, finding them would be like trying to locate a specific author in a house-sized jumble of random books. (If anyone knows how to recover my iTunes library, please e-mail me at editterry@yahoo.com.)

So, while I like everything in this list, I'm sure that I liked a lot of 2000-2009 records better than much of the music that's listed here.

In these various lists, some of the formatting is inconsistent, including the use of quotation marks for album titles. This is my project alone, and I didn't have time to go in and add punctuation to hundreds of album titles.

As usual, Haffa's in Athens is the place to go for much of the music listed herein.

Thanks, Athens Ear Buds contributors, for a great year of music, and hopefully we can keep it going in 1010. - Terry Smith, Athens Ear Buds band leader

Josh Antonuccio, owner/producer of 3 Elliott Studio in Athens: Here are my choices for the 25 best albums of the 2000s:

1. Radiohead, "Kid A" - Greatest concept album of the decade and arguably one of Radiohead's most definitive sonic statements.

2. Wilco, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" - The quintessential expression of American life in the 2000s. Eerily prescient lyrics, significant production and a remarkably self-destructive approach to songwriting.

3. Arcade Fire, "Funeral" - This band relaunched the entire genre of epic and celebratory rock and roll with one U2-sized swing.

4. Sufjan Stevens, "Illinois" - Grandiose in its statewide scope and intimate in its personal dilemmas, this is Sufjan's best to date.

5. LCD Soundsystem, "Sound of Silver" - This album sounded like a classic only 20 seconds in. One of favorite finds of the decade.

6. Beck, "Sea Change" - The greatest heartache album I've heard in years besides #19 on this list and a classic in Beck's catalog.

7. The Shin, "Chutes Too Narrow" - It wasn't "Oh, Inverted World" but these songs stayed in your head for months.

8. Innocence Mission, "Befriended" - The lost classic of the decade and a truly beautiful album.

9. Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood" - The anti-folk and lyrical tirade which crowned Neko Case a queen.

10. The Strokes, "Is This It?" - Sure it had been done before, but thievery never sounded so good.

11. Gillian Welch, "Time (The Revelator)" - Desolate, introspective, and downright scary in its reflections on loss and love.

12. White Stripes, "Elephant" - The great garage-rock duo hit their peak and challenged their peers with peppermint power.

13. Panda Bear, "Person Pitch" - Meditative and hypnotic pop reflections that are as infectious as they are other-worldly.

14. Phoenix, "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" - They blew up after their SNL performance and for good reason. This album resonates with pure excitement.

15. Flaming Lips, "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" - Their greatest musical statement beyond "Soft Bulletin" and some of the best songs of their career.

16. Spoon, "Gimme Fiction" - It will go down as the "Sticky Fingers" of our decade... maybe.

17. Antony and The Johnsons, "I Am A Bird Now" - It's hard to believe that such a gorgeously aching voice can come out of this man.

18. Jay-Z, "The Blueprint" - A hip-hop prototype that shaped and re-formed a genre for the decade.

19. Sparklehorse, "It's A Wonderful Life" - Menacing, sparse and a drug-fueled bandleader. What's not to love?

20. Bon Iver, "For Emma, Forever Ago" - Synopsis: Man enters a cabin with a broken heart and leaves with a masterpiece.

21. M. Ward, "Hold Time" - His most refined and mature work, representing his step into radio-friendly territory.

22. Wilco, "A Ghost Is Born" - It wasn't YHF, but this album still stands as Tweedy's most penetrating and personal.

23. Grizzly Bear, "Vecktameist" - Sonically rich, persuasive melodies, and a formidable step for this four-piece.

24. King Khan and The Shrines, "What Is?!" - The Stooges meets Stax. Soul Insanity as it's finest.

25. Bows and Arrows, "The Walkmen" - Raspy disparaging vocalists and a terrific escapade into dark rock and roll.

Honorable Mention: Brian Wilson - Smile - One of the greatest gifts of the 2000s... The album we were supposed to get nearly 35 years ago.


Christopher Pyle, owner of Donkey Coffee and 3 Elliott Studio, plays in the local band The Jarts. Below I've selected my 50 favorite Records of the Decade (2000-2009), in order. (At the end I included a list of records that almost made it.)

1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco. Nonesuch, 2001

2. Kid A/Amnesiac by Radiohead. Capital Records, 2000 & 2001

3. Come On Feel The Illinois by Sufjan Stevens. Asthmatic, 2005

4. Funeral by Arcade Fire. Merge Records, 2005

5. Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams. Bloodshot, 2000

6. Give Up by The Postal Service. Sub Pop, 2003

7. All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2. Island, 2000

8. Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins. Sub Pop, 2003

9. The Love Below/ Speakerbox by Out Kast. Arista, 2003

10. Befriended by The Innocence Mission. Badman, 2003

11. Sound Of Silver by LCD Sound System. Capital, 2007

12. Fair Ain't Fair by Tim Fite. Anti-, 2008

13. It's A Wonderful Life by Sparkelhorse. Captial 2008

14. The Transfiguration Of Vincent by M Ward. Merge, 2003

15. Graduation by Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records, 2007

16. The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian. Matador, 2006

17. For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver. JagJaguwar, 2008

18. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes. Sub Pop, 2008

19. Abottoir Blues/ The Lyre Of The Orpheus by Nick Cave. Mute Records, 2004

20. ( ) by Sigur Ros. Fat Cat, 2002

21. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes. Saddle Creek, 2005.

22. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips. Warner Brothers, 2002

23. Love and Theft by Bob Dylan. Columbia Reords, 2001

24. In Rainbows by Radiohead. Tbd, 2008

25. Boys and Girls In America by The Hold Steady. Vagrant Records, 2006

26. Colour Green by Sibylle Baier. Orange Twin Records, 2006

27. Microcastle by Deerhunter. Kranky, 2008

28. Sea Change by Beck. DGC, 2002

29. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear. Warp Records, 2009

30. Elephant by The White Stripes. 2003

31. Gimme Fiction by Spoon. Merge Records, 2005

32. XX by The XX. Young Turks, 2009

33. The Woods by Sleater-Kinney. Sub Pop, 2005

34. Don't Give Up On Me by Solomon Burke. Anti, 2002

35. Feed The Animals by Girl Talk. Illegal, 2008

36. Drunkards Prayer by Over The Rhine. Backporch, 2005

37. 100 Days, 100 Nights by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. Daptone Records, 2007

38. Brother Sun, Sister Moon by MeWithoutYou. Tooth & Nail, 2006

39. Popular Songs by Yo La Tengo. Matador, 2009

40. The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place by Explosions In The Sky. Temporary Residence, 2003

41. The Greatest by Cat Power. Matador, 2006

42. Is This It? by The Strokes. RCA, 2001

43. Phrenology by The Roots. MCA Records.2002

44. I Can't Go On, I'll Go On by The Broken West. Merge 2007

45. Everything All The Time by Band Of Horses. Sub Pop, 2006

46. Light Green Leaves by Little Wings. K Records, 2002

47. Relationship Of Command by At The Drive In. Grand Royal, 2000

48. Soul Journey by Gillian Welch. Acony, 2003

49. Fever To Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Interscope, 2003

50. You Think It's Like This by Mirah. K Records 2000

Almost:

The Mysterious Production Of Eggs by Andrew Bird. Wegwam Music, 2005

Didn't It Rain by Songs: Ohia. Secretly Canadian, 2002.

Songs in A&E by Spiritualized.

Honey Moon by The Handsome Family. Carrot Top, 2009

The Milk Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom. Drag City, 2004

Challengers by The New Pornographers. Matador, 2007

Honeycomb by Frank Black. Backporch, 2005

Amerykah by Erykah Badu. UniversalMotown, 2008.

The Private Press by DJ Shadow. A&M Reocrds, 2002

April by Sun Kil Moon. Caldo Verde 2008

The Hour Of Bewilderbeast by Badly Drawn Boy. XL Recordings, 2000.

Sunday At Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan. Fontana, 2008

Sumday by Grandaddy. V2, 2003

Soul Journey by Gillian Welch. Acony, 2003


Dave Alexander, Athens' resident trainspotter and Dave Rave promoter: Coming up with my top 10 albums of the decade was a big challenge. I tried to pick albums I thought were the most important influences of this decade, not necessarily my personal favorites.

1. Radiohead "Kid A "(Capitol, 2000). "Amnesiac" is my personal favorite Radiohead album, but I can't deny Kid A as the decade's best.

2. Jay-Z "The Blueprint" (Roc-A-Fella, 2001). One of the best rap albums of all time.

3. The White Stripes "Elephant " (Warner Bros, 2003). Basic guitar and drums served with a heaping side of sexual frustration.

4. Arcade Fire "Funeral" (Merge 2004). I first heard of Arcade Fire when they played in Nelsonville in '08, so I was a little late to the bandwagon. The best indie rock album of the decade.

5. Outkast " Stankonia" (La Face, 2000). Original Southern-fried funk and soul.

6. Daft Punk "Discovery" (Virgin Records, 2001). This album didn't live up to the massive hype as the follow-up to "Homework" but it has withstood the test of time.

7. LCD Soundsystem "“ Sound of Silver (Capitol, 2007). Best indie-rock dance album. Bonus points for being witty and fun.

8. Burial "Untrue" (Hyperdub, 2007). The album that brought dubstep into the mainstream.

9. Girl Talk "Night Ripper" (Illegal Art, 2006). Girl Talk wasn't the first or best to do the mash-up, but he defined the genre with "Night Ripper."

10. Plastikman "DE9: Closer to the Edit" (Mute, 2001). Plastikman is an alias for Richie Hawtin. I doubt this will show up in anyone else's top 10, but minimal techno has been huge this decade, and this album was at the forefront - 300 loops from 70 records mixed live on a laptop.


John McVicker is a local NIMBY: Lots of these seem to be from the first half of the decade; maybe that's because I like to scrounge used bins, because music tends to become a favorite only after I've lived with it, and/or because Old Fart Syndrome leaves me incapable of hearing new musics. Picks are limited by my own horizons, especially by what is available at small but mighty Haffa's record store in Athens. I've resisted the temptation to include reissues, "greatest hits" collections, and multi-artist anthologies (except when they are about the only way to discover the music). Oh, and I limited myself to one album per artiste.

1. Manu Chao - Proxima Estacion: Esperanza (2001) ("Next Stop... Hope" indeed). This multilingual, Latin/reggae/punk/pop brew is as joyous and as raucus as a perfect party.

2. Michael Hurley - The Ancestral Swamp (2007). Yet another fine album by the Bob Dylan of UFO-spotters.

3. Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs (2008). The great man himself serves up a feast of unreleased and outtakes that together make up the Dylan release I like best from among a decade full of good releases.

4. Bennie Maupin - Penumbra (2006) Bass clarinetist Maupin teams with a couple of percussionists to create magical textures.

5. Various artists - Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Volume Four (2000). Smith's lost anthology, like Volumes One through Three from the early 1950s, gathers mostly forgotten but killer old 78s, jumping from genre to genre (e.g., Bukka White to Heavenly Gospel Singers to the Carter Family) and sequenced them in the improbable perfection that created Bob Dylan's and Michael Hurley's musical world.

6. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004). Intimate, thoughtful, melodic storytelling.

7. OutKast - Stankonia (2000). This wonder of an album goes in every direction at the same time... and gets there.

8. Various artists - Kwaito: South African Hip Hop (2000). Post-apartheid groove music; great, danceable fun.

9. Kate Bush - Aerial (2005). A wonderful two-CD suite after 10 years' absence - sonic honey.

10. Nawal - Kweli (2001). Afro-sufi spirituality, women's consciousness, exotic textures (she plays the "gambusi") and solid swing.

11. John Zorn - Filmworks XII: Three Documentaries. Zorn's ever-reliable rhythm stick is in top form here, over all sorts of nifty moods and textures.

12. Camille - Le Fil (2005). Human beat box creates complex and engaging rhythms (warning: mostly French).

13. Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs (2001). He's always reminded me a bit of Pooh's gloomy friend Eeyore, but there's no denying the beauty and grace of his collaboration with Sharon Robinson.

14. Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope (2006). Hooks to burn, amazing lyrics, fun!

15. Roswell Rudd & Toumani Diabate - MaliCool (2003) Jazz trombonist Rudd has fun with the best kora band in Africa.

16. Sinead O'Connor - Throw Down Your Arms (2005). Reggae with an Irish brogue actually works because of O'Connor's pipes and an amazing band.

17. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (2007). Poppier than usual; some fans were disappointed but I loved it.

18. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2008). A perfect breakup album.

19. Dobet Gnahore - Ano Neko (2004). Vocalist Dobet Gnahore and guitarist Colin Laroche turn traditional musics of West Africa into a sunny Euro-African gumbo.

20. Masada Quartet - Sanhedrin (2005). This always marvelous pianoless quartet mixes Klezmer with Ornette Coleman; the playing is phenomenal.

21. Les Negresses Vertes - Acoustic Clubbing (2001). An acoustic-French-worldpunk-lounge-cafe album that will keep your toes tapping.

22. TV On The Radio - Dear Science (2008). Imagine Brian Eno fronting the Beach Boys doing punked-up doo-wop over Afrobeat rhythms.

23. Various artists - I'm Not There (2007). Everybody you can think of dips into the Bob Dylan songbook.

24. Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun (2000). Jazzy, intimate, entrancing.

25. Kate Nash - Made of Bricks (2007). There's a bit of Lily Allen I suppose, and a bit of Regina Spektor here too, but the effect is all her own.

26. Franco & TPOK Jazz - Francophonic Vol. 2 1980-1989 (2009).

27. D'Angelo - Voodoo (2000).

28. Andy Palacio - Watina (2007).

29. Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade (2007).

30. Jack Rose - Kensington Blues (2005).

31. Tabu Ley Rochereau - The Voice Of Lightness (2007).

32. Gillian Welch - Time (the Revelator) (2001).

33. Orchestra Baobab - Specialist In All Styles (2002).

34. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000).

35. Cat Power - The Covers Record (2000).

36. Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart (2002).

37. Various artists - The Rough Guide To Highlife (2003).

38. Amadou and Mariam - Dimanche a Bamako (2005).

39. Lauryn Hill - MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2002).

40. Sigur Ros - () (2002).

41. Jolie Holland - The Living And The Dead (2008).

42. Radiohead - Kid A (2000).

43. Gorillaz - Demon Daze (2005).

44. Alela Diane - To Be Still (2009).

45. Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It (2008).

46. Various artists - Authenticite: The Syliphone Years (2007).

47. Cee-lo Green - Cee-lo Green & His Perfect Imperfections (2002).

48. Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse (2001).

49. Various artists - O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000).

50. Brenda Fassie - Greatest Hits (Narada, 2004).

-- Bubbling up under the top 50 --

Everybodyfields - Nothing Is Okay (2007)

Masada String Trio 50-1 (2004)

Vashti Bunyan - Lookaftering (2005)

Manu Chao - Siberie m'etait cont_ee (2005)

Missy Elliott - Miss E: So Addictive (2001)

Jolie Holland - Living & The Dead (2008)

Gnarls Barkley - St Elsewhere (2006)

Bob Dylan - Love and Theft (2001)

Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands (2004)

Little Axe - Stone Cold Ohio (2006)

Wilco - Wilco (The Album) (2009)

The Wrens- The Meadowlands (2003)


Greg Bikowski, bassist for The Bob Stewart Band and the Bikowski Jazz Trio, paramedic for SEOEMS: Here's a list of some of my favorite recordings from the past decade.

1. Charlie Haden, "Nocturne" (Verve, 2002). Of course, I had to throw in a bassist. This album is spectacular. The playing is superb.

2. Lucinda Williams, "Essence" (Lost Highway, 2001). This little gem was released after her "Car Wheels" album. Both are masterpieces.

3. Gillian Welch, "Time (the Revelator)" (Acony, 2001). Produced by her husband and guitarist David Rawlings. Simplicity at its finest.

4. Ray Brown Trio, "Some of My Best Friends are Guitarists" (Telarc, 2002). Ray plays with Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, and Russell Malone. Wow.

5. Mark Knopfler, "Shangri-La" (Warner Bros, 2004). It's a toss up with his "Kill to Get Crimson" (Warner Bros, 2007). I love them both and can't decide.

6. John Hiatt, "Crossing Muddy Waters" (Vanguard, 2000). I really think this is John Hiatt's best. It shows off his craft as a songwriter and musician.

7. Emmylou Harris, "Red Dirt Girl" (Nonesuch, 2000). Anchored and produced by Malcolm Burns, duets with Bruce Springsteen and Dave Matthews. It's sooo good!

8. Joe Zawinul, "Brown Street" (BirdJAM, 2007). Two discs recorded live with the WDR Big Band with Victor Bailey on bass. This thing moves all over the place.

9. Bruce Springsteen, "We Shall Overcome, the Seeger Sessions" (Columbia, 2006). This is just fun to listen too. Feels like you're there on the couch listening live.

10. Hilary Hahn, "Barber and Meyer Violin Concertos" (Sony, 2000). If perfection exists, this might be it. Hugh Wolff conducts the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hilary Hahn is the soloist.