Athens Ear Buds' Best of Decade part 2 (12-31-09)

Here's Part Deux of the Athens Ear Buds' Best of the Decade project. Five Ear Buds contributors are represented, including myself, which is somewhat disappointing since I gave everyone plenty of time. Oh well; that's the way the Ear Bud crumbles.

I'm thinking we need to find some new Athens Ear Buds recruits, to spell some of our faithful longtime contributors. If you know someone, including yourself, who knows a bit about music and would enjoy recommending their/your favorite releases in Athens Ear Buds on occasion, please let me know at news@athensnews.com. Participating Ear Buds contributors don't need to supply blurbs every week but rather whenever the spirit moves them. For new people, I'll send along format instructions and add them to my mailing list.

If we don't get some new blood participating, we'll probably have to shut her down. Many of our veteran Ear Budsters are getting burned out writing these things, and I'm getting tired of nagging everyone about it. - Terry Smith, Athens Ear Buds' maintenance engineer

Mark Hellenberg
WOUB-FM Public Radio producer & host of "Crossing Boundaries" and "Audiosyncrasies." Longtime Athens musician (Kincaid Road Band, Hotcakes, Aces & Eights, Hotpoint Stringband, Stella, Wingnuts, etc.). Here's some top releases from each year of the last decade:
2000: Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Ave. Vol. 2; Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2.
2001: Gillian Welch - Time (the Revelator); Spoon - Girls Can Tell; Nick Lowe - The Convincer.
2002: Morelenbaum 2/ Sakamoto - Casa; Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
2003: The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow; Calexico - Feast of Wire; Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers; Bill Frisell -Intercontinentals.
2004: Ron Sexsmith - Retriever; Bossacucanova - Uma Batida Diferente; Elliott Smith - From A Basement on a Hill.
2005: New Pornographers - Twin Cinema; Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche a Bamako; Eels - Blinking Lights; Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs.
2006: Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You & I Will Beat Your Ass; Ali Farka Toure - Savane; Los Lobos - The Town & The City; Idan Raichel - The Idan Raichel Project.
2007: The National - Boxer; Patty Griffin - Children Running Through; Iron & Wine - The Shepherds Dog; Feist - The Reminder.
2008: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago; Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Samamidon - All Is Well.
2009: The Avett Brothers - I & Love & You; The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin; Levon Helm - Electric Dirt; Baaba Maal - Television.

Pencil
Old punk, celebrity judge and shipping/receiving guy (aka Josh Ryan): Here's a list of (mostly) local and regional bands and people that have made the seven years I've lived in Athens a positive musical experience (in no particular order):

We March, the kings of Athens punk/HC/psyche damage. My hands-down favorite Athens band since I moved here in aught two.
Makebelieves. Like one flier said, "the sound of Aerosmith getting beat-up by Wipers." That works for me.
Snarlas, formerly Sister Shuffle. Straight-ahead punk with lots of biting commentary. They released a killer sevent-inch this year.
Skeletonwitch, Athens. Heavy. Metal. 'nuff said.
Endless vomit. Now defunct epic thrash unit.
Dragline Bros. Croonin' garage rock that rocked me for the past several years.
Revulvas. After dumping the "Loaded" part of their name and some line-up changes, this mostly female band still rocks with their punk out.
The Awakening. Hailing from Columbus and parts unknown, this epic-sounding crust-core band brought us a multitude of pummeling, politically motivated tracks. All collected in the "Eternal Blizzard" LP, The Awakening documented the most ferocious sounds coming out of Ohio at the time.
Black Dove. Pretty much Dennis Berendts' follow up to the Awakening, Black Dove continues the charge into a future-less fate.
Dismal. I might as well list everything Dennis Berendts breathed on.
NukkeHammer. Raw Scandinavian by way of Japan distorto-violence from Columbus... watch out!
Brody's Militia. This is what happens when a bunch of hick punks from Mt. Orab/Cincy/Lima combine their love for Deep Purple, Rupture and Tetsuo Array into a tornado of hate that's as violent and raw as their namesake.
Nunslaughter. Death is Metal, Metal is Death. Nunslaughter, Death Metal. The pride and lust of Medina, Ohio for nearly 20 years.
Scott Winland/Geraldine/Dropdead sons/Blackout Fest booking. I really shouldn't have to explain this. I love this man and all his fuggin' bands. He books the shows at the Union and organizes Blackoutfest every year...as if you didn't know.
Max wheeler, one down-assed kid who made many DIY punk events possible... Keep up the good work!
BrownTown/Bruce Manor. Ttwo house venues the really brought it in the last few years, providing viable alternatives to the bar show scene.
Andrew Lampela, Bandrew, Man-Goat, Clam Drool. Call him what you will but don't call him late to band practice. He's probably the most prolific musician in town and he just joined YOUR band.
Mike Makosky (aka, the psychedelic contractor). Guitarist, drummer and owner of Disjointed studios/records, Mike continues to provide music AND musical services to the area.
Chris Biester/ADR, proprietor of Casa Open Stage and founder/frontman of Appalchian Death Ride (and currently of one of the most unfortunately named bands in Athens), Chris is an artist of the first degree and has been filling the Athens area with his music for much longer than my seven years.
Deadsea. These New Wave of Columbus heavy metal stalwarts slayed Athens many times this decade.
Grafton. Garage-quakin' mangs of C-Bus are Union veterans.
1point3. C-bus cavemen with calculators offered brutal tunes in the vein of Sabbath/ Black Flag... Flag Sabbath?
kid panda hands/weedghost/goodbye goats. This is my catchall category of bands that included different combinations of Andrew Lampela/Jimmy Kaisor/Chris Poling, which just means it's weird as all hell. Thanks guys.
Heath Deadger. A late entry from our compatriots to the north in C-Bus, Heath Deadger impressed local house show audiences with their hyper skate-punk attack!
Locusta. Why isn't this band huge? Serious Death Metal from Columbus shredded a handful of bar and house shows alike and smote their victims with ease.
Raw Sewage/Pizza Hi-Five/all the Lima kids. Every punk I ever met from Lima was a super rowdy nut job and these kids get a shout out for that alone.
Insurrect. Metallic hardcores from Clevo dropped one full-length and became local hardcore fest/For Real Fest alums.
Tony Erba. Cleveland has a real knack for keeping hardcore punk dangerous, and whenever this ex 9 Shocks Terror menace comes to Athens, no matter what band he's in, you'd better be ready to duck and cover.
This Moment In Black History. Spazzed-out garage punk from Clevo saw Athens stages many times this decade.
Masakar. Cleveland's melodic hardcore juggernaut came in late with a smokin' 7" and a couple of jaw-dropping performances.
Appalachian Terror Unit. W.Va.'s Mountain Punx killed it with their "Greenwashing" LP, a savage indictment on environmental destruction.
Ray Houska/For Real Fest. Ray, who is now a teacher of small children, got his practice by organizing THE Hardcore Punk fest of Athens for five years, which saw many of the above-listed bands. Thanks Ray, and good luck in C-Bus!
Landmine (now Enzuigiri). This young W.Va. band knocked me out with their take on post-hardcore jams and was the catalyst for opening up an Athens/Parkersburg connection between "The Punks."

I imagine there's something I left out but that's probably my brain's way of crushing the false. Better luck next decade.

Terry Smith
Athens NEWS editor and Athens Ear Buds creator and eventual undertaker: Here's 25 of my favorites albums of the 2000-2009 decade. It's probably missing some favorites but after my iTunes library at home crashed a couple weeks ago, it was too depressing to go rooting around in the disorganized music files. Instead, I went into my work computer and put this list together.

The records are placed in no particular order since I liked them all. They reflect mainly indie rock and alt.country, with some soul, blues and twang thrown in. The list is heavily influenced by the fact that I never listen to popular radio, and as a result, am blissfully ignorant of the Lady Gagas, Taylor Swifts, Black Eyed Peas and Adam Lamberts (even though they might be great for all I know).

"¢ Ass Ponys, "Lohio" (2001). A fine album from this under-rated band, with one of my all-time favorite tunes, "Kung Fu Reference."
"¢ Lily Allen, "Alright, Still" (2006). Spunky, bratty, snotty and wickedly inventive songcraft. Lily's the sort of little sister who would pee in your Guinness.
"¢ Marah, "Kids in Philly" (2000). When my alt.country listserv was going strong, this album was in everybody's top 10, even though it's not very country at all. Songwriting chops galore, and rocks its ass off.
"¢ Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, "Hearts of Oak" (2003). My favorite album from that year, this one tells you why Ted Leo's a crown prince in the indie-rock world. Nice mix of indie rock and world beats, with biting political gunplay.
"¢ Volebeats, "Country Favorites" (2003). The title is pure irony, since among the country standards performed by this criminally underappreciated Detroit folk-rock band are the Funkadelics' "Maggot Brain" and ABBA's "Knowing Me Knowing You."
"¢ Shelby Lynn, "I Am Shelby Lynn" (2000). Lynn's best record, this one uses Beatlesque production on some tunes, with Lynn's slinky, sexy, soulful ballads carrying the weight. I'm tempted to add another of Lynn's 2000s CDs on this list, "Just a Little Lovin'" (2008), where she covers the tunes on Dusty Springfield's perfect "Dusty in Memphis."
"¢ Mendoza Line, "30 Year Low" (2007). I played this one a million times but never got sick of it. A pure breakup album, both for the band and the co-leaders' marriage. Some truly nasty divorce tunes, spunky to beat the world.
"¢ Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" (2007). A great album from this troubled gal. She has a once-a-decade voice, and knows how to write songs like a pro.
"¢ The Decemberists, "Castaways and Cutouts" (2003). My favorite of theirs, it captures this Portland, Ore. band before they became a bloated arena-rock parody.
"¢ The Model Rockets, "Tell the Kids the Cops Are Here" (2002). Joyful, inventive power-pop from Seattle. Band leader John Ramberg now plays in the Tripwires along with former members of the Screaming Trees, Minus Five and the Young Fresh Fellows. A twangier Model Rockets. I'm salivating at the prospect of scoring their October '09 CD, "House to House."
"¢ Patty Griffin, "1,000 Kisses" (2002). A beautiful album that features a great, sad song about making pies. (I first heard the tune at the Pawpaw Festival several years ago when Laura Nadeau and Stella covered it.)
"¢ Reigning Sound, "Time Bomb High School" (2002). Emotional, punky, rockin' blue-eyed soul with that special Greg Cartwright imprimatur.
"¢ You Am I, "Deliverance" (2002). This album introduced me to this Aussie supergroup, and I was an instant convert. If they'd been around in the '60s, You Am I would have been touring with The Who, The Stones, Cream et al. Check out their music videos on YouTube.
"¢ Mark Ronson, "Version" (2007). The hipster producer (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen) did a fine job combining the instrumental chops of the Dap Kings with a variety of vocal talent including Robbie Williams, Allen and Winehouse, covering tunes by Britney Spears, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Zutons, the Smiths and more.
"¢ Josh Rouse, "Nashville" (2004). Full of hooks and engaging '70s country-rock songcraft.
"¢ Rural Alberta Advantage, "Hometowns" (2009, though released in digital-only format on emusic.com the previous year). The dude at the All Music Guide has it right: "An unpretentious collection of amiable pop tunes filtered through a Wes Anderson ("Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore," "Fantastic Mr. Fox.") film."
"¢ Over the Rhine, "Ohio" (2003). Stellar folk-rock from this long-time Cincinnati band. They headlined one of the better concerts at Stuart's Opera House in recent years.
"¢ Yarn, "Empty Pockets" (2008). I've been raving about this country/bluegrass/rock band, and was blown away by their show at Jackie O's Public House during OU's Homecoming Weekend. Smart fellers, they dispensed with the mandolin and acoustic guitars, and went electric and loud for the raucously oblivious Homecoming crowd.
"¢ Eleni Mandell, "Artificial Fire" (2008). Every song a winner, she delivers on the promise of her fine earlier records. This is less quirky and more electric guitar-driven.
"¢ Florence and the Machine, "Lungs" (2009). Been playing this one constantly; her songs gradually morph, on the strength of elastic and confident vocals, from interesting pop tunes to arena show-stoppers. She's scary good, like Manny Ramirez when he was still in Cleveland.
"¢ Heather Myles, "Sweet Talk and Good Lies" (2002). Twang to spare with ample help from Dwight Y.'s band at the time. The great Peter Anderson et al.
"¢ Drive-By Truckers, "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" (2008). My favorite from this great Southern-rock band, iffin' you don't count their first three.
"¢ Blitzen Trapper, "Wild Mountain Nation" (2007). Psychedelic hippie trip-rock, or something equally ridiculous when you've got to say it all in 25 words.
"¢ Blanche, "Little Amber Bottles" (2007). Think Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra updated for the aught years with a rustic Brooklyn indie veneer.
"¢ Deadstring Brothers, "Starving Winter Report" (2006). From song to song, the Who, the Stones, Van Morrison, the Faces, and more, but done effortlessly and with spirit.

Barry "Growlin" Wolfe
Athens ex-pat, ex-DJ/producer at KALX Berkeley, Calif., occasional music reviewer for Blurt on-line mag and Ptolemaic Terrascope: The Mendoza Line's whole catalog (Misra & Bar/None labels). When asked to write about favorite bands of the ought decade, these guys sprang to mind immediately. I've seldom been swept away by a band and their music like I have with TML. Very diverse songwriting married with potent lyrics.
MUST BUYS: "Full of Light and full of Fire", "Fortune," "Lost In Revelry" and "30 Year Low."
http://www.myspace.com/mendozalineband
Oakley Hall, whole catalog (Merge). What a mind-blowing experience these guys are live. Jaw dropping. Incredible musicianship, harmonies and songwriting. MUST BUYS: "Gypsum Strings," "Self-titled" and "Second Guessing." Check out their two sessions on Daytrotter.com for free downloads.
http://www.myspace.com/oakleyhall

Other contenders I've enjoyed the hell out of this decade: Ike Reilly Assassination, MV and EE, The Spider Bags, Nobunny, Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard, Gringo Star, Drug Rug, The Dead Trees, Rilo Kiley, Great Lake Swimmers, Wussy, Calexico, Future Clouds and Radar and Little Man Tate, Oranger, Brendan Benson, Nick Caves' Grinderman + Dig Lazurus Dig albums.

Andy Vogel
An OU student enjoying downtime in Columbus. I can only pull out the best albums of the year. I thought too hard about the decade (forgot most of it anyways). So, here we go with my top 10 for 2009.

10. Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Have Yourself A Meaty Little Christmas. You don't have to be a fan of the show to really get what's going on. It's just X-mas songs being parodied. I picked this mainly because of the season, but also because it's the only Christmas music I can really listen to.
9. Assjack. This is Hank Williams III's punk band. I'd rather hear his country music, but he does a decent job here. Not your run-of-the-mill speed metal, but more just brash riffs about being a redneck. Complete with madhouse breakdowns and teeth grinding vocals
8. Kid Cudi: Man on The Moon. I was surprised by this album. Not only is fashionable Cudi like Kanye (minus the annoying celb status), he is a pretty gnarly producer. "Moon" has great beats, and Cudi flows right over them. The MGMT and Ratat track is a must here.
7. Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms. I really like these guys. Some people compare them to MGMT, but I see no similarity. They are a very chill band with simple electronic overtones. OK, I guess they're a chill version of MGMT after all.
6. Jay Z: The Blueprint 3. Jay Z albums are very hit or miss. This is definitely a hit. After seeing his performance of "Empire State of Mind" with Alicia Keys on the music awards, you know that he still has it. Of course III has plenty of guest appearances to back up Jay, such as Mr. Imma let you finish Kanye.
5. Billy Talent: III. Just pure energy of high-pitched vocals over vibrant bass grooves. If you ever get a chance to see these boys in the flesh, do so. Their third album continues to be much of the same as their old material but that is why I like it.
4. Tech N9ne: K.O.D. The only thing I have against Tech is many dismiss him as another ICP follower. The man has been around for years releasing his albums on his own indie label. K.O.D. is the first album to really peak on the airwaves. Check out the single "Leave Me Alone."

OK so I couldn't make a best of the year list without mentioning a couple from the decade. So my top three for the decade are...

3. Mars Volta: De-Loused in the Conmatorium. This is there best CD. A jam band that gets devoured by the snakes of brown acid.
2. Mother Mother: O My Heart: These guys really take the indie-folk scene to a new level. This album shows a band can be serious and have quirky fun at the same time
1. MGMT Oracular Spectacular. Yes I know this is cliché and that the band is overplayed but I don't give a damn. If this album doesn't give you an ounce of happiness, then you need a fist full of Zoloft.