Comfort Music of the Last Decade

I have a crapload of CDs. My brother-in-law asked me how many I had the other day, and I honestly didn't know. I stopped trying to keep track after 500 or so, and I'm probably closing in on a 1,000 by now.

That means there are a lot of albums I don't listen to all that much. I'm still exploring new music, and there's simply not enough free time in my life to listen to everything. That's why it's kind of remarkable when a handful of albums do pop into my CD player on a relatively frequent basis (and yes, I actually still buy and play CDs...I'm old school like that).

I equate these albums to the musical equivalent of comfort food. My definition of a comfort food is something I can eat that makes me feel good. I can eat it on a regular basis, and I generally won't ever get sick of it. The quality of the food could be great or it could be not-sot-great. Quality isn't necessarily the issue here. The food--or the album--might bring back a certain happy memory or time period in my life. It might be all style and no substance. If it's an album, maybe it just makes shake my ass on a consistent basis. Maybe I know it so well that I don't have to think about it anymore. I can just consume it without worrying about whether it's good for me or makes me look like a dork.

Here are a dozen albums from the last decade that fit this description (the description of each gets shorter as we move through the years since I've written about the latter ones on this blog before). I'm not telling everyone that these are the best albums ever. Many people might hate them. But for whatever reason they have created a little niche for themselves in my music-loving mind. Some of them really are amazing albums that I think everyone should hear. Some I probably latched onto for completely personal reasons. I won't differentiate. I'll just tell you that I love these albums and they make me happy. (I apologize in advance for the font changes and crappy video embed. My grasp of Html is not good enough to figure out what happened.)

Clem Snide - Your Favorite Music (2001)
I consider Eef Barzelay one of the more underrated contemporary song writers in the US. His lyrics are often described as "overly clever", which I think is a ridiculous critique. I always feel that if a critic or reviewer uses expressions like that, they're seriously grasping for something negative to say, or they're jealous. Barzelay is the core of Clem Snide, and essentially the only permanent member as far as I can tell.

The aptly named Your Favorite Music was not Clem Snide's first album, but it was first I heard and it was the one that got me hooked. The opening track, "Dairy Queen," is a surreal, stream-of-consciousness trip of a song. Later we come to "Bread", a love song that makes every other love song you've heard lately sound...moldy. "I Love the Unknown" is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's a gem of a pop song. It's a philosophy. The album continues to amaze right up to its closer, a cover of "Donna" by Ritchie Valens. Barzelay does not have a classically great voice, but this cover is pretty sweet. When I first started listening to this album, a girl named Donna was doing some work in our lab. She was cute and all, but I think the primary reason I developed a crush on her is because I'd been listening to this song.

I would not say I love every track, but I love most of them, and like the rest. Out of all my CDs, this is the only I have actually worn out from over-playing. It was replaced quickly.

Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus (2001)
Stephen Malkmus had a huge chip on his shoulder when this album came out, and that chip was called Pavement. Pavement was huge in the 90s, and if you knew music, you were familiar with them if not downright devoted to them. When they split up, it brought closure to a tumultuous decade of music.

Pavement was a lot of things, but it wasn't pop. So when Malkmus came out with this self-titled debut and we got this, it was a bit jarring to a lot of people. But not to me. I loved it. There are songs about pirates ("The Hook") and Yule Brenner ("Jo Jo's Jacket"), as well as "Jenny & the Ess-Dog" a song that describes the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship between a young girl and her much older, hippie boyfriend. I've listened to it dozens of times and seem to hear something new every time. "Off with those awful toe rings" indeed.

Malkmus would go on to release several more good-but-not-great albums with his new band, the Jicks, and eventually he started sounding more Pavementy (and Pavement has actually reunited this year), but there will always be a place in my CD player for this first breakaway effort.

Dressy Bessy - Dressy Bessy (2003)
To put this band into context, I first heard them on a soundtrack for The Powerpuff Girls. But I didn't really fall in love with them until I saw them live. When I saw Tammy Ealom strutting her stuff in her go-go boots and singing her heart out--visually, a stark contrast to her scraggly-but-talented band of dudes--I became a fan for life. They were touring with this album, which though self-titled, was actually their third or fourth LP.

I wore out Clem Snide, but I've probably actually listened to this CD more than anything else in the past 7 years (I guess this CD was just physically stronger??). I put it in when I need something ridiculously upbeat. When I have a ton of dishes to do and I wanna shake my ass while I do them. It's pure bubblegum pop. I've listened to it so many times at this point and know the songs so well that it's the musical equivalent of sitting down and mindlessly eating a whole bag of M&Ms. It's sugary and probably not good for me, but it makes me feel good.

Will everybody like it? Probably not. Maybe I just heard it at the right place and the right time and it stuck. But did it stick hard. Here's a peek of what you'd be getting yourself into if you check it out:
http://www.mightyfudge.com/webtoons/dressy/mfdbv2.html

Cat Power - You Are Free (2003)
You Are Free is arguably the last Cat Power album Chan Marshall made before she un-crazied herself. And holy crap was she crazy when she toured with this album. I managed to make it through about 45 minutes of her "performing" these songs. She never finished a single song and she harassed the poor sound guy at the Cat's Cradle relentlessly. It was the first and only show I've ever walked out on due to the artist's assholeishness.

Lucky for her, I'd already fallen in love with her album before I went to see her live. "Good Woman", my favorite track from the album and, in my opinion, one of the best break-up songs of all time, felt like it was written just for me and my newly-ex-girlfriend. She was (and is) a good woman, and I am a good man, but we weren't so good for each other. It's a simple message, but between Marshall's smokey delivery and Eddie Vedder's guest vocals, it sounds rich and complex and true.

But an album can't be great based on one song, and there's plenty more quality stuff. I would say that 70% of my favorite Cat Power songs are on this album, including "I Don't Blame You", "Free", "He War", and so on. OK, "Names" is possibly one of the most depressing songs ever, but it's still not necessarily a bad song. Sometimes I can just listen to Chan Marshall's voice and it doesn't matter what she's singing. Now that she's sobered up, her live shows are considerably better as well. But if I could only choose one Cat Power album to keep, I would choose this one in a heartbeat.

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
Not too much to say about this one that hasn't already been said. Natalie Portman blah blah blah it'll change your life blah blah blah. Chutes Too Narrow is quite possibly the best sophomore album ever. Their first album was good, but this one was great. Maybe too great for The Shins. Wincing the Night Away was a huge let-down after the pop perfection of this album. Of all the albums on this list, this one was the most popular among the masses. And that's fine. I'm actually relieved that at least one of my favorite albums was enjoyed by a large number of people.

Jim White - Drill a Hole in the Substrate and Tell Me What You See (2004)
In trying to think of someone with whom to compare Jim White, the closest person I could come to was Harry Chapin. That won't mean much to anyone who isn't either over 40 or didn't have at least one parent into folk music (thanks, Mom!). Like Chapin, most of White's songs are too long to make it to the radio. They range from the playful and fun ("Combing My Hair in a Brand New Style") to the beautifully melancholy ("Bluebird"). Most of the songs on this album fall into the latter category, so I have to be in the right mood when I listen to it. But when I am in the right mood, nothing fits the bill better.

Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005)
I have written about Andrew Bird extensively on this blog at this point, so if anyone who reads it regularly hasn't checked out his music by now, then it's probably too late to convince you. But I'll try anyway...listen to this album. Please. I'm not going to claim that Bird is the greatest song writer. He's admitted that the meaning behind his lyrics often comes secondary to the way the words sound. The result is beautiful strings of words that are open to interpretation, wrapped in music I can listen to over and over again. This album was my first exposure to his music, and though his earlier and later work is excellent, TMPoE is still my favorite. For some of my earlier raves of both the Jim White album and this one, check out this post.

Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (2006)
The inclusion of this album almost came as a surprise to myself, but when I popped the CD in last week I realized I've actually been listening to this album a lot over the past few years. Maybe it's Lewis's sweet voice backed up by the perfectly harmonizing Watson Twins. Maybe it's the songs that are a little bit country and a little bit rock. Maybe it's the smart songs that are catchy and though provoking, which is not an easy thing to pull off. Maybe it's that perfect cover of "Handle With Care" with M. Ward. I'm sure it's a little bit of all these things.

I can't think of any other album quite like this one. If I'd been writing this blog in 2006, I'm sure it would have tied for my favorite album of the year with...

Forro in the Dark - Bonfires of São João (2006)
Forro in the Dark's most recent album was possibly my favorite album of 2009 (though I have to say there's probably a little wiggle room in the top five), and I liked this album a lot more. I've written about it before, and I will continue to give props to this band as they continue to promote forro in the US. I told myself I wasn't going to embed any video in this already too-long post, but whatever. Here's Asa Branca, featuring David Byrne:



Bishop Allen - The Broken String (2007)
I actually lost this CD for several months, and when I finally found it again, I had to play it instantly. Yes, I realize I had multiple copies of the album on my iPod and various computers. I never said I was a rational person when it came to music.

The street after which this band is named is just a few blocks from where I work. That's not actually pertinent to anything; it's just a random bit of trivia. What's more important is that this is a very fun album. It's an album I can listen to on my own, or with my kids, or even possibly with co-workers. I don't like using phrases like "If you don't like this album, then you have no soul." But if you listened to this album and weren't charmed by at least a few of the tunes, I would seriously have to question whether or not I wanted to hang out with you.

And as long as I've already broken my no video rule, here's "Click, Click, Click, Click":


The National - Boxer (2007)
My favorite album of 2007. The National comes out with a new album in a month or so, and it'll be interesting to see how it measures up. Boxer is not a happy-go-lucky album. It's not really danceable. I wouldn't call the songs particularly catchy (though they're all good). I guess I can't describe why I like this album so much any more now than I could a few years ago when I called it my favorite. It's just something I have to listen to sometimes.


Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings and All (2008)
My top album of 2008, I wrote about this one extensively here and here. Still fun, still listening to it. Thao's follow-up last year...not as fun. WBBSaA is a bit more whimsical and innocent, and I like it better for that.

EJP's Top Albums of 2008: 1-10

What this list ultimately comes down to for me stems from one question: Which albums did I end up listening to the most this past year? Obviously I don't keep track of how many times I listen to every album (I'm not that anal retentive about my music...yet), but I usually have a pretty good feeling about how often I pop something in the CD player or bring it up on my iPod. So, with the exception of one album that I got fairly recently but that I really, really like, these are the albums that I listened to over and over again in 2008. They might not be the best music in terms of quality--and really, quality is pretty subjective, right?--but they gave me what my ears craved, and that's good enough for me.

10) The Nobility--The Mezzanine
First blogged about this Nashville group back in April, and I kept on listening to them. The title track was one of my favorite tunes of the year, but the rest of the album was plenty catchy, too.

9) Eliza Carthy--Dreams of Breathing Underwater
Carthy has apparently been around for a while, but this was my introduction to her crazy-good mixture of traditional folk with a splash of rock and also some other stuff that I can't pin down. Whatever it is, it's a great listen. Carthy has a strong voice without a trace of the whispiness that tends to characterize some British folk singers (ahem, Vashti Bunyan). The album starts out strong with "Follow the Dollar" and ends even stronger, with my favorite track, "Oranges and Seasalt", a song about terrible margaritas. If you only listen to one song from this album, listen to that one, but trust me when I say the whole thing is worth a try.


8) Michael Franti & Spearhead--All Rebel Rockers
So this is the aforementioned album that I haven't actually had for all that long, but that I really, really like. A humungous thanks to Nat at ...and sometimes why for introducing me to this artist. A little background, and a much overdo thanks to Nat. When she posted about her local folk festival, I was intrigued because I'd never heard of most of the bands she'd seen. Not only did she give me a detailed description on nearly ever set she watched, but she sent me a mix with music from all the artists (and an excellent bonus disc CD with several other Canadian artists). It was awesome. I'm still listening to them, and I'm still figuring out which groups to explore further (personal note to Nat: the Weakerthans are awesome, but their album wasn't 2008, so didn't make the list).

But I digress. I loved the Michael Franti song Nat put on my mix (see video for "Say Hey" below), and it turns out I really liked the whole album. Nat says they're awesome live, and I can believe it. ARR gives us a mix of funk, rock, soul and plenty of other good stuff. Some songs are political, some are simple, many will make you shake your booty (again, see video below).



7) Vampire Weekend--Vampire Weekend
I realize there's been some backlash with VW, but the album's still catchy as hell and definitely worth a spot on this list. Older posts can be found here and here.

6) Blind Pilot--3 Rounds and a Sound
How have I not posted on this album? That was an oversight. Consider it a pleasant surprise. This Portland group hit a sweet spot for me. There's nothing outrageously innovative here...some nice strings pop up throughout the songs, occasional horns, mixing seamlessly with some guitar plucking and minimal percussion. Pleasant vocals, good harmonies, incredible hooks. Hmmm...I'm probably not really selling these guys. All I know is I found myself playing this CD a lot. Like, a lot a lot. It was my comfort food for the year. Give "Oviedo" a listen below--it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, the song that initially got me hooked. If you like it, I can assure you the rest of the album is worth a listen.

5) Fleet Foxes--Fleet Foxes
Simply put, if you didn't put this album in your top ten of 2008, you are a crazy person and should go live in a crazy house. Full stop.





4) Try Me Bicycle-Voicings
Well, this is awkward. In finding the links to write his entry, I learned that this album was actually released in 2007. Oh well...screw it. I've already put way too much effort into this and I'm not going to rearrange my list now. I'm pretty sure this got a re-release in 2008, so we'll just count that. This a pretty album from beginning to end. That's really the best word for it. Pretty. The guitar and piano are perfect, Andy Naylor's vocals are comforting--the complete opposite of abrasive. I could sit down in a dark room with nothing but this album playing and a nice glass of red wine and I would very happy. OK, that sounds pretentious, but it's true. This is the perfect album for unwinding after a long day.

3) Jim White--Transnormal Skiperoo
Loved this album from the very first listen. The only reason it dropped a notch or two on my list is that the songs are so all over the place in terms of how they make me feel--from silly to sappy to very, very sad--that eventually it became exhausting to listen to the album from beginning to end all in one go. Still one of the more underrated albums of the year, in my opinion.

2) The Airborne Toxic Event--The Airborne Toxic Event
Every year, I seem to have at least a few guilty pleasures on my list. TATE should probably be this year's, but I refuse to feel guilty about the pleasure I get from listening to this album. Pitchfork gave this puppy a whopping 1.6. Wow. I'm not saying this band is highly original. And honestly, some of the lyrics might make Rick Springfield roll his eyes. But I'm sticking with my first impression: these songs are pure and simple rock and roll, and I can listen to this album over and over again.

1.) Thao and the Get Down Stay Down--We Brave Bee Stings and All
You can learn more about Thao, hear some of her music, and see a cool video in one of my older posts. It's like her song "Bag of Hammers" says, her music soothes me like a lick of ice cream. I fully realize this album won't be #1 on many lists, but it's the CD I listened to the most by far, so there you go. Listening to it made me happy, and usually that's what it all comes down to for me.


So that's it for 2008. For any regular readers (both of you!) who actually take an interest in my musical opinions, sorry it took me so long to get my act together this year. I'd planned on throwing up some favorite tracks in this post, but this has already taken me too long. Maybe a future post. But 2009 has already produced some good to excellent albums in a few short weeks, so it may be time to move on...

EJP's Top 10 Albums of 2008...So Far

Unbelievably, we're already halfway through 2008. I've been in a bit of a music buying/listening slump the last few months, mostly because my new job does not really lend itself to listening to music at work all that much. Also, April and May were kind of dry spells as far as new releases went, at least as far as I was concerned. But I still have a top 10 list and some honorable mentions, many of which I've already written about here (just links to the previous blog posts for those). These are kind of in a rough order of sorts:

10) Try Me Bicycle: Voicings
A very mellow album. Nice instrumentation...a little piano here, a little violin there, some classical guitar picking, all with just a hint of a catchy hook on a lot of songs. This is a relatively new one for me, but it's growing on me quickly. Give "Two Stern Feet" or "Big Small" a listen from the web site for a taste.

9) The Nobility: The Mezzanine

8) She & Him: Volume One
Discussed here.

7) Nerf Herder: IV
Discussed here.

6) The Kills: Midnight Boom
Several posts. Look here, here, and here.

5) Dodos: Visiter
Also several posts on this blog--see here, here, and here. Please note that as much as I like this album, I still liked their first album more. Get that one first.

4) The Black Keys: Attack & Release
There are enough drum/guitar duos out there now (see Dodos) that they could practically be their own genre at this point. But The Black Keys are really in a class of their own. Really, no white boys should be able to create and perform this type of bluesy rock fusion music so well. Attack & Release, which was produced by Danger Mouse, is a bit of a departure for the BKs, but not only did I tolerate it, I enjoyed it immensely. There are a few more instruments thrown in; it's a bit more rock-oriented. I definitely like it better than their last release, Magic Potion, and I think it's a close second behind Rubber Factory. I already know Evelyn Is Not Real is going to disagree with me on BK faves, but whatever.

3) Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
Posts here and here.

1-tie) Thao and the Get Down Stay Down: We Brave Bee Stings and All
I posted about this album here back in April, and it's continued to grow on me ever since that first listen. It's rare that I get songs stuck in my head months after getting an album, but these songs are that catchy.

1-tie) Jim White: Transnormal Skiperoo
Discussed here and here. Still the most cathartic album I've heard in ages.

Honorable Mentions:
The Ditty Bops: Summer Rains
Headlights: Some Racing, Some Stopping (check out the video for their great song "Cherry Tulips" at the bottom of the post!)
Tilly and the Wall: o
Eef Barzelay: Lose Big
The Magnetic Fields: Distortion
Pepe Ginsberg: Red

First Impressions: Stephen Malkmus, Flogging Molly, Jim White

Since my last First Impressions post was so popular (0 comments!), I decided to do it again. These are three albums I've been looking forward to, and they all came out today (3/4). I started with:

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Malkmus's first album after Pavement, which was self-titled, was and remains my favorite since he teamed up with the Jicks. Every song on that album was a gem as far as I'm concerned. and Pig Lib and Face the Truth came next, and both were OK. He started throwing some long-ass songs on these albums, guitaring out. I can appreciate that, but I have to be in the mood for it. I just gave RET a first listen and I'd say it's about on par with the last two albums--good, but not plusgood. The title track is the long one here, coming in at just under 10 minutes. It's actually one of my favorite songs, though I'll obviously need a few more listens to really appreciate it. "Hopscotch Willie", "Gardenia", and "We Can't Help You" also stood out as some decent tracks. I usually hear something new every time I listen to a Malkmus song, whether it's a Pavement tune or post-pavement. He's definitely not a one listen guy, so I'm looking forward to giving this one several more spins.

Flogging Molly - Float
OK, I'll make a confession. The primary reason I bought this album is that Newbury Comics (where I get 90% of my CDs) was giving away a free Flogging Molly pint glass with purchase of the CD, which was only $10 to begin with. I am helpless in the face of free pint glasses. I say it was the primary reason because my problem with groups like Flogging Molly is that sometimes I really can't distinguish between one song and the next, never mind one album to the next. Yes, the music is fast and fun, but do you really need more than one of their albums? That said, I was pleasantly surprised by Float. Yes, the first two songs are the fast and fun type, but the title track is excellent and a bit of a departure from the tried and true formula, as is the next track, "You Won't Make a Fool Out of Me." I'm not going to say every song on this disc is a winner by any means, but I liked it enough on this first listen to give it a tentative plusgood.


Jim White - Transnormal Skiperoo
Whew...I don't even know where to start with this one. It's hard for me to say in early March--after one single listen, no less--that I've just heard my favorite album of the year. But man...for something to top this would be a challenge. Maybe it's the fact that I listened to it on my headphones in the middle of the night. Maybe it's just because it's exactly kind of music I needed to hear right now. Or maybe it's solely because it's a fan-friggin-tastic album. I've raved about Jim White before, and I honestly didn't think he'd top or even equal his last album, Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See. Though I'll obviously have to give it a few more listens, this album may do just that. Lyrically, when I listen to these songs, I want to hang on to every word, like I used to listen to the stories my grandpa used to tell me. White's songs are saturated in the American South--the beauty, the ugliness, the sadness, and the humor of the South are all captured here. His words can make me smile with an amusing ditty like "Turquoise House", or nearly cry, as was the case with "Plywood Superman." Musically, these songs are such a bizarre mixture of old style country with splashes of different instruments and production, that there's no way to pin them down. One song may just be a banjo and guitar, but the next will throw in some horns or even the occasional recorder. Combine Harry Chapin, Beck, and Johnny Cash, and you might get something that comes close, but still not quite. "Fruit of the Vine" is the song that got me into Jim White in the first place--I liked the first version I heard a little better, but that was recorded live on Flannery O'Connor's porch, and it would have been difficult to improve upon that. All the songs here are good or great, however, as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, it's 3:17AM as I write this, so maybe I'll come to my senses after a few more hours of sleep. Nevertheless, even after one listen, I will give this album a doubleplusgood without hesitation. Please give it a shot.