music reviews and information for the rest of us

Ok, this was very difficult, I know I’m missing some. I thought initially that I’d try to limit the list to just 20, but I can’t do it. This was a great decade for music. This isn’t in any sort of order.

Best albums of the decade. 2000 to 2009
New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
Rogue Wave – Asleep at Heaven’s Gate
Nada Surf – Let Go
Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
Augie March – Moo, You Bloody Choir
Fleet Foxes – Ragged Wood
Fruit Bats – Spelled in Bones
My Morning Jacket – Z
Shins – Chutes too Narrow
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Alberta Cross – The Thief and the Heartbreaker
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
A Band of Bees – Free the Bees
Band of Horses – Everything all the Time
Belle & Sebastian – Fold your hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago
Iron and Wine – The Creek Drank the Cradle
Iron and Wine – Sheppard’s Dog
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People
Cloud Cult – Advice from the Happy Hippo
Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
The Decemberists – Her Majesty the Decemberists
Doves – Some Cities
Elliott Smith – Figure 8
American Analog Set – Know By Heart
Pinback – Summer in Abandon
Feist – The Reminder
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimo Battles the Pink Robots
Gillian Welch – Time the Revelator
Guided By Voices – Isolation Drills
The Helio Sequence – Keep Yor Eyes Ahead
The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
Hot Snakes – Automatic Midnight
Jayhawks – Rainy Day Music
John Vanderslice – Life and Death of an American Fourtracker
Liam Finn – I’ll be Lightening
The Long Winters – When I pretend to Fall
M. Ward – Transfiguration of Vincent
Magnetic Fields – 6 Love Songs
Menomena – Friend and Foe
Mgmt – Octular Spectacular
Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
The Postal Service – Give Up
Radical Face – Ghost
Rhett Miller – The Instigator
Rosebuds – The Rosebuds Make Out
Soundtrack of Our Lives – Behind the Music
Spoon – Kill the Moonlight
Sparklehorse – It’s a Wonderful Life
The Strokes – Is This It?
Superdrag In the Valley of Dying Stars
Tegan and Sara – So Jealous
Telekinesis – Telekinesis!
Verbena – La Musica Negra
Vic Chesnutt – Is The Actor Happy?
Whiskeytown – Pneumonia
Wilco — Sky Blue Sky
Wrens – The Meadowlands
Yo La Tengo – Summer Sun
Califone – Roots and Crowns
Calexico/Iron & Wine – The the Reins
Calexico – Feast of Wire
Nick Lowe – The Convincer
The Glands – The Glands
Old 97’s – Too Far to Care
Gorillaz – Demon Days

Update: Tom finally posted his list. He spent much more time on his list and caught a few that I can’t believe I forgot. Our lists are very similar but it’s interesting to see what’s different. I made a playlist of his and my bests. Pretty fun.

Most of these were released this year but some were released in 2008 or later. This is what I listened to this year.

Most listened to albums of the year:

Ting Tings – We Started Nothing
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Telekinesis – Telekinesis!
Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
The Nightgowns – Sign Something
The Dodos – Time to Die
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Iron & Wine – Around the Well
M. Ward – Hold Time
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
A.C Newman – Get Guilty
Nada Surf – Lucky
The Helio Sequence – Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Horse Feathers – House With No Home

We went to see Trail of Dead at Dantes last night at it was really cool to see them at such a small club. The opening band was so awful in there mix of one chord blue cheer and Jesus Lizard but it made even more thankful when Trail of Dead came on. I always like rock shows that are just on the edge of falling apart and this was perfect for me.

They a nice mix of new and old songs and the dueling drummers is a sight to see.

Two drummers, three guitars at times and at 1 hour 45 minutes,  it was great rock n roll to be had. If you get the chance, and want to see a rock show where your head might actually come off your shoulders, go and see them

http://www.myspace.com/dantesportland |  http://www.trailofdead.com/

Summer Ono, world’s greatest band, is having a record release party this Saturday. My dear friend Jon Chick and my husband Tom Risse are in the band. The record is beautiful inside and out, multiple colors of vinyl to choose from and a lovely cover to boot. It’s going to be quite a party, there will be 7 band mates involving a trumpet and an organ or two. You can have yourself a listen on Bandcamp. While you’re at it, download the whole album free of charge.

Someday Lounge
125 NW 5th Avenue Portland, OR 97209
SATURDAY, OCT 3
BARK 10TH ANNIVERSARY, BLUE CRANES, PHYSICAL HEARTS, SUMMER ONO
9pm, $5.00 at the door

Summer Ono plans to go on sometime around 11pm.

This event is a fundraiser for Bark.

Bark’s mission is to transform Mt. Hood National Forest into a place where natural processes prevail, where wildlife thrives and where local communities have a social, cultural, and economic investment in its restoration and preservation.

We just got a sweet new 3 LP album of Iron and Wine’s “Around the Well“. What a great deal. 3 nice grade LPs with access to the MP3s as well. I think Alanna is part of the new “Send us all your most Bitchin Records” deal over at Subpop.

Bloc Party will release ‘Intimacy Remixed’ on the 11th of May, and to mark the occasion, the band have made parts for three of the album’s tracks available for you to remix if you want to. If you dig the band, and get into remixing original tracks, get on over to their site and get a download before their server crashes.

http://www.blocparty.com/

Woopsie daisy, Tom and I have been busy moving to Portland. We’re done now. I’m starting to use Blip.fm so you can always catch us there too. We’ll start posting to indiegeek now. I promise… maybe. Tom’s work is located above Jackpot records so I’m sure we’ll be getting a more regular booster shot of music now.

Here are some heavy rotation additions to Alanna’s list. Some of them might not be released in 2008 but non the less they have been on heavy rotation this year.

Deerhunter – Microcastle and Weird Era Continued

Foxboro Hot tubs – Stop Drop and Roll

My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges

Nada Surf – Lucky

Liam Finn – I’ll be Lightning

Miracle Fortess – Five Roses

The National – Bxer

Sea Wolf – Leaves in the River

The Valley – The Vallery – EP

Jeremy Enigk – The Missing Link

Here is my list of albums on most heavy rotation during 2008. Enjoy. Hey Tom, you want to make some additions?

Albert Cross

The Helio Sequence – Keep Your Eyes Ahead

Bon Iver – For Emma

Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger

Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts

Fleet Foxes

Tega and Sara – The Con

Califone – Roots and Crowns

Please join us this Saturday for a fun filled holiday show extravaganza! Come enjoy some olde thymey musica del rock and rollismo .