8.

In 2002, the world was still recovering from teen pop stars and boy band mania, an era that almost wiped out rock music off the map.  Eight years after the death of Kurt Cobain, alternative music was still reeling, and sure there had been a bright spot here and there, but not even BritPop could save it.  And then after there critically acclaimed album Rated R, Queens of the Stone Age, fronted by Josh Homme, released Songs for the Deaf, a landmark album for the band and easily their best.  Songs for the Deaf encompasses all that rock music was missing; heavy drums (courtesy of Mr. David Grohl), whole-step down tuning, catchy riffs, and artistry.  The album is not a concept album but is loosely considered as a concept album, taking the listener on a drive from Mojave Desert to Los Angeles the while tuning into radio stations from towns on the way such as Banning and Chino Hills, California. 

All tracks by Joshua Homme and Nick Oliveri, except where noted.

9. 

Released on May 5th, 2006, Stadium Arcadium was the ninth studio installment from our good friends from sunny southern California.  It is amazing after all these years (1982 – present), the Chili Peppers are still rocking.  They have fought drug addiction, mainly lead singer Anthony Kiedis and guitarist John Frusciante, as well as many other adversities over the years.  Since their inception, RCHP have gone through several line up changes with only Kiedis and bassist Flea (Michael Balzary) as the two constant members.  However since 1992, their lineup has mainly consisted of Kiedis, Flea, Frusciante, and drummer Chad Smith who is currently rocking out with his side project Chickenfoot.

Anyways, what makes Stadium Arcadium an incredible album is that it really is an anthology that catalogs all of the sounds the Chili Peppers have amassed over the years.  Starting out with “Dani California,” you will hear riffs made popular by Tom Petty and sounds from their Californication days.  RCHP get funky on the track “Hump de Bump,” likened a lot to their early days from such albums as Funky Monks and Blood Sugar Sex Magik.  And finally, much like their 2002 album, By the Way, RCHP tone it down to the curiously lovely “Tell Me Baby.”  Overall the Chili Peppers make an incredible double-album’s worth of music that digs down just as it deep in the early days.  RCHP might be getting older, but their music is timeless.

Track listing

I finally decided to cave and peruse my music library in hopes of narrowing it down to the TOP 10 albums of the aughts.  Now keep in mind, my music library is by no means the library of congress, but it is pretty extensive with over 10000+ songs.  I figured the most democratic way to determine what would make it onto my list would be to determine criteria by which each album would be judged.  Here’s what I came up with:

• The album obviously must be released from January 1st 2000 – December 31st 2009
• The album must be either a breakthrough album, reinvention, or opus of a record
• The album does not necessarily have gone platinum or even gold for that matter (tweens might be thinking, what is platinum? Well your too young to remember when people paid for music)
• The album must be one that I own
• Doesn’t have to have changed the face of music, but it helps

Keep in mind, these are what I consider to be the best records of the 2000s.  I am not looking at the music through a magnifying glass.  You shouldn’t need a degree in Music Theory or History in order to appreciate these albums.  These albums are ones that I listen to again and again, because they are that good. Each day I will be introducing a new album working my way until I hit numero uno.  So today let’s begin with number 10

10.

We begin at number 10, with an album that sums up all that is wrong with the record industry.  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was recorded during the latter part of 2000 and early 2001 under Reprise Records (a Warner Music Group subsidiary).

In 2001, AOL merged with Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner. Time Warner’s market share of the music industry had dropped by almost five percent from the mid-1990s, and the new executives ordered the termination of six hundred jobs. One of those jobs was Reprise Records president Howie Klein, who had been a big supporter of Wilco on the label. Klein’s dismissal caused head A&R representative David Kahne to be in charge of deciding whether to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Kahne assigned A&R representative Mio Vukovic to monitor the progress of the album. Vukovic was unhappy about the album because he felt that his suggestions were not being considered. Kahne wanted a radio single from the album, but he felt that none of the songs were suitable for commercial release. In June 2001, the album was officially rejected and Vukovic suggested that the band independently release the album.

Josh Grier, Wilco’s lawyer, was able to negotiate a buy-out of the band from Reprise. The band would keep the rights to the album if they paid Reprise $50,000. Before Wilco could accept the deal, Reprise called the band and changed their offer to give the band the rights to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot for free. 

Wilco had planned on releasing Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on September 11, 2001, but Tweedy did not want a change in record labels to significantly delay the release of the album. Within weeks of being released from the label and Jay Bennett leaving the band, MP3s of all tracks from the album began to appear on file sharing networks. In a decision aimed at discouraging the pirating of lower quality MP3s and having some control over how the album was distributed, on September 18, 2001, Wilco began streaming the entirety of the album on their official website. The wilcoworld.net website registered over fifty thousand hits that day, eight times as much as typical daily traffic. Traffic to the website quadrupled the normal traffic over the next few months. The following tour was a success financially, and members of Wilco observed that fans sang along with unreleased songs on the album.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was commercially released by Nonesuch Records on April 23, 2002. Since, Nonesuch Records was also under the umbrella of AOL Time Warner, AOL Time Warner incidentally paid twice for the same record to be made.  Considering that the record industry is a sinking ship, this seems to be some of the dumbest business strategies the music industry has ever seen.  Lucky for AOL Time Warner, the album sold 55,573 copies during its first week of release, peaking on the Billboard 100 album chart at number thirteen. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA and has sold over 590,000 units.  Oh yeah, and the music isn’t bad either.

Track Listing:

All lyrics by Jeff Tweedy. Music written by Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett except where noted.

1. “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” (Tweedy)
2. “Kamera” – 3:29
3. “Radio Cure” – 5:08
4. “War on War” – 3:47
5. “Jesus, Etc.” – 3:50
6. “Ashes of American Flags” – 4:43
7. “Heavy Metal Drummer” (Tweedy) – 3:08
8. “I’m the Man Who Loves You” – 3:55
9. “Pot Kettle Black” – 4:00
10. “Poor Places” – 5:15
11. “Reservations” (Tweedy) – 7:22

L.A. Weekly: So about the LAYN Rocks benefit…

Slash: Yeah, it’s this Sunday at the Avalon. My wife and I are both big supporters of the Los Angeles Youth Network which is this really cool non profit organization. Basically they take in homeless kids anywhere from 12 to 21 years old and give them a new lease on life. Most of them are either abused or in some kind of deep trouble. They’ve been through a lot at a young age. It gives them the wherewithal to get on their feet, get into the world, be independent and get their shit together. They really take good care of educating these kids on all different levels, housing them, all sorts of stuff. It’s a great support group and I’m just amazed at how the kids have turned out. I’ll go and visit on occasion and see what they’ve got going on. It’s really cool to see the developments so we’re trying to help LAYN stay on its feet because it’s expensive to keep all these kids together.

If your are in the Los Angeles area on the 22nd, get yourself some tickets to support LAYN.  Especially for those of us on the east coast who can’t make it out there. (Interview courtesy of LA Weekly)

Some people have a hard time explaining rock ‘n’ roll. I don’t think anyone can really explain rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe Pete Townshend, but that’s okay. Rock ‘n’ roll is a lifestyle and a way of thinking… and it’s not about money and popularity. Although, some money would be nice. But it’s a voice that says, “Here I am… and fuck you if you can’t understand me.” And one of these people is gonna save the world. And that means that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world… all of us together. And the chicks are great. But what it all comes down to is that thing. The indefinable thing when people catch something in your music.

Almost Famous

Earlier today I posted John Mayer covering Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” from his new album Battle Studies. I must say that this is my favorite song off his new album and it made me wonder…Is it a bad thing that his best song is a blues classic? After much deliberation with my roomie Dave, I have come to the conclusion that although John’s album doesn’t grab me the way that 2006′s Continuum did, it might be his best album as far as overall tone and focus. This album is truly a study into the battle that one wages with love. As on Continuum, John deals with heartbreak and life on the rebound, but this album is a step forward from his previous efforts. Sure, you might not here JM’s virtuosity as a guitar player, the thrilling solos, and down and dirty blues, but what Battle Studies lacks in scale, it makes up for in content and phrasing. John’s phrasing has a complete musical sense of its own built from motifs and combining to form melodies in one breath. Take a listen to key tracks that include:

Half of My Heart (featuring Taylor Swift) 4:10
Assassin 5:15
Crossroads (Robert Johnson Cover) 2:29