Elizabeth Skene

While my husband & step-brother play Mario Brothers Wii [& my parents cheer them on], I am putting together some lists.

One list is all the sources to which I can apply to for internship funding:
There are a number of organizations that I can submit applications to for travel & living expenses, which would be amazingly helpful if I go overseas this summer. However, I need to have confirmation of my acceptance as an intern before I can apply, so hopefully I hear back somewhat soon.

The second list is a list of music:
As the year is coming to an end, my friends are busy making their year end music lists &, this year, their decade lists as well. I thought I would join the fun & so I’m making a list of my top 25 albums of the past decade.

For more music lists – my husband is posting his top 25, one each day & my good friend Quillen is about to begin posting his – ten different lists in all [including favorite songs, albums, least favorites, etc of both the year & decade].

I really like all of these albums, but I’ve not owned them long enough to put them onto an official decade list:

Honorable Mentions.

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Beach House – Devotion [2008]

Poppy, fun, unique. I like their new album Teen Dreams a little better, but that doesn’t technically come out until 2010, but this gets an honorable mention anyways.

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Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago [2008]

For the longest time I thought this band was pronounced “Bon Eye-ver” [think Bon Jovi] & I had no interest in listening to them. Two weeks ago a friend gave me the album & last weekend another friend say she thought I’d really like it – I’ve been listening ever since. It’s beautiful, it’s heartbroken, it’s interesting.

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Damien Jurado – Caught in the Trees [2008]

This summer my husband, along with some friends who have been longtime fans, saw Damien Jurado play. They all had pretty great things to say & the album has been one of my favorites ever since. It’s a little dark, but beautiful nonetheless.

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The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice – Moon Colony Bloodbath [2009]

This album was recorded by John Darnielle [of the Mt. Goats - my fave band ever] & John Vaderslice & was released as a limited edition vinyl while they were on tour in 2009. It’s a concept album about organ harvesting colonies on the moon. Not surprisingly, this duo is great together & I enjoy that they alternate doing vocals.

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These next three are by my current music hero – Emily Haines. Not only has she been apart of Broken Social Scene, but has two bands – Metric & a solo project Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton. Each of these bands is in a totally different genre & yet she manages to be awesome in all of them. I wish to have just an eighth of her talent.

Metric – Fantasies [2009]

I got “Old World Underground,” their earlier album in 2003 & really liked it. This summer, while shopping at the Gap, Joel & I heard a song that sounded very similar to Metric. Low & behold – it was off their new album. Upbeat & incredibly catchy, this was my favorite album to go running to this summer.

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Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton -

Knives Don’t Have Your Back [2006] & What Is Free to a Good Home [2007]

I’m a compete sucker for piano paired with beautiful, tender vocals.

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Fredrik – Na Na Ni [2008]

This album was completely random for me – I was checking it in while I still worked at the library & I loved the digitpack & the woodcut artwork. I checked the liner notes & saw there was cello in it. I brought it home & it is a surprisingly great album & perfect for the long runs I did this summer – quiet, not too much, but still upbeat & pretty.

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Fleet Foxes self titled [2008]

This the perfect autumn album – ephemeral & haunting.

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I am admittedly not the best at reviewing music. I tend to use words like “pretty,” “calming,” or “I really like it.” Because of this, I’ve posted my favorite song from each album [when available] so you can listen & decide for yourself.

Now I’m going to try my hand at Mario – I’m horrible at video games. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of family, driving all over West Michigan & it’s likely that the roads will be covered in ice tomorrow. Despite that, I can’t wait to see my family. Once a year isn’t quite enough.

Merry Christmas to you & yours! I hope it’s filled with love, reflection & a renewed appreciation for life. xoxoxo

Related posts:

1. Decade Music List: The Top 10
2. Decade Music List: The Bottom 15
3. Summer 2011 Bucket List
4. Day by day, Christmas approaches, the semester ends
5. The end is near!

Thursday, December 24th, 2009, 10:31 pm   |   Uncategorized  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback