Elizabeth Skene

Well here we are – the last day of the decade.
Not only is it Joel‘s birthday, but it’s the day I post the rest of my decade album lists. How exciting!

You can log into Lala with a Facebook account to listen to all the songs. Or sign up for a regular account.

Here it goes:
My top 10 albums of the decade.

10. Mirah – (a)spera

My first introduction to Mirah was her 2004 album “C’mon Miracle” which I loved & still do. After seeing her at the Detroit Art Space in October of ’04, my love was cemented. This album came out this past March, but I think it’s safe to say that it’s my favorite. I listened to it over & over & over again this summer. Her lyrics are brilliant, her melodies creative & her voice beautiful. The track I picked highlights all of thsoe.

9. Joanna Newsom – The Milk Eyed Mender

I really [really] did not like this album the first time I heard it. Her voice is so different & nothing like you’d expect, that my then-cranky self was not into it. Over the years it’s really grown on me & I loved her 2006 album “Ys,” but this album makes it to my top ten because of one song in particular. “This Side of the Blue” somehow defines & captures my experience the first three months of Peace Corps. Living in a new country, apart from my husband, an ocean away from everything I knew & loved.

I wrote this a year & a half ago about this song:

I was sitting in front of the fire, reading a book & listening to a mix on iTunes when “This Side of the Blue” came on. Immediately I am back in my bedroom in Krupnik, sitting on my bed, staring at the mountains while the foggy April air drifts in my window. Immediately I start crying. Like, really really crying.

Whenever I miss Bulgaria, it’s rarely Botevgrad I think of. Sure, we had a supermarket & a clocktower that played the town athem twice a day, but my heart is in Krupnik. The mountains, the goats, the village, the roosters, the stray dogs, the one restaurant, the many tiny stores, the sometimes working atm, the hellos yelled from across the park, the sometimes working drinking fountain, Nicoli, the Greciancafe. So much

Unfortunately this video is just of things that are blue, but close your eyes & listen to the audio, especially at 4:25.

And the rest of our lives will the moments accrue
When the shape of their goneness will flare up anew
And we do what we have to do
Which is all you can do on this side of the blue

[Pictures of the village are here]

-a

8. Ida – Heart Like a River

Ida makes beautiful, beautiful albums. I’d join this band without any hesitation. If you’ve ever riden in the car with me from an extended period of time, there’s a really good chance that I’ve played this album & belted along to it.

-

7. Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans

I got this album sophomore year of college, around the same time I got my first sewing machine. I pulled many, many all nighters sewing & this album was always my background. Banjo, Sufjan’s soft vocals & the interesting lyrics keep this album towards the top of my list.

-

6. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

Arcade Fire is a huge band with a huge epic sound & I love it. It’s just that simple.

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5. Lone Wolf & Cub – Wonder, Is Ground on Frost

Yes, this is my husband’s old band & yes it’s number 5 on my decade list. I figure it’s probably against some rule, but too bad – it’s really great music & I have a lot of awesome memories attached to it. Lone Wolf & Cub formed right around the time we started dating & I spent many of their practices playing Mario Brothers 3 while listening through the walls to their song writing. I don’t know what else to say – all the band members have remained good friends of ours & I feel really lucky to have been involved in so many of the band’s activities. [I was "band mom" after all]

-

4. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People

This is rock & roll & it’s good. Really, really good.

-

3. Andrew Bird – Andrew Bird and Mysterious Production of Eggs

Andrew Bird is tall, skinny, plays the violin & is a phenomenal whistler. If that wasn’t enough to make me swoon, his clever lyrics, interesting melodies & arrangements would be. Each of his albums after this have been solid, as well.

-

2. Jimmy Eat World – Clarity

Technically this came out in 1998, but the list is already made & posted, so too bad!

I got this album from Victoria during our junior year of high school. It was my first experience with music that wasn’t on the radio & I felt so cool. 5 years later I still thinks it’s a really record. That winter I was a ski instructor & I listened to “On a Sunday” driving home, on Sunday, every week.

JEW was also my first “real” concert ever. Myself, Victoria & our friend Chloe saw them play at Calvin College. It was right after “Bleed American” came out, but they played nearly all of “Clarity.” It has still remained one of the most wonderful concert experiences of my life.

-

1. The Mountain Goats – Tallahassee

This is another album I listened to the first time I hung out with Joel. John Darnielle is the Mountain Goats – other people have played & collaborated with the band, but he is the center. His songwriting is absolutely brilliant – clever, biting, truthful & often surprising.

According to my Last.fm station, the Mountain Goats are my second most listened to artist ever, after the Smiths. I’m not surprised.

In 2006, I saw him play at the Pitchfork Music Festival & it was amazing. This is what I wrote back then:

john darnille
owns
my
fucking
heart

i laughed, nearly cried (during “wild sage”) & screamed every word i knew. he played “southwood plantation road” which was the only song i was set on hearing. “no children” was a sing along, and was the closer “terror song.” there was also “cubs in 5,” a cover of franklin bruno’s “houseguest,” “dance music,” a song off his first 7 inch & other things i’m sure i’m forgetting.

it was the best hour of my life. so intense, so amazing.

& so, Southwood Plantation Road:

–

BONUS
The Hold Steady [my number 23] did a cover of Southwood Plantation Road. The video isn’t much, but the audtio is what counts.

10 years of my life in music, sorted & ordered.

Here’s a mix of the 25 songs I’ve chosen. Since it’s just a single song from each album, I’m claiming this under Fair Use for copyright, just in case any wondered.

http://www.mediafire.com/?djlvnndlzoy

Now we’re off for a day of birthday fun & dancing the night away.
See you in 2010.

xoxo

Related posts:

1. Decade Music List: The Honorable Mentions [& Merry Christmas Eve!]
2. Decade Music List: The Bottom 15
3. More happiness, more blogging
4. Summer 2011 Bucket List
5. High Five for the Mitten

Thursday, December 31st, 2009, 10:59 am   |   Uncategorized  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback