The Best CDs of the '00s

So here’s a list of CDs to come out in the last ten years that I think deserve praise and acknowledgement. And who better than me to give it, because I’ve been a closet critic for most of my life (in all truth it seems we’re all critics on matters that are dear) and I’m a musician that loves music and the arts; and I tend to be pretty outspoken and opinionated on stuff I care about (who isn’t? [and what better way than a list to externalize it]) which tips the balance significantly in my world toward these things and less to things like; money (much to my dismay), lawn care (much to my neighbor’s dismay), or just plainly, stuff I couldn’t give two shits about. Anyway, I decided to make it since 2000 for no real reason, except that it seems like a good cutoff point in most people’s minds. So the list is sure to disappoint many but; hell it’s my list right? So read ‘em and weep or enjoy; or let me know what an idiot I am or just nod and agree. Let's move on...

• 2000
PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea

Listeners will not need their skip button when listening to this CD, as there’s not a bad cut to be found here. On her 6th release, PJ Harvey demonstrates her diversity with a lighter and more atmospheric approach that recalls Patti Smith in ways but is still a unique document of Harvey’s voice and music. Her trademark rawness and lo-fi production are still present; but a sense of longing, exploration, loss, escape, and observations of nighttime cityscapes and dreams round out the theme of this CD. The picturesque scenes of “Big Exit”, “The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore”, “Beautiful Feeling”, and “This Mess We’re In” just about jump out and bite the listener. Harvey has said that her songs are not necessarily personal, but just stories or tales – if this is true about this set, I think she needs an Oscar quick, because these songs radiate genuine honesty.

• 2001
Bjork – Vespertine

Like astronomers and physicists researching the unknowns of the quantum world, Bjork’s Vespertine is the musical equivalent of an exploration into the very small. Quiet, ambient beats support whispered instrumentation and melodic choirs as Bjork sings in her completely original voice about the inner life. This music is like a warm blanket in a small country cottage during the wee hours of a snowy night. The introversion of songs like; “Cocoon”, “Hidden Place”, and “Unison” are perfectly matched with other songs of winter like; “Pagan Poetry”, “Aurora”, “Frosti”, and “An Echo, A Stain”. And yes, it really does sound like winter. Using samples of boots walking through snow, glittery harps, and majestic sounding choirs, she pulls it off in a way that only Bjork can.

• 2002
Peter Gabriel – Up

This is Peter Gabriel’s best album of his entire career. It’s also his most polarizing and misunderstood. It sounds nothing like its predecessor Us from ’92 or the mid-eighties popular peak of So. In 2002 Gabriel returns to his early solo years with a more experimental sound, think; Games Without Frontiers, Intruder, and San Jacinto. But Up is also something different because it was produced by a 52 year-old Gabriel writing on subjects like aging, death, birth; about growing up continually throughout life. Musically the album navigates light and shade as the opener “Darkness” blasts noisy rhythms intersected by soft piano, “Sky Blue” features an outro of gospel singing and minimalist guitar, and “Signal To Noise” has screaming, orchestral strings, and tribal drums interlaced. Yet with all its diversity, it is a very simple, direct album as Up is a masterpiece of understatement from a man that can do great things with subtlety.

• 2003
King Crimson – The Power To Believe

For a band that started making music in 1969 to have a worthy album of material 34 years later is astonishing. This is in part due to guitarist and all around head-honcho, Robert Fripp guiding his band through the years with an artistic mind that has seen him play with 18 other members of Crimson in various versions and incarnations, changing stylistic directions like a switchback mountain road. In his own words, Fripp has said that King Crimson is not so much a band as it is a way of thinking about things. In 2003, Fripp is joined by; co-guitarist and vocalist, Adrian Belew, drummer Pat Mastelotto, and Trey Gunn on something called a Touch Warr Guitar, which seems to me a kind of hybrid between a bass, Chapman Stick, and a guitar. On the title track and it’s 3 other parts, Belew sings through a vocoder giving a ghostly feel to the music, while on songs like; “Level 5”, “Dangerous Curves”, and “Elektrik” Mastelotto merges acoustic and synthetic percussion to produce intriguing rhythms and sounds. This “way of thinking” has put together an album of material that fuses the dark machine-like heaviness of all eras of Crimson, with eclectic electronics that validate them as true genre benders.

• 2004
Squarepusher – Ultravisitor

This guy eats, shits, breathes, and dreams music in such a savant-ish way that it’s hard to imagine him doing anything else. And for his 10th album, Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) delivers a long set that proves this point, I think, better than any of his other releases before or since. Ultravistior functions as a “Best Of” album except that it’s not re-released material, but instead is the best of his musical traits displayed on one CD. From his drill n’ bass and IDM sonic explorations, to his jazz drumming and bass playing, to classical pieces like, “Andrei” and “Everyday I Love”, he covers more ground than he has ever done before. His creative and technical virtuosity are on full display here – Tom is, no kidding, one of the best bass players I’ve ever heard – but what really affects me is the scope and boundaries that are punched out by the music which gives it a distinct genre of its own.

• 2005
Dave Douglas – Keystone

Ass-kick’in Jazz is what I would call this. The very prolific trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas shows off a new band and approach on Keystone. These songs were written by Douglas as a tribute and a kind of soundtrack to the early 20th century comedian Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle and his silent films. I know nothing of silent cinema, but I do know that these tunes are not a throwback to the subject matter’s era but a much needed leap forward in thinking to modern jazz. Psychedelic keyboards, turntables, and funky to heavy hitting groovy drums are the addition to a saxophonist and Douglas’ trumpet. “Just Another Murder”, “Fatty’s Day Off”, “Famous Players”, and “Barnyard Flirtations” brilliantly show the adventurous spirit of the music and performers. I just wish contemporary jazz would wake up and do stuff like this that is truly in the spirit of jazz instead of turning jazz into a classicist genre by recycling the past – Wynton Marsalis; I’m talk’in to you buddy. Luckily, we have Dave Douglas and a handful of others that are crossing over and breaking down walls.

• 2006
Tomasz Stańko Quartet – Lontano

I heard this CD when it came out not knowing much about Tomasz Stańko or his band except that they’re all from Poland and play jazz. After I fell in love with Lontano, I went out and bought a handful of his other releases, but this one’s still my favorite. One of the amazing things about this recording is its textural sounds and microscopic attention to detail. I’m guessing that they recorded it live in an empty theater hall, because one can hear the room, the communication between the players, and the full range of improvisations from being hesitant to confident – warts and beauty marks. And this is the love; because mistakes and eloquent lyricism make it perfectly human, and what better way to be evocative than to elicit this unique animalistic quality in a way that only humans can. Restraint, weakness, patience; all are so elusive in the arts, but with respect for the past and an ear in the future, these guys understand the importance of space; in the room, between the notes. They play space and silence just as well as they play their instruments and this is the hallmark of mature, accomplished musicians. This album is a testament to what humans can do.

• 2007
Skinny Puppy – Mythmaker

Thank god or the devil, or Canada depending on your orientation that Skinny Puppy decided to reunite in ’03. Because without these influential pioneers, Industrial music is about as close as it can get to shit without them theses days. Why? Because Skinny Puppy paved the way for a new kind of extreme in musical experimentation and thinking that caught on in the ‘80s, but quickly devolved into watered down simulacra of the original intent. Heavy borrowing and filtering by Nine Inch Nails (Bubblegum Industrial), Marilyn Manson (shockingly laughable), and sadly, the once mighty Ministry (I love ‘em but they’ve been playing the same song since ’92) have just about bankrupted the genre. On Mythmaker, the Puppies come to the rescue with an album that hits you in the face and then nurses your senses back to life like a summer day. Particularly on the songs; “Dal”, “Haze”, “Jaher”, and “Pasturn” they show that in order to achieve real artistic darkness, a band needs to paint with plenty of light colors to emphasize the darks (evil metal bands, please take note). Dynamical in sound, performance, production, and composition is what Mythmaker is, as Skinny Puppy have once again annihilated their competition.

• 2008
M83 - Saturdays = Youth

On Saturdays = Youth, The French band M83 have embraced the pop music that they’ve always orbited closely but never touched. Gravity finally had its way in that the synth-pop of the ‘80s welcomed M83’s retro drum and keyboard synthesizers to the aged but smiling ‘Decadent’ decade. Throw in some modern dreamy vocals reminiscent of fellow Frenchmen Air, and we’ve got an album that’s uncompromising in its acceptance of the past while having the unique quality of sounding like something that could only have come out with 25 years of hindsight. On, “Kim and Jessie”, “Couleurs”, “We Own the Sky”, and “Graveyard Girl” waves of analog modeled synths and the sometimes sparse, chorusy guitars drench the listener in a new timeless goodness. For me, the song “Up!” can be seen as the most representative summary of the whole CD, because like the saying, it definitely looks back to look ahead. And that's exactly what M83 have managed to accomplish.

• 2009
Bill Frisell - Disfarmer

I’ve been listening to Bill Frisell for many years now and he’s never failed to impress me with his diversity and originality. Over the years he’s given new meaning to the term, ‘Americana’ in that he’s played in genres that are indigenous to America, yet imbibes all of it with his very original approach to song craft and guitar. With this CD, Frisell was asked to put music to the photography of the late Mike Disfarmer, which was being exhibited in a few galleries around the country. The namesake was a reclusive portrait photographer that took striking photos of people living in rural Arkansas in the first half of the 20^th century. For this, Frisell assembled a band consisting of a violinist, bassist, steel guitarist, and himself on guitars and effects. In 26 short songs we hear the landscape of Arkansas and think of a distant time that’s familiar but also new. “Shutter, Dream” finds Frisell giving traditional music a subtle kick forward without any disrespect as he plays old music boxes over acoustic bass harmonics and then brings a backward looped guitar and fiddle over the top of it all. “The Wizard” and “Farmer” are perfect examples of mixing old and new by employing feedback, mandolins, loops, music boxes, and slack rhythms that sound dissonant, inviting, rural, and modern. Frisell writes in the liner notes that he tried to “picture what went on in Disfarmer’s mind” and that he’d “like to imagine it coming from his point of view.” We'll never know, but I know this is a great CD.