candy claws drew me into a fuzzed out summer stupor with their addictingly magnificent song “catomaran” much appropriate for this time of the year [link]

the republic of wolves are turning heads and catchin ears round the net with three demos they unleashed which were mistaken for leaked songs off of brand new’s daisy. it’s true, the dude sounds just like jesse lacey [link]

i posted what i believe to be the 50 best songs of the decade and the 10 best releases of the decade. free downloads at each. get at it

as always, if you dig the song, support the artist!

the picture is of my brother getting punched in the face. i stole it from my good friend’s expansive collection of photography. his name is trevor christensen , do him a favor, hit him up and show him some love.

download:: best of the decade pt 1 (songs 1-25)
download:: best of the decade pt 2 (songs 26-50)

#50
wild orchid children – ahead of us the secret
from elephant ep (2007) ::purchase

#49
city and colour – as much as i ever could
from bring me your love (2008) ::purchase

#48
blood brothers – trash flavored trash
from crimes (2004) ::purchase

#47
forget cassettes – quiero, quieres
from salt (2006) ::purchase

#46
straylight run – big shot (hands in the sky)
from prepare to be wrong ep (2005)::purchase

#45
the arcade fire – wake up
from funeral (2004)::purchase

#44
arctic monkeys – fluorescent adolescent
from favourite worst nightmare (2007)::purchase

#43
moving mountains – 8105
from pneuma (2008)::purchase

#42
manchester orchestra – i can barely breathe
from i’m like a virgin losing a child (2006)::purchase

#41
underoath – everyone looks so good from here
from define the great line (2006)::purchase

#40
kevin devine – time to burn (another bag of bones)
from brother’s blood (2009)::purchase

#39
parallax – the romance
from mediums and messages(2006) unavailable for purchase

#38
explosions in the sky – greet death
from those who tell the truth shall die, those who tell the truth shall live forever (2001)::purchase

#37
death from above 1979 – romantic rights
from you’re a woman, i’m a machine (2004)::purchase

#36
gym class heroes – everydays forecast
from the papercut chronicles (2005)::purchase

#35
mgmt – time to pretend
from oracular spectacular (2008)::purchase

#34
manchester orchestra – i was a lid
from let my pride be what’s left behind (2008)::purchase

#33
david bazan – cold beer and cigarettes
from fewer moving parts ep (2006)::purchase

#32
evangelicals – midnight vignette
from the evening descends (2008)::purchase

#31
the strokes – you only live once
from first impressions of earth (2006)::purchase

#30
animal collective – the purple bottle
from feels (2005)::purchase

#29
conor oberst – milk thistle
from conor oberst (2008)::purchase

#28
aesop rock – daylight
from labor days (2001)::purchase

#27
the sound of animals fighting – act IV – you don’t need a witness
from tiger & the duke (2005)::purchase

#26
bloc party – positive tension
from silent alarm (2005)::purchase

#25
colour revolt – swamp
from plunder, beg, and curse (2008)::purchase

#24
brand new – untitled 05
from leaked demos (2006) unavailable for purchase

#23
the good life – inmates
from album of the year (2004)::purchase

#22
la dispute – damaged goods
from somewhere at the bottom between vega and altair(2008)::purchase

#21
circle takes the square – kill the switch
from as the roots undo(2003)::purchase

#20
mewithoutYou – four word letter pt. 2
from catch for us the foxes(2004)::purchase

#19
modest mouse – night on the sun
from everywhere and his nasty parlour tricks (2001)::purchase

#18
grizzly bear – ready, able
from veckatimest (2009)::purchase

#17
cursive – staying alive
from the ugly organ (2003)::purchase

#16
glassjaw- two tabs of mescaline
from worship and tribute (2002)::purchase

#15
bright eyes – lets not shit ourselves (to love and to be loved)
from lifted: or the story is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground (2002)::purchase

#14
the strokes – is this it
from is this it (2001)::purchase

#13
bright eyes – hit the switch
from digital ash in a digital urn (2006)::purchase

#12
brand new – limousine (ms rebridge)
from the devil and god are raging inside me (2006)::purchase

#11
manchester orchestra – pride
from mean everything to nothing (2009)::purchase

#10
emily haines – winning
from knives don’t have your back (2006)::purchase

#9
brand new – okay i believe you, but my tommy gun don’t
from deja entendu (2003)::purchase

#8
portugal. the man – telling tellers telling me
from church mouth (2007)::purchase

#7
la dispute – new storms for older lovers
from somewhere at the bottom between vega and altair (2008)::purchase

#6
right away, great captain! – right ahead, young sailor
from the bitter end (2007)::purchase

#5
rx bandits – tainted wheat
from …and the battle begun (2006)::purchase

#4
the sound of animals fighting – this heat
from lover the lord has left us (2006)::purchase

#3
as cities burn – timothy
from come now sleep (2006)::purchase

#2
mewithoutYou – o porcupine
from brother, sister(2006)::purchase

#1
bright eyes – loose leaves
from brother, sister(2006)::purchase

download:: best of the decade pt 1 (songs 1-25)
download:: best of the decade pt 2 (songs 26-50)

in the year 2000, i was a mere 12 years old, just barely beginning my love affair with music. if this list seems naive or immature, it’s probably cause it is. i’ve never claimed to have the most intellectual or mature tastes in music, and alot of these releases probably aren’t the most groundbreaking or important releases of all time. i get that. these are albums i picked that have defined and connected me through some of the most important years of my life

with that being said, read on my friends. comments/feedback as always, are more than welcome.

#10
circle takes the square – as the roots undo

kill the switch, welcome comatose.
this night our journeys through the dark

i’ve been listening to ‘as the roots undo’ since my freshman year in high school and i still have not the slightest clue what circle takes the square are screaming about. the calculated jagged composition on this album is still mind blowing every time i put this record on. it sounds like someone unearthed a swarm of demonic spirits bent on voicing their agonizing coda. one of the most mindblowingly intensely intricate albums i’ve ever heard.
mp3:: circle takes the square – non objective portrait of karma

#9
modest mouse – everywhere and his nasty parlour tricks

get real drunk
and ride our bikes
theres so much beauty it could make ya cry

if i had to pick one modest mouse release that was completely solid from start to finish, this is it. brock is at his absolute best on this record. modest mouse have a knack for creating atmosphere that is rarely found in any other band. just listen to “night on the sun” or “the air” and try not go let the chills shock your spine. this album is perfect for every season.
mp3:: modest mouse – so much beauty in dirt

#8
manchester orchestra – mean everything to nothing

I am the only one that thinks I’m going crazy
I don’t know what to do
I am the only son of a pastor I know
who does the things I do

‘mean everything to nothing’ is the newest album on the list, but deserves no less acclaim than it’s peers. though it’s only been released for a few months, it has had such a lasting affect on me each time i listen to it that i had to put it on here. lead singer/songwriter andy hull is the second coming of jesse lacey, and is slowly filling his massive shoes. songs like “pride” “in my teeth” and the title track “mean everything to nothing” showcase a band mature way beyond their years. i’m confident, years from now i will still look back on this album with the same shining appreciation.
mp3:: manchester orchestra – in my teeth

#7
la dispute – somewhere at the bottom of the river between vega and altair

I’ve found comfort in my suffering
And uncertainty in happiness and death
Because what’s next is such a mystery to me
And I am terrified of all the things I feel but cannot see
Friends and family
Put your hand into my hand and lay your head into my chest
You are all that I have left here
We are all that we have left

rarely has a completely unknown group of musicians blindsided me as la dispute did last fall with their debut full length. everything that makes any album ‘essential’ is contained within the sound barriers of somewhere at the bottom… the lyricism on this album borders aaron weiss greatness, keeping me coming back to lead singer jordan dreyers hopeless cries which induce shudders everytime i listen.
mp3:: la dispute – new storms for older lovers

#6
bright eyes – lifted, or, the story is in the soil keep your ear to the ground

But where was it when I first heard that sweet sound of humility?
It came to my ears in the goddamn loveliest melody
How grateful I was then to be part of the mystery
To love and to be loved
Let’s just hope that is enough

it’s hard to pick just one bright eyes release to be on this list, i could have easily put up his whole discography (*sans cassadaga) without flinching. however, ‘lifted..’ is on here for it’s sentimental value. along with many others i’m sure, this is the first bright eyes record i heard, beginning my undying love for everything oberst.
mp3:: bright eyes – lets not shit ourselves (to love and to be loved)

#5
new found glory – new found glory

here’s to us fools
that have no meaning
i tip my glass to you
let’s toast the night away to friends
and forget about tomorrow

If I could pick a soundtrack to my years leading up to High School, this was it. New Found Glory captured the essence of my late childhood. In a time where I thought I was cool and rebellious because I wore baggy khaki shorts and put too much gel in my hair, New Found Glory was right there with me. I still listen to this album, and love every track. One of those rare albums that is so easy to sing along to. Turn it up and lose yourself.
mp3:: new found glory – ballad for the lost romantics

#4
bright eyes – there is no beginning to the story

i remember countin days down till the year could be done
so i could scatter all my notebooks on the prep school lawn
and disappear again, into a summers bliss
of stayin out and sleepin in and gettin drunk with my friends

The quintessential bright eyes release. Though this EP is only 5 songs long, it is the perfect embodiment of everything that has made Conor Oberst one of the most polarizing figures of the last 10 years. It also features “Loose Leaves” which is hands down, my favorite song of all time.
mp3:: bright eyes – loose leaves

#3
the strokes – is this it

cant you see im tryin?
i dont even like it, i’d just like to get to your apartment
now im stayin here just for a while
i can’t sleep cause im just way too tired

the effect that this album has had on modern rock n roll cannot be undervalued. this is the album that started the dynasty of the greatest modern rock n roll band of the past decade. i still find it hard to get what makes these guys so special. when listening to most of the songs on here it seems this album was written in a half hour due to its simplicity, yet every note, every hit on the drum kit, every tone is mastered to utter perfection.
mp3:: the strokes – is this it

#2
brand new – deja entendu

this is the grace only we can bestow
this is the price you pay for loss of control
this is the break in the bend
this is the closest of calls
this is the reason your alone
this is the rise and the fall

this is first album i ever considered perfect. it was released before i was even legal to drive. i remember religiously listening to a handful of songs that i had gotten off of some now defunct p2p program before it’s release. the day it came out my friend and i walked to our local mall and picked it up. i remember going back to his house and putting it on and just being fully immersed in it from start to finish without moving. deja entendu is roughly translated from french to mean “already heard” but at the time, this was honestly like nothing i had heard before, and it still stands apart in a league all on its own.
mp3:: brand new – okay, i believe you but my tommy gun don’t

#1
mewithoutYou – brother, sister

“you say Judas is a brother of mine?
but sister in our darkness a light shines
and all I ever want to say for the rest of my life
is how that light is G-d,
and though I’ve been mistaken on this or that point,
that light is nevertheless G-d. “

brother, sister is one of those albums that i feel will follow me for the rest of my life. i’m still amazed by this record every time i listen to it. in my eyes aaron weiss cemented himself as the greatest lyricist of my lifetime with this album. there is not a single flaw to be found on ‘brother, sister’. at first listen, it sounds like some crazy bum shouting meaningless nothing’s into a microphone he was just given for the first time in his life, and that’s the true beauty of it. with subsequent listens, this album grows and flourishes unlike anything i’ve ever experienced before, and those meaningless ramblings turn into the most calculated, precisely magnificent lyrics that i’ve heard in my life time.
mp3:: mewithoutYou – o porcupine