Bobby B's Top 50 Albums Of The Decade (#40-36)

For ramblings on how I came to compile this list go here. And for commentary on previous selections: [#50-46] [#45-41]

40. Goodbye Doris - Fox Jaws (2007)

Barrie's Fox Jaws are easily one of my favorite live bands, and I make a point of trying to catch their show every time that I can. For whatever reason, their debut album has really struck a chord with me personally, and whenever I put it on, I simply marvel at the beauty of it all. Carleigh Aikins voice is somewhat of a revelation, taking songs that would be good but perhaps a bit average and making them absolutely earth shattering. Some have made the comment that her blusey whiskey stained rasp when coupled with the basic pop rock sounds of the album are a little too odd of a match, but I think that therein lies the beauty. How could one not be exhumed in euphoria when Carleigh belts out the "write it down!" part of the song Couple Of Pops, or the adrenalin flamenco flavored shock of the last 30 seconds of Hide And Seek? The band can get experimental (Hitchcock Camera Trick), epic (New Body) and endearingly atmospheric (My Hands My Plans). It's hard to imagine anything more chill inducing than that last song, and it'll be great to continue to follow their career even further in the decade ahead. [Myspace: Fox Jaws]

39. Icky Thump - The White Stripes (2007)

There have certainly been various opinions on the subject, but for my money, I would have to say that Jack White was the true savior of rock 'n roll in this particular decade. I've already noticed that both 2001's White Blood Cells and 2003's Elephant have made other decade-end lists, but personally I didn't feel that any of those albums offered the non-stop adrenalin rush that this 2007 release gave us. I'm of the opinion that they will never be able to capture the excitement of their debut back in 1999, but this one comes pretty darn close. The opening track is like a punch in the face, with its simple yet effective bassline, its phenomenal riff and Jack's commanding voice. Their cover of Patti Page's Conquest (written by Corky Robbins) is about as fun as it gets, with its matador image inducing trumpet and Jack's tongue in cheek yelp. And never before has the band sounded more authentic than on the songs Rag And Bone and 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues. You just can't fake a sound like that! [Myspace: The White Stripes]

38. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2008)

Surprisingly, it took me a little bit longer than most to appreciate the beauty of this album. While most blogs and critics declared it the album of the year in '08, I had trouble preventing my mind from wandering when it came on, and therefore it didn't even make my personal list for that year. But it was on a semi-lengthy spring road trip that I decided to give the album another chance and this is when I became hooked. The album is a solemn listen with a tragic and lonely feel, but the sweet hush of Justin Vernon's voice coupled with the gentle strings of his acoustic guitar is just so compellingly honest that its hard not to feel like you're encroaching on his personal space just a little bit. The decade saw a lot of artists attempt to capture a similar sound, and while many of them managed to woo a few of the critics and fans out there, I've always been a bit skeptical of most of them, even finding the bulk of them to be a bit boring. I'm glad that I gave Bon Iver another chance on that chilly spring day as it allowed me to realize that this album should remain completely separate from the others as this is a genuine collection of moments of sheer beauty. [Myspace: Bon Iver]

37. You Are Free - Cat Power (2003)

I realize that my tastes can be a bit different than most, but I'm truly surprised that Chan Marshall's release from 2003 doesn't seem to get as much love as 2006's The Greatest, which was a significant step down, in my opinion. This album, along with much of her earlier works, contains a vulnerability that is far more endearing and honest hearted than anything she's released since then, and I have to say that this fragility allows the album to have much more of a personal tone to it. As later albums have proven, with a little bit of help, Chan's voice can sound dang near perfect at times, but on this album she allows the imperfections to remain in tact. For me, the beauty is to be found within those imperfect moments. The opening piano track I Don't Blame You and its possible Kurt Cobain references (and reverences) is absolutely haunting as Chan sounds as if she was walking dangerously close to the same line that he walked that eventually cost him his life. The entire album plays like an open wound, whether it's disguised in an upbeat melody (like Free or He War) or she's using someone else's poetry (like Keep On Runnin', a renamed cover of John Lee Hooker's Crawlin' Black Spider.) The album's therapeutic nature was no doubt a step towards her overcoming many personal demons, allowing her to perform these days with a newfound grace that will likely allow her to carry on much longer than she would have otherwise. [Myspace: Cat Power]

36. Welcome Interstate Managers - Fountains Of Wayne (2003)

It may not be a popular opinion, but I like pop music. Sue me. When Fountains of Wayne released their debut in 1996, it became very obvious to these ears that this band was putting out some of the catchiest pop music I've heard since Jellyfish, and I could not stop listening to that amazing album. Although this, their 3rd album, is not quite as good as that one, it comes pretty darn close, even if it does contain that international hit that every single person I've ever met hates with a passion. Personally, I think people have been a little bit tough on that particular tune, as goofy as it is, but overall this album contains enough other material to entertain even the Stacy's Mom haters. Bright Future In Sales and Little Red Light are solid rockers with amazing riffs. All Kinds Of Time is a beautiful ballad that really showcases the fact that Adam Schlesinger is a melody magician. And Hackensack and Valley Winter Song are a couple of alt-country pop delights that rank up there with some of The Jayhawks catchier offerings. Welcome Interstate Managers is just one example that illustrates the reasons why Schlesinger is the go-to guy when the crafting of a pop single is needed for soundtrack work or otherwise. [Myspace: Fountains of Wayne]

Tomorrow: Bobby B's 50 Albums Of The Decade (#35-31)

NXNE 2007: Day 4

In order to squeeze every last drip of life from our NXNE badges, we headed on down to Lee's Palace on Sunday night to check out one of my all-time faves, Fountains of Wayne. As I've acknowledged before, many people slag them for silly pop hits like "Stacy's Mom" but the fact is that if you dig a little deeper into their catalogue, you'll find that they've released some of the greatest and wittiest songs of the last 10 years. They showcased a large majority of them last night, including some lesser known ones like "Red Dragon Tattoo" and "No Better Place." I loved that when it came time to play the inevitable aforementioned hit song, they chose to play a completely stripped down acoustic version of the tune. I also really enjoyed that at least half of their set was comprised of songs from their stellar 1996 debut. Sure, there were noteworthy songs missing from the set ("Denise" and "Valley Winter Song") but overall this was a very enjoyable show and a great way to end a weekend of rampant concert going.

Fountains of Wayne on myspace / Download: Denise mp3
Check out my pics of the show on flickr.

A pleasant surprise for me was the fact that, opening for FoW was California's The Broken West, who's "I Can't Go On, I'll Go On" CD is amongst my favourite releases of the year. Their recorded sound reminds me of Teenage Fanclub or Big Star, but live they bring me back to Wilco's heyday, perhaps around the time of "Summerteeth." Their set seemed particularly short to me, but what they did play sounded great and I wouldn't be surprised if we see them headlining their own show next time around.

The Broken West on myspace / Download: On The Bubble mp3
Check out my pics from the show on flickr.

And so ends this year's NXNE festival and I'm amazed at the amount of shows I was able to catch this time around. It wiped me out mentally but I had a lot of fun. The next few weeks of my life are going to be very busy and I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do but hopefully I'll still be able to post something every week. the next show that I'm really going to try to be at is They Might Be Giants on July 23rd at The Mod Club.

Off to NXNE again this year! Woo-hoo!!

This years’ NXNE festival is rapidly approaching (June 7-10) and I couldn’t be more enthused. I sort of laid off the concert going this month in preparation. Of course, The Mystery Jets canceling their shows this week (due to a Visa situation) certainly made it easier to do so. But I’ve perused the acts and I think I have a personal schedule all made up and prepared. The cool thing is that you can actually make up a printable schedule right there on the NXNE site. So right now, here it is.

Thursday night, I want to start off at The Art Bar and check out Christa Couture, a folk singer from Vancouver. I’ve admired her music for a few years now and her song “I Will” is still one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. I meant to see The Ghost Is Dancing last year but didn’t, so maybe this year I will. And then it’s a beautiful repeat of last year when I check out the always fantastic Jason Falkner. Maybe I can meet him again and he won’t remember how much of a dork I was last year. The Old Soul is playing at the Horseshoe and they’re described as “an orchestral explosion of horns, drums, saxophones, vibraphones and accordions.” Sounds pretty cool to me. Follow that up with Adam Franklin at the Reverb and then, depending on how tired I am, it’s Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland at Lee’s Palace. However, the chances of me staying awake that late are basically slim to none.

Friday night is devoted to being one of the first 100 wristbands at The Phoenix to see Dinosaur Jr. It’s an early show (doors at 6) but there are two opening acts as well, Awesome Color and Uncut. Never heard of them. But I have to be there early if I’m going to get in. I do have a back-up plan if that one falls through but I'm fairly sure I won't need it. After that, I know many who will be zipping over to the Voxtrot show. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing openers Au Revoir Simone again, I reckon the crowd is going to be massive and since the Dino Jr crowd will likely already give me a headache, I think I’ll pass on that one and check out The Sadies instead at Lee’s Palace. That will be followed by Birds of Wales at The Drake.

My Saturday night schedule consists of Ohbijou at The Horseshoe. Everyone is telling me that I HAVE to see them so I will. Then I am really excited about seeing Hello Operator! I love those guys and I’ve never had the opportunity to see them live so it’s going to be great. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll try to get from The Rivoli to Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse quick enough to see Soundtrack Of Our Lives. I think that one will be pretty busy though and I may be pressing my luck. But I’ll try anyways and after that I’ll go to The Horseshoe again and see In-Flight Safety, whose live show was very impressive the last time I saw them.

Although I’ve received endless amounts of mockery from several friends, I like Fountains of Wayne. I realize “Stacy’s Mom” made them incredibly uncool, but I’m sorry, I’m a sucker for a well written pop song. I also don’t understand how it’s alright to like Matthew Sweet, but not FoW. To me they both write and record the same brand of catchy, hooky and hummable pop music. Whatever, I’m looking forward to seeing them and on Sunday night, the first 50 wristbands at Lee’s Palace are going to be allowed in to see them. So, I’ll be there early. Because I love them. And I don’t care if you don’t.

Downloads & Streams:

Christa Couture - I Will (stream)
The Ghost Is Dancing - People (mp3)
Jason Falkner - Lose Myself (mp3)
The Old Soul - Stream all of their songs here.
Adam Franklin - Cannery Row (mp3)
Dinosaur Jr. - Almost Ready (mp3)
The Sadies - Loved On Look (mp3)
Birds Of Wales - Stream several of their songs here.
Ohbijou - Misty Eyes (mp3)
In-Flight Safety - Stream their entire album here.
Fountains of Wayne - Watch the new video for "Someone To Love" featuring Dimitri Martin at youtube.