Board of Hi Five

In attempting to give a different point of view than other lists that have, or will come out, I am writing this one in an autobiographical manner. These are the albums that mark periods in my life over the past 10 years. Also, I am going to place them not by year they were released, but instead list them at the time I truly discovered the album and it moved me…sometimes it takes a few years to realize the greatness of an album.

I am splitting up the albums into sections, representing different periods of my life in which I grew and changed as a person. I am doing this in order to make sense of my own life and timeline….

I also realize that 20 is not 5. So, concept fail….but it is impossible to sum up 10 years in 5 albums…

——Jan. 2000 to May 2004——Graduating High School to Graduating College

The Impossibles – Enter/Return (2000)

As one of two albums on this list released in the year 2000, this record marked a period of my life with tremendous change.  Enter/Return was released in June of 2000 as I was graduating high school and preparing my life for college. When I bought this album, I was expecting the same ska/punk band that I knew The Impossibles to be, but was amazed to hear something completely different.

Much like this band shedding their skin and changing musical direction with this album, I would soon find myself doing much the same musically in the years to come. This album largely ended my fascination with pop-punk and ska from high school, even though I still sported my Fat Wreck hat on the Fredonia campus for most of freshman year.

Ten years later, and I still listen to this album and love it just as much as I did then. When I hear the song ‘Never Say Goodbye‘, I am reminded of the final weeks before leaving for college and driving around Binghamton with this song blasting out of my Mom’s blue Subaru.

Fugazi – The Argument (2001)

The last full length album from my favorite band of all time. I still remember ordering this album on the phone from Dischord because I was too afraid to use a credit card online. When it arrived, it came with a nice thank you note which I taped to the side of my Compaq computer for the rest of Freshman year.

I must have had this album in my portable CD player walking around this campus for months on end. Also, The Argument is responsible for sparking conversation with Ryan Ball, one of my great friends and fellow former member of League and Northwestern.

Mogwai – Rock Action (2001)

When I entered college for sound recording, I knew one of my teachers would be Dave Fridmann. Up to that point, I only knew his work on Pinkerton and The Soft Bulletin. When I heard that he was working with Mogwai, and they were in town and would be playing at BJ’s….it was something I couldn’t miss. I still remember that show as being the single loudest show I have ever attended.

Rock Action contains one of the greatest “side one, track one’s” ever in ‘Sine Wave’. The sounds on this album alone are to die for, and I honestly don’t think Mogwai has matched the sound and intensity of this album since.

I also fell in love with the bar at the show, and spent the next few years sneaking in the back screen door by the kitchen that was never guarded in order to drink underage. I was a regular face in BJ’s for the next 4 years….

Piebald – We Are The Only Friends We Have (2002)

Spring Break 2002, a bunch of good friends headed from Binghamton to Syracuse to attend a Piebald show where they were touring on this album. After seeing the show, the 5 fine young men make their way to a Jeep parked on the street. Spotting Piebald’s touring van, these young men decide to write a note to them which reads:

“What’s up Piebald? What’s up is right. What’s up is right is right.”

Right after leaving this on their windshield, their merch guy came out, read it and confronted us like we wanted to fight Piebald….but in reality, it meant nothing….it was just nonsense. We laughed the entire way home while listening to this album.

We Are the Only Friends... remained my album of choice for almost an entire year. I could not find a single thing wrong with this album. Lyrics from ‘The Monkey vs. The Robot’ hung in my apartment where League rehearsed. I still use it as a reference CD for calibrating sound systems and learning a new speaker set up.

Piebald is also a big reason for the shift from Brighton to League. I distinctly remembering Dave and Nate (the bassist from Brighton) convincing me to ditch class for the night and go to Buffalo to see Piebald at the Backstage Pub. There were 5 people there….and it may have been one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. Soon after, Nate left school, Elliott joined the band, and League was formed….

The Promise Ring – Wood/Water (2002)

The final album by my second favorite band of all time provided a soundtrack to one of the best summers I have ever had. Every afternoon after work, it was an unwritten rule to meet up with Steve, Trevor, and Mike (a.k.a. King of the Grass) and play basketball until dark.
None of us were 21 yet, so we had to find activities that did not involve massive amounts of drinking. We had tons of fun that summer, and this album was the supporting soundtrack. The song ‘My Life is at Home’ fills me with mental pictures of that summer. Shooting fireworks off in West End park with the Sullivans on July 4th, drinking at the same park, parties in Steve and Ellie’s basements….I have amazing friends.

The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)

By this time in my life, I had taken a few classes with Dave Fridmann, and still could not fathom how he got the sounds on this album. In later years, when I finally was lucky to record with him as producer, I would figure some of his tricks out…but not all of them by far…

I remember buying this album at Circuit City in Binghamton the summer of 2002, and driving home in my green truck with the CD in the stereo. I didn’t have to work at CVS that day, so I drove down the Vestal Parkway to Route 26 and headed south towards Pennsylvania. I listened to the entire album on the way to Montrose, PA, then headed back to Binghamton through a different route listening to it a second time. Thank god gas was only $1.20 at this point.

Slowreader – Slowreader (2002)

Everyone has an album that reminds them of a relationship. Listening to Slowreader takes me right back to my apartments in Fredonia, hanging out with my girlfriend at the time. I can remember blissful moments, as well as arguments (including one we had at a Slowreader show in Buffalo). Now she is married to a wonderful man, and I’m still listening to this album every time I have relationship troubles.

Slowreader only lasted for this one album, which was created from the master songwriters of The Impossibles. The album is ripe with great melodies, harmonies, and chord changes. It is everything a depressing album should be…beautiful, yet tragic and moving from despair to hope.

The Weakerthans – Left and Leaving (2000)

I remember listening to the Weakerthans’ album Fallow after John K. Sampson left Propaghandi and thinking “ ‘Diagnosis‘ is a good song, but I can’t get into the rest.” Well, a few years later, I stumbled upon a used copy of Left and Leaving at NYCD in Fredonia and decided to give them another shot. Then I realized I was completely wrong about the band. This has happened to me many times in life, but sometimes I just need to reach a point in life for a band’s music to reach me….something that will be repeated as we move down the list.

Left and Leaving left me speechless, but mainly with the lyrics. Musically, the album is adequate, but not stunning (the drums are the most creative entity of the band at this point)…but what really captured me were the lyrics. Sampson’s poetry is unmatched for this decade. The only people who come close are David Bazan and Mike Kinsella, but some Pedro the Lion comes off as preachy, and Kinsella overdid it with the ‘girls are evil’ routine. I have enjoyed every Weakerthans album since, and musically they have grown tenfold, but this album still blows me away more than any other.

Cursive – The Ugly Organ (2003)

When I heard this album for the first time, I had never, ever, heard anything so sincere, so beautiful, and so heart wrenching before….until I reached back and heard Domestica. I was a late comer to Cursive, never paying much attention to them before The Ugly Organ.

This album, for me, was my entire Junior and Senior years of college. I was playing in League, working towards two degrees, and drinking way too much at BJ’s. I listened to this album so much, that I scratched the hell out of the CD and had to buy a second copy. Years later, I still love Cursive, and this album. Although, I fully admit to overplaying it so much that I still can’t listen to it the whole way through without getting bored now. I have it all memorized.

Cursive – Domestica (2000)

After hearing The Ugly Organ, I ran out and bought the entire Cursive catalog up to date. Of their earlier albums, Domestica spoke volumes to me. ‘The Radiator Hums’ still gives me chills when I hear it.

Upon listening it today, it carries more meaning since I have been through a few tumultuous relationships and can relate to the lyrics.

The following line from the book/movie High Fidelity sums up my feeling about this album:

“What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”

—–May 2004 to November 2004—–Five Months on Tour with League

Small Brown Bike – The River Bed (2003)

Lesson #1 for anyone going on tour with a band for 5 months in a 15-passenger van with the same 3 guys: Do Not Listen To This Album.

I love this album, but the entire thing is about touring, missing home, and having regrets about touring in a 15-passenger van for months on end. Despite those lyrics, I still listened to this album way more than any other on this tour.

Even though it came out the year before, I had not given the album a complete listen because I was busy working on graduating college and getting myself prepared for 5 months on the road…an experience I will never regret. I made so many friends and have so many memories from that tour which surface when I hear this album.

Beck – Sea Change (2002)

One August night, in Corpus Christi, TX while sitting in a wooden gazebo in the middle of an apartment complex, my college girlfriend of 2 years told me never to call her again.

I was reminded of this album a few days later when I came across an emulation project for my friend Jeremy that I played drums on the song ‘The Golden Age‘. I listened to the emulation project, and found Sea Change at a used CD store in Norman, OK. Never in my life had I ever found an album that made me feel better about my own situation. Beck’s feeling of loss and hopelessness at losing a loved one is so real, so personal. I still cannot believe he opened up himself like that, but I am glad he did.

Sonically, it may be the best album of the decade. I absolutely love the sound of the drums and vocals. It is Beck’s best album, and I feel the best work of Nigel Godrich to date (all you Radiohead fanatics can boo me now….or later when you discover no Radiohead in the Top 20).

Mock Orange – Mind is Not Brain (2004)

September 13, 2004 – I remember 3 things about this day….my 23rd Birthday. 1.) Writing and recording a new song with League in a basement of someone’s house in Kansas City, MO.; 2.) Getting a phone call from my high school band director and having the entire Binghamton High School band sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me over the phone; and 3) Going to see Mock Orange live in Warrensburg, MO on our night off.

That night, I stood on a balcony above the stage, and watched their drummer, Heath Metzger, completely in awe of his musicality and ability. They were touring on this album, which was a complete departure of their previous music and the members of League were somewhat shocked at the new sound. But in the months to come, this album would be in the CD player on the long drives from gig to gig, keeping me awake with its odd time signatures and haunting guitar tones.

—–December 2004 to December 2006—–The end of League, the beginning of Saxon Shore, and living at home in between tours.

M83 – Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005)

Anytime I join a new band, or play with new musicians, I make it my mission to listen to the music they are enjoying in order to get inside their heads. Upon joining Saxon Shore, I had lots to learn. I felt like the uncool kid hanging out with the uber cool kids. I was shifting musical paths like an 18-wheeler trying to make a U-turn at 70m.p.h.

I asked Matt Doty what he was listening to, and he gave me this album. I listened to it for our entire Spring tour through the Midwest. I was assimilating new music at a record pace on these tours in order to get on the same mindset as everyone else, but this album sticks out as the one that really introduced me to a whole new world post my heavy phase of math rock and post-punk (I hate that term)……

Bear Vs. Shark – Terrorhawk (2005)

….However, I couldn’t completely shake my post-punk (I hate that term) intake. Bear vs. Shark picked up the itch I needed for some good rock and roll. Around this time, all my punk/post-punk/hardcore idols seemed to be calling it quits for good, or making crappy albums. Piebald (crappy albums, then broke up up), Small Brown Bike (broke up), Snapcase (broke up), so I was left with very little to hold on to. Bear vs. Shark kept the lights on for me, but would soon follow a demise after this album.

Arguably, it ranks near the bottom of my list if I were to rank these albums, but it helped me say goodbye to some good music, and a slight shift in my tastes was awaiting me around the turn.

Pedro the Lion – Control (2002)

I knew of Pedro the Lion all through college. My friend Chris Keyes had a few of their albums which I tended to glance over when ripping his CD collection.

Years later, I would come across Control and become completely enthralled by it. Today, David Bazan/Pedro The Lion/Headphones are my #3 artists of all time.

Control is one of those rare concept albums that completely makes sense. It is a story wrought with infidelity, lies, and a murder of passion. Bazan’s somber tone on ‘Priests and Paramedics’ still cuts to my core, especially when he sings the lines from the priest’s sermon at the funeral.

David Cross – Shut Up You Fucking Baby (2002)

Shut Up You Fucking Baby has the distinctive pleasure of being the only non-musical album on this list. It was hands down, the best, funniest comedy album of the decade.

I knew of David Cross from his work on Arrested Development, but didn’t discover his genius stand up until I was so bored with music on tour, that I needed to listen to comedy and spoken word. Doty had this album, and put it in on a long drive during our fall tour. I think all of us didn’t stop laughing the entire drive.

To this day, my brothers and I will recite lines around each other, and I am reminded of the album just by walking past certain places in Manhattan….“What’s for breakfast at Cosi?….”

—–January 2006 to December 2009—–Living in New York City

LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver (2007)

When I realized I really liked this album, I got scared. It meant living in Williamsburg finally got to me musically. I was able to ignore most of the nonsense of the hipster musical fads, but I could not ignore this album. I was now part of the hipster fad machine. Frightening.

However, of all the albums the Williamburg community goes nuts for, this one was finally right. Sound of Silver may be the best party record of the decade (sorry Andrew W.K…..). It also is a great album to drive to with its unending beats and catchy synth lines.

I was now fully immersed in Brooklyn.

Nada Surf – Lucky (2008)

I have always held a special place in my heart for Nada Surf. Listening to a band grow musically is such an amazing thing to experience when it is documented. I was a huge fan of The Proximity Effect and Let Go, but was disappointed by The Weight is a Gift.

When Lucky came out, I was in Albany visiting Steve L. for a weekend of debauchery. At some point, we went to Best Buy and I saw this on the rack, so I bought it. I listened to it twice on the drive back to Brooklyn. I was hooked.

‘Beautiful Beat‘ is one of two songs in my life that instantly bring a smile to my face every time I hear it. Let’s just hope Nada Surf keeps the hits coming….

David Bazan – Curse Your Branches (2009)

This album came out in September of this year. Some people might argue that it shouldn’t even be near an all-decade list because it hasn’t been around for more than 4 months. I say, I don’t give a crap.

Curse Your Branches is one of the best albums of all time….for me. I haven’t heard an album this sincere since The Ugly Organ or perhaps Automatic for the People. Bazan is at his best. Honest lyrics, amazing songwriting, and perfect harmonies. What made it even better, is seeing him live, and hearing those vocal harmonies sung with stunning accuracy.

I couldn’t be happier to end a phenomenal decade of music with this album. It is as perfect to me as Nothing Feels Good, The Blue Album, Pet Sounds, or Milestones.

—–Honorable Mentions—–

Radiohead – Kid A - Let the complaining commence. I do enjoy this album, but Radiohead never really hit a nerve with me. I love, love, love many things they do, but they were never the end-all-be-all band for me.

Sigur Rós – Takk – I really enjoyed this album more than any other of theirs because it was so much more aggressive at times.

Four Tet – Rounds – Stunning beats, and ‘Slow Jam‘ is simply amazing.

The Get Up Kids – On a Wire – When I first bought this in 2002, I was disappointed in it. It was ‘emo bullshit’ to me. Then, years later, I listened to it and was blown away at how amazing it is, and how stupid I was to blow it off.

Eels – Live at Town Hall – I love Mark Oliver Everett. I love this album, and it almost made it onto the list….but it didn’t because I skip songs on it….quite a bit.

Owen – No Good for No One Now – Still my go to album for depressing songs about girls.

Well that’s it. Thanks for reading.

-Steve R.