Twenty albums you should hear (Part I)

I told you I'd have something more fun.

On this blog, I have never tried to hide the fact that I like music, and my joy that I'm finally discovering new music. What I have had a problem with is relaying that music to you in any sort of consistent fashion - my 'summer music project' ended up a dud as my tastes moved elsewhere, and I seem to go in spurts where I listen to music faster than I can blog about it, then not try anything new for months.

So, here's my latest attempt. Twenty albums, by twenty different artists, split alphabetically into four groups of five - which also should mean more frequent updates. Two or three that I'd expect most people to know, a few more that I've mentioned here before, and plenty that you've likely never heard of. Let's get on with it!

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Pitchfork, the Internet home of all hipsters and elitists, gave this a 9.6/10. Even though it was released in early January, many said confidently that it would be the greatest album of 2009 - and they just might be right. Scott Feschuk listed "My Girls" as the second-best song of the year, and called the band "Brian Wilson crossed with Passion Pit and four tabs of acid" - despite not really being a fan of the band. (But then, what would a political writer know about music?)

The obvious criticism of this album - one even Feschuk noticed - is that patterns and repetition play a big part in making MPP what it is. And that's valid. But is that really such a bad thing? Sure, most of these songs on their own aren't anything special - but together, in an album, punctuated by breaks for "Summertime Clothes" or "Lion In A Coma"? It works. It's almost magical.

(Yes, I'm aware how that last bit sounded.)

Merriweather Post Pavilion starts off with three of the most pattern-heavy songs, including the obscenely catchy "My Girls", which only gets slightly worse once you give in to temptation and Google the lyrics. Then you get a nice break with "Summertime Clothes", which is one of my favourite songs ever. I thought "Summertime Clothes" might be the best hipster love song of 2009 - until two tracks later, when "Bluish" blew it right out of the water and staked a claim for best hipster love song of all time. Then you get back into the indistinguishable pattern songs, break for "Lion In A Coma", and finish with endless repetitions of "it's what I HOPED for!" and "OPEN UP YOUR OPEN UP YOUR OPEN UP YOUR OPEN UP YOUR!".

Do not listen to Merriweather Post Pavilion by Youtubing songs at random. Find the entire album - Pitchfork's got it, apparently - and listen to it in one sitting. That's how you'll get the most out of it.

The Beatles - Abbey Road
Now this one you'll know. This is the only pre-90s album on my list of twenty (and one of only three from the 20th century), but it has earned its place based on merit.

Most Beatles albums were a bunch of Lennon/McCartney songs with George and Ringo vocals thrown in from time to time, but the albums never had the flow to them that Abbey Road does. Other than the break between side one and side two, every song flows seamlessly into the next.

"Something" and "Here Comes The Sun" are George's two best Beatles songs by miles, possibly even two of the best Beatles songs - Frank Sinatra considered "Something" the best love song of all time (although maybe he'd have had another opinion had he heard "Bluish"), and even "Octopus's Garden" was actually written by Ringo, as opposed to the traditional structure of John writing a song for Ringo to sing.

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is long, epic, and decades ahead of its time - arguably one of the biggest influences on prog rock, even if it does start to drone on a bit by the sixth minute.

And you're a fan of album-oriented rock, the sixteen-minute medley at the end is one of the pioneering suites to which you owe a thank you - "Mean Mr. Mustard", "The End", "Carry That Weight" all being parts of the Beatles' popular legacy despite clearly never being radio singles. In today's world, it's impossible for anything to have that sort of impact unless it's played on the radio for months on end.

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
I am generally not a fan of singer-songwriters. Jack Johnson, Ryan Adams, even Sufjan Stevens is more likely to put me to sleep than to make me think "wow, this is good". But Dan Bejar of Destroyer (and the New Pornographers, and Swan Lake, and Hello, Blue Roses) is an exception - probably because he bursts into energy when you least expect it, and has madcap rambling lyrics that very occasionally make something resembling sense.

Sort of like that last clause.

Although Trouble in Dreams is newer (as is the two-song, 20-minute EP Bay of Pigs), Rubies is in my opinion Destroyer at its best.

"Rubies", the first track, is nine-and-a-half minutes of trademark Bejar insanity, including an opening five seconds about jackknifed cyclones with eyes for your wife. From there it's off to "Your Blood" and "European Oils" for more normal singer-songwriter fare - still nice and catchy, though. A few tracks later, we get "3000 Flowers", which is possibly the most rock-sounding thing Destroyer's ever done, even if the lyrics ("with scars where talons used to be?") are confusing. The album wanders a bit towards the end, but brings itself back with "Watercolours Into The Ocean", even if it is a tad repetitive.

This is one album that you could just take song by song. You might just like "Rubies" or "3000 Flowers", you might like everything else, I don't know. There's diversity.

The Duckworth Lewis Method - The Duckworth Lewis Method
If Lennon and McCartney had written exclusively about cricket, this would be the result. Insanely catchy, odds are you'll be singing along with some choruses and it'll take you two or three listens to realize the subject matter is always cricket.

Not knowing anything about cricket aside from a few words - and no, 'sticky wicket' does not show up in the lyrics - in no way hinders enjoyment of this album, because it's just that much fun.

The comparison to The Beatles above wasn't accidental - if they'd stayed together a few more years and taken a very slight bit of inspiration from the funk movement, "The Age of Revolution" could have easily been a Beatles hit, while "Meeting Mr. Miandad" sounds like it was taken right off a late-sixties Beatles' B-side.

"The Age of Revolution" really does kick off the best part of the album, followed by a song which wouldn't sound out of place on an oldies or classic hits radio station in "Gentlemen and Players", and then "The Sweet Spot", which as far as I can tell is not meant as sexual innuendo in the least.

Then comes "Jiggery Pokery", which was my first favourite off the album - and I've already got it more or less memorized. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be memorizing and loving a song with "Aussie skullduggery" and "accident-prone buffoon" languishing in the chorus, but I also never thought I'd like an album about cricket.

"Mason on the Boundary" is another decent old-style song, then there's a brief break while "Rain Stops Play" before we get to go to Pakistan and "Meeting Mr. Miandad" gets stuck in our heads for the next fortnight. Although "Test Match Special" tries to perk things back up, the final four songs are a bit disappointing considering what's come before - but all in all, still a very good album.

Elephant Stone - The Seven Seas
A good Canadian band - Destroyer being the only other one in this batch - which is always a plus. I don't have as much to say about these guys as I do some of the others, possibly because they only have one album and I've only listened to it twice (although some songs more).

A great first impression is made by "Bombs Bomb Away", the first track - it's cool, it's catchy, and it's more-or-less accessible. "A Morning Song", track eight, has a similar effect, helped no doubt by the twangy bass riff. The ninth and final track, "Don't You Know", is also decent - but unfortunately, none of the middle six particularly stand out.

It's good background music, there's nothing jarring that would wake you from a light nap, nothing that will cause any eavesdroppers to wonder what the heck you're listening to, and easy enough to listen to while focusing most of your concentration on something else. Still worth a listen, and there's some great potential for the future.

--Ryan