Art - Music

I worked a double shift last night, and on the back half of my day I got a copy of Rolling Stone's Top Music of 00 or some such issue in my hands to help kill an hour. When I was a kid Rolling Stone was my parents generation's music rag, but I respected Rolling Stone because even though those geezers were in their 30s they still knew a good thing when they heard it. So, while the cover still had people like Frampton and Springsteen on it, if you turned to the back you would regularly read about bands like The Dead Boys and Sex Pistols, and Rolling Stone loved them. I forget what Rolling Stone said about 1981's Damaged by Black Flag, but it boiled down to they thought that Black Flag was the real deal and it kind of made all the posturing arena rock bands of the time look and sound like some kind of joke. I agreed.

I'm in my 40s now. I have a mortgage and a couple of car payments and you are likely to find me wearing sleep pants and a "World's Greatest Dad" t-shirt on any given day, but I'm not dead yet. I still like good music. So, while I can tell you a lot more about the music of 1985 than I can the music of 2009, I still find and latch on to the stuff that I think is really good. 

I was curious to see how Rolling Stone's assessment of the music of the last decade matched up to my own.  

When did Rolling Stone become such a mainstream music rag? To sum it up, the music RS thought represented the quality offerings of the last decade was pretty much dreck. I might as well have been reading People Magazine. I mean, if White Stripes, Arcade Fire, U2, Radiohead, and the rest of the MTV playlist are the best you can do, you don't get around much.

So here are my picks for outstanding music of the 00s. Take it for what it's worth. I am pretty old and out of touch.

obZen by Sweden's Meshuggah is a devastating album. Released in 2008, most bands would be sucking pretty hard in their 20th year. In Meshuggah's case I would say we've got another ten years of sonic mayhem to look forward to. Meshuggah transcends metal and turns it into something almost jazz-like in its complexity of rhythms. On top of that it just begs to be turned up to 11. I tell you, we thought we were pretty intense in the hardcore scene back in the 80s, but Meshuggah makes everything we did sound like Lawrence Welk. Hell, Meshuggah makes Ministry sound like wimps. Heavy, smart, unstoppable.

Sweden's Opeth is the greatest active band in the world today. In the 00s it's a pick 'em. They released five full length albums during the decade, and every one is a classic. Opeth does for metal what the great progressive rock bands of the 60s and 70s did for the music of their time. Opeth transcends genres. Forget the death metal growl, you can't classify Opeth. I've seen them live, and in a concert going lifetime that is going into its fourth decade, they are one of the very best live acts I've ever seen. Amazing musicianship and songwriting. My favorite band.

The Libertines are an easy pick for me. They sound like their influences, which are all bands of my generation, but give it all a fresh, young take 20 years removed. The Libertines turned indie rock on its head and influenced the Brit pop bands that followed. As compelling as their music, the broken relationship between Carl and Pete touched on feelings we can all relate to, especially if substance abuse has been a part of your or any of your friend's lives. Two albums, pure gold. In the aftermath Pete's band Babyshambles is much more interesting than Carl's Dirty Pretty Things. 

Scotland's Arctic Monkeys released their debut studio album in 2006. It is Miraculous. Never mind that their follow up and third albums aren't very good, the one album is enough. Following on the heels of The Libertines, they take up the reins and keep moving forward while paying homage to the same influences. It's easy for me to like these guys, they sound like bands I loved when I was 19. I look at these kids and I can't believe how young they are, and then I listen to that album and I can not understood how such young kids can write such incredible music and lyrics. Hopefully they regain their magic, because since the debut album they haven't been very good.

Spain's Ojos de Brujo craft a killer mix of flamenco and street rhythms. 2006's Techari is a great album, too bad the English speaking world shuns foreign language music. Take Ojos de Brujo for a spin on YouTube, and then tell me you don't want to see these guys perform live. Something very musical, warm and sexy about Ojos de Brujo, and I like it.

Japan's Malice Mizer was on their third singer by the turn of the millennium, and this was pretty much the end of the line for them. 2000's Bara no Seidou was a requiem for fallen drummer Kami, who died of a brain hemorrhage in 1999, devastating the friends he left behind. Bara no Seidou is a grand, gothic mass of death for their fallen friend, and the accompanying stage production was a visually and sonically mesmerizing spectacle. This is one of my favorite all time bands, and their swan song may be grandiose and self indulgent, but it is awe inspiring and astonishing as well. Makes all other goth bands look and sound like Britny Spears.

I'll put any of the above against the lame crap that Rolling Stone would have you think was the cream of the decade. White Stripes? Please...