In 2007 Radiohead released their 7th studio album, In Rainbows, through their website. The album was released via digital download for any price the listener wanted to pay, setting a new standard in how albums were released. In Rainbows is my favorite album of all time. The album is absolutely incredible from start to finish. When I end up listening to a song from In Rainbows I usually give myself 40 minutes to listen to the entire album. This album affirms a statement I could scream from the top of any large building; Radiohead is the greatest band ever.

1. “15 Step” – The beat at the beginning really sets the tone for the rest of the song. Thom Yorke’s vocals fly in, spouting fantastically catchy lyrics. When the guitar rolls itself in it rolls in smooth, like velvet to the ear, each note resonating . The song builds itself with the coolest sounds around all the instruments. When the song ends it ends well, with the coolest noises fading themselves to extinction.

2. “Bodysnatchers” – The only heavy guitar song on the album. The riff is brilliant, but what truly makes this song beautiful is the second guitars. The song rocks from beginning to end, rolling itself on. Thom’s vocals are again brilliant, the vocal melody sounds fantastic over everything. Behind the well painted wall of noise, the drums seem to holding everything together. The bridge is one of the coolest guitar riffs I’ve ever heard, off of this, the song rolls to an outro, climaxing in a firework finish.

3. “Nude” – My favorite song of all time, every single little noise on this song is beautiful. The bass holds up the whole song and each pluck of each string leaves butterflies trapped in my stomach, gorgeous to every extent it could be. The vocals fly through the inter-space, in between every little noise; they feel like neon lights flowing through the midnight sky. All the backwards noises and strings resonate so well, pushing the rest of beauty in your face. The song reverberates everywhere leaving notes to be heard in every corner. The first time I heard this song I listened to it at least 4 or 5 times just over and over. So absolutely beautiful.

4. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – The drum line that kicks off the song is strong and is the wonderful start to yet another fantastic recording. The guitar line is absolutely pleasant, swirling itself over everything. The lyrics are beautiful and I recommend you take the time to listen to every word. The bridge concludes the beauty and leads to a new section with its very own new kind of beauty. The sustained guitar and every other noise that this incredible explosion of an outro imparts is perfect leading the song to a fiery finish.

5. “All I Need” – This song is its own other worldly composition. Seemingly a very gorgeous love song, the lyrics shooting so much want with every word. The music is great the glockenspiel floats melds with the Rhodes Piano leaving behind so much beauty. The guitar is used to sustain notes that float under everything lifting the song to the right height. When the normal piano kicks in, the song moves, as if it was dancing, to a beautiful finish.

6. “Faust Arp” – An incredible acoustic composition the guitar is fantastic, the vocal melody is gorgeous, and the lyrics are absolutely brilliant. The strings float above everything else, leaving this one minute song to seem like a life time of wonderful little noises.

7. “Rekoner” – The most entrancing drums I’ve ever heard all the different sound fall into place to create all the beauty. The guitar sounds extremely delicate, with the vocals being even more so, but the drums hold them making them just insanely beautiful. The strings work themselves over all the other noises weaving gorgeous melodies by themselves. The bridge stops all, with only the guitar and vocal to string together their beauty with the melody they are co-dependent with, the background vocals slip in unnoticed but truly are their own individual beauty’s, the strings just execute even more beauty upon the top of everything. The song goes back to a verse finally flowing back to an outro. With background vocals from Ed O’Brien soaring the song ends.

8. “House Of Cards” – Striking a new note of beauty the is song remains empty while the others seemed so full, with the space around refreshing and enticing my ears. Every single background noise is worth finding, everything is so reverberated and just insanely gorgeous. The guitar works wonders sounding so so so lovely. The other guitars a played with a quarter sliding over top and are easy to get lost in. It flows to a beautiful ending.

9. “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” – The track that is so well executed, every instrument melds with its counterpart to create just a straight up fantastic song. No studio tricks, just a great melody and great rhythm. The lyrics have to be the best part; they leave so many pictures to float around endlessly. A truly great song from start to finish.

10. “Videotape” – The end of the fantastic journey begins with a soaring piano that works wonders. The vocal melody is positively insane with so much beautiful energy just flowing around it. The sampled vocals stand above all creating gorgeous texture. A drum machine shooting off random drum patterns works wonders in the background. The song finally flows to a soft finish, ending the masterpiece that is In Rainbows.

This concludes my 5 pieces on albums of the 2000’s. Each album is one that I hold dear to my heart, and I hope you enjoy every one of them.

#2 Discovery by Daft Punk

After releasing what is considered to be one of the most influential dance albums of the Nineties, Daft Punk was kidnapped and replaced by robots, and in 2000 the robots, under the name Daft Punk, released one of the greatest albums of all time. The album works perfectly from start to finish, each song running congruently with the next. The album was a step away from Daft Punk’s earlier established sound, using synth-based music, guitars and vocals, creating something new yet again in the dance music world.

1. “One More Time”- From start to finish the song is catchy, the chopped up sample sounds awesome, and works perfectly alongside the four on the floor beat. House music legend Romanthony is featured on vocals, which have been auto tuned to greatness. The vocals repeat for five minutes, yet everything keeps rolling till the end.

2. “Aerodynamic”- Starts right off of “One More Time”, with a funk/rock beat, with guitar tapping that could trump even the best guitarists, it pushes the song to the next level. When the bell strikes for the last time synth floats in, sweeping over everything, flying around the remains of the previous noises, carrying the song to it’s end.

3. “Digital Love”- A truly romantic love song, that fuses together elements of classic rock, eighties synth music, and house. The lyrics are very personal, whispering through the vocoder beautiful messages, it seems as if Daft Punk is pouring their hearts on the listener with this song. The synth sounds are graceful and work with the chopped up samples of the song “I Love You More” by George Duke. It contains a guitar solo (something not a lot of electronic artists have), which is pumped full of emotion. The solo helps the song ground before it’s end.

4. “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”- The song kicks in with a sample of the Edwin Birdsong song “Cola Bottle Baby”. This is one of the best produced songs I have honestly ever heard, everything is mixed perfectly. The vocoded voice repeats “Work it/Harder/Make it/ Better/Do it/Faster/Makes us/Stronger/More than/Ever/Hour after/Our work is/Never/Over” imprinting it on your brain so you know every word and want to sing along right away. This is a song everybody has probably heard and remembered, it bounces straight to the finish with everything tightly working together.

5. “Crescendolls”- Starts with a very heavy drum beat, leaving the synth that fades in a surprise, pleasantly blipping around the soundscape, funny thing is the song hasn’t even started yet. It hits off with a looped sample of Anthony and the Imperials song “Can You Imagine.” The song is very danceable, it is awesome all the way to its finish.

6. “Nightvision”- The cool down track, the synth overlays itself with pretty melodies shaping the album in a new direction.

7. “Superheros”- Starts with a drum roll, which is perfect for what’s about to come. The beat is straight four on the floor with a sample of Barry Manilow’s “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?” fading in to the mix. The couple of synths that layer themselves over the rest of the song set a new standard in the arrangement on the album, each working with the other to shove this song in your memories forever.

8. “High Life”- The chopped and pitch-shifted sample of Tavare’s “Breakdown For Love” bounces up and down up to kick of the song. After a few bars the bass punches right in heartbeat style, beating hard. This is one of my favorite songs on the record if not favorite, The repetition of the vocals produces a lovely atmosphere, with all the sounds flowing around so wonderfully. The song is very straight forward, yet there is a lot of listening room for all the sounds taking place at one time.

9. “Something About Us”- A love song for the ages, the synth is fantastic, the bass is fantastic, everything is fantastic. The lyrics are very quiet yet they scream so much love and passion, “I need you more than anything in my life.” Everything eventually leads into the equally beautiful guitar solo which drags the song to its finish.

10. “Voyager”- Some of the coolest loops, great to take a walk to. It makes everything around me feel urgent and important. The bass is the highlight of the song as it keeps the main melody. The guitar loop has ravishing tone that echos around and sinks in perfectly to the mix. The song is very minimalist, ye all the parts work well enough that it doesn’t matter, another example of the genius of Daft Punk.

11. “Verdis Quo”- A very beautiful composition, the instruments are very soft and comforting, as the beat fades in, the song works within itself to repeat all the beauty over and over until it has done itself enough, where it safely lands leaving the next song ready to take off.

12. “Short Circuit”- An awesome beat, an awesome synth noise, fast and loud, runs right past.

13. “Face to Face”-The beats are incredible with the lyrics. Vocals are by Todd Edwards, whose voice sounds fantastic, there is a uncredited sample that works as a chorus. Tons of background noises, each well worth listening to.

14. “Too Long”- My favorite song on the record. The beginning percussion is incredible, keeping everything on the ride, Romanthony is featured once again (this time not autotuned), and like before, he delivers. When the bass and the keyboard kick in the song is really moving. As the song pushes in to a new direction it acquires one of the coolest sounds I have ever heard (most likely another uncredited sample). The vocals fade back in so well, and goes great with the new direction of the song. This song is absolute genius, a climactic ending to what I believe to be one of the best albums of all time.

One of my favorite bands, one of my favorite records. Daft Punk is incredible and I recommend buying anything they put their name on.

Picture taken from www.discogs.com.

In 2001 the Legendary Electronic artist Aphex Twin released a 30 track double album stock full of genius. The album is absolutely brilliant; it expands on all the Aphex trademarks, pushing this album over the edge of absolute beauty. Each one of the 30 songs on the album leaves its own impact, every one of which, owning a different beauty about itself. The album has compositions rivaling any arrangements I have ever heard, but this is nothing new for Aphex Twin, this is only the latest installment of his genius.

1. “Jynwythek Ylow”- A track on prepared piano, the melodies swirl beautifully. You can hear all the noises being produced by the piano, not only the notes but the noises the guts make while operating. A truly gorgeous composition.

2. “Vordhosbn”- Flows incredibly, the melodies mellow out, sifting perfectly, while the drums chaotically push everything into a new dimension.

3. “Kladfvgbung Micshk”- The prepared piano sets the mood, while the normal piano creeps ominously in the back. The rhythm created is incredible; it carries the song fantastically from start to finish.

4. “Omgyjya-Switch7”- Fast paced, it retains the amazing glitch beats Aphex Twin has pioneered. When it slows to fall into place everything established is perfect. Every little noise is fantastic, working were it’s supposed to and fading away at the perfect moments.

5. “Strotha Tynhe”- An absolutely brilliant piece of piano work, fusing Avant Garde into the melodies. The song is refreshing as a piano only instrumental and sets the mood for the next song.

6. “Gwely Mernans”- The drone of the background beat makes the melodies swirl even more over my head than they would if left alone. Not much changes throughout the song, but I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

7. “Bbydhyonchord”- Fades in with the rhythm pumping genius into my ears. The come down off the bass drum soothes my ears, until they are ready once more to be brought ahead. The notes fade away, leaving only the rhythm to keep everything at the right level until it finally drops me off at the end of the song.

8. “Cock/Ver10″-An unforgettable treasure. The noise at the beginning lets me know already lets me know how great the rest of the song will be. When everything kicks in all is right in the world. The song keeps flowing and flowing, surrounded by catchy melodies, even the topper most of the popper most would wish they had thought of this song.

9. “Avril 14th”- This song is a piano composition to rival any classic, everything about it is gorgeous, and the melody shines happiness and beauty.

10. “Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount”- Everything about this song is brilliant, the patterns working alongside the extremely fast drums, the soundscape produced as the song flows. The sounds are so pleasing to hear, especially the child’s voice. It feels much shorter than the full 8 minutes it is.

11. “Gwarek2″- Creepy in the best way possible, all the screams create a really nice atmosphere.

12. “Orban Eq Trx 4″- Great trance track, locking down with the solid beat, and being expanded on with the synth.

13. “Aussois”- 7 seconds of people talking.

14. “Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagrow”- Another prepared piano track. The percussion coming off the piano is amazing, and sets the mood so well.

15. “Kesson Dalef”- A short but sweet Piano song, it moves fast but commands my attention with each step.

16. “54 Cymru Beats”- This song is ambient music at its best, the samples are incredible and have been chopped to perfection. The beats move everything along forcing everything to the point, leaving no time for pit stops.

17. “Btoum-Roumada”- The sound of the instrument shimmers so perfectly. The reverb helps it surround me.

18. “Lornaderek”- A recording of a voicemail his parents left him on his 28th birthday.

19. “Penty Harmonium”- A song featuring only a Harmonium. All the notes paint pictures full of different colors and subjects leaving me ready for what’s next.

20. “Meltphace 6″- This song runs through itself leaving behind beauty I could never have dreamed of. It is great to relax and listen to, with all the different layers to each one of the sounds.

21. “Bit 4″- A lone synth playing maybe two notes, 10 seconds long.

22. “Prep Gwarlek 3b”- Prepared piano at its finest, giving a different vibe than the other tracks. Nice from start to finish.

23. “Father”- A random assortment of piano notes seem to fly through this lone minute track, Very cool sounding.

24. “Taking Control”- This track blends so many different noises, to make a truly unique and wonderful song. A robotic voice repeats “I’m taking control of the Drum Machine.” A really cool track, something to rock your head to.

25. “Petiatil Cx Htdui”- Yet another gorgeous piano track, this one is my personal favorite. It seems to blend emotions on all sides of the spectrum together for something truly fantastic.

26. “Ruglen Holon”- A prepared piano track that reminds me of a factory in the best way.

27. “Afx237 v.7″- The song starts with a glitched out voice that leads to a fantastic head bobbing phenomenon, full of stops and starts. This song uses some of the most interesting noises I have ever heard. Great from start to finish.

28. “Ziggomatic 17″- The longest song on the record. It kicks in with a bass sound to die for, and then shuts itself down only to start up again. Keeps the trend going, adding more and more pretty noises along the way, finally ending itself in a gorgeous orgy of beautiful sounds.

29. “Beskhu3epnm”- A great piano melody, translates very well on prepared piano with the percussion sounding amazing.

30. “Nanou2″- The best closing statement I have ever heard, the piano is gorgeous and seemingly whispers “goodbye” into the ear ever so soothingly.

This album is a brilliant piece of art to be cherished forever, well worth the double album price. Hopefully soon the world will see another Aphex Twin release.

2006 saw Thom Yorke step out of Radiohead for a few moments to record an album of his own. He and long time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, pushed a totally different sound than Radiohead, with a much more electric sound usually reliant on the beats or the texture the beats created. This became known as The Eraser. The album is absolutely fantastic. It shows Thom in a different light. There is a certain fragile beauty to this record; from start to finish it is the most beautiful piece of glass you could ever put your ear to. It paints colors both dark and light with its fast soundscape. The tracks are arranged perfectly, and each one flows to the next one like a plastic bag floating in the wind. It’s a short but sweet record, with only 9 songs, each song only lingers as long as it is supposed to. Something to truly lose yourself in.

1.”The Eraser”-The chopped piano takes hold of me the second it starts, with the awesome beats right behind it. When Thom’s vocals come in, a smile comes to my face–it’s absolutely gorgeous–the vocal melody dances with the lyrics to shine through the music. The song is delicate swirling around in circles to surround the listener, and then at the bridge a new heavy synth steals my attention, floating above the rest of the song, doing so so well my jaw is left open, never wanting the moment to end; finally, the synth sweeps the song to an easy ending, touching down as if falling slow motion onto a mattress.

2.”Analyse”-Takes off in a new direction. The whole song comes in abruptly not dilly-dallying to grab a hold. A piano takes the main melody, backed by synth sounds and beats that hold the piano so high above their heads. Thom sounds great on this track, singing poetry nicely above the perfectly painted wall bellow. The song has enough parts that you can sit and try and find all of them, each little part is its own little treasure. The song climaxes perfectly, with the end pulling you right into the next song.

3.”The Clock”-An awesome melody cracks in right away, much faster paced than the previous songs. The song features beat boxing solidly holding up the layers of sound. The bass works the melody, and keeps everything riding. Thom’s voice comes in yet again, ever so delicately, this time flowing in a completely different way, almost preaching to listening ears; I can’t tell what the message is but funny enough I feel as though I agree with it. The humming highlights the vocal performance hanging over top of the noise beneath. The song, once again, ends perfectly, bringing the next song up in its fall.

4.”Black Swan”-The beat rolls in establish ing the song, until the guitar makes it something entirely different. The song rolls really well from start till end. In the back of all the noise, a synth can be heard, until finally making its way to the surface to end the song.

5.”Skip Divided”-Kicks in straight away, with a whole new vibe. The background vocals keep everything steady as everything else delves deep into chaos. The main vocals establish most of the mood of the song and seem as though they are the main instrument. More and more happens in the background as the song draws to a close, ends as fast as it started.

6.”Atoms for Peace”-The calm after the storm, incredibly beautiful, brings the album back to the fragile beauty it started off as. The bass screams nostalgia of my childhood to me. Thom’s vocals are gorgeous and branch higher. The beat is fantastic and lets everything roll to an abrupt close.

7. “And it Rained All Night”-Fades in and takes a while to establish its mood, so I have a few seconds of beautiful confusion that I sit through. The beat is dancey, something Thom has not been known for.

8.”Harrowdown Hill”-Incredibly gorgeous, the bass is bad ass repeating the line that works so well over and over, the synth is ravishing, the vocals lead the song forward until the piano bridges to the perfect outro. An absolutely stunning song about the supposed suicide of the Bio Weapons expert Richard Clarke.

9.”Cymbal Rush”-My Favorite song on the record, the beginning beat is outstanding, until the synth comes to set the whole song up. The vocals are incredible, the lyrics are incredible. As the Rhodes Piano fades in the song notches itself at an entire new level, and stays there, until the outro brings it even higher. The outro is the prettiest melody I’ve ever heard, and the drums are perfect.  It closes the album perfectly.

An excellent album, and fantastic to own, because the cover art and booklet art are just as amazing as the songs.

As the decade draws to a c lose, music magazines will create their Top 10 album, Top 10 song lists, etc. So I have decided to join them. Until January 1^st I will put up one album, counting down from 5, from the 2000’s. In no way is this a “best of”, this is simply albums that I love with all my heart and soul. No “best of” albums or reissues, only albums with new material will be included.

#5 Crystal Castles by Crystal Castles

Crystal Castle’s debut self titled album is one of the most emotional albums I have ever heard, which is something a lot of dance music bands can’t hold up to. The album was released in April 2008. The band combines Ethan Kath’s synth and 8-bit-based arrangement with Alice Glass’s voice to produce an amazing sound-scape full of wonder. The songs are short but each takes its time to leave an impact on you. This is an incredible album to listen to on your own; I recommend high quality head phones.

1. “Untrust Us” kicks off the album with solidarity imprint ing its pitch-shifted vocal melody straight to your brain. the vocals are sampled from Death From Above 1979’s “Dead Womb”. The song captures emotions I thought were impossible to express, the music implies so much to me without ever saying anything.

2. “Alice Pra ctice”-A very intense song, I always find my mood tuning to the melody. I get lost in the white noise only to be brought back by the vocals.

3. “Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs. Health)”-Using the b and Health’s lyrics, a vocoder, and more amazing music from Ethan Kath’s collection, Crystal Castles creates one of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard. Due to the vocoder it’s hard to hear the lyrics, making the song even more ominous.

4. “Magic Spells”-Has no lyrics only what I believe to be a sample from Star Trek, very chill. Great for a rainy day riding the metro.

5. “Xxzxcuzx Me”-Wild, seemingly out of control, blows b y fast.

6. “Air War”-Great for head bobbing. The voices are incredible and set up a fantastic atmosphere. The song gives a lot of sharp turns. Soothingly unexpected.

7. “Courtship Dating”-A great song to listen to as you are falling asleep. Lots of background noise, the vocal melody is entrancing and the background screams only help the entrancement.

8. “Good Time”-An upbeat song that can easily put you in a good mood (hence the title), samples vocals from Drinking Electricity’s song “Good Times”.

9. “1991” -A fantastic instrumental, seems a lot longer than the one minute and fifty three seconds that it lasts for.

10. “Vanished”-An incredible dance song, samples Van She’s “Sex City”. Song is great from beginning to end.

11. “Knights”-Fantastic, the intro is sensational and the synth tone is beautiful.

12. “Love and Caring”-Another intense song, moves fast and goes to all the right places. Song only reaffirms how great Alice Glass’s voice is.

13. “Through The Hosiery”-The song commands attention with all that seems to be happening, including the vocals in the background and the synths flying all around.

14. “Reckless”-Probably one of my favorite songs ever, the melody is incredibly emotional in itself, absolutely outstanding, it feels perfect, and brings all the right emotions to mind.

15. “Black Panther”-Continues the vibe from reckless, absolutely fantastic and leaves me smiling.

16. “Tell Me What To Swallow”-Dark and absolutely amazing. Such a beautiful atmosphere, very different than all the other songs. Perfect conclusion, ends all the beauty anti-climatically.

One of my favorite albums, I am feverishly awaiting their next release. Please do yourself a favor and go out and buy the album.

Featured Artist Coalition (F.A.C.) is a group of artists dedicated to reforming the music industry in the age of downloads. They support artists and fans over executives, trying to create a fair balance where the artist both makes money and keeps creative control. However, they recently supported the Lily Allen backed three-strike law, giving illegal downloaders/file sharers three warnings ’till their Internet is disabled/crippled. I can’t express how disappointed I am that F.A.C. supported this bill, as they were a group I supported & respected.

This bill is incredibly under thought, it punishes people for giving an artist free advertising. This is a bill for the music company executives; it helps them and hinders the artist and the fan. Secondly, file sharing is not only free advertising for an artist, it also allows a fan to discover more and more music meaning there is a higher chance they will like a band and go to see them live, which will in turn create money for venues allowing them to take risks on lower acts giving more advertising for up and coming groups. File sharing also allows an artist to be able to avoid signing a deal with a record company because they have their own free place of advertising with a large audience, making the record company’s more desperate and allowing room for them to bend to the artist wishes.

This does not create an alternative to i-Tunes, this does not give artists more rights, and this does not allow more and more music to be heard. What this allows is an increase of profit to the Record Company Executives, the continuation of exploit toward an artist, and a rise of cost of music making it more expensive to a fan, and in these rough financial times, that means less and less artists will have their music heard, which will in turn not help local venues.

To the members of F.A.C., this whole bill is exactly what you are against; if any of you are reading this please consider retracting your support of this bill.