unexpectedly consistently awesome albums of the 2000's

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devendra banhart - oh me oh my...
cass mccombs - A
the rapture - echoes

ill think of more tomorrow.

― petesmith (plsmith), Friday, 2 December 2005 04:56 (twenty years ago)

mclusky - the difference...

― petesmith (plsmith), Friday, 2 December 2005 05:04 (twenty years ago)

ratpure

― keyth (keyth), Friday, 2 December 2005 05:04 (twenty years ago)

A girl called Eddy - A girl called Eddy
Came out of nowhere and turned out to be a truly awesome album.
60's production with Chrissie Hynde/Dusty Springfield type vocals.
It's a great "break up" record and still my favourite from this century a year or more down the line.

― Worldofno, Friday, 2 December 2005 05:20 (twenty years ago)

I fully expected to hate Elvis Costello's umpteenth album of "I'm not rock'n'roll any more. Oh wait, yes I am!" - The Delivery Man. Then I loved it.

Mark Eitzel, The Ugly American. Greek reinterpretations of American Music Club songs. Potentially ghastly concept, unbelievably gorgeous execution.

Einsturzende Neubauten, Silence is Sexy. I'd gradually lost interest after a string of increasingly more pedestrian albums as the '90s progressed, but this is my personal favorite of their entire catalogue.

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Friday, 2 December 2005 06:22 (twenty years ago)

Otomo Yoshihide - Dreams

― vartman (novaheat), Friday, 2 December 2005 07:21 (twenty years ago)

Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 2 December 2005 08:10 (twenty years ago)

Yo La Tengo, "Summer Sun"
Herman Düne, "Not On Top"

― sibsi (sibsi), Friday, 2 December 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

Aaliyah - Aaliyah
It's one of my favourite albums. Consistently great start to finish, and it still sounds leagues above any recent mainstream RnB record.

And yeah, The Rapture seconded. or thirded, whatever.

― Roz (Roz), Friday, 2 December 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

The Rapture? Christ, it's AWFUL!

― Dr.C, Friday, 2 December 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

Actually, Einsturzende Neubauten's "Perpetuum Mobile," too. Strange to hear industrial guys aging so gracefully.

― owen moorhead (i heart daniel miller), Friday, 2 December 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

The Church "Forget yourself". Really.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 2 December 2005 14:16 (twenty years ago)

Sun Kil Moon "Ghosts of the Great Highway." Somehow never gets old to me.

― footlog, Friday, 2 December 2005 14:25 (twenty years ago)

lewis taylor - stoned pt 1

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 2 December 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

kelley stoltz, antique glow.

― turboalbino (haitch), Friday, 2 December 2005 14:54 (twenty years ago)

The Glands self-titled album from 2000. I never understood why more people don't love these dudes, they're an insanely catchy indie band.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 2 December 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

ditto on Aaliyah...

― bobby.lasers, Friday, 2 December 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

Belle And Sebasatan - Dear Catastrophe Waitress

― Carl Handwriting (dog latin), Friday, 2 December 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

Kiley Dean - Simple Girl

The non-release of this must've affected Timbaland deeply as he's not put out anything as subtly bonkers, open-hearted or enjoyable as this since.

Sugababes - One Touch

A debut from a major label girlgroup - what were the odds, eh?

― BARMS, Friday, 2 December 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

Elbow
Prayerboat

― slow jamz and white guy indie acoustic shit (Chris V), Friday, 2 December 2005 15:36 (twenty years ago)

[don't be a troll tool, dude.]

― Oy Vey Expressway, Friday, 2 December 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

Guero.

― mike a, Friday, 2 December 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

For all of its 3 days of public existence, The Life Pursuit is seeming a nice snug fit for this title so far.

― Yoshinorimike (Yoshinorimike), Friday, 2 December 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

uh - three days is jumping the gun

― petesmith (plsmith), Friday, 2 December 2005 17:40 (twenty years ago)

Nick Cave - The Lyre of Orpheus/Abbatoir Blues
Bubba Sparxxx- Deliverance

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 2 December 2005 17:42 (twenty years ago)

Ditto the Glands. Great album. Can't believe they're not better known.

― El Cronado, Friday, 2 December 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)

For me, Kate Bush's Aerial, since I wasn't really anticipating a new album from her and had largely lost interest in what else she might do, so for me it really was unexpected.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 2 December 2005 17:53 (twenty years ago)

i guess i mean more that these albums have consistently maintained awesomeness over an extended time, not that they maintain consistent awesomeness over an arbitrary time...

― petesmith (plsmith), Friday, 2 December 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

Joanna Newsom - The Milk Eyed Mender

I'd say my favorite album of the decade being by a crack-voiced harp-playing elfin lit nerd was fairly unexpected.

― Edward III (edward iii), Friday, 2 December 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

thritto the glands.

that album is fucking awesome. i'll never understand why they didn't get at least a little bit popular. i still listen to that album a lot...

― jose canseco, Friday, 2 December 2005 18:44 (twenty years ago)

i guess i mean more that these albums have consistently maintained awesomeness over an extended time, not that they maintain consistent awesomeness over an arbitrary time...

Not in the mood to decipher this right now. Cheers. I'm really blown away by how good the Amadou and Mariam album is. Is this largely thanks to Manu Chao? Who the f*ck is Manu Chao?

For me, Kate Bush's Aerial, since I wasn't really anticipating a new album from her and had largely lost interest in what else she might do, so for me it really was unexpected.

OTM. I'm still pretty much listening to it on shuffle so far, and haven't actually listened to the whole thing in one sitting, but the second disc is a brilliant surprise. I have no idea why they release "King Of The Mountain" as the first single, though. I guess it's radio-friendly. Who listens to the radio anymore?

One more: I'm still saying Six Million Names Of God by Blu Mar Ten doesn't get an iota of the love it deserves. It's full of great songs (including some remixes), but works best when taken as a whole. Really taps into the collective subconscious, if you know what I'm saying?

― viborgu, Friday, 2 December 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

Actually, Einsturzende Neubauten's "Perpetuum Mobile," too. Strange to hear industrial guys aging so gracefully.

I enjoyed Perpetuum, but it didn't stop my heart like Silence did (and does). To (attempt to) link it back to pete's thread-clarifier of "consistently maintain[ing] awesomeness over an extended time," it's hard for me to say how Silence might accomplish that more than Perpetuum, except that I just think Silence is a better album to start with.

I should probably subscribe to their Web site and hear all these other oddball albums they're putting out in the meantime...

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Friday, 2 December 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)

Not so much unexpected that they would be consistently awesome, but unexpected that they would be consistently THAT AWESOME:

Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet
of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins

Not so much unexpected that they would be consistently awesome, but pleasantly fulfilling as far as what you might have hoped for:

Camper Van Beethoven - New Roman Times
Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Friday, 2 December 2005 23:25 (twenty years ago)

I've been avoiding that Camper Van Beethoven album on the basis of the hideous album cover art alone.

That, and I don't believe it's possible for them to improve upon Key Lime Pie ever.

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:41 (twenty years ago)

kelley stoltz's antique glow seconded.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:42 (twenty years ago)

What Would The Neighbours Say?

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:44 (twenty years ago)

(why is it so consistent? there is NO REASON for it to run that deep)

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:46 (twenty years ago)

Joanna Newsom OTM

― regular roundups (Dave M), Saturday, 3 December 2005 00:52 (twenty years ago)

Bran Van 3000, Discosis. Still amazing to me, over four years after its release.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Saturday, 3 December 2005 07:24 (twenty years ago)

i'm not skipping many songs from michael jackson's "INVINCBLE".

― retrogurl, Saturday, 3 December 2005 08:12 (twenty years ago)

holy crap, i think i went to high school with someone who posted upthread

― gear (gear), Saturday, 3 December 2005 08:18 (twenty years ago)

I'll concur with both A Girl Called Eddy and Mark Eitzel's 'The Ugly American', and add
Leonard Cohen, 'Dear Heather'
Morrissey, 'You Are The Quarry'
His Name Is Alive, 'Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth'

― derrick (derrick), Saturday, 3 December 2005 08:22 (twenty years ago)

xpost much love for the Glands here. I seem to remember mention of them as "Kinksian" in New Yorker club listings. Is this true? What's the album like?

― don, Saturday, 3 December 2005 15:52 (twenty years ago)

most of the records on this post were as bad as i expected them to be.

― keyth (keyth), Sunday, 4 December 2005 03:15 (twenty years ago)

PJ Harvey – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Sparklehorse – It's A Wonderful Life Will he ever get around to making another album?
The Delgados – The Great Eastern but you could just as easily substitute Hate, RIP
Spoon – Kill The Moonlight My introduction to this great band but put off listening until 2002.

― BeeOK (boo radley), Sunday, 4 December 2005 04:11 (twenty years ago)

Ellen Allien - Berlinette

― fandango (fandango), Sunday, 4 December 2005 04:32 (twenty years ago)

Coldplay Parachutes - Yes Yellow was overplayed, but on the whole it really is very pretty

― hallaman (joeschmoe), Sunday, 4 December 2005 05:20 (twenty years ago)

tim e OTM about andrew wk, except its tough for me to feel like there was ever any doubt about ONE OF MY TOP FIVE ALBUMS EVER!

― petesmith (plsmith), Sunday, 4 December 2005 05:56 (twenty years ago)

The Delgados – The Great Eastern

This album makes me queasy for reasons I can't quite pinpoint. I think it has something to do with the lyricsl undercurrent (and, hell, overcurrent) about the ravages of heroin abuse in Scotland. It just gets to me in a really intense, dystopian sort of way. I haven't been able to stomach the Delgados since. Weird, I know. I loved Peloton though.

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Sunday, 4 December 2005 06:56 (twenty years ago)

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