Don't Look Back

As the Oughties come to a close, Bootsy takes a look back at some of his favorite records from the last 10 years. Without saying they are "The Best", here (in no particular order) are 20 terrific records from the past decade. Oh, and to all the folks who say they don't make good music anymore, the author says you're not really listening, are you?

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell  (2003) - Karen O is a rock star of the first order, and songs like "Maps", "Date with the Night" and "Y Control" prove it.
Cat Power You Are Free (2003) - I've been a big fan of Chan Marshall for well over a decade. "Good Woman" is a fantastic track from an excellent record. She's yet to make a less than stellar album. I hope she never does.
Deerhoof The Runner's Four (2005) - I could've chosen any one of the fantastic San Franciscan's releases from the decade. This is the first one "I got."  Once it clicked in, everything they did started making sense. And it rocks like a mutha. Guitars and drums, baby.
TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)- Art rock straight outta Brooklyn. "Wolf Like Me" one of the decade's best songs.
Fiery Furnaces Blueberry Boat (2004) - It's funny, I hated this on first listen, but grew to love it with a zeal bordering on obsession. I've since cooled a bit on them, but there are still some fabulous musical moments sprinkled amongst the weirdness of the Friedberger siblings 2nd LP. True originals.
Broken Social Scene You Forgot it in People (2002) - Toronto collective's awesome second (first widely available) record is a beaut. My first exposure to Leslie Feist and Emily Haines, as well. 
Spoon Kill the Moonlight (2002) - Perhaps the decade's best band? They could have 3 or 4 albums on this list, but I'll go with this--the first one I heard. I'm starting to think that Britt Daniel and company are incapable of making a bad record.
Bill Callahan Woke on a Whaleheart (2007) - The Smog guy gets happy--sort of. A fantastic songwriter hitting on all cylinders with a wide ranging sound--one the artist himself says touches upon "gospel, tough pop and American Light Opera."
Antony and The Johnsons I Am a Bird Now (2005) - Easily one of the strangest artists to emerge during the decade. And one of the best.
The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me (2004) - They made 4 awfully good records during the decade, but their debut is still the first one I reach for when I want a dose of the "World's Greatest Bar Band."
Camera Obscura Let's Get Out of This Country (2006) - The wonderful Scots 3rd record. Pop music the way it should be. Gets the nod over My Maudlin Career on the basis of "Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken". Tracyanne Campbell has one of the sweetest voices in music today
Robert Wyatt Comicopera (2007)- One for the oldtimers. An aging Marxist makes a beautiful record about the world going to hell in a hand basket. Trust me on this one. With help from friends like Brian Eno and Paul Weller, it touches on jazz, folk, and world music, while never sounding anything less than original. He's been making wonderful music for over 40(!) years.
Joanna Newsom Ys (2006) - A jaw-droppingly amazing work of art.  Beautifully orchestrated, and wonderfully literate.
Sufjan Stevens Illinois (2005) - Deserved all the critical fawning it was met with, and none of the backlash it would eventually get. Would make my list in any decade it might have been released in. Like a sane Brian Wilson.
Shearwater Rooks (2007) - Gorgeously rich melodies topped by the lovely tenor of Jonathan Meiberg. Baroque pop at it's finest. What started as an Okkervil River side-project has surpassed that band, IMO. The albums Winged Life and Palo Santo also deserve mention. Quickly becoming an E-6 favorite.
St. Vincent Marry Me (2007) - The debut from one of my favorite new artists of the past few years. Marry me, indeed.
The White Stripes White Blood Cells (2001) - I don't listen to Jack and Meg much anymore, but I wore out my copy of this one. A wonderful racket raised.
Deerhunter Micro Castle / Weird Era Cont. (2008) - Hazy, narcotic noise from Atlanta, GA. Echos of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Phil Spector. Another new-ish band with great potential.
Richard Hawley Coles Corner (2005) - The ghost of Roy Orbison visits Sheffield, England. A swoony, late-night classic.
Richard Buckner Dents and Shells (2004) - Became a big fan when I was turned onto the troubadour's 90's material in 2000. A fantastic artist who deserves a much bigger audience. The Hill (2001) also considered.

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Bootsy Does the Oughties   
15 mp3s from the above list
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A Dozen Very Honorable Mentions:

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PJ Harvey Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (2000)
Teenage Fanclub Man-Made (2005)
M. Ward Post-War (2006)
Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) 
Bob Dylan Love and Theft (2001)
The National Alligator (2005)
The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002)
My Morning Jacket At Dawn (2002) 
Blonde Redhead Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons (2000)
Sigur Rós Ágætis Byrjun (2001)
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Dinosaur Jr Farm (2009)

I'm sure I missed a few obvious picks, but these are all excellent records, nonetheless.

So, what were your favorites of the decade past?

Don't Try This At Home

Or in the car... Snapped this one while tooling down University Ave at about 45 MPH. Felt the need to capture the December sunset that had finally burst through the wintry gray skies long enough to reflect off buildings in downtown Minneapolis. Pretty. And pretty stupid of me to fish the camera out of my man-purse to shoot it while behind the wheel.

Hey, at least I wasn't texting...

RANDOM TEN
"I Spy" Pulp Different Class
"I Don't Care" Television The Blow Up
"Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road" Robert Wyatt Rock Bottom
"Candy Says" The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground
"Keep It Clean" Camera Obscura Underachievers Please Try Harder
"Another Day" This Mortal Coil It'll End In Tears
"Long Distance Operator" Bob Dylan & The Band The Basement Tapes
"Stupid Girl" The Rolling Stones Aftermath
"Disappear" My Brightest Diamond Bring Me The Workhorse
"Beast For Thee" Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney Superwolf
"Living For The City" Stevie Wonder Innervisions

Be sure and stop back Sunday (or Monday) for my End of the Decade music picks.

Printer's Row

24" x 24", oil on canvas, 2006

A Chicago scene from the titled downtown area. My work was tilting toward the decorative realm around this time, but I wasn't aware of it, yet. That move would eventually prove costly, as I lost my mojo trying to paint what I thought the public wanted. The final nail was driven into my skull when a sweet, elderly woman remarked that my work was "just like Thomas Kinkade's--The Painter of Light..." You know what? Had it been her son who made the comment, I might have thrown a punch--or three. Instead, I took a long hard look at what I was doing, and didn't care for the results.

to be continued...

Now Be Thankful

Technically, it was yesterday, but let's see if we can't stretch this whole Thanksgiving and gratitude thing through the weekend. We've got the rest of the year to be self-centered, ungrateful schmucks. (Is it just me, or were the British hippies so much cooler than our own? I dunno, maybe it's just young Richard Thompson who raised the bar...)

RANDOM TEN
"She's So Modern" Boomtown Rats Tonic For The Troops
"Paw Paw Tree" The Fiery Furnaces Blueberry Boat   
"Little Fishes" Brian Eno Another Green World
"Sunny Afternoon" The Kinks The Kink Kronikles
"The Bogus Man" Roxy Music For Your Pleasure
"Under The Hedge " Ted Leo & The Pharmacists The Tyranny Of Distance
"Song To The Siren" Tim Buckley  Starsailor
"She Still Loves Him" Jellyfish Bellybutton
"English Rose" The Jam All Mod Cons
"Burned Out" Bedhead Beheaded

Untitled

40" x 20", oil and acrylic on canvas, 2003

This piece is actually more of a stain than a painting. Upwards of a dozen layers of glaze over an acrylic sketch gave this one a soft finish. A lot of the paint was applied with cheesecloth, before going back into it with some brushwork. I was totally flying by the seat of my pants. (I would later ruin a couple pieces attempting a similar finish.)

A novelist from Chicago and her husband/agent bought this one after seeing it at the MN State Fair Art Show in 2004. All arrangements were made over the phone and I shipped the piece to them. During one of our conversations I casually added, "If you're ever in town and want to visit my studio, don't hesitate to call." A couple of months later they were spending Thanksgiving with relatives in St. Paul and they paid me a visit. They bought 8 more pieces.

Yeah, that was a pretty good day...

Andy Warhol Looks a Scream

It's a dream of mine to participate in a similar interview.

(Man, I love YouTube...)

RANDOM TEN
1. "Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox" Guided by Voices Propeller
2. "Teenage Spaceships" Smog Knock Knock
3. "Watercolors Into The Ocean" Destroyer Destroyer's Rubies
4. "Vox Celeste" Deerhunter Weird Era Cont.
5. "Farewell Transmission" Songs: Ohia Magnolia Electric Co.
6. "Box Elder" Pavement Live @ The Palace, Hollywood, CA 1994
7. "Fistful of Love" Antony and the Johnsons I Am a Bird Now
8. "Like Dylan in the Movies" Belle & Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister
9. "With My Face on the Floor" Emitt Rhodes Emitt Rhodes
10. "Good Woman" Cat Power You Are Free

bonus "Andy Warhol" David Bowie Hunky Dory

It's War-hole, actually... As in holes...


Andy eats a hamburger.

10 PM

36" x 24", oil on canvas, 2004

It's 10 PM. Do you know where your children painters are?

A moody piece that conjures up wandering around the city at night--something I used to do a lot more of when I was a young man. Or mannish boy. Whatever the case, I'm still drawn to the blues...

If this image looks vaguely familiar, I'd done a smaller daylight study the year before.