This is the final part of six-part series, of my albums of the decade. It’s a totally personal view, of albums I’ve listened to tons and love dearly, rather than good albums with some great songs on.
If you’d like to read the rest, here’s Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five.
The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (2007)
Moaning about your teenage years has never been as elegaic as on this album. Anger, betrayal, loneliness, that sense of not belonging anywhere, and realising that some people are just plain nasty, it’s all here.
MP3: Walking For Two Hours by The Twilight Sad
Buy “Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters” (CD/MP3)
Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)
Or how a band can go from pretty damn good to superb. Dropped by their label, self-recording the album in the keyboardist-cum-producer’s house, this is a 56 minute long tribute to sticking together through thick and thin and sticking at what you do best, and waiting for the world to catch up with you.
MP3: The Bones Of You by Elbow
Buy “The Seldom Seen Kid (Abbey Road Live Edition)” (CD)
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008)
Even more backwards looking than Midlake, but with a pastoral beauty that just cannot be denied. My son was two when this came out and he couldn’t stop listening to “White Winter Hymnal” and “Oliver James” (though the lyrical content was perhaps not suitable for a young child).
MP3: Oliver James by Fleet Foxes
Buy “Fleet Foxes – 2CD Special Edition” (CD/MP3)
So that’s it. I know that at 3am tomorrow, I’ll awake with a start and remember a great album I missed. But that’s always a peril with writing lists; if I thought about them any more I’d never post the bloody thing. Hope you’ve enjoyed it, and maybe found something new. My absolute, top albums? Probably “You Forgot It In People” and “Yellow House”, but that’s just me.
And to finish off with, here’s my song of the decade:
The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize??
Because it’s a song about love, death, the mystery of life; manages to be slightly melancholy yet hugely uplifting; and is filled with a true, real joy that makes your soul yell out at the sheer beauty of life. Played it at my wedding, and they’d better play it at my funeral, or I’ll be haunting their sorry asses. Probably by singing it, out of tune, in a ghostly voice. That’ll be fun. Anyway, this is Oklahoma’s state song for a reason. It’s brilliant. If you’ve never heard it before, what on earth have you been doing with your life?
MP3: Do You Realize?? by The Flaming Lips
Buy “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” (CD/MP3)
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Loft And Lost 
SH
/ December 14, 2009What, no Britney Spears, Beyonce, or Outkast? And you call yourself a hipster music critic. For shame.
loftandlost
/ December 14, 2009Well, except that there is Outkast: https://loftandlost.com/2009/12/05/albums-of-the-decade-part-two/
And N.E.R.D. too, for good measure.
Britney made a great single (“Toxic”), but the rest of her stuff isn’t my bag.
As for Beyonce, I still think her Destiny’s Child material is better (“Bills Bills Bills” >> “Crazy In Love”, and you know it), and in any case, this isn’t tracks of the Naughties. If I tried do write that, I’d still be doing it in 2015.
Anyway, I’m off to be as much of a hipster as a greying, father-of-one IT bloke who is rapidly descending into a plump middle-age can muster.
SH
/ December 15, 2009Yes, well, at least do it with an ironic care-bear ‘murse’. And don’t enjoy yourself. Also child must wear a Lady Gaga no-sleeve t-shirt.
Outkast. Well actually I enjoy them as well, although Aquemini is the pinnacle.
The Veronicas ‘Untouched’ for the win over ‘Toxic’.
I think you should do tracks, btw.
loftandlost
/ December 15, 2009I’d love to do tracks, but I’m falling so far behind in all the other stuff I want to do on the site that I will just never get it done. I suppose the tracks bit will come into play once I get to the Naughties in the Pitchfork 500…
Not sure my son would quite accept a Lady Gaga t-shirt. He’s rather into Elmo at the moment. One is a corporate puppet that is simply a mouthpiece to sell lots of product to kids, the other is on Sesame Street. Boom, tish. I’m here all week. Try the ribs!