10. In Rainbows, Radiohead

In Rainbows is to Radiohead what Merriweather Post Pavilion is to Animal Collective—the ‘accessible’ album. Every critic has noted as much—but they fail to mention that beneath the veneer of accessibility lies an achingly beautiful record that bubbles with a haunting immediacy that does not let down. In Rainbows completes the great triumvirate begun by The Bends and OK Computer. (Full review)

9. Elephant, The White Stripes

The Stripes, along with the Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, are often credited with the revival of garage rock in the early aughts. However, when listening to material like the epic “Seven Nation Army,” one wonders whether either of the other two acts could, in their entire catalogues, find a cut to rival it. All of the Strokes’ lyrical ambiguity is matched here by a palpable and visceral energy.

8. Kala, M.I.A.

Drawing on a dizzying number of influences often thought to be contradictory, defying the sacred dictate of indie-dom that insists on the synonymity of ‘popular’ and ‘insipid,’ and threading together the whole of human poverty, from slum to shanty town, M.I.A. writes music that is electrifying, somehow ribaldly winsome and, above all, fun. What Arular only hinted at Kala delivers in every single track.

7. Is This It, The Strokes

With half-mumbled, reedy vocals that evoke Lou Reed and a garage rock, proto-punk esthetic that at once recalls the Replacements and the Velvet Underground and redefines that sound with irresistible pop sensibilities, the garage rock revolution of the early 2000s began and ended here. Definitely download the title track, “Hard to Explain,” “The Modern Age,” “Barely Legal,” “Last Nite,” “Someday.”

6. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes

It was uncertain before the release of their self-titled debut whether the gale of hype in their wake was blessing or curse—and for about the first 20 seconds, one begins to think it’s the latter. And then comes bursting forth a roulade of sunny strums and layered vocals that channel Elliott Smith and Brian Wilson in equal measure. “Ragged Wood,” “He Doesn’t Know Why,” “Protector,” “Oliver James.”

5. Turn On the Bright Lights, Interpol

The record Interpol have struggled to match ever since its release, Turn On the Bright Lights wears its influences on its sleeves: The Chameleons, Joy Division, The Cure, it is clear from first listen. But what makes this a classic is the way in which they marshal these influences and reanimate them with rousing pop sensibilities. “NYC,” “PDA,” both “Obstacles,” “Roland.” An unqualified triumph.

4. Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective

2009’s rebuttal to Pet Sounds. So beautiful and accomplished an album is this that no words beyond those would do its dense galvanizing grandeur justice. Simply epic—doubtless Animal Collective’s breakthrough, coming after a string of three accomplished but polarizing dalliances with the avant-garde. “In the Flowers,” “My Girls,” “Summertime Clothes,” “Bluish,” “Daily Routine,” “Brother Sport.”

3. Funeral, Arcade Fire

Out of nowhere, as forecasts of doom and gloom for rock music came flooding in from all directions, emerged Arcade Fire with their rich baroque soundscapes, proving that albums as sweeping and universal as Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s can still be put out in the 21st century. It would prove immensely influential, sparking a folk revivalist revolution that quietly phased out garage rock.

2. Kid A, Radiohead

After OK Computer, Radiohead could’ve easily churned out a clone—Thom Yorke certainly doesn’t want for angst. But instead, they chose to be bold, weaving together sprawling paeans to confusion like “Everything in its Right Place,” “The National Anthem,” “How to Disappear Completely,” “In Limbo,” and “Idioteque” into an album that reached, like none other this century, for the future of rock music.

1. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco

Right up there with OK Computer as one of those albums that comes around only once in a generation. It’s earth-shattering in its understated, cadenced beauty, managing to limn the full breadth of our confused times in hums and whispers through eleven essential songs. Here Wilco marry their penchant for the avant-garde with their tendency toward Americana grandeur—and the result is life-changing.

For the rest of the list (top 40 of the decade), click here.

Have your say below:

10. Netherland, Joseph O’Neill

9. White Teeth, Zadie Smith

8. Empire Falls, Richard Russo

7. The Feast of the Goat, Mario Vargas Llosa

6. The Road, Cormac McCarthy

5. Crabwalk, Günter Grass

4. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen

3. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

2. Austerlitz, W. G. Sebald

1. Atonement, Ian McEwan

A novel that astounds in the quietest, subtlest ways, moving at the stately pace–and ‘stately’ here is what Flaubert might’ve called le mot juste–of a Victorian novel, with dutiful nods strewn here and there to its greatest masters, Thackeray and Dickens, but without sacrificing in the offing any of the mystique of its postmodern, millennial literary context, owing just as much to the works of Derrida (srsly) and and Beckett and others writing in the immediate wake of that most important of human events this side of the French Revolution, the second World War. And I make a point of mentioning this event as prominently as I do because it is the backdrop against this marvelous novel about the impossibility of objective truth, about lust and a forbidden (and imagined?) romance, and about youth and innocence, unfolds. Surely it has all the makings of a canonical work of Western literature and is written with an electrifying élan, imbued with a reassuringly authorial voice and deep sense of control–in short, with a staggering deftness–that Ian McEwan had, prior to this, hinted at but never truly achieved. Here he does–and his life, and that of anyone that reads this novel’s novel by this writer’s writer, will never be the same.

House Minority Leader John Boehner

Of late, nothing quite makes my day like watching this inarticulate, bumbling, utterly clueless man on Sunday morning talk, if not for his shocking ignorance, for his perennial tan. Seriously, though, how many times has Boehner kvetched as only he could in the past, say, week about ‘the SIZE of the package’ and crowed about how ‘we can’t borrow and spend our way back to prosperity’? (I won’t comment on the irony of a Republican that claims to follow in Mr. Deficits-Don’t-Matter’s footsteps suddenly caring about the national debt…  Strategic Defense Initiative, anyone?) Like the (thank goodness) former President, Boehner seems to be of the ilk that like to scribble little catch phrases, little syrupy platitudes on napkins to use later on in the day–the political equivalent of Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice–and in the vein of Bush’s own tiresome contrivances, he ends up using them for the rest of his public career, even when they don’t really apply, because they just flow so beautifully (one is reminded of Bush’s well-worn “If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift towards tragedy. That will not happen under my watch.” It meant absolutely nothing, I’m sure, and if one had asked him at the time to elaborate on it, I doubt he would’ve be able to… but damn did it sound nice!). Because you see, for Boehner, opposition is not a difficult concept at all: always have a criticism at the ready, always have a half-baked, nonsensical verbal arrow to pull from the proverbial quiver, even if you don’t really take the time to read the legislation in question, because, you know, this is, all things considered, the U.S. Congress. And I am a Republican. And so it is no surprise that he’s been on every news network that exists (and a few that don’t), harping diligently on anything Obama or the evil Democrat Party (you see, *chuckle*, we don’t call them the Democratic Party because… wait for it… THEY’RE NOT DEMOCRATIC!!! *hysterical laughter, violent knee slaps*) does. That this expert politician comes to us from the great city of Cincinnati really says something about its residents.

But honestly I wouldn’t have a problem with the platitudes were there actually something behind them, a foundation of knowledge of anything at all to buttress them. Alack, there exists no such foundation. For when he says “we’re borrowing this money from the next generation, from our children,” he doesn’t realize the intrinsic stupidity of that statement. No, he simply plows on like a windy (‘it’s a Texas term, no, I know it’s from Tennessee…’), angry old man telling an interminable, unfunny story, his insufferably shrewish voice and scary facial expressions punctuated with the pipes and whistles and sudden pauses of a rare condition inherent to Republicans: congenital retardation. And then they have the gall to complain about affirmative action for minorities, without realizing that they themselves are cases of another sort of affirmative action (the sort that shouldn’t exist, for the sake of the country). But in the end, I don’t think it’s really his fault. He is merely a side-effect of the vaunted Reagan Revolution and the subsequent ‘Age of Reagan,’ where people aren’t elected for their intelligence, their achievements, or their gumption, but rather for their ‘family values.’ Enter stage right, Sarah Palin. Or is it house left? Ah, she wouldn’t know the difference.

When first I learned of his passing, I was overcome with a mixture of grief and ire, bemoaning his death as well as the fact that clearly inferior authors like Le Clézio, Lessing, and Pamuk were given the Nobel Prize for Literature before it could be awarded to him, to name just three examples of the committee’s maddening insularity. Then, I thought it a monumental insult to his towering legacy, that discrediting yes, but… that would inevitably come up in any discussion about him, and naturally took umbrage at it. Since, I’ve come realize that his work has already been immortalized by dint of its greatness–a greatness which it is far beyond the hidebound scope of a few members of a nondescript committee to affirm or to negate, a greatness which ensures by virtue of itself the safe delivery of his oeuvre to our children and our children’s children and their children after that.

May he rest in peace, rejoicing in the knowledge of how dearly he will be missed.

“We do survive every moment, after all, except the last one.” — John Updike

I could not hold back the laughter.

And so whenever he releases an album, I get it instantly either through Amazon MP3 (which, by the way, is a great service with amazing song quality—always 320kbit/s for amazing bass and near-CD quality sound) or iTunes (where, if you have the ears to tell the difference, the songs have a pretty pedestrian bit rate of 128kbit/s). So it has been before, and so it was with his latest LP, Noble Beast. I must say that I was not blown away. After listening to it, I came away with a slightly bittersweet taste in my mouth, expecting him to break new ground in terms of his sound and lyrics, and while Bird still has the rare distinction of not having made a single bad album in his decade-long career, this is by no means the musical coup de grace that his last two albums, The Mysterious Production of Eggs and Armchair Apocrypha, were. What it is is an above-average, still-unclassifiable record with the same quirky, jazzy sound and several standout tracks that, while really not groundbreaking, still echo the greatness of Eggs and Apocrypha. Which would be fine for any musician other than Bird, of whom one comes to expect great things. Perhaps it’s partly my fault for setting the bar so high as to be impossible to clear, but it’s just that Eggs and Apocrypha were modern indie rock classics. Noble Beast is a good, often great album, but never quite reaches the heights of either.

As for the songs, there are six that stand out after a few listens. The first of these is the infectiously poppy, irresistibly hooky opener, “Oh No,” which begins with Bird’s trademark whistle and, with the aid of an airy chorus and Bird’s own tuneful moans, is appealing enough to keep the listener riveted for its entire 4 minute 20 second duration. The lyrics aren’t as sharp as usual on this track, but it’s a shallow sort of song that is appealing exactly because of its shallowness, its pure, organic, ambitionless beauty. The second is equally as airy, almost reminiscent in its gamboling melody of The Shins’ brilliantly poppy Chutes Too Narrow; titled “Fitz and the Dizzyspells,” Bird’s whistling also figures prominently in this cut, which is slightly brisker than is the opener. If the first two choice cuts are like cotton candy, the third, “Tenuousness,” is like chocolate, charmingly literate and beautifully flowing. Featuring some of Bird’s best lyrical work ever, the song eschews the traditional in favor of a more freewheeling structure. “Love of hate acts as an axis / Love of hate acts as an axis / First it wanes and then it waxes / So procreate and pay your taxes,” he intones con molto brio, his crisp vocals superimposed against a multiplicity of layered instruments, with an orchestral foundation and more bucolic instrumentation mixed together beautifully. “Tenuousness / Less seven comes to three / Them, you, us plus eleven comes just shy of infinity / That’s for those who live and die from numerology,” he sings in the end, seeming to criticize the austerity and overabundance of mores of antiquity.

The fourth standout track is “Nomenclature,” which starts out as a quiet, moody, atmospheric ballad and quickly swells into a small epic, though its length, just short of the three minute mark, really prevents one from savoring it for very long. “Not a Robot, But a Ghost” is probably the best track in the album. It’s fast-paced, uses the acoustic guitar pretty heavily, and makes the best of Andrew Bird’s voice, making it sound somewhat like Thom Yorke’s in “Karma Police.” Needless to say, he’s never sounded this edgy before, and when his voice swells to anthem levels, it’s really something special; but just as special is his croon, which captivates and engrosses in its mellifluous beauty. The fact that it’s superimposed against what is almost a techno beat endues his voice with cadence and dimension, making it truly transcendent, and gives the track a sense of urgency absent from previous albums. It is the elaborate beauty of this song that propels this album to a score of three; were it not for this track, it would’ve surely received a two or a two and a half. But “Not a Robot, But a Ghost” is really that good of a cut. “Anonanimal” is probably the second-best cut, behind only the previous one. It’s poetic, flowing, and wonderfully mixed, joining Bird’s voice with strings and glockenspiels; it is perhaps the only musical example of symbiosis ever, as the excision of one would strip the other of its allure, its mystique. Bird’s falsetto at the end, coupled with the layered string arrangement, is really remarkable. “Souverian,” the second-from-last track, warrants mention for its length, at 7 minutes 18 seconds, Bird’s reprisal of his trademark pipes and whistles, and the beautiful piano, glockenspiel, and string arrangement; however, the track seems self-indulgent and starts to wear about half-way in with no real variation and uninspired vocals. (And what the hell is a ‘Souvarian’ anyway?) Overall, though, this album represents an above-average effort that really does nothing to expand on Bird’s previous successes, but is so damn beautiful that one can’t really mark it down much for it.

Transcript:
My fellow citizens:  I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you’ve bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation — (applause) — as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.  The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.  Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.  At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.

So it has been; so it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.  Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.  Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.  Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered.  Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many — and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.  Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.  They are serious and they are many.  They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.  But know this America:  They will be met.  (Applause.)

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.  On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.  We remain a young nation.  But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.  The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation:  the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.  (Applause.)

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given.  It must be earned.  Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.  It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.  Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor — who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.  For us, they toiled in sweatshops, and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip, and plowed the hard earth.  For us, they fought and died in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.  They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today.  We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.  Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.  Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week, or last month, or last year.  Our capacity remains undiminished.  But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed.  Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.  (Applause.)

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.  The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift.  And we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.  We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.  We’ll restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.  We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.  And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.  All this we can do.  All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans.  Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.  What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.  Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward.  Where the answer is no, programs will end.  And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.  Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.  But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.  The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.  The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.  (Applause.)

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.  Our Founding Fathers — (applause) — our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man — a charter expanded by the blood of generations.  Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience sake.  (Applause.)

And so, to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation, and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.  And we are ready to lead once more.  (Applause.)

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.  They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please.  Instead they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy.  Guided by these principles once more we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations.  We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.  With old friends and former foes, we’ll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense.  And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.  (Applause.)

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.  We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.  We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.  To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.  (Applause.)

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.  (Applause.)

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.  And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.  For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who at this very hour patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.  They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are the guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service — a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

And yet at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.  For as much as government can do, and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.  It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.  It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new.  The instruments with which we meet them may be new.  But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old.  These things are true.  They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths.  What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.  This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.  This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall; and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served in a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.  (Applause.)

So let us mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.  In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.  The capital was abandoned.  The enemy was advancing.  The snow was stained with blood.  At the moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words to be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America:  In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.  With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.  Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Here it is as Roberts butchered it, with the faux pas in bold:

I do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of President to the United States faithfully, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Obama paused with a bemused smile on his face, almost as though he wanted to chuckle at the elision; Roberts insisted on his version of the oath, which is written into the Constitution (you know, the document that dictates the law of the land… misstated by a lifelong lawyer whose ‘wisdom’ Bush extolled in his farewell address). “And the federal bench includes wise new members like Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts,” he said, still delusional. This is the same Samuel Alito who’s so petty that he decided to skip Obama’s visit to the Supreme Court. At least Roberts stayed and feigned contentment and respect. Nevertheless, let no-one think that this was Barack Obama’s mistake. Here’s the video of the botched ceremony from the BBC:

But let’s take in the moment. Bush, Cheney, Alito and Roberts are political dinosaurs who know that their time has passed. Now is a time of renewal.

To that end, the White House website received quite a facelift; essentially, Change.gov became WhiteHouse.gov, though the layout has been completely redone. Very elegant.