Doleful Lions - One summer, on Bandcamp...

It goes without saying that the business model of the brick and mortar record/cd store has been trounced by a myriad of digital outlets which literally hundreds of millions of music listeners are more than welcome to flock to.  Even so, the advent of iTunes already seems a bit passe for some of us with more discriminating tastes, which is where the burgeoning Bandcamp comes into the picture.  The truth of the matter is that iTunes, Emusic, and Amazon downloads function every bit as much of a middle man as do distributors of physical music media.  Bandcamp's approach is downright organic by comparison, in the respect that music is sold directly to fans by the artist on their terms, not on the whims of bottom-line driven record execs. 

The Doleful Lions, admittedly an outfit with a micro-fanbase, are nonetheless a model example of Bandcamp entrepreneurship, who after waiting the better part of a year to release their eighth record (due in no small part to indie label politics) have resigned themselves to delaying a physical release indefinitely, and instead have marketed said album (Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison!) via the revolutionary portal in question.  For the meager sum of $6.66 Let's Break... can be permanently ensconced in that warehouse of ones and zeroes you call your hard drive, iPod, or perhaps even an MP3 player of another sort.  In addition to the new full length, the Lions (actually pared down to one full time member at this point, Jonathan Scott), have been so enthused about this new outlet, they're selling digital files of their first album, 1998's Mitch Easter produced Motel Swim, plus an album's worth of outtakes, alternate versions and live tracks (What Was On The Floor Of Jonathan's Car- And How It Got There).  There's even a companion ep to the new album, Lucifer, The Light, free for the taking I might add, that offers acoustic versions of three primo album cuts and another trio of otherwise unavailable songs exclusive to this collection.  To get a better handle on the Doleful Lions in general, here are a few morsels I penned in a brief article for issue 68 of Big Takeover magazine:

A Doleful Lions song can manifest itself in the form of a hissy 4-track demo, benign and consoling as a lullaby, or it can come in the guise of a dense, fever-dream swirl of amped-out psychedelic rock and them some.  There are a myriad of shades teaming in between these extremes, but frontman Jonathan Scott imbues his songs with indelible melodies that are as winsome as his prose is often puzzlingly surreal.  The Doleful Lions story begins in earnest in 1997, when Jonathan relocated from Chicago to Chapel Hill, NC where he began mailing demos to scores of indie labels who specifically advertised in this very publication.  Comprised of several alternating lineups, five Lions albums ensued, as did two collections of endearing lo-fi bedroom recordings, Song Cyclops Vols. 1 & 2, all surfacing on the Champaign, IL based Parasol Records.  He has since uprooted back to the Prairie State, specifically the southwest Chicago suburb of Plano.

Jonathan has no magic formula to reveal regarding his heightened melodic astuteness, the quality of which rivals that of the Apples in Stereo or Alien Lanes-era Guided By Voices.  “I’m constantly playing with chord progressions and singing.  I should have a recorder on all the time ‘cos I come up with stuff all day long.”  Nonetheless, on Beausolelil … he weaves a staggering array of hooks together on a mile-high loom, yielding a sublime musical tapestry with exemplary cuts like “Deadbeat at Dawn,” and “Funeral Skies For Burst Patriot,“ ranking among his finest. 

Tracks:

A Viper In Hiding (from Motel Swim)
Deadbeat at Dawn (from Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison!)
Julie's Video (acoustic, from Lucifer the Light ep)
Sun-Hawk City (Not Ian Stuart, Robert Scott Version) (from What Was on the Floor...)

Doleful Lions - Song Cyclops outtakes

I've been a fan of the Doleful Lion's brand of crooked, Merseybeat-indebted pop for a good ten years or so now. A duo consisting of Robert Scott and Jonathan Scott (the latter being the ringleader), the Lions have yielded five proper studio albums and two compilations of 4-track home recordings, Song Cyclops Vols. One and Two, released in 2000 and 2006 respectively on Parasol Records (also home to the remainder of the band's catalog). These two sets of doggedly lo-fi and often hissy tapings comprise Jonathan Scott's most affecting musical offerings to date, outdoing the bulk of his sonically advanced Doleful albums like Motel Swim and Shaded Lodge and Mausoleum. The effect of these raw recordings is not unlike Bee Thousand-era Guided By Voices, rife with supernatural references and genius melodies that are prematurely clipped right at their very apex. Here's what Big Takeover magazine thought of Song Cyclops Vol. One:

Will Chapel Hill, NC ever run out of inspired, literate rock bands? The Doleful Lions are yet another sparkling example of the already bountiful musical harvest spawned by that unlikely spot on the map. On their third LP, which at over 70 minutes is in essence a double album, the Lions wizardly pack in nearly two-dozen lo-fi stunners. Imagine if Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout went camping and toasted marshmallows with the Olivia Tremor Control while listening to worn-out Bob Dylan 8-tracks in the background, and you’ll get an appreciation for the Lions homebrew. The band’s deliberate inclusion of surface noise, and other home-recorded embellishments adds even more weirdness to Song Cyclops supernatural musings and surreal charisma. A totally absorbing listen.

Presented in this upload are fourteen outtakes from the Cyclops sessions, including alternate takes and some really smart covers. Not a bad way to acquainted to the Lions, but no substitute for the two-part main course. Word has it the next Doleful Lions release will be a Jonathan solo-endeavor, cut on his Tascam 4-track recorder. Can't wait. In the meantime, check out the Doleful Lion's Myspace hovel for more tuneage.
 

01. She's a Wallflower

02. Judy is a Punk (Ramones cover)

03. Witchseason and Madrigal

04. O Martyr Atlantis (alternate take)

05. America the Beautiful

06. Analucia (John Cale cover)

07. I Love Living in the City (Fear cover)

08. Sunshine Spartacus

09. Ghost Town in the Sky

10. Siamese Twins (Cure cover)

11. untitled instrumental # 1

12. untitled instrumental # 2

13. The Warrior's End Table (alternate take)

14. I Can Take You to the Sun (alternate take)

 

Hear

Kent State - Past Lives 3x split cassettes (2012) - An overview

Although there were some genuinely prescient folks among us to foretell the reemergence of vinyl as the music format of choice (for audiophiles anyway), virtually no one spoke even in jest about tapes coming back on the market.  And for good reason I suppose, with the fidelity of those antiquated, mini-reel-to-reels being inferior to records and CDs...but nostalgia and novelty have a funny way of creeping back into our lives.  No, you won't find cassettes, either blank or pre-recorded, vying for space next to spindles of CD-Rs at your favorite big box store, but they've very quietly materialized in extremely limited runs via a handful of indie imprints.  Once the antitheses of said audiophiles, current titles on tape are if anything coveted by that very niche, thanks in part to taste-making labels like Burger Records, but I digress.  Kent State, a Baltimore crew I introduced you to last summer, have flicked their collective Dolby switches to "ON" and recently issued no less than three separate cassettes, all under the banner of Past Lives, splitting the difference with one of three unrelated contemporaries: Doleful Lions, Airlooms, and At the Heart of the World, on each cartridge.  All tapes feature one side of three new Kent State songs, with the opposites bearing two to three cuts from the aforementioned.  Artwork and cassette shell color are also exclusive to each and are really something to behold.  As for the music...

Kent State aren't indie rock's "great white hope," so much as it's great white noise.  Their allotment of songs on Past Lives are doubly raw, raucous, and sprawling than those appearing on the Walk Through Walls ep. With a din-addled roar that frequently out-bludgeons Sonic Youth, even KS' smothered harmonies fall prey to a certain amount of dissonance of their own.  A very heady brew that goes well with the likes of Cloud Nothings and Male Bonding.  And what of the other three combos?  I've been touting the virtues of Doleful Lions surreal, yet often poignantly sun-kissed verses for what feels like an eternity now.  A deep, pithy catalog have they, but if you're just looking for a taste, their two selections here are as gratifying a place to dive in as anywhere.  Airlooms were an unknown quantity until I encountered them here sharing a side with Kent State.  Soaring melodicism and unruly squalls of feedback reign in glorious abundance with these blokes on the case.  Vaguely akin to Chamberlain or Kings of Leon, that is if those groups had the creative gumption to record in the pit of the Grand Canyon, if not a 747 hangar.  You can get a whiff of more of their goosebump-inducing tuneage from their Bandcamp page linked above.  Regarding At the Heart of the World, you might say I don't have a place in my "heart" for shronk and screaming.

Getting back to the main event, I would encourage you to explore the remainder of Kent State's growing body of work, which can all be had at Bandcamp, and is also where you can make a wise investment and purchase this limited three-tape set. 

There is hope for the hopeless now. 2011: The year in rear view, Top 25 albums, plus: Best of the Blog mix for the year past

To anyone who espouses the notion that my musical persuasions are solely relegated to the past (specifically the '80s and '90s) you're right...and wrong.  The emphasis on Wilfully Obscure is and will likely remain retro, but I'm still enthused about new music from both emerging and classic artists.   I thought I'd run down twenty-five of my favorite releases of 2011, not only as a way to catalog them for my own remembrance (in the event senility sets in later in life) but for your amusement and recommendation as well.  2011 was not a banner year for music, but in fact slightly superior to 2010 which I conveniently summarized.  On the proverbial one-to-ten scale, there were in fact no tens, or nines, or even eight and a halves (save for maybe my top pick).  Nonetheless there was plenty to pique my interest and maintain my curiosity, thanks to a clutch of inspired newbies.  A little synopsis follows each title on my hallowed and coveted album list.  Bear firmly in mind that your results may very. 

In addition there are short lists (in no particular order) for honorable album mentions, and some of my favorite reissues of 2011.  Towards the end of this lengthy diatribe, I've also included a link where you can download a  "Best of the Blog" compilation featuring songs from twenty of my most cherished blog entries and retro discoveries for the year, including a handful of songs from albums not previously featured.  A huge thanks goes out to anyone who has contributed in any small way to Wilfully Obscure over the past year.  You have sincerely made this a more robust and substantive site.

Top 25 albums of 2011:

01. Farewell Continental – ¡Hey Hey Pioneers! (Paper and Plastick) - Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack goes the co-ed route with Kari Gray turning in the most neurotic and endearing rock album of the year.  Bravo.
02. Maritime – Human Hearts (Dangerbird)- Ex-Promise Ring frontman Davey von Bohlen follows up 2007’s Heresy and the Hotel Choir with a record that’s nearly as visceral and inspired.
03. Doleful Lions - Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison! - Space age hooks paired with an often surreal indie rock stride.  Many happy returns.
04. Parachute Musical – Kill It Cut It Down - Probably my favorite singer/songwriter album of year.  Piano rock bliss.
05. Yuck – s/t (Fat Possum) - Everything you've heard about them is 200% true and then some.
06. Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon)- Delirious, engulfing dream-pop revisionism that virtually none of their ‘90s forebears had the smarts to come up with on their own.
07. Tim and Jean – Like What - Passion Pit-inspired techo pop from this prodigious and infectious Australia duo.  Too bad it didn't see the light of day in North America.

08. Street Chant – Means (Arch Hill) - This sucker picks up where Dinosaur Jr.’s Bug left off, and furthermore, is indicative of the trajectory Sonic Youth should have charted in following up Goo.  Nearly as revelatory as Yuck, and that’s saying quite a bit.

09. Pocket Genius – Nordic - Wasn't expecting something this potent after a decade hiatus.  Pocket Genius bear the charismatic nonchalance and zesty reverb of The Replacements, Doughboys and Soul Asylum, in an oddly unique context.  

10. Neon Indian - Era Extraña - True blue innovators.  In the electronica venue, they are currently without peer. 

11. Saves the Day – Daybreak (Razor & Tie) - This was my most anticipated album of 2011, and even though it didn’t quite live up to my lofty expectations, Chris Conley is still the consummate melody weaver.
12. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light - A milestone for Dave Grohl and Co.  The Foo Fighters are the only arena band whose concerts I’m not embarrassed about attending. 

13. Shy Mirrors – Sailed Blanks (Big School) - The Superchunk and Weezer (blue album-era) aesthetic is alive and kicking up a storm.
14. The Strokes – Angles (RCA) - Returning a few years late, and IMO a song or two short, Justin Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr’s inspired recent solo endeavors spilled over into their fourth platter, giving the Strokes the shot in the arm they were overdue for.
15. Under Electric Light - Waiting for the Rain to Fall - A sublime fusion of shoegazer headiness, suave keyboard-enhancements and breezy melodies. Thoroughly transporting songs.
16. Male Bonding – Endless Now (Sub Pop)- Not as wall-to-wall bonkers as they were on 2010’s static laden Endless Now, but still plenty nervy and voracious.
17. Patrick Stump - Soul Punk - Soul? A few notches shy. Punk? Not a trace. Savvy? Like you wouldn’t believe.
18. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong (Slumblerland) - The not-so-difficult second album. Irresistible.
19. Foster the People – Torches - 2011's soundtrack to summer
20. Joey Cape – Doesn’t Play Well With Others - Another devastating helping of acoustic missives from the brainchild of Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut
21. Office of Future Plans – s/t (Dischord) - Burning Airlines with a little cello thrown in? Works for me. Welcome back Jay.
22. The Drums - Portamento (French Kiss) - Doesn't match last years debut, but strives to anyway.
23. Sea Lions – Everything You Always Wanted to Know... (Slumberland) - A stirring update of classic C86-era Brit Pop with a bevy of old school hipster influences to die for.
24. Wire – Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag) - Still on the cutting edge after all these years, delivering a record that distills many of the key sonic attributes of their five-decade long run.
25. Lunch - s/t ep - fuzzy indie rock newbies drawing on a cornucopia of '90s influences.  Check out their song "Turn Around" streaming on a number of websites. 

Runners up:

Rival Schools – Pedals

Graham Repulski – Into an Animal Together

Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

Sway – This Was Tomorrow

Samiam – Trips

Stuyvesant – Fret Sounds

The Forms – Derealization ep

Sloan – The Double Cross

The Cars – Move Like This

The Active Set – 11

Real Estate – Days

Dot Dash - Spark>Flame>Embers>Ash

Janes Addiction – The Great Escape Artist

High Tension Wires – Welcome New Machine

The Feelies - Here Before

Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes
Muler - Hope You Found a Home
The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave

 

Recommended reissues and compilations:

Nirvana - Nevermind super deluxe edition

Jesus and Marcy Chain - discography reissue series (Edsel) 

Bitch Magnet - three CD discography (Temporary Residence) 

Radio Dept - Passive Aggressive, Singles 2002-2010

Lagwagon - Putting Music in It's Place box set (Fat)

Ben Folds - The Best Imitation of Myself - 3 cd deluxe edition

Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass deluxe

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Tape Club (Polyvinyl)

Sebadoh - Bakesale deluxe (Sub Pop)

The Modulators - Tomorrow's Coming (Kool Kat) 

Although it's well out of my price range (and I've only heard the main album portion), it's a safe bet to say that the Beach Boys Smile Sessions box takes the cake in terms of deluxe reissues for 2011. 

Finally, here's the tracklist and link to our 2011 best of the blog mix:

01. Humidifier - Nicotine
02. Slumber - Valliat

03. Dissonant Blue - Practical Harmony

04. Beauty Constant - It's One Life (demo)
05. Beat Clinic - Brenda on the Big Bed

06. Rhythm Corps (Method) - Solidarity (1984 vers)

07. Alter Boys - Piles

08. Ups and Downs - Painted Sad

09. Pedaljets - Sensual Cardboard Event

10. Reaction Formation - Galesburg Bound

11. The Spliffs - Merry-Go-Round

12. Not Shakespeare - Turnaround

13. Blanket of Secrecy - Love Me Too

14. Five Cool What - Rescue Me

15. Brave Tears - Flippin' Through

16. Delusions of Grandeur - Carousel

17. 100 Flowers - Roof Tops

18. Naomi's Hair - Tilt-a-Whirl

19. Trusty - Bus Stop

20. I-Rails - Sticks and Stones

http://www43.zippyshare.com/v/X73uHFwO/file.html

2015: The Year in Rear View - Top 30 album picks for the year.

Low and behold we just emerged from the tail end of a year in the twenty first century that was actually praiseworthy, music-wise anyway.   In 2014 I struggled so arduously to come up with a legit roster of my top album titles that year, I subsequently buckled and instead made a list of my most listened to albums of that year, be they current or otherwise.  Luckily, 2015 didn't give me the same excuse.  Chalk that up to so many returning and established favorites like Ben Folds, Mew, Motion City Soundtrack, Passion Pit, The Church, Silversun Pickups, not to mention a reunited Swervedriver and Failure!  None of the above delivered their career-best mind you, but still managed to convey genuinely commendable titles in most instances.

'15 saw the emergence of white-hot upstarts in the guise of Meat Wave (think Hot Snakes meets the Wipers), the urgent dream-pop revisionism of Weed and Infinity Girl, Viet Cong's inventive guitar melees, and the relatively conventional pop of Britain's Fickle Friends whose "Velvet" would likely qualify as my favorite song of the year were I to compile a ranking of such.  Elsewhere EZTV brought something toothsome to the power pop dinner table with their first record, Calling Out, Philly's Beach Slang fulfilled the promise of two '14 eps on their premiere full length, and Brooklyn's Regal Degal truly arrived with their vibrato-laden, post-punk stunner Not Now.  

Key among the welcome spate of newcomers was St. Lenox, the aka for Andy Choi whose soaring, soulful timbre conjured up everyone from Stevie Wonder to Jeff Buckley.  This compelling early 2015 arrival (and my #3 pick) Ten Songs About Memory and Hope boasts slice-of-life songcraft to die for, independent of Choi's devastating pipes.  Also filling out my top three is the euphoric second ep from one of my current addictions, Great Good Fine Ok, 2M2H's sly incorporation of urban-contemporary grooves into a frenzied techno-pop pastiche could break them big in 2016.  For the first time in eons, I had an overriding favorite pick for my album of the year.  If Neon Indian's 2012 stunner Era Extrana was a surreal melding of shoegaze-cum-electronica, VEGA INTL. Night School found headmaster Alan Polomo shifting a bouquet of samples and shifty, labyrinthine grooves straight to the dance floor in ways that Prince could only hope to encounter in his wildest fever dreams.

2015 was the year that Deerhunter and Tame Impala moved me firmly into their camps, via some successfully sonic tweaking on Fading Frontier and Currents, respectively.  Juliana Hatfield reunites with her two boy buds Todd Philips and Dean Fisher for a new JH3 album and it just might be the best thing she's put her name on in a good ten years or so.  Nai Harvest's latest is  a deliriously skilled distorto-punk pop mini-masterpiece.  And finally, one more notable title.  Do try to check out Funeral Advantage's Body is Dead.  It's smoothed-over, dream pop bliss that's sure to propel it's way to the upper echelons of your chill-out soundtrack.  And about that list...it's directly below.  BTW there is no "sampler" or audio companion to accompany this entry.   I've offered such in years past only to have it struck down by some of the higher ups.

01. Neon Indian - VEGA INTL. Night School (Mom + Pop)
02. Great Good Fine Ok - 2M2H ep (Ultramusic)
03. St. Lenox - Ten Songs About Memory and Hope (Anyway)
04. Nai Harvest - Hairball (Top Shelf)
05. Regal Degal - Not Now (Terrible)
06. Meat Wave - Delusion Moon (SideOneDummy)
07. Funeral Advantage - Body is Dead (Native Sound)
08. Mew - +/- (Play it Again Sam)
09. Juliana Hatfield Three - Whatever, My Love (American Laundromat)
10. Weed - Running Back (Lefse)
11. Tame Impala - Currents
12. Fickle Friends - Velvet ep + singles
13. Swervedriver - I Wasn't Born to Lose You (Cobraside)
14. EZTV - Calling Out (Captured Tracks)
15. Motion City Soundtrack - Panic Stations (Epitaph)
16. Failure - The Heart is a Monster
17. Ben Folds and yMusic - So There (New West)
18. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - The High Country (Polyvinyl)
19. Deerhunter - Fading Frontier (4AD)
20. Viet Cong - s/t (Jagjaguwar)
21. Marietta - As it Were & Cuts ep
22. Passion Pit - Kindred
23. Beach Slang - The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us (Polyvinyl)
24. Infinity Girl - Harm (Topshelf)
25. Ringo Deathstarr - Pure Mood (Real Cool Trash)
26. Slanted - Forever 
27. Tenement - Predatory Highlights (Don Giovanni)
28. Fire in the Radio - Telemetry (Wednesday)
29. The Church - Further/Deeper (Unorthodox)
30. Silversun Pickups - Better Nature (New Machine)

Honorable mentions:
Maritime - Magnetic Bodies/Maps of Bones
Urban Cone - Polaroid Memories
Beach House - Depression Cherry
Heat - Rooms
Poncho - s/t ep 
Killing Joke - Pylon
Royal Headache - High
Twerps - Range Anxiety 

And of course, there's all the new records I meant to investigate but never did: Built to Spill, Pleasure Leftists, Wire, Tommy Keene, Car Seat Headrest, Doleful Lions...overwhelmed as usual. 

The culminaton of a story and a goodbye session: My favorite albums of the decade from hell.

It's all too convenient to say that the '00s was the weakest decade for rock music. As someone who operates a blog dedicated to the sounds of the good 'ol twentieth century it makes such a claim all the more viable and tempting. I will say this however. Back in December of 1999, eons before this page sprouted up, I put together a list of my 100 favorite albums of the '90s, purely to disseminate among my friends and peers. In that decade, and ditto for the 1980s, there were roughly 200-300 quality albums that could have realistically vied for one of those coveted top-100 spots. This time out, I absolutely struggled to come up with 100 worthy titles. Ultimately I didn't, but I'll come back to this dilemma in a few moments.

The aughts were not about trends, at least as far as I was concerned. Though many were represented, to this set of ears this was the first decade of my existence that was devoid of any bona fide genre-breaking. Just as it's convenient to proclaim the music of the past ten years was comparatively inferior, another wholesale realization was that virtually everything dispelled in the post-Y2K era entailed: a) an obvious throwback; b) a rehash; c) a nifty melange of multiple genres of yore, or perhaps more overarching, technological advancements applied to any of the three variations I just rattled off.

For me, the appeal of music in the past decade often pivoted on what struck my fancy during the '70s, '80s, and '90s. This was also the scenario for a lot of people I'm acquainted with, but unfortunately, many of them took the lazy way out and subconsciously (or not) ceased exposing themselves to new artists, rather almost exclusively supporting established acts from the century past. The truth is, there was a lot of commendable music being churned out during this rather miserable ten-year span, but given the noticeable dearth of innovation, the bulk of it went in one ear and out the other...or was dismissed entirely. And as much as I'm loathe to admit it, I'm as guilty as anyone else I'm referring to out there.

After you take a gander at my 90 or so picks, I know what a lot of you are bound to be scratching your head over. Saves the Day? Dashboard Confessional? Owl City? The Juliana Theory? No less than all three Motion City Soundtrack albums? Even a Fall Out Boy disk? All these out-of-place monikers on a best-of the decade list from a chap that fancies utter obscurities from the golden age of college radio? Yet some, if not all of the aforementioned and their associated ilk outlined in the list below bestowed some of the finest pop songs and albums of this decade that will resonate with me for many more to come. These were hardly guilty pleasures (though at first they certainly felt like it). In fact the aforementioned were the lifeblood of my soundtrack over recent years.

As to why I cut the cord at 95 albums instead of 100, I believe that over the next couple of years (perhaps beyond) I'll find another five albums at least from the '00s that I haven't stumbled upon yet. Instead of "dropping" albums from this list as more preferable ones make it into my stereo and MP3 player, leaving things open-ended with built-in placeholders seems pretty logical - something I failed to do with my 1990s album list, but I digress. Anal and self-indulgent as hell, I know...

In parting, I thought it would be appropriate to provide a little critique and backgrounder for my number one pick of the decade. Around 2005 or so, a lot of you may have caught wind of an intercontinental, slightly raunchy blues/folk duo known as The Kills. Additionally, even more of you are probably familiar with The Dead Weather, a side endeavor of Jack White. The link between these two groups is one Alison Mosshart (who opts for the assumed name of VV when in Kills-mode). As it turns out, I have been following Allison since the mid-90s when as a teen/early-twenty something she was fronting a fledgling indie pop-punk crew based in Vero Beach, Florida called Discount. By the time they got to their third and final album, Crash Diagnostic, they weren't merely "fledgling" anymore - in fact, they had wholeheartedly arrived. Diagnostic was an OK Computer-savvy kiss goodbye and simultaneous kiss-off to the emo/punk scene that bore Discount, soon to be watered down for the masses over the course of the forthcoming decade. Bristling with 13 raw, exposed nerves (i.e. songs), seeped in oblique lyrics, arresting dynamics, not to mention more Fugazi worship than you could shake a stick at, Crash Diagnostic was something of a grower at first, but would soon become an inseparable part of my life. While the facets I laid out in that last sentence comprised the meat and potatoes of the album's aesthetic, the glue stringing all of it together was of course Alison Mosshart's frenzied, about-to-careen-off-the-track vocal aplomb that she has yet to employ in her post-Discount ventures (but I'd say masterminding the album of the decade is enough of an accomplishment). Incidentally, Crash Diagnostic was literally the first release of the year 2000 to fall into my hands, and I would be dumbstruck if you told me at the time that nothing coming down the pike in the next nine years and eleven months would top it. You can listen to the whole thing here. Enjoy, and remember, it's only a list.

01. Discount – Crash Diagnostic (2000, New American Dream)
02. My Vitriol – Finelines (2001, Sony)
03. Passion Pit – Manners (French Kiss, 2009)
04. Mike Viola – Hang on Mike (2003, Sony)
05. The Stereo – Rewind + Record (2002, Fueled By Ramen)
06. The National – Boxer (2007, Beggars Banquet)
07. Local Rabbits – This is It, Here We Go (2001, Brobdingnagian)
08. Element 101 – Future Plans Undecided (2000, Tooth & Nail)
09. Panic! At the Disco – A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005, Fueled By Ramen)
10. Sig Transit Gloria – s/t (2000, Johann’s Face)

11. Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (2003, Dirtnap)
12. The Lives of Famous Men – three eps: Rehearsal/Modern Love/Sunshine (2007-09, self released)
13. The Strokes – Is This It? (2001, RCA)
14. Dashboard Confessional – The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2001, Vagrant)
15. Motion City Soundtrack - Commit this to Memory (2005, Epitaph)
16. Saves the Day – Stay What You Are (2001, Vagrant
17. Amusement Parks on Fire – Out of the Angeles (2006, V2)
18. The Braves – Love and Mercy (2005, Johann’s Face)
19. Fall Out Boy – Take This to Your Grave (2003, Fueled By Ramen)
20. The Anniversary – Designing a Nervous Breakdown (2000, Vagrant)

21. The Doleful Lions – Song Cyclops Vol. I (2000, Parasol)
22. Ben Kweller – Sha Sha (2002, ATO)
23. Paul Westerberg – Stereo/Mono (2002, Vagrant)
24. Rooney – s/t (2003, Interscope)
25. The Mary Onettes – s/t (2007, Labrador)
26. Nada Surf – Let Go (2002, Barsuk)
27. Hey Mercedes – Everynight Fire Works (2001, Vagrant)
28. Ben Folds – Songs for Silverman (2005, Sony)
29. Stew – Guest Host (2000, Telegraph)
30. Taking Back Sunday – Where You Want to Be (2004, Victory)

31. The Lillingtons – The Backchannel Broadcast (2001, Panic Button)
32. Kings of Leon – Only By the Night (2008, RCA)
33. Phantom Planet – The Guest (2002, Sony)
34. Motion City Soundtrack – I Am the Movie (2003, Epitaph)
35. Mike Viola – Just After Dark (2005, Good Morning Monkey)
36. Jack’s Mannequin – Everything In Transit (2005, Maverick)
37. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (2009, Slumberland)
38. Elliott – False Cathedrals (2000, Revelation)
39. Damien Jurado – Ghost of David (2000, Sub Pop)
40. FM Knives – Useless and Modern (Empty, 2003)

41. Motion City Soundtrack – Even if it Kills Me (2007, Epitaph)
42. Ben Folds – Rockin’ the Suburbs (2001, Sony)
43. Tugboat Annie – The Space Around You (2000, Big Top)
44. Emm Gryner – The Summer of High Hopes (2006, Dead Daisy)
45. The Juliana Theory – Emotion is Dead (2000, Tooth & Nail)
46. This Is Me Smiling – s/t (2005, The Vinyl Summer)
47. Mew – …and the Glass Handed Kites (2005, Sony)
48. Owl City – Ocean Eyes (2009, Universal)
49. The Braves – That’s the Hot Part (2002, Arms Reach)
50. Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends (2002, Victory)

51. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (2005, Sony)
52. The Marked Men – s/t (2003, Dirtnap)
53. Dashboard Confessional – The Swiss Army Romance (2000, Drive-Thru)
54. Cockeyed Ghost – Ludlow 6:18 (2001, Karma Frog)
55. Cruiserweight – Sweet Weaponry (2005, Doghouse)
56. Bad Astronaut – Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem (2002, Honest Don’s)
57. Lightweight Holiday – s/t (2003, Porterhouse)
58. Amusement Parks on Fire – s/t (2005, Filter/BMG)
59. Pedro the Lion – Control (2002, Jade Tree)
60. Lifetime – s/t (Fueled By Ramen, 2007)

61. Hot Hot Heat – Elevator (2005, Warner Bros.)
62. The Straylight Run – s/t (2004, Victory)
63. Pete Yorn – Day I Forgot (2003, Sony)
64. Jets to Brazil – Four Cornered Night (2000, Jade Tree)
65. Rhett Miller – The Instigator (2002, Elektra)
66. The Stryder – Masquerade in the Key of Crime (2000, Equal Vision)
67. Reeve Oliver – s/t (2004, Militia Group)
68. Something Corporate – North (2003, Drive-Thru)
69. Blake Babies – God Save the Blake Babies ( 2001, Rounder)
70. Graig Markel – Hard Grammar (2001, Mag Wheel)

71. Saves the Day – Under the Boards (2007, Vagrant)
72. The 101 – Green Street (2005, Limekiln)
73. Hellogoodbye – Zombies!, Aliens!, Vampires!, Dinosaurs! (2006, Drive-Thru)
74. The Bon Mots – Le Main Drag (2003, Mellifluid)
75. Kevin Tihista’s Red Terror – Don’t Breathe a Word (2001, Parasol)
76. Chamberlain – Exit 232 (2001)
77. Jon Auer – Songs from the Year of Our Demise (2006, Pattern 25)
78. Maritime – Heresy & the Hotel Choir (2007, Flameshovel)
79. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time (2007, Sub Pop)
80. High Speed Scene - s/t (2005, Star Trak/Interscope)

81. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Pershing (2008, Polyvinyl)
82. All Systems Go! – s/t (2001, Cold Front)
83. Turin Brakes – The Optimist (2001, Astralwerks)
84. Two Tongues – s/t (2009, Vagrant)
85. Daysleepers – Drowned in a Sea of Sound (2008, Clairecords)
86. Mark Kleiner Power Trio – Love To Night (2002, Mint)
87. DrugMoney – Mtn Cty Jnk (2004, Hybrid)
88. Young Sportsmen – Death to Palaces (2007)
89. Interpol – Antics (2004, Matador)
90. Red Fox Grey Fox – From the Land of Bears, Ice and Rock (2007, Afternoon)

91. Schatzi – 50 Reasons to Explode (2002, Mammoth)
92. House & Parish – One, One-thousand ep (2007 Arena Rock)
93. Steven Mark-Wright – Pop Motel (2006, Not Lame)
94. Drag the River – Closed (2002, Upland/Suburban Home)
95. Broadfield Marchers – When the Lifted Connive (2006, St. Ives)

96-100 ?????