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My favorite albums from the last 10 years


Cugalabanza

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"Punk music on estrogen. Often acoustic guitar with soft, high male vocals that dwell exessively on the singer's feelings, especially melancholy remembrances of past relationships/mistakes in life. A form of music that diverged from punk in the '80s, the name "emo" is derived from the emotive style of the lyrics and music. This genre has lately been marketed heavily by the music industry to teenagers with bands such as Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday, and has seen much commercial and mainstream success.

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First, TBS is NOT emo.

 

Second, I don't think "Urban Dictionary" is a solid source when looking for definitions.

 

Third, even if you used their definition, that definition doesn't fit Taking Back Sunday. Louder Now and Where You Want To Be had very little acoustic guitar, Adam Lazarra does not have "soft, high male" voice, and the lyrics aren't all moopy and sad. Maybe TBS' first album fits the "emotional lyrics" profile but that's about as close as you get.

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Yes they are.

 

From Urban Dictionary:

 

"Punk music on estrogen. Often acoustic guitar with soft, high male vocals that dwell exessively on the singer's feelings, especially melancholy remembrances of past relationships/mistakes in life."

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This criticism from the devoted Smiths and BNL fan? Come on...

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Flogging Molly Drunken Lullabies nothing like Celtic Punk to sing along too, or to jig to. This band is relatively popular, but nevers seems to get the airplay that they deserve.

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For whatever reason, I've never been into Flogging Molly. I know a lot of people who swear by them, though.

 

Sugarcult  Palm Trees and Powerlines the punk pop band's follow isa a very complete album from start to end.

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I think the song "Memory" may be the best song they've ever done but I didn't like the rest of the album as much as Start Static. I haven't heard one song I like from their third album either, which is a little disconcerting.

 

Taking Back Sunday Tell All Your Friends another punk pop album from a band that just broke it big. The angst filled album is great to listen while heading up to games, or if you have to confront your boss.

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Huge TBS fan, but TAYF is probably my least favorite of their three albums. It has the best lyrics (because they still had John Nolan then) but musically Louder Now is way better. I listened to "Spin" and "Error: Operator" before every Sabres playoff game last spring.

 

John Mayer Trio Try! This raw jazzyalbum from john mayer and co. was a step back to his roots, instrumental and pure.

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I've been meaning to pick this one up. Everything I've heard from it was great.

 

Jack's Mannequin Everything In Transit This album is from the leader of the abovementioned Something Corporate. Written while he started having symptoms of cancer, Andrew McMahon poured a lot in the lyrics that cannot be described as anything less than deep and meaningful.

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I seriously considered typing this one in for my first post. Great album. I always wondered about his health when recording it. He was diagnosed with Leukemia around when it came out but, based on the lyrics, he had to be sick when writing it all.
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We have very similar tastes. Thing I would add

 

Taking Back Sunday - tell all your friends (masterpiece)

My Chemical Romance - any of their CD's

TBS is NOT pop-punk ... they are more punk-emo. Especially in Tell All Your Friends.

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I love TBS Tell All Your Friends. Def an album that every song is sing along good. Their albums after that are pop-emo and I think they blow. They especially started to blow once they were endorsed by Mountain Dew.

 

Another band I really like is The Blood Brothers. They are definitely not for everyone, but they are talented as hell. Their last two albums Burn Piano Island Burn and Crimes are very eclectic. Each song has a different sound and each one is very loud and mellodic.

 

Dillinger Escape Plan are f'ing incredible. Complete unification of the senses. They are on another planet in the world of metal.

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If we're going to get all emo here, I'd go with a couple from '97-98.

 

Braid: Frame and Canvas -- does the angular guitars/dueling vocalist thing really well. The members split up and formed two lousy bands, Hey Mercedes and the Firebird Band.

 

The Promise Ring: Nothing Feels Good -- this would be more on the poppy side, very self-aware and fun; the lyrics can be repetitive but they can also really hook you in. They're not obvious.

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I love TBS Tell All Your Friends.  Def an album that every song is sing along good.  Their albums after that are pop-emo and I think they blow.  They especially started to blow once they were endorsed by Mountain Dew.

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Do you mean to say that Mountain Dew is not the signature of all things 'extreme'?

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Porcupine Tree - In Absentia.  Think Pink Floyd with some crunching guitars. Amazing stuff.

 

The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium

 

This one isn't all that obscure but it bears mentioning anyway...

 

Wilco - Being There

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Great band. I love Absentia and the one before it too. I like the Mars Volta too but they are a aquired taste.

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First, TBS is NOT emo.

 

Second, I don't think "Urban Dictionary" is a solid source when looking for definitions.

 

Third, even if you used their definition, that definition doesn't fit Taking Back Sunday.  Louder Now and Where You Want To Be had very little acoustic guitar, Adam Lazarra does not have "soft, high male" voice, and the lyrics aren't all moopy and sad.  Maybe TBS' first album fits the "emotional lyrics" profile but that's about as close as you get.

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I agree, TBS is very angry music, where emo is generally on the whiny, sappy, and soft side ie) Dashboard Confessional. They have very few acoustic songs, and the ones they do acoustic are generally originally electric w/ distortion (Cute w/o the E). Would i label them emo or metal? no. I would probably say that the best description for them is mainstream punk at this point.

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There's tons of neat stuff that came out in the past decade (too bad we're not including the period consisting of '92-'95 as well, because some absolutely blistering stuff came out in those three years).

 

Anyway, here are a few of the records that continue to blow me away every time I hear them:

 

Turbonegro "Apocalypse Dudes"

The pride of Oslo, Norway, Turbonegro's "Apocalypse Dudes" may be the greatest rock and roll record ever put to vinyl. Jello Biafra calls it "the most important European record ever" and who the hell is going to argue with Jello-freaking-Biafra? From opening track "Age of Pamparius" to the last track, "Good Head" (and only the most self-absorbed knock-out punch of a rock record ending in the history of mankind), "Apocalypse Dudes" has to be heard to be believed. And even then you won't be able to fully comprehend it. We worship what we will never understand. We make sacrifices to it because it is so far above our plane of existence we need to kill something to just feel anything but small and pathetic in it's presence. There is no other slab of music like it, and there will never be anything that compares to it ever again. "Apocalypse Dudes" transcends music. It transcends life itself.

 

 

Guitar Wolf "Jet Generation"

Smoking rock from Tokyo, Japan. Matador Records marketed "Jet Generation" as "the loudest CD ever made." Oh man! If you like your rock trashy and LOUD this is it. This is the zenith of maxed out amplifiers, blown speakers and pegged levels. This record goes way past anyone's idea of eleven and right through the ceiling along with everything else in the room in it's wake. "Jet Generation" will either be one of your top five records of all time, or you will run screaming from the room never to listen to music again. There is no in-between with Guitar Wolf. There is no holding anything back with Guitar Wolf. You are either with us, gloriously rolling around in the trash with our ears blown right off our skulls, or you are dead to us. "Can-Nana Fever! Let's go rock and roll!!!!!"

 

 

Reatards "Grown up, F---ed up"

Jay Reatard, bastard son of Nashville, Tennessee. Howling. Screaming. Pitching his emaciated body into a mountain of shattered glass. The overdriven amps smoke, screech and belch as he excorsizes his demons and any you've brought along for the ride. There is only one word that can describe "Grown up, F---ed up". Visceral. "Grown up, F---ed up" is the worst hangover you have ever had. "Grown up, F---ed up" is a debilitating migraine. "Grown up, F---ed up" is the rush of sound inside your head as your significant other is cutting you lose and taking your records with them. You will never get "Grown up, F---ed up" out of your head. You will never get the stench of "Grown up, F---ed up" out of your clothes. "Grown up, F---ed up" will stay with you until you go to your grave.

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First, TBS is NOT emo.

 

Second, I don't think "Urban Dictionary" is a solid source when looking for definitions.

 

Third, even if you used their definition, that definition doesn't fit Taking Back Sunday.  Louder Now and Where You Want To Be had very little acoustic guitar, Adam Lazarra does not have "soft, high male" voice, and the lyrics aren't all moopy and sad.  Maybe TBS' first album fits the "emotional lyrics" profile but that's about as close as you get.

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Yes, they are emo. We have two of the most influential websites on the net calling them emo. Also, check out allmusic.com.

 

Allofmp3

 

Rolling Stone

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Royksopp - Great band, probably going to get a lot bigger after the Geico commercial exposure. I saw them in NY last summer and they were amazing. Melody AM is a great album.

 

Ben Folds - Underrated song writer. Amazingly nice person as I met him a few times and got to have a few beers with him. Rockin' the Suburbs has both a great sound and excellent writing. Songs For Silverman is more of a lighter sound. More emotional too.

 

Ben Lee - Saw him once live. Awesome energy. Has an album out called Awake is the New Sleep. Great lyrics, fun melodies. Very catchy.

 

Coldplay - Enough said. One of the greatest bands of our generation. Everything they put out is gold.

 

The Postal Service/Death Cab For Cutie - Ben Gibbard is the lead singer for both. A phenominal song writer. TPS has only once CD out, which is amazing in lyrics and sound. DCFC is an aquired taste, but once you start listening, you won't stop.

 

I could go on forever here...

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Yes, they are emo. We have two of the most influential websites on the net calling them emo.

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Who cares what websites say? Even "influential" websites? Websites can be horribly wrong just like anyone else.

 

Taking Back Sunday doesn't fit the emo profile. Their songs aren't whiny, their singer doesn't have a high voice, and they definitely don't write every song about how terrible life or girls are. They're a hard rock band.

 

"Emo" is just the popular term for every rock band now. It's like it was 6 or 7 years ago when everyone lumped the Deftones into the rap-rock genre for no particular reason.

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BTW, Christmas is coming early for me this year. My two favorite bands are Brand New and Deftones and they're releasing their new albums three weeks apart. Deftones put three new songs on their MySpace page (best of which is "Hole in the Earth") and Brand New put their new single on MySpace yesterday ("Sowing Season").

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Who cares what websites say?  Even "influential" websites?  Websites can be horribly wrong just like anyone else.

 

Taking Back Sunday doesn't fit the emo profile.  Their songs aren't whiny, their singer doesn't have a high voice, and they definitely don't write every song about how terrible life or girls are.  They're a hard rock band. 

 

"Emo" is just the popular term for every rock band now.  It's like it was 6 or 7 years ago when everyone lumped the Deftones into the rap-rock genre for no particular reason.

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Rolling Stone is probably the leading publication of music information in the US.

Why are you so defensive over them being 'emo" anyway?

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Rolling Stone is probably the leading publication of music information in the US.

Why are you so defensive over them being 'emo" anyway?

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Yeah and the New York Times is probably the leading newspaper. Whoop dee fruggin' do. :blink:

 

"Emo" is an awful genre with a few standout performers (similar to rap). Not to mention the fact that I take some satisfaction in describing things accurately. Let reporters screw things up because they're lazy if that's what they want to do.

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"Apocalypse Dudes" has to be heard to be believed. And even then you won't be able to fully comprehend it.  We worship what we will never understand. 

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I cannot tell if you or Jello (or Turbonegro for that matter) are serious. Long live Man's Ruin Records just the same.

 

.

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Rolling Stone is probably the leading publication of music information in the US.

Why are you so defensive over them being 'emo" anyway?

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calling certain things or pepple emo is almost a slap in the face. To call taking back sunday emo, is like calling michael jackson a heterosexual. TBS doesn't fit the definition of emo, true emo would be dashboard confessional, rufio, and the all-american rejects (All of whom feature soft, kinda whiny ballads, and acoustic at times).

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