The Design Of A Decade pt deux: Post Flannel Fury!

All that you can't leave behind is how to dismantle an atomic bomb because there is no line on the horizon.

The Grunge and Alterna Rock boom of the early 90's was the last significant movement in Rock music that would hit on a mass scale in my book. When the 2000's rolled around many of those flannel wearing acts had broken up or gone back to the underground. At the same time there were artists who did persevere, gliding into the second stage of their career proving they still had some potency left past their 20s. Of those that survived, here are my favorites:

All That You Can't Leave Behind...Luggage!

U2's 2000 release All That You Can't Leave Behind is my top pick from this genre, though technically they were an 80's band. Top flight songs (the hits "Beautiful Day", "Stuck In A Moment", "Elevation" and "Walk On" all stem from this disc) broadcasting a weary, melancholy sense of hope became my soundtrack to the feeling after 9/11. It also brought guitars back to the band's sound after spending the 90's tinkering with electronic noise. A great album.

With The Lights Out, It's Less Dangerous

The Smashing Pumpkins kicked off the new millennium with what was supposed to be their swan song, Machina/The Machines Of God (2000). While the album is a little abstract (it was the remnants of a planned concept disc that didn't go through) there is some good stuff here. Not the greatest Pumpkins disc, but not an embarrassment either. Anyway, it was Pearl Jam's return to anthemic songwriting that pushed their self titled Pearl Jam (2006) to the top of the ex flannel heap. Scorchers like "Life Wasted" or "Big Wave" exploded on impact. Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl led his Foo Fighters through Echoes Silence Patience Grace (2007), a decent disc highlighted by two outstanding jams "The Pretender" and "Long Road To Ruin". Coming in at the end of the Grunge era was Weezer, who sat out the last part of the 90's only to return armed with an inspired set of compelling nerd rock on 2001's Weezer (the green album). "Island In The Sun" still gets my head bopping.

It Is The Distant Future, The Year 2000

Like the album cover, Green Day caught everyone off guard with a masterstroke pop punk concept album American Idiot (2004) going off like a grenade. An artistic triumph, Green Day spoke to the disaffected with a strong set of songs that hung together thematically. American Idiot was one of the discs I played the most within the last couple of years. And no one saw it coming from a trio that was written off as lightweight has beens.

Radiohead has been the barometer for everything considered great about rock music following The Bends in 1995. Many Best Of The Decade lists I've seen rate Kid A (2000) near the top, an album I could not get into. Electronic doodling in rock music is nice as an additional extra, like buying an accent piece of furniture, but I hate when rock bands remove guitars completely in favor of blips and bloops (lookin' at you U2 and Radiohead!). The Radiohead album I did get into was the famous freebee In Rainbows (2007). A sturdy bunch of songs packed with that whiny croony thing Thom Yorke does so well. Along similar lines, Coldplay became one of the few new stadium bands of the 21st Century thanks to a string of polished, glossy U2/Radiohead style balladry. A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002) was a compelling listen evoking a sort of post modern yearning for something more. It's a mellow ride through a mildly tortured soul. The lone downside is that "Clocks" threatened to become as ubiquitous in montages as Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" was five years before it. Once I heard "Clocks" used in a scene from ER I saw there was no getting away from that song. Ever.

Not to be left in the past, alternative techno rock icon Trent Reznor served up the pretty good With Teeth (2005) for his Nine Inch Nails. It wasn't as inspired as his best work, instead it was consistently good with "Only" becoming my favorite NIN song.

Shiny Happy People Marching

R.E.M. spent most of the time making mediocre albums to a fanbase that kept wondering - when was R.E.M. going to be great again? What happened to those sublime post punk songs with the riddle filled lyrics? In 2008, R.E.M. took a shot at regaining their own title back as jangle rock kings on Accelerate and came damn close to succeeding. On its own terms, Accelerate powers forward by embracing the bands past but not copying it.

R.E.M. had their roots in college rock or what's now called Indie rock which will be the next genre on my list here. Because that's me in the corner, that's me in the spot. light.

December 8th Add On

There were two CDs that I went back and forth on including and ultimately I decided to tack them on. The first is Pearl Jam's latest Backspacer (2009). I didn't think much of this disc when I first got it but since then it has grown and resonated with me strongly so I am adding it on. Also, power pop ace Matthew Sweet generated Kimi Ga Suki (2003) should have been included for its pure chimy catchiness.

Midnight Madness - Ultraman Edition

I'll have to have my wife translate the writing on top. I bet Ultraman never had a problem finding a night light.

While visiting San Francisco's Japantown recently, there were a bunch of plastic dolls of fictional Japanese heroes including one of my childhood champions, Ultraman. Ultraman, the giant guy in the silver rubber body suit and a stoic finned head fighting Godzilla rejects crashing all over Japan. The guy that shoots lasers by crossing his arms. The dude that is summoned by a big pen light held by Hyata of the Science Police. What is a Science Police anyway? And why did they have to wear helmets?

Oops, got side tracked. All of these things seemed mystical as a kid, but a day later while drinking a beer at Chevy's and talking to my wife we came to an interesting conclusion. Ultraman was an early ecological role model. He received his power from the Sun and if he spent too much time on Earth he ran out of power. His chest light would start flashing like a low cell phone battery. So Ultraman had to leave the planet to get some pure sunlight, even if he was in the middle of a fight he had to take off for a little bit to get some Sun.

Ultraman was the original solar panel. He was a walking alternative energy source. His only flaw was low battery life, but it was the 1960s so maybe the fictional technology wasn't there yet. Saving the planet isn't easy. Ultraman brought us one step closer. Not really, but it was fun to say that. Now to the real madness!

Justify My Love - Madonna and Guy Ritchie are divorcing after seven years of marriage. Too bad, they seemed happy for a little while.

Peace and Love is time consuming - Beatles drummer Ringo Starr gave a drop dead date of October 20th for anyone wanting his autograph because he was too busy with "Peace and Love". I imagine being a retired rock star must be incredibly hectic, you have to decide which of multiple estates to stay at, which of however many cars you own you should take to the estate, think about what parties to attend. Yeah, with a life like that who has time for fans?

The Best Things in Life are Free - Radiohead's In Rainbows album, initially offered for any price you want including no price, made the band more money than their last major label release Hail to the Thief. Will other established bands go the same route?

Set Phasers to Stun - Star Trek XI's release date has been delayed to May of 2009. Dammit Jim, you need to get here sooner!

Faith in the Heartland - Journey's recent release Revelation has moved 500,000 copies which normally means a Gold record but because it's a double disc set it counts as Platinum. It's their first post-Perry Platinum disc. Another Wal Mart success story!

Passings - Composer Neal Hefti passed away age 85, he composed the famous Batman theme of the 60's tv series. Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops also passed on age 72, he sang lead on many of that group's classic hits. Both had created music that had an impact on my life.

Sunshine Day - Brady Bunch Actress Maureen McCormick reveals (or confirmed) the stories of sex and drugs from her past are true. I wonder if Chris Knight will include this info on his Trivial Pursuit game show?

Hustle and Flow - Actor Terrance Howard has been removed from Iron Man 2 for financial reasons. A real bummer because he seemed a perfect fit for the Jim Rhodes character. He's been replaced by Don Cheadle, one of my favorite actors because of his versatility. But Cheadle isn't who I think of when it comes to action, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Now It Makes Sense - Before the concept of music videos got old, many of them told stories that were a little abstract compared to the lyrics. Lately, there's someone rerecording these songs to have lyrics match the video. I found out about these videos from other websites including Rolling Stone so it probably means its at viral status. Below are the two videos released so far.

A- Ha "Take On Me" Literal Video Version

Tears for Fears "Head Over Heels" Literal Video Version

Insomnia Pays Off

I was having trouble sleeping last night so I watched some MTV2 aka "the MTV channel that plays videos" and came across a most excellent clip from every Grad students favorite band, Radiohead. The Head have put together a video for one of the strongest tracks on the In Rainbows album called "All I Need". The song itself I took for personal needs when hearing it on the disc but in this context it lends its warm, trobbing yet wistful pulse to a tale of two kids who live entirely different existences but are linked together. That's Radiohead, always deep and making you think...in a good way.

Radiohead "All I Need"