Brad and Tom Are Friends? Episode 19

Join Brad and Tom as they discuss Gucci models, whether Tom has ever done an outdoor chore, service animals, transcendent music and, most importantly, if they're any closer to being friends. Relevant links below.

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Twitter: @bradandtompod

 

Two Methods to Evoke Soul Sounds That Shrug

 

JAMES'S LIST!

Only a fool thinks their era is the last era of great art

 

One of the few things left that can lift my spirits in the face of near-constant contemplation of my inevitable demise is the discovery of great art from a new artist. The fact that someone could enter this hell world decades after me and wrest great beauty from its rabid clutches is inspiring. What I'm trying to say is that discovering great new art and eating great new food are the only legitimate reasons to live.

 

I've bolded my favorite albums from the artists I picked for my top 10, but most of those artists have multiple albums that the near future will not forget (the far off future will forget everyone in about 200 years, max). The other worthy-but-not-quite-as-worthy albums appear after my bolded, favorite albums.

 

On to my list!

 

10 BEST ALBUMS POST-2001!

 

1. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest, Microcastle, Weird Era Cont., Cryptograms

 

Deerhunter is one of THE great rock bands, and their 4-album run from Cryptograms to Halcyon Digest is one of THE great runs in rock history. All of those albums will endure, but Halcyon Digest is the most effective at combining songwriting chops with ELITE face-melting jams. Countless Brooklyn bozos jacked their loop-pedal swagger, but no one did it remotely as well as Bradford Cox, a supremely-weird-in-all-the-best-ways front man. I love these guys and will always love these guys. You should, too, unless you're some kind of jerk.

 

2. Kanye West - Life of Pablo, Graduation

 

History will understand that The Life of Pablo is Kanye's best album. Ultralight Beam is one of THE great songs, FULL FUKKEN STOP, and it leads into a run of songs that's impossible to turn off. One banger seamlessly transitions into another, then another, and finally another. THE POWER OF SEQUENCING is on full display here, and so is Kanye's vast array of skills, both as a producer and an MC. You'll find everything that Kanye does well on this album, and in many instances its the best version of it.

 

Even if you disagree with my empirically correct LoP take, you can't argue that people WON'T listen to Kanye 20 years from now, Dragon Energy be damned. His music means too much to too many people and it should. He's a genius.

 

3. D’Angelo - Black Messiah

 

I felt a little weird including this album because D'Angelo, in my mind, is a very 90s kinda guy, which would violate the spirit of the exercise. HOWEVER, his songwriting has always been on that throwback and/or timeless tip, and this shit came out in 2014. It's flawless and I'll listen to it forever. D'Angelo is also a genius.

 

4. Clipse - Lord Willin’, Hell Hath No Fury, We Got It 4 Cheap (mixtape series)

 

I don't know how you can like rap and not like Clipse. They have some of the most clever drug raps in the history of the illustrious genre, and they worked with The Neptunes at the height of their powers. Hell Hath No Fury slaps for eternity, as does their mixtape series We Got It 4 Cheap, which can only be bested, maybe, by Lil Wayne's Da Drought series. I disagree with that assertion, but its reasonable enough.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, my pick for best Clipse album is Lord Willin', their first LP and one that because of its relative brightness is more re-listenable. Intro, Grindin', Young Boy, Cot Damn, Comedy Central, Gangsta Lean. This album is fucking stacked.

It also gave us a GOAT guest verse from Rosco P Coldchain, who penned the legendary threat, "Who wants to be a millionaire? Me, and you ain't got no more life lines."

 

Rosco P Coldchain is in jail for murder, by the way. HE MEANT WHAT HE RAPPED.

 

5. Solange - When I Get Home, A Seat At The Table

 

When I Get Home and A Seat At The Table are both masterpieces, but When I Get Home is less political and a little easier to vibe to on a daily basis. It's reputation will grow in time once people get over the fact that the songs aren't structured like pop songs. It's a beautiful album meant to be listened to as an album, and the way its themes and sounds weave their way betwixt and amongst songs is astonishing. Solange is amazing and a much more interesting artist than Beyonce (who's pretty good, too, but does not make my list).

 

6. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca, Rise Above

 

Dave Longstreth, who is the founder and sole permanent member of Dirty Projectors, is pretty much a monster, which makes me put this album lower than it should be. Probably. Bitte Orca is unimpeachably great indie rock. It's weird and beautiful and kicks fucking ass. Twee has no right being this hard. Beautiful harmonies, fantastic guitar runs, and an A+ sound palette. There are a lot of great Dirty Projectors albums, but like Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest, Bitte Orca is the best synthesis of their weirdo affinities and pop song craft.

 

7. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly, Good Kid M.A.A.D. City

 

I'm not a huge Kendrick Lamar guy, but he's at his best when crafting an album and To Pimp A Butterfly is his masterpiece (though Good Kid M.A.A.D. City is pretty great, too). It CANNOT be listened to a song at a time, which is why a lot of people sleep on it outside of critical circles, but if you have the patience to listen to the whole thing at once, it's supremely rewarding. More than a handful of these songs could be expanded into 3 separate songs, but Kendrick keeps things moving. To Pimp A Butterfly will stand the test of time. It's a truly great rap album in an age where people don't give a shit about that anymore.

 

8. Kurt Vile - Wakin’ on a Pretty Daze, Smoke Ring For My Halo, b’lieve i’m goin down

 

I had a hard time figuring out what to do with Kurt Vile. Nothing he makes is that groundbreaking or challenging, but I find myself putting on Kurt Vile all of the god damned time.

"Should we just throw on some Kurt Vile?" is a common refrain in my apartment. He's the GOAT "I'm drinking coffee on a Sunday morning" rock guitarist and his stuff works equally well on a road trip or during dinner. It can be a little sonic wall papery but he's got a lot more going on than that and I'll never stop listening to him. That should count for more than we give it credit for sometimes. Music plays in the background and not everything has to be in-your-face to be great.

 

9. Madvillain - Madvillainy

 

I didn't think I wanted to include this on my list, then I listened to it again and was reminded of how fucking incredible it is. Madlib is one of the greatest producers of all time, MF Doom is one of the most unique talents in rap history, and this album fucking slaps. You can't listen to Accordion and tell me there isn't genius at work here.

 

10. Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Sung Tongs

 

Their BIG SMASH HIT was Merriweather Post Pavilion, but I've always loved the EP they released immediately after it, Fall Be Kind. What Would I Want Sky? and the build up to it is some of the prettiest music ever made. Animal Collective is one of those bands that gets dorks all worked up about "fucking hipsters", because they've got some dumb quirks, but if you spend any amount of time with their stuff you'll find something you really like. They pushed rock forward at a time when it was saturated with ideas. I'm extremely impressed with them.

 

IT KILLED ME TO NOT INCLUDE THIS SHIT

 

Ghostface - Fishscale, The Pretty Toney Album

I will always listen to these albums but Ghostface is more of a 90s guy, so I left him off. Still, he's arguably the best rapper in the best rap group of all time and he put out some incredible stuff post-2001. Shakey Dog is an all-time great album opener.

 

Frank Ocean - Blonde, Channel Orange

The smartest and best male R&B singer of his generation.

 

Mac Demarco - II, Salad Days

Goofy weirdo whose low stakes music I keep coming back to during certain moods.

 

Whitney - Light Upon The Lake

They released one album but it's amazing and their lead singer is also their drummer, which makes for a really good live show. Can't recommend this one highly enough.

 

IT DIDN'T KILL ME TO NOT INCLUDE THIS SHIT BUT IT WILL ALSO ENDURE

Radiohead - In Rainbows

One of the great all-time bands, but they're also pretty 90s . Still, this one is post-2001 and it's very very good.

 

Madlib/Freddie Gibbs - Pinata

Brad will kill me for putting this album this low. Whatever. It's great but this feels right for some reason.

 

Panda Bear - Person Pitch, Tom Boy

I might like this stuff more than Animal Collective. Who can say! Tastes evolve, etc.

 

Amen Dunes - Freedom

When I saw these guys at Brooklyn Steel they put on one of the most disappointing live shows I've seen, but this album is amazing.

 

THE REST - THIS SHIT IS ALL GREAT! YOU SHOULD ALSO LISTEN TO THIS

 

Cam’Ron - Purple Haze  

Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy, Actor

Kevin Morby - Singing Saw

Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse

Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me Danny Brown - XXX

Vince Staples - Hell Can Wait EP

The White Stripes - Elephant Jay Z - Black Album

Lil Wayne - The Carter III

King Krule - The Ooze

Kaytranada - 99.9%

A$AP Rocky - Live.Love.A$AP.

Girls - Girls

Toro y Moi - Causers of This

 

 

ANONYMOUS EVAN'S LIST!

(This is) very much a personal list, but I did try to emphasize things that have stayed in my rotation through the years.

I took post-2001 to mean released in 2002 or later, which resulted in some prominent exclusions that I'll address below.

From top to bottom is the order I decided they were definitely on the list:

1. jj - no. 2
listened to this when it came out in 2009, forgot about it for a few years, then got back into it in 2012 and have been obsessed ever since, also own it on vinyl

2. lil wayne - da drought 3
not on spotify so i don't listen to it as much anymore but i still feel like i remember every lyric from listening to it constantly in 2007-12

3. the field - from here we go sublime
has never left my rotation since it came out in 2007 though my relationship to it has evolved a lot over the years. i also own it on vinyl

4. m.i.a. - arular
the first album that popped into my mind when thinking "best post-2001," one i own on vinyl also

5. grimes - visions
another one that has never left my rotation since its release. my girlfriend owns the LP

6. madvillain - madvillainy
i listened to this one off and on over the years, not as much as the others, but it's crept back into my heavy rotation on spotify recently

7. deerhunter - microcastle
became completely obsessed with this album in 2009, my interest in it has waned a bit but "nothing ever happened" remains a strong contender for best song of this era (own LP)

8. burial and four tet - moth/wolf cub 12"
probably the rarest record in my collection, not on spotify so i don't listen to it very much these days, but i approach the track "moth" with an almost worshipful attitude

9. future - ds2
haven't listened to this one as much lately but i think it will hold up long term

10. mclusky do dallas
i considered a lot of albums for this spot but it feels right to have mclusky say "fuck you" to all of them


other albums considered

alasdair roberts - spoils

cfcf - the colour of life

burial - untrue

the streets - original pirate material/a grand don’t come for free

four tet - there is love in you

carsick cars - s/t

the unicorns - who will cut our hair when we’re gone?

the dream - love vs money

animal collective - sung tongs

deerhunter - cryptograms

elite gymnastics - ruin

default genders - main pop girl 2019

sza - ctrl

earl sweatshirt - i don’t like shit, i don’t go outside

atlas sound - parallax

the jealous sound - kill them with kindness

kitty - rose gold

lightning bolt - wonderful rainbow

wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary

pj harvey - let england shake

caribou - our love

the bug vs earth - boa/cold 12”

bonny prince billy and matt sweeney - superwolf

d’angelo and the vanguard - black messiah

chromatics - kill for love

jessy lanza - pull my hair back

jamie xx - in colour

something by broadcast but i can’t pick between their albums

kanye - life of pablo

boyz and girl - s/t

john talabot - ƒin

todd terje - ragysh

st. vincent - strange mercy

spank rock - yoyoyoyoyo

lil b - 6 kiss

cass mccombs - catacombs

eidetic seeing - drink the sun

mogwai - happy songs for happy people

dirty beaches - drifters / love is the devil

girl talk - night ripper

bjork - medulla

tonstartssbandht - an when

crystal castles - s/t

max richter - the blue notebooks

the notwist - neon golden

colour haze - periscope

 

 

albums that came out in 2000-01 that would be in strong consideration for top 10 otherwise

 

fugazi - the argument

sonic youth - murray street

modest mouse - the moon and antarctica

acid mothers temple and the melting paraiso u.f.o. - la novia

spoon - girls can tell

life without buildings - any other city

BONUS ANONYMOUS EVAN CONTENT!!

An interesting corollary to this conversation would be, what albums that came out post-2001 were critically LAUDED at the time but have absolutely NOT held up to extended scrutiny. The Arcade Fire (snoooooooooooze) and 95% of LCD Soundsystem (exception for "Someone Great" and maybe another stray track or two) fall into this category for me:

Bat for Lashes (entire catalog)

Grizzly Bear (entire catalog)

Girls - Album (still a pretty good record but what an overblown reaction)

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (This was Pitchfork's 17th-best album of 2009 -- does anyone remember anything about it?)

Japandroids (I always thought they sucked but I guess they still have a devoted fanbase of mainly Washington Post op-ed columnists)

No Age - Nouns (I think everyone was pretending to like their music because they were nice and ran a cool venue in LA)

The Hold Steady (something about this band always turned my stomach)

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (after the ubiquity of "Get Lucky" faded away this album made absolutely zero lasting cultural impact)

Deafheaven - Sunbather (Metal for people who never liked metal before or since. I thought their name was Deafhaven for years, and liked it better that way.)

My Bloody Valentine - m b v (Complete garbage that everyone forgot about in 2 months' time)