Fishpork

Fishpork’s 50 Favorite Tracks of 2009

December 4, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

This year really didn’t end up being that “greatest of the decade” as January-March may have suggested. With that said, our favorite tracks list became very album-heavy as it evolved throughout the year. With seven tracks from Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear in the top 20, you kinda get the point. Here is our very biased list of favorite tracks from 2009:

HEALTH – “Die Slow”

Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others“
Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”

Fuck Buttons – “Olympians”

Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart”

Animal Collective – “My Girls”

Fever Ray – “Concrete Walls”

Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able“
White Lies – “Farewell to the Foreground”

Moderat – “New Error”

Atlas Sound – “Attic Lights”

Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks“
Animal Collective – “Guy’s Eyes”

Fuck Buttons – “The Lisbon Maru”

Atlas Sound – “Walkabout”

Animal Collective – “What Would I Want? Sky”

Dredg – “Information”

White Lies – “Death”

Fever Ray – “Coconut”

Animal Collective – “Brothersport”

Built to Spill – “Good Ol’ Boredom”
MC Rut – “I Don’t Really Know”
The Mars Volta – “Since We’ve Been Wrong”
Modest Mouse – “The Whale Song”
Dirty Projectors – “Cannibal Resource”
Deerhunter – “Game of Diamonds”
Morrissey – “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”
Animal Collective – “I Think I Can”
HEALTH – “We Are Water”
Dredg – “Mourning This Morning”
Sufjan Stevens – “You Are the Blood”
Fuck Buttons – “Surf Solar”
Phoenix – “Girlfriend”
The Flaming Lips – “Silver Trembling Hands”
White Rabbits – “Rudie Fails”
The Mars Volta – “With Twilight As Our Guide”
Radiohead – “These Are My Twisted Words”
Great Northern – “Fingers”
Royksopp – “Tricky, Tricky”
Dirty Projectors – “Useful Chamber”
St. Vincent – “The Party”
YACHT – “Ring The Bell”
Bat For Lashes – “Sleep Alone”
Atlas Sound – “Sheila”
Washed Out – “Feel It All Around”
Das Racist – “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”
Dirty Projectors – “Stillness Is The Move”
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Skeletons”
Great Northern – “Driveway”
Morrissey – “I’m OK By Myself”

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: animal collective, atlas sound, bat for lashes, Built To Spill, das racist, deerhunter, Dirty Projectors, dredg, fever ray, fuck buttons, great northern, Grizzly Bear, HEALTH, MC Rut, moderat, modest mouse, morrissey, phoenix, radiohead, Royksopp, st. vincent, sufjan stevens, the mars volta, washed out, white lies, white rabbits, YACHT, yeah, yeahs

The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2009

November 19, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

2009 started off as one of the strongest years for music in the decade but then slipped into a summer that left us scratching our heads and yearning for more. An impressive set of Fall releases surprised their way onto our Favorites List and cemented 2009 as a year that will impress music lovers in retrospect. These are our favorite albums from the past year:

1. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

2. Fever Ray – Fever Ray

3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

4. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport

5. Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy

6. Atlas Sound – Logos

7. Morrissey – Years of Refusal

8. Dredg – The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion

9. White Lies – To Lose Your Life

10. Moderat – Moderat

11. The Mars Volta – Octahedron

12. MC Rut – Middle Class Rut

13. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

14. Great Northern – Remind Me Where The Light Is

15. HEALTH – Get Color

16. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

17. The Flaming Lips – Embyronic

18. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

19. Isis – Wavering Radiant

20. Royksopp – Junior

Most Disappointing Albums:

Lotus Plaza – The Floodlight Collective
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: animal collective, atlas sound, bat for lashes, Built To Spill, Dirty Projectors, dredg, fever ray, fuck buttons, great northern, Grizzly Bear, HEALTH, isis, MC Rut, moderat, morrissey, phoenix, Royksopp, the flaming lips, the mars volta, white lies

Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s

November 11, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.

1. Panda Bear – “Bros” (2007)

2. The Knife – “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)

3. Animal Collective – “For Reverend Green” (2007)

4. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)

5. The Knife – “Heartbeats” (2003)

6. Grizzly Bear – “The Knife” (2005)

7. LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great” (2007)

8. TV on the Radio – “Staring at the Sun” (2003)

9. Crystal Castles – “Crimewave” (2008)

10. Beirut – “Ciloqut” (2007)

11. Thom Yorke – “Harrowdown Hill

12. Animal Collective – “Derek” (2007)

13. Nine Inch Nails – “Me, I’m Not” (2007)

14. Beck – “Lonesome Tears” (2002)

15. At The Drive-in – “One Armed Scissor” (2004)

16. Animal Collective – “Grass” (2005)

17. Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)

18. Atlas Sound – “Recent Bedroom” (2008)

19. Panda Bear – “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)

20. System of a Down – “Chop Suey” (2001)

21. Animal Collective – “Peacebone” (2007)

22. Battles – “Atlas” (2007)

23. Error – “Jack the Ripper” (2004)

24. Enon – “Pleasure and the Privilege”

25. Elliott Smith – “Son of Sam” (2000)

26. Animal Collective – “Did You See the Words” (2005)

27. The Knife – “Marble House” (2006)

28. LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends” (2007)

29. Thom Yorke – “Analyse” (2006)

30. The Flaming Lips – “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)

31. Girl Talk – “Smash Your Head” (2006)
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32. A Perfect Circle – “Judith” (2000)

33. Radiohead – “Idioteque” (2000)

34. Tapes N’ Tapes – “Manitoba” (2006)

35. TV On The Radio – “I Was A Lover” (2006)

36. Radiohead – “Reckoner” (2007)

37. Fever Ray – “Coconut” (2009)

38. Animal Collective – “My Girls” (2009)

39. Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart” (2009)

40. Wilco – “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)

41. Modest Mouse – “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)

42. Animal Collective – “Leaf House” (2004)

43. Modeselektor – “Happy Birthday” (2007)

44. Arcade Fire – “Wake Up” (2004)

45. Autolux – “Blanket” (2004)

46. MGMT – “Time to Pretend” (2007)

47. Built to Spill – “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)

48. Wilco – “Side With the Seeds” (2007)

49. Elliott Smith – “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)

50. Avey Tare – “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)

51. Department of Eagles – “Waves of Rye” (2008)

52. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes” (2009)

53. Radiohead – “2+2 = 5″ (2003)

54. Dredg – “Sang Real” (2005)

55. While Lies – “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)

56. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able” (2009)

57. Matisyahu – “King Without a Crown” (2005)

58. Modest Mouse – “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)

59. Dillinger Escape Plan – “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)

60. Elliott Smith – “Twilight” (2004)

61. Deerhunter – “Flourescent Grey” (2007)

62. Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen” (2007)

63. LCD Soundsystem – “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)

64. The Notwist – “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)

65. Liars – “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)

66. The Mars Volta – “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)

67. The Notwist – “Solitaire” (2002)

68. Of Montreal – “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)

69. Queens of the Stone Age – “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)

70. Radiohead – “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)

71. Saul Williams – “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)

72. Autolux – “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)

73. Sigur Ros – “Untitled 8″ (2002)

74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Maps” (2003)

75. Portishead – “Threads” (2008)

76. Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago” (2005)

77. Ugly Casanova – “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)

78. Animal Collective – “Brothersport” (2009)

79. Radiohead – “Pyramid Song” (2001)

80. Nine Inch Nails – “Only” (2005)

81. El-P – “Flyentology” (2007)

82. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” (2002)

83. Ghostface Killah – “Shakey Dog” (2006)

84. Modest Mouse – “Missed the Boat” (2007)

85. UNKLE – “Persons and Machinery” (2007)

86. Amon Tobin – “Verbal” (2002)

87. The White Stripes – “Denial Twist” (2005)
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88. Tomahawk – “Captain Midnight” (2003)

89. Modest Mouse – “Bukowski” (2004)

90. Sigur Ros – “Hoppipolia” (2005)

92. Fuck Buttons – “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)

93. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love” (2008)

94. Built to Spill – “In Your Mind” (2001)

95. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (2007)

96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “We Are Rockstars” (2008)

97. Dub Trio – “Not Alone” (2006)

98. Modest Mouse – “The World At Large”

99. The Walkmen – “In the New Year” (2008)

100. Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: a perfect circle, amon tobin, animal collective, arcade fire, at the drive-in, atlas sound, autolux, avery tare, battles, beck, beirut, bon iver, Built To Spill, crystal castles, deerhunter, department of eagles, dillinger escape plan, does it offend you yeah, dredg, dub trio, el-p, elliott smith, enon, error, fever ray, ghostface killah, Grizzly Bear, holy fuck, lcd soundsystem, liars, matisyahu, mgmt, modeselektor, modest mouse, nine inch nails, of montreal, panda bear, portishead, queens of the stone age, radiohead, saul williams, sigur ros, sufjan stevens, system of a down, tapes N tapes, teh notwist, the flaming lips, the helio sequence, The Knife, the mars volta, the white stripes, thom yorke, tomahawk, tv on the radio, ugly casanova, unkle, white lies, wilco, yeah, yeahs

Fishpork’s Favorite Albums of the 2000s

October 15, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

Compiling a list of your favorite albums for an entire decade is quite the challenge, especially when that decade was as strong as the 2000s were. Six of our favorites come from two bands (Animal Collective and Radiohead), and two were from this past year (Veckatimest and Merriweather Post Pavilion). This list is by no means a definitive statement of the best music from last decade. Instead, these are our favorite albums that were on heavy rotation in our iPods and scrobbled endlessly on Last.FM.

1. Strawberry Jam (2007) – Animal Collective

2. Silent Shout (2006) – The Knife

3. The Moon and Antarctica (2000) - Modest Mouse

4. Kid A (2000) – Radiohead

5. Figure 8 (2000) – Elliott Smith

6. Veckatimest (2009) – Grizzly Bear

7. De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003) – The Mars Volta

8. Future Perfect (2004) – Autolux

9. The Eraser (2006) – Thom Yorke

10. Person Pitch (2007) – Panda Bear

11. Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) – TV on the Radio

12. Sea Change (2002) – Beck

13. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) – Wilco

14. High Society (2002) – Enon

15. The Loon (2006) – Tapes N’ Tapes

16. Microcastle (2008) – Deerhunter

17. Feels (2005) – Animal Collective

18. Sound of Silver (2007) – LCD Soundsystem

19. In Rainbows (2007) – Radiohead

20. Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) – Animal Collective

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: animal collective, autolux, beck, deerhunter, elliott smith, enon, Grizzly Bear, lcd soundsystem, modest mouse, panda bear, radiohead, tapes N tapes, The Knife, the mars volta, thom yorke, tv on the radio, wilco

Fishpork’s Favorite EPs of the 2000s

October 1, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again, when music blog debates get nasty and irrational. We wouldn’t dare declare a “best of” list. These are simply our favorites. We’ll start with releases that didn’t make full album status but were too good to be ignored. These are our favorite EPs of the decade:

1. Flourescent Grey – Deerhunter (2007)
Deerhunter have yet to misstep in their short but brilliant career. Flourescent Grey represents the band at their best.

2. Error – Error (2004)
A real supergroup featuring NIN programmer Atticus Ross, Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz, and Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato. It’s hard to believe that this is their only release. “Jack the Ripper” is mind-numbing perfection.

3. Irony is a Dead Scene – Dillinger Escape Plan (2002)
Dillinger Escape Plan is a decent band known for their energetic live sets. Throw in Mike Patton as guest vocalist for an entire EP, and DEP reach their pinnacle. Patton shows his entire vocal palette on Irony by softly crooning one minute and conjuring screamo and Fantomas-style yelping the next. “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” might be the best song Patton has ever been associated with.

4. Water Curses – Animal Collective (2008)
An underrated EP from Animal Collective that held us over between the releases of 2007′s Strawberry Jam and 2009′s Merriweather Post Pavilion. “Street Flash” is a highlight.

5. Tremulant – The Mars Volta (2002)
The first introduction to The Mars Volta after the 2001 split of At The Drive-in. Our ears would never be the same.

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: animal collective, at the drive-in, deerhunter, dillinger escape plan, error, mike patton, the mars volta

July’s Fresh Pork Cuts

July 20, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

Mark’s

The Mars Volta – “With Twilight As My Guide”

Middle Class Rut – “I Don’t Really Know”

Thom Yorke – “All For The Best (Marc Mulcahy cover)”

Modest Mouse – “History Sticks To Your Feet”

Moderat – “Rusty Nails”

Peter’s

Circulatory System – Solid Forms Dissolving
Neon Indian – Terminally Chill
Dirty Projectors – Useful Chamber
Kurt Vile – Overnite Religion
Phaseone – Tower Grove Joint

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Circulatory System, Dirty Projectors, Kurt Vile, middle class rut, moderat, modest mouse, Neon Indian, phaseone, the mars volta, thom yorke

June’s Fresh Pork Cuts

June 17, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

Mark’s:

Fever Ray – “When I Grow Up (D. Lissvik Remix)”

Moderat – “New Error”

Daniel Rossen – “Waterfall (Judee Sill cover)”

Modest Mouse – “Autumn Beds”

White Denim – “I Start to Run”

Pete’s:

Dirty Projectors – “Stillness is the Move”
The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
The Mars Volta – “Since We’ve Been Wrong”
The Dead Weather – “Treat Me Like Your Mother”
Modest Mouse – “Guilty Cocker Spaniels”

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Daniel Rossen, Dirty Projectors, fever ray, Grizzly Bear, moderat, The Dead Weather, the mars volta, The Thermals, white denim

NIN/JA @ PNC Arts Center

June 8, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

For a tour that is supposed to present the last performances for Nine Inch Nails as we know them (him), it seemed awkward for Trent Reznor and company to play a set before Jane’s Addiction (a band that hasn’t been relevant in 15 years). As it turns out, the outdoor venue ended up sucking a lot of the life from their performance, and Jane’s Addiction proved they deserved to headline. Gone were the breathtaking lighting rigs from last year’s “Lights In The Sky” shows and the sporadic small venue shows. Instead, we get $80 seats that practically require binoculars. I avoid the PNC Bank Arts Center at all costs, as there is very little to get excited about. However, an exception needed o be made when NIN is playing their last area show after twenty years. Unfortunately, it was the least memorable performance I’ve seen by the band.

Yes, it’s great that Trent Reznor has sobered up and defeated his inner demons. And I suppose this is why we are now saying “goodbye” to this part of his musical career. Hopefully, he will continue to share his unique abilities with the world in another capacity. With that said, the watered down versions of tracks that served as therapy for all of Trent’s past emotional instability were awkwardly out of context and should have not been included in the set list. I do appreciate the gesture that he is playing the deep and rare tracks that longtime fans want to see performed for the last (first and last in some cases) time. However, ingenuously transforming these tracks from soul searching catharsis into stadium anthems with unscripted “heys,” “woohoos” and handclaps seemed marred by pretense. “Mr. Self-Destruct,” “Last,” “March of the Pigs,” “Reptile,” and “Gave Up” need to be sealed up to serve only as the abrasive, self-loathing, and genre defying classics they are.

In all fairness, twenty years is a long time to share your self-hatred with the world without following the road paved by Ian Curtis or Kurt Cobain. We saw a glimpse of what could happen when Trent’s self-loathing is redirected toward political apocalypse with the impressive Year Zero project. Trent promises there is more to come. We didn’t see much reason to get to the show early enough to see Tom Morello’s new band, Street Sweeper Social Club (Audioslave and The Nightwatchmen were achingly diluted and bland). The “Wave Goodbye” tour had a lax camera policy, and we captured some of the performance. Unfortunately, tripods and additional audio gear were not allowed, so the shaky cam and overmodulation of the sound were unavoidable.

(Mark)

After NIN finished their encore with a whimper by playing “Hurt,” the lights went on and stage change began. After 15 minutes Jane’s took the stage and immediately went into one of the best songs ever written, “Three Days.” The last and only time I heard this song live was at the Hammerstein Ballroom for the ”Relapse Tour” in 1997 with Flea replacing Eric Avery on bass. It was immediately clear just how much Avery’s style and execution is irreplaceable.

I’ve been a hardcore fan of more than 15 years, yet my expectations were not high. I anticipated to find the show nostalgically entertaining at best. However, even after an 18 year layoff their sound was unbelievably tight thanks to the return of Avery’s precise bass playing.

As the band continued through classics such as ”Ocean Size” and “Pigs in Zen,” the highlight was a powerful delivery of “Then She Did.” Avery’s infectious bass lines and Navarro’s shifting guitar rhythms brought chills, and Perry’s voice sounded stronger than it had during the last semi-reunion shows. Jane’s Addiction put forth a solid live performance and filled a void that was 15 years overdue. Better late than never.

(Pete)

“Gave Up”

“Mr. Self-Destruct”