Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s

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)

Fishpork’s Favorite EPs of the 2000s

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.

Album Review: Octahedron

Since their jaw-dropping Tremulant EP and De-Loused in the Comatorium masterworks, The Mars Volta have seen a steady decline in the quality of their album releases. Amputechture and Bedlam in Goliath were big disappointments for me. The band has always had a proflific work ethic (with five albums in six years), but it seemed that the band was content with releasing jam sessions for albums. Lead guitarist Omar Rodriguz-Lopez considers their latest release an acoustic album. In Octahedron, The Mars Volta have revisited the formula that brought them early success and released their best album since 2005’s Frances the Mute.

Album opener, “Since You’ve Been Wrong” is one of the best tracks of 2009 and follows in the tradition of “Televators” and “The Widow” as accessible, radio-friendly singles. Another highlight is the 8-minute epic “With Twilight As My Guide,” which is one of the best tracks the band has conceived to date. Lead singer Cedric Bixler Zavala’s stunning vocals and Omar Rodriguez Lopez’s mix of acoustic guitars and effects creates an eerie atmosphere that works in every way. “Copernicus” contains some electronic elements that offers a welcomed progressive sound.

Zavala had previous mentioned that Octahedron would be The Mars Volta’s pop record, “The band wanted to make the opposite of all the records we’ve done. All along we’ve threatened people that we’d make a pop record, and now we have.” The band’s declaration of Octahedron as an acoustic album isn’t exactly accurate. European single “Cotopaxi” and the excellent “Desperate Graves” are as heavy as anything the band has released before. Rodriguz-Lopez said in early 2009 that the next two records were already recorded and awaiting release dates. Octahedron was one of those albums, and another is yet to come. While we wait for official news of an At The Drive-In reunion, it’s good to know that The Mars Volta have returned to form.