Category: The 2000’s
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Sway ‘The Millia Pink And Green’ (2003)
Sway’s The Millia Pink and Green EP is one of those quietly brilliant records that has never got the recognition it truly deserves. It’s pretty much completely unknown outside of a cadre of hardcore shoegaze fans. You have all the typical shoegaze tropes, layered guitars that shimmer and dissolve, while vocals float like whispers in…
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Norma Jean ‘Bless The Martyr And Kiss…’ (2002)
There was a point in my life during high school where unrelenting heavy guitars and throaty intense vocals were all the rage. Couldn’t get enough of it. It usually played out with more pop-oriented post hardcore bands like Underoath or more metal-tinged acts like Killswitch Engage, but there was definitely some space left for bands…
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The Academy Is… ‘Almost Here’ (2005)
The Academy Is… hit their stride in the mid-2000s with Almost Here, an album that perfectly captured the stylish energy of that era’s pop-punk boom. They were one of the hottest names around when I was a junior in high school and mixed polished hooks with a flair for drama that clearly drew from the…
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Steel Panther ‘Feel the Steel’ (2009)
Feel the Steel is the kind of record that feels like it was made by a bunch of drunk frat guys who raided a time capsule from 1987, bought a U-Haul worth of spandex, and decided to turn every glam-metal cliché up to 11 just for the hell of it. The jokes come at you…
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Velvet Revolver ‘Contraband’ (2004)
The early 2000’s were an incredible time for hard rock supergroups. You had Audioslave, which combined the musical talents of Rage Against the Machine and the vocal prowess of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) who is easily my favorite rock vocalist of all-time and it’s not even close. So it was probably no coincidence that their debut…
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Plain White T’s ‘All That We Needed’ (2005)
Despite the fact that I binge listened to “Hey There Delilah” in high school (along with 99.6% of my graduating class), saw Plain White T’s live at an L3 when they opened for The Matches, and consider Jimmy Eat World one of my favorite bands of all-time (more on that in a second), I never…
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Muse ‘Absolution’ (2003)
In the pantheon of great alternative rock bands in my generation there’s few who come close to Muse in my book. This is a band who simply isn’t just fun to listen to (although they most certainly are) but also frankly a band who made me recognize the transformative nature of what rock music can…
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Andrew Bird ‘The Mysterious Production of Eggs’ (2005)
Andrew Bird’s The Mysterious Production of Eggs is a lush, introspective journey that showcases Bird’s rare ability to turn eccentricity into elegance. Known for his cerebral songwriting and intricate arrangements, Bird weaves together violin loops, delicate plucks, and soaring whistles into something that feels like it almost comes from another world. It’s like waking up…
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+44 ‘When Your Heart Stops Beating’ (2006)
After the highly publicized breakup of Blink-182 in 2005 Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker found themselves navigating both personal and creative fallout from their strained relationship with guitarist Tom DeLonge. While DeLonge went on to form Angels & Airwaves, Hoppus and Barker decided to channel their energy into a new project that retained the urgency…
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Useless ID ‘Redemption’ (2003)
Useless ID caught my eye last week when I was reading up on some lore about The Ataris in preparation to see them live alongside MxPx in a few months (I’m pumped!). I was kind of going down the rabbit hole of albums that lead singer Kris Roe produced over the years and read a…
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Lily Allen ‘Alright, Still’ (2006)
I’ve long been a sucker for British hip hop (here’s me waxing poetic about Mike Skinner of The Streets) and while Lily Allen isn’t exactly hip hop, her brand of pop certainly has a lot of nods towards the genre whether it be the musical instrumentation or the bounce of the beat. Allen has got…
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Corinne Bailey Rae ‘Corinne Bailey Rae’ (2006)
Simply said, “Put Your Records On” is such a damn good R&B song. The groove, Corinne Bailey Rae’s vocal performance, the harmonization, the vibe, all of it. The whole thing feels so darn warm, like a sunny summer day in Los Angeles as you walk out your front door to grab brunch with some friends.…
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Daughtry ‘Daughtry’ (2006)
I used to watch American Idol pretty consistently with my mom when I was growing up and remember Daughtry being a pretty awesome edition to one of the earlier seasons of the show. He was (is) an incredible rock singer on a show that didn’t have many of them which always stuck out to me.…
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Hollywood Undead ‘Swan Songs’ (2008)
I’m not here to dog on bands but Hollywood Undead is just not my cup of tea– it’s synth rap rock nu metal for hardcore hipsters who also like boy bands. Plenty of people like them but I can’t seem to understand why. I’m sorry Hollywood Undead fans. If you’re reading this I swear I…
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Alien Ant Farm ‘Anthology’ (2001)
If you’re anywhere near my age you’ll fondly remember Alient Ant Farm’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” which became the band’s biggest hit of their career. The song is awesome in a couple of ways– it is equal parts rock and roll shreddability and comedic relief, because nowhere in music history should a nu-metal…
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Vains of Jenna ‘The Art of Telling Lies’ (2009)
I’ve been getting into sleazy 80’s inspired glam rock a bunch lately (inspired in no small part by the return of the HBO show Peacemaker, of which Season 1 is low-key one of my favorite shows released in the past five years) and Vains of Janna is a perfect band to fit that vibe. They’re…
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Story Of The Year ‘Page Avenue’ (2003)
Every millennial knows “Until The Day I Die”, but not many (including myself until this week) are super familiar with their entire album Page Avenue. Which is a shame cause holy hot damn does this entire album MF’ing rip. The dueling guitars of Ryan Phillips and Philip Sneed go so damn hard sometimes it’s easy…
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Chromeo ‘Fancy Footwork’ (2007)
Electro-funk is pretty fun, especially when it’s made by a bunch of nerdy Canadians, which makes Chromeo’s 2007 album Fancy Footwork a pretty fun listen. This is kind of what I expect modern day AI music will eventually sound like once it becomes sentient and free to create on its own. Standout Songs: “Fancy Footwork”,…
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Vanessa Carlton ‘Be Not Nobody’ (2002)
More than two decades after its 2002 release Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” endures as one of the most instantly recognizable piano-driven pop songs of the 21st century, its opening riff as culturally sticky as any guitar lick of its era. Built on a buoyant classical-inspired piano motif, warm strings, and Carlton’s earnest, yearning vocal,…
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Once ‘The Soundtrack’ (2007)
In college one of my closest friends Zach and I became utterly obsessed with the movie Once as well as its soundtrack. The movie is an incredible love story that features Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová (who are also members of the band The Swell Season, which yes is kind of confusing). In the movie…
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Saosin ‘Translating The Name’ (2003)
When Saosin dropped Translating the Name in 2003 I was just getting into post-hardcore scene. And holy shit did this album hit like an earthquake. I remember listening to this 15-minute EP almost non-stop with my friends riding around in my buddy Mark’s white Jeep or Nick’s pickup truck. It basically became our gateway to…
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Bowling for Soup ‘Drunk Enough To Dance’ (2002)
Bowling for Soup carved out a pretty cool niche as a band who could make comedy rock songs that had element of truth to them. There was their iconic “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” single off this album that made them super popular and regaled a story that pretty much every dorky high schooler…
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Teddybears ‘Soft Machine’ (2006)
I went and saw Superman this weekend (fun flick) and at the end of the movie during the closing credits was Teddybears’ song “Punkrocker” sung by none other than the legend Iggy Pop. I hadn’t listened to this song for a good 15 years but as soon as it came blasting through the speakers I…
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Rhythms Del Mundo ‘Rhythms del Mundo’ (2006)
I popped into a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco this weekend to get a glass of water (yes, I was that guy) and heard Rhytms Del Mundo’s version of “Clocks” by Coldplay and immediately was taken by it. Basically the premise is that a bunch of prolific Cuban musicians (including a couple from indie-darling Buena…
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MxPx ‘The Ever Passing Moment’ (2000)
I’ve previously waxed poetic about MxPx and how they were one of “gateway” bands into the magical world of punk rock music during my middle school years. I’ll always hold Life In General a notch above everything else in their discography for the simple fact that it was the first album of theirs I listened…
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Good Charlotte ‘The Young and The Hopeless’ (2002)
I was never a huge Good Charlotte fan (they always struck me as sort of synthetic) but there’s no denying the massive cultural impact the band had on the early-2000’s MTV era of punk rock music. The Madden brothers were all over the celebrity circuit, ended up marrying Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz, and cut…
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Fountains of Wayne ‘Welcome Interstate Managers’ (2003)
Fountains of Wayne was best known for their 2003 hit “Stacy’s Mom” which was basically everywhere (and I mean everywhere) when I was first starting high school. The band was fronted by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger and basically was more of a creative side project than a career-defining pursuit for its members, which is…
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The Libertines ‘The Libertines’ (2004)
The Libertines are one of those bands that basically were a live reality show that could have aired on Bravo during the mid-2000’s. Dual frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty, whose intense and often volatile creative partnership was the heart of the band, gave us some great garage rock songwriting which has stood the test…
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Alexisonfire ‘Watch Out!’ (2004)
Alexisonfire was a defining band in the post-hardcore scene for me during my high school years. I loved (and still love) their melodic meets murderous dual vocal approach. George Pettit’s raw, aggressive screams pair perfectly with Dallas Green’s soaring clean vocals that creates a powerful contrast that feels so damn grandiose and epic every time…
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Wolfmother ‘Wolfmother’ (2005)
Doing the whole “turn back the clock to 1973 and sound like Led Zeppelin” thing was very much in vogue during the mid-2000’s, but few bands did it better and with more chutzpah than Wolfmother. Their debut album was an absolute banger that not only put them on the map but also solidified vintage classic…
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Adam Lambert ‘For Your Entertainment’ (2009)
I vividly remember watching Adam Lambert during his run on American Idol in 2009. My mom and I watched that show almost religiously during high school and I carried on that tradition during my college years. The dude was absolutely dynamite in all of the best ways— impeccable vocal range, quality song choices, and a…
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Them Crooked Vultures ‘Them Crooked Vultures’ (2009)
Them Crooked Vultures is the holiest of holy rock alliances, bringing together some of rock and roll’s most legendary figures over the five decades. Any time you have Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) in the same room together playing some good old fashioned…
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Nickelback ‘All The Right Reasons’ (2005)
Nickelback is often tied to “butt rock”, a perjorative slang for the subgenre of post-grunge and hard rock that is known for it’s mainstream success while lacking artistic merit. Critics slammed them for being formulaic and the name itself became shorthand for rock that plays on stations with “nothing but rock.” Alongside bands like Creed…
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The Vandals ‘Look What I Almost Stepped In’ (2000)
The Vandals are one of those bands I loved before I had any idea of their significance in the punk rock genre. I first stumbled upon this album during middle school when I was basically mainlining punk records directly into my veins and it stood out for a couple of reasons. The first was how…
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HIM ‘Razorblade Romance’ (2000)
If you religiously watched CKY back in the day like I did it was inevitable you were going to listen to a pair of bands courtesy of Bam Margera. The first of course was his brother’s band of the same name, a story that we covered a few months ago. The second was the band…
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Senses Fail ‘Let It Enfold You’ (2004)
One of my buddies was a huge Senses Fail fan back in high school and while I never really got too deep into their discography, I certainly listened to a ton of Let It Enfold You. Their hit single “Buried A Lie” was everywhere during the emo heyday, a real mainstream success, which in retrospect…
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