Top albums of the decade.

I was drunkenly talking with a buddy of mine the other night about our favorite albums from the last decade. It was very hard for me to do because of alcohol and an extreme decline of music quality IMO. I went through my cd collection and came up with this list while bored. I'm only using 1 album per artist and the rankings are pretty volatile but here is what I came up with. I wanted to do a top 10 but pulled 20 discs and don't feel like narrowing them all down so I'll just rank 'em all with 10 Honorable Mentions and 10 ranks. I'm a punk/roots/classic rock guy so the list is pretty reflective of that. Some are not that well known and most are from earlier in the decade, it must take me a while to fully appreciate newer albums.

Honorable Mention:

Rolling Stones: Bigger Bang (2005)- Their best album in many years.

Bruce Springsteen: The Rising (2002)- The subject matter and timing was perfect for an E-street band reuinion.

Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)- I like "Being There" better but that was in the 90's.

Pulley: Matters (2004)- These guys are a great pop-punk band, "Matters" is my favorite of their albums. Former baseball player Scott Radinsky is ther singer.

The Hold Steady: Almost Killed Me (2004)- All their albums are great but this one wins out for me due to how well it flows.

The Methadones: Not Economically Viable (2004)- Chicago pop-punk at it's finest. Plus it's a loose concept album based on Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down.

The Slackers: Peculiar (2006)- The best traditional ska band in business today. This is their most concise album.

Rise Against: Revolutions Per Minute (2003)- They've become fairly popular the last few albums but this earlier one is my favorite. It's got a harder edge to it and has a pretty rockin but ironic Journey cover. (I hate fvckin' Journey)

Social Distortion: Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll (2004)- I wish they were more prolific because I love Social D. This might not be their best album but it's their only one this decade.

Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers: Americano (2004)- My favorite RCPM album, a great example of really solid roots rock.

10. Andrew W.K.: I Get Wet (2002)- The loudest, dumbest/smartest album of the decade. I love it most will likely hate it. Party Hard!

9. Mad Caddies: Just One More (2003) - The most eclectic album on this list. A ska band at it's core, they play punk, ska, reggae, soul, latin and dixieland jazz and mix it all up beautifully.

8. Green Day: American Idiot (2004) - If it wasn't for overexposure this would surely be higher on my list. It's still a very ambitious and fantastic album, I just don't need to hear Blvd of Broken Dreams ever again.

7. Dillinger Four: Vs. God (2000)- Either the heaviest pop punk album or the poppiest hardcore album I've ever heard. This one took a few years to grow on me but it's really amazing, even if the songs all sound the same. Bonus points for being from Minneapolis and for a member owning the Triple Rock.

6. Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam (2006)- A return to hard rock = best PJ album since Vs. There are some great ballads on there as well.

5. Drive-By Truckers: The Dirty South (2004)- It was hard to pick one DBT album but I went with this. 3 Singer/songwriters/Guitar players at the top of their game, not to mention how much it rocks.

4. The Gaslight Anthem: The '59 Sound (2008)- Working class punk. I love this band and specifically this album. I've listened to it so many time in the past year it's ridiculous.

3. The Black Keys: Rubber Factory (2004)- With apologies to the White Stripes these guys are the best 2 person blues-based rock band around. This album is their most consistent. A few acoustic songs balance the album that is otherwise full of ass-kickin songs with surprisingly good production values for being recorded in a basement.

2. Bob Dylan: Love and Theft (2001)- This is in my top 5 Dylan albums of all time which is really saying something. Every song is fantastic and lyrically Dylan still makes me laugh and think better than almost anyone.

1. Ike Reilly Assassination: Sparkle in the Finish (2004)- If I wasn't limiting myself to 1 album per artist Ike would have 3 in this list. He's a more rockin' version of Dylan and just as good a lyricist and songwriter. If you've never heard of Ike I would strongly recommend checking him out. It helps that he plays in the Twin cities about 4 times a year and his shows are always amazing.

Adventureland: Blu-ray (2009)

Who says the 80's only had crappy music? The Replacements, Husker Du, Nick Lowe, Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Big Star, this sounds a lot like what's on my Ipod. It's also the base of the soundtrack for the movie Adventureland. Of course there are also such 80's luminaries as Whitesnake, Wang Chung, The Outfield and Falco present as well.

If you can't tell, I felt the music in Adventureland out-shined the movie itself. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the film because I really did, it's just that when the opening credits play "Bastards of Young" over them you've got a lot to live up to in my book. The biggest problem is that the marketing for the film made it look like wacky comedy and except for a few moments, it's a lot more of a serious coming of age movie.

The 2 leads, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, have good chemistry and the more comic relief roles are well played by Bill Hader, Kristen Wig, and the kid that runs around punching people in the balls for the entire movie. There are a few pacing issues and a lot of the characters can be offputting at times but overall it's a good example of a simple story told well.

Being a dialogue driven Dramedy there isn't much for the Blu-ray to do. The image is fine but the movie isn't filmed in a way that's going to be very impressive in high-def. The audio is pretty much the same. The music sounds great in all it's uncompressed glory but that's about all that is noteworthy.

Adventureland is different than what I thought it would be but due to the performances and the soundtrack I really enjoyed it.

Ratings:
Movie: 4/5
Blu-ray: 3/5

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

I've been having a hard time coming up with a review for "Inglourious Basterds." I loved the movie but I got so caught up in watching it that it's difficult for me to comment on it critically. I can tell you that it's full of great dialogue, some very exciting action pieces, a lot of graphic violence and great performances, particularly from Christoph Waltz as the head "Jew hunter."

Tarantino the writer really makes Tarantino the director's job easy. Aside from a few flashy camera angles QT really just lets the story tell itself. The only small complaint I have is that the movie bogs down a little in the midst of all the exposition that goes on and that the "Basterds" don't really do all that much throughout the movie.

These complaints again are very minor, while I don't think "Basterds" is Tarantino's best movie or even in the top half it's still far better than 95% of all other movies I have seen recently. After I see it for a second time hopefully I will be able to look at it closer and not be so caught up in the story. That might be the best praise I can give it, even at over 2.5 hours my attention never faded.

They Live (1988)

Chewin' bubblegum and Kickin' ass, what more to life is there? I would say very little, except when for the times you run out of gum and discover through a pair of sunglasses that half the people surrounding you are actually aliens.

This is the basic plot of They Live, John Carpenters darkly comedic tale of alien takeover that also doubles as an satire about commercialism and greed in 1980's America. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper stars as George Nada who discovers the alien plan and single-handedly has to take them down . Sure he gets some help from Frank Armitage (Keith David) but it's pretty much Piper's show the whole movie.

Political points aside They Live is not a film meant to be taken very seriously, Carpenter keeps it comedic with very little sense of dread throughout. The centerpiece is a long street fight between George and Frank that was later parodied in the South Park episode "Cripplefight." The special effects have not aged all that well but they do fit in with the tone of the movie. The acting is as good as can be expected when Piper is your lead. To his credit he delivers a good performance, with equal parts smart-ass and bewilderment at his situation.

They Live is a nice addition to Carpenter's catalog, but it likely isn't necessary viewing for anyone outside of it's fanbase. It's a fine way to waste a couple hours but aside from a few moments it's not totally memorable.

Rating: 3/5

Knowing: Blu-ray (2009)

Actor Nicolas Cage, Director Alex Proyas ("The Crow", "Dark City", "I, Robot"). Two names that either mean a great movie or a horrible one. This is a horrible one. Taking what may have been an interesting idea at one point and completeinly blowing it up into this big budget B-movie does no one any favors.

I'm not going to go into the plot because it's ridiculous and not worth paying attention to. The movie is so far fetched even by Sci-fi standards it's amazing. Cage is in fine form here going from completely unemotional and monotone in the first half to completely overacting the entire second half. For a movie with a plot as ridiculous as this it sure takes itself seriously, there is no intentional humor to be found here. What is funny is some of the CGI used, 2 scenes in particular really look like they were made on a 5 year old laptop.

I've really enjoyed some of Proyas' movies, especially "Dark City," but this one is just not good. Even the score drove me crazy, it sounds like an old hitchcock score ramped up to 11 and then played at inappropriate times. Cage driving down the road does not need Psychoesque music blaring over the top. The movie sucked.

The Blu-ray on the other hand is fantastic. Aside from the fake looking CGI it is a very good looking film. Colors are strong if dark and there is a lot of noticeable detail in the actors faces and the sets. The Audio is some of the most bottom-heavy I've ever heard. It's almost too much low end, at times it's distracting. There is plenty of surround activity as well and dialogue is always easy to understand.

Knowing is not worth seeing unless you really like overblown, crappy Sci-fi movies, or want to give your audio system a workout. The Blu-ray is great the movie is definitely not.

Ratings:
Movie 1.5/5
Blu-ray 4.5/5

A River Runs Through It: Blu-ray (1992)

I first saw "A River Runs Through It" in high school. I hated it. I thought it was long, boring and that nothing happened. I also had no interest in fly fishing. Watching it again from a different point of view I can see how truly misguided my thought were.

"River" tells the story of a Montana family living in the Great Depression, it's main focus is on the oldest son Norman (Craig Sheffer). The acting in the movie is pretty stellar throughout but Brad Pitt really does steal the show as younger brother Paul. This was early in Pitt's career, before he was a movie star, but you can really see the charisma and presence that would make him a huge commodity a few years later.

It's also a beautiful movie with very impressive cinematography, there are numerous shots of the Montana wilderness and rivers scattered throughout. Director Robert Redford really puts the viewer right into the heart of western Montana. As for the fly fishing I still don't have any interest in it personally but the movies not really about fishing anyway. It's about growing up and family. I enjoyed it immensely this time around.

The Blu-ray itself is very good as well. For a movie made over 15 years ago the picture quality is excellent. It helps that there are tons of shots of beautiful Montana scenery that translate very well to high def. The Audio is fine too but isn't going to wow anyone, "River" is a very dialogue heavy film and that comes through very clear throughout. Surrounds are minimally used but do offer a lot of nature's presence in the outdoor scenes.

Viewing it as an adult instead of a teenager I really liked "A River Runs Through It." The acting is very good and the story is simple yet interesting, combine that with the Cinematography and some understated directing by Robert Redford and you've got an excellent film.

Ratings:
Movie 4/5
Blu-ray 4/5