Initially I didn’t think I could write this post. It seemed like an impossible task. How on earth was I supposed to come up with and then rank my favorite albums from the past decade? I have enough trouble doing it for just one year. There’s simply too much good music out there (despite my occasional whining to the contrary).

But when I really started thinking about it, I came to the following conclusion: a decade is a terrible thing to waste. In all reality, I may not get another opportunity like this. After all, who knows what I’ll be doing ten years from now. Also, musically speaking, the past decade was an important one for me. Over the course of ten years, my muted appreciation of music gradually transformed into a full-blown obsession. I now spend most of my free time searching for, writing about, and listening to music.

In the end I guess it was a pretty easy decision. I would’ve been extremely foolish to let the decade pass without weighing in on my favorite albums. It was a lot of work, but I managed to compile a list of my 30 favorite albums from 2000-2009. Not necessarily the best or most important albums, but those that had the greatest impact on me.

With all that said, I proudly present the Top 30 Albums of the Decade…

ALBUMS 30 – 21

ALBUMS 20 – 11

ALBUMS 10 – 1

Like I said, compiling this list was no easy task. In the end, tons of amazing albums got axed. Check the comments to see which ones barely missed the cut. And leave comments to let me know which albums I missed completely!

This post is dedicated to my grandmother, who passed away May 27. She was an amazing woman and will be missed dearly.

When I first launched Mike Went West nearly 3 years ago, one of my site’s main features was a monthly podcast of music. Sadly, I abandoned this feature after releasing only 5 mixes. I felt like each podcast took an inordinate amount of time and energy. I also felt like the quality of each mix was sliding steadily downhill.

As it turns out, I lacked the proper motivation. About 10 months ago, I started dating my girlfriend. To help her better understand my crazy little world, I decided to make monthly mix tapes for her (which I coined “Mike Mixes”). So far I’ve made ten and I’m still going strong. I hope to post a new mix every month. I decided to start with Mike Mix 06 for one simple reason: the first five are decent but nothing special. Also, it seems appropriate that I should pick up where my podcasts left off — with number six.

Now a few quick words about the pacing and sequencing of the mix. Mike Mix 06 starts off with “If Only It Were True,” a slow, lumbering song by The Walkmen. Two consecutive tracks by Brand New help transition the mix to a slightly faster pace, which is maintained by the next four songs (fantastic tracks by Okkervil River, Frightened Rabbit, MGMT, and Arctic Monkeys). Following this upbeat middle section, two tracks by The Rural Alberta Advantage help slow things back down. The mix ends with three of my all-time favorite songs: “3 Rounds and a Sound” by Blind Pilot, “A Desolate Angels Blues” by Justin Townes Earle, and “Okkervil River Song” by Okkervil River.

I highly recommend listening to the songs in this order (a full track listing is provided below). Download the entire mix as a zip file here, or download individual songs below. Or listen to the entire mix using the player below!

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According to iTunes, my 10 most-played songs of 2008 come from only two albums: Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight and Sera Cahoone’s Only As the Day Is Long. Which probably explains how these two albums found themselves at the top of my Top 10 Albums of 2008 list.

But the above songs are not my Top 10 Songs of 2008 for several reason. First, it would be a little boring. Second, I would probably run into legal issues if I posted half the songs from those two albums. And third, my most-played tracks in iTunes are not necessarily my favorite songs of 2008.

With that said, I present my actual list below. The songs are ordered in a way that I think flows best. A zip file containing all 10 tracks is provided below for your convenience. Enjoy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And now that it’s the day after, it’s officially acceptable to talk about Christmas. So here it goes…

Apparently, it’s a tradition for musicians in the UK to pump out cheesy Christmas songs right before the holiday. The ridiculously-sappy Christmas movie Love Actually confirms this: part of the story revolves around a burned-out musician competing with a popular boy band for the top Christmas song. You can probably guess who grabs the No. 1 spot.

This tradition was further confirmed by the guys in Frightened Rabbit. Before their show at Bottom of the Hill a few weeks ago, I asked them about their Christmas song (”It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop”) and how it came to be. They joked about how they were just following tradition when they released it last Christmas.

If their song is a joke, it isn’t very funny — in fact, it’s actually a little depressing. On second thought, cynical might a better word to describe it. The song talks about how people are nice to each other only around Christmas time.

Like all good Frightened Rabbit songs, “It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop” uses seemingly disjointed thoughts and images to convey a simple, yet powerful story or idea. When you add in a gorgeous melody that grabs you and refuses to let go, it’s easy to see why this is the greatest Christmas song ever.

[mp3] Frightened Rabbit :: It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop

For the second greatest Christmas song ever, I highly recommend “Sister Winter” by Sufjan Stevens, which I wrote about last year. The original article can be found here.

After five months of constantly listening to Frightened Rabbit’s Midnight Organ Fight, I still find myself untangling its contradictions and unraveling its many layers. Which is quite amazing considering my hyperactive listening habits.

I’ve finally figured out why I like the album so much: it is, more or less, the soundtrack to my life. It simultaneously encompasses the good times and the bad, the highs and lows. Despite this contradiction, or maybe because of it, Midnight Organ Fight always inspires. It’s a strange phenomenon: the louder I play it, the better I feel.

Like most great albums, Midnight Organ Fight reveals itself in layers. It took nearly a dozen listens before I could distinguish individual songs. Had I written this review back then, my favorite tracks probably would’ve been “Good Arms vs. Bad Arms” and “Poke.” Now I can’t decide. My favorite songs seem to change every time I listen to the album.

Frightened Rabbit hails from Scotland, a fact immediately confirmed by Scott Hutchison’s vocals. Thankfully, his accent is noticeable but not overwhelming. In fact, it often adds an extra dimension to the music. I love the way he stretches out random words and phrases. At times, his voice nearly buckles under the weight of emotion.

The lyrics inhabit the gray area between breaking up and getting back together (which helps explain all the contradiction). On “The Twist” Hutchison sings, “It’s the night, I can be who you like / And I’ll quietly leave before it gets light.” Later, he asserts, “I need company / I need human heat.” But then on “Keep Yourself Warm” he belts out, “It takes more than fucking someone you don’t know to keep warm.” So which is it? Anyone who’s ever inhabited this gray area knows it’s actually both.

Last but certainly not least is the music. The wailing guitars in “Good Arms vs. Bad Arms,” the hypnotic piano melody at the end of “The Twist,” the slow steady build in “Backwards Walk,” and the simpleness of “Poke.” It’s overwhelming at first, but with repeated listens the layers start peeling apart. Soon, you will find yourself coming back for even more of exactly the same.

[mp3] Frightened Rabbit :: The Twist
[mp3] Frightened Rabbit :: Backwards Walk

Download three more Frightened Rabbit songs for free here. I highly recommend “The Modern Leper” and “Head Rolls Off.”