BEST OF THE DECADE

So, a lot of "important" music publications are releasing their top lists of albums released this decade. I thought I would weigh in on these last ten years of wonderful music. To be honest, at the beginning of this weekend I was just starting middle school and was trying to find myself within the musical landscape. I was super into nu-metal and whatever else was on mainstream rock radio. Some time in high school though, I discovered "punk rock" through the most un-punk sources around: MTV2 and Tony Hawk's Proskater. There, I heard the likes of At Drive-In and Goldfinger. Soon I found myself fully immersed in the scene attending local shows and eventually making the annual journey to the Fest in Gainesville. So, without further a due I present my top ten favorite albums of the past ten years starting with number ten.



10. Shinobu-Worstward, Ho! (2006)

When this record first came out in 2006 it met some lukewarm reviews from sites like Punknews.org. Around that time though, I paid little attention to this band, why? I have no idea! I was missing out on one of the best active bands around at the moment. I didn't purchase the record till December 2007 and kind of slept on it for a few months. I think I was letting the previous reviews get to me, but I'm glad that people today can still think for themselves and that is what I did.

It was not long till I listened to this record non-stop. The song writing is impeccable and the emotion is real. To this day, I can find songs on this record that can make me want to cry. The record isn't a total downer, but Mike's song writing is at times rather melancholy. His love of literature and existentialism shines through in songs like "Hail, Hail the Executioner" and "Same Bastards." Every song has a certain tongue-in-cheekyness to it, which keeps it fun and thoughtful all at once. You'll want to cry or dance, but either way you'll be having a great time.

This record means so much to me and it only lands this low on the list because it's the most recent of my all-time favorites so I wanted to broaden the list out. It will go down in history though as that one record that got me through a lot at my most trying time of need.