Alltime Favorite Albums Week: Part 4 of 4, 2005-2008
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans, 2005 (Amazon
When I’m wandering NYC & feeling stupidly emo, I put Plans on & it’s always right. One night about a year ago, for example, I got lost looking for an alternate subway stop in the West Village when the one I meant to take was closed (I’m useless off the numbered grid). I wasn’t prepared for how hard it was raining, and I was feeling useless & unlovable & a billion other stupid kinds of sad. I put Plans on then & walked forever, crying like an asshole for an hour almost— and it was just like, the most content & freeing version of sad you can be. You know? Personally, I think when you’re stuck feeling miserable for reasons you can’t help, the only thing to do is own it & try to enjoy yourself within that space, if that makes sense. And Plans is really good for that. 
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones, 2006 (Amazon
Show Your Bones came out as I was finally recovering from the ridiculous break-up detailed in my last post. I was drinking a lot— not a dangerous amount, but often & a lot considering my previously-made decision to cut myself off completely during the few months I’d been too volatile to prevent blacking out all weepy more frequently than was acceptable. The timing of this album’s release couldn’t have been more perfect. Karen O’s angrily upset songs empowered me to feel mad instead of mopey as I stomped around the city with it blaring, finally feeling optimistic that things were gonna get good again.
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight, 2008 (Amazon
Midnight Organ Fight topped my top 30 albums of 08 list, and Frightened Rabbit provided two of the loveliest live shows I caught last year (at Pianos in May, and at Southpaw in July). The other night my friend Amanda & I were discussing why we loved the album, and she basically said that while it hadn’t revolutionized or reinvented music, it just sort of fit into her life perfectly & made sense in it. I’m probably over-paraphrasing, but her feelings summed up my own well, also. It’d been a while since I’d discovered such a beautifully impressive album that did indeed seem to fill a hole needing filling.
I’m posting these sentiment-based reviews all week, in order of release date, as part of Alltime Favorite Albums Week, which I’m also hosting. Please free to join in on your own site!
