So the list of my top 10 favorite artists of all time is at #5 with these Glasgow rockers who have perfected the art of post-rock since their smashing 1997 debut Young Team. Post-rock, which is generally defined as rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, developed as a new form of music that sought to expand rock from it's guitar/singer/drums 4-minute pop song formula that had dominated rock music, probably since it's inception, but at least during the '90s. Young Team came out amidst a plethora of bad Nirvana wannabes and rap-rock combos that eventually killed rock music as a popular form of music in American culture, relegating it to the independent status it enjoys today. But truth be told, led by Mogwai (and co-conspirators Godspeed! You Black Emperor), rock music on the independent level has produced some of the most original, inspiring, and greatest music ever over the past decade. Mogwai's influence is felt throughout current indie rock, from post-rock favorites like Explosions in the Sky, Mono, Envy, and This Will Destroy You, to indie rock heroes Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and Sunset Rubdown. Their subsequent albums have met with some critical backlash after the awe-inspiring hype of their debut, but since I was late to the game (not having discovered them until around 2002 or so), I can objectively rate almost all of their follow-ups as nearly as good as -- and in the case of the now critically lauded Come On Die Young, even better. Their canon of wonderful albums is truly amazing and brimming with wonderful tracks throughout. A new album is expected this fall and I for one cannot wait.
Top 10 Artists of All-Time
10. Okkervil River
9. Sufjan Stevens
8. Explosions in the Sky
7. Sunset Rubdown
6. Superchunk
5. Mogwai
Mogwai Discography:
1997 Young Team
1997 Ten Rapid: Collected Recordings 1996-97 (EP)
1999 Come On Die Young
2000 EP + 6 (EP)
2001 Rock Action
2003 Happy Songs for Happy People
2005 Government Commissions: A Collection of BBC Recordings
2006 Mr. Beast
2008 The Hawk is Howling (September 22nd!!)
Top 20 Favorite Mogwai Songs
1. "Mogwai Fear Satan" Young Team, 1997, 16:19 (#10 song of all time)
2. "Cody" Come On Die Young, 1999, 6:33 (#39 song of all time)
3. "Friend of the Night" Mr. Beast, 2006, 5:31 (#44 song of all time)
4. "Take Me Somewhere Nice" Rock Action, 2001, 6:57 (#48 song of all time)
5. "Burn Girl Prom Queen" EP + 6, 2000, 8:32 (#101 song of all time)
6. "Stop Coming to My House" Happy Songs for Happy People, 2003, 4:53 (#176 song of all time)
7. "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong" Rock Action, 2001, 9:31
8. "May Nothing But Happiness..." Come On Die Young, 1999, 8:30
9. "Stanley Kubrick" EP+6, 2000, 4:17
10. "Killing All the Flies" Happy Songs for Happy People, 2003, 4:35
11. "Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home" Young Team, 1997, 5:59
12. "Ex-Cowboy" Come On Die Young, 1999, 9:09
13. "Golden Porsche" Happy Songs for Happy People, 2003, 2:48
14. "Summer (Priority Version)" Young Team, 1997, 3:32
15. "Hunted by a Freak" Happy Songs for Happy People, 2003, 4:16
16. "Travel is Dangerous" Mr. Beast, 2006, 4:01
17. "R U Still Into It" Young Team, 1997, 7:24
18. "Christmas Steps" Come On Die Young, 1999, 10:39
19. "Rage: Man" EP+6, 2000, 5:08
20. "New Paths to Helicon Part II" Government Commissions, 2005, 2:54
And just missing the cut:
"You Don't Know Jesus", "Superheroes of BMX", "Small Children in the Background", "Chocky", "Christmas Song", "Black Spider", "Now You're Taken", "1% of Monster", and of course the most obvious missing song from the top 20, "Like Herod"
Just don't feed them after midnight.
Posted by: LegFuJohnson | September 08, 2008 at 08:46 AM
I'm back baby! I'M BACK!
Posted by: Lance Armstrong | September 08, 2008 at 02:59 PM