[troutman]

I select in the 2000-2002 category, THE MOON & ANTARCTICA, by MODEST MOUSE (2000):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_%26_Antarctica

1. "3rd Planet" – 3:58
2. "Gravity Rides Everything" – 4:19
3. "Dark Center of the Universe" – 5:02
4. "Perfect Disguise" – 2:41
5. "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" – 3:41
6. "A Different City" – 3:08
7. "The Cold Part" – 5:00
8. "Alone Down There" – 2:21
9. "The Stars Are Projectors" – 8:46
10. "Wild Pack of Family Dogs" – 1:45
11. "Paper Thin Walls" – 3:01
12. "I Came as a Rat" – 3:48
13. "Lives" – 3:18
14. "Life Like Weeds" – 6:30
15. "What People Are Made Of" – 2:14

A glowing review from Pitchfork:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/articl...and_Antarctica


At this point, I think the world agrees on OK Computer as the last major event in album rock. For at least a few months, the world can stop waiting for Radiohead's next album, and start wondering how in the hell Modest Mouse will ever top the monumental, ground-breaking, hypnotic, sublime The Moon & Antarctica.

For the first time, Modest Mouse craft an album, not a collection of songs. That they manage to go beyond any other rock band out there is staggering. The sequencing weaves a dramatic ebb and flow of emotion. Every song is packed with fantastic sounds that reach out for space and salvation. The band is now precise and broad. Eric Judy's fluid bass quietly escorts the ear subconsciously through the appropriate moods. Green's drumming is playful and inventive. There is no way Modest Mouse will ever pull this off live. The space, equipment, and personnel needed seems limitless. Yet this scale rockets the album instantly into Vahalla.

An intoxicating mix of uncertainty and confidence, The Moon & Antarctica constructs hallow approximations of heaven, hell, and deep space-- most of which exist vividly in Isaac Brock's questioning mind. OK Computer must be mentioned, for Modest Mouse just got invited to the same club. They can chat existentially in the sauna. But unlike's Radiohead's unease at technology and quickening society, Modest Mouse grapple with the general conjectures of humankind. The title aptly entails the whole of the album. Sometimes the most spooky, alien places are not too far off. Similarly, our immediate surroundings and internal environment feel even more otherworldly. Modest Mouse seek salvation in God, death, and relationships. Fortunately, the rest of us can sometimes find it in records.

Gravity Rides Everything


3rd Planet


The Stars Are Projectors


Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes


http://www.modestmousemusic.com/