1999.  The first Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival is held.  It went on to become one of the largest and most popular music festivals in the world.  Some of the biggest musical acts in history play here every year.  It is so popular, sometimes even dead people perform.

But I like it mostly for the fake posters that come out every year.

2000.  Outkast releases Stankonia.  It’s jam packed with incredible songcraft, amazing melodies, a bunch of hits, and one of the most stylish musicians of all time.

They sure know how to make yellow pants and purple grass look fantastic.

2001.  The Shins release their debut album Oh, Inverted World.  Whether or not this album changes your life, the brilliant craftsmanship in these songs is undeniable.  Everything you want in a pop album is here: creepy lyrics, poppy hooks and hooky pops.  

And not only are The Shins a great band, they look great in life vests.

Fowl and Foe from Old Monk on Vimeo.

2013.  My apologies for the lack of updates.  I’ve been hard at work making some music videos for Old Monk.  I promise to update the site soon, but for now check out this brand new music video I animated, “Fowl and Foe” by Old Monk.

2002.  Wilco releases Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.  Many things have been said about how perfect this album is, and none of these things exaggerate.  Perfect songwriting, lyrics, guitars, and pure energy. It is just rad.

And those buildings on the cover? One time Steve McQueen chased a bad guy off of them.  So rad.

2003.  Mars Volta releases their debut album De-Loused in the Comatorium.  With its chaotic jazzy-rock madness, this album fuses hardcore and prog rock in insanely fun new ways.  And its commercial success proved that prog is not just for guitar geeks anymore

It’s also for guys with awesome afros.

2004.  Arcade Fire releases their debut album, Funeral.  Intense, dramatic, powerful, and loved by just about everyone, this album inspired countless imitators.  Every musician aspires to create albums that are this good.

Also, at least one person in this band looks like this guy.

2005.  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah self-releases their self-titled debut.  They become one of the first bands to achieve huge success not through record deals and marketing, but through blogs and the internet.  It also helped that they wrote dang good songs.

Anyways. Ahem… child stars child stars child stars child stars child stars child stars child stars child stars…

2006.  Man Man releases their breakthrough album, Six Demon Bag, and begin to tour the world extensively with their wild and riotous live shows.  With absurd levels of energy, tons of crazy instruments, and super catchy songs, they become one of the best live acts ever.

Now watch them knock stuff over for musical purposes.

2007.  Radiohead releases In Rainbows as a digital download for the price of whatever you feel like paying.  With odd time signatures, riffy guitars, and some sweet soothing falsettos, they make a good case that that number should be greater than zero.

I mean, just watching Thom Yorke dance is worth at least a few bucks.