The Top Ten Albums of the Last Decade - #3

Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway

I'm sure some critics would disagree with this album being on the list. In fact, of all the best of the decade lists I have read, none of them included this album on their list. This is downright criminal. It seems like a curse cast across Sun Kil Moon by an evil sorcerer that they are as unappreciated as their as music is breathtaking. Just like my father, I like to listen to music that I like over and over again often for years. But I make no apologies for this albums high placement on the list. If anything it is listed too low. Of all the many bands I've listened to repeatedly in this fashion, the album by Sun Kil Moon is the only one that can still give me chills at every listen. The songs, and especially "Glen Tipton," evoke a quiet, but beautiful nostalgia, the realization that time passes and life changes and learning to find comfort in this fact rather than sorrow. "Glen Tipton" should be considered one of the wonders of the modern world--how can a song about boxing and watching old movies on television and the death of a friend leave me feeling so calm and comforted. Listening to this album is a spiritual experience for me. It reassures me that there are powerful forces out of my control in the universe and makes me think of how I am fortunate to live in a world of Ohio and a gentle moon and fathers who stay up late watching movies. This album is a reminder of my own powerlessness in the universe, while at the same time empowering me with insight and purpose.