A quick google search reveals that good things, bad things, and celebrity deaths come in threes. Mp3s are no exception (perhaps as the name implies). Please tell us about your current fav. tunes. More than that, please tells us about the music that you can't get out of your head, the music that defines you in your immortal nowness. Please tell us no more than three tunes per month. Simple?
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Sunday, February 21, 2010
Best albums of the decade?
My friend Dan S. (danschwartzblog.com) is wondering what people's top 10 albums of the years 2000-2009 are. Comments please
Really quick first pass -- because I'll never cobble together a definitive list:
Top Tier:
Aimee Mann, Bachelor No. 2 (2000) The National, Alligator (2005) Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Next Tier:
Mika, Life In Cartoon Motion (2007) Brendan Benson, The Alternative To Love (2005) Regina Spektor, Begin To Hope (2006) The New Pornographers, Electric Version (2003) The Weakerthans, Reconstruction Site (2003) Josh Rouse, 1972 (2003) Jenny Toomey, Tempting (2002) Elliot Smith, Figure 8 (2000)
Honorable Mention: Sarah Dougher, The Walls Ablaze (2000); Atom and His Package, Attention! Blah Blah Blah (2003); Joe Henry, Scar (2001); Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers (2003); Pernice Brothers, The World Won't End (2003); The New Pornographers, Challengers (2007); Four Tet, Rounds (2003); World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 3: Love's a Real Thing (2005); Nellie McKay, Get Away From Me (2005); Stew, Guest Host (2000)
Obvs. an idiosyncratic list, and one that announces loudly that I like white people pop. I tried to a list that reflects the albums that I kept in my CD player or on my iPod; that provided soundtracks for love busy being born or busy dying; that made me want to figure out their songs or write new ones.
Notable also that these were all albums that I owned on discs, the vast majority purchased (a few burned). Hour for hour, I acquired more music by downloading in all forms, but I didn't get an iPod until 2006. I definitely got into albums that I had in discrete physical form more than those that I downloaded. And I think that if the challenge were to list singles, my tastes would line up slightly more with the critical consensus (though still somewhat indiosyncratic).
As for me, I think the question is an interesting one, particularly now that people in some circles are saying the "album" is already dead as a concept. My list of favorite or most influential songs from 2000-2009 would likely look pretty different. It's also interesting because there are so many ways to take the question - "best" in some sense of musical quality or originality, or most influential, or simply which albums did I listen to over-and-over again in this time period... The below are mostly towards the latter category: some I think were the "best" albums of this period, some are my favorites for idiosyncratic reasons, and others were particularly influential for me - all of them I've listened to quite a few times (a few albums I was going to list, on the basis of them being "great", or "influential", I realized that I haven't actually listened to that much, and can't really sit through when I try to listen now). Therefore, and without further ado, my tentative list in no particular order is something like:
* Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump * The Avalanches - Since I Left You * Outkast - The Love Below [and not Speakerboxxx] * Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot * The Arcade Fire - Funeral * The Mint Chicks - Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! * Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now * Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time * Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards * Micachu And The Shapes - Jewellery
I keep editing this list even as I write it, such a list is clearly never definitive or final or immortal. So I'll just leave it there, and resist the urge to list the runners-up and just assume that I got it close to right.
I spent a lot of time on this topic a few months back. I can't remember what mine were, but just right now these will do. Caveat-wise I'm with Brandon, but would also like to strongly state that I like singles more than albums. Sean Paul - Dutty Rock Mint Chicks - Crazy Yes Dumb No Strokes - Room on Fire Electrelane - The Power Out Robyn - Robyn David Banner - Mississippi: The Album Kanye West - The College Dropout Taylor Swift - Fearless Against Me! - New Wave Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux
I won't even pretend that this list is actually defensible as the top albums, but these are simply the albums that I never tire of listening to from this decade.
The Arcade Fire - Funeral Postal Service - Give up Rilo Kiley - Take off and landings Beirut - Lon Gisland EP The Helio Sequence - Keep your eyes ahead Yann Tiersen - Amelie soundtrack Neko Case - Blacklisted Patrick Wolf - The magic position Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
N.B. This site is not intended to rob any artists or companies of revenue. To the contrary, this is a celebration of music as a relevant and living entity in the lives of individuals and communities, and is intended to encourage people to explore and ultimately purchase music that they otherwise would not. I strongly believe that a site like this will encourage people to explore more music and discover new artists, and thereby increase the exposure and revenue of said artists. If any artists, companies, or the people at Blogger think differently, please contact me first before suing me or taking down this blog! (bdiddydisco at gmail)
Really quick first pass -- because I'll never
ReplyDeletecobble together a definitive list:
Top Tier:
Aimee Mann, Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
The National, Alligator (2005)
Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Next Tier:
Mika, Life In Cartoon Motion (2007)
Brendan Benson, The Alternative To Love (2005)
Regina Spektor, Begin To Hope (2006)
The New Pornographers, Electric Version (2003)
The Weakerthans, Reconstruction Site (2003)
Josh Rouse, 1972 (2003)
Jenny Toomey, Tempting (2002)
Elliot Smith, Figure 8 (2000)
Honorable Mention: Sarah Dougher, The Walls Ablaze (2000); Atom and His Package, Attention! Blah Blah Blah (2003); Joe Henry, Scar (2001); Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers (2003); Pernice Brothers, The World Won't End (2003); The New Pornographers, Challengers (2007); Four Tet, Rounds (2003); World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 3: Love's a Real Thing (2005); Nellie McKay, Get Away From Me (2005); Stew, Guest Host (2000)
Obvs. an idiosyncratic list, and one that announces loudly that I like white people pop. I tried to a list that reflects the albums that I kept in my CD player or on my iPod; that provided soundtracks for love busy being born or busy dying; that made me want to figure out their songs or write new ones.
Notable also that these were all albums that I owned on discs, the vast majority purchased (a few burned). Hour for hour, I acquired more music by downloading in all forms, but I didn't get an iPod until 2006. I definitely got into albums that I had in discrete physical form more than those that I downloaded. And I think that if the challenge were to list singles, my tastes would line up slightly more with the critical consensus (though still somewhat indiosyncratic).
As for me, I think the question is an interesting one, particularly now that people in some circles are saying the "album" is already dead as a concept. My list of favorite or most influential songs from 2000-2009 would likely look pretty different. It's also interesting because there are so many ways to take the question - "best" in some sense of musical quality or originality, or most influential, or simply which albums did I listen to over-and-over again in this time period... The below are mostly towards the latter category: some I think were the "best" albums of this period, some are my favorites for idiosyncratic reasons, and others were particularly influential for me - all of them I've listened to quite a few times (a few albums I was going to list, on the basis of them being "great", or "influential", I realized that I haven't actually listened to that much, and can't really sit through when I try to listen now). Therefore, and without further ado, my tentative list in no particular order is something like:
ReplyDelete* Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
* The Avalanches - Since I Left You
* Outkast - The Love Below [and not Speakerboxxx]
* Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
* The Arcade Fire - Funeral
* The Mint Chicks - Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!
* Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now
* Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time
* Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards
* Micachu And The Shapes - Jewellery
I keep editing this list even as I write it, such a list is clearly never definitive or final or immortal. So I'll just leave it there, and resist the urge to list the runners-up and just assume that I got it close to right.
-b
I spent a lot of time on this topic a few months back. I can't remember what mine were, but just right now these will do. Caveat-wise I'm with Brandon, but would also like to strongly state that I like singles more than albums.
ReplyDeleteSean Paul - Dutty Rock
Mint Chicks - Crazy Yes Dumb No
Strokes - Room on Fire
Electrelane - The Power Out
Robyn - Robyn
David Banner - Mississippi: The Album
Kanye West - The College Dropout
Taylor Swift - Fearless
Against Me! - New Wave
Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux
I won't even pretend that this list is actually defensible as the top albums, but these are simply the albums that I never tire of listening to from this decade.
ReplyDeleteThe Arcade Fire - Funeral
Postal Service - Give up
Rilo Kiley - Take off and landings
Beirut - Lon Gisland EP
The Helio Sequence - Keep your eyes ahead
Yann Tiersen - Amelie soundtrack
Neko Case - Blacklisted
Patrick Wolf - The magic position
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois