Best albums of the decade (limit one per unique artist within top 20)...
It was a tough call; I'll probably change my mind tomorrow.
Top 50:
! the national - boxer
! radiohead - kid a
! the strokes - is this it
! the xx - xx
! the knife - silent shout
! arcade fire - funeral
! animal collective - sung tongs
! andrew bird - the mysterious production of eggs
! mos def - black on both sides
! elliott smith - new moon
! explosions in the sky - the earth is not a cold dead place
! grizzly bear - yellow house
! portishead - third
! tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
! broken social scene - broken social scene
! deerhunter - cryptograms
! caribou - andorra
! four tet - rounds
! lcd soundsystem - sound of silver
! beirut - gulag orkestar
madvillain - madvillainy
andrew bird's bowl of fire - the swimming hour
the dodos - visiter
modest mouse - the moon and antarctica
the mountain goats - tallahassee
M.I.A. - kala
bon iver - for emma, forever ago
jay-z - the black album
sufjan stevens - illinoise
elliott smith - figure 8
wilco - yankee hotel foxtrot
dan deacon - bromst
beck - sea change
no age - nouns
panda bear - person pitch
the roots - game theory
grouper - dragging a dead deer up a hill
of montreal - hissing fauna, are you the destroyer
yeasayer - all hour cymbals
broken social scene - you forgot it in people
radiohead - in rainbows
animal collective - MPP / Fall Be Kind EP
the strokes - room on fire
sigur ros - takk
okkervil river - down the river of golden dreams
the national - alligator
cat power - you are free
bjork - vespertine
gang gang dance - st. dympna
skream - skream!
burial - untrue
! = top 20
See also Stereogum's list.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Saturday, 9 January 2010
My top 50 albums of the 2000s
Friday, 8 January 2010
Best albums of 2009
Top 20:
the xx - xx (saw live)
animal collective - mpp + fall be kind ep
dirty projectors - bitte orca
atlas sound - logos
yeah yeah yeahs - it's blitz
circulatory system - signal morning
dan deacon - bromst (saw in concert)
grizzly bear - veckatimest (saw last summer)
dark was the night (compilation)
high places - high places
mos def - the ecstatic
mf doom as doom - born like this
neon indian - psychic chasms
fever ray - fever ray
wavves - wavves
st vincent - actor
handsome furs - face control
bat for lashes - two suns
the antlers - hospice
sun O))) - monoliths & dimensions
Notable releases:
andrew bird - noble beast / useless creatures
sparklehorse and danger mouse - dark night of the soul (collab)
yacht - see mystery lights
nomo - invisible cities (saw live)
matt & kim - grand
miike snow - miike snow
wild beasts - two dancers
big pink - brief history of love
bonnie 'prince' billy
real estate - real estate
jj - jj2
generationals - con law
the pains of being pure at heart - [self-titled] (saw last summer)
Let-downs: wilco - wilco (the album), the dodos - time to die
I liked Tiny Mix Tapes' list.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Best music of 2008 (featuring top 10 albums)
Oh, music. When I took a recent five-day excursion into the wilderness of the Aleghenny National Forest in Pennsylvania in late November, with only a large pack on my back filled with food and essentials, I wondered exactly what I would miss, being away from civilization for the better part of a week. Turns out the only thing I truly missed was not my cell phone, computer, Internet, newspaper, books, or anything like that, but music. This, of course, did not come as a surprise to me, but as I was reunited with my iPod for the long drive home, I found myself appreciating my music even more.
I was fortunate enough to see three concerts in the second half of 2008: Wolf Parade performing in Pontiac, MI at the beginning of July; The Hold Steady at the same venue later in the month; and Minus the Bear in Columbus in mid-October — three great shows. Wolf Parade gave a particularly impressive performance, and Minus was just sublime, performing some tracks from their new acoustic EP as well as some old favorites.
My Top 10 Albums of 2008
Deep, diverse, funky, elaborate, passionate and energetic yet wholly chill. Innovative beats AND lyrics (when evaluating music I put a lot of weight on lyrics). The poetry of "Dancing Choose" is striking (my favorite lines: "A palette blown to monochrome" and "In my mind I'm drowning butterflies"). Dear Science is less raw and rough as their 2006 LP Return to Cookie Mountain (also an amazing album), which is, I suppose, both good and bad. The album has found mainstream fans, being named album of the year by Rolling Stone and Spin. To me, TV on the Radio is to the '00s what Television was to the '70s. At least TVOTR is receiving the accolades they deserve, while Television really haven't been fully credited for their contribution to punk rock.
Favorite song: "Halfway Home"
Fun, energetic, electro-poppy, psychedelic.
Favorite song: "Time to Pretend". Just so much fun. "Kids" and "Electric Feel" also very representative of MGMT's sound.
Read a good article about this album, including an interview with man-behind-the-magic Cox, here. Anyone who enjoys Microcastle should check out other Deerhunter albums, especially my personal favorite, Cryptograms.
Excellent electronic/trip-hop. Sucks you into the music, where you go from there is up to you...
Sweeping, earthly "indie" folk.
Favorite song: "Your Protector". One of the best songs of the year.
Kevin Barnes' follow-up to Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? may not live up to the 2007 album's glory, but it is an interesting, sometimes abstract work of psychedelic pop. Barnes and the gang often include several short compositions in every one of the album's 15 eclectic songs; each song jumps about. A sexual, playful, personal album (e.g. the chorus "When we get together/It's always hot magic" from "Wicked Wisdom"; "We can do it softcore if you want/But you should know I take it both ways" in "For Our Elegant Caste"; and plenty of others), Skeletal Lamping has its intelligent moments too ("Technology makes such an ugly mother" in "Mingusings"), though it is in no way as clever as Hissing Fauna. Of Montreal is known for churning out quirky neo-psychedelia and while Skeletal Lamping is a fine piece of work, I hope to see another album on par with Hissing Fauna within the next few years.
Favorite song: "Women's Studies Victims".
An intense, experimental-ish rock album.
Beautiful music; I can't think of anything more perfect to listen to as I fall into a dreamy, peaceful state.
Some people weren't pleased with Beck about this album, I, however, view it as a solid entry out of this year's top albums.
High-speed pop. I have to be in the right mood to listen to Girl Talk, the stage name of Gregg Gillis. But when I am in an upbeat mood, ready to be bombarded with little snippets of pop, hip-hop, and whatever else Gillis decides to mix into his mashups, Girl Talk is a thrill to listen to. The music is not serious; its just a blend of some of the more popular beats ridin' the airwaves, except Gillis is able to make them sound good. If the average poppy pop song has 20 seconds of catchy beats, Gillis fishes those 20 seconds out and mixes it with complementary beats. Listen and you'll understand.
Honorable mentions: the albums that just barely made the top 10
Quirky.
Dream pop for those quiet afternoons.
Darn good rock & roll. Saw these guys in concert over the summer.
I personally don't enjoy this album as much as 2006's Robbers & Cowards, but Loyalty to Loyalty is a decent album. Cold War Kids' sophomore work is an evolution of the band's soulful tunes, but I do have greater expectations for them in the future.
To see all major music magazines' top album lists, see the Metacritic best of 2008 page.
Currently, my two favorite musical artists are Elliott Smith and The National, followed by TV on the Radio (a more recent love) and Radiohead (a long-time favorite).
If you're interested in what I've been listening to lately, feel free to check out my Last.fm profile.
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Arrivederci Pavarotti, your voice lives on
The king of opera passed away last night after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 71. I will always remember the globally-known tenor's rendition of Nessun Dorma. Luciano Pavarotti led an amazing life; he spread the Italian opera to millions — even billions — crossing generational and social lines. He even got younger people like me to listen to the beauty and power of classical opera: he spread the music to the masses. The Maestro will be missed.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Rock music and American pop counterculture
From the early origins of rock and roll, to the age of rebellion, to modern fads...
Popular culture and entertainment have always served something people could copy — whether that thing is a lifestyle, a drink, or a hair style. The Beatles were idolized and modeled by Western youth in the 1960s. Fonzie in the American TV show Happy Days provided a role model for many of that generation. He was cool; people wanted to be like him. Jennifer Aniston's character's hairstyle in Friends was copied enough for it to earn its own place in American fashion: "The Rachel". American pop culture has served as a promoter of turning points in American culture.
Pop culture — the widespread appeal of modern or radical cultural elements in a society — seemed to flourish in the 1960s in the form of art, just as being a rebel (i.e. counterculture) seemed like the cool thing to do. It's important to note that like many phrases, pop culture has various definitions believed by various people. A pop culture reader, Common Culture, defines pop culture as
the shared knowledge and practices of a specific group at a specific time...pop culture both reflects and influences people's way of life...pop culture is transitory, subject to change, and often an initiator of change.
Rebellion is a common theme in modern pop culture, especially in regards to music. Punk and its early rock predecessors created a lifestyle in the style of its music. Art has always been a good measurement of a society's openness, its cultural diversity, and even its political feelings. Just as punk music rocked to the voices of angst and rebellion, and the more recent emo movement has played to the (intentionally) depressed, hip-hop and rap saw their beginnings in African Americans venting against the white foundation of the United States. Dr. Dre's (et al) "Fuck the Police", Public Enemy's "Fight the Power", and, in modern rap, "Ridin' [Dirty]" have served as an outlet against a real or perceived oppressor — it's time to stand up, to rebel.
Punk rock was brought to the US in great part by the many great rock bands of the United Kingdom. Bob Dylan's pop-folk became legendary and lasted decades; Elvis Presley's individual popularity saw the role of rock and roll music in pop culture exemplified with his country and blues "rockabilly" (1950s); The Beatles brought pop and rock in general to the United States from Britain (1960s); the Rolling Stones paved the way for more blues and rock and roll (1960s-'70s); David Bowie, the 'chameleon' of rock, was especially influential in the 1970s; the Sex Pistols rocked in a purely punk fashion (1970s); Pink Floyd ushered in progressive rock (1970s) and Led Zeppelin hard rock and heavy metal (1960s-'70s); Queen created an explosion in glam, arena, and hard/progressive rock (1970s-'80s); Nirvana's grunge rock brought in an era of its own in the '90s. Most of the aforementioned came from the UK, a common trend in the history of rock, especially punk.
Especially in their beginnings, movies also served as great pioneers in change of culture and opinion. Though Hollywood didn't used to be so 'liberal' as it is today, movies and television did break down a good many of taboos. But the real counterculture movement rested in the hands of the music industry, with many of the artists introducing pop rock, punk, etc., to our borders coming from Britain. The roots of rock rest in the US though, thanks in part to the great racism against blacks in the US. Such racism also later resulted in hip-hop and rap music from mostly-black urban inter-city areas. Jazz and blues were the predecessors to rock. Scott Joplin in 1899 published a very important composition, "The Maple Leaf Rag", that would come to usher in an age of jazz by boosting the genre of ragtime. Jazz became particularly prevalent in the 1920s and '30s. Ray Charles influenced soul, and thus rock, in the '50s. Motown and soul, which branched off from early jazz in a separate direction than rock, grew in the 1950s and '60s. The early rock and roll innovators bridged what was then experimental and classical music into pop rock.
As rock became more prevalent on American airwaves and in its culture, more bands came and more branches of rock were creates. There are some who believe that rock in general is a force to use to fight against 'the man', just as Public Enemy fought 'the power'. There have often been "rock against..." movements — like "Rock Against Bush" or "Rock Against Racism". Charity events like Live Aid use rock music for a reason: it is often seen as the music of change. It's also popular and culturally influential. And how much many punk rebels want others to think of them as a small, distant, underground minority, punk and related forms of rock have entered the veins of American music, with political and cultural venting galore, and mainstream appeal. Alternative rock, hard rock, progressive rock, psychedelic, and punk rock all express in their music a means of change from the status quo, a rebellion of sorts also seen in some urban music (e.g. rap, hip-hop).
1970s punk rock helped build alternative rock, which was more of a culmination of various rock genres, including electronic, folk, and jazz, and indie music. Alternative rock resulted in more forms of indie, as well as grunge, Britpop, and post-punk. Marginalized in the 1980s, alternative saw its true calling in the '90s and the beginning of the next millennium. All Music Guide states:
Alternative pop/rock is essentially a catch-all term for post-punk bands from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s. There is a multitude of musical styles within alternative rock, from the sweet melodies of jangle-pop to the disturbing metallic grind of industrial, yet are all tied together by a similar aesthetic -- they all existed and operated outside [sic] of the mainstream.
What effects on the fabric of pop culture in the United States have rebellious music reaped? The 1960s and '70s saw the real formation of modern (post Second World War) counterculture. Counterculture is the political opposition of the current mainstream by a cultural group creating a movement for a period of time. There have been many times of counterculture prevalence, but possibly none so influential, rebellious, and liberal as the counterculture of the modern era. This counterculture was spread throughout developed nations (i.e. North America, Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia) by the rebel youth largely of the Baby Boom.
Hippies were the main group of US counterculture, as opposition to the Vietnam war grew, sex, drugs, and other moral issues became less taboo (within that cultural group), and the conservative politics and culture seemed too restricting, especially in terms of civil rights (segregation) and governmental powers during the Cold War. Briefly put, counterculture of that time period brought about change by those in wealthy, educated nations. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and non-musical figures like Andy Warhol, played large roles in this movement. Nowadays, hippies are almost nonexistent, emphasizing the place of pop-counterculture in specific period of time, and not a more evolving, drawn out phenomenon like general culture.
Just as counterculture is a wider movement, rebellion can be large or small in scale. Rebels or pseudo-rebels popped up during and after the counterculture that lasted from roughly 1965 to 1978 in the United States. Punks and indies are seen as the more mainstream survivors or evolution of the counterculture movement. Any sort of rebellious movement has fought conformity, the establishment, and the social status quo — e.g. embracing communism throughout the Cold War, opposing the Iraq war today. The main timeframe where counterculture wasn't a subculture was in its 20th century, post-WWII heyday.
There is no doubt there will be future punk manifestations in the now-postmodern art era. However, it is unlikely we will see another era of hippies, music revolutionaries, and a shift in nearly every form of Western art and culture anytime soon. Who will be the next Beatles, the next Warhol, or the next Sex Pistols? Pop culture will evolve just as art does in one sense and society in another. The anti-establishment voices in music and entertainment will continue to cry out — as long as there is an establishment or movement to fight against.
References
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