Top 10 Albums of Recent Memory (< 2007)
Having mentioned how behind I am in terms of good music, I’ve tried to make up for it by putting a list together of my favorite albums of the past few years (excluding 2007). This I feel is a much better representation of what I think is the really ‘good’ music, as these albums have been sitting with me for a while and have stood the test of time.
10) Manitoba - Up in Flames (Apr 2003) - This is the album the Chemical Brothers have been trying to make their entire career but still haven’t been able to, except it was made by some guy in Canada five years ago. Their later works are also good, it’s just that this one’s the best.
9) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (May 2006) - Made me realize how much you can do with very little. Despite their rhythmless drummer, the bass is flawlessly funky and the guitar melodies are a perfect complement. Both discs are thoroughly solid, and neither of them get old.
8 ) Guillemots - Through the Windowpane (July 2006) - Like a sprawling indie/pop orchestra, with a good rhythm section and disco beats. Kind of like a less-loungey Zero 7, with a bigger sense of urgency.
7) Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (March 2005) - Bouncy, beat driven, angsty rock music, driven by the tightest and most effective rhythm sections in indie music today. Super-drummer Matt Tong plays drums in a stereotypically asian fashion - with mathematical precision, attention to detail, and a machine-like sense of rhythm.
6) The Streets - A Grand Don’t Come for Free (May 2004) - Imagine taking a quality TV mini-series about middle class British youths, and watching it through your ears. Descriptive and compelling storytelling with light beats and heavy English accents.
5) Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (March 2005) - Orchestral indie pop? Arh? The fact that I can’t think of a fitting one-line description or comparison for this album is likely a good sign. I can’t count how many times I spun this disc.
4) Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (Oct 2005) - Imagine an indie-rock hippie super-producer, his dozen-plus hippie friends and a (possibly hippie) horn section, locked in a studio. Take the best 14 tracks out of the best case scenario of the resulting mess, and you have this huge and glorious rock album. The production is excellent, and yet it feels like it might all fall apart at any second.
3) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (July 2005) - if Queen is rock-opera then Sufjan is folk-musical, except far better than that connotation might imply. A very pretty listen.
2) John Mayer - Continuum (sept 2006) - Putting this in the number 2 spot might make you think less of me, but it won’t be the first time you’ve been wrong. (oh!) Say what you will, but listening to this album makes me want to start playing and singing the blues….and anything that makes you want to take action should rank pretty high on any list.
1) Bright Eyes - I’m Wide Awake, it’s Morning (Jan 2005) - Listening to this makes me want to give up music altogether because I will never in a million years be able to write words and deliver them like Bright Eyes can. It’s so good, it sits in this weird realm of demoralization which lies just ahead of the stuff you might find inspirational. All this despite the album’s heavy folk and country taint. Amazing.
ok, the end! Thanks for reading!
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