This month, my old friend Uncut listed the 300 Best Albums of its 300-copy, 25-year lifetime. As much as there’s plenty missing and plenty I disagree with, it is unquestionably a list that reflects some version of my own musical experience (naturally, since I’ve been reading Uncut and taking its recommendations for 24 of those 25 years) - which, in itself, makes a little bit of a change these days.
There is something nuanced and interesting here, which is
slightly different from the truth being merely “my taste is esoteric” or “I
like bad music”. Since I was a teenager, I’ve inclined myself towards that
which is acclaimed. My taste in film, TV and music has always had a
self-conscious interest in what others think is good, for better or worse.
And yet, when I look at what seems to be emerging as the
most acclaimed music from the start of this century, a lot of what I would have
banked on, from both sides of the Atlantic, seems to be getting lost.
It is hard to pin down why – there are factors at play both
macro and micro. It was to some extent a pre-enlightenment age, deposed by
poptimism and the necessity of rebalancing the canon. It was also an era of
transitional technology – moving through tapes and cds and downloads to end up
at streaming.
In a way that hasn’t been the case for the last 10 years, it
was full of traditional white male groups and voices. Look at the end-of-year
lists, look at the festival line-ups. Things have changed a lot since then.
And yet, I realised, both when reading the Uncut list
and when recently revisiting my formative years listening to Britpop 93-98,
that there is nothing I love so much as moderately successful American
indie-rock of the first decade of the 21th century. Nothing. That’s
my musical home. I’ll stick up for it till I die. Lost generation or not.
As much as I love the music of my teens, I nevertheless find
the music of my 20s strikes deeper. The songs mean more. Perhaps they reflect
my own life more, or just something more grown-up and meaningful, while still, in their way, childlike. I still remember the lightning bolt of Jenny Lewis singing “and if I
get pregnant I guess I’ll just have the baby, let it be loved” on ‘More
Adventurous’. Such a plain, artless, line, one of the most universal sentiments
in all humanity, yet not something you’ll have heard in 99.9% of pop music.
I’ve been listening to The Shins lately – they seem a band
that reflect the casual dismissal of the era – “oh yeah, that band from that
annoying scene in that annoying film Garden State. What were we all thinking
liking quasi-meaningful stuff like that”. Like a lot of the bands, the quite
successful bands, there’s a song in TV/film, a brief commercial spike, then
commercial and critical decline. The Decemberists, Iron and Wine, The Walkmen,
Band of Horses … it happened to all of them.
But, with The Shins, I’ve been reminded what a singular,
unusual way of putting together a pop song James Mercer had. “This song will
change your life”, she said. It didn’t, but much worse songs have changed lots
of people’s lives.
As much as anything else, of course, I love those bands and
those songs because I saw them, nearly all of them. You do end up loving bands
more if you see them live, I’m sure of it. I’d been to about 10 gigs before
2001, and have been to about 20 since 2010. In that decade I went to, I don’t
know, including festival sets, 300 to 400?
And I talked about it with friends, and they made
recommendations, and people made tapes, and all that stuff. There’s loads of
reasons why I love that decade which have got nothing to do with whether it was
good or not, I know. But it was good.
These are the songs I Iove. North American songs, even though
there was loads of British stuff I loved too. But I remember, even though I was
only 23 or 24, I felt too old for the Libertines and all that, definitely too
old for the Arctic Monkeys when they turned up.
Too many excellent Canadians not to include them, too.
And I wanted to make it a solid 10 years, so had a decide if
it was more significant to include 2000 or 2010. In the end, 2000 lost out.
It’s just a slightly different era for me. I’m still at uni. 2001 to 2010 are,
broadly, my adult London years. The most significant miss from 2000 is
Lambchop’s Nixon, which I’m very sorry to lose and, I guess, Ryan Adams’
Heartbreaker, which I’m much less so.
It’s not specifically one genre, not specifically moderately
successful indie rock, but that will dominate. I feel like I’ve written about a
lot of these songs already in this blog – I mean, these songs are basically the
heart of the blog – so there won’t be too many remarks along the way …
That’s how it starts …
350 Alexandra Leaving - Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson
349 Bruises-
Chairlift
348 Oops (Oh My)
- Tweet
347 Mr
Brightside - The Killers ... Still in the charts
346 Cold Blooded
Old Times - Smog ... Bill Callahan has not brought the magic to me as he has many others, for some reason, but I like a few.
345 Laura = Scissor Sisters
344 California -
Phantom Planet
343 1 Plus 1 -
Beyonce
342 No Easy
Action - Mark Lanegan ... I like some of the Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell stuff, but that seems somehow more Scottish than American.
341 X Gon Give
It To Ya - DMX
340 Not Even
Stevie Nicks - Calexico ... Another band I almost loved
339 How She
Would Sing The Wildwood Flower - Emmylou Harris ... a Zelig-like icon for the genre
338 Jezebel -
Iron and Wine
337 Come On Come
On - The Von Bondies
336 Postcards
From Italy - Beirut
335 Forget You
- Cee-lo Green
334 Elvis
Presley Blues - Gillian Welch
333 A Nervous
Tic Motion to the Head - Andrew Bird
332 We Used To
Vacation - Cold War Kids
331 Goodies -
Ciara
330 Mad World -
Gary Jules
329 Get The
Party Started - Pink
328 Surfer's
Hymn - Panda Bear
327 The Gun Has
No Trigger - Dirty Projectors
326 Lover Leave
Me Drowning - Blitzen Trapper
325 Landed - Ben
Folds
324 Hollaback
Girl - Gwen Stefani
323 Who's That
Girl - Eve
322 Party Hard -
Andrew WK
321 Hot In Herre
- Nelly
320 Tranquilize
- The Killers ft Lou Reed ... this was an odd, rather fun, song
319 Home -
Edward Sharpe and the Zeros
318 100 Days 100
Nights - Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
317 It Wasn't Me
- Shaggy ft RikRok
316 Wendy -
Jesse Malin
315 In The Sun -
Joseph Arthur ft Michael Stipe
314 Walcott -
Vampire Weekend
313 Knife -
Grizzly Bear
312 When Johnny
Met June - Shelby Lynne
311 The Bucket -
Kings of Leon
310 This Isn't
Farmlife - The Essex Green
309 Bandages -
Hot Hot Heat ... this is the definitive XFM song, for me
308 Fallin' -
Alicia Keys
307 Baby Learns
To Crawl - Paul Westerberg ... this is a great album actually, 'Stereo/Mono' - could have had more from this
306 Fuck The
Pain Away - Peaches
305 Fuck The
Universe - Ryan Adams
304 The Great
Escape - We are Scientists
303 Kids - MGMT
302 I Gotta
Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
301 Revelry -
Kings of Leons
300 Ain't No
Other Man - Christina Aguilera
299 Big Bird In
A Small Cage - Patrick Watson
298 Ride Wit Me
- Nelly
297 Breathe -
Blu Cantrell ft Sean Paul
296 Gravel Pit -
Wu-Tang Clan
295 Mississauga
Goddamn - The Hidden Cameras
294 More Than A
Woman - Aaliyah
293 Going On -
The Flaming Lips
292 Staring At
The Sun - TV on the Radio
291 Trick Me -
Kelis
290 Why I'm
Bullshit - Mark Eitzel ... I saw Mark Eitzel one afternoon at a festival, and he was so brilliant as a performer, but I just never got wholly into his music
289 How Come -
D12
288 Blind -
Hercules and Love Affair
287 Bad Romance
- Lady Gaga
286 Ambling Alp
- Yeasayer
285 Jenny From
The Block - Jennifer Lopez
284 Wolf Among
Wolves - Bonnie Prince Billy
283 Good People
- Jack Johnson
282 Boyfriend -
Best Coast
281 Maneater -
Nelly Furtado
280 We Used To
Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River - Richmond Fontaine
279 Old Soul
Song (for a New World Order) - Bright Eyes
278 Hung Up -
Madonna
277 Two Weeks -
Grizzly Bear
276 Monster -
Kanye West
275 Undertow -
Warpaint
274 I Won't Die
Alone - Shelby Lynne
273 Ch-ch-check
It Out - Beastie Boys
272 Sweet Escape
- Gwen Stefani
271 I Defy -
Joan as Policewoman
270 Lola Stars
And Stripes - The Stills
269 Tightrope -
Janelle Monae
268 Used For
Glue - Rival Schools
267 Wherever You
Will Go - The Calling ... this feels like a disgraceful thing to quite like
266 Norway -
Beach House
265 Get Over It
- OK Go
264 Where Is My
Love - Cat Power
263 Paint The
Moon - The Czars
262 Resurrection
Fern - Iron and Wine
261 Penny And Me
- Hanson
260 I Don’t Feel
Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters
259 I'm Not
Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance - Black Kids
258 When The
Deal Goes Down - Bob Dylan
257 Lua - Bright
Eyes
256 Dilemma -
Nelly ft Kelly Rowland
255 I Need A
Dollar - Aloe Blacc
254 Try Again -
Aaliyah
253 The Greatest
- Cat Power
252 Now It's On
- Grandaddy ...there's a funny thing with certain bands I like, where they've come back after an acclaimed album, and I've briefly thought their new single was a step forward, like the best thing I've ever heard, and then that feeling's disappeared after a few days, and you've realised they've just blunted themselves a bit. This and 'Baby Stop Crying' by Spiritualized are good examples.
251 Million
Dollar Bill - Whitney Houston
250 Danger! High
Voltage - Electric Six
249 Empire State
Of Mind - Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys
248 Welcome To
The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
247 The Wound
That Never Heals - Jom White
246 The World
Spins Madly On - The Weepies
245 Congratulations
- MGMT
244 Sing Me
Spanish Techno - The New Pornographers
243 We Are Gonna
Be Friends - White Stripes
242 12.51 - The
Strokes
241 Jumpers -
Sleater-Kinney
240 Losing My
Edge - LCD Soundsystem
239 I Love You
Creedence - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
238 The Man
Comes Around - Johnny Cash
237 Yoshimi
Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips
236 Faster -
Janelle Monae
235 Black Sheep
- Metric
234 What -
Brendan Benson
233 I Envy The
Wind - Lucinda Williams
232 Love Rain -
Jill Scott
231 In Too Deep
- Sum 41
230 Let The
Distance Keep Us Together - Spoon, Bright Eyes etc
229 Soldier
Girl - The Polyphonic Spree
228 16 Military
Wives - The Decemberists
227 Jenny Was A
Friend Of Mine - The Killers .. until I was fooled by the rocks that she's got
226 My Doorbell
- The White Stripes
225 Alice - Tom
Waits
224 Drops Of
Jupiter - Train
223 Stronger -
Kanye West
222 Seven Nation
Army - The White Stripes
221 No One Knows
- Queens of the Stone Age
220 Stay Positive
- The Hold Steady
219 Mary -
Scissor Sisters
218 In The End -
Linkin Park
217 Not The
Tremblin' Kind - Laura Cantrell
216 Cry Me A
River - Justin Timberlake
215 Blonde On
Blonde - Nada Surf
214 Rill Rill -
Sleigh Bells
213 Poses -
Rufus Wainwright
212 The New
Cobweb Summer - Lambchop
211 Oh No -
Lavender Diamond
210 Wrote A Song
For Everyone - Mavis Staples
209 Laura
Laurent - Bright Eyes
208 Broken Boy
Soldier - The Raconteurs
207 Mushaboom -
Feist
206 Don’t Give
Up On Me - Solomon Burke
205 A Line In The
Dirt - Eels
204 Lay Your
Head Down - Keren Ann
203 Trouble -
Ray La Montagne
202 Alternative
To Love - Brendan Benson
201 Steady
Rollin' - Two Gallants
200 The Crane
Wife Pt 3 - The Decemberists
199 Lost Cause -
Beck
198 Do You
Realise? - The Flaming Lips
197 She
Heightened Everything - The Pernice Brothers
196 Imitation Of
Life - REM
195 You Are What
You Love - Jenny Lewis
194 I'm Like a
Bird - Nelly Furtado
193 What a
Wonderful Man - My Morning Jacket
192 Oxford Comma
- Vampire Weekend
191 Don't Know
Why - Norah Jones
190 Nobody Move,
Nobody Get Hurt - We Are Scientists ... i kind of feel this may be one of those albums that came and went with people kind of enjoying it but noone really thinking it was anything special, and if people listened back to it now, they'd think "wow, that was actually pretty great"
189 Love Story -
Taylor Swift
188 I'm Still
Here - Tom Waits
187 That’s That
- Cass McCombs
186 Penny And
Jack - The Essex Green
185 Milkshake -
Kelis
184 Waiting On A
Sunny Day - Bruce Springsteen
183 Feeling No
Pain - Josh Rouse
182 Wolves - Bon
Iver
181 A Drop In
Time - Mercury Rev
180 Complicated
- Avril Lavigne
179 The Freest
Man - Tilly and the Wall - should it be 3 es in Freeest?
178 You and I are a Gang of Losers - The Dears
177 Abel - The
National
176 The Great
Salt Lake - Band of Horses
175 Gold Day -
Sparklehorse
174 Hey There
Delilah - Plain White Ts ... got a lot of time for this kind of sappy cack
173 Mykonos -
Fleet Foxes
172 Anyone -
Joan as Policewoman
171 So Jealous -
Tegan and Sara
170 Locked
Inside - Janelle Monae
169 Someone
Great - LCD Soundsystem
168 Runaway -
Kanye West
167 New Slang -
The Shins
166 Juveniles -
The Walkmen
165 Eventually -
Brendan Benson
164 On The Radio
- Regina Spektor
163 Ash
Wednesday - Elvis Perkins
162 Times Like
These - Foo Fighters
161 1 Thing -
Amerie
160 Round Eye
Blues - Marah ... i noticed the Marah album i like is actually from mid-2000 but I just can't bring myself to remove this
159 I Miss You -
Blink 182
158 John Wayne
Gacy - Sufjan Stevens
157 Turn On Me -
The Shins
156 Under
Control - The Strokes
155 Modern Girl
- Sleater-Kinney
154 Single
Ladies - Beyonce
153 Barely Legal
- The Strokes
152 The Absence
Of God - Rilo Kiley
151 When The
Brakeman Turns My Way - Bright Eyes
150 Flightless
Bird, American Mouth - Iron and Wine
149 Queen Of
Denmark - John Grant
148 What Light -
Wilco
147 We Don’t Own
It - Joan as Policewoman
146 So What -
Pink
145 Po' Boy -
Bob Dylan ... this is a very funny song
144 Frankie's
Gun - The Felice Brothers ... as is this, in a way
143 Time To
Pretend - MGMT
142 Hotel Yorba
- The White Stripes
141 Maybe
Tonight - Nicole Atkins
140 Brother
Sport - Animal Collective
139 Judy - The
Pernice Brothers
138 Pictures Of
Success - Rilo Kiley
137 The Mercy
Seat - Johnny Cash ... i really think Cash takes this to the next level from the Cave original, though now i think Cave takes its to a whole new level
136 U Got Ur
Cherry Bomb - Spoon
135 No One's
Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
134 White Winter
Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
133 Independent
Women Pt 1 - Destiny's Child
132 Please Think
Well Of Me - The Weepies
131 Hope There's
Someone - Antony and the Johnsons
130 Leaving New
York - REM
129 Work It -
Missy Elliot
128 Myriad
Harbour - The New Pornographers
127 Hard To
Explain - The Strokes
126 Forgot About
Dre - Dr Dre ft Eminem
125 So Sorry -
Feist
124 Firework -
Katy Perry
123 I'm A Broken
Heart - The Bird and the Bee
122 Round And
Round - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti ... think this is the most right-wing guy here
121 Everybody I
Know is Listening To Crunk - Lightspeed Champion
120 Eternal Life
- Joan as Policewoman
119 14th Street
- Rufus Wainwright
118 I And Love
And You - The Avett Brothers
117 Kathleen -
Josh Ritter
116 Cosmia -
Joanna Newsom
115 Is There A
Ghost - Band of Horses
114 Many Shades
Of Black - The Raconteurs
113 Lost In The
Plot - The Dears
112 With Arms
Outstretched - Rilo Kiley
111 One Armed
Scissor - At the Drive-In
110 When I See
Your Eyes I Swear to God That Worlds Collided - The Young Republic
109 The Daily
Growl - Lambchop
108 Van
Occupanther - Midlake
107 Marry Me -
St Vincent
106 Radio Cure -
Wilco
105 The Engine
Driver - The Decemberists
104 Sad Eyes -
Josh Rouse
103 This Year -
The Mountain Goats
102 Gold Lion -
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
101 Toxic - Britney Spears
100 Kissing The
Lipless - The Shins
99 NYC -
Interpol
98 Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
97 Takeover -
Jay Z
96 In The
Backseat - Arcade Fire
95 Standing in
the Way of Control - Gossip
94 Santa Maria
de la Feira - Devendra Banhart
93 Furious -
Joan as Policewoman
92 Not About
To Lose - Ron Sexsmith
91 Naked As We
Came - Iron and Wine
90 Bloody
Motherfucking Asshole - Martha Wainwright
89 Halloweenhead
- Ryan Adams ...interestingly, have only included Ryan Adams songs which are nasty
88 Blue -
Lucinda Williams
87 In The New
Year - The Walkmen
86 The Middle
- Jimmy Eat World
85 Love Love
Love - The Mountain Goats
84 Bloodbuzz
Ohio - The National
83 Ms Jackson
- OutKast
82 Patience -
Micah P Hinson
81 Roscoe -
Midlake
80 Wake Up
- Arcade Fire
79 Bang - Yeah
Yeah Yeahs
78 England -
The National
77 Impossible
Germany - Wilco
76 Does Not
Suffice - Joanna Newsom
75 Where Does
The Good Go - Tegan and Sara
74 Ashes Of
American Flags - Wilco
73 Even Tho -
Joseph Arthur
72 Fidelity -
Regina Spektor
71 Better
Son/Daughter - Rilo Kiley
70 Mahgeetah -
My Morning Jacket
69 Les
Artistes - Santogold
68 The Spirit
of Giving - The New Pornographers
67 Young
Pilgrims - The Shins
66 New York, I
Love You But You're Bring Me Down - LCD Soundsystem
65 Umbrella -
Rihanna ft Jay Z
64 Fistful Of
Love - Antony and the Johnsons ft Lou Reed
63 Sprawl II -
Arcade Fire
62 New
American Language - Dan Bern
61 Rise To Me
- The Decemberists
60 You Broke
My Heart - Lavender Diamond
59 New Partner
- Will Oldham
58 Funeral - Band of Horses
57 The Late
Greats - Wilco
56 Irreplaceable
- Beyonce
55 Inside Of
Love - Nada Surf
54 Slaveship -
Josh Rouse
53 Coversation
16 - The National
52 Love Is All
- The Rapture
51 99 Problems
- Jay Z
50 Godspeed -
Jenny Lewis
49 Charlie
Darwin - The Low Anthem
48 Workingman
Blues - Bob Dylan
47 Oxygen -
Willy Mason
46 Cheated
Hearts - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
45 Lose
Yourself - Eminem
44 Good
Intentions Paving Company - Joanna Newsom
43 Get Yr
Freak On - Missy Elliot
42 Casimir
Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens
41 I Am Trying
To Beak Your Heart - Wilco
40 A Whole Lot
Better - Brendan Benson
39 If I Could
Only Fly - Merle Haggard
38 Snow Is
Gone - Josh Ritter
37 More
Adventurous - Rilo Kiley
36 Sons And
Daughters - The Decemberists
35 The Dark Is
Rising - Mercury Rev
34 Saint Simon
- The Shins
33 Float On -
Modest Mouse
32 The Honey and the Moon - Joseph Arthur
31 Such Great
Heights - The Postal Service
30 I Was Made
For Sunny Days - The Weepies
29 Mr November
- The National
28 Branches -
Midlake
27 Us - Regina Spektor
26 Massive
Night - The Hold Steady
25 Maps - Yeah
Yeah Yeahs
24 Rebellion
(Lies) - Arcade Fire
23 Emily -
Joanna Newsom
22 Crazy In
Love - Beyonce ft Jay Z
21 First Day
Of My Life - Bright Eyes
20 Dinner At
Eight - Rufus Wainwright
19 Mississippi
- Bob Dylan
18 Don’t You
(Forget About Me) - Micah P Hinson
17 Angela Surf
City - The Walkmen
16 No Children
- The Mountain Goats
15 Take Me
Anywhere - Tegan and Sara
14 Losing You
- Randy Newman
13 Hummingbird
- Wilco
12 Lithuania -
Dan Bern
11 Danny
Callahan - Conor Oberst
10 My Girls -
Animal Collective
9 Jesus Etc
- Wilco
8 Rise -
Josh Rouse
7 The
Trapeze Swinger - Iron and Wine
6 The Rat -
The Walkmen
5 Family
Affair - Mary J Blige
4 I See A
Darkness - Bonnie Prince Billy OR Johnny Cash
3 Bryte Side
- The Pernice Brothers
2 In
California - Joanna Newsom
1 All My
Friends - LCD Soundsystem That's how it ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment