25. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Fever to Tell- 2003
I really wanted to put It’s Blitz on this list, mostly just cause of the track “Dragon Queen”, as I think it’s easily one of the best things they’ve done- more so than anything on their debut LP. But as a whole I’ve gotta give it to Fever to Tell. Karen O and crew created a scathingly raw sound that even at it’s most volatile carries a sense of playfulness. Her voice effortlessly transitions from spastic and feral to restrained and demure. As the guitar grinds and distorts through the songs her voice thankfully carries the melody along for it. Lyrically, Fever is a collection of aggressive and intimidating one liners (“dropping brides at the alter/ we’re sweating in the winter”), And lines like “We’re all gonna burn in hell, cause we do what we gotta do, be willing, we got the feeling too!” are about as anthemetic as anything I’ve heard. Throughout the album there is a wonderful blend of pulsating sonic hooks like in “Rich” and “Y-Control” and short lived yet heart pounding freakouts like “Pin” and “Tick” that seem to be a more effective form of release than anything as blase as actually talking about your feelings. Of course she does that too in “Maps”, yet that song seems to conclude in something of an unresolved manner as opposed to a more exhausted satisfaction found in the former as well as tracks like “Date with the Knife”. Also, I love Karen O.
Best Tracks- Rich, Date with the Knife, Man, Y-Control
24. Spoon- Girls Can Tell- 2001
It was a really tough call between this or Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; Girls Can Tell barely won out. For a band that normally takes a somewhat lighthearted and modest approach to rock music, Girls has more of a darker tone. Not to say that it’s a depressing album; more like it carries with it a sense of mystery and intrigue- something you listen to in the dark. Many of the songs create a sense of night, using melodies, hooks, base leads that invoke a thought of after hours. There is a remarkably consistent feel to the album, with notable exceptions being the surprisingly cheerful “Anything You Want”, and “1020AM”, which carries an obvious morning after vibe. The songs for the most part move a little more slowly and deliberately, carefully inserting pop mannerisms into what would otherwise be more traditionally bluesy music. Britt Daniel has just a hint of a rasp in his voice at times even reminding me a little of Kurt Cobain, especially in tracks like “Me and the Bean”. Spoon deserves a lot of attention as they consistently put out great work, but if you only have time to check out one of their albums, I would start here.
Best Tracks- Believing is Art, Anything You Want, 1020AM, Chicago at Night
23. Beck- Guero- 2005
Beck made a robot mexican album; that’s as good a way as any to describe it. And it’s really great. After Midnight Vultures psychedelic funk-out, Guero seems a little more down to earth, with Beck a little more chilled out. One of the things I always liked about Beck’s music is that is that there was always his single, isolated view in whatever he was singing about, as opposed to to a consensus of other people, producers, what-have-you; even when the Dust Brothers are helping him out. This is very present to me here, creating a more personable album. With Guero, Beck takes the recent traditions of American music- hi tempo pop beats and grungy rock, with that of Latin America- mariachis, simple string and harmonica sets and bridges them in his own unique cobbled together sort of way. Tracks like “Missing”, “Black Tambourine”, “Go it Alone”, “Farewell Ride”, and “Emergency Exit” create a sense of departure, traveling to a distant place by oneself and seeing how they do things there. That seems to be the lens through which Beck made these collections of songs. But he brought that collection back home and finished them there, they way we do it, creating an unexpected but engaging synthesis. Beck first made his strides with his awkward loser persona, and while he’s mostly outgrown that mood, it’s till somewhat prevalent at times. It’s not as if he got any cooler, just more confident. The fact that the disc includes a number of remixes (some better than others) is just gravy.
Best Tracks- Hell Yes, Black Tambourine, Farewell Ride, Still Missing (Royskopp remix)
22. Lupe Fiasco- Food and Liquor- 2006
I’m not really a huge fan of hip hop- I don’t hate it in general, it’s just not my stuff. But I love Lupe and I love this record. To me Food and Liquor is the exact antithesis of gangster rap. Whereas the latter is slow, dumb, and full of gratuitous excess, Food and Liquor is extremely intelligent, focusing on the downsides and underbelly of whatever you qualify as a hip hop lifestyle. Too often rappers mention briefly humble beginnings only to make it seem more impressive that some producer gave them an escalade and some whores to ride in it, but Lupe spends entire songs about childhood abuse, single parent households, having nothing to do other than bum around on a skateboard. It’s all so much more genuine and realistic than hip hop, even most music is. It’s also very fast passed; the most offensive hip hop to me is so monotonously slow, in small part because the rappers are too incompetent or lazy to keep up with a real beat. Rather than rely on cookie cutter club beats or shamelessly sampling lesser known groups (you stole that entire song from Crystal Castles, 50 Cent!!!) Food and Liquor has big and bold horn and orchestral sections accompanied by full bodied choirs doing back up vocals. While not my favorite track, “Daydreaming” is noteworthy as it perfectly encapsulates just how shallow, cynical, and vanilla hip hop- or at least the popular and most exposed from of it- has become. I don’t believe a thing I hear from the likes of Lil Wayne, T-Pain, and whoever the hell else is popular right now, but I always want to hear more from Lupe.
Best Tracks- Just Might Be Ok, Kick Push, Hurt Me Soul, Pressure (feat. Jay Z)
21. The New Pornographers- Twin Cinema- 2005
This was the hardest call on the list, deciding which New Pornographers album to pick. It’s just about impossible for me to decide which one is better- Mass Romantic, Electric Version, Challengers, or Twin Cinema. No matter which one I go with I’m gonna want to change my mind, so to hell with it, let’s do Twin Cinema. I really do think this album and the group in general are just awesome. The New Pornographers get as close to making relentlessly cheerful music as you can get before it gets so sickeningly sweet that it sounds a little embarrassing (Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian, I’m looking at you!). This is a less aggressive album (by their standards at least) than say, Electric Version; its more soothing and comforting. There’s a lot of interplay between guitar and piano, which is a lot of fun. Tracks like “Use it”, “Streets of Fire” and others create a reassuring sense of nostalgia. My favorites have to be “Sing me Spanish Techno” and “Star Bodies”; both have instantly catchy beats and the male and female vocals mix and compliment each other perfectly. It’s a shame that this group doesn’t get more attention, even in Western Canada which is where they come from; especially since they’re the perfect music to listen to when the torrential down pour that is the B.C. winter starts to depress the hell out of you. Twin Cinema will cheer you right up.
Best Tracks- Use it, Sing me Spanish Techno, Star Bodies
No comments:
Post a Comment