best of the '00s, pt. 3

In response to a Paste magazine article, I've been listing what I feel to be the best 50 albums of the past decade, in no particular order. The ten I've posted so far were not included in Paste's list. The next five, however, Paste and I agree on. Here are 40 through 36.

40. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

I must admit that when I heard "Yellow" for the first time back in 2000, I turned the radio off. Ugh. Another cookie cutter, sad sap pop band. A couple of my friends ran out and bought Parachutes and I secretly scoffed at them. Suckers. A couple of years later I was a tiny bit smarter. I had taken some recording classes at Temple and had been around a few musicians whose art and opinions I respected greatly (boy, I sound like a snob, don't I?). I found out that these dudes listened to Coldplay too. They were fans, with t-shirts and everything. This was enough to make me feel like I had to give the band a second chance. One listen to "Clocks" and I was pretty much sold. The repetitive drums, the circling piano and the airy feel make for a big sound.

Now I have a bit of a hard time calling this pop music. But if it is, it's the good kind - like U2, circa 1990. Rush of Blood made Coldplay huge - like U2 circa 1990. Enter your next international super band. This album is near perfect. The second half falls off a bit, but they resurrected piano driven rock music, filling a void left by Radiohead's metamorphosis. Too bad they couldn't live up to the hype this album created (burn!).




39. Beck - Sea Change (2002)

I would like to start by saying that I think producer/mixer/sound engineer extraordinaire Nigel Godrich is a genius. He's been behind almost all of Radiohead's work, Air's brilliant Talkie Walkie, Paul McCartney's solid Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and this, his second of three albums with Beck (the other two being Mutations and The Information). Godrich takes the simple and makes it sound beautiful. He has a way of stripping the sound down to it's core and then layering it on itself, like mom dressing you up on snow days. Take "Lost Cause," for example. It's a folk song at it's core. It's Beck, a guitar and some lite drums. But Godrich adds texture with distorted vocals weaving in and out of the background and Beck's own voice layered on itself. I just think the man does exactly what a good producer should. He brings out the best in the talent he works with and doesn't tread on their sound in process, he simply gives it a new, clear voice.

Beck deserves just as much credit for this album, of course. Agreeing to put down the sampling machines and computer trickery, he explores his deep sea of sadness with live instruments. After all, a good producer can only do his work with a willing talent (if you're in the Strokes and you're reading this, yes, I'm talking to you. Also, thank you for reading my blog). The result of Beck's willingness is a tragically beautiful record that is as equally inspiring as it is depressing. I still can't decide how serious he is about "The Golden Age".




38. The Strokes - Is This It? (2002)

Speaking of the Strokes, they happened to make a few decent records this decade as well. Highly anticipated and overly hyped are defined here. Bring us the band that represents the sound of New York's underground punk, post-punk, garage rock movement. If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Interpol are not available, I'll take the Strokes. I've read a lot of bad press about these guys recently. Their subsequent releases just seemed to keep letting everyone down somehow. Well, I wasn't expecting much so, perhaps I was too easily entertained. Yeah, maybe Julian Casablancas' writing is not stellar. Maybe it often feels like the band is selling an image and not their music, but I happen to like their rather simple approach to regenerating vintage classic rock sounds.

All the hype and image aside, this album rose to the top of a pile of other similar garage rock trend followers. I happen to believe that Strokes were one of the first to start that trend, actually. I also happen to agree with just about everything Pitchfork has to say about this album and am having a hard time summing it up any better than they do. I just like it.

37. M.I.A. - Arular (2005)

Honestly, I know next to nothing about dancehall music. I know even less about "bhangra". The beautiful thing about Arular is how it has introduced an international audience to those two styles of music, while incorporating hip-hip and grime. This is global dance music, celebrating the sounds of several different continents and I think it's brilliant. It's not only educational, but it pulls together fans of reggaeton, baile funk and pop in general to create one large following. A melding that record companies have to love.

To make this mixture even sweeter, M.I.A.'s lyrics actually contain a message. She not only dances around the globe, but is aware of it's problems and politics. It never occurred to me to shake my booty while simultaneously starting a conversation about poverty until hearing "Pull Up the People". I very nearly dismissed "Galang" as just another throwaway dance track when I first heard it at the South Philly Taproom back in '05. Yeah, it's fun, but I don't dance so, no thanks. Then I had a listen to the entire album and was struck at M.I.A.'s global consciousness. All of a sudden, I was ready to do some dancing for awareness myself.

I also love that her popularity has given beat-making wizard and now Philly resident Diplo some exposure (I beg you to listen to his 2004 release Florida for his DJ Shadow impression and to check out his project from this year, Major Lazer's Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do, for further education in dancehall/reggaeton/grime). Dude was nominated for a Grammy last year for his work on M.I.A.'s second album Kala. Love it!

36. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (2006)

I, for one, feel sad for Amy Winehouse. Yes, Back to Black was a huge success and carried her UK super stardom overseas, invading our airwaves and media with her retro vocals and sound, but it also put her rather manic personal life under further scrutiny. I suppose that's the price you pay for celebrity. I wish I could say it's possible to separate her personal life from her art, but Winehouse doesn't seem to want it that way. "Rehab" is not just a song, it's her experience.

I like the sound of this album, the tribute to '60s soul and jazz. Mark Ronson did a fantastic job with the production. What I like even more is the modern twist Winehouse gives to these songs. They may sound as if they are from 40 or 50 years ago, but she's singing about things of her generation and using language mom and dad would not approve of. It's Motown with a modern view and it comes very natural to Winehouse. She has a big voice, one that is surprising coming from such a little person, and despite the booze and blues, is very likable. I have doubts that we'll hear much more from her, but she's left us with a pretty great record.