I like Gaslight Anthem and cannot stand Animal Collective. I've tried, repeatedly, but they just don't do it for me. I'm a simple man with simple tastes. I like music with loud guitars and driving rhythms. The glut of overly sensitive bearded singer-songwriters (brilliantly discussed by Carrie Brownstein on her Monitor Mix blog here) bores the hell out of me. I don't think I'm a contrarian by nature, but I like what I like. Much of the stuff I've heard on these lists (and admittedly, there's a lot I haven't heard) was OK but just didn't make an impression. That doesn't mean the records are overrated, just means I don't love them. The lists are valuable because they give me more things to check out, and if I get turned on to one or two records or bands I really like, I don't worry about the rest.
he glut of overly sensitive bearded singer-songwriters (brilliantly discussed by Carrie Brownstein on her Monitor Mix blog here) bores the hell out of me.
I love Sleater Kinney.
I love Brownstein's guitar playing.
I hate bearded pseudo-folkies.
I also hate Carrie Brownstein's music criticism. All her posts are derived from the same themes: what Rock 'n' Roll should be, and why Rock 'n' Roll aesthetics should dominate the music industry. As for the beards: fashion is party of Rock 'n' Roll, which she should know as well as anyone else.
RE: The Gaslight Anthem. I'm convinced that every year the critics must have one "edgy" band to fawn over to make it seem like they're in touch with what's happening.
I always suspected it was the opposite impulse that drove that selection for eMusic. That is, they knew what hipster publications would likely consider the best-albums-of-the-year, and (perhaps unconsiously), eMusic went in a different direction.
And yeah, these lists are making me appreciate the P2K list even more. It's a very good list. I like the diversity of eMusic's list, actually. I think the selections will get more predictable as we wind through the Top Twenty. HOPING FOR BURIAL'S UNTRUE TO BE THE SURPRISE CHOICE AS EMUSIC'S BEST ALBUM OF THE DECADE (won't happen, tho).
the fuck buttons album is really really really growing on me. after a first listen, I decidedly did not like, but I gave some reviews another read through, and decided to give it another chance and am liking it.
if I had unlimited downloads, I'd certainly give the gaslight a try, but as it is the np's are too rare.
I like the diversity of emu's list too. I really appreciated that about last years year end list too - it's like a list of things they honestly like rather than lockstep with the rest of the hipstics (that's hipster critics - feel free to use it). I'm probably the only one who thinks that some of the sony slections on that list seem a little forced.
FWIW, I like the F--k Buttons a lot. That first song on their last album hurt my ears (with the computer-processed screaming vocals, even tho they were placed low in the mix and at a low volume), but I find myself listening to it over and over again. There's a lot of life and energy in it.
@Bad Thoughts, I agree with you 75%. (Never cared for Sleater-Kinney, heh.) Everytime someone forwards me one of her writings, it's either a duh so obvious piece or a who made you the queen of what is and isn't rock and roll thing. "Sensitive" beardy folkies can get lost too. (Though I'll admit to liking Bon Iver, does that qualify?)
I can't speak to all of her writings, because I haven't seen that much, but I liked that piece and agree with it wholeheartedly. Of course it's a matter of taste, and the artists she mentions are undoubtedly talented and make music that appeals to a lot of people, but I'm not one of them. It does seem like there's been a lot of that stuff on these lists.
Being that this is under the category of fight club, I will counter with the following highly biased, thoroughly prejudiced jab:
after spending numerous grueling minutes pondering and scratching over pitchfork lists throughout the years, I am of the opinion that they are compiled by fish-witted trend peddlers whose minds have been withered by a ruthless drought of original thought.
I do not seem to have any selections from their list; my wife has one; of course, after being with me for 30 years, she has developed a certain level of tolerance for fish-wits.
I am clearly absent of hip (this makes my subjection to boogies awkward and labor intensive); however, I do believe that there are/were many great bands making much great music in the 2000s; unfortunately, the mediums for their exposure are limited and dwindling (thanks a lot emusic), similar to what happened in the 70s after the death of underground radio.
#59 For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver
#58 Keystone by Dave Douglas
#57 Labor Days by Aesop Rock
#56 From Here We Go Sublime by The Field
#55 You Are Free by Cat Power
#54 Congotronics by Konono No.1
#53 Sound Grammar by Ornette Coleman
#52 Roots & Crowns by Califone
#51 And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out by Yo La Tengo
#50 You & Me by The Walkmen
#49 Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch
#48 Rounds by Four Tet
#47 Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
#46 Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams
#45 Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse
#44 Mass Romantic by The New Pornographers
#43 The Dirty South by Drive-By Truckers
#42 Aman Iman: Water Is Life by Tinariwen
#41 Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? by of Montreal
#40 LIFTED or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground by Bright Eyes
#39 All Hands on the Bad One by Sleater-Kinney
#38 The Glow Part 2 by The Microphones
#37 Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes by TV On The Radio
#36 The Tyranny Of Distance by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
#35 Harmony In Ultraviolet by Tim Hecker
#34 Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
#33 Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
#32 The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian
#31 Beach House by Beach House
#30 Actor by St. Vincent
#29 Simulated Progress by Fieldwork
#28 Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
#27 I Am A Bird Now by Antony and the Johnsons
#26 You Forgot It In People by Broken Social Scene
#25 Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State by Sufjan Stevens
#24 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
#23 The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse
#22 Donuts by Jay Dee aka J Dilla
#21 Microcastle by Deerhunter
#20 The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox
#19 Love and Theft by Bob Dylan
#18 In Rainbows by Radiohead
#17 Boy In Da Corner by Dizzee Rascal
#16 Alligator by The National
#15 Stankonia by Outkast
#14 Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76 by Various Artists
#13 Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros
#12 The Argument by Fugazi
#11 Madvillainy by Madvillain
Glad to see the Soundway comps recognized as well as another vote for Gillian Welch's masterpiece.
Time Out of Mind is a truly great album which I love a lot and will gladly fight with any old Dylan purist or Dylan hater who disagrees with me on its value but it is also a 1997 release and so clearly out of place. The much inferior Love and Theft was a 2001 release...
#10 Funeral by Arcade Fire
#9 Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol
#8 Girls Can Tell by Spoon
#7 Person Pitch by Panda Bear
#6 Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah
#5 Untrue by Burial
#4 Arular by M.I.A.
#3 The Sunset Tree by The Mountain Goats
#2 Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
#1 Is This It by The Strokes
Surprised to say the least. I definitely did not see Is This It being that high for eMu. I also thought I was the only person to rank Girls Can Tell and Separation Sunday as the best for their respective artists.
Indie-rock in the '00s was hardly the same animal as indie-rock two decades before, and much of the blame should probably go to Nirvana. In the '80s, labels like SST and Touch & Go were built on testosterone. But when grunge went multiplatinum in the '90s, rock bands brandishing palpable physicality suddenly qualified as mainstream again, and the bigger indies started adopting a more effete and introverted aesthetic.
Somewhere in this history of the underground, the variety of music seems to have vanished. Indeed, weren't Beat Happening and K Records just as visceral without being as aggressive?
I am NOT impressed with 2005 Yearbook. I understand they gave their editorial writers the direction to have a theme to each year, but this just seems so disjointed. While it's true that little "indie rock" has been very hard over the last decade plus, the fact that the article name drops such a laundry list of top indie acts and then immediately shifts to discussing two or three lesser known harder rocking albums is just confusing. If you only 1000 or so words, either focus on the "bigger indies" and what they moved to from the prior "palpable physicality" or focus solely on the smaller labels that continue to rock on.
Thom - I agree with you (and eMu) on Separation Sunday.
I'm going to spend as much time as I can until the rest of the year revisiting and checking out the albums on these lists. Not that I didn't already know it by heart, but listening to Is This It always takes me back to a really awesome time for me musically. I love that album and am happy to see it get respect.
On to #2 and "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is seriously one of the best songs I've ever heard. DAMN RIGHT I'LL RISE AGAIN!
P.S. I've got 9 of eMusic's top 10 - can you guess which one I'm missing?
@Bad Thoughts, absolutely correct. I wish I could remember which book it was that was talking about Beat Happening specifically. There was a really funny antidote about Calvin Johnson being heckled by Henry Rollins and how Calvin very simply eviscerated Rollins' macho bullshit he was throwing at them, without going into macho poses himself. K Records was every bit as militant, just without the lugheaded bullshit.
Hell, I can take issue with that quote up there just based on SST's catalog at the time. Sure, there was Black Flag, but the Meat Puppets were quite a bit more introspective and less testosterone fulled. And Husker Du was kind of a weird between point, to say nothing of other bands on the roster like Sonic Youth and the Minutemen.
50. Broken Social Scene, You Forgot It In People (2002)
49. Drive-By Truckers, The Dirty South (2004)
48. Mclusky, Do Dallas (2002)
47. Girl Talk, Night Ripper (2006)
46. Midlake, The Trials Of Van Occupanther (2006)
45. The Thermals, The Body, The Blood, The Machine (2006)
44. Devin The Dude, Waitin To Inhale (2007)
43. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca (2009)
42. The Coup, Party Music (2001)
41. The Killers, Hot Fuss (2004)
40. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006)
39. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest (2009)
38. TV On The Radio, Return To Cookie Mountain (2006)
37. Justin Timberlake, Justified (2002)
36. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
35. Clinic, Internal Wrangler (2000)
34. Clipse, Lord Willin (2002)
33. Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlanticism (2003)
32. Fugazi, The Argument (2001)
31. The Streets, Original Pirate Material (2002)
30. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (2005)
29. Basement Jaxx, Kish Kash (2003)
28. Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele (2000)
27. Björk, Vespertine (2001)
26. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (2006)
25. Madvillain, Madvillainy (2004)
24. Beck, Sea Change (2002)
23. Missy Elliott, Miss E So Addictive (2001)
22. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
21. New Pornographers, Mass Romantic (2000)
20. Daft Punk, Discovery (2001)
19. The Strokes, Is This It (2001)
18. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
17. The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
16. Interpol, Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
15. Spoon, Kill The Moonlight (2002)
14. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver (2007)
13. Sigur Rós, Ágætis Byrjun (1999)
12. M.I.A., Kala (2007)
11. The Walkmen, Bows + Arrows (2004)
10. The National, Alligator (2005)
9. Jay-Z, The Blueprint (2001)
8. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)
7. Modest Mouse, The Moon & Antarctica (2000)
6. The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday (2005)
5. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
4. OutKast, Stankonia (2000)
3. Radiohead, Kid A (2000)
2. Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)
1. The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (2001)
Fuck these list-makers like emusic throwing an Ornette Coleman album up there at number fifty in the pathetic attempt to make it look like they're as well-rounded in their listening habits as they brag they are. What a bunch of bullshit. They want the cachet of someone jazz-edgy to give them credibility (or at least feed their sad little need for it) without actually having to go to the trouble of exploring the jazz section of the music store and maybe finding something truly worth celebrating. Ornette Coleman, how sadly predictable. If they exhumed Thelonious Monk's corpse and slammed it over the keys of an untuned piano, they'd probably put that up there as high as thirty, because, well, as all good hipsters know, Monk is cool and it's safe to say he's cool because no one's gonna say he isn't and maybe expose these music listening posers for the phonies they are. Seriously, just stop pretending. If you don't listen to jazz, fine, it's your life, there's plenty of great music to listen to that isn't jazz, but don't throw one or two jazz selections out there like you're being inclusive or anything; you just look ridiculous. Make your damn-ass indie list and learn to live with the fact that you Pitchfork/eMusic/NME listers are as pigeon-holed in your music listening habits as the public you ridicule while drinking down another PBR. Jackasses.
Maybe eMusic's editorial staff liked the Ornette Coleman album. A lot of people did (I have the disc, but have rarely played it; my jazz tastes seem to have stagnated at around 1975, and I don't really "get" Ornette Coleman). I mean, I like jazz a lot, but know next to nothing about jazz this decade. FWIW, I think eMusic is also releasing genre lists, presumably including a jazz list. Also, I'm not convinced that eMusic and Pitchfork's lists are so narrow and pigeon-holed. They both had a lot of indie, sure, but they also had a lot of pop, hip-hop, noise and dance-related genres.
BTW, loved the eMusic list overall.
I also thought I was the only person to rank . . . Separation Sunday as the best for their respective artists.
Separation Sunday has definitely emerged as the preferred Hold Steady album for "hipsters." I prefer Boys & Girls in America, but I love them both.
Nicely put, jonahpwll. I enjoy a good rant now and then, especially when it's well-written. I don't know much about jazz, nor do I pretend to, but some of the albums that show up regularly on these lists and are right in my theoretical wheelhouse baffle me. Like eMu's Number 1, the Strokes. I love very few things in music more than a great rock song: two guitars, bass and drums making some serious noise with a good hook. I should love the Strokes, but that album leaves me lukewarm at best. It's fine, I guess, but the songs don't stick with me and I've never found myself wanting to hear it. I only play it when I see a list like that and think, hey, maybe I should give it another chance. Kid A is another one -- I like Radiohead a lot, but I still think The Bends is the best thing they ever did, followed closely by OK Computer. I probably should give Kid A another listen or two before I write it off, though. On the other hand, that White Stripes album (White Blood Cells) that tops the AV Club list killed me the first time I heard it, and I still love it. My first impression of that band was sealed when I saw them live before I knew anything about them or heard anything they'd recorded, and the show blew me away. I bought White Blood Cells the next day.
You mean 90% of indie (let alone popular music in general) isn't better than all other genres put together?
Jonahphwll, I agree, but I lost might drive to fight this one long ago. Most best-of lists aren't challenging, serving to make people feel good about themselves and what they have (or will have). Of course, if we started to talk about what Jazz should top the list, we would be at odds (the correct answer is Equilibrium.
Maybe eMusic's editorial staff liked the Ornette Coleman album. A lot of people did (I have the disc, but have rarely played it; my jazz tastes seem to have stagnated at around 1975, and I don't really "get" Ornette Coleman). I mean, I like jazz a lot, but know next to nothing about jazz this decade. FWIW, I think eMusic is also releasing genre lists, presumably including a jazz list. Also, I'm not convinced that eMusic and Pitchfork's lists are so narrow and pigeon-holed. They both had a lot of indie, sure, but they also had a lot of pop, hip-hop, noise and dance-related genres.
Sound Grammar is a good album. It's a decent live set of music. I really enjoy Ornette's later stuff. I saw this line-up play at Chicago Symphony Orchestra; it was amazing. But Sound Grammar doesn't make the top 100 of a jazz-only best of the decade list.
As far as emusic and PItchfork lists not being pigeon-holed, the only proof I need to present is that the word 'indie' is being used as a genre in the first place. Indie is based more on image than on music, more on the production of the music than the qualities of the music itself. But whatever, I like Indie music. My tastes often run congruent to those of hipsters. I really don't give a shit about that. I like the music I like, and it has been a sublimely rewarding experience to continue finding more. But that Ornette selection screamed phoniness to me, and that kind of shit gets under my skin. That's the one jazz album they choose to include? Please. A group of indie hipsters throwing around Ornette's name is almost cliche. Like I said, phony.
I seem to be channeling Holden Caulfield.
Well, I used to do my annual "what is eMusic's taste in music?" rant - tongue slightly but not fully in cheek - over on the other boards. The tokenism for classical on the end-of-year-list really showed them up as... not phony exactly, but clearly not comfortable with the genre and happy to cling to a handful of reliably hip (in whatever sense) names. Simone Dinnerstein? Check. Paul Lewis's Beethoven sonatas? Check. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson? Triple check with a cherry on top. If Maria Callas or Jacqueline du Pre had had a new album out you knew they would have been in there too.
I'm relieved they didn't put any classical in the Best of the Decade. That would have been just embarrassing for everyone.
Like eMu's Number 1, the Strokes. I love very few things in music more than a great rock song: two guitars, bass and drums making some serious noise with a good hook. I should love the Strokes, but that album leaves me lukewarm at best. It's fine, I guess, but the songs don't stick with me and I've never found myself wanting to hear it.
How funny you should mention that. Before getting sidetracked by my list rant, I was actually about to ask if anybody out there even listens to "Is This It?" anymore. I mean, I remember thinking it was a decent album when it came out, had some solid energy and all, but I haven't put it back in my stereo for years, and even with them topping all these lists lately, I've still no intention of blowing the dust off that cd case. Is there anybody else out there that still listens to this album regularly. And, if not, how can an album that fails to inspire people to listen to it merely a few years after its release date be considered some sort of great list-topper? I dunno. Maybe there are a bunch of people out there still crazy about this album and the Strokes. Could be one of those generational timing things, just like there are people out there swearing that Nirvana or the Doors have put out the greatest rock album of all time; you just have to be a certain age at a certain stage in your life the first time one of these albums first gets popped into the stereo.
The tokenism for classical on the end-of-year-list really showed them up as... not phony exactly, but clearly not comfortable with the genre and happy to cling to a handful of reliably hip (in whatever sense) names. Simone Dinnerstein? Check. Paul Lewis's Beethoven sonatas? Check. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson? Triple check with a cherry on top. If Maria Callas or Jacqueline du Pre had had a new album out you knew they would have been in there too.
Yes, this is what I'm talking about. Even though I'm coming at it from a jazz angle, it's definitely not relegated specifically to jazz. Well stated.
Of course, if we started to talk about what Jazz should top the list, we would be at odds (the correct answer is Equilibrium.
Shipp is one of those guys that I've never been able to get into despite really kinda wanting to. There's something about the sound in some of his earlier albums (when I first became acquainted to his music) that intrigued me enough to give his music a spin or two. It just never clicked. However, that's the good thing about music. We can keep little lists of music that we want to revisit down the road and see if it clicks then. Shipp is one of those musicians on my list. Who knows, one day I might be running up and down the halls of emusers shouting about how everyone needs to buy Shipp's catalog immediately.
Cheers.
I understand how irksome tokenism can be, but what about the utility of the appearance of that Coleman album (which is partially explained by its Pulitzer win too, I think)? Would either Ornette or "jazz" be served more without its appearance? Is the list's audience served less with it? I use to be bothered more by tokenism, but now that I realize how meaningless the lists are anyway, the tiny differences in utility are the only things I find worth musing about, and that just barely.
Maybe there are a bunch of people out there still crazy about this album and the Strokes. Could be one of those generational timing things, just like there are people out there swearing that Nirvana or the Doors have put out the greatest rock album of all time; you just have to be a certain age at a certain stage in your life the first time one of these albums first gets popped into the stereo.
That's possible, sure, but I'm at least 25 years past that certain age. Nonetheless, I've found plenty of great rock records in the past ten years that I can pull off the shelf and actively enjoy, whether I last played it two weeks or two years ago. I'm sure I could spend 10 minutes going through my music collection and find 30 rock albums from this decade that blow the Strokes out of the water. Try "Zeno Beach" by Radio Birdman or "Soft Targets" by Earl Greyhound, both from 2006, just to name two off the top of my head that haven't shown up on any "best of" lists I've seen.
It's all a matter of taste, of course, and given mine I don't expect to understand the appeal of certain bands (especially some of those "indie" -- whatever that means -- bands that keep showing up on these lists), but the Strokes hype made "Is This It" seem like something I should love. Sometimes you can't really get a feel for a band until you see them live, but I saw the Strokes when they did a short tour right after "Is This It" came out and they were boring. Played the ten or eleven songs on the record, pretty much verbatim, and got off stage. Yawn.
I'll agree that the "token" classical and jazz selections seem forced, if not completely out of place. Personally it doesn't make any sense to me to make a best of list that covers classical and "popular" music and figure jazz should probably be segregated, too. It's one thing on a personal list, but when trying to compile one for a publication of sorts the attempts to seem all inclusive are just silly.
Before getting sidetracked by my list rant, I was actually about to ask if anybody out there even listens to "Is This It?" anymore.
A quick look over at Last.fm shows that 8 of the top 11 tracks for The Strokes come from their debut - "Someday" is listed at #2 with over 15,000 plays last week alone. It has almost 100,000 in the past 6 months. So yes, plenty of people are still listening to it.
Personally I've been too wrapped up in whatever my latest acquisitions are to listen regularly, but it's definitely one that I revisit often.
Comments
- also known as shitgaze.
I love Brownstein's guitar playing.
I hate bearded pseudo-folkies.
I also hate Carrie Brownstein's music criticism. All her posts are derived from the same themes: what Rock 'n' Roll should be, and why Rock 'n' Roll aesthetics should dominate the music industry. As for the beards: fashion is party of Rock 'n' Roll, which she should know as well as anyone else.
I always suspected it was the opposite impulse that drove that selection for eMusic. That is, they knew what hipster publications would likely consider the best-albums-of-the-year, and (perhaps unconsiously), eMusic went in a different direction.
And yeah, these lists are making me appreciate the P2K list even more. It's a very good list. I like the diversity of eMusic's list, actually. I think the selections will get more predictable as we wind through the Top Twenty. HOPING FOR BURIAL'S UNTRUE TO BE THE SURPRISE CHOICE AS EMUSIC'S BEST ALBUM OF THE DECADE (won't happen, tho).
if I had unlimited downloads, I'd certainly give the gaslight a try, but as it is the np's are too rare.
I like the diversity of emu's list too. I really appreciated that about last years year end list too - it's like a list of things they honestly like rather than lockstep with the rest of the hipstics (that's hipster critics - feel free to use it). I'm probably the only one who thinks that some of the sony slections on that list seem a little forced.
clearly no. 68 HAS TO BE the liars drums not dead.
kkkkkriiiist.
after spending numerous grueling minutes pondering and scratching over pitchfork lists throughout the years, I am of the opinion that they are compiled by fish-witted trend peddlers whose minds have been withered by a ruthless drought of original thought.
I do not seem to have any selections from their list; my wife has one; of course, after being with me for 30 years, she has developed a certain level of tolerance for fish-wits.
I am clearly absent of hip (this makes my subjection to boogies awkward and labor intensive); however, I do believe that there are/were many great bands making much great music in the 2000s; unfortunately, the mediums for their exposure are limited and dwindling (thanks a lot emusic), similar to what happened in the 70s after the death of underground radio.
Hey frogkopf, there's the fish(wit) you were looking for in the other thread. Parently it's a stickleback. With no hips.
#59 For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver
#58 Keystone by Dave Douglas
#57 Labor Days by Aesop Rock
#56 From Here We Go Sublime by The Field
#55 You Are Free by Cat Power
#54 Congotronics by Konono No.1
#53 Sound Grammar by Ornette Coleman
#52 Roots & Crowns by Califone
#51 And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out by Yo La Tengo
#50 You & Me by The Walkmen
#49 Time (The Revelator) by Gillian Welch
#48 Rounds by Four Tet
#47 Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend
#46 Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams
#45 Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse
#44 Mass Romantic by The New Pornographers
#43 The Dirty South by Drive-By Truckers
#42 Aman Iman: Water Is Life by Tinariwen
#41 Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? by of Montreal
#40 LIFTED or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground by Bright Eyes
#39 All Hands on the Bad One by Sleater-Kinney
#38 The Glow Part 2 by The Microphones
#37 Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes by TV On The Radio
#36 The Tyranny Of Distance by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
#35 Harmony In Ultraviolet by Tim Hecker
#34 Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
#33 Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
#32 The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian
#31 Beach House by Beach House
#30 Actor by St. Vincent
#29 Simulated Progress by Fieldwork
#28 Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
#27 I Am A Bird Now by Antony and the Johnsons
#26 You Forgot It In People by Broken Social Scene
#25 Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State by Sufjan Stevens
#24 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys
#23 The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse
#22 Donuts by Jay Dee aka J Dilla
#21 Microcastle by Deerhunter
#20 The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox
#19 Love and Theft by Bob Dylan
#18 In Rainbows by Radiohead
#17 Boy In Da Corner by Dizzee Rascal
#16 Alligator by The National
#15 Stankonia by Outkast
#14 Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76 by Various Artists
#13 Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros
#12 The Argument by Fugazi
#11 Madvillainy by Madvillain
Glad to see the Soundway comps recognized as well as another vote for Gillian Welch's masterpiece.
Edited - fixed the Dylan thing.
edit: They replaced it with Love and Theft. And apparently Daniel doesn't like Dylan any more than other great institutions like the Beatles and Jimmy Buffet. Guess there's no accounting for taste.
edit edit: Jimmy Buffet was accidental but funny enough considering it's the music of choice and food of choice for retiree cruises.
#9 Turn On The Bright Lights by Interpol
#8 Girls Can Tell by Spoon
#7 Person Pitch by Panda Bear
#6 Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah
#5 Untrue by Burial
#4 Arular by M.I.A.
#3 The Sunset Tree by The Mountain Goats
#2 Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
#1 Is This It by The Strokes
Surprised to say the least. I definitely did not see Is This It being that high for eMu. I also thought I was the only person to rank Girls Can Tell and Separation Sunday as the best for their respective artists.
Did you notice this comment from eMu's flashback to 2005: Somewhere in this history of the underground, the variety of music seems to have vanished. Indeed, weren't Beat Happening and K Records just as visceral without being as aggressive?
Thom - I agree with you (and eMu) on Separation Sunday.
Craig
On to #2 and "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is seriously one of the best songs I've ever heard. DAMN RIGHT I'LL RISE AGAIN!
P.S. I've got 9 of eMusic's top 10 - can you guess which one I'm missing?
Hell, I can take issue with that quote up there just based on SST's catalog at the time. Sure, there was Black Flag, but the Meat Puppets were quite a bit more introspective and less testosterone fulled. And Husker Du was kind of a weird between point, to say nothing of other bands on the roster like Sonic Youth and the Minutemen.
50. Broken Social Scene, You Forgot It In People (2002)
49. Drive-By Truckers, The Dirty South (2004)
48. Mclusky, Do Dallas (2002)
47. Girl Talk, Night Ripper (2006)
46. Midlake, The Trials Of Van Occupanther (2006)
45. The Thermals, The Body, The Blood, The Machine (2006)
44. Devin The Dude, Waitin To Inhale (2007)
43. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca (2009)
42. The Coup, Party Music (2001)
41. The Killers, Hot Fuss (2004)
40. Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006)
39. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest (2009)
38. TV On The Radio, Return To Cookie Mountain (2006)
37. Justin Timberlake, Justified (2002)
36. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
35. Clinic, Internal Wrangler (2000)
34. Clipse, Lord Willin (2002)
33. Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlanticism (2003)
32. Fugazi, The Argument (2001)
31. The Streets, Original Pirate Material (2002)
30. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (2005)
29. Basement Jaxx, Kish Kash (2003)
28. Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele (2000)
27. Björk, Vespertine (2001)
26. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (2006)
25. Madvillain, Madvillainy (2004)
24. Beck, Sea Change (2002)
23. Missy Elliott, Miss E So Addictive (2001)
22. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
21. New Pornographers, Mass Romantic (2000)
20. Daft Punk, Discovery (2001)
19. The Strokes, Is This It (2001)
18. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
17. The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
16. Interpol, Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
15. Spoon, Kill The Moonlight (2002)
14. LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver (2007)
13. Sigur Rós, Ágætis Byrjun (1999)
12. M.I.A., Kala (2007)
11. The Walkmen, Bows + Arrows (2004)
10. The National, Alligator (2005)
9. Jay-Z, The Blueprint (2001)
8. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)
7. Modest Mouse, The Moon & Antarctica (2000)
6. The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday (2005)
5. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
4. OutKast, Stankonia (2000)
3. Radiohead, Kid A (2000)
2. Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)
1. The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (2001)
BTW, loved the eMusic list overall.
Separation Sunday has definitely emerged as the preferred Hold Steady album for "hipsters." I prefer Boys & Girls in America, but I love them both.
Jonahphwll, I agree, but I lost might drive to fight this one long ago. Most best-of lists aren't challenging, serving to make people feel good about themselves and what they have (or will have). Of course, if we started to talk about what Jazz should top the list, we would be at odds (the correct answer is Equilibrium.
Sound Grammar is a good album. It's a decent live set of music. I really enjoy Ornette's later stuff. I saw this line-up play at Chicago Symphony Orchestra; it was amazing. But Sound Grammar doesn't make the top 100 of a jazz-only best of the decade list.
As far as emusic and PItchfork lists not being pigeon-holed, the only proof I need to present is that the word 'indie' is being used as a genre in the first place. Indie is based more on image than on music, more on the production of the music than the qualities of the music itself. But whatever, I like Indie music. My tastes often run congruent to those of hipsters. I really don't give a shit about that. I like the music I like, and it has been a sublimely rewarding experience to continue finding more. But that Ornette selection screamed phoniness to me, and that kind of shit gets under my skin. That's the one jazz album they choose to include? Please. A group of indie hipsters throwing around Ornette's name is almost cliche. Like I said, phony.
I seem to be channeling Holden Caulfield.
I'm relieved they didn't put any classical in the Best of the Decade. That would have been just embarrassing for everyone.
How funny you should mention that. Before getting sidetracked by my list rant, I was actually about to ask if anybody out there even listens to "Is This It?" anymore. I mean, I remember thinking it was a decent album when it came out, had some solid energy and all, but I haven't put it back in my stereo for years, and even with them topping all these lists lately, I've still no intention of blowing the dust off that cd case. Is there anybody else out there that still listens to this album regularly. And, if not, how can an album that fails to inspire people to listen to it merely a few years after its release date be considered some sort of great list-topper? I dunno. Maybe there are a bunch of people out there still crazy about this album and the Strokes. Could be one of those generational timing things, just like there are people out there swearing that Nirvana or the Doors have put out the greatest rock album of all time; you just have to be a certain age at a certain stage in your life the first time one of these albums first gets popped into the stereo.
Yes, this is what I'm talking about. Even though I'm coming at it from a jazz angle, it's definitely not relegated specifically to jazz. Well stated.
Shipp is one of those guys that I've never been able to get into despite really kinda wanting to. There's something about the sound in some of his earlier albums (when I first became acquainted to his music) that intrigued me enough to give his music a spin or two. It just never clicked. However, that's the good thing about music. We can keep little lists of music that we want to revisit down the road and see if it clicks then. Shipp is one of those musicians on my list. Who knows, one day I might be running up and down the halls of emusers shouting about how everyone needs to buy Shipp's catalog immediately.
Cheers.
That's possible, sure, but I'm at least 25 years past that certain age. Nonetheless, I've found plenty of great rock records in the past ten years that I can pull off the shelf and actively enjoy, whether I last played it two weeks or two years ago. I'm sure I could spend 10 minutes going through my music collection and find 30 rock albums from this decade that blow the Strokes out of the water. Try "Zeno Beach" by Radio Birdman or "Soft Targets" by Earl Greyhound, both from 2006, just to name two off the top of my head that haven't shown up on any "best of" lists I've seen.
It's all a matter of taste, of course, and given mine I don't expect to understand the appeal of certain bands (especially some of those "indie" -- whatever that means -- bands that keep showing up on these lists), but the Strokes hype made "Is This It" seem like something I should love. Sometimes you can't really get a feel for a band until you see them live, but I saw the Strokes when they did a short tour right after "Is This It" came out and they were boring. Played the ten or eleven songs on the record, pretty much verbatim, and got off stage. Yawn.
A quick look over at Last.fm shows that 8 of the top 11 tracks for The Strokes come from their debut - "Someday" is listed at #2 with over 15,000 plays last week alone. It has almost 100,000 in the past 6 months. So yes, plenty of people are still listening to it.
Personally I've been too wrapped up in whatever my latest acquisitions are to listen regularly, but it's definitely one that I revisit often.