2003
is maybe a high water mark for pop-rock from the indie rockers. The New Pornographers and the Shins both put
out really excellent old-school pop-rock albums (harmonies, big hooks, rockin’
but not in am aggressive punk/metal way – think Cheap Trick, or various other
post-Beatles guitar pop bands). The two
bands also sound very much like each other, though I’d give a
slight edge to the New Pornos: multiple songwriters give a bit more variety,
and multiple singers help with harmonies.
The Shins probably have a bit more coherent lyrics, not that that’s
an essential component for a style of music that lives and dies on the
hooks. I suppose neither is too far from
the Super Furry Animals’ core sound, though the SFA add a lot
more to their sound (and have much more coherent lyrics). This year they’ve doubled down on both the prog &
techno, and added in a new strain of steel-guitar country.
Last
time around, I described Death Cab for Cutie as very similar to the Shins in
sound, and even started to warm up to them a bit. That all stops this year. In their core sonic elements, they’re
not so far gone, but they’re dirge-y instead of hooky, and
self-pitying like they want to be the new Elliott Smith. But while Elliott Smith was fantastic
lyrically, if you don’t want to slap Ben Gibbard after he
whinges about how “the glove compartment is inaccurately
named” because it has photos of his old girlfriend rather than
gloves, you either a) haven’t graduated from high school yet or b) are
Zoey Deschanel. Not any better is
Gibbard’s synth/IDM side project.
(IDM, by the way is Intelligent Dance Music: read dance music with wimpy
beats you can't actually dance to; I don't really see the point either...)
Elsewhere
in indie, the synths are really rising to prominence, as acts move to ape the 80s
much like 90s alt bands aped the 70s.
Most explicit (and also best, this year) are the Dandy Warhols, who
actually bring on a former Duran Duran-er to produce. The hipster poseurs over at Pitchfork slagged
them for being poseurs, which neatly misses the point that they’re
fundamentally a glam-rock band, and nobody wants a glam-rock band that’s
not artificial & plastic. All that
matters is that the Dandy’s Welcome
to the Monkey House is fun as hell, absolutely drenched in retro synths,
but also big, Bowie-style hooks.
The
Flaming Lips are less revival-focused on a pair of EPs this year, and more
interested in mixing modern techno sounds into their mix. Of course, being EPs instead of proper
albums, the songs this year are pretty much either outtakes or (wholly
unnecessary) remixes, so the Lips are definitely in a holding pattern, albeit
one that suggests that their new look is one they can sustain. Also playing around with synths, and
straddling the border between indie pop and dance punk are Phoenix, who debut
this year. That they can sound a bit
like Daft Punk is unsurprising, as their guitarist was formerly in the band
that would become Daft Punk, but elsewhere they sound like they owe a lot more
to Air's loungetronica (an don one track early Pavement). More than anything, they're another in a long
line of indie-poppers reclaiming AM Gold, though.
The other major scene
within indie is dance-punk, which you know is starting to become a real
movement because the Johnny-come-latelys are starting to graft dance beats onto
their bog-standard indie rock in a bid for au currant cache (this year, Moving
Units). Among the actual movers &
shakers, the Rapture put out their debut.
They definitely were originators of this scene, but their album is a less
than inspiring affair, all warmed over Public Image impressions and tepid thin
beats. None of this stuff ever really
swung, but for the Rapture especially, dancing seems more like a theoretical
concept than a real thing. For music you
can actually dance to this year, it’s hip-hop or bust.
Or the Electric Six. Grouped with the dance-punks (and probably
getting some exposure from being accidentally trend-adjacent), they're really a
disco-metal band that takes both halves of the equation seriously. Though that’s all they take seriously. So as though Judas Priest’s
Turbo really was influential, but
also had a sense of humor. Most
importantly, not only does it rock, and swing, but Fire! is one of the funniest albums in my collection. Just the titles, like “Naked Pictures
(of Your Mother)” or “Electric Demons In Love,”
give you a sense of the type of humor on display. Also my favorite lyric of the year is,
hands-down, “who elected you judge & jury in the body of a beautiful
girl//I suspect heavy gerrymandering in the singles bar.” I suppose if you don’t find it
funny, it’d lose a lot of its charm, but you’d be missing
out on a gem. The world emphatically
needs a band like the Electric Six.
Of
course, the last thing the world needs is another
band like the Electric Six, which leaves the Darkness in an unfortunate
position: also more joke-metal, though more hair-metal focused, but not as
funny as the Electric Six, nor as clever.
Also, it was never quite clear whether they were serious power-metal
fans or having a joke at the expense of the music (while the Electric Six
always seemed genuine in their love of the music). Regardless, the Darkness are just one of
several bands in the garage/new rock wave that show a decided classic rock
influence. Also new (and more clearly of
the garage rock scene) are the oft-maligned Jet and the severely overrated
Kings of Leon. The Kings of Leon are
actually better than I remember, sounding like a rootsier Strokes, although I
can testify that they were terrible live.
Nevertheless, like the Strokes, more hype than substance, as the songs
themselves are just pretty good, but not outstanding. Jet, by contrast, are probably better than
their reputation. Unabashedly
derivative, yes, but derivative of good influences, like Iggy Pop, John Lennon,
and AC/DC. Ultimately, they have more in
common with the Rapture (and the Darkness) than their critics would concede, as
all three are basically just straight revivalists. At least Jet kick up a credible ruckus.
Among
the returning garage-rockers, the White Stripes cement their position as the
best of this scene, with another ambitious sprawl of an album, this time
sounding even more like a two-person Zeppelin with prominent country leanings
(vs. the more Sabbath-derived heaviness on the last one). Not a radical change, but some solidly
discernible growth, into more country-heavy territory. Certainly more growth than the Strokes, who
pretty much just repeat themselves on their follow-up. Nothing you haven’t heard if you’ve
heard their debut, but if you liked their debut, it’s not
significantly different in quality either.
Maybe a touch more New Wave in their sound, with the Edge-style treated
guitars to sound like keyboards. Over in
the UK, the Libertines are also back, but only with an EP that doesn’t
significantly modify their sound form before.
I’m more forgiving of the Libertines, but only because 1) it’s
an EP, and 2) I like them better anyway.
Finally
among the indie kids is the little-heard debut EP of the Arcade Fire. Already they sound pretty darn solid, like a
better version of (fellow Canadians) Broken Social Scene’s big
orchestrated sound, but in the service of real songs, rather than Broken Social
Scene’s rather aimless tracks.
Still, they’ll be worth paying a lot more attention
to starting soon…
So
that’s the newer groups.
Turning to older groups, it’s a pretty strong year. As the indie kids rediscover the post-punk
80s, several of the artists that were actually there are putting out entirely
worthwhile records this year. Joe
Strummer’s last posthumous album is probably his best, even if some of
the tracks still have what I suspect are early versions of the lyrics; at least
I hope “Igot a busy day, I’m wearing a vest” wasn’t
meant to be a real lyric. Regardless,
this is the album that’s most likely to appeal to Clash fans,
as Joe tries his hand at reggae and punk again, but also includes some of the
best of his more electronica-type experiments (esp. “Midnight Jam”). Joe even gets to sing his own eulogy, the indented-for-Johnny
Cash “Long Shadow.”
A thoroughly fitting last word for one of the absolute best of the Class
of ’77.
Elsewhere
among those active in the world of post-punk, there’s more good
stuff. King Crimson of course were
active before post-punk, but the Crimson that’s around these days is the post-punk
lineup. Though this year they sound like
a harder version of the Red
lineup. Among the real post-punks, Wire
disappointed some people when they followed up last year’s comeback EPs
with a studio album that’s half “best of the EPs” and half new
tracks, but those new tracks are at least as good as the EP tracks, including
one (“Being Watched”) which reintroduces pummeling
dance-style beats to good effect.
Combined with their harder comeback sound, though, it ends up closer to
Primal Scream than Wire in the 80s.
Better
still, though, is the Fall’s latest, the aptly named Real New Fall LP. Fall fans are a contentious lot, with
non-overlapping lists of the band’s best & worst, but there’s
a real consensus around this one, and with good reason. The Fall haven’t sounded this focused in their attack
in awhile, still pursuing their garage-techno sound and making a record that
can stand alongside their 80s classics.
I should also note that it’s abundantly obvious to me now that
McLusky aren’t neo-garage affiliates, but rather are died-in-the-wool Fall
followers. This revelation also
coincides with me thinking of them more fondly this year. Any band that loves the Fall can’t
be all bad.
The
Fall have sort of generally surfaced as a bigger influence than I gave them
credit for over the course of this project.
I heard them in Pearl Jam back in the day (almost a decade ago), and I
definitely hear them in Radiohead this year (esp. on “Myxomatosis”). Radiohead generally seem to agree with me
that Amnesiac was better than Kid A, as Hail to the Thief sounds like the former more than the latter,
albeit with fewer song fragments. Not a
dramatic shift, therefore, but a solid demonstration that they have more to say
in their new electro-prog style (and some of that is a wave of cryptic
anti-Bush statements).
Sadly,
Blur’s parallel attempts at an electro-prog style fall short this
year. Damon Albarn apparently is like
Eric Clapton; capable of phenomenal work when driven to excel by a
collaborator, but self-indulgent and uninspired left to his own devices. In Gorillaz, Albarn’s slew of
collaborators fill this role, and Graham Coxon used to do the same in
Blur. But Coxon quits Blur this year,
leaving only one track on Think Tank
with him on it. So unsurprisingly it’s
one of the two keepers from the album, the other being the Phil Daniels spoken
word hidden track that updates his similar guest spot on “Parklife”
to a grimmer and more techno-driven 21st century. The rest of the album’s sonically
not too far from their last couple of singles, but a lot less compelling than “Music
Is My Radar.” It’s
a stew of jammy prog-rock, not unlike Phish with more ambitious arrangements
(horns, electronica flourishes), a dash of punk, and an air of melancholy
borrowed from the Specials. But Phish’s
comparable take on jammy prog was helped greatly by the virtuoso playing, and
Blur have now lost the only member who was better than average (and Albarn
subbing in by looping his own rudimentary guitar parts is a poor
substitute). One hope that the Olympics
reunion prompts the band to return with another album, as this is a
disappointing way to finish. Sonically ambitious,
but uninspired.
Over
in the US, the alt-rock survivors are similarly not particularly inspired. Jane’s Addiction return out of nowhere, but
the results are nothing to really write home about. The Stone Temple Pilots also close out their
run with a greatest-hits-bait single, but it’s the weakest of their singles since at
least the Purple days. Better, but no more original, are Rancid,
with another of their shout-y paeans to brotherhood. This is really the first album where Rancid
aren’t pushing their sound in new directions, and it’s
also (probably not coincidentally) their last for almost a decade. But it’s just more punk rock, much like the
Dropkick Murphys’ stuff this year is just more hardcore.
A
bit better are the oldest of the alt-country bands (or, in Wilco’s
case, the successor of one of the oldest of the alt-country bands). Regardless, the Jayhawks and Wilco continue
their parallel development by both returning to a more orthodox alt-country
sound this year. For the Jayhawks, this
is a return to their classic sound, and (like Rancid) the last we’ll
hear from them for awhile. We’ll
hear a bit more from Wilco, who follow up Yankee
Hotel Foxtrot with an EP that basically sounds like the YHF songs with the electronica
production treatment removed; so pretty stripped roots-rock, though that’s
a style that Wilco are pretty good at.
Also stripped, but considerably more ambitious is Neil Young, who puts
out a concept album/rock opera, which in Young terms basically means that his
rambling story-songs connect between the tracks. Ambitious in concept (and I believe it was a
multimedia project), thought the actual songs aren’t half as
inspired as his 90s rockers. Between this
year’s concept album, and last year’s soul-tribute, the ‘00s
for Young are shaping up to be another wandering decade like the 80s.
Finally
turning to hip-hop, a pretty solid year overall. First of all, this year’s
summer jam was one of the best in recent memory, Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s
“Crazy
in Love,” wherein both decree how much they love Jay-Z. A monster single, though undoubted
overshadowed by Outkast’s two-headed monster “Hey
Ya”/”The Way You Move.” When acts put out the album of their career,
there are a couple of responses they can take to follow it up. They can do a carbon copy, but Outkast are
too good for that. They can do an
expansion, but they did that already, following up Aquemeni with Stankonia. They can start releasing solo albums,
KISS-style. And they can put out a
sprawling double-sized album, shades of Exile
on Main St. or Sandinista! So Outkast split the difference on last two, putting
out a double-album that’s really two solo albums. Both clearly have a funk icon on the brain,
as André 3000’s The
Love Below is his take on a Prince record, while Big Boi’s
Speakerboxx is a modern version of a
Parliament album. The Love Below is certainly the more ambitious, including rock
songs, jazz jams, funk workouts, and even hoary bits of vaudeville comedy. The highs on this record are phenomenal,
though it’s also a bit uneven. Speakerboxx, on the other hand, is more
of a straight hip-hop record, though that undersells it a bit, as it’s
probably the finest hip-hop record to come out of Atlanta barring only Stankonia and possibly Big Boi’s
own Sir Lucious Left Foot. Also, being in The Love Below’s shadow makes it easy to overlook how
innovative Big Boi also was/is, leaving him tagged as the “conventional”
one, a tag that would stick until his proper solo debut. But make no mistake, this is a
state-of-the-art hip-hop album.
Elsewhere
in hip-hop, it’s a good year for regions outside of the conventional East and
West Coast hotbeds. Staying in the South,
the Nappy Roots follow up their debut with another record that’s
very similar in style, but for whatever reason just not nearly as compelling
(probably the old “a decade to write your first album, six
months to write your second” problem). But this is also the year that Bubba Sparxx
bursts on the scene. Unfairly tagged as
a “hillbilly Eminem,” but excellent nevertheless, Bubba
benefits from what might be Timbaland’s most innovative production work,
fusing his conventional style with bluegrass seemingly on loan from O Brother, Where Art Thou? The end result recalls slightly the Nappy
Roots (at least insofar as both are far more proud of being ‘country’
than most in the conventionally urban hip-hop world), but really has no
parallels anywhere else in either hip-hop or music generally. Outside of the South, there’s
Atmosphere in Minneapolis, who’s good but probably the unfortunate origin
of the emo-rap style that’ll culminate in Drake. And in the UK, in a sign that the indigenous
UK scene is bigger than the Streets, Dizzee Rascal first makes some waves
(though tellingly on a Basement Jaxx track, showing how the UK scene owes a lot
more to techno than to old-school hip-hop).
And
there are some records that are just manna for the hardcore hip-hop heads. A couple of old favorites return. Lyrics Born is back with a solo album that
keeps the basic Blackalicious sonic template, though the songs are somewhat
lacking (along with Rancid and the Strokes, this is kind of a theme this
year). The flow remains outstanding,
though. Supergroup Hieroglyphics are
also back, but I’ll mention them more below.
Among the newer acts, underground-favorite producers J. Dilla and Madlib
collaborate on the Jaylib project, which has (as is to be expected) excellent
beats, but some serious deficiencies among the guest rappers. J. Dilla’s own solo set will benefit a lot from
being just a straight-up instrumental album.
Nevertheless, a gem of production.
Finally, the first appearance in my collection of one of the great MCs
of the new century (and a fine producer as well). MF Doom owes a lot to Kool Keith, but has his
own fantastically clever lyrics (probably more coherent than Keith) and a
fantastic & original flow (I’ve characterized his chunky delivery in
the past as ‘anti-flow,’ but it’s undeniably effective). If nothing else, I’ve never heard
anyone quite like Doom.
Song of the
Year: Outkast (but really André
3000) – “Hey Ya.”
As if there was ever even another contender. It’s probably the song of the decade as
well. You know this song, everybody
knows this song, and everybody loves this song.
A monster hit that deserved to be, making rock for the hip-hop crowd
& hip-hop for the rock crowd all in a single song.
Album of
the Year: Two contenders this
year. Going in, I thought for sure it would
be the New Pornographers’ Electric
Version, and it’s both probably their best and one of
the finest pure pop-rock records I’ve heard since Tom Petty’s
prime. On the other hand, the Electric
Six’s Fire is a whole
lot of fun, and I’d be hard pressed to deny that I looked forward to each and
every one of its tracks coming up on shuffle.
Artist Most
Benefiting from Reevaluation: Hieroglyphics. This is their second album, but their first
album came out amid an embarrassment of riches for hip-hop. This time I’m really able to appreciate the
excellent beats, and the way that, in the manner of all old-school-style
hip-hop albums, it’s a concept album about how great at
rapping the various members are.
Artist Most
Diminished in Reevaluation: The
Postal Service. At the time, I was
thoroughly mystified at why people were praising Death Cab so much, when they
were so mediocre. So I glommed onto the
Postal Service, because at least the backing music was a bit more
innovative. But upon listening again,
the faults (really, really whiny self-pitying lyrics) outweigh the virtues
(moderately innovative beats).
Album List
Andre 3000 - Wedding Songs
Arcade Fire - Us Kids Know
Atmosphere - Seven's Travels
Belle & Sebastian - Misc.
Billy Bragg - Must I Paint You A Picture?: The
Essential Billy Bragg
Blur - Misc.
Blur - Think Tank
Bob Dylan - Masked & Anonymous
Bob Dylan - Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs
Bruce Springsteen - Essential Rarities
Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance
Daft Punk - Musique Vol 1
Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
Dropkick Murphys - Misc.
Dropkick Murphys - The Singles Collection, Vol. 2
Edwyn Collins | Orange Juice - A Casual
Introduction 1981/2001
Elliott Smith - Misc.
Hieroglyphics - Full Circle
Iron Maiden - Misc.
Jane's Addiction - Up From The Catacombs: The Best
Of Jane's Addiction
Jaylib - Champion Sound
Jet - Get Born
Joe Strummer - Streetcore
King Crimson - In The Studio 1995-2003
King Crimson - Live 1994-2003
Kings Of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood
Lyrics Born - Later That Day...
Mclusky - Mcluskyism
MF Doom - Vaudeville Villain (Viktor Vaughn)
Mitch Hedberg - Mitch All Together
Nappy Roots - Wooden Leather
Neil Young - Greendale
Outkast - Speakerboxxx
Outkast - The Love Below
Pearl Jam - Christmas Singles
Phoenix - United
Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
Primal Scream - Misc.
Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
Rancid - Misc.
Randy Newman - The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1
Richard Thompson - Misc.
Ringo Starr - Photograph: The Very Best Of Ringo
Starr
RZA - Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Stone Temple Pilots - Thank You
Super Furry Animals - Phantom Power
Super Furry Animals - Super Furry Animals Songbook
The Dandy Warhols - Welcome To The Monkey House
The Electric Six - Fire!
The Fall - 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39
Golden Greats
The Fall - The Real New Fall LP (formerly 'Country
on the Click')
The Flaming Lips - Ego Tripping At The Gates Of
Hell [EP]
The Flaming Lips - Fight Test EP
The Jayhawks - Music From The North Country: The
Jayhawks Anthology
The Libertines - Time For Heroes - The Best Of The
Libertines
The New Pornographers - Electric Version
The Postal Service - Give Up
The Rapture - Echoes
The Saltash Serenaders - Demos From The Next
County
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
The Strokes - Room On Fire
The White Stripes - Elephant
Wilco - More Like the Moon
Wire - Misc.
Wire - Send
Yo La Tengo - Misc.
Yo La Tengo - Prisoners Of Love
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