This is taking along time! Getting into top 20 territory now….
20. The Streets-Original Pirate Material (2002)
The Observer placed OPM at the top of it’s decade countdown, claiming the album ticks both essential boxes of sounding like it couldn’t come from any other decade, and being unable to imagine the decade without this album. The Observer is right on both accounts. Original Pirate Material is an essential record, with Mike Skinner creating his owm unique blend of UK garage, hip-hop, electronica, grime and indie to soundtrack his stories of life as a youth in London town. He is very astute lyrically throughout the record and this album provides a clear example of how good a storytelling style of lyricism can be. Turn the Page is a wondrous call to arms, a statement of whats to come, Has it Come to This tells “the day in life if a geezer” and Let’s Push Things Forward writhes over muted trumpets. Don’t Mug Yourself is an evocative breakfast scene after a night out, Geezers Need Excitement is an offbeat tale of machoism on a night out whilst It’s Too Late tells of a failing relationship and Weak Become Heroes reminisces of his ecstasy days over an amazing piano loop. The Irony of it all desrves special attention for its genius argument of a drunk vs a stoner, a concept I can understand much better now than when the album was released. Eight years on the album still sounds as good as it did in 2002 and another 8 years from now I expect it to be as good.
Favourite Track: Weak Become Heroes
Sample track: Don’t Mug Yourself video
Metacritic score: 90 (user score 89)
19. The Streets-A Grand Don’t Come for Free (2004)
The Streets sophmore album somehow managed to improve on their debut, linking individual stories into an overarching story arc of the beginning, middle and end of a relationship. It Was Supposed to Be So Easy starts the album off with Skinner failing at every day jobs and eventually losing £1000, the set up for the rest of the story. The album then follows Skinner’s first date (the awkwardly detailed Could Well Be In) and failed attempts at winning back his money (***Not Addicted***) before revealing to the listener of her promiscuous ways, which Skinner puts down to drug hallucination (Blinded by the Lights-one of Skinner’s outstanding productions). We then see Skinner’s idyllic life with his girlfriend (Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way) before they split/take a break (Get Out of My House) and he gets smashed on holiday and checks out a girl all night (Fit But You Know It), before its revealed in Such A Tw*T that he slept with her and regrets it, wanting to get back with his original girlfriend. He then suspects Scott of stealing his coat and shagging his girlfirend, but it’s revealed Dan is the one she’s been with (What is he thinking?), laments the lost relationship (Dry Your Eyes) and finally moves on, finding the grand (Empty Cans). The album uses so many dramatic techniques it could quite easily be a soap or sitcom story, none more so than the dramatic irony used in the listener finding out of Simone’s cheating whilst Skinner is oblivious. It’s Skinner’s realism that wins through and makes this such a success; all the songs are relatable and by Blinded by the Lights (4 tracks in) we empathise with him so much. The supporting cast are outstanding as well; the girl (MC C-Mone) has a horrible voice and is incredibly annoying-that was intentional right? As well as being a great story, most of the songs work equally well as stories about getting pissed, having bad drugs experiences, breaking up or first dates-that is why AGDCFF is so good and deserves it’s place on this list.
Favourite track: Empty Cans (The end of something I did not want to end, the beginning of hard times to come)
Sample track: Fit But You Know It video
Metacritic score: 91 (77 user score)
18. Eminem-The Eminem Show (2002)
It’s a third album that avoids all the pitfalls of third albums: introspective without being self-pitying, expansive in scope without being pompous, exploring new directions without disappearing up its own arse. The NME
Some derided The Eminem Show as a drop in standard after the hip-hop classics of Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP but I would disagree storngly. The Eminem Show is a more mature record, showing greater lyrical intelligence than previous efforts. Marshall retains the direct, militant style that made Marshall Mathers so good, but mixes this with better hooks and perhaps better storytelling, combining the aspects that gained him critical acclaim early in his career and commercial success (at least this side of the pond) later on. White America starts the album off with a distinctly political tone, destroying white american views and raging against restrictions on his freedom of speech, incredibly intelligent song (almost feels like a prequel to Mosh). Further raging comes in Square Dance, pondering terrorism and 9/11. Cleanin’ out my Closet is one of the most powerful songs about his childhood he’s ever written, and Eminem continues with this introspectiveness discussing his rise to fame in Say Goodbye Hollywood and relationship with Hailie and Kim (Hailie’s song). Sing for the Moment uses a brilliant Aerosmith sample and is really something special, writing about misconceptions of rap and himself. A very special album.
Favourite track: Sing for the Moment (or for anyone whose ever been through shit in their lives so they sit and they cry at night, wishing they die til they throw on a rap record, and they sit nd they vibe we’re nothing to you, but we’re the fuckin’ shit in their eyes)
Sample track Without Me video
Metacritic score: 75 (user score 90)
17. Frank Turner-Love, Ire and Song (2008)
Turner’s second album does what it says on the tin, Love, Ire and Song. And can Frank Turner write a love song…He really is a wonderful lyricist, perhaps without the imagery of Oberst or the cryptic nature of early Gibbard, but he writes heartwrenching, intelligent songs about life, songs that the listener can relate to. The album is strong throughout, but the peak is the centerpiece of Better Half (yearning for a partner), Substitute (discussing past relationships and music as a replacement for love) and the title track (a brilliant tale of disollusionment, apathy and a witty political commentary). Awesome tracks are found throughout though, I Knew Prufrock is as defiant as it is inspiring (the lyrics to this song are amazing) and Long Live the Queen is such a personal tale, straight from the heart, that it’s one of the saddest songs i’ve ever heard. Jet Lag caps the album off beautifully, describing his travels away from a girl at home, and longing for past times with her. Turner’s acoustic folk style is brilliant, but his punk influences (gratefully toned down since Sleep is For the Week) are resonant in just the right portion to give the album its necessary energy. I’ve only seen Frank at festivals but he is really is something special live, the passion with which he sings is remarkable.
Favourite song: Love, Ire and Song
Sample track: Photosynthesis video
Metacritic score: none c. 80
16. Bright Eyes-I’m Wide Awake, Its Morning (2005)
Im Wide Awake is a great indie/folk album with lovely acoustic melodies throughout to soundtrack Oberst at his ironic, witty, disulliosioned lyrical best. At The Bottom of Everything is about conforming (We must memorize nine numbers and deny we have a soul, And to this endless race for property and privilege to be won, We must run, we must run, we must run) and We are Nowhere and It’s Now discussing Oberst’s disenchantment and the hypocrisy of life. Lua is stunning, allegedly about drug addiction (listen to the lyrics and it makes sense), Train Uder Water combines imagery of New York with the harsh juxtaposition of a crumbling relationship in a way only the best can. Bright Eyes’ most famous track, First Day of My Life, is a tenderly beautiful tribute to the beginnings of a relationship, looking back on what was. The high quality doesn’t drop shown by Land Locked Blues (a blend of a dying relationship with Conor’s comments on American society and notion of freedom), and Poision Oak (a stunner, possibly about an old childhood friend who was a closeted gay/transexual who ran away or killed themself?-very cryptic). Oberst really is a modern day Dylan, the album is beatiful from start to finish, and each song is like a puzzle for the listener to unravel or get out what they can. Conor releases his last album under the Bright Eyes moniker next year…
Favourite song: Poison Oak
Sample track First day of my life video
Metacritic score: 85 (78 user score)
15. Bright Eyes-Fevers and Mirrors (2000)
It was very difficult to choose one of these two albums over the other, so I chose to place them side by side. Fevers and Mirrors slightly edges I’m Wide Awake, purely for the raw emotion shown in Conor’s voice. Over the five years between the two albums, Oberst’s voice became much more refined, and on Fevers and Mirrors his voice aches with adolescent pain. Lyrically the album is very dark and bitter with themes of fever and strife running throughout. The album also discusses the distrortion of introsepction, especially in A Scale, A Mirror… where Oberst states “I know a disease that these Doctors can’t treat. You contract it the day you accept all you see is a mirror and mirror is all it can be“. The Calendar Hung Itself is a disturbingly jealous tale of a stolen love, Conor screeches “Does he kiss your eyelids in the morning, When you start to raise your head?”. Something Vague and The Movement of a Hand describe alienation/depression and a movement away from depression respectively. The album is a haunting piece of music, about loneliness, alienation, depression and disillilusionment-a huge achievement for a 19/20 year old Oberst.
Favourite Track: The Calendar Hung Itself…
Sample track: No singles, but here is Something Vague live
metacritic score: none (c. 75) weirdly enough Pitchfork gave it a mere 5.4 but still chose it for its 200 albums of the decade hmmm….
14. Jay-Z-The Blueprint (2001)
The Blueprint was infamously released on September 11th 2001, yet in a week which tore through the heart of America, 426,000 copies were sold, an astonishing achievement. imagine what it would have sold had people not been terrified to leave their homes? The Blueprint is an incredibly important hip-hop record not just because of its assertion of Jay’s quality and ability to make a flawless record, but also because it’s promotion of Just Blaze and Kanye’s sampling talents and style. Whether you like him or not, Kanye has been a dominant force in hip-hop for the last 6+ years, with his trademark soul samples first showcased here. His productions here really are immense, soundtracking Takeover, IZZO, Heart of the City and Never Change. Enough about the producers though, it’s Jay’s ability and dynamism that makes the Blueprint. He goes hard (apologies for the rap terminology) to extreme levels on Takeover, in a way I haven’t ever heard him repeat, ripping through Nas and Mobb Deep as if they were mere dust on his jacket. Pitchfork describes his imperial nature throughout: “What holds it together is Jigga’s overwhelming self-assuredness– the kind of justified confidence you can imagine witnessing from a world conqueror or cult leader“. It’s annoyingly how easily he glides over these beats. Only Renegade breaks with the aforementioned production style, handing Eminem the decks, creating an awesome track between the two biggest rappers alive. As he said on Hola Hovito, If I ain’t better than B.I.G./ I’m the closest one, and he was and is still right.
Favourite track: Takeover (its on another level)
Sample track: Girls, Girls, Girls video-the lyrics are so funny for this, such a great track
Metacritic score: 88 (user score 83)
13. Coldplay-A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
ARBTTH is a magnificent follow up to an almost perfect debut for Coldplay, establishing them as one of the biggest bands on the world, headlining Glastonbury off the back of only their second album to critical acclaim. Whilst Parachutes had a more timid acoustic sound, A Rush of Blood feels bigger, bolder and more confident. I actually think Chris Martin is a very good songwriter, so he may not write about the falling state of Britain or include incredibly dark imagery, but he writes outstanding poignant songs about life and relationships, dismissed by some as soppy, but actually very sweet and not sickly. A Rush of Blood is full of tear jerkers; The Scientist is the story of a lover dying, Warning Sign is about the start of a relationship breaking down and realisation of mistakes and Green Eyes is a lovely appreciation of a partner. The title track is ambiguous (i think it describes Martin feeling lost after the end of a relationship), as is Amsterdam (possibly someone regretting past mistakes and coming to the end of their youth?). The upbeat songs on the album are uproarious and euphoric, especially Clocks which is a brilliant song. The song is just a piano loop, but its incredibly emotive and sounds so free. It took the band one album longer than most to inevitably dip, and dip they did with X & Y, but they returned with Viva la Vida rising up somewhere near the standard they had set with Parachutes and here.
Favourite track: Warning Sign
Sample track: Clocks video
metacritic score: 80 (85 user score)
12. Bloc Party-Silent Alarm (2005)
Kele has said it’s important for the listener to make their own mind up as to the meaning of his lyrics, but admits the album tries to emphasise an existential pointless in life with themes of hopelessness and helplessness throughout. I’ve heard Like Eating Glass perceived as a song about religious decay, seemingly pretty sound. Helicopter is an immense damning of American culture and lifestyle of commercialisation and overconsumption, “stop being so American”. Positive Tension is genius, reportedly written after seeing a queue for Pop Idol or similar, about the horror of constant conformity. Other highlights include the epic This Modern Love, a painful love story, and So Here we Are (about an inescapable failed relationship that keeps repeating, or returning to the same person over and over?). Throughout, the music is enticing and exciting in equal measure with Helicopter, Positive Tension, Luno and She’s Hearing Voices cathartically driven by Matt T0ng’s outstanding srumming and Kele’s yelps, and Blue Light and This Modern Love by Russell Lissacks soft guitar playing. It’s a sad story of life as an 18-20 year old. The intelligence and drive here really set the band apart from the likes of Franz Ferdinand et al.
Favourite track: Positive Tension (why do you have to get so fucking useless?)
Sample track: Helicopter video
Metacritic score: 82 (88 user score)
11. Frightened Rabbit-The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)
Their jangly melodies claw their way inside your brain just the same, making them latest in a long line of Glasgow bands to effortlessly combine celebratory sonics and miserablist lyrics into something singular. Pitchfork
The Midnight Organ Fight was listened to after a huge amount of hype I read on the Death Cab forum about them, and in preparation for an end of year round up on this very blog. I immediately liked the album and it was clear that the band are truly something special, but the album has only got better on every listen since, moving from good to great to brilliant to epic. Musically, they are really very good, from the upbeat drum driven Old Old Fashioned, to the acoustic Poke and heavier Keep Yourself Warm. Hutchinson’s lyrics are better though, better than most other lyricists on this list. The album’s title is a euphemism for sex, and Hutchinson described it as “pretty relationshipy”, seemingly quite an understatement. The Modern Leper is such an epic love song, so well written setting a precedent that the rest of the album upholds. Hutchinson really can write about any aspect of a relationship, whether sex (Fast Blood), getting over someone (but with the knowledge that you still would) (I Feel Better), jealousy at an ex’s new lover (Good Arms vs Bad Arms) or denial at the end of a relationship? (Poke). Old Old Fashioned is a lovely, poppy song with a call to “give me the soft soft static” of radio over modern times of tv and uncommunication and Hutchinson pondering suicide in Floating on the Forth. Without the upbeat poppy guitars the band would be incredibly emo (not that they aren’t already) and I would have no intention to listen to them. It’s the blend of Hutchinson’s depressed lyrics and the bands great music that make this a special album.
Favourite track: Poke
Sample track: Good arms vs Bad arms
Metacritic score 80 (92 user score)
top 10 to come probably later today…
A colleague today told me she was shocked that Susan Boyle had the best first week sales of any album this year. In fact, she was appalled, and wondered aloud who ever buy her album.