For Discussion: My Albums of 2003

[rf_ucsd]

First, the reason why I'm posting this:

 

1. I want to find out what people have listened to this year. I want to round out my listening interests and experiences, and I feel that posting a list like this to tell you what I like and how much I liked it you'll be more likely to take an avid interest in this topic. I want to hear your suggestion, get the music, and be able to say "Yeah, they were right."

 

2. I want a good discussion, and while it's not a fact I love, giving people something they can disagree with is a great way to stimulate a discussion. I actually look forward to the "Who can you rate X ahead of Y?"

 

3. I am incredibly pretentious.

 

OK, my personal rules for this thread:

 

1. While I will discuss my choices (the whys of the rankings), I'll try not to comment on your personal suggestions. I want you to feel free to suggest anything to me without fear of ridicule.

 

Frankly, I want a good discussion, good questions, and good suggestions:

 

1. Hail to the Thief, Radiohead

2. Elephant, The White Stripes

3. The Black Album, Jay-Z

4. Fever to Tell, The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

5. De-Loused in the Comatorium, The Mars Volta

6. Think Tank, Blur

7. Audioslave, Audioslave

8. The Diary of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys

9. Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins

10. The Owners, Gang Starr

11. 12 Memories, Travis

12. Kish Kash, Basement Jaxx

13. Speakerboxx/The Love Below, OutKast

14. Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian

15. Get Rich or Die Trying, 50 Cent

16. Baby I'm Bored, Evan Dando

17. The Soft.Lightes, The Incredible Moses Leroy

18. The Headphone Masterpiece, Cody Chestnutt

19. Heavier Things, John Mayer

20. Phrenology, The Roots

Also heard: Show Me Your Tears (Frank Black), Worldwide Underground (Erykah Badu), Clone (The Neptunes), Ether Song (Turin Brakes), Mary Star of the Sea (Zwan), Life for Rent (Dido), Sumday (Grandaddy), Elephunk (Black Eyed Peas), Want One (Rufus Wainright), Folklore (Nelly Furtado), Room on Fire (The Strokes), Afterglow (Sarah McLaughlin), Stop All the World Now (Howie Day), Too Hot for T.V. (Da Band)

[rf_ucsd]

ahem

[Valleyboy]

ah, i like your list. It's good to see blur's think tank up there, cos it's my fav 2003 album. and yay, radiohead's httt at #1, that's great. ooh, and travis 12 memories really was a cool album!

I don't really know some of the bands you listed though, like Cody Chestnutt, Gang Starr and The Shins, so i can't say what i think of em.

Now let's see... i didn't like audioslave's album, so i wouldn't put em into my top 20... and the stroke's room on fire... man, it should be top 5. give it a few more listens cos i'm sure you'll luv it.

Ohh yea, the suggestions... Okay... you need some muse in your life... (yea, i remembered that when i saw your post on the muse thread. lol) try to get their old albums too, cos they're great. and... oh, damien rice is great too. some of my fav songs: volcano, i remember and prague.

[rf_ucsd]

thanks for the post ... i'm gonna get that muse album ... and thanks for reminding me about damien rice. he was in san diego not too long ago but i didn't get to go. i really regret it ... but when i get those and listen to them i'll let you know.

 

regarding audioslave, i thought that album really brought back a kind of music that had been missing for the last five years. you had bands like creed, matchbox 20, nickleback, et al taking rock music too main stream while other bands like the red hot chili peppers and live followed as their matured. all the newer rock bands, doing rap-rock, are going a different way. audioslave stepped right into a place where soundgarden used to be. sings like "like a stone," "cochise," "show me how to live," and "i am the highway" are all really good songs (i'm probably missing some more), and there are no bad songs. they showed that music is not only still viable, but still artistic. chris cornell's vocals are unmatched, and tom morello's guitar parts are truly unique.

 

i'll listen to the strokes again on your recommendation ... hopefully, you'll give audioslave another chance. the thing about the strokes album: i listened to that whole thing twice and nothing jumped out. it was a big let down for me. but maybe now, but a little removed, would be a better time to give it another chance.

 

but, fwiw, i don't know many people who were really happy with it ... it seems like their moment in the sun is fading.

[rf_ucsd]

also ... valleyboy ... i would recommend The Shins to you, given what your tastes seem to be. The other two groups you didn't recognize are hip-hop acts.

[Corner Kid]

reminds me of the list in the new Rolling Stone. Ever considered being a music journalist?

[rf_ucsd]

within the next two months i'm going to be setting up a web stie that has music and movie reviews. hopefully the site will also serve as a launching space for local san diego artists to get exposure. but if all my plans go well, that will be going by march.

[rf_ucsd]

wow ... this muse album is real good. real good. i'm only into the fifth song, but "Sing for Absolution" was really good and "Stockholm Syndrome" is ...

 

really good. :)

 

 

I finished listening to the Ludacris album and I slotted it in at 18, which means that The Roots got knocked out and, since I'm trying to listen to as much 2003 music as possible, Ludacris's album is probably not long for the Top 20 ...

 

 

... especially considering this Muse album is going to knock it down a peg.

 

Better check the release date on it.

[rf_ucsd]

Wow ... that was good.

I had to slide that in right under Blur at #7.

Wow! Awesome recommendation.

[Professor Peedston]

you can go ahead and knock the roots out, because that album was actually released in late 2002 :P

 

and here's my top 10:

 

1. The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra La La Band – “This is our Punk Rock,” Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing

2. Four Tet – Rounds

3. Do Make Say Think – Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn

4. Mogwai – Happy Songs For Happy People

5. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief

6. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

7. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People

8. Super Furry Animals – Phantom Power

9. The Mars Volta – Deloused in the Comatorium

10. Outkast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

 

runners up (because i don't feel like ordering all the way to 20 or even 15):

 

Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress

The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun

Grandaddy - Sumday

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Kraftwerk - Tour de France Sountracks

The Postal Service - Give Up

 

Disappointments of the year:

1. Audioslave (self-titled)

2. Liz Phair (self-titled)

3. Zwan - Mary Star of the Sea

4. The Fire Theft (self-titled)

 

everything else i listened to:

 

Cave In – Antenna

Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism

Elvis Costello – North

Blur – Think Tank

Jonny Greenwood – Bodysong

Steve Burns – Songs for Dustmites

Travis – 12 Memories

Ryan Adams – Rock N Roll

The Strokes – Room on Fire

White Stripes – Elephant

Jay-Z – Black Album

Turin Brakes - Ether Song

50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Trying

 

and finally, Honorary #1 Album:

The Beatles - Let It Be... Naked

[MrsBerry]

Well, don´t have a top 10, but my fave album from 2003 is Reality, by David Bowie. He still can make awesome records.. You should listen to that one :)

[FEAR]

I thought zwan mary star of the sea was a great album not pumpkins but happier I loved it

[rf_ucsd]

It seems to be a commonality that people think that Audioslave was a disappointment. Obviously, I disagree. Why do people think this, and what were you expecting?

[rf_ucsd]

Regarding Audioslave

Upon reflection ... the album is good once you remove the hype

 

I think back to when I first heard Audioslave' album. It's true: I was also disappointed. I was expecting more. When you think about rock's best vocalist joining an established, accomplished band you naturally develop high expectations. But no, this album doesn't reach the levels of Superknown or The Battle of Los Angeles, the works of Soundgarden and Rage .. that people are most famliar with. And then I realize: I was expecting Soundgarden, I was expecting Rage and I wasn't allowing any room for Audioslave to make different music, to make music that is merely very good, to be themselves.

 

But Superknown and ... Los Angeles are classic albums. Those are albums people will be listening to forever. With this in mind, if you listen to Audioslave without the expectations of a classic album, you hear a lot of really good songs. You hear a well-rounded album that has short-comings, but there are very few albums that are released in a year which do not have problems. There are fewer which can be described as well-rounded.

 

For those who like the high energy vocals of Cornell's former work, you have "Cochise," "Gasoline," and "Set It Off." If you're looking for more stand-out songs, songs which you can assimilate into your play lists and compilations, you have "Show Me How To Love," "Like a Stone," and "I Am The Highway." "Hypontize" is a sleeper.

 

In addition, I give Audioslave some extra credit for playing music in a market that expired five years ago. It's not a huge risk, but they're not Creed. They're not Matchbox 20 and they may not sell. That reveals my bias, though: I miss that music (I'm a big fan of Pearl Jam, who where are the last remnants of the early 90s rock sound).

 

Audioslave was a disappointment due to the hype surrounding the group, but once you pull back and listen to the album beyond expectations you hear and album which is among the best albums of the year ...

 

... partly because it's a good album, and partly because there aren't really that many albums each year which are more than a couple of singles and eight "other songs." Audioslave's album goes beyond this and should get the credit for doing so.

 

Hopefully I've encouraged some people to listen to the album again, but if you do I definitely want to know if you agree or disagree.

[rf_ucsd]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the list! It's great to see what other people think. Thanks for taking the time!

 

you can go ahead and knock the roots out, because that album was actually released in late 2002 :P

 

and here's my top 10:

 

1. The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra La La Band – “This is our Punk Rock,” Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing

2. Four Tet – Rounds

3. Do Make Say Think – Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn

4. Mogwai – Happy Songs For Happy People

5. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief

6. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

7. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People

8. Super Furry Animals – Phantom Power

9. The Mars Volta – Deloused in the Comatorium

10. Outkast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

 

I'm getting the Mogwai album shortly. I've liked their stuff in the past, but it's never been anything that I listened to on a regular basis. It's always been music I appreciated though not absorbed. That said, seeing them live was awesome! They're great.

 

 

runners up (because i don't feel like ordering all the way to 20 or even 15):

 

Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress

The Wrens - The Meadowlands

Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun

Grandaddy - Sumday

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow

Kraftwerk - Tour de France Sountracks

The Postal Service - Give Up

 

Wasn't Belle and Sebastian kind of a let down compared to "Boy With ..."? Then again, how could it not be?

 

Disappointments of the year:

1. Audioslave (self-titled)

2. Liz Phair (self-titled)

3. Zwan - Mary Star of the Sea

4. The Fire Theft (self-titled)

 

I didn't listen to Liz Phair, but "Why Can't I" was a really good song. Audioslave and Zwan ... you saw them on my list, and I've posted a couple of times about Audioslave. Zwan was the same type of thing: High expectations, this time because of Corgan. That was an album I liked the first time I listened to it, but upon repeated listens I really only moved forward with "Honestly." It's not a bad album, but I did think it was a disappointment.

 

However, somebody posted a strong recommendation for it, so I'll relisten ... at least for a little bit.

 

everything else i listened to:

 

Cave In – Antenna

Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism

Elvis Costello – North

Blur – Think Tank

Jonny Greenwood – Bodysong

Steve Burns – Songs for Dustmites

Travis – 12 Memories

Ryan Adams – Rock N Roll

The Strokes – Room on Fire

White Stripes – Elephant

Jay-Z – Black Album

Turin Brakes - Ether Song

50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Trying

 

and finally, Honorary #1 Album:

The Beatles - Let It Be... Naked

 

It looks like your tastes move a little farther away from a mainstream pop ideal that I tend to gravitate towards. Would you agree, based on my list? I see Elephant, The Black Album and Think Tank ranked (or unranked) low and see a different asthetic.

 

Which is the whole point of this thread :)

 

Thanks for the list! Awesome.

[rf_ucsd]

Well' date=' don´t have a top 10, but my fave album from 2003 is Reality, by David Bowie. He still can make awesome records.. You should listen to that one :)[/quote']

 

OK - Will do.

[Corner Kid]

I highly recommend South - With the Tides... No one seems to know who they are, their album just came out in October, while their debut album didnt do well in States (yet I love it). Their song "Loosen Your Hold" was featured as a theme song for HBO. "Colors in Waves" is great. If you like doves, travis, and OK Computer-ish Radiohead, check out this band. I'll start a Thread for them and post where you can hear their music.

[rf_ucsd]

I highly recommend South - With the Tides... No one seems to know who they are' date=' their album just came out in October, while their debut album didnt do well in States (yet I love it). Their song "Loosen Your Hold" was featured as a theme song for HBO. "Colors in Waves" is great. If you like doves, travis, and OK Computer-ish Radiohead, check out this band. I'll start a Thread for them and post where you can hear their music.[/quote']

 

Will do :-)

[Professor Peedston]

my thoughts on audioslave:

 

i honestly don't mind when a group of musicians defies expectations or changes. if you need examples, i can think of radiohead (but then again, EVERYBODY liked their change of direction), sunny day real estate (including jeremy enigk's solo album), pearl jam, the smashing pumpkins, REM, and U2 as bands that i've followed through thick and thin even when certain people started deserting them. my problem with audioslave is that what they did sounds like some record executive's idea of something that rocks instead of something that actually does rock, if that makes any sense. the whole thing just sounds way too slick and calculated. i'll admit that "cochise" still blows me away every time i hear it, but other than that, i'm simply not moved by them at all. the loud guitars and thundering drums are all in place, but it just feels like they're going through the motion. i don't get the sense of passion for the music that i get when i listen to soundgarden or ratm records. i know it might not be fair to compare them at all, but i think that if audioslave had just been some random band, i wouldn't have given them nearly as many chances as they got.

 

as for zwan, i pretty much feel the same as you do. "honestly" is the only song left on there that i really enjoy.

 

and yes, i agree that my taste generally moves away from pop music (although outkast, broken social scene, and the super furry animals did make my list). all the evidence that you need is that three of my top four choices are albums that are completely instrumental (one is electronic, one is jazz-inflected "post-rock," and the other is mogwai) and my number one pick is 4 songs spread over 55 minutes, and features vocals recorded by an amateur choir. :rolleyes:

[rf_ucsd]

Thanks for the Audioslave comments. I can definitely see what you're saying. That's what makes these kind of lists really interesting. As long as you realize this isn't a question of right and wrong and are willing to discuss your reasons it becomes a very interesting, constructive conversation ...

 

... and thanks for taking part. I got the Mogwai album and will probably listen to it tomorrow. I'll try to get one of your other top albums (already have HTTT) and give it a try.

 

my thoughts on audioslave:

 

i honestly don't mind when a group of musicians defies expectations or changes. if you need examples, i can think of radiohead (but then again, EVERYBODY liked their change of direction), sunny day real estate (including jeremy enigk's solo album), pearl jam, the smashing pumpkins, REM, and U2 as bands that i've followed through thick and thin even when certain people started deserting them. my problem with audioslave is that what they did sounds like some record executive's idea of something that rocks instead of something that actually does rock, if that makes any sense. the whole thing just sounds way too slick and calculated. i'll admit that "cochise" still blows me away every time i hear it, but other than that, i'm simply not moved by them at all. the loud guitars and thundering drums are all in place, but it just feels like they're going through the motion. i don't get the sense of passion for the music that i get when i listen to soundgarden or ratm records. i know it might not be fair to compare them at all, but i think that if audioslave had just been some random band, i wouldn't have given them nearly as many chances as they got.

 

as for zwan, i pretty much feel the same as you do. "honestly" is the only song left on there that i really enjoy.

 

and yes, i agree that my taste generally moves away from pop music (although outkast, broken social scene, and the super furry animals did make my list). all the evidence that you need is that three of my top four choices are albums that are completely instrumental (one is electronic, one is jazz-inflected "post-rock," and the other is mogwai) and my number one pick is 4 songs spread over 55 minutes, and features vocals recorded by an amateur choir. :rolleyes:

[benni]

hmmm.... can't see placebo anywhere :o

 

here are my most important 2003 albums (no order)

 

zwan - mary star of the sea

blur - think tank

placebo - sleeping with ghosts

radiohead - hail to the thief

muse - absolution

starsailor - silence is easy

travis - 12 memories

strokes - room on fire

kings of leon - youth and young manhood

heather nova - storm

eels - shootenanny

 

btw: the new air album (talkie walkie) is great, but i think it counts for 2004 :rolleyes:

[badlydrawngirl]

here's my little pick of my fave albums of this year :D in no order

TURIN BRAKES-Ether Song :D :D :D

RADIOHEAD- HTTT

BLUR-Think Tank

DAMIEN RICE-O

plus I've really gotten into the Manics as well, so I'd give their Greatest Hits a listen too even though its not from this year :P

[FEAR]

I have noticed alot of you seem to like think tank alot...How does it compare to all the orther blur albums, in your opinion.

[badlydrawngirl]

Its different, but its still amazing! I mean I love their old stuff too, Think Tank just proves how versatile Blur are :D Its just fucking great basically ;)

[rf_ucsd]

Did you use the word "important" on purpose, or is that to be used interchangably with favorite for this post?

 

To me, important is not the same as favorite, because there are albums that I recognize as important that I don't rate that highly because, while meaningful to the music world, they will not get played much.

 

hmmm.... can't see placebo anywhere :o

 

here are my most important 2003 albums (no order)

 

zwan - mary star of the sea

blur - think tank

placebo - sleeping with ghosts

radiohead - hail to the thief

muse - absolution

starsailor - silence is easy

travis - 12 memories

strokes - room on fire

kings of leon - youth and young manhood

heather nova - storm

eels - shootenanny

 

btw: the new air album (talkie walkie) is great, but i think it counts for 2004 :rolleyes: