Jump to content
✨ STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE WORLD TOUR ✨

For Discussion: My Albums of 2003


rf_ucsd

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 53
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Updated

 

I'm gonna try to post this every new page just to keep discussion going. I don't want to have people searching for the topic.

 

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. Absolution, Muse

8. Audioslave, Audioslave

9. The Diary of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys

10. Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins

11. The Owners, Gang Starr

12. 12 Memories, Travis

13. Speakerboxx/The Love Below, OutKast

14. Get Rich or Die Trying, 50 Cent

15. Kish Kash, Basement Jaxx

16. Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian

17. The Soft.Lightes, The Incredible Moses Leroy

18. Chicken & Beer, Ludacris

19. The Headphone Masterpiece, Cody Chestnutt

20. Baby I'm Bored, Evan Dando

Also heard: Heavier Things (John Mayer), Show Me Your Tears (Frank Black), Worldwide Underground (Erykah Badu), Clones (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), THE Album (Mike Talls), Stop All the World Now (Howie Day), Too Hot for T.V. (Da Band)

 

About to listen to: Logic Will Break Your Heart (The Stills), O (Damien Rice), Chocolate Factory (R.Kelly), Happy Songs for Happy People (Mogwai), Birth of a Prince (RZA), Rock 'N Roll (Ryan Adams), Greendale (Neil Young), Reality (David Bowie), Summer Sun (Yo La Tengo)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The albums in the "also heard" section are in order from favorite to least favorite, though I'm not an benile about keeping that section in order. The Howie Day album is near the bottom, just above what I'd easily consider the worst album I've heard this year.

 

Before I go on, let me preface this by saying I don't go uot of my way to listen to bad albums. If it's music I know I probably won't like, then I avoid it. This is why an acclaimed album like Lil' Kim's La Bella Mafia isn't on the list. I just can't justify the time, though I do want a complete a list as possible. This is the main weakness of my list, but realize that even to be listed means on one level I am/was interested in it (even if that level is superficial, as it was with Da Band).

 

With that said, if you liked the Howie Day album either stop reading now or take the below for what it's worth (meaning: not much).

 

I thought Howie Day's album was easily the second worst album I heard this year. His style is likeable and he's not going to do many songs which are obviously bad. My problem with his album was that it was completely devoid of anything of substance or imaginative. The songs are formulaically poppy and sweet and seem to come out of a "How to" book on mainstream, inconic pop songwriting. And it's easy to see why ths album would appeal to people on that basis: They just like that style of music.

 

The problem I have with that justification is that there are many people who are or have done that kind of music in an inspired way. Howie Day is neither inspired nor inpsiring. The album just rolls off of you in a way that, after ti's over, you kind of wish you had allocated your money elsewhere. Is it bad? No, but it's bland. If you don't look at it critically then you'll find it passable and you might even find or consttruct seom virtue in it.

 

But I don't think it can stand on its own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not much for his music, because it slips my mind after hearing it. I remember it being good, but on the other hand, its also forgetful and a bit generic. His live acts make him worthy of mention, but his albums dont seem to do his live acts justice. I'll give him a couple of albums to develop his studio sound a bit more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just started listening to the Damien Rice album. The Blowers Daughter was such a good song! I think I'm going to have to listen to this album a couple of times tonight ...

 

... and then adjust the rankings :P

 

I haven't felt this positively about an album since Jewel's first album (comparing w/i genre). Wow. And this is a debut? Wow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This Damien Rice album hasn't turned out to be as hot as I thought it was going to be, though it's still very good. There are some real good songs on it (Volcano, The Blowers Daughter) and there aren't any terrible songs, but there are some songs that are somewhat non-descript and don't seem to provide anything to me, as the listener. His stuff is basically folk inspired ... you can almost hear Joni Mitchell coming through at points, but there meaningful lyrics usually associated with that genre just aren't developed in these songs.

 

I like the album, but for now it didn't break into my top 20. I think I might relisten later, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about brilliant, but I can see why people would be passionate about them. I just listened to them again, and they're emotional songs. But emotional doesn't necesarily mean brilliant, though I concede people's mileage my vary and it's cool that those songs are touching people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

for the two or three people who were interested in this thread, i wanted to let you know my journey down this music of 2003 path has led me to some really good stuff in the last few days:

 

Yo La Tengo, Summer Sun

This was really good. It was my first experience with Yo La Tengo, and it was fulfilled. Any alternative rock fan should like this, as it's both alt and approachable.

 

The Stills, Logic Will Break Your Heart

This album is awesome ... it's really, really good. I need to listen to it more to describe it better, but this was just a good album ... rock music with head early nineties Brit-rock influences brought into a pop structure. It was just good.

 

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Pig Lib

This isn't a huge departure from Malkmus's past, be it his solo or Pavement careers ... and that turns out to be a good thing. You're reminded how good a song writer he is. Truly a distinct talent.

 

I also listened to the lastest albums from Mogwai, and Joe Stummer and the Mescaleros, though they didn't crack the big list:

 

1. (9 ) Hail to the Thief, Radiohead

2. (9 ) Elephant, The White Stripes

3. (8 ) The Black Album, Jay-Z

4. (8-) Fever to Tell, The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

5. (8-) De-Loused in the Comatorium, The Mars Volta

6. (7+) Think Tank, Blur

7. (7+) Logic Will Break Your Heart, The Stills

8. (7+) Absolution, Muse

9. (7+) The Diary of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys

10. (7 ) The Love Below, Andre 3000 (OutKast)

11. (7 ) Audioslave, Audioslave

12. (7 ) Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins

13. (7 ) The Owners, Gang Starr

14. (6+) Summer Sun, Yo La Tengo

15. (6+) 12 Memories, Travis

16. (6 ) Speakerboxx, Big Boi (OutKast)

17. (6 ) The Soft.Lightes, The Incredible Moses Leroy

18. (6 ) Get Rich or Die Trying, 50 Cent

19. (6 ) Pig Lib, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

20. (6-) Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian

 

Right now I'm listening to Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Greendale, and it's been very, very good thus far. I think Neil Young is truly one of the most underappreciate talents in rock history as he has consistently made good-to-great music over the last thirty to forty years.

 

But I'm going to be listening to some more pop stuff soon ... maybe even some Emo to try an broaden the horizons. We'll see how long that lasts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had such a good day at work today.

 

Not only was I extremely productive, but I got to listen to a lot of good music. In all, the music was rather distracting, but ...

 

Thanks to a lot of the people who had responded to this thread I've been introduced to a lot of good music. In some cases, like that of The Strokes, people asked me to relisten and got me to see an album it hadn't bothered to before.

 

I am reposting my list to try and revitalize this thread, because I'm really egocentric, and because I listened to my 50th album today ... 50th album that was released in 2003 this year.

 

The magic number fifty was a good one: Fountains of Wayne's Welcome Interestate Managers ... an album which had a surprising amount of diversity and showed a level of soungwriting I hadn't expected.

 

But anyways ...

 

I encourage all replies ... if you're even still with me:

 

1. (9 ) Hail to the Thief, Radiohead

2. (9 ) Elephant, The White Stripes

3. (8+) The Black Album, Jay-Z

4. (8-) Fever to Tell, The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

5. (8-) De-Loused in the Comatorium, The Mars Volta

6. (7+) Think Tank, Blur

7. (7+) Logic Will Break Your Heart, The Stills

8. (7+) Absolution, Muse

9. (7+) The Diary of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys

10. (7 ) The Love Below, Andre 3000 (OutKast)

11. (7 ) Audioslave, Audioslave

12. (7 ) Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins

13. (7 ) The Owners, Gang Starr

14. (7-) Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne

15. (7-) Greendale, Neil Young and Crazy Horse

16. (6+) Summer Sun, Yo La Tengo

17. (6+) 12 Memories, Travis

18. (6+) Youth and Young Manhood, Kings of Leon

19. (6+) Pig Lib, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

20. (6 ) Speakerboxx, Big Boi (OutKast)

21. (6 ) The Soft.Lightes, The Incredible Moses Leroy

22. (6 ) Get Rich or Die Trying, 50 Cent

23. (6 ) I Can't Stop, Al Green

24. (6 ) You Are Free, Cat Power

25. (6 ) Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Belle and Sebastian

26. (6 ) Room on Fire, The Strokes

27. (6 ) The Headphone Masterpiece, Cody Chestnutt

28. (6-) Chicken & Beer, Ludacris

29. (6-) Happy Songs for Happy People, Mogwai

30. (5+) Show Me Your Tears, Frank Black

31. (5+) Reality, David Bowie

32. (5+) Kish Kash, Basement Jaxx

33. (5+) Chocolate Factory, R. Kelly

34. (5+) Streetcore, Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros

35. (5+) O, Damien Rice

36. (5 ) Baby I'm Bored, Evan Dando

37. (5 ) Heavier Things, John Mayer

38. (5 ) Birth of a Prince, RZA

39. (5 ) Worldwide Underground, Erykah Badu

40. (5 ) Clones, The Neptunes

41. (5 ) Ether Song, Turin Brakes

42. (5-) Mary Star of the Sea, Zwan

43. (5-) Life for Rent, Dido

44. (5-) Sumday, Grandaddy

45. (5-) Elephunk, Black Eyed Peas

46. (5-) Want One, Rufus Wainright

47. (4+) Folklore, Nelly Furtado

48. (4 ) Afterglow, Sarah McLaughlin

49. (3+) Stop All the World Now, Howie Day

50. (3-) Too Hot for T.V., Da Band

 

Ok ... now I'm going to go get caught up on some other posts. I have Beyonce's album on now and it's a lot better than I would have expected ... but then again, I'm only through three songs. Hopefully when I'm done with other threads there will be a lot of good stuff here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...