After abandoning this blog for more than four months, I decided it would be fun to get in on the “best of the decade” hoopla and post my own personal faves.
Here they are, roughly in the order that they were released:
Figure 8 – Elliott Smith (2000) – This was the last album released before he died, but I didn’t really start listening until about 2002.
BB Queen – Bahamadia (2000) – Why doesn’t this lady put out more albums?
Amnesiac – Radiohead (2001) – It’s tough to pick a favorite Radiohead album, but “Pyramid Song” and “I Might Be Wrong” decided it for me.
Blue Horse - The Be Good Tanyas (2001) – Not sure what it is about these gals that I like so much.
The Listening – Little Brother (2003) – Amazing production by 9th Wonder, fascinating lyrics by Phonte and Big Pooh.
Remember Who I Am – Girlyman (2003) – Some of the best times I’ve had with my best friends have been accompanied by these sweet harmonies.
Grey Album – Danger Mouse (2004) – A bootleg mashup of Jay-Z’s Black Album and the Beatles’ White Album. Enough said.
Arular – M.I.A. (2005) – Sadly, I didn’t start listening to M.I.A. until a couple years after this was released.
Illionois – Sufjan Stevens (2005) – Epic pop.
Jeanius – Jean Grae & 9th Wonder (2008, kinda) – This was actually leaked on the internet in 2004, so most fans have been listening to it for years.
Hmm, I notice that no albums released past 2005 have wormed their way into my heart quite yet.
I haven’t really been listening to Tracy Chapman for the past several years, but I just found something that will make me stay a while and enjoy the music.
Her website design is brilliant: You can select colors from a rainbow palette and color in the letters, trees, grass, houses, clouds, and even the birds as they fly by! All while listening to “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” and other tunes.
Best idea ever. Not only does it give fans a reason to stay and interact with the website; it shows off some gay pride too.
Interesting stuff today over at the Pretty Much Amazing! blog. I’m not ready to say that any of this is “pretty much amazing,” but did think it was worth pointing out:
You can download “Golden Age,” a preview track from TV On the Radio’s Dear Science, which comes out on September 23. It took me a few listens to get to this point, but I do like it!
Check out a Vampire Weekend cover of “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac. (You probably won’t particularly enjoy it unless you’re already a Vampire Weekend fan.)
I’m not as crazy about this band, but there’s one song from Bloc Party’s new album too.
I was reading the latest issue of GOOD Magazine, and came across the story of Kim Roberts, a resident of New Orleans’s Ninth Ward who lived through Hurricane Katrina. She had happened to buy an old video camera off the street one week before the hurricane hit; so she recorded her experiences surviving the storm. Now, her footage is going to be part of a documentary called Trouble the Water, which opens next week in New York and L.A.
Before Katrina, Kim was an aspiring rap artist. Since, she has started her own record company called Born Hustler Records and put out an album under the name Black Kold Madina. Her music (and her developing rap career) are also included in the documentary. Click here to check out Born Hustler Records and Black Kold Madina.
As the anniversary of Katrina is coming up, I’ll be sure to post more soon about some of the musical linkages.
I was reading the latest issue of GOOD Magazine, and came across the story of Kim Roberts, a resident of New Orleans’s Ninth Ward who lived through Hurricane Katrina. She had happened to buy an old video camera off the street one week before the hurricane hit; so she recorded her experiences surviving the storm. Now, her footage is going to be part of a documentary called Trouble the Water, which opens next week in New York and L.A.