|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| Hey, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to check this out. This list has been a labor of love over the last several months, and it's been lots of fun to put together. It started out as a top 15 list, and then gradually grew into a top 20, and just kept growing into what it is today. I could probably have added another ten to the list, but instead I'll just list some honorable mentions at the bottom of this post. I decided to arrange the posts so that people could read at their leisure, and comment on each individual album, if they so desire. Please feel free to look around, and make your stay as long or short as you'd like, and come back as often as you'd like. Please do comment, though. I'm interested to see what my friends think of these albums. This list is of my favorites, not necessarily the best of all albums that were released in all genres. What are yours? My list of notable also-rans is as follows (in random order): David Bazan - Fewer Moving Parts; Bruce Cockburn - Life's Short, Call Now; Josh Rouse - Subtitulo; Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood; Woven Hand - Mosaic; Brandtson - Hello, Control; Joanna Newson - Ys; Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit; Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World; Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards With no further ado, here's my list: | | |
| I've been a fan of Radiohead for years, but I've never been fanatic about them. For my money, The Bends is still the best Radiohead album out there, with OK Computer close on its heels. Consequently, my reaction to Thom Yorke's solo debut was a predictable "yeah, it's pretty good." I really love Thom Yorke's voice, but I think that some of this album goes a bit over my head. It's a little too brooding and a little too synthetic for me to listen to it on a regular basis, but it's still good enough to be included on this list. | | |
| This album is a collaboration between Elvis Costello, who I have liked for some time now, and Allen Toussaint, a New Orleans r&b and soul artist who recorded mostly in the 60s and 70s. This album was recorded as a post-hurricane ode to New Orleans, and as such, it gets pretty political at times. The songs on this album have a sort of timelessness to them, though, that lifts them above the current milieu of protest songs and cliche anti-establishment fist-shakers. The songs are thoroughly rooted in history, both social and musical. This album stretched me a lot, and got me listening to a style of music about which I am extremely ignorant. | | |
| So far, I've pretty much disliked everything that I've heard from Rilo Kiley, so please explain to me why I dig this album so much. There's something about the smooth gospel and blues vibes that makes this album just so fun to listen to. Jenny Lewis' sexy whisper and the Watson Twins' beautiful harmonies combine with catchy choruses that keep me singing along, and surprisingly insightful lyrics about love and hate, dysfunctional families, and hypocrisy that keep me thinking. | | |
| I've often said that Tom Petty has never written a bad song, and this batch of new ditties certainly follows in that line. Full of pop, country, and blues tinges, this disc is just fun. Whether he's rocking out or tenderly strumming on his acoustic six-string, Tom Petty satisfies. | | |
|
