Meaningful Albums Mixtape
Picking one song off your favorite albums is pretty hard.
As a writer and all around music nerd, people tend to ask the question, "What is your favorite album?" Of course there is no answer, because as all music nerds know, you like different albums for different reasons, and you really can't compare favorites from the 90's to favorites of the 60's and it's just masochistic to make a music fan decide on one album as their favorite. I'm not diving into the pool of musical genius before my time; I'm concentrating on the more current music I grew up with. The music I heard and knew was something to take note of. This week I'll have a mixtape of numbers 10-5 of my favorite albums, and next week the top 5. So get ready to bash my theories as I present some of the important and wonderful albums made in the past 20 years.
10) DJ Danger Mouse – “Allure” from The Grey Album - Danger Mouse was the first person to get threatened with a lawsuit for doing this odd thing called a "mash-up." Sure, mixing and mashing was done before, but The Grey Album is what put this style of music on the map, paving the way for the popularity of many DJs who would copy and create a similar technique. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and this style of music is all about that. It also doesn't hurt that this put Danger Mouse on the map, as he went on to be in a pretty decent band called Gnarls Barkley - and has produced some amazing albums as well.
9) Outkast - “Hey Ya!” from the album The Love Below/Speakerboxxx - "Hey Ya!" can probably go down as one of the most popular songs of 2003. My mother knew the words to the song, which was terrifying but also assuring that this album was pretty important. The double disc set mostly shined on Andre 3000's contribution, a disc of catchy pop riffs, Prince style funk tracks and some of the weirdest collaborations and offerings in hip hop in the past 20 years. The man did a version of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music that turned the tune into a hip-hop frenzied dance track. In a time of stale music, this album was original, playful, fresh and overall good.
8) Kanye West – “Jesus Walks” from the album College Dropout - Love him or hate him, Kanye West has elevated hip-hop to another level. The man knew how to produce, but when he finally laid down his own beats and rhymes, our hometown boy truly shined. His samples were spot on, his lyrics playful yet impacting and his raw talent and desire to make music was evident. I love this song because it truly shows a boy who believes that music is his life and saving grace, and it shines through in this visceral track. He may have turned into many things, both good and bad, but the debut and original Kanye West made on of the most important hip hop albums since of new millennium.
7) Pavement – “Cut Your Hair” from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Sadly I wasn't in college in the early to mid 90's when acts like Pavement were taking over all the indie rock record stores. Sure I wasn't crazy about this music when I was 12, but when I got older I realized the sheer genius of Stephen Malkmus' writing and his real and blatantly honest delivery of music on this pivotal album. The album runs the emotional gamut; from angry to lazy to sunny and happy, creating a body of work that somehow never seems dated. Pavement laid the foundation for numerous indie rock boys that weren't the best singers, but were real and true in their musical endeavors. Sometimes rough around the edges and reality in music is a wonderful thing.
6) Death Cab For Cutie – “Transatlanticism from the album Transatlanticism - Death Cab for Cutie were around long before that kid on the O.C. show decided to namedrop them almost every episode. They were making heartbreaking and sweet songs for a long time, content with Ben Gibbard shyly singing along to his little indie rock jewels. But something obviously happened to make Death Cab step it up and create the masterpiece known as Transatlanticism, a soaring roster of hit after hit of heartbreak, confusion and love. Death Cab For Cutie took the feelings of emo music, took out the trite caricature and made the heartbreak of romance and relationships real. Ben Gibbard doesn't beat around the bush with the way he feels when it comes to matters of the heart, and he truly becomes a voice for every person that has been hurt by someone they gave their all to. The album is like an open wound to listen to, stinging and burning and making your insides bubble up and feel conflicted. You try and hold back tears, but you want to cry, because these songs are not only beautiful - they are real.
Posted by Lisa White on Jan 22, 2009 @ 7:00 am
