All original artwork by our favorite evil genius, Joseph Devens.
First comes love. Any list purporting to declare the "best" of any art form is by nature rooted in arrogance, indulgence and selfishness.
But first comes love.
In music especially: to pore over yearbooks, journal entries and mixtapes; to scour CD binders searching for meaning; to cuss out close friends in defense of a personally beloved sophomore effort; the perennial rush to sanitarily sequence and categorize is fundamentally a matter of the heart.
In 2009 we were submerged in debt, worry and decade lists. For our generation it was a particularly potent mix. When TIME magazine and other members of the Fourth Estate declared the period from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009 "The Decade From Hell," we took it with both pointed objection, and sullen acknowledgment. We took it personally. Questing high schoolers when the Twin Towers fell. Eager college grads throwing up caps as the economy collapsed. We were acutely aware of this small piece of the calendar those in the Office of Statistics and Records now struggle to name. We lived it. We were there. And it wasn't hell.
In A Thousand Grams' tribute to the best music of the decade, we tried to honor the moments and albums that mattered most. Of course, it was an impossible task. But over the past three months, we paid special attention to albums that broke new ground, that struck a personal chord, that inspired new movements or were perfect even in light of their imperfections. We are a hip-hop site, but this is not a hip-hop list. Instead, we were honest. There will be rap, punk rock, metal, indie and electronic in hopefully deserving proportions. There will not be Bruce Springsteen or U2.
In this space, every day for the remainder of the week, we present our countdown of the top 100 albums of the decade in blocks of 20. We've made it so you can easily stream a choice song selection from each album, or buy the whole thing from Amazon should you discover something great.
A very special thanks goes out to the 20 odd contributors to this project who labored tirelessly and didn't even receive a lousy Facebook gift.
We hope you love it.
Number one when it comes to background story, Grimm's story started as a child star on "Sesame Street." He somehow turned this into a career in music, but not in a Disney or Drake way, instead by winning the World Supremacy Rap Battle in 1993, sharing the stage with the best of the best, and learning to walk with major labels hanging from his nuts. However, a hip-hop's comic book hero is not without its nemesis, and Grimm was badly shot in a merciless act of street violence. Following a second attempt on his life in 1994 that killed his stepbrother, Grimm had been shot a total of 10 times, leaving him temporarily deaf and blind, paralyzed from the waist down. He was sentenced to life in prison on narcotics and conspiracy charges as the 20th Century closed. Then it got interesting. Grimm paid a one-day bail of $100,000 to record an album and during his stay in jail, studied law, filed counter suits and reduced his sentence to three years.
MF Grimm is one of the darkest artists out there, perfectly captured by his attempted lyrical cou d'etat against all things governmental in American Hunger. A rule we tend to go by at ATG is if you can create a triple disc (you read that right) with less filler than the usual 14 track album, we'll show you some love. His scathing critiques are complimented with harsh lyrics, scary poetic abilities and a verbal deconstruction of his critically beloved arch rival, MF Doom. Hip Hop's first triple album never really lulls.
MF Grimm is one of the darkest artists out there, perfectly captured by his attempted lyrical cou d'etat against all things governmental in American Hunger. A rule we tend to go by at ATG is if you can create a triple disc (you read that right) with less filler than the usual 14 track album, we'll show you some love. His scathing critiques are complimented with harsh lyrics, scary poetic abilities and a verbal deconstruction of his critically beloved arch rival, MF Doom. Hip Hop's first triple album never really lulls.
- TJ Finley
"The Last Supper"
99. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter 3
The century's boldest hip-hop voice at its commercial peak, Tha Carter's third installment is what it is: label dudes picking 15 songs out of several million a syrup-loving Lil Wayne recorded between 2007-2008. Truth be told, the leaked, scrapped version of C3 (summer 2007) is better and more cohesive. The final cut is a soulless rundown of bangers and cash grabs.
Yet each song is its own journey into pussy, weed, the struggle. Spastic patterns, references to outer space and half-cocked concepts like "rap as an infected patient and I'm its primary care provider" permeate and plague. There's a crazy intro, there's a menacing posse moment with Juelz Santana and Fabolous, there's a throwback Busta Rhymes verse. And this shit had "A Milli."
Yet each song is its own journey into pussy, weed, the struggle. Spastic patterns, references to outer space and half-cocked concepts like "rap as an infected patient and I'm its primary care provider" permeate and plague. There's a crazy intro, there's a menacing posse moment with Juelz Santana and Fabolous, there's a throwback Busta Rhymes verse. And this shit had "A Milli."
- Ramon Ramirez
"A Milli"
98. Drake - So Far Gone
It's 1989 and Nirvana drops Bleach. That sort of build and buzz. The foundation for the next decade's grooves and hits and rhymes is all here. There's no regional representation (Drake is half-Jewish and from Toronto and toasts to Houston and Atlanta), and while the rapping is top notch it's mainly about taste.
Drake is confessional, croons like a veteran and flips indie artists (Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn & John) into better songs with improved melodies. Drake is the only truly interesting new rap artist this year (maybe Wale, still waiting); certainly the only one that knows how to use a flip cam without being a whore, the only one capable of captivating and sustaining a mass audience throughout albums, for years to come.
It's personal reflection music. It's workout playlist music. It's windows down music. It's a free February mixtape by nobodies that becomes a nationwide tour and hooks on The Blueprint III. It's way better than The Blueprint III. It's for the fellas and ladies and it perfectly scores every season. It knows how to hog the spotlight when existing alongside 10,000 songs in your pocket.
How has "Best I Ever Had" not gotten old yet?
Drake is confessional, croons like a veteran and flips indie artists (Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn & John) into better songs with improved melodies. Drake is the only truly interesting new rap artist this year (maybe Wale, still waiting); certainly the only one that knows how to use a flip cam without being a whore, the only one capable of captivating and sustaining a mass audience throughout albums, for years to come.
It's personal reflection music. It's workout playlist music. It's windows down music. It's a free February mixtape by nobodies that becomes a nationwide tour and hooks on The Blueprint III. It's way better than The Blueprint III. It's for the fellas and ladies and it perfectly scores every season. It knows how to hog the spotlight when existing alongside 10,000 songs in your pocket.
How has "Best I Ever Had" not gotten old yet?
- Ramon Ramirez
"Uptown"
97. Outkast - Stankonia
Whether or not we wear our rose-colored glasses (and polka-dotted bowties) while looking backwards, Stankonia unequivocally influenced a decade. Released October 31, 2000, the Aquemini twins from Atlanta pulled together gospel, drum 'n bass, and of course, rapping, into a subversive pop record; I mean how many Billboard #1 singles are dedicated to the artist's former mother-in-law? Buried between skits and lingering ideas, Stankonia is anchored with three MTV smashes, ("B.O.B.," "Mrs. Jackson," "So Fresh, So Clean") in addition to slum singalongs like "Toilet Tisha," and the relenting, lyrical "?," two experimental landmarks in Outkast's Bjork-like canon. Meanwhile all this pioneering is offset by solid Outkast chain-swang anthems like "Spaghetti Junction" and "Gangsta Shit."
Lastly, it's key to credit this once in a generation album to the collaborative efforts of close Dungen Family friends: backup vocals on a number of tracks are credited to Myrna "Screechy Peach" Crenshaw, who would later go on to co-write a number of Outkast songs. Southern boss Killer Mike made his official debut on "Snappin and Trappin," in addition to other representative Atlanta reps like singer Joi and the entire Goodie Mob.
- Natalia Ciolko
"Ms. Jackson"
96. Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock
Reggae and dancehall enjoyed an unusual, festive resurgence and Damian Marley was all over the place: working with '90s hip-hop royalty like Nas, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Wu-Tang; onstage with throwback guitarists like Ben Harper; on crappy remixes with Gwen Stefani; at your favorite chilled out, mellow festival.
The Marley brothers waved their genre colors and jumped into the jumbled melting pot of balanced media cool kids into photojournalism and philosophy consumed.
We liked brother Stephen's Grammy-winning, introspective 2007 debut Mind Control. We had to go with Jamrock's spirit and power as it continually crept into the dialogue during deliberation. Exchanging chains of angry messages, peace accords dictated that Marley make cut; ending bid campaigns for Transatlanticism, Handsome Furs and Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine.
- Ramon Ramirez
We liked brother Stephen's Grammy-winning, introspective 2007 debut Mind Control. We had to go with Jamrock's spirit and power as it continually crept into the dialogue during deliberation. Exchanging chains of angry messages, peace accords dictated that Marley make cut; ending bid campaigns for Transatlanticism, Handsome Furs and Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine.
- Ramon Ramirez
"Beautiful"
95. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
History has been harsh to James Mercer's whimsical ditties. Unfairly so because dude can write indie pop with the best of them: arty smartasses from Vampire Weekend, arty smartasses from MGMT, arty smartasses from The Futureheads, arty smartass from Of Montreal.
You know why: Zach. Braff. I don't think there was a review in existence that allowed subsequent work to stand alone without a "Garden State" mention. For better or worse, The Shins are forever linked to one iconic, cringing celluloid moment. Yet Braff's "Garden State" is a detached, emotive, subtle, sweet film unfairly blacklisted.
I remember sitting in a lower division film class' weekly discussion group, with peers fawning over "Garden State." As the fall 2004 semester progressed and its soundtrack (prominently boasting key Shins cuts from other albums) became a freshman coping manual for every student in America, the tide turned. Truth be told I bought the movie the day it came out on DVD and it kinda sucked the second time, great soundtrack though.
I remember sitting in a lower division film class' weekly discussion group, with peers fawning over "Garden State." As the fall 2004 semester progressed and its soundtrack (prominently boasting key Shins cuts from other albums) became a freshman coping manual for every student in America, the tide turned. Truth be told I bought the movie the day it came out on DVD and it kinda sucked the second time, great soundtrack though.
- Ramon Ramirez
"Kissing the Lipless"
94. Freeway - Free At Last
Hip-hop is a brutal industry. Friends become enemies, fans are fickle and quick to forget, and rising stars fade and fall with cruel consistency. Lesley Pridgeon, better known as Philadelphia Freeway, basked in the limelight of Roc-A-Fella Records' heyday to such an extent that he made a blockbuster debut album in 2003 with more combined Just Blaze and Kanye West production credits than Jay-Z's own The Blueprint. Four years later, though, and Roc-A-Fella who? Unable to get a returned phone call from either of the fantasy production duo his second time out, Freeway cashed in his last favor as a member of Hov's former inner circle while simultaneously leveraging a budding relationship with rival hip-hop boss 50 Cent. The end result featured lower key collaborators overall, but boasted an emcee twice as hungry as the also-ran we knew from the good ol' days. "When They Remember" remains one of the greatest rap songs hip-hop forgot.
- Reggie Ugwu
"When They Remember"
93. They Might Be Giants - Mink Car
There are hundreds of acts nowadays who write catchy shakers about things that no song should ever be about, here it's art. The difference is that the novelty of a TMBG song is peripheral to its humanity. These guys look at the world and see what nobody else can, and then tell us about it in ways that are true to themselves. They are honest. There's no faking it, no phoning it in. They are pure abstractionists, not theme park caricaturists. Mink Car, with its musings on hairstyles, airport raves, dental anomalies, and polygraph tests seems like a record only a fool could love. In the hands of anybody else, it would be.
- Joseph Devens
85. Converge - Jane Doe
92. DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Upfront, I have to confess Private Press was not the game-changer Shadow's Entroducing... was. Press still makes the same forceful case for sampling-as-art and people who know will tell you this album is much more delectable anyway.
Shadow (real name Josh Davis) can hop from the spacey stoner jazz of "Fixed Income" to the electro-rock "Walkie Talkie" in his sleep, and then drive you through a warped chamber-pop cut like "Six Weeks" without feeling disjointed. Add as well that "Blood on the Motorway" is immensely soulful and goes on without over-stretching, and one has to wonder, "How did he do it?"
It took a while to make, and the meticulousness is one of its biggest success factors. Most sampling involves that tired "This is a journey into sound..." bit or even worse, unwarranted experimentation (seriously, who thought mashing The Doors and Blondie was a good fucking idea?). DJ Shadow clearly dug through the crates long and hard, and wins with an accomplished effort.
Shadow (real name Josh Davis) can hop from the spacey stoner jazz of "Fixed Income" to the electro-rock "Walkie Talkie" in his sleep, and then drive you through a warped chamber-pop cut like "Six Weeks" without feeling disjointed. Add as well that "Blood on the Motorway" is immensely soulful and goes on without over-stretching, and one has to wonder, "How did he do it?"
It took a while to make, and the meticulousness is one of its biggest success factors. Most sampling involves that tired "This is a journey into sound..." bit or even worse, unwarranted experimentation (seriously, who thought mashing The Doors and Blondie was a good fucking idea?). DJ Shadow clearly dug through the crates long and hard, and wins with an accomplished effort.
- Andy O'Connor
"Fixed Income"
91. Brand New - Deja Entendu
An emo album so good assholes had to qualify it and reluctantly praise its merits by mentioning the fact that celebrated Pixies producer Stephen Haigler believed and signed on.
This is Dylan going electric: the pride of East Coast punk, a rowdy and adventurous outfit shutting in and writing the decade's most vulnerable lyrics: about adult break ups at their most venomous, about beloved grandfathers dying from rare cancers, about the building, hopeless memories of lost chances.
Youth devoured these perfectly penned, 11 songs. My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy used oddball fame in the blink-182 mold (fun, putting on friends, supporting punk causes), but the decidedly more grassroots, working class Brand New only toured and wrote music.
One of those bands with a cult following that continues making excellent records for a surprisingly large amount of people. Surprising because every time they're in town, mid-major venues sellout on word of mouth. But this isn't Fishbone or The Dead, it's the most hungry, lyrical, explosive rock album of the 21st Century.
Youth devoured these perfectly penned, 11 songs. My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy used oddball fame in the blink-182 mold (fun, putting on friends, supporting punk causes), but the decidedly more grassroots, working class Brand New only toured and wrote music.
One of those bands with a cult following that continues making excellent records for a surprisingly large amount of people. Surprising because every time they're in town, mid-major venues sellout on word of mouth. But this isn't Fishbone or The Dead, it's the most hungry, lyrical, explosive rock album of the 21st Century.
- Ramon Ramirez
"Guernica"
90. Young Jeezy - Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101
"I'm not a rapper, I'm a hustler." These words, when spoken by any member of a certain breed of well studied emcees, should usually trigger a reflex action including but not limited to eyerolling and a proportionate groan. The well-worn cliché of the streets-first incidental rap superstar can be traced back from Ice-T to B.I.G. and most prominently, of course, Jay-Z. But at the end of this decade, one thing we can say we were surprised to learn is that all those guys were doing it wrong. Young Jeezy's major label debut wasn't an album, it was a movement. And Atlanta's grass-roots pioneer used his ragged voice and instant-classic ad-libs to deliver such glory and grit, intimidation balanced with inspiration, that hip-hop fans around the country were swept up in an authentic master class from below the Mason-Dixon. Lesson #1? Jeezy's known to handle his.
- Reggie Ugwu
"My Hood"
89. Ludacris - Word of Mouf
To this day, there's always that moment in the club when the DJ gets into a Crunk Jamz 2001-2004 block. "To the windowww to the wall!!!" Hip-hop seemed like it had changed forever at that time, the South had moved from the parking lot to the top spots on Billboard and "TRL." By far the most potent and creative force to emerge from all the trunk-rattling aggression and energy drink marketing was Ludacris. His sophomore effort was a neighborhood favorite and schoolyard staple: a smart, funny, wide-screen album overflowing with incomparably witty concepts and zeitgeist-capturing hooks. Spawning an unheard of six hit singles, Word of Mouf marked the arrival of one of the great rap stars of its time, and remains one of the South's treasured moments - hip-hop's, too.
- Reggie Ugwu
"Rollout (My Business)"
88. Radiohead - In Rainbows
"Oh my God! You mean I can pay what I want? You mean I could pay nothing if I wanted to?" These were the twenty-one words that everybody in the world yelled all at once when Radiohead's seventh studio album was released. But the yelling should have been about the songs. The songs are beautiful.
"House of Cards," a song about a key party, was even beautiful enough to become the first Radiohead song Austin's KGSR ever played, probably because it reminded them of My Morning Jacket. But In Rainbows as a whole is anything but echo-y beard rock. Again, songs.
"15 Step" opens the record in Radiohead's favorite way, by politely slapping you in the face. "Bodysnatchers" reminds you that Radiohead have always been a rock band, even if they pretend not to be. "Nude" is a swooning, Disneyesque lullaby that warns you not to even think about having sex with the nude model in your painting class. "Faust Arp" is a delicate paper snowflake cut from a strange stationary. "Reckoner" is sympathetic and warm, glowing and moving around in your blood like medicine. (The album's title is taken from a barely audible high-pitched lyric crooned in the bridge.) "Videotape," a self- eulogizing dirge punctuated by what sounds like tires on segmented highway, is both heartbreaking and motherly. With their masterpiece Kid A, Radiohead opened a door to a nebulous new world that none of us could have imagined or described. And now, after a decade of wandering around in the cold, Radiohead have finally come home, shut the door, and turned off the light.
"15 Step" opens the record in Radiohead's favorite way, by politely slapping you in the face. "Bodysnatchers" reminds you that Radiohead have always been a rock band, even if they pretend not to be. "Nude" is a swooning, Disneyesque lullaby that warns you not to even think about having sex with the nude model in your painting class. "Faust Arp" is a delicate paper snowflake cut from a strange stationary. "Reckoner" is sympathetic and warm, glowing and moving around in your blood like medicine. (The album's title is taken from a barely audible high-pitched lyric crooned in the bridge.) "Videotape," a self- eulogizing dirge punctuated by what sounds like tires on segmented highway, is both heartbreaking and motherly. With their masterpiece Kid A, Radiohead opened a door to a nebulous new world that none of us could have imagined or described. And now, after a decade of wandering around in the cold, Radiohead have finally come home, shut the door, and turned off the light.
- Joseph Devens
"15 Step"
87. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Something like The Ecstatic is difficult to wrap your head around. 10 years after he became something like a living legend to independent hip-hop with his debut album Black On Both Sides, Mos Def seemed fairly content doing what most living legends do: namely, finding various ways to fuck it up. Even if The New Danger wasn't the complete disaster some claimed it was, it's difficult for even the most ardent fan to muster a good word in defense of the artistic and commercial abortion that was Tru Magic. But then comes The Ecstatic, an album that restored everyone's faith in one of hip-hop's most important voices not by returning to form, but by getting more strange and less predictable. The sounds featured are foreign and eclectic: Bollywood here, Morocco there, a track sung entirely in Spanish, etc. But Mos stays above it all, pulling off twists and turns like he's piloting the world's greatest flying carpet ride. It's the palpable sense of inspiration that makes the difference. More spirited and spiritual than ever, the def poet delivered a one-of-a-kind record reminiscent of the type of Excursions Q-Tip used to rap about. The Ecstatic is a place we've never gone before.
- Reggie Ugwu
"Casa Bey"
86. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Will Shef is secretly one of the more prolific songwriters of our generation. A true storyteller with old fashioned sense, he could captivate most just by reading his lyrics out loud.
Okkervil River had its critical break with Black Sheep Boy, but the release of The Stage Names did more than reassure creative vitality -- it revealed a band with more energy than most, if not all, of their indie-folk peers. Including more up-tempo songs than previously heard, accompanied by expert musicianship and subtle harmonies, the music complimented the lyrical content Sheff was already known for. The album was written on a loose concept around the emotions of traveling, but you don't need to have been in a touring band to appreciate the tales. Sheff crafts his stories with such literary detail you can't help but imagine yourself as a character.
The album's crowning moment comes at the end with the story of John Berryman, founder of confessional poetry, from the perspective of John Berryman himself. This song starts off with the narrator announcing he will have committed suicide by the second verse. Just when you think the song is over, a gorgeous rendition of the Beach Boys' classic, "Sloop John B," plays as a chilling last goodbye and marks the most perfect album conclusion I've heard.
- Harrison Yeager
The album's crowning moment comes at the end with the story of John Berryman, founder of confessional poetry, from the perspective of John Berryman himself. This song starts off with the narrator announcing he will have committed suicide by the second verse. Just when you think the song is over, a gorgeous rendition of the Beach Boys' classic, "Sloop John B," plays as a chilling last goodbye and marks the most perfect album conclusion I've heard.
- Harrison Yeager
"Unless It's Kicks"
85. Converge - Jane Doe
Pure, unadulterated bitterness through the medium of hardcore.
The technical prowess and impressive mastery transcends the limited punk subgenre and, frankly, that's breathtaking enough. You can only hear so much angst about George Bush before it becomes completely meaningless, honest as their tour-mates were. Add on top the piercing, soul wrenching shrieks of Jacob Bannon, this is too much to handle. An edge with a structure.
That Converge are often lumped in with other useless "bum rush the pit!" bands is a fucking insult at best, willful ignorance at worst. This album is more a work of art than anything else and art should be challenging. It should convey emotion.
The technical prowess and impressive mastery transcends the limited punk subgenre and, frankly, that's breathtaking enough. You can only hear so much angst about George Bush before it becomes completely meaningless, honest as their tour-mates were. Add on top the piercing, soul wrenching shrieks of Jacob Bannon, this is too much to handle. An edge with a structure.
That Converge are often lumped in with other useless "bum rush the pit!" bands is a fucking insult at best, willful ignorance at worst. This album is more a work of art than anything else and art should be challenging. It should convey emotion.
- Jeremy Hurd
"Concubine"
84. Nas - Stillmatic
As much as Nas wants to deny it, Jay hit the proverbial nail on its proverbial head when he said that Nasty has a "one hot album every ten year average." Fortunately for Nas the aughts meant that it was time for him to drop another classic. Stillmatic is unquestionably Nas' best effort since his debut; not nearly as iconic as its titular predecessor, just as focused and creative.
Whether or not you think he got the best of Jigga in their brief feud, this was what Nas needed to reinvigorate his career. He was resting on the accolades and adulation 1994's Illmatic afforded him. Stillmatic did for Nas what Drew Brees got when he went from San Diego to New Orleans.
When someone in one of my high school classes told me that I needed to check out Stillmatic I didn't even scoff. I just pretended that I didn't hear him. Surely he jested. He was talking about the same guy that took three years to make I Am... and Nastradamus, so how could this guy be serious?
Nasir must have been bewildered by a lack of recent success, as Stillmatic contains a refreshing amount of humility. Tracks like "You're Da Man" and "One Mic" help balance out the braggadocio of battle raps "Ether" and "Got Ur Self A..."
Nas' overall output is higher this decade than it was in the 90's. The best thing about taking the time to revisit and think about this album is the knowing that he's just about due for another classic. The only question that remains is, what will he call it? Illmatic 3: With a Vengeance, Son of Illmatic, or my favorite, Stillillmatic.
When someone in one of my high school classes told me that I needed to check out Stillmatic I didn't even scoff. I just pretended that I didn't hear him. Surely he jested. He was talking about the same guy that took three years to make I Am... and Nastradamus, so how could this guy be serious?
Nasir must have been bewildered by a lack of recent success, as Stillmatic contains a refreshing amount of humility. Tracks like "You're Da Man" and "One Mic" help balance out the braggadocio of battle raps "Ether" and "Got Ur Self A..."
Nas' overall output is higher this decade than it was in the 90's. The best thing about taking the time to revisit and think about this album is the knowing that he's just about due for another classic. The only question that remains is, what will he call it? Illmatic 3: With a Vengeance, Son of Illmatic, or my favorite, Stillillmatic.
- Eddie Strait
"Ether"
83. Cat Power - The Greatest
It's all in the voice. You can hear the torment and love and ache and wisdom of a hard-fought decade in Chan Marshall's sonorous whisper. A welcome return three long years after the already late-blooming breakthrough You Are Free, The Greatest is Cat Power's first recording to be completely free of covers. In 2006, after traveling to Memphis and linking up with members of Al Green's old backing band, the damaged and delicate chanteuse of notoriety matured in a way that was sudden and beautiful, producing a sublime collection of songs ("Where is My Love" is immediately timeless) sure to be covered in their own time. An album as personal as its predecessors and considerably more cohesive, The Greatest is Marshall's greatest achievement, and an alt-country classic.
- Reggie Ugwu
"Lived In Bars"
82. Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Love Sounds
The moment it became cool for hip-hop heads to listen to the former N'Sync front man without rolling up car windows at stoplights. Big accomplishment.
Timberlake hooked up with Timbaland, arguably the most dominant producer of the decade, to blend a masterpiece of an album that hardly ever let down. Timbo used an old trick on a new market by adding extended interludes at the end of tracks, building, breaking, and changing beats to the delight of teenie boppers and r&b lovers everywhere. I'm a sucker for a hot intro, and the title track is fire.
JT's pen was likewise top notch, and the break up ballad of the century ("What Goes Around Comes Back Around") is expertly punctuated by a straight-faced half-rap at the end. "Love Stoned" is perfect start to finish.
Love Sounds goes from catchy singles ("My Love," "Sexyback," "Summer Love," "Chop me Up") to hard hitting ballads about the hardships of life ("Losing My Way") to hard hitting love songs ("Until the End of Time") smoothly, and integrates a few industry hard hitters to help get the point across: JT is hip hop, and his place won't be challenged anytime soon. Now drop that next album son...
Timberlake hooked up with Timbaland, arguably the most dominant producer of the decade, to blend a masterpiece of an album that hardly ever let down. Timbo used an old trick on a new market by adding extended interludes at the end of tracks, building, breaking, and changing beats to the delight of teenie boppers and r&b lovers everywhere. I'm a sucker for a hot intro, and the title track is fire.
JT's pen was likewise top notch, and the break up ballad of the century ("What Goes Around Comes Back Around") is expertly punctuated by a straight-faced half-rap at the end. "Love Stoned" is perfect start to finish.
Love Sounds goes from catchy singles ("My Love," "Sexyback," "Summer Love," "Chop me Up") to hard hitting ballads about the hardships of life ("Losing My Way") to hard hitting love songs ("Until the End of Time") smoothly, and integrates a few industry hard hitters to help get the point across: JT is hip hop, and his place won't be challenged anytime soon. Now drop that next album son...
- TJ Finley
"My Love"
81. Le Tigre - Feminist Sweepstakes
First through Bikini Kill, then via her solo work as Julie Ruin and
finally in formation as one third of Le Tigre, Kathleen Hanna is directly
responsible for the radicalization of American girls.
Feminist Sweepstakes, the second album from the dance-punk trio, is a
continuation of their vision of dyke empowerment and all-around
liberation. "FYR", short for 'fifty years of ridicule,' makes the
feminist movement sound as vital as it once was, before the gradual
settling in of apathy. Sweepstakes is exactly the record that
you should grab when you've gotten bored, or lazy, or disillusioned
with your cause, because it's purpose is to a) make you dance, b) make
you think, c) keep you going. Yes, there's some heavy-handed politics
but the message I take away from this album is to hold onto your
friends, keep the faith and be yourself, whoever that is. Seeing
Le Tigre perform at Emo's Austin in 2005, the midpoint of the decade, was as
much a riot as it was a party. Feminists, we're calling you.
- Natalia Ciolko
"FYR"
Subscribe to 1000G Features
Leave a comment