Music: Best Albums of the Year series: 2004

[Eisen]

Beatsteaks - Smack Smash

 

[Saturated Fats]

For me, Funeral is an album that will always mean something very deep and necessary. Like @Shareefruck said, it was an album that was so tremendously formative of my post-adolescent musical loves. I still listen to it on occasion, and it still means a lot to me - especially Neighbourhood #1, Neighbourhood #3, and In the Backseat. If you ask me 5 years ago, it would've been an easy top-3 album of all time. But I think that, as happens when you connect deeply with a piece of art, your appreciation of that art perhaps lessens alongside the feeling. The nostalgic melancholy it gave me isn't necessarily there anymore, and I find myself now still appreciating the artistic whimsy the band took, but recognizing that it might not be as catalytic and innovative to music writ large as I once thought it was.

Madvillainy is my favourite album of 2004 because it is, in a vacuum, a work of genius. It is stylistically and lyrically innovative, its motifs are brilliant, moody, and fun, and the percussion.... Man. I'm by no means a denizen of hip-hop, and I'm still learning much about the genre: but I can't help but feel this is in consideration for its Mt. Rushmore. Y'know, if Mt. Rushmore weren't a lazy and racist metaphor to draw on.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I was listening back to a bit of Funeral yesterday and while it's competent and they're skilled musicians, I think the work is executed a bit too...overdramatically for my taste. It's got some really nice bits though. Win Butler's voice though...oof. Too much. I think the sensibilities might be lacking more than their technical abilities. In terms of mainstream classics, I definitely appreciate something like Is This It a lot more. It kind of had that same gateway effect on me too years ago and while I don't think it's among the greatest records of all-time and like lots of things better, I think it holds up really well with great style and phenomenal groove. Casablancas' voice is perfect.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I was listening back to a bit of Funeral yesterday and while it's competent and they're skilled musicians, I think the work is executed a bit too...overdramatically for my taste.

I think that's why so many like it, it's a really dramatic album; songs like Wake Up and Rebellion are just so like... cinematic? I don't know if that's the right word for it, but they just feel larger than life in a way. Funeral's one of my favorite albums ever though, the only weak spot to me is In the Backseat, that's a really weak closer, but I can listen to the first 9 tracks any time. I don't remember instantly falling in love with a song like I did with Rebellion (Lies) as well, I remember watching the music video and going out to buy the CD that same day.

 

[Saturated Fats]

I think that's why so many like it, it's a really dramatic album; songs like Wake Up and Rebellion are just so like... cinematic? I don't know if that's the right word for it, but they just feel larger than life in a way. Funeral's one of my favorite albums ever though, the only weak spot to me is In the Backseat, that's a really weak closer, but I can listen to the first 9 tracks any time. I don't remember instantly falling in love with a song like I did with Rebellion (Lies) as well, I remember watching the music video and going out to buy the CD that same day.

Cinematic is absolutely the right word for it. You need only watch this performance of Wake Up at Glastonbury to get that exact feeling:



The way the crowd - and the band - react to what's happening, is something that few bands in the modern era are able to provide. There's so much cynicism in post-modern art critique, and the public tends to be so self-conscious about everything, including their reactions to art. For an album to be so unashamedly melodramatic, and to evoke such wholehearted investment from the public, is really cool to see, especially for a sentimental guy like myself.

I just think that it has lost its artistic impact to me as I've heard works of art-rock that just clearly do it better. Like The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2, Swans Soundtracks for the Blind, or basically anything by Bjork. But I still appreciate the absolute crap out of Funeral, as I tried to convey

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Nobody asked me, but I think Funeral is detestable. Pop music that tries too much. As for Madvillainy, as much as I think the concept is cool, and that it might have been a very good instrumental record with some narrative moments, I kind of switch off whenever there's actual songs (kind of like the opposite to Lovage's Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By, where the narrative snippets were the weaker links in-between great songs). It's still a pretty good album and it doesn't make us look dumb as HF's favorite for 2004 (1980 really is our weak year).

 

[Saturated Fats]

Nobody asked me, but I think Funeral is detestable. Pop music that tries too much. As for Madvillainy, as much as I think the concept is cool, and that it might have been a very good instrumental record with some narrative moments, I kind of switch off whenever there's actual songs (kind of like the opposite to Lovage's Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By, where the narrative snippets were the weaker links in-between great songs). It's still a pretty good album and it doesn't make us look dumb as HF's favorite for 2004 (1980 really is our weak year).

I respect the hell out of your opinion, and appreciate how well you're able to articulate it.

Why is it detestable for something to 'try too hard'? It's something I hear often (especially in music circles), and it's a critique that's part of the post-modern emphasis on being self-conscious and not trying to stand apart from the crowd. But I don't see why leaning heavily into sentimentality or melodrama is a bad thing at the root. Again, I'm a super sentimental guy at heart, so maybe it just fills my tank a little more than someone with a more grounded worldview.

Oh, and yeah. The 1980 vote broke my heart.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I was never curious about AC/DC from the little I'd heard but I had no idea they were perceived as a corny/uninteresting band by numerous people.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I respect the hell out of your opinion, and appreciate how well you're able to articulate it.

Why is it detestable for something to 'try too hard'? It's something I hear often (especially in music circles), and it's a critique that's part of the post-modern emphasis on being self-conscious and not trying to stand apart from the crowd. But I don't see why leaning heavily into sentimentality or melodrama is a bad thing at the root. Again, I'm a super sentimental guy at heart, so maybe it just fills my tank a little more than someone with a more grounded worldview.

Oh, and yeah. The 1980 vote broke my heart.

I think tries too hard is often just another way of saying false. I agree with your point but I think it's a thing where people will substitute 'does not resonate in an authentic way' with 'trying too hard'.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I respect the hell out of your opinion, and appreciate how well you're able to articulate it.

Why is it detestable for something to 'try too hard'? It's something I hear often (especially in music circles), and it's a critique that's part of the post-modern emphasis on being self-conscious and not trying to stand apart from the crowd. But I don't see why leaning heavily into sentimentality or melodrama is a bad thing at the root. Again, I'm a super sentimental guy at heart, so maybe it just fills my tank a little more than someone with a more grounded worldview.

Oh, and yeah. The 1980 vote broke my heart.

Yeah, typing it I was thinking "practice what you preach", because whenever someone says that a work is "pretentious" I react like you did and I have a few follow-up questions - and I kind of did the same right there. I guess it's nothing against the music itself (music can't "try"), it is what it is, pop music (I'm still not too sure what pop means, here I use it as popular/mainstream). The problem is it was received as some artistic achievement, while it's still - to my ears anyway - only pop music, maybe a little more clever than the usual stuff, but still very limited in both construction and sound. I had a similar problems a few years earlier with Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, which I think is a great album, but still done in limited and normative ways that the critics kind of ignored in order to proclaim it a great work of art.

 

[kook10]

I was never curious about AC/DC from the little I'd heard but I had no idea they were perceived as a corny/uninteresting band by numerous people.

Neither did I, but the internet has introduced academic scrutiny to rock n' roll. I suppose it is not surprising that they don't appeal to cork sniffers (an increasingly overrepresented group).

 

[Mikeaveli]

The greatest song ever written, in my opinion.

 

[Aladyyn]

I was never curious about AC/DC from the little I'd heard but I had no idea they were perceived as a corny/uninteresting band by numerous people.

"I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same."
- Angus Young, 2000

 

[Ouroboros]

I respect the hell out of your opinion, and appreciate how well you're able to articulate it.

Why is it detestable for something to 'try too hard'? It's something I hear often (especially in music circles), and it's a critique that's part of the post-modern emphasis on being self-conscious and not trying to stand apart from the crowd. But I don't see why leaning heavily into sentimentality or melodrama is a bad thing at the root. Again, I'm a super sentimental guy at heart, so maybe it just fills my tank a little more than someone with a more grounded worldview.

Oh, and yeah. The 1980 vote broke my heart.

Good point about the post-modern influence, particularly on what people would consider, for lack of a better term, 'hipster chic' taste. The artist is separated from their art by some degree of ironic distance, everything is 'meta'. The last thing you'd ever want is for somebody to think you actually care or are invested in something.

Trying too hard is a criticism that isn't applied evenly across the board. Why is it never brought up regarding something like Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band? Those guys nearly killed themselves trying to achieve that particular sound. Locking themselves in a house to practice incessantly, and subjecting themselves to what amounts to psychological torture all to achieve a certain sonic aesthetic. Has there ever been a band that tried harder? ...and it was all done to basically just end up sounding like The Shaggs.

So I don't see it as a particularly meaningful or insightful criticism. Seems more like a post-hoc justification than anything else.

 

[Ouroboros]

Neither did I, but the internet has introduced academic scrutiny to rock n' roll. I suppose it is not surprising that they don't appeal to cork sniffers (an increasingly overrepresented group).

Cork sniffers. I like that.

I have no interest in AC/DC musically, but even ignoring that aspect they're almost too intelligent. Certainly far too aware of how they're perceived by the intelligentsia.

...but in general I'm a big fan of music so pig-headedly ignorant and stridently abrasive that it almost bends back around the other way and becomes art in a weird way. 'Caveman savant' stuff.

I guess I associate cleverness with irony and irony with being inauthentic. To me, authenticity is an unwavering commitment to a certain aesthetic and not so much about 'realness' or 'relatability'. I place a high value on that.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Yeah, as I already said, "trying too hard" wasn't the best way to formulate my thought - sorry it got things off-track like that, but at least it generated some discussion.

I think we're ready for 1969 now...

 

[Shareefruck]

I don't think how hard an artist actually tries is remotely relevant, but I do think the illusion of how hard they're trying, as communicated by the music can be a clear and critical flaw that speaks to the poor sensibilities of something. When something is really really good, it does tend to feel effortless and natural, rather than forced and overly calculated (even if in reality, it totally was). Maybe there are exceptions, but I can't really think of any. Something like Captain Beefheart doesn't sound that way at all-- it sounds completely organic despite the tedious effort that went into it. Meanwhile, someone like Roger Waters can occasionally feel very off-puttingly "Okay, get over yourself, try-hard", regardless of the actual effort he's putting into it. I don't consider that a hollow criticism at all, nor do I think it has anything to do with detached post-modern hipster attitudes, really (to me that's a completely different and unrelated problem).

That said, part of what initially grabbed me about Funeral was precisely its simple over-dramatic-ness and I think that that aspect of them actually felt really genuine, which is not something I typically associate with over-dramaticness. It sort of communicates this almost child-like "heart-bursting-out-of-your-chest-and-you-can't-contain-it", "I'm-supposed-to-hide-it-but-I-don't-care-to-anymore" feeling that's infectious, charming, and weirdly heart-breaking (or at least this is how I felt at the time) in its naivety, I guess. Kind of reminds me of a different version of the gutteral energy that punk has. The band turned into something worse/outright bad and annoying shortly after that, in my opinion (especially with Reflektor, although I didn't care for Suburbs either).

In hindsight, I'm less impressed by the execution and how one-note it feels now and I wouldn't consider it a great album, but I do think it's a cool/inspired vibe/approach that I could still imagine better artists having a field day with, personally (seems relatively untapped to me). Strangely, while they're not that similar at all (and Joy Division isn't really all about this vibe), it was hearing Unknown Pleasures/Ceremony afterwards that initially made me go "Oh wait... Funeral actually doesn't sound that good/right compared to this."

In a weird way (and this probably isn't going to make sense-- it's just a gut-level thing), I started to think of Funeral as an album where a not particular great band tries to rekindle the magical feeling of Ceremony over and over again using their own themes, and kind of fails but is able to successfully trick the uninitiated in a really-poor-man's-version kind of way. Neighborhood #1/Tunnels in particular gives me that impression (especially those first few chords), although I've heard a lot of people say that they don't hear any resemblance.

Similarly, I'm pretty sure that the fact that I was predisposed to eventually loving Hook's burpy bass in Unknown Pleasures was why I was initially won over by something like Turn on The Bright Lights, even though I think Interpol is pretty bad and lame, in hindsight.

I think looking back at the musical journey is pretty interesting, but I don't really believe in/relate to feeling nostalgic about it, personally.

 

[Ceremony]

American Idiot

Hot Fuss and Futures by Jimmy Eat World somewhere behind

 

[Habsfunk]

Three great, overlooked albums from the garage-punk world came out this year:
The Hunches - Hobo Sunrise: This music is a true assault on the sense in the vein of The Stooges and Rocket From the Tombs. It's noisy, but also melodic, with ferocious guitar and drums, and great vocals by Hart Gledhill.

Lost Sounds - ST: The fourth and final album by Jay Reatards best band. He and Alicja Trout brought keyboards back to punk in an awesome manner, mixing punk, new wave, and black metal. This isn't their best album (that's Black Wave) but it is a fitting swan song. I think they would have seen indie success if they'd stuck together because they were both such prolific songwriters.

The King Khan & BBQ Show - ST: This duo perfectly combined doo-wop, garage rock, soul, and punk. The songs are simple, catchy, and eminently singable. King Khan was the flashy showman up front while Mark Sultan was the soulful crooner lurking in the back, playing drums and guitar, and showcasing some of the best vocals around.

 

[Saturated Fats]

In a weird way (and this probably isn't going to make sense-- it's just a gut-level thing), I started to think of Funeral as an album where a not particular great band tries to rekindle the magical feeling of Ceremony over and over again using their own themes, and kind of fails but is able to successfully trick the uninitiated in a really-poor-man's-version kind of way. Neighborhood #1/Tunnels in particular gives me that impression (especially those first few chords), although I've heard a lot of people say that they don't hear any resemblance.

Big yikes. I'm not sure I agree with the bolded. Feels like a bit of a crass comment, particularly the part about 'the uninitiated'. And anyway, I don't sense Joy Division in it at all, even if Ceremony is one of their more light-hearted songs. I know it's considered Indie Rock, but Funeral has always felt more Chamber Pop to me. I hear way more Belle and Sebastian, Pulp, and Bjork in it than the melancholy of anything JD put out.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Three great, overlooked albums from the garage-punk world came out this year:
The Hunches - Hobo Sunrise: This music is a true assault on the sense in the vein of The Stooges and Rocket From the Tombs. It's noisy, but also melodic, with ferocious guitar and drums, and great vocals by Hart Gledhill.

Lost Sounds - ST: The fourth and final album by Jay Reatards best band. He and Alicja Trout brought keyboards back to punk in an awesome manner, mixing punk, new wave, and black metal. This isn't their best album (that's Black Wave) but it is a fitting swan song. I think they would have seen indie success if they'd stuck together because they were both such prolific songwriters.

The King Khan & BBQ Show - ST: This duo perfectly combined doo-wop, garage rock, soul, and punk. The songs are simple, catchy, and eminently singable. King Khan was the flashy showman up front while Mark Sultan was the soulful crooner lurking in the back, playing drums and guitar, and showcasing some of the best vocals around.

Only listened to the first song of the Hobo Sunrise album and I already love this post!

 

[Shareefruck]

Big yikes. I'm not sure I agree with the bolded. Feels like a bit of a crass comment, particularly the part about 'the uninitiated'. And anyway, I don't sense Joy Division in it at all, even if Ceremony is one of their more light-hearted songs. I know it's considered Indie Rock, but Funeral has always felt more Chamber Pop to me. I hear way more Belle and Sebastian, Pulp, and Bjork in it than the melancholy of anything JD put out.

The uninitiated being me at the time. That's just how I felt about my experience with it-- it feels like just a gateway thing and not a whole lot more to me. It gave me a feeling resembling the Ceremony feeling (even though it's not exactly the same), but felt like a cheaper imitation grade version of it to me after discovering the other stuff. I did say it was just a gut-level thing though, so treat it as pie-in-the-sky nonsense if there are offensive implications that come with it-- it's not intended to be a comment/criticism/complaint about other people.

I never found Arcade Fire appealing in any Belle & Sebastian/Bjork/Pulp-esque way, personally. They have similarities but those similarities were never the draw for me-- the Tunnels/Ceremony connection (however marginal) was.

I'm also not saying that they're going for exactly the same idea, but I think the bittersweet effect that their ideas/sounds have ends up resonating in kind of a similar way. Funeral was kind of like... defiantly unapologetic enthusiasm to a degree that feels strangely tragic yet liberating, and Ceremony is kind of... complete acceptance of total hopelessness to a degree that feels strangely tragic yet liberating, and they both come across in the sound, not just the lyrics. Hard to explain.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I don't think how hard an artist actually tries is remotely relevant, but I do think the illusion of how hard they're trying, as communicated by the music can be a clear and critical flaw that speaks to the poor sensibilities of something. When something is really really good, it does tend to feel effortless and natural, rather than forced and overly calculated (even if in reality, it totally was). Maybe there are exceptions, but I can't really think of any. Something like Captain Beefheart doesn't sound that way at all-- it sounds completely organic despite the tedious effort that went into it. Meanwhile, someone like Roger Waters can occasionally feel very off-puttingly "Okay, get over yourself, try-hard", regardless of the actual effort he's putting into it. I don't consider that a hollow criticism at all, nor do I think it has anything to do with detached post-modern hipster attitudes, really (to me that's a completely different and unrelated problem).

That said, part of what initially grabbed me about Funeral was precisely its simple over-dramatic-ness and I think that that aspect of them actually felt really genuine, which is not something I typically associate with over-dramaticness. It sort of communicates this almost child-like "heart-bursting-out-of-your-chest-and-you-can't-contain-it", "I'm-supposed-to-hide-it-but-I-don't-care-to-anymore" feeling that's infectious, charming, and weirdly heart-breaking (or at least this is how I felt at the time) in its naivety, I guess. Kind of reminds me of a different version of the gutteral energy that punk has. The band turned into something worse/outright bad and annoying shortly after that, in my opinion (especially with Reflektor, although I didn't care for Suburbs either).

In hindsight, I'm less impressed by the execution and how one-note it feels now and I wouldn't consider it a great album, but I do think it's a cool/inspired vibe/approach that I could still imagine better artists having a field day with, personally (seems relatively untapped to me). Strangely, while they're not that similar at all (and Joy Division isn't really all about this vibe), it was hearing Unknown Pleasures/Ceremony afterwards that initially made me go "Oh wait... Funeral actually doesn't sound that good/right compared to this."

In a weird way (and this probably isn't going to make sense-- it's just a gut-level thing), I started to think of Funeral as an album where a not particular great band tries to rekindle the magical feeling of Ceremony over and over again using their own themes, and kind of fails but is able to successfully trick the uninitiated in a really-poor-man's-version kind of way. Neighborhood #1/Tunnels in particular gives me that impression (especially those first few chords), although I've heard a lot of people say that they don't hear any resemblance.

Similarly, I'm pretty sure that the fact that I was predisposed to eventually loving Hook's burpy bass in Unknown Pleasures was why I was initially won over by something like Turn on The Bright Lights, even though I think Interpol is pretty bad and lame, in hindsight.

I think looking back at the musical journey is pretty interesting, but I don't really believe in/relate to feeling nostalgic about it, personally.

Man, I love Beefheart, but organic is not a word I would use to describe the conveyance of their music. While it sounds distinct in the way that I couldn't imagine it anyway else, to me, his music comes across as an elaborate puzzle that resembles more a masterful jenga tower made by a ridiculous architect.

 

[VC]

Royce da 5'9 'Death is Certain' ... a beautifully dark and hungry album.
Madvillain 'Madvillainy' ... production, wordplay, references galore.
MURS & 9th Wonder 'Murs 3:16 The 9th Edition' ... my favorite Murs album as it gets personal.
Masta Ace 'A Long Hot Summer' ... A great album long story by an amazing story teller with great smooth summer beats.
MF DOOM 'Venomous Villain [VV:2]' ... Doom being Doom.
Jedi Mind Tricks 'Legacy of Blood' ... Angry aggressive underground hiphop.
Handsome Boy Modeling School 'White People' ... Dan the Automator and Prince Paul hook up again for a hiphop/rock blend that actually works.
R.A. the Rugged Man 'Die, Rugged Man, Die' ... Storytelling
MF DOOM 'MM..Food' ... Doom's 3rd album of the year, his best era.
Leak Bros 'Water World' ... Cage & Tame1, the early stages of Easter Conference and Def Jux. Beginning of something new for me.

Lots of other hiphop albums came out that year from big artists but didn't get much replay from me from the likes of: Kanye, The Roots, Ghostface, Nas, De La Soul, Beastie Boys (my fav. group/band of all time), Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Eminem, Ill Bill, Method Man, Mobb Deep, Cypress Hill and more. Normally that would be amazing but meh.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Big yikes. I'm not sure I agree with the bolded. Feels like a bit of a crass comment, particularly the part about 'the uninitiated'. And anyway, I don't sense Joy Division in it at all, even if Ceremony is one of their more light-hearted songs. I know it's considered Indie Rock, but Funeral has always felt more Chamber Pop to me. I hear way more Belle and Sebastian, Pulp, and Bjork in it than the melancholy of anything JD put out.

Speaking of Belle and Sebastian...one of my favorite 00s song. Not really that familiar with them otherwise.