Musicwhore.org Music and memory

A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.

The first half of the 2004 list has remained unchanged. The last half has undergone extensive revision.

1. Arcade Fire, Funeral
2. Eluvium, An Accidental Memory in Case of Death
3. Kicell, Mado Ni Chikyuu
4. Dylan Rice, Wandering Eyes
5. The Killers, Hot Fuss
6. Madvillain, Madvillainy
7. Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose
8. The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come for Free
9. Mindy Smith, One Moment More
10. STRAIGHTENER, LOST WORLD’S ANTHOLOGY

Other favorites from the year:

• Pinback, Summer in Abaddon
• SUPERCAR, ANSWER
• Kanye West, The College Dropout
• ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Solfa
• Bonnie Pink, Even So
• Fuji Fabric, Fuji Fabric
• Sacha Sacket, Shadowed
• m-flo, Astromantic
• The Butchies, Make Yr Life
• Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters
• ZAZEN BOYS, ZAZEN BOYS II

A lot of these revisions are retrospective. I listened to SUPERCAR’s ANSWER when it was reissued on vinyl, and I didn’t find the album as engaging as I originally thought. I’ve come to like Hot Fuss more as time has passed, and I don’t feel as much attachment to Van Lear Rose.

My growing appreciation for hip-hop means Madvillain and The Streets knock Quruli’s Antenna off the list entirely.

I’m still a bit skeptical about keeping Mindy Smith in the Favorite 10, or bumping STRAIGHTENER into the upper echelon. I picked up Pinback’s Summer in Abaddon from Goodwill out of curiosity, and I have a sense that in short time, it will nudge Smith or STRAIGHTENER down to the extended list.

As we go further back to the start of the Aughts, the extended list grows longer. A lot of great music came out at the start of the century. If the Internet hadn’t splintered the mass market, it might have been a galvanizing golden age of popular music.

Tags: arcade fire, asian kung-fu generation, bonnie pink, dylan rice, eluvium, favorite edition, fuji fabric, kanye west, kicell, loretta lynn, m-flo, madvillain, mindy smith, pinback, rewind, sacha sacket, scissor sisters, straightener, supercar, the butchies, the killers, the streets, zazen boys