![[SUPERCAR - JUMP UP]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SupercarJumpUp-300x300.jpg)
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.
Here’s my matrix of the most important years in music for the last 4 decades:
- 2010s: 2015 (so far)
- 2000s: 2002
- 1990s: 1998
- 1980: 1987
The years adjacent to the ones listed are also pretty pivotal, which is the case for 1999. The list doesn’t change much, but a lot of great music came out that year.
- NUMBER GIRL, SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT
- Shiina Ringo, Muzai Moratorium
- Utada Hikaru, First Love
- ACO, absolute ego
- Nina Hynes, Creation
- SUPERCAR, Jump Up
- The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
- Port of Notes, Complain Too Much
- Mandy Barnett, I’ve Got a Right to Cry
- The Kiss Offs, Goodbye Private Life
Other favorites from the year:
- L’Arc~en~Ciel, ray
- Jordan Knight, Jordan Knight
- eX-Girl, Kero! Kero! Kero!
- NUMBER GIRL, DESTRUCTION BABY
- OBLIVION DUST, Reborn
- UA, turbo
- Moby, Play
- Maná, MTV Unplugged
- Dr.StrangeLove, Twin Suns
- The Roots, Things Fall Apart
- Fantastic Plastic Machine, Luxury
- Asylum Street Spankers, Hot Lunch
- Café Tacuba, Revés/Yo Soy
A retrospective addition of SUPERCAR bumps L’arc~en~Ciel to the extended list. Futurama was the first SUPERCAR album I owned, and I liked it so much, I was hesitant to explore the band’s early work, out of fear it wouldn’t live up.
As it turns out, Futurama was the last of SUPERCAR’s great albums. The first two albums are classics in their own right. I’ve yet to dig into Ookeah! and Ooyeah!
I’ve only added Moby, The Roots and Fantastic Plastic Machine to the extended list, but albums by Wilco, Rage Against the Machine, Built to Spill and Mos Def could have made it on there. I just wanted to avoid the kind of crowding we saw in 2002 and 2003.
Tags: aco, asylum street spankers, cafe tacuba, dr strangelove, ex-girl, fantastic plastic machine, favorite edition, jordan knight, l'arc-en-ciel, mana, mandy barnett, moby, nina hynes, number girl, oblivion dust, port of notes, rewind, shiina ringo, supercar, the flaming lips, the kiss offs, the roots, ua, utada hikaru
![[Tomosaka Rie - Shoujo Robot]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/200032388_f-300x267.jpg)
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.
I’m flabbergasted by the idea that, as of this writing, the year 2000 is nearly 20 years ago. As much as I lionize the music I heard in high school, the music of my late 20s has been incredibly influential, perhaps professionally as well as personally. Thus, we don’t see much change from the original list.
- Shiina Ringo, Shouso Strip
- Cocco, Rapunzel
- NUMBER GIRL, SAPPUKEI
- SUPERCAR, Futurama
- eX-Girl, Big When Far, Small When Close
- Sleater-Kinney, All Hands on the Bad One
- Idlewild, 100 Broken Windows
- FEED, Make Every Stardust Shimmer!
- Tomosaka Rie, “Shoujo Robot”
- Sade, Lovers Rock
Other favorites from the year:
- Do As Infinity, Break of Dawn
- Yaida Hitomi, daiya-monde
- PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
- OBLIVION DUST, Butterfly Head
- At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command
- L’Arc~en~Ciel, REAL
- Bonnie Pink, Let Go
- MISSILE GIRL SCOOT, Fiesta!
- Smashing Pumpkins, MACHINA/The Machine of God
- m-flo, Planet Shining
- Juanes, Fíate Bien
- Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Girl
- U2, All That You Can’t Leave Behind
- La Ley, Uno
- Sinéad O’Connor, Faith and Courage
- Soundtrack, High Fidelity
- BBMak, Sooner or Later
At the time of its release, I was just glad All That You Can’t Leave Behind was not a continuation of Pop. The recent vinyl reissue of the album, unfortunately, reveals its shortcomings. Thus, it loses its original ranking in the Favorite 10.
Plot twist: I panned 2004’s How to Build an Atomic Bomb, but that album has endured far better than All That You Can’t Leave Behind. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Idlewild’s 1000 Broken Windows takes the spot vacated by U2.
Do As Infinity probably could have held onto its place in the Favorite 10 on the strength of “Raven” alone. At the time, most J-Pop I had encountered relied heavily on keyboards and drum machines, so a karaoke-ready band with crunchy guitars felt novel to me.
I can’t say I love Break of Dawn as much now. It’s rare that singles displace albums for the Favorite 10, but all three tracks on “Shoujo Robot” hint at an awesome album I wish Shiina Ringo and Tomosaka Rie recorded.
The extended list is really just all the titles that could have legitimately competed for that bottom spot on the Favorite 10.
Tags: at the drive-in, bbmak, bonnie pink, cocco, do as infinity, emmylou harris, ex-girl, favorite edition, feed, idlewild, juanes, l'arc-en-ciel, la ley, m-flo, missile girl scoot, number girl, oblivion dust, pj harvey, rewind, sade, shiina ringo, sinead o'connor, sleater-kinney, smashing pumpkins, soundtrack, supercar, tomosaka rie, u2, yaida hitomi
![[Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CodyChesnuTTLandingOnAH58620_f-300x300.jpg)
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.
What I find most remarkable about the 2012 list is the number of albums listed under honorable mentions. The revised list has culled a lot of those titles. I probably listed so many because I didn’t feel passionate enough about any of them.
- Solange, True
- Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
- Jeremy Denk, Ligeti/Beethoven
- … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Lost Songs
- Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE
- Cody Chesnutt, Landing on a Hundred
- ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Landmark
- ZAZEN BOYS, Stories
- Tokyo Jihen, Shinyawaku
- Duran Duran, A Diamond in the Mind
Other favorites from the year:
- Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour
- Roomful of Teeth, Roomful of Teeth
- Gossip, A Joyful Noise
- Tokyo Jihen, Tokyo Collection
- TOUMING MAGAZINE, TOUMING MAGAZINE FOREVER
- OBLIVION DUST, 9 Gates of Bipolar
- Gaytheist, Stealth Beats
Cody ChesnuTT dislodges Scissor Sisters from the original list, and Frank Ocean jumps up a few spots. Otherwise, there are no remarkable changes.
If anything, 2012 has turned out to be something of a dud year. When I review my purchases in subsequent years, 2012 releases are scant, and most of the albums I bought that year only garner no more than a 3-star rating.
Tags: and you will know us by the trail of dead, asian kung-fu generation, cody chesnutt, duran duran, favorite edition, frank ocean, gaytheist, gossip, jeremy denk, oblivion dust, roomful of teeth, santigold, scissor sisters, solange, tokyo jihen, touming magazine, zazen boys