Day 0942 - The Rising

Bruce Springsteen "The Rising" (2002)

This is essentially Bruce's 9/11 album.   He told a story to journalists that at some point after the World Trade Centre attacks, a man in a car had pulled up alongside Bruce, wound down his window and said "we need you now".   Probably for a lesser artist, that story and some of these songs would seem a bit corny; but for the boss it feels about right.

The album seems to manage to capture a myriad of conflicting feelings that were swirling around, from anger, loss, sadness, confusion.  There's the morose "Paradise" contrasting with the gospel tinged "My City of Ruin" and the upbeat "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)".

It was Springsteen's first studio album in 7 odd years and his first full album with the E-Street Band since "Born in the USA", and Springsteen and the band slip with ease back into that particular groove of hot-blooded stadium-ready rock with an earthy soul to it.  Definitely "Lonesome Day" feels like it would sit quite easily with that album.

There are some different sounds too, with "Worlds Apart" opening with middle-eastern vocals (a daring move, all things considered), or "The Fuse" which with its looped beat and high drawling vocal sounds almost like a Chris Cornell solo track in places.

Springsteen is in fine voice and it's a good album that manages to offer up enough patriotism to keep conservatives happy but with enough understanding and trying to heal wounds to appeal to those who hadn't given in totally to the hate, anger and xenophobia that tried to take hold after the attacks.

Day 0941 - The Last Broadcast

Doves "The Last Broadcast" (2002)

This one didn't really hit me on the first listen in the way their first album "Lost Souls" did.   It all just seemed a little less memorable.   It wasn't until I hit the track "N.Y." that it clicked for me.  The song has a nice groove overlaid with harmonised vocals that gets overrun with noise building to a crescendo and then bringing it back down to earth afterwards.   

 

The album really opened up for me after that.   The title track has a nice folk-rock feel to it, almost a bit like Fleet Foxes, but with a few spacey touches.   The last few tracks were solid too so I went back to the start and re-listened to the whole album which I now felt much more in tune with.

Similar kind of vibe to their previous album as far looped musical ideas with some nice vocals and vocal arrangements over the top.

Day 0940 - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” (2002) – got it

A continuation of the brilliantly trippy pop sound of 1999’s “The Soft Bulletin” (see day 890).   I could see that it would be easy enough with this album to make comparisons to the Beatles, what with it being a spacey baroque pop.  To my ears though, it sounds more like ‘psychedelic Bacharach’ with its clash of laid-back, beautiful melodies with crazy sounds.  This dichotomy between the weird and the traditional is probably best exemplified by Parts one and two of the title track.  The first of which is an earnest acoustic ballad with trippy trappings, the second of which is a proggy noise-fest punctuated with human screams.

On the face of it, this seems as though it’s a concept album, with its sci-fi overtones, the two-part title track and the continued references to robots and fights.  Singer Wayne Coyne though has refuted the idea, so it seems like there are just some similar lyrical ideas.  The opening track was deemed to be a bit close to Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” so he was given a writing credit.  The lyrics of that song (“Fight Test”) seem to turn against pacifism and state the need to fight.  I remember some people at the time opining that this was a reference to 9/11… I personally don’t think so, but if anyone was going to recast Al Qaeda as pink robots then I guess it’d be the Flaming Lips.

Many of the other songs follow the vibe of the “Soft Bulletin” looking at such elemental ideas as love, life, death, loneliness but never in a cynical, nihilistic way.  Certainly, the spacey, ecstatic ballad "Do You Realise" has to be one of the most beautiful and positive musings on death ever committed to record.

One thing I like about this album is that if you stripped most of these songs down to just acoustic guitar with bass and drums, they’d still be good songs.  The washes of sound, the bleeps and bloops, the sonic manipulation are all just icing (pink icing if you will) on the Lips’ cake.

Day 0939 - The Coral

The Coral "The Coral" (2002)

What the what?!

Another situation where I was familiar with the name but for some reason assumed this band was one of the indie rock groups making the scene at the time; far from it! This album mixes a punky raucousness with melodic sensibility.  Musical control with wild abandon.  The whole thing is smothered in vocal harmonies which is something that (if you're keeping track) I love.

"Goodbye" has jazzy fusiony vamps.  "Shadows Fall" has a Specials-esque bit of moody two-tone with folky vocals that suddenly launch into a burst of hot jazz and plays out with a cool ping-pong vocal thing.  "I Remember When" moves between slow morose alt-rock and bursts into an explosive almost punky rock for the chorus and rounds out on a sort of klezmer section.

It's a definite "all sounds considered" approach that wraps in rock, folk, jazz, balladry, reggae, sea shanty, indie rock.  Music for the sake of music, and I love it!

Day 0938 - A Rush of Blood to the Head

Coldplay "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (2002) - got it

It would have been easy enough for Coldplay to do "Parachutes MKII", to bust out sound-alikes of "Yellow" and "Trouble" but they did seem to be resisting that and trying to push their sound to other places.   From the thumping relentless rhythm of "Politik" to the on-edge "God Put a Smile on Your Face", to the almost Echo and the Bunnymen vibe of "A Whisper".   

Even a big hit like "In My Place" seemed to be moving towards a new more stadium-friendly vibe which, though the band would lean on more as they went on, was a bit of a change from their debut.   

The band had been feeling an urgency after the huge success of Parachutes, both to follow the album and to not just repeat what they'd done.  The recording process stopped and started as they went through stages of self-doubt and not being happy with the songs.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd be happy enough for them to have pulled the plug then, but I'm happy they got this one out.   I've kind of lost track of them for the last four or so albums, but I definitely enjoyed the first couple and their fourth album "Viva la Vida, or Death and all His Friends"

 

Another one that I own thanks to my wife.

Day 0937 - Come Away With Me

Norah Jones “Come Away With Me” (2002) – got it 

 

Like many people I discovered Norah via the single “Don’t Know Why”.  I feel as though I heard it through an ad for her album.  Her dreamy, breathy voice, laid-back groove and beautiful melody hooked me in.

For some people it was TOO laid-back, with Norah being unfairly dubbed “Snorah Jones” by some  detractors.  While it’s true that her brand of jazz-pop-infused-with-folk lacks the pizazz of pop, and the teeth of the best jazz, there is some good songcraft and musicianship on display.  Definitely there are enough good jazz musicians involved (including John Zorn collaborators: Bill Frisell, Kenny Wolleson and Jesse Harris) to lend her some credibility amongst the genre’s purists.

It’s not as if this is a jazz aberration.  Jones taps into the light melodic jazz sounds of Bill Evans and Billie Holliday, adding in touches of country, folk and even tango (“I’ve got to see you again”).  The Hank Williams country classic “Cold Cold Heart” is given a sultry jazz reworking.  “Shoot the Moon” has a moody descending melodic pattern.

The album is an exercise in restraint, whether it’s the smouldering but understated sensuality of “I’ve Got To See You Again” and ”Turn Me On” (a nice bluesy number where Norah’s voice builds above a murmur to really get the passion across); or the sparse arrangements, which generally just consist of minimal drums, bass, a guitar and some piano with Norah’s breathy voice over top.  Sometimes she treats herself (and the listener) to a harmony or backing vocal.

Whether or not it’s jazz is in the ear of the beholder, but I like it, and it helped launch Norah’s career.   While she has experimented a little with her music she has largely continued to just move back and forth between the jazz and country idioms.

Day 0936 - A Little Deeper

Miss Dynamite "A Little Deeper" (2002)

The book makes comparisons between Miss Dynamite and Lauryn Hill, suggesting MD helped fill the gap left by Hill's absence from the music scene.   While it's not necessarily always a compliment to label an artist using another's name, being compared to a hugely successful and influential artist like Hill isn't the worst praise to receive.

In places Dynamite has a comparable voice to Hill and this album consists of a similar mix of soul, reggae, hip-hop and RnB.  She cuts her own path though, whether it's the almost loungey (via trip-hop beats) vibe of single "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee", the soul groove of "Brother" or the acapella cry against oppression "Watch over them".   "Krazy Krush" chucks an almost electronic sound into the mix.

I came in not expecting much from the album.  I was familar with "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" and it didn't necessarily leave me with a favourable impression, but as it was I really enjoyed this one with its simple beats, minimal instrumental arrangements and focus on Dynamite's vocals.

 

Guess I should have looked... a little deeper

  

I'll see myself out.

 

Day 0935 - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (2002) - got it

YHF was a mixture of experiences for Wilco, on the one hand parting company with their drummer, but parting with him in favour of new more versatile drummer Glen Kotche.  They were still making the "Mermaid Avenue" albums with Billy Bragg on the side.   Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ended up being rejected by their record label and the band released it online before having the chance to release it themselves the next year on a smaller label.   Regardless of its proliferation on the internet, it was their most successful release up till that point... but to add to the rollercoaster, they were also sued for the use of a sound sample used on the album.

The album title came from the phonetic alphabet used on a collection of short-wave radio recordings that singer Jeff Tweedy had heard.   There is a bit of a short-wave radio sound and a vibe of searching the airwaves to the opening track "I am Trying to Break Your Heart" (which features some great stop-start drumming) and moody, atmospheric closer "Reservations".

The album is mostly a continuation of their melodic alt-country, but the are a few different sounds, like the rocking "I'm the Man Who Loves You" with it's brass that almost has a bit of a Beatles vibe to it.   "Poor Places" is mostly Tweedy singing over a radio frequency-like drones but guitar and piano parts develop over them, building to a crescendo of song and drone.

Another album that my wife owns and that I was more than happy to listen to.

Day 0934- Power in Numbers

Jurassic 5 “Power in Numbers” (2002) – got it

I was introduced to Jurassic 5 through the video for “What’s Golden” (a single from this album).  I was struck by the great beat, interesting production, smart lyrics and the chorus that manages to be catchy without needing rely on a sample or a guest singer.  The real clincher for me was hearing Chali 2na… this group is more than one MC but his bassy percussive rapping style was something I hadn’t really heard before.

I picked up this album not long after that, and it didn’t disappoint.  The tracks have a lot of soul and jazz that sounds like similar to what the Soulquarians’ were doing, though in this case that sound comes courtesy of DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark.   They lay a jazzy groove behind “If you only knew” and strings and melancholic guitar in the Nelly Furtado-featured “Thin Line”.

I like that while there are touches of typical hip-hop braggadocio, the group are largely humble, intelligent and kick against the misogynistic and ‘gangsta’ norms found in some areas of hip-hop.

There is some speedy, snappy rapping on track “A day at the races”, and in fact across the record the MCs seem able to speed it up or slow it down to suit.  They also have a really great style they deploy which is somehow legato and staccato at the same time… like the vocal equivalent of driving over a cattle-stop where the words flow together but each syllable is bouncing off the previous one… ah sorry, I’m dancing about architecture.

Essentially, it’s an album that is bursting with talent, from the core members (most of whom have pursued solo careers) to the guests who include Kool Keith performing the acapella track “DDT”.

J5 would go on to release one more album (2006’s “Feedback”) before splitting up.  While they have reunited for the odd show, no further material (outside of the single "Customer Service") has been released since then.

Day 0933 - Rings Around the World

Super Furry Animals “Rings Around the World” (2001)

Sound!  Music!  Super Furry Animals!

I really enjoyed the interesting Brit-rock of the SFA’s “Fuzzy Logic” album earlier from this list (see day 809) so was eager to see what this album would have to offer.  As it happens, the answer is “Everything!”

The Furries had originally planned on releasing a double album.  Lead vocalist Gruff Rhys was all about excess and wanted to make an epic, cinematic album.   They eventually pared it back to a single album, but maintained the musical gluttony (of which I approve).

The album offers up a bit of everything, with the title track boasting early surfer-era Beach Boys vocal harmonies.  “[A] Touch Sensitive” is string-backed trip-hop.  “No Sympathy” starts as a mellow alt-country track that picks up some Queen-esque vocal harmonies on the choruses, then seems like it’s going to end with a folky 60s vibe but that suddenly glitches out into off-the-wall techno!

“Receptacle for the Respectable” features Paul McCartney eating carrots and celery in time with the melodic Wilson-esque music and ends with what sounds like a run of death metal vocals.  AKA inBn ukurspteb seBqaauthet ae r rapocechkk bysa olpnlogapd!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vocal harmonies and strings abound, definitely helping give the album that desired cinematic feel.  Those elements combined with the genre-hopping left me with a big smile on my dial while I was listening to this.  It's an especially daring outing as it was the group’s major label debut following the dissolution of Creation Records.  It would have been easy enough for them to play it safe.

Day 0932 - Southern Rock Opera

Drive-By Truckers "Southern Rock Opera"

Pretty much what it says on the tin.   A rock opera utilising and talking about Southern Rock, with special focus given to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young, and very much (musically) in their style.

From what I've read, the story is supposed to chart the progress of a group of youngsters from their Southern upbringing longing after fame and fortune, to finally getting what they want but with all the eventual pitfalls of fame.

I would say that I enjoyed one or two of the sounds on here, particularly on the second disc which has lots of nice guitar harmony bits going on and there is solid riffage throughout. "Angels and Fuselage" is a yearning epic rock ballad in the vein of Skynyrd's best.

The problem then is the 90-minute runtime.   I didn't really pay much attention to the 'narrative' and there's not enough variety to maintain interest across that duration of music (for my tastes anyway).   As is the case with many double albums, I feel that this could have been shorn down to an arresting single album.   

Day 0931 - Melody A.M.

Röyksopp "Melody A.M." (2001)

In my mind I had Röyksopp and Sigur Ros as being pretty much the same kind of music... not sure why, maybe it was my mind grouping Western European early 21st century artists together.

Röyksopp is definitely not in that same kind of ambient territory.  It's in the electronic genre but with a lot more prominent melody.  

The first track "So Easy" sounds a bit like Phoenix Foundation's spacier moments, or like a Blur melody with Danger Mouse production.  Pretty sure I've heard track two "Eple" before, it sounds familiar to me with its high blippy synth melody.   There' s a bit of funk in "Röyksopp's Night Out".   Whereas "In Space" is an almost Jean-Michel Jarre-esque synth vibe.

The music is largely instrumental, with vocals used more as an instrument than a focus.   The main exceptions being the laidback "Sparks" and "Remind me", and the peppier "Poor Lenno".

Day 0930 - The Blueprint

Jay Z "The Blueprint" (2001)

It could almost be seen as overcoming adversity, Jay Z had court cases pending against him (though when has that harmed a rappers rep?), he had several high profile beefs underway (though, again....) and his album was released on September 11th 2001, leading to some of his earlier shows needing to be rescheduled.

That aside, this album helped launch the career of producers Kanye West (for better or worse) and was critically lauded.

While I enjoyed some of Jay's rhymes and I could hear the influence of this album on the next decade or so of mainstream hip-hop albums, I don't think it's really converted me into a Jay Z 'fan' as such (apologies if this is hip-hop heresy).

Day 0929 - White Blood Cells

The White Stripes “White Blood Cells” (2001)

For some reason I’ve always kicked against the White Stripes.  I think in part it was that they were so hyped when they first came over here, like some kind of ‘second coming of rock’.  Partly too it was this vibe I got that Jack White was trying just a bit too hard to be this “back to basics no frills rock dude who eschews bass (how dare he) to have his two-piece rock band”.   The cynical 90s teen in me balked at these things.

On reflection though, and setting aside all of that, they are just a good band.   White’s high strong voice is distinctive and the music (though borrowing very heavily from blues and 70s garage rock) is catchy yet punchy.

The album is a nice concise 40-odd minutes despite being 16 tracks long.  That’s also something that I usually like, an album that doesn’t muck around and with songs that don’t overstay their welcome, so again it was a bit foolish of me to cut off my nose to spite my ears (so to speak).  Opener “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” is propelled by Meg’s simple but effective drumming in a nice slow lope which is contrasted with the following track “Hotel Yorba” with its speedy acoustic guitar and almost rockabilly feel.

“Fell in Love with a Girl” is the obvious catchy rock hit that everyone knows, and I certainly don’t dislike it, even after the saturation play it got back in the day.   “We’re Going to be Friends” has a kind of naïve cuteness to it which the band were presumably courting with their peppermint stripe motif and story that they were brother and sister (they were actually husband and wife with Jack Gillis having taken his wife Meg White’s surname).

Rock, blues and country mix in a catchy package.  I’m still not convinced at the band’s divinity, but I can admit that they’ve made some pretty good music over their career.

Day 0928 - La Revancha del Tango

Gotan Project "La Revancha del Tango" (2001)

Gotan Project is another artist where I was familiar with the name but had totally the wrong idea about what sort of music they played.   I assumed they were some kind of indie/alt-rock group.  Not sure if that was based on some vibe I was getting from their name or whether I was getting them mixed up in my head with some other act like Gerling.

The group are nothing like that though.  Much like Suba’s “Sao Paulo Confessions” (day 879) reinvigorated Bossa Nova music through modern electronic interpretation and instrumentation; Gotan Project’s “La Ravancha del Tango” (roughly translated as ‘Tango’s Revenge’) does the same with Tango music.

As with “Sao Paulo Confessions” this album/artist take the genre and produces a music based in the electronic genre but retaining certain familiar aspects, like rhythms or instruments specific to its chosen genre.  One of these instruments is the bandoneon (kind of a small accordion) which I love and has a brilliant sound.

I really enjoyed this album.  It does a really good job of modernising the Tango sound, while still retaining some of its fire in tracks such as “Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre)” and “Una Música Brutal”.

Day 0927 - Time (the Revelator)

Gillian Welch "Time (the Revelator)" (2001) - got it

The film "O Brother Where Art Thou" had revived public interest in rootsy, folky Americana.   Welch and her writing/performing partner David Rawlings had previously worked with the producer of that soundtrack, T-Bone Burnett.  They'd agreed to have Burnett as their producer when he'd let them know he was happy to stick to their approach of minimal instrumentation.

The pair themselves had recently been working with Ryan Adams on his 'Heartbreaker' album and "Time (the Revelator)" was the pair's third album under Welch's name.

The album is a rootsy sort of mountain music.  It feels like a weird mix of music that's 100 years old an brand new at the same time.   The opening track is nice and mellow, then it heads into "My First Lover" which is more of an upbeat banjo-heavy track.   The one that (by its name) sounds like it should be punchier "I want to see that rock n roll" is all vocal harmonies and restraint.

"Ruination Day part II" has an almost dangerous tone to its subdued melody.  Like there's murder under the notes somewhere.   "Dear Someone" is my favourite off the album, a nice trotting pace rendered in acoustic guitar and a vocal harmony that wouldn't have been out of place 90 years ago, or 150 years ago or last week.

Another one of those albums where owning it is one of the many perks of being married to my wife.

Day 0926 - Is This It

 The Strokes "Is This It" (2001)

One of the wave of garage rock revival bands (also known as the 'the' bands, e.g. the Strokes, the Datsuns, the Hives, the White Stripes etc.) and another of those bands given the plaudit of "Saving rock n roll".  I don't know about that, rock just seems to naturally ebb and flow rather than "die" or need "Saving".   

This is an enjoyable album though.  It's compact (under 40 minutes) and gives definite nods to its influences, Velvet Underground, and the first wave of bands influenced by them.   Definitely Julian Casablancas' vocals owe a debt to Lou Reed.   I detect a bit of 'Lust for Life' era Iggy Pop too, particularly in the rhythms of "Someday".   "Hard to Explain"  is a bit of a favourite of mine and always kind of brings Weezer (of all things) to mind.

Most of the songs have a propulsive rhythm to them, even something like "Alone, Together" which is a slower tempo track has an unrelenting beat behind it and the guitars keep pace.   The twisty turny interplay between the two guitars does offer a bit of a point of difference between the Strokes and some of their more rhythmically straight-ahead Rawk contemporaries. 

Day 0925 - Gold

Ryan Adams "Gold" (2001)

I have to admit that my earlier prejudice against Adams (as per my write-up for "Heartbreaker", day 902) was definitely unfounded.   This is another good album, this time in an alt-country vibe with more than a few nods to the rootsy folky rock of The Band.

Adams had wanted to make it a double album but his record company cut the last few songs and offered them up as a bonus disc on some versions of the album.   They would later refuse to release albums Adams had recorded and tore 3-4 potential albums to pieces in order to put together the next album they released... so much for artistic freedom.

"Gold" is at least a collection of songs that Adams wanted to present together.   It opens with the peppy "New York, New York" which got a lot of airplay after the September 11 attacks (which occurred just a few days after Adams filmed his music video in front of the NY skyline).   "Answering Bell" sounded familiar to me, and "When the Stars go Blue" is just lovely.   

 

The last track "Goodnight, Hollywood Boulevard" seems an appropriate closer with its piano and strings putting forward an 'end of night' feel.

Day 0924 - Vespertine

Björk “Vespertine” (2001)

By this stage, Björk is pretty much just her own genre.   She was working on the film “Dancer in the Dark” with director Lars von Trier.  She both starred in the film and wrote the soundtrack.   The experience of working with von Trier was not an enjoyable one for Björk, and she poured this negative energy and the excitement of her new romantic relationship into her writing for 'Vespertine'.   

Björk moved from the musical eclecticism of her first couple of releases and the big beats of her third album to a more fragile, ambient textures.  She collaborated with electronic artists, recorded her own beats using things around the house, and started getting into laptop production software.

The subtle but interesting beats underpin wide open musical spaces that can be populated with anything from a music box, to strings, to radio static to a full choir.  The album feels a lot more intimate than some of Björk's previous work.  She stated for some of the music that it was like she was building a cocoon around herself.

She seems to opt more for intimate quiet vocals too, though her raw belting vocal is brought out for the "You make me want to hurt myself" refrain of single "Pagan Poetry".

Björk's next album "Medulla" would take the DIY/found sounds approach a step further, being built entirely from vocal performances.

Day 0923 - Bright Flight

Silver Jews "Bright Flight" (2001)

Silver Jews were often written off as a Steven Malkmus side-project, despite having been started around the same time as his other more famous band Pavement, and Malkmus doesn't even feature on this album.   I actually enjoyed this more than Pavement/Malkmus too.

The sound of the album is generally a laid-back alt-country, with almost a touch of the melodic side of Velvet Underground (that impression helped by the laconic drawling vocal of that band's primary singer).   There's some variety though, "Transylvania Blues" an instrumental track with that 'driving down the highway at night' vibe to it that builds to haunted rock.   "Let's Not and Say We Did" has a kind of fun Honky-Tonk vibe to it.

The book mentions that Silver Jews mainstay David Berman had written a book of poetry too so I tried to pay a little more attention to the lyrics than I normally would.   I definitely heard a few lines I enjoyed like "You're the highest apple on the tree" and "they slow-danced so the needle wouldn't skip".
I'd also have to say, the part of me that loves a cheesy pun enjoyed the couplet in "Tennessee":
"Marry me and leave Kentucky, come to Tennessee/because you're the only ten I see".   Sweet, corny, perfect.

Day 0922 - Nixon

Lambchop “Nixon” (2000)

I was not really on board with this one at all.  On paper it sounds like I should like it; all strings, gentle drums, and George Harrison-esque lead guitar.  I think what turned me away from it was Kurt Wagner’s.  He sort of mumbles his lyrics, which (from the bits I picked up on) seem to be trying to say something deep, but just don’t really go anywhere.

There were plenty of moments where I thought it might come right.  The silky soul groove of second track “Grumpus” (complete with horns and strings) sounds inviting, but again Wagner’s vocals ruined my enjoyment of it.  “What else could it be”  is again a nice soul groove that Wagner delivers a falsetto vocal over that actually works for me.

“The Petrified Florist” also works quite well, partly because the vocals are buried in a wash of space pop, all treated guitars and horns like some modern take on a Brian Wilson production.

Day 0921 - Stankonia

Outkast "Stankonia" (2000)

 
Following the good reception of their album "Aquemini", Outkast drew attention to Southern hip-hop and found themselves in a position to purchase a studio in which they could work on the follow-up.   By all accounts this gave the group the freedom to work on ideas at their leisure without being 'on the clock'.

The result is some space-aged hip-hop, with interesting production throughout, good beats, and a mix of genres.   Andre 3000 had taken to singing more than rapping which gave the group another string to their bow.  The album opens on an explosive note with "Gasoline Dreams" it moves through slinky and soulful singles "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Miss Jackson" before hitting you with "B.O.B".   That last song more than anything sums up what Outkast were capable of, with drum'n'bass, gospel, rap, and psychedelic rock all smashing together in a track that feels like it shouldn't work, but it does, and obliterates the planet!

The group would start to drift a little with their next (still brilliant) release, being put forward as a double-album that, though each disc featured collaboration from both members, was sounding more and more like two solo albums rather than a unified band release.

 

Day 0920 - Since I Left You

The Avalanches "Since I Left You" (2000)

Cut n paste album par excellence.   I first came to this album via the gloriously weird single "Frontier Psychiatry" and I honestly can't remember how got to hear it.   I feel like I downloaded it during the Kazaa or Limewire days, but how would I have known to do that in the first place?   Dark magic indeed.

The group had spent hours amassing thousands of samples from a large collection of vinyl and spent a year or two putting this album together.  Trading tapes to build on each others ideas.

The sound is a mix of modern dance pop with a sort of technicolour kitschy 50s vibe, where sections of dialogue mix with catchy beats, mix with random sound effects, mix with dramatic strings.   It's not dissimilar in approach to DJ Shadow's "Entroducing" but with much more of a pop bent (the title track) and a good dose of quirkiness ("Two hearts in 3/4").  

As I mentioned before "Frontier Psychiatry" is the one that turned me onto them.   It's a gloriously dreamlike whirl of dialogue and musical samples melded into one of the weirder tracks to grace the airwaves.

Day 0919 - Music

Madonna "Music" (2000)

I've already gushed on about Madonna's virtues as a chameleonic creative force in my entry about "Ray of Light" (day 869) so here I'll just focus on this album itself.

Following the critical success of "Ray of Light", Madonna had been keeping busy.  She'd done some more acting and released a couple of songs for movies soundtracks ("Beautiful Stranger" for 'Austin Powers' and a cover of "American Pie" for the film 'the Next Best Thing' which she had starred in).   Looking to get started on her new album she teamed up with producer William Orbit again but also brought in French electronic artist Mirwais who had attracted her attention when he submitted a demo to her record label.

The two producers definitely put this release in the electronic zone but their differing styles help set it apart from her previous release and keep things interesting.

The opening, self-titled track has a (for the time) contemporary sound to compete with all the Britneys and Christinas of the time.  

The sort of 'digital cowgirl' vibe of the album (personified by the cover photo with Madonna in a stylish Stetson) is showcased on peppy single "Don't Tell Me" and the sombre alt-country-with-a-beat of "I Deserve it".   "Nobody's Perfect" shows the other side of the album's sound, all slinky groove, synths and auto-tune vocals... it doesn't feel cold though, despite the technology.  It has heart.            

The album closes off with the cover of "American Pie" a cover that feels somehow ill-judged and yet hearing the lyrics from Madonna's mouth, it almost feels like it could have been written for her.

Day 0918 - Punishing Kiss

Ute Lemper "Punishing Kiss" (2000)

I'd not heard of Lemper, but it seems she is an acclaimed actress as well as being a singer.   She had built much of her music career dipping into the past, particularly interpreting the songs of Kurt Weil.  For this album she went with modern composers, though many of them had been inspired by Weil too, so still within Lemper's comfort zone.

Thankfully it's VERY much in my wheelhouse too, with her modern composers being such luminaries as Scott Walker, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello and Neil Hanlon.   Hanlon's band the Divine Comedy provide backing for much of the album and he duets with Lemper on a couple of tracks.

The album is bombastic, theatrical and bursting with good music.    Though the individual composers' voices can certainly be heard (Lemper even seems to mimic Costello's snarling crooning style on some of his songs) there's a cohesiveness across the album, and Lemper owns each song with a voice that ranges from gentle theatrical murmur through to passionate howl, on the almost Bjork-esque opener "Little Water Song".

The Costello-penned title track is a fun highlight for me, but the whole album is really good.  The finale is a brooding 10-minute late-era style Scott Walker dirge, which is quite frankly as good a way as any to close an album.

Day 0917 - Felt Mountain

Goldfrapp "Felt Mountain" (2000)

This one was a bit of a surprise.   I'd thought of Goldfrapp as being more electro-pop (actually I'm pretty sure their later work is), and Alison Goldfrapp had done some work with Orbital, and on Tricky's trip-hop magnum opus "Maxinquaye", but this definitely doesn't sound like electronica.

Alison was introduced to Will Gregory and the two hit it off and started collaborating, deciding to form a band under Goldfrapp's distinctive surname.

As above, the album does not really sound electronic, it's more of a theatrical record with lush strings and a definite cinematic feel.   The opening track "Lovely Head" is interesting, sound effects and a lonesome whistle backed with strings the combination of which just screams Ennio Morricone, then it gives way to what sounds like a John Barry James Bond orchestration.   The title track has a definite Bond/Barry vibe to it too, this impression is heightened by Golfrapp's (the person) occasionally Shirley Bassey-esque tone such as on track "Human".   Her voice moves from hushed whispers to low croons to big belting notes.

I definitely dug this one and should probably seek out a bit more Goldfrapp (hopefully there'll be some more on the list).

Day 0916 - The Marshall Mathers LP

 Eminem "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000)

"The Slim Shady LP" (not the most original when it comes to naming albums) moved Em from underground rapper to international celebrity.   The fame and fortune didn't seem to bring happiness with it, as this album is more angry and seems to be working harder to offend (though I guess possibly he was just realising that this approach sold records so leaned into it).

Eminem hunkered down in the studio with Dr Dre and production team the Bass Brothers to work on the follow-up.   

To my mind the album is much more sonically interesting than its predecessor, with songs like "Stan", "the Way I am" and "Marhsall Mathers" being invested with a bit more musicality.

Mathers brings back his Slim Shady persona for "Criminal" and "The Real Slim Shady".   The former with it's slightly stuttered groove feels like it could have been on "Slim Shady LP".  He seems to relish in the fact that so many people/institutions hated him after his first album, name-checking and lashing out at various targets even as he runs his mouth with the usual combination of misogyny, homophobia and general crassness, baiting his critics and inviting their ire.

It's not all wink-to-the-camera trolling though, "Kim" is actually horror movie stuff.   It's Mathers playing out a scenario of confronting and murdering his wife but his passionate vocal delivery with voice cracking as he yells accusations at her, breaks down and then turns to violence makes it feel genuine.  It's disturbing, like the musical equivalent of a snuff film.    It almost feels like it could be from a hidden recording of a real domestic dispute.   I guess that's why people love/hate Eminem, whether it's his anger, his violence, or his twisted humour, it feels real.

 

Day 0915 - Our Aim is to Satisfy

Red Snapper “Our Aim is to Satisfy” (2000)

An interesting band that blends live instruments/players with electronic elements, like samples, loops and scratches to make interesting, (mostly) instrumental music based in deep deep groove.

I liked the sound of this album on paper, and the music was ‘interesting enough’, but not amazing.   That is to say it didn’t impact on me enough that I'll rush out and check out multiple Red Snapper albums, but each new track would have enough of a “ooh that sounds interesting” moment to keep me ticking along.

There’s a reasonable range of sounds on the album, from the dry, hard funk groove of “Some Kind of Kink”, to the lurching groove and cinematic triphop feel of “Shellback”.   There’s the funky “The Rough and the Quick” which is filthy.  It makes its point adequately with its sultry groove and lyrics:

“I want the kind of life I read about

You know, the one you find on the top shelf”

and you’re like ‘yes I do know. I understand that reference’ but before that thought has even lodged itself in your head the lyrics have moved on to spreading thighs, rubbing clits and the singer moaning and panting… y’know, just to really ram the point home.

Album wraps up with “They’re hanging me tonight” which sounds pleasingly like it either emulates or is sampled from an old giallo film soundtrack.
 

 

Day 0914 - Welcome to the Afterfuture

Mike Ladd “Welcome to the Afterfuture” (2000)

I had mixed feelings reading about this one in the book.  Another hip-hop album in a section of the list that has a few overlong albums in that genre.  On the other hand, reading of Ladd having lived in France, India and the US, it seemed like that could add some point of difference to his music.

Definitely loved this one!  Opening track "5000 Miles West of the Future" is all skittish beats and bass from outer space.  “Airwave Hysteria” gives a musical nod to Ladd’s Indian connection and features a clever little modernised Elton John reference “Don’t shoot me, I’m just the piano programmer”.

The rest of the album is a whirling dervish of space-aged hip-hop.  Interesting beats meeting layers of strings and samples and big squelchy bass.  “Bladerunners” sounds like it’s sampling some old Bernard Hermann film score.  Basically it’s a lot of good stuff.

The cherry on the top of this is that Ladd is a great lyricist.   I usually don’t pay much attention to lyrics, but he kept dropping great lines that were clever, funny and with references pulled in from all over the map.  As it was I found myself taking it all in and walking around with a grin on my face from listening.

Day 0913 - Like Water For Chocolate

Common “Like Water for Chocolate” (2000)

I seem to remember Common becoming kind of a big deal in the 00s, so I was quite surprised now to find out that this was his fourth album and that he’d actually been active since the late 80s and recording throughout the 90s (with the first two albums released under the name Common Sense).

“Like Water for Chocolate” was Common’s first major label release and his first with production team the Soulquarians, a loose collective of musical collaborators including Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Mos Def and members of the Roots.

As might be expected from that combination of musicians, the music is inflected with soul, funk and jazz with a through-line to 70s funk over which Common lays his rhymes.   He shows a healthy humility too in collaborating with various other MCs and vocalists throughout instead of trying to make it all about himself.

I did enjoy some of the grooves here, but not always being the biggest lyric person, and with a runtime of nearly 80 minutes, my attention was seriously starting to lag by the end of it all.

Day 0912 - Mama's Gun

Erykah Badu "Mama's Gun" (2000)

 

Badu is another artist with a long musical history, having sung from a young age and been rapping since she was a teen.   She studied performing arts, recorded a demo and this led to her recording a duet with neo-soul aritst D'Angelo.

From there Badu's deubt album "Baduizm" was a success but she then took time off to be with her newborn son to Outkast rapper Andre Benjamin.   The relationship with Benjamin broke down and both parties expressed this through their music: Outkast's "Miss Jackson" and tracks on Badu's second album "Mama's Gun".

The sound has a bit of neo-soul going on but it's a bit of an organic, live-instrument mix of funk, jazz and hip-hop too... not surprising then that one of Badu's collaborators is ?uestlove whose group the Roots mines a similar musical vein.   Badu's voice is her game changer though.  She can to do soul singing and rap, but then on a song like "Green Eyes" she can switch into a straight-up jazz singer.

The tracks "Orange Moon" and "In Love With You" sounded familiar to me.   Good album!