Top 10 Albums

In true Pitchfork fashion, here are the top 10 albums of the "The History of Music: A Personal Story" series.  The subtitle for this list should be "The albums that are still worth listening to...".  The albums are in order of musical phase, starting with nu-metal, then punk, then indie.  Some of these bands have more than one album that is worth listening to, but as a rule, no band I have ever liked has released more than three solid albums.  So, for any band out there, reach your peak, release three albums, and then just stop.  After that, I will either stop paying attention or just buy your CD out of loyalty.

Rage Against the Machine
S/T (1992)

The first hardcore funk-rock band.  There has never been, and probably will never be, better music to spark a destructive riot.  After the riot, some may sit and ponder what was accomplished, at whom was the anger directed, and whether the destruction was necessary.  But as long as the riot keeps going, we can enjoy the thrill of smashing things, and yelling “FUCK YOU, I WON’T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!” at someone (not sure who) for telling me to do something (not sure what). (Songs: Killing in the Name Of, Take the Power Back)

Tool
Ænima (1996)

There are not many bands from my nu-metal phase that can still be taken seriously today, but Tool is definitely one of them.  They would have been a damn good prog-rock band, if their sound hadn’t been so sinister. Ænima is a world of dark dungeons, the rhythm marked by the dripping of the leaky pipes, while prisoners tell stories of martyrdom and apocalypse to the cries of the tortured in the background.  The long, intricate song arrangements, and the depth of the writing make these guys the Radiohead of the nu-metal movement. (Songs: Eulogy, Hooker with a Penis)

Operation Ivy
Energy (1991)

Dude, it still sounds like the songs are being played on cassette tape.  Dude, the songs are barely two minutes long (no bridges, man).  Dude, the choruses are just him repeating the title of the song over and over again.  It’s fucking punk rock, is what it is.  And it’s fucking awesome.  This album is an early example of what would later become the 90s punk and ska scene.  Look up the word “crude” in a thesaurus and apply all the synonyms to this album: simple, makeshift, rough, unfinished, unsophisticated, raw, unrefined, unprocessed, rude, coarse, vulgar, offensive, uncouth.  It really doesn't get much better than this. (Songs: Knowledge, Take Warning)

Green Day
Dookie (1994)

I have already written a little bit about this album here.  Do yourself a favor, sit down and re-listen to it today, it's just as good.  Also, Green Day have the honors of writing the greatest masturbation song ever. (Songs: Longview, Basket Case)

Propagandhi
Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes (2001)

The rapid metal guitar riffs, and the paragraph-length lyrics crudely made to fit into the melody (with sentences interrupted midway, and musical emphasis drawn to random words), make this a different kind of punk band.  But this is a powerful and surprisingly complex album that stands the test of time.  The band, composed of a group of vegan, atheist, radical leftist Canadians, also gets points for being up on the latest obscure political cause in vogue in leftist circles (the first song is about East Timor), and for the many historical references that have you checking your Encyclopedia for help (COINTELPRO? Gustafsen? Shay’s Rebellion? Pine Ridge Indian Reservation?). They lose points for being completely humorless about their opinions. (Songs: Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes, Mate Ka Moris Ukun Rasik An)

Weezer
Pinkerton (1996)

This album is what nostalgia sounds like.  It is also one of the pioneering works of emo music.  Dashboard Confessional would soon break into the scene and completely highjack the genre, forever linking emo music with acoustic guitars, whiny vocalists, and audience members crying in the fetal position (the word “emo” would, from that point, take on a life of its own, becoming a derogatory term for pathetic displays of sadness).  But while Pinkerton captures perfectly the mood of being a lonely teenager, it is not an album that dwells on superficial misery in order to exploit the emotional fragility of its audience.  The album is much more the story of an adult looking back, reminiscing on his youth; as a result, the album is at times energetic, at times angry, and at times funny, with some hilarious songs about an unreachable Japanese pen-pal love interest, and about falling in love with a lesbian.  The sadness the album elicits is the warm sadness that accompanies all memories. (Songs: Tired of Sex, No Other One)

Radiohead
OK Computer (1997)

I already wrote too much about this album here.  If you haven't heard this album yet, then you are probably not cool enough to listen to it. (Songs: Subterranean Homesick Alien, Exit Music)

Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

This album is what the suburbs sound like.  Nothing more needs to be said. (Songs: Teeth Like Gods Shoeshine, Lounge (Closing Time))

Dismemberment Plan
Emergency & I (1999)

Music for the age of neurosis.  Perfect for the modern-day 20 something to 30 something crowd suffering a quarter-life crisis: a completely meaningless job, the slow (excruciatingly slow) inertia that will make that meaningless job your meaningless career, the drinking alone in your apartment after work, the mandatory social gatherings, the childish gossip, and cliques, and ostracizing, endlessly repeated until retirement.  The anxiety of fulfilling society’s demands, and the conflicting feelings of inadequacy at coming-up short and suspicion that living up to the demands will leave you just as unsatisfied.  That being said, the album is not a downer, and does not take itself so seriously.  It has fun with the idea of a generation going a little nuts (the neurotic and stuttering opening to Girl O'Clock is a good example: “If I don’t have s-s-s-sex, by the end of the week, I think I’m going to die!”).  The album, to its lasting credit, manages to put the entire melodrama in perspective: “Happiness is such hard work, and harder everyday, and it can kill you.  But no one wants to be that tacky around here.” (Songs: What Do You Want Me To Say?, Gyroscope)

The Books
Thought for Food (2002)

The collage in visual art was introduced in the inter-war period by the avant-garde movement.  Early practitioners like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque pasted newspapers clippings, ribbons, photographs, cloths, and other objects on a canvas, and created works of art out the arrangements.  Although Wikipedia lists DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing… and The Avalanches' Since I Left You (both great albums) as examples of the use of the technique in song form, I would argue that The Books are the first and greatest band to translate the concept to music.  Unlike DJ Shadow and The Avalanches, The Books’ use of sound recordings (radio broadcast sound bites in various languages, personal recordings, and ambient noise) is done to complement their instrumental compositions, which usually consist of them playing folksy music on a number of different string instruments (they also sing at times).  Unlike the other bands listed, with the Books one can almost picture the collection of sounds in their head, and it really does look a lot like a collage. (Songs: Enjoy your worries you may never have them again, All Bad Ends All)