And so it has come to this. Every week, between 100 and 300 albums are released in the rock genre alone. Every month, a deluge of magazines review them, ranging from the supermarket-shelved Rolling Stone to the Law of Inertia Magazine, which street team members struggle to give away for free in the subways of Boston. And every year, critics use God-like authority to decree top 10, 15 and 25 lists.
Last year, this publication ranked The Flaming Lips' eighth on our list. itself was a masterpiece, a true achievement by a band with a growing streak of great albums. But it was hard to argue that the albums we ranked above the Flaming Lips didn't deserve to be. Surely, Wilco's alt-country classic, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, deserved to be no. 1. Last year there was such a thing as a solid eighth place-an album that childless indie hipsters will share with their kids in 20 years. There was, last year, even a gem at 15 in Q and Not U.
This year, most of us regret having to write our list. Spin resorted to naming Coldplay the band of the year, even though Coldplay's last album hit shelves in 2002. And looking back over the artists who released new material over the year, I almost buy Spin's argument. Not that music this year was bad, but that music this year has lacked the sheen of greatness the past few years produced. Aside from Outkast's , the albums of 2003 were relegated to low-level genius.
is an album with so much funk and enthusiasm coming from such a unique production ethic that it has had the same effect that Beck's did, gotten everyone dancing to oddly charismatic beat-ridden music. It's a shame that the best we have to compare Outkast's album to lag so far behind it.
What could we elevate to second place that comes close to Speakerbox? Elephant? The White Stripes album wasn't the masterpiece that critics wrote about. When the White Stripes began receiving media appreciation, it was so far after White Blood Cells that the attention shifted to the next album. By managing to not completely drop the ball, the White Stripes' good album was elevated to 'classic' without earning it.
Could the Shins be the second best album of the year? Their throwback rock made them perhaps the most intriguing band of the year with perhaps the best 32 minutes of consecutive music on a CD. But in no way were they on the same level as Neko Case, the second best from last year. Perhaps Nina Nastasia? Can an EP-length album most people have never heard of, albeit a brilliantly dark album of folk music, truly merit being in the top 10? The Dirtbombs' outplayed the Hives at their own sound. But how can an album that made no impact even with the indie faithful be considered for a best of the year list?
Cat Power's album was the best of her career, but still inconsistent. Radiohead's Hail to the Thief lies in the lesser half of their career output, lacks the sheer innovation that they are known for but is still a pretty collection of songs. Electric Six's produced this year's greatest single; the danceable \Danger (High Voltage)"" got all the kids singing along. But the album stretches a novelty song into 40 minutes of music. It would seem brash to put the sugary irony of Junior Senior's too high on the list.
The usually sturdy Nick Cave and Jane's Addiction both released lowpoint albums in illustrious careers. The album Liz Phair chose to self-title went shamefully awry. The Music, The Microphones, The Datsuns and The Rapture all had much touted releases which didn't live up to the hype. The PJ Harvey and Beastie Boys albums promised never came to fruition. Beck, Wilco and Neko Case didn't follow up last years successes. And Sleater-Kinney chose to go on a European tour rather than entertain me.
Looking back at the Top 15 of 2002 or 2001, the albums we listed still dwarf all of the albums which will compete for the number two slot this year. I listen to the 2002's Johnny Cash album more than whatever we pick besides Speakerboxx, though it was so erratic it wouldn't make that year's top 150. And so it has come to this: buy the albums we call 2003's top 15, but not before the albums we listed for any other years. Buy Jucifer's overlooked 2002 album before this years records, or any album you've been putting off. This year ""Top 15"" is an archival term and not an endorsement of greatness.
jhuchill@wisc.edu.
