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I have spent most of my life listening to one type of music. Thanks a lot, cool older cousin, for introducing me to Homegrown and NOFX. You inadvertently guided me down a punk rock path that kept getting heavier and heavier. Punk and pop punk led to heavier punk and '90s emo, then hardcore and metalcore, then screamo.
Then the road just ended. There were detours, but they always came from the same from the main road. I discovered post-rock bands through screamo. I listened to some indie, but it was usually of the upbeat variety with clear roots in punk. I had only heard of Wilco because of something I'd read on AbsolutePunk.net.
I think most people do something similar to this. Music genres aren't like movies. People will watch any movie if it's supposed to be good. There are the always the people that don't like horror films or reading subtitles. I know I'll watch anything, and I have my favorites in all the big film genres. But music is somehow different. It would seem that most people know whether or not they'll like a hardcore band before they hear them. They don't like heavy and fast guitars, or they don't like the screaming and yelling. Most seek out music in the genres they know and love, not curious about all the other music out there.
This is fine. I certainly did it for 21 years. Most people certainly don't need to listen to screamy music. But I can't do it anymore.
I got sick of listening to instrumental post-rock bands that sound the same. I was listening to a large amount of post-rock. Long, slow builds. Epic songs of epic length. It's still a genre I love, but I think I burned myself out. I was still listening to screamo and a bunch of indie bands, but I wasn't interested in regressing. I turned to the popular music reviews of Pitchfork.com and AVClub.com; places I could discover all kinds of indie bands (and the occasional outlier). I didn't like this very much. I wasn't loving what they loved, and there wasn't enough musical variety amongst the good reviews.
One day, a new hire to the AVClub did a giant "primer" on metal, a genre I'd never had any interest in even though I'd liked metalcore (they really are often barely related, though lines are always being blurred by new bands). I checked out the primer, got a hold of some Black Sabbath and other bands, and found that I absolutely loved it. It was time to explore. A website I'd heard of and long forgotten came back into my life: rateyourmusic.com. It's the IMDB.com of music sites (user voted, user uploaded info for bands), but it held worlds of music I'd never been exposed to before.
Fast forward a year or so. I've explored many of the avenues heavy metal has to offer, but that's just the tip of the musical iceberg. I have a desire to consume all genres I've never had before. It's time to tackle.....The List.
Rateyourmusic.com has a 5,000 album list of the highest voted albums of all time. I've never given jazz a chance. I haven't listened to anything from earlier than 1991. I loved punk but didn't care about hearing The Ramones or The Clash. This is inexcusable as a music fan. Being user voted, that means the list includes lots of popular music, lots of stuff I've always ignored, and lots of stuff I've never heard of. That also means, like IMDB's Top 250, the list will be updated every month. Things will go up and down, new albums will appear.
I plan on covering these albums here, in brief (anywhere from 5-500 words), as I go. I'll never make it through 5,000 albums, and I don't intend to try. I'll just slog through this while I have some free time, hopefully expanding my musical tastes.
Now on to the top three albums of all time.
They're painfully boring choices in their obviousness, but I imagine they're also many people's favorites. In the past 3 months each of has rotated into and out of the top spot. So it's really like a tie for number one. Currently they are:
1. The Beatles - Revolver
2. Radiohead - OK Computer
3. The Beatles - Abbey Road
Abbey Road is so easily the best here. It's the first Beatles album I've ever listened to in full, and it remains my favorite. It's full of Beatles classics like "Octopus' Garden", "Here Comes the Sun", and "Come Together"; and includes Paul McCartney's greatest accomplishment with The Beatles, "Oh! Darling". Revolver is also great, but not nearly at the level of mastery as the later Abbey Road. Not every song is great, but most are.
I know I spent a good deal of time telling everybody I knew that I didn't care about this band. To my friends, I'm sorry. You'll still never hear me say they're the greatest of all time (I don't even think Abbey Road is the best album of 1969), but I've learned I was mistaken. Please one day forgive me.
Which leads me to Radiohead. I've been judged quite harshly in my days as a man unable to get into Radiohead. After giving OK Computer (always my favorite of theirs) a fresh listen, my critics will not be pleased. I still don't care. It's pretty good. It does not emotionally involve me at all. Sorry guys.
Up next: Dylan, Floyd, lots of jazz, and everything I ever told you I didn't like in high school.
I'm Back!
Due to life and other things, I've been gone since September, 2010. Now I'm back, 5 months later, for who knows how long.
2011 is moving full steam ahead, and I'm about to get left in the dust. It's time to let go of all things 2010 by doing the only thing I know how: breaking down everything with lists!
Film!
Top 15: (I'm going by U.S. theatrical release dates)
15. Carlos - Edgar Ramirez kicks your ass.
14. The Fighter - Christian Bale only has a sense of humor when he's mentally deranged.
13. Let Me In - Everybody yell at John for liking this more than the original Swedish version.
12. The Red Riding Trilogy - Andrew Garfield's best performance (of 3) this year.
11. Tangled - Classic Disney is always going to get me.
10. The Way Back - Peter Weir reminds us all of how awesome he is by turning a by-the-numbers epic into a near-masterpiece.
9. Black Swan - Natalie Portman convinces the world she's an adult by playing a young woman who still lives at home and acts like a child.
8. White Material - Claire Denis' hot streak continues.
7. Valhalla Rising - The most captivating 20 minute foggy ocean scene you'll see all year.
6. The Social Network - I don't think many people have heard of this movie...
5. Blue Valentine - I hate love now.
4. Rabbit Hole - Thank God I hate love now, so I'll never get married and have children.
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - I still love video games and comics. They'll never leave me...
2. Enter the Void - ...Unless a cop shoots me. The most visually mesmerizing head trip I've ever taken.
1. Mother - If you'd told me this time last year that a film about a mother trying to clear her mentally handicapped son's name (that also includes a strange dance sequence) would become one of my favorite films of all time, I'd have laughed at you and said you can't predict the future for shit.
A number of great documentaries, or "documentaries" came out as well. Cowboys herded sheep one last time in the year's best Sweetgrass. Documentary is in quotes above because of Exit Through the Gift Shop and Catfish, both very exciting and exceptionally crafted films that reward multiple viewings. If you can follow The Art of the Steal's convoluted web of thieves, you'll find a greatly entertaining story of corruption and bureaucracy gone awry in an unexpected place. Lastly, Steven Soderbergh got scared that people would forget him if he went a whole year without releasing a movie. Fortunately he gave us a loving portrait of an interesting man in ...And Everything is Going Fine.
The worst movie I saw, by far, was the child murdering Grown Ups. Goddamn you, inescapable airline entertainment.
Television!
I've spent very little time on my television opinions on this blog, but believe you me, I've got 'em. I've dropped a few shows (The Office, 30 Rock, Glee) because I was spending too much time watching them. 30 Rock is still funny, but I've moved on. Now there's Archer. The best spy satire/office comedy mash up currently on TV. FX has been pumping out the greatness, giving us the 2 best new dramas of 2010: the late, missed Terriers, and the ass-kicking, cowboy hat-sporting Justified. Also, Caprica happened. I loved it, but I'm the only person who watched that show.
For the significant improvement in 2010 award, I'll point you to The League, an already funny show that really figured its characters and formula out in its 2nd season. And as my friends know and hate, I am a huge fan of ABC's Cougartown. The only comedy on TV with almost as much interesting character development/laugh until you cry ratio as Community.
The greatest thing to happen to my TV experience was the casting of Matt Smith as the 11th doctor of Doctor Who, and the brilliant 5th season it had under the new management of Stephan Moffat. I felt no one could ever take my heart like David Tenant, but Smith might be the doctor to do it.
Music!
I lost my top albums of 2010 list, so I'm going to wing it a bit.
Frightened Rabbit and Titus Andronicus put out amazing records. Janelle Monae made a mostly great record and backed it up with a doozy of a live show. Big Boi owned hip hop in 2010. Sufjan Stevens reminded me why I don't care about him anymore. The Sword and Slough Feg released albums further promoting why they're just as good as in 1970s heavy metal band. Envy is the only band holding it down for screamo. Oh, and Menomena is still awesome.
I know I'm forgetting all kinds of things. They'll come to me.
What I haven't mentioned yet are the three masterpieces released this past year. All three bands have excellent bodies of work that they somehow topped in 2010. These are my top 3 albums:
3. The National - High Violet
The formula hasn't changed much, but these New york rockers have never sounded better. Their low key anthems for the average Joe are enough to make me tear up/sing along/rock out every time I hear them. "Bloodbuzz, Ohio" and "Lemonworld" are my standout tracks on the disc. "Lemonworld" offers an especially bittersweet tale of one lost soul's night of clarity at his friend's house. It's so simple, yet few can hit these emotional chords like The National do.
2. Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring
This was my favorite release all the way from January to last November. In a year where most indie music failed to register with me, this release really stood out. Los Campesinos! have a certain punk energy that really clicks with me. All of their albums have been good, but this feels like the full realization of potential. Extremely playful and complicated instrumentation, great dueling vocals and harmonies, and clever and sarcastic lyrics. These elements might sound familiar, but they present them in a unique way. Rarely does sarcasm come in this intense a package, while also successfully resonating emotion. A great example is "i just sighed. i just sighed, just so you know". Here, the band shows a mastery of the loud-soft-loud structure that makes so much music work, utilizing horns and synths and pounding drums, all while lead singer Gareth Campesinos! (seriously) yells and wails of a dead romance with lyrics so specific they make you feel like you're a part of the relationship.
1. Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit
It's a shame that Agalloch has to be labeled as a metal band. While their harsh vocals and occasional dips into black metal instrumentation make the genre tag unavoidable, but it does a grave disservice to the band's huge, varied sound. They have the harsh vocals, but just as much clean singing and chanting (they're into European folk). They play some black metal, but they play just as much post rock, folk, and post-punk. These elements have always existed in Agalloch's music, but Marrow of the Spirit is their finest achievement. It sacrifices none of what makes Agalloch a great band, while also being their most accessible work. I don't usually care for "accessible", but this is a rare instance where it implies something good. Marrow offers a journey through nature. From the dark woods to a mysterious lake. It's simultaneously tribal and poppy. the 17 minute "Black Lake Nidstang" follows a 3 minute bridge of ambient key boards and synths with a rock out ending featuring Aesop Dekker's infinitely brutal drumming. This segues immediately into the poppy, post-punk intro "Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires", a song you'd never know was by a metal band until almost the end. I know I'm not going to win anybody over here, but I really do believe Agalloch represents the best the metal world has to offer.
When I come back, I take on a huge project I'll never be able to finish
