Steve McPherson of Big Trouble: Favorite Albums of the Decade
Radiohead Kid A
Coming on the heels of the world-destroying OK Computer, Kid A appeared, at the time, to be at the very least a timid backing away from what Radiohead had already accomplished, and at best a moody, introverted sidelight, but time has shown otherwise. Kid A is arguably every bit the record that OK Computer was and more: it’s a deeply felt take on the humanistic flaws at the heart of technology and has possibly been more influential than its vaunted predecessor. Sort of the White Album to OK Computer‘s Sgt. Pepper’s, except Kid A is better than the White Album. Yup, I said it.
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: The album largely responsible for noisying up the milder side of the rock underground (viz. Death Cab’s Transatlanticism, Blitzen Trapper, Dr. Dog) was billed as the sound of Wilco ripping apart at the seams, but really, like the At the Drive-In’s last record, it’s compelling evidence for the power of tension within a band. Tweedy’s abstract wordplay collided with Jay Bennett’s ragged rock traditionalism in ways that forced compromise. The result was a record that captured as well as any the doubt and tentative hope that came along with being an American in the 21st century.
At the Drive-In Relationship of Command: On first listen, Relationship of Command is still shockingly aggressive and angular nearly a decade after its release. But repeated listens reveal something even stranger: the lovechild of U2 and Fugazi, raised by Rage Against the Machine and Sunny Day Real Estate, maybe. Cedric and Omar would go on to get weirder (and less rewarding) in the Mars Volta while Jim and Tony would go on to straight emo territory in Sparta. Nothing was as good as the original.
Madvillain Madvillainy: Here’s all you really need to know about Madvillainy: it’s a rap album from 2004 without a single chorus. Without hooks to pen him in or slow him down, MF Doom was free to write some of his most compellingly unhinged verses ever, and Madlib’s jazzy production fit him perfectly. That rarest of rare things: a flawlessly cohesive hip-hop record.
D’Angelo Voodoo: Like rap albums, R&B albums in the ’80s and ’90s mostly refused to take up the mantle of the true album, ending up as either collections of singles or sprawling overfull monsters adorned with skits and meaningless filler. Not Voodoo, which is the spiritual successor to great R&B and funk records like Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, and Sly & The Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On. Honestly, it’s one of the only R&B albums made since the ’70s that absolutely everyone should give a damn about.
6. Spoon Kill the Moonlight
7. The National Alligator
8. Grizzly Bear Yellow House
9. The Knife Silent Shout
10. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (That’s right: I’m saying it. A Rush of Blood to the Head. It’s an amazing record.)
