I’m VERY late.
It’s time for some maths. Those of you who have too much time on your hands might recall that I made a bracket of albums in order to ascertain which has been the best year for music since 2003(ish).
This is all well and good, and I am rather happy with the albums I’ve selected for each year. But now it gets tricky. Unfortunately, brackets need seeding, and “ranking” albums from 1-18 would defeat the purpose of having a bracket.
So, here’s the solution.
Instead, I’m going to group albums into 4 year segments of my life. One for 2004-2007, another for 2008-2011, a third for 2012-2015, and finally for 2016-2019.
Those with analytical minds might notice that’s only 16 years of music. And you are correct. I have done that for 3 reasons.
1. Fuck it, I was too young to remember 2003.
2. 2020 wasn’t that great musically.
3. (Most importantly) I’m lazy.
The fun thing in all of this is I get to revisit music based on different eras of life.
2004-2007 is more or less what was on in the car or around my house, with songs on family mixtapes being burned for drives to the Lake District, or the tunes brick-ish iPod that rested on a dock in our kitchen.
2008-2011 spans the timeline from my first iPod to the start of secondary school: discovering your own music, fighting for control of it around the house — the standard stuff.
2012-2015 is where it gets spicy. Early days of high school. Uncertainty, awkwardness, no-one-understands-me-fuck-off-I-want-to-play-football-and-not-study-for-exams.
2016-2019 is probably the most rich in terms of variety. End of high school, start of college. New artists from friends and roommates. The stuff you might hear from down the hallway, or out of someone else’s speaker. Change, I guess?
Anyway, sentiment aside, here’s my bracket as it looks at the start of things:
I’m going to cover 8 different matchups in the first round today, and do one more round every week. Here goes…
CHILDHOOD ERA
2004 vs. 2005
Funeral (Arcade Fire), Now Here is Nowhere (Secret Machines), College Dropout (Kanye West), Franz Ferdinand (Franz Ferdinand), Aha Shake Heartbreak (Kings of Leon)
VS.
Illinois (Sufjan Stevens), Demon Days (Gorillaz), I’m Awake, It’s Morning (Bright Eyes), Takk. (Sigur Rós), Silent Alarm (Bloc Party)
This one might actually be easy. Funeral is among my favorite albums. I watch this performance of Wake Up at Glastonbury at least once per week. Also, Franz Ferdinand has both held up brilliantly (“it’s always better on holiday” isn’t a bad post-college grad lyric). College Dropout is a classic (one I have come back to more and more). And for 2000s guitar rock Now Here is Nowhere is hard to beat.
I love Illinois, Demon Days was a childhood staple for me, and Silent Alarm has some fantastic tracks on it. But 2004 offers the consistency and variety that 2005 can’t match.
Thank you Kanye, very cool!
WINNER: 2004
2006 vs 2007
Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not (Arctic Monkeys), The Crane Wife (The Decemberists), Everything All the Time (Band of Horses), The Trials of Van Occupanther (Midlake), Back to Black (Amy Winehouse)
VS.
In Rainbows (Radiohead), Graduation (Kanye West), For Emma, Forever Ago (Bon Iver), Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace (Foo Fighters), Sound of Sliver (LCD Soundsystem)
The problem here is 2006 subtly has some of the better records of the last 2000s. Midlake and The Decemberists both released terrific albums in 2006. That’s to say nothing of the Arctics’ breakthrough, as well as an obligatory nod to Back to Black.
Despite that consistency — and those great listens — it’s very difficult to make a case for any of them above the best of 2007. In Rainbows is (tentatively) Radiohead’s most complete work. Sound of Silver has one of the best 3 track runs on any record ever (North American Scum, Someone Great, All My Friends.) For Emma is a personal favorite and had 5,000 drunk 20-somethings screaming at Glastonbury.
Sorry, 7 year old Tom for every time you blasted “Fake Tales of San Francisco”. But it’ll have to be 2007 for me.
WINNER: 2007
IPOD ERA
2008 vs 2009
808s and Heartbreak (Kanye West), Dear Science (TV on the Radio), The Seldom Seem Kid (Elbow), Viva La Vida (Coldplay), Fleet Foxes (Fleet Foxes)
VS.
Sigh No More (Mumford and Sons), Manners (Passion Pit), XX (The XX), Man on The Moon: The End of Day (Kid Cudi), Twilight: New Moon Soundtrack (Various Artists)
2008. It’s just better. You could make an argument for The XX’s debut record being incredible influential. But interesting minimalism does not a good year maketh.
WINNER: 2008
2010 vs 2011
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West), High Violet (The National), Plastic Beach (Gorillaz), The Suburbs (Arcade Fire), Brothers (The Black Keys)
VS
Bon Iver (Bon Iver), Take Care (Drake), House of Balloons (The Weeknd), Metals (Feist), SBTRKT (SBTRKT)
2010 offers: Kanye’s best record, The National’s Best, The Black Keys’ best.
2011 offers: Bon Iver and the Weeknd’s best, and some other interesting things.
2010 just wins.
WINNER: 2010.
Spotify ERA
2012 vs 2013
An Awesome Wave (Alt-J), Channel Orange (Frank Ocean), Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (Kendrick Lamar), Bloom (Beach House), Lonerism (Tame Impala)
VS
Yeezus (Kanye West), Trouble Will Find Me (The National), Acid Rap (Chance The Rapper), Random Access Memories (Daft Punk), Pure Heroine (Lorde)
I never got the Alt-J stick. Yeah they were a bit weird, and the lyrics were somewhere between disturbing and sickening, but the appeal was never in the poetry. So, 2012 was a proper good year. Debut Frank Ocean, Kendrick’s second record. Lonerism isn’t as good as Currents, but it’s still a quality album.
Credit due and all that, but 2013 is too hard to beat. One genre-shifting mixtape, an angry Kanye West, sad robotic duo, and brilliant pop debut from Lorde, and it was an amazing year for music.*
WINNER: 2013
*I’m going to pretend I listened to Lorde in 2013. I didn’t.
2014 vs 2015
Lost in a Dream (The War on Drugs), Singles (Future Islands), Hozier (Hozier), 1989 (Taylor Swift), The Take Off and Landing of Everything (Elbow)
VS
In Colour (Jamie XX), To Pimp A Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar), Carrie & Lowell (Sufjan Stevens), Sound & Color (Alabama Shakes), Currents (Tame Impala)
This one isn’t hard. 2015. By some distance. Mostly because I’ve been listening to In Colour on repeat. Pour one out for my Taylor Swift fandom.
WINNER: 2015
MyGodOtherMusicExists ERA
2016 vs. 2017
Ah, a battle between the last year of high school and the start of college. It’s a classic meeting of identical styles. Two fantastic RnB/Rap albums, one immense female songwriter record, and two indie cuts.
In hindsight, I’m very proud of my ability to basically listen to the same genre, only with different artists, in back to back years. And this one is so tough. So, to break it down, we’re comparing album by album.
DAMN vs Konnichiwa
DAMN. By like a little bit. Konnichiwa is brilliant, really brilliant. But it’s Kendrick Lamar, and that’s that. (1-0, 2017)
22, a million vs Sleep Well Beast
How do you pick between a Justin Vernon classic and a partially Justin Vernon produced classic? It’s funny, because SWB’s highs (Day I Die, I’ll still Destory You, the System only dreams in total darkness) might be better than 22am’s best. But as a body of work, 22, a million is better, Justin Vernon wailing about herons, creeks and shit, and all. (1-1)
Blonde vs Yesterday’s Gone
Blonde. Loyle Carner is very, very, very good at making music. But the answer is Blonde. (2-1, 2016)
I See You vs The Colour in Anything
According to Spotify, I See You was my most listened to album of 2017. That probably adds up. It came out a week before a family holiday in Hawaii, and I didn’t ever really turn it off. The Colour in Anything has some good tracks — I need a forest fire is gorgeous — but I’ll go with the Spotify algorithm here. (2-2)
Lemonade vs Melodrama
Two words: “The Louvre.”
Lorde clinches it for 2017.
WINNER: 2017
2018 vs 2019
A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (The 1975), Boygenius (Boygenius), Be the Cowboy (Mitski), Astroworld (Travis Scott), Singularity (Jon Hopkins)
VS
Psychodrama (Dave), Kiwanuka (Michael Kiwanuka), Immunity by Clairo, I,I (Bon Iver), MAGDELENE (FKA Twigs)
There’s a time when everyone must look in the mirror, breathe deeply, then ask: “The 1975 or Bon Iver?”
That’ll be Bon Iver for me.
WINNER: 2019.
Well, that was exhausting. See you next week for the last 8.
Dad Song of the Week
Oh yes.
Until next week, I suppose.
Fascinating and as exhausting to read as it was to write no doubt. Couldn’t get past the typo though, just couldn’t.....