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| UPDATES
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The
Top Ten Albums of 2003 |
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| Following
such a fantastic year in music as 2002, this past year has
failed to produced the extraordinary sounds of Wilco's Yankee
Hotel Foxtrot, but has given us some very impressive
pop albums. Aside froma few throughout the list, all have
a
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and smooth feel to them. Most are glossed over to the extent
of mid-Eighties albums. This indicates that the era of gritty
bare-bones music (think Nirvana) is finally history. |
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Without further
ado, the State of Art presents its Top Ten Albums of 2003, starting
with 10: |
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| BEST
MUSICAL ARTISTS |
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| 10 |
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| Despite
having some of the cheesiest cover art and multiple
lame artists working with them, The Neptunes (Pharrell
Williams and Chad Hugo) have produced some of the
best music of the past year. The beats are always
solid and the instumentation is always clean, if,
at times sappy. The best tune, by far is Pharrell's
"Frontin'" but Nelly's jam and "Light
Your A** On Fire" with Busta Rhymes are highlights.
The N.E.R.D. Album coming in 2004 should be a treat. |
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| 9 |
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| Hold
On Love |
| Azure
Ray
Oct 6, 2003
Buy It Here:
 Hold
On Love |
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| After
a splash of exposure on Moby's album 18 ("The
Great Escape"), the girls in Azure Ray, Orenda
Fink and Maria Taylor, went on to make one of the
most beautiful albums in recent memory. This album
is significantly bolder than their self titled debut,
musically and lyricly, and it pays off. "New
Resolution" compliments the girls' breathtaking
voices with sounds half modern and half (our favorite
decade) Eighties. The yearning, and soft sound is
almost invasive in its approach on the listener's
mind. There might be a little too much Enya in these
songs accompanied by cheesy strings, but songs like
"Across the Ocean" are simple and unique
to this Athens, GA band. |
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| 8 |
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| Trying
to capture the city in an album is a difficult task,
especially if the city is THE CITY. Interpol's goal
might not have been a reflection of New York, but
this is what Lights has become. In fact,
this album is the modern male's Sex And the
City, with tunes about cupid and love, as well
as songs about living in the city. "Obstacle
1" could be the best new Rock song of the decade
and "Say Hello To The Angels" is a fantastic
rip off of the post-punk era rockers like The Smiths
and Joy Division. The album is dark, to contrast
with the title, but Interpol pulls it off. Don't
bother listening to the last few tracks, the first
seven are good enough to put Lights at
#8. |
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| 7 |
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| O |
| Damien
Rice
Jun 10, 2003
Buy It Here:
 O |
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| What
can you say about this Irish lad that hasn't been
said already. He won the highly saught-after Shortlist
award in Los Angeles, but evidently could care less,
"According to other people I am a bit of a
weirdo when it comes to award things" he tells
Undercover News. "For me, I don't hold any
weight or attachment to any awards. For me music
is not competitive." So, Rice probably won't
mind that he only got 7th on the State of Art's
Top Ten. It just so happens that the unwitting Pop
star has created a very competitive album. The unique
sounds and mixes are BRILLIANT! (in the Guiness
TV commecial accent), and the somewhat light lyrics
come off very moving. "Cold Water" is
a masterpiece, and "Volcano" comes close
to that level. |
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| 6 |
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| This
Seattle band is coming into its own. Althought the
influences are dirty hair bands and heavy metal
from (you guessed it) the Eighties, with their 3
promminent chords. The Long Winters retain thos
three chords throughout much of the album, but the
magic of music gives them a fresh feeling for every
tune. John Roderick's unique voice give the hooky
songs character and life. While the music is ordinary
and production static, the songs are lively and
tasty. "Cinnamon" is an all-time instant
classic in the tradition of another Seattle-based
songwriter, Damien Jurado ("Honey Baby").
There's somehing misplaced in "Stupid,"
but, again, that give the song character. The album
opens with a lyrical gem, "Blue Diamond,"
(no pun intended). This sophomore album from the
band makes them one of the most underestimated groups
right now. |
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| 5 |
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| Think
Tank |
| Blur
May 6, 2003
Buy It Here:
 Think
Tank |
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When
bands start coming up titles to songs titles like
"Good Song," "Crazy Beat,"
and "Sweet Song," it usually means that
there is so much music pouring out of them that
they can't even think of good, original titles
for their songs. This is the case with Blur's
Think Tank, a magical journey for the
ear (for all 13 songs). Nearly every song has
a hook that would please Berry Gordy, yet is modern
enough to please the indie rock afficianados.
This is a modern rock album and is Blur's most
experimental to date. The lyrics are nothing spectacular,
but fit the mood and Blur's past. The most impressive
thing about this album is the use of instrumentation
in an effort to fill the void left by departing
lead guitarist Graham Coxon. The point is obviously
to make the listeners happy. Damon Albarn recently
told the Toronto Sun, "I want to ensure that
people will be prepared to pay for me to make
my music for the rest of my life." His shrewd
look at the industry wouldn't benefit most artists,
but he is happy making music that makes us happy.
If you want to make him happy, a listen to "Ambulance,"
and "Out of Time," will do just the
trick. |
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| 4 |
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Like
most Hip Hop albums, the largest effort by musical
geniuses, the Outkast has way too many filler
tracks. If you leave those out, you are probably
left with the best music per minute of the year.
Unfortunately, that would only last about 20 minutes.
Still, with strong R&B influences as well
as rap, Andre 3000 and Big Boi have made themselves
known as the top of their league in music making.
"Hey Ya," combines thought provoking
lyrics with its guitar and bass driven music and
tight beats to create the best pop song of the
year. This album and Think Tank can share
the destinction of being the most innovative album
of the year, using the songwriter's knowlege in
Gospel, Funk, Pop, Rock, and everything in between
to come up with songs like, "Dracula's Wedding,"
"Knowing," and "Spread." Most
of the songs avoiding the ubiquitous and tired
rap sound that fills the airwaves. Andre 3000's
The Love Below disc is the better of
the two, although it is dramatically more vulgar.
It is also more experimental and daring. The guest
vocalists (Ludacris and Rosario Dawson) do well
for them to be associated with such an endevour,
but also add a great deal, most noteably on "She
Lives in My Lap." Outside of the cutting
edge music, Outkast still brings home some hot
mixes and beats and can still make the club bounce
(listen to "The Way You Move"). |
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| 3 |
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What's
a great album like Mary without a subsequent
breakup of the band that produced it? This will
go down in history as the shortest-lived greatest
rock bands ever. One album, one tour, one ego.
Most likely the thing that drove Zwan to distinction
was that ego of frontman Billy Corgan (formally
of Smashing Pumpkins). It would be a terrible
thing to see the factors that played so heavily
in the album (love, faith, God), be driven into
distinction as well, but that has yet to be revealed.
Corgan has said that the driving force behind
his new outlook (contrasted with his dark and
gloomy Pumpkin days) was the events on September
11, 2001. Corgan decided to not "waste"
his time on the negatives in life and instead
focus on the simpler, more beautiful aspects of
life. This is all well documented throughout the
disc including the first track, where Corgan,
backed by former Perfect Circle-ette Paz Lechantin,
expresses his desires for "One minute, a
friend, a road without end." There are very
few dips in this driving Rock and Roll album,
in content or performance. Although, the songs
are not as catchy or even as polished as some
of the Pumpkins' jams, there is a consistency
and purpose in these songs which was never present
in the best of Pumpkins. Smooth riffs are found
everywhere, most notibly in "El Sol"
which is the sunniest Corgan song to date. Lyrics
are superficial at times and deeply person at
others. |
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| 2 |
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The
follow up to their outstanding debut Oh!
Inverted World gives one hope in rock music.
The production on this album is dramatically
better, yet that doesn't reveal untalented musicians
or poor songwriting. Quite the opposite, the
clearer production makes it undefiable what
The Shins can do: great music. The album is
substantially more Pop than its predecessor
(none of that spacey filler music and experimental
wizardry any more), but the unique Shins style
is evident. The lyrics by James Mercer are thoughtful
and as funny as the better songs on their first
album, and the music is better. "Saint
Simon" is a simple sounding, yet highly
complex in structure, ballad that shows the
largest departure from the band's Indie-ness.
The first single, "So Says I" though,
retains much of the rough edges that made Inverted
World original. Like the the songs on that
album, these are deep in content and provide
years of stories in the short half hour of music.
One of the best songs is "A Call to Apathy"
which dives head first into the country roots
we never knew the Shins (from New Mexico) had.
Buddy Holly could have sung this song, yet the
listeners of today require more than Holly could
have produced. The imagery is epic and the language
shows off this obviously well- read (and most
likely Red, from his lyrics in "So Says
I") author. Although it takes a few listens
to understand it, Mercer makes it reqarding
to do so. |
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