Wednesday, December 17, 2003
So once again I buy my yearly copy of NME. I used to look forward to end-of-year issues, lists of best albums, best films, best singles, reminders of things I'd forgotten, tantalising mentions of things I'd never heard of. For instance, check out this list from when I was 16 (1995, as if that wasn't immedietely obvious from the contents);
NME Albums 1995
1. Maxinquaye - Tricky
2. (Whats The Story) Morning Glory - Oasis
3. It's Great When You're Straight..Yeah! - Black Grape
4. The Bends - Radiohead
5. Grand Prix - Teenage Fanclub
6. I Should Coco - Supergrass
7. Different Class - Pulp
8. To Bring You My Love - PJ Harvey
9. The Great Escape - Blur
10. Timeless - Goldie
11. Elastica - Elastica
12. Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters
13. The Second Tindersticks Album - Tindersticks
14. Wake Up! - The Boo Radleys
15. Hot Charity - Rocket From The Crypt
16. Wowee Zowee - Pavement
17. A Northern Soul - The Verve
18. The Charlatans - The Charlatans
19. Garbage - Garbage
20. Exit Planet Dust - The Chemical Brothers
21. Exit The Dragon - Urge Overkill
22. Pure Phase - Spritulized Electric Mainline
23. No Protection - Massive Attack V Mad Professor
24. Mark's Keyboard Repair - Money Mark
25. Stanley Road - Paul Weller
26. Throbbing Pouch - Wagon Christ
27. Bwyd Time - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
28. Leftism - Leftfield
29. Only Built For Cuban Links - Raekwon
30. Liquid Swords - Genius/GZA
31. Washing Machine - Sonic Youth
32. Life - The Cardigans
33. Music For The Amorphous Body Study Centre - Stereolab
34. Branded - Isaac Hayes
35. Post - Bjork
36. Ballbreaker - AC/DC
37. L'Etat Et Moi - Blumfeld
38. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - The Smashing Pumpkins
39. I Was Born A Man - Baby Bird
40. Tical - Method Man
41. Mirror Ball - Neil Young
42. Clear - Bomb The Bass
43. Tilt - Scott Walker
44. Jack's Tulips - Lambchop
45. Nobody's Cool - Lotion
46. We Care - Whale
47. Disgraceful - Dubstar
48. There Are Strings - Spring Heel Jack
49. Red Medicine - Fugazi
50. Viva Last Blues - Palace Music
Or how about this one from when I was 18 (1997, obviously);
NME Albums Of The Year 1997
1. Spiritualized – Ladies And Gentleman We Are Floating In Space
2. Radiohead – OK Computer
3. The Verve – Urban Hymns
4. Primal Scream – Vanishing Point
5. Super Furry Animals – Radiator
6. Cornershop – When I Was Born For The 7th Time
7. Mogwai – Mogwai Young Team
8. Teenage Fanclub – Songs From Northern Britain
9. Bentley Rhythm Ace – Bentley Rhythm Ace
10. Supergrass – In It For The Money
11. Daft Punk – Homework
12. The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole
13. Blur – Blur
14. The Charlatans – Tellin’ Stories
15. Bjork – Homogenic
16. Death In Vegas – Dead Elvis
17. Prodigy – The Fat Of The Land
18. Wu-Tang Clan – Wu-Tang Forever
19. Yo La Tengo – I Can hear The Heart Beating As One
20. Gravediggaz – The Pick, The Sickle And The Shovel
21. Black Grape – Stupid Stupid Stupid
22. The Divine Comedy – A Short Album About Love
23. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – The Boatman’s Call
24. Pavement – Brighten In The Corners
25. Oasis – Be Here Now
26. Stereolab – Dots And Loops
27. Grandaddy – Under The Western Freeway
28. Roni Size & Reprazent – New Forms
29. Travis – Good Feeling
30. Mick Head Introducing The Strands – The Magical World Of The Strands
31. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Barafundle
32. Portishead – Portishead
33. Eels – Beautiful Freak
34. Squarepusher – Hard Normal Daddy
35. Jonathan Fire Eater – Tremble Under Boom Lights
36. Prolapse – The Italian Flag
37. Wilco – Being There
38. Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliot – Supa Dupa Fly
39. Photek – Modus Operandi
40. David Holmes – Lets Get Killed
41. Echo And The Bunnymen – Evergreen
42. Finley Quaye – Maverick A Strike
43. Tindersticks – Curtains
44. Manson – Attack Of They Grey Lantern
45. Scarfo – Luxury Plane Crash
46. Foo Fighters – The Colour And The Shape
47. Howie B – Turn The Dark Off
48. Robert Wyatt – Shleep
49. Silver Sun – Silver Sun
50. The Wannadies – Bagsy Me
Even as recently as 2001 there was a respectable degree of variety, nay, eclecticism even, in the picks for the year;
NME Top 50 Albums of 2001
1 The Strokes 'Is This It' (Rough Trade)
3 Spiritualized 'Let It Come Down' (Spaceman)
3 The White Stripes 'White Blood Cells' (XL)
4 Jay-Z 'The Blueprint' (Roc-A-Fella)
5 Starsailor 'Love Is Here' (Chrysalis)
6 Slipknot 'Iowa' (Roadrunner)
7 Mercury Rev 'All Is Dream' (V2)
8 Rufus Wainwright 'Poses' (DreamWorks)
9 Andrew WK 'I Get Wet' (Mercury)
10 Aphex Twin 'Drukqs' (Warp)
11 Super Furry Animals 'Rings Around The World' (Epic)
12 Elbow 'Asleep In The Back' (V2)
13 Basement Jaxx 'Rooty' (XL)
14 Air '10,000 Hz Legend' (Source/Virgin)
15 Destiny's Child 'Survivor' (Columbia)
16 Daft Punk 'Discovery' (Virgin)
17 Pulp 'We Love Life' (Island)
18 Roots Manuva 'Run Come Save Me' (Big Dada)
19 Fugazi 'The Argument' (Dischord)
20 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 'No More Shall We Part' (Mute)
21 Stephen Malkmus 'Stephen Malkmus' (Domino)
22 Sparklehorse 'It's A Wonderful Life' (Parlophone)
23 Travis 'The Invisible Band' (Independiente)
24 Low 'Things We Lost In The Fire' (Tugboat)
25 Radiohead 'Amnesiac' (Parlophone)
26 Missy Elliott 'Miss E …So Addictive' (Elektra)
27 Mark Lanegan 'Field Songs' (Beggars Banquet)
28 Mogwai 'Rock Action' (Southpaw/PIAS)
29 Clearlake 'Lido' (Dusty Company)
30 The Charlatans 'Wonderland' (Universal)
31 New Order 'Get Ready' (London)
32 Björk 'Vespertine' (One Little Indian)
33 Kings Of Convenience 'Quiet Is The New Loud' (Source)
34 REM 'Reveal' (Warner Bros)
35 Boredoms 'Visioncreationnewsun' (Birdman)
36 Beanie Sigel 'The Reason' (Roc-A-Fella)
37 Turin Brakes 'The Optimist LP' (Source)
38 Four Tet 'Pause' (Domino)
39 Aaliyah 'Aaliyah' (Blackground/Virgin)
40 N*E*R*D 'In Search Of…' (Virgin)
41 Oxide & Neutrino 'Execute' (East West)
42 Kurupt 'Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey' (Antra)
43 The Beta Band 'Hot Shots II' (Regal)
44 The Tyde 'Once' (Track And Field)
45 Future Pilot AKA 'Tiny Waves, Mighty Sea' (Geographic)
46 Cannibal Ox 'The Cold Vein' (Def Jux)
47 Sizzla 'Rastafari Teach I Everything' (Greensleeves)
48 Gorillaz 'Gorillaz' (Parlophone)
49 Zoot Woman 'Living In A Magazine' (Parlophone)
50 Gorky's Zygotic Mynci 'How I Long To Feel That Summer In My Heart' (Mantra)
If you ignore the frankly ludicrous inclusion (and/or high ranking) of The Strokes, Starsailor, Mercury Rev, The Charlatans, REM and New Order, that's a pretty damn good list, as lists go (hatehatehatehate them).
But now, in 2003? What do we get? We get this...
NME Albums Of 2003
1. The White Stripes – Elephant
2. The Rapture – Echoes
3. The Strokes – Room On Fire
4. Elbow – Cast of Thousands
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell
6. Rufus Wainwright – Want One
7. Kings Of Leon – Youth & Young Manhood
8. Outkast – Spekerboxxx/The Love Below
9. Radiohead – Hail To The Thief
10. My Morning Jacket – It Still Moves
11. Evan Dando – Baby I’m Bored
12. The Coral – Magic And Medicine
13. Spirtualized – Amazing Grace
14. The Distillers – Coral Fang
15. Hot Hot Heat – Make Up The Breakdown
16. Dizzee Rascal – Boy In Da Corner
17. Funereal For A Friend – Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation
18. The Sleepy Jackson – Lovers
19. Muse – Absolution
20. Jet - Get Born
21. Blur – Think Tank
22. The Hidden Cameras – The Smell Of Our Own
23. The Cooper Temple Clause – Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose
24. Four Tet – Rounds
25. The Darkness – Permission To Land
26. The Kills – Keep On Your Mean Side
27. Super Furry Animals – Phantom Power
28. The Mars Volta – De-Loused In The Comatorium
29. Peaches – Fatherfucker
30. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Take Them On, On Your Own
31. 50 Cent – Get Rich Or Die Trying
32. The Thrills – So Much For The City
33. Mogwai – Happy Songs For Happy People
34. Jay-Z – The Black Album
35. Nick Cave – Nocturama
36. British Sea Power – The Decline Of British Sea Power
37. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Master And Everyone
38. 22-20’s – 05/03
39. Patrick Wolf – Lycanthropy
40. Devendra Banheart – Oh Me Oh My..The Way The Day Goes By The Sun Is Setting….
41. Soledad Brothers – Voice Of Treason
42. Stellastarr* - Stellastarr*
43. Ten Grand – This Is The Way To Rule
44. Basement Jaxx – Kish Kash
45. Cat Power – You Are Free
46. The Ravonettes – Chain Gang Of Love
47. Canyon – Empty Rooms
48. Jane’s Addiction – Strays
49. The Duke Sprit – Roll, Spirit, Roll
50. Starsailor – Starsailor
It's no wonder I don't read NME anymore, is it? This is the most reductive, retro-friendly, dogmatic, artifically-scene-building list I could imagine. Tokenistic nods for Outkast, Jay-Z, Four Tet, 50 Cent, Dizzee and Basement Jaxx (the Jay-Z album is rubbish! Rubbish! And it only came out the other week?! Did no copies of This Is Not A Test? find their way to King's Reach Tower until last week?).
(Lists courtesy of Rocklists.net.)
Interestingly enough Beyonce is voted Single Of The Year. "It's Fab Moretti's single of the year", they say, as if that caveat makes it OK for indiekids to like. Yes, yes, of course. Someone from The Strokes likes it ergo I like it too! It's rather pathetic that NME has to spoonfeed it's readership with justifications for enjoyment like that. I'd hoped the whole bigoted indie mentality ahd died out long ago, but it seems it never will.
12/17/2003 10:44:00 am
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