Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the magazine in question’s penchant for featuring him in its pages, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III topped Blender’s year-end list of albums, which has swelled from 25 contenders to 33 for reasons that probably don’t involve the vinyl revival (if they did, then where’s that extra 1/3?). Full list after the jump, but here are a few thumbnail reactions:
THE GOOD: It’s nice to know that someone remembered the early-’08 reissue of Robyn’s album (No. 6).
THE BAD: More evidence that indie rock has become the “center” for the music-writing set comes from the 11-19 slots on the list, which (save Al Green) could have been cribbed in part from a the elbo.ws chart. (And yes, I include Katy Perry in that list. Haven’t you heard her MGMT cover?) Sure, Blender’s initial mission of finding some sort of consensus in popular music, and covering every player within said group obsessively, is sorta quaint in the infinite-playlist era, but… I guess I just was hoping for something a little more curveballish than “no, really, My Morning Jacket is great,” is all.
THE WHAAA? I would think that the atonal, grueling presence of “Moving Mountains” would disqualify Usher’s Here I Stand from any year-end lists that weren’t focused on disappointing sales figures from superstar artists. But I’m wrong: It’s No. 26 here, right ahead of the similarly soft-selling E=MC2.
1. Lil’ Wayne, Tha Carter III
2. Girl Talk, Feed The Animals
3. TV On The Radio, Dear Science
4. Metallica, Death Magnetic
5. Hot Chip, Made In The Dark
6. Robyn
7. Of Montreal, Skeletal Lamping
8. Randy Newman, Harps & Angels
9. Vampire Weekend
10. Fall Out Boy, Folie A Deux
11. Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs
12. My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
13. Al Green, Lay It Down
14. Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue
15. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
16. Be Your Own Pet, Get Awkward
17. Conor Oberst
18. Ponytail, Ice Cream Spiritual
19. Katy Perry, One Of The Boys
20. Wale, Mixtape About Nothing
21. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part I: Fourth World War
22. Coldplay, Viva La Vida
23. The Cool Kids, Bake Sale
24. The Roots, Rising Down
25. Santogold
26. Usher, Here I Stand
27. Mariah Carey, E=MC2
28. Stephen Malkmus, Real Emotional Trash
29. Raphael Saadiq, The Way I See It
30. Young Jeezy, The Recession
31. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
32. Taylor Swift, Fearless
33. Hayes Carll, Trouble In Mind
19. Katy Perry, One Of The Boys
21. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part I: Fourth World War
26. Usher, Here I Stand
29. Raphael Saadiq, The Way I See It
lol
I love Jenny Lewis and all, but Acid Tongue has maybe 5 listenable songs on it. Come on now.
@Chris Molanphy:
Exactly. Z was one of my favorite albums. It pained me when I realized eventually that, though it may be full of a few decent tracks, Evil Urges probably won’t make my list of favorite/best albums of the year.
@Nunya B:
grower not a shower. grower not a shower. I admit, I too wanted to hurl the album at a wall when I first spun it, but give it some time. give it some time. (the latter half of the album also flows and works much better than the top half)
@Chris Molanphy: Unlistenable? Not so sure about that. A bit corny in parts, but I thought it was pretty good stuff.
I guess I’m the only one that liked Evil Urges around here, huh? I don’t know that it was any worse than Z, just a couple more bloated moments that were wisely edited out last time around.
No wonder I’ve been so bored stiff this year. No good records came out. At all. It’s suddenly come clear. Awesome singles out there, terrible records. Hideously immature new bands. Grotesque missteps. 2008, you blow worse than 2007 did. Ugh.
Also, I enjoy the Usher album and all but they should have gone with Ne-Yo’s Year of the Gentlemen instead. It’s much tighter and/or sharper than Here I Stand IMHO.
@Tauwan: Yeah, there were really just tons of very good R&B albums this year, and Usher was simply not one of them.
@Nunya B: I’m with Tauwan on this one. While Skeletal Lamping is nowhere near as immediately awesome as Hissing Fauna, it’s just really, REALLY dense and requires a little more patience. There are definitely some jams in there.
I’ll allow Kevin this total freak-out. Maybe he’ll bless us with the stone classic he’s totally capable of…
…and do think it’s funny that Blender has this thing with Randy Newman! Of all dudes. I’m not mad or anything, it’s just so…not Blender.
And Ponytail instead of Deerhunter? Oh wait–I’m trying to figure out what Blender is thinking. The question is more what am I thinking!
As you were…
@T’Challa: Ponytail instead of Deerhunter is one of the things they got right.
@Al Shipley:
Yeah I am seeing a lot lists show love to many an album in other genres that sort of kind of peter out midway through, or only have 5-6 good songs, if that many. I mean if that’s what’s in fashion then why not show some love to the Lloyd’s, Ne-Yo’s, Estelle’s, and/or Beyonce’s of the world.
Kudos on the Green and Badu placement.
And yes, as you can see by the number of my comments here, I am all about discussing year end album lists.
@Tauwan:
I don’t think the apostrophes were necessary. :)
…it was a good year if you like metal. and, no, i’m not talking about metallica.
@T’Challa: Randy Newman is a big Christgau favorite; I’m guessing he’s at least partly responsible for that mention.
@Michaelangelo Matos: The Dean’s at blender now?
Interesting how Fall Out Boy made the list (with it not coming out in 3 weeks) and G’N'R having no place. Not saying either one deserves it more than the other but, still.
@2ironic4u: Well, FOB is reviewed in the same issue, so I’m guessing they got an advance of that (possibly before the release date was pushed back) whereas presumably they did not have an advance of GNR prior to the leak.
Nice that they fit the Jeezy and Saadiq albums down at the bottom there.
I know My Morning Jacket are hated around here, but let me back you up: I rated MMJ No. 1 — No. 1!!! — in my Pazz & Jop ballot in 2005, and even I admit that Evil Urges is a greivous, at times unlistenable misstep. I don’t know how anybody rates it a top 20 album.
I love the Robyn album but it must be one of the few albums to hold the distinction of showing up on end-of-year lists not once, or twice, but three times (05, 07, 08). It’s getting a little ridiculous.
And Skeletal Lamping does not deserve a place on any year-end best-of, period, full stop. It’s just… not good, and doubly not good considering the quality of the album it follows.
My inner Fall Out Boy apologist is both surprised and relieved that the new album made the list.
@westartedthis: I wished that The Witchcraft record had come out this year. But still, Torche, Danava, and to SOME EXTENT that Sword record. I am sure I am revealing how little I know about REAL METAL, but those were some of my faves.
Who was that idiot that made the comment about Elvis and the jelly doughnut? Was it a pathetic attempt to try to connect with the unfortunate young people of today? I say they’re unfortunate because the only singer they have to compare with Elvis is Mariah Carey. 100 years from now, Elvis will be listed among the greats in music history along with Beethoven, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles etc. Mariah Carey or anyone else on that stage tonight won’t even be a blip on the radar. I gather tonight’s results are a result of feminism and to many teenage girls idolizing and identifying with scantily clad mediocre female singers. Maybe if today’s parents spent a little more time with their kids instead of throwing money at them to waste on this kind of music–because they have nothing else from which to choose–they would have enough character to recognize new artists with originality like Elvis, The Beatles etc. It’s a joke that they’re giving awards for a Pop/Rock category. The only Rock Artists there tonight are Aerosmith.