Favourite Albums of the Noughties Pt. 1

I'm a bit late in compiling my list of the best of the decade, so sorry to my audience of five (though technically, the decade begins with '01 and ends with '10, so I'm in fact early!). Looking back in 10 or 100 years from now, I'm sure that music historians would locate the death of the album to sometime this decade. Consumers, aided by the digitisation of music and the MP3 revolution, altered their behaviour, forgoing album-purchasing in favour of buying individual tracks,, which have been mostly done on the innocuously-termed store we know as Itunes. A whole generation of music lovers has come of age understanding only the instant gratification model of downloading the latest tracks, the singles, the hits. That's not to mention those who've grown up simply obtaining their music through illegal downloads, which dramatically changes their perception of the value of music and that has consequences that will not be addressed here. In sum then, the idea of an album, one with a cohesive concept from start to finish from the recording to the album art, has in this decade begun its slide into irrelevance, methinks.

I'm certainly no different from the type of people whom I've described above. Like them, I've been afflicted with "shuffle mode-itis", and my attention span's gotten shorter such that I rarely play albums from start to finish nowadays. The probably also speaks to the quality of music that's been put out in the recent past, with complacent record companies concerned with producing only 2-3 hit singles per album, then slapping on 7-8 disposable fillers and calling it a day. Who would listen to an entire album then, when you could simply shuffle between hits from your favourite one-hit wonders.

The point of my insanely long preamble, then, is that in today's ADHD world of music listening, an album that can sustain your interest from beginning to end must indeed be something quite special. I've narrowed down my list of albums of the decade to 5, all of which have been, at one time or another, albums that I've played repeatedly, and which still holds my attention from the first track to the last as I went back to re-listen to various albums to come up with this list. They'll not be to everybody's tastes obviously, but I do genuinely believe that there is objective merit to be found in each that no one can not appreciate.

Firstly, here's some of the albums that just missed the cut of my Top 5 of the Decade:

Stefanie Sun - 孙燕姿 (Stefanie Sun) (2000)

Singapore's biggest star (arguably?) emerged the summer of 2000, proving an instant hit in the Mandopop capital of Taiwan, and justifiably so. Her distinct, vibrato-free vocals, coupled with the words and music of local maestros Wei Song/ Si Song, produced classics like 天黑黑 and 超快感. Millions fell in love with Yan Zi at first sight (or sound, rather), and I was one of them.



Kelly Clarkson - Breakway (2004)

For a 13 month stretch between 2004/05, Kelly Clarkson ruled the world, much like how Gaga is the zeitgeist of the scene now. The run of Breakway-Since You Been Gone-Behind These Hazel Eyes-Because of You-Walkaway must be one of the strongest single runs in recent memory (Again, probably only Gaga with Just Dance-Poker Face-Love Game-Paparazzi-Bad Romance-Telephone-Alejandro can top this, and she accomplished this only with a re-release). We know all these hits, and amazingly, more can be found on the album. Would it be blashemy to say that this is Thriller/Rhythm Nation 1814-like in that almost all songs are single-worthy? This is pop-rock at its finest.

Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006)

There are some records that will sound better live. This is not one of those. Thicke always struggles with his trademark falsettos live, but on record, his voice is gloriously smooth and slick, and this entire album is one groovy ride, without being melodically dull. Guests like Lil' Wayne and Pharell add some amazing hip-hop bite. Thicke has consistently been my go-to guy for R&B music since this album.






Jolin Tsai - 舞娘 (Dancing Diva) (2006)

Jolin's an unabashedly commercial artist, with no pretense of artistry. Often, her music comes off as cheesy, or in Singapore-speak, lian/beng-ish (the closest equivalent is probably music for chavs), but, for just one album, everything fell into place. 舞娘 is still as commercial as they come, but there's a certain epic quality to the formula, having been refined to perfection. This was a pop star at the top of her game.


 



Antony and the Johnsons - I am a Bird Now (2005)

I had never heard anything from Antony Hegarty before this, so it was a strangely disconcerting feeling the first time I listened to his voice, so fragile it's almost cry-like. But quickly, that amazingly unique voice, coupled with his beautiful lyrics (on gender identity), begins to haunt you. Gets minus points because it is a tad too depressing.







Up next: Album #3 in my Top 3 of the decade.