LISTED: 30 Best Albums of the Last Decade (2000 - 2009)
*As the year 2010 is about to draw its curtain close, it is the time of the year (of any year) for many music sites and blogs to come up with a top list of albums of the year. Yes indeed the year 2010 has seen many interesting releases worthy of at least a top 20 list. But here at The Genuine Mind Zine we decided to do things a bit different and take a look at some of the best (of the best) releases throughout the last decade. This may not be the most comprehensive list around, lack of hip hop records for one, but all the albums listed here are indeed the most precious of last decade's precious gems.
29. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)
Yes I know, it's Coldplay, but for two very good reasons: number one, this is their least cheesiest effort to date; and number two, it is kind of cool actually.
Some people might smirk at the thought of Coldplay making it into a list of the best album for an entire decade, especially when there are other releases by giants (and we'll see lots of them as we climb higher up the number) that could have trampled this British soft pop purveyor to pulp that is worth a consideration. However, after repeated listens to Viva La Vida, the album exposes a different facade, a different quality to Coldplay that people in general can never find before in all their previous releases - it's a very sophisticated album. Yes, it is still a hush-hush, gentle nibble on the tits kind of excitement that will never put even the most modest women on heat but, behind all that gentle, swooning croon and quiet weeping-like wailing, it still exists and serves itself to be well respected. What I meant by sophistication is that unlike previous albums (especially the frankly honest brilliant debut) where Chris Martins pours his heart out and allowed no allusions whatsoever to the content of his emotion - it's a very straight, honest to goodness album. Which is good, but you'll get bored after the third listen. It no longer sounds like a frank admission but rather an annoying whine (yes, you Eminem).
With this album, the spotlight is no longer on the lyric craftsmanship of Martins (if it can so be called) but rather on the music that accompanies his words. This time, it's the guitar, the bass, the drums, the piano, the keyboard - it's the musical instruments that takes the limelight. And as a result of that, the album feels like a large field in which children roam free on it while pulling along a kite. It's no longer sitting in a small, dark room with Martins on your lap strumming his guitar, whispering into your ears. It's not an intimate affair - and gosh that does sounds awful come to think of it. Viva La Vida is not an album about Chris Martins, the lead singer, but an album of Coldplay, the whole band. It is artful without being pretentious; it does not insist on itself. You pop the CD into the player and you become delighted by its authentic honesty and artistic value.
And then there's the thing with the cover art: guns and titties - God, France is awesome.
*As the year 2010 is about to draw its curtain close, it is the time of the year (of any year) for many music sites and blogs to come up with a top list of albums of the year. Yes indeed the year 2010 has seen many interesting releases worthy of at least a top 20 list. But here at The Genuine Mind Zine we decided to do things a bit different and take a look at some of the best (of the best) releases throughout the last decade. This may not be the most comprehensive list around, lack of hip hop records for one, but all the albums listed here are indeed the most precious of last decade's precious gems.
29. Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)
Yes I know, it's Coldplay, but for two very good reasons: number one, this is their least cheesiest effort to date; and number two, it is kind of cool actually.
Some people might smirk at the thought of Coldplay making it into a list of the best album for an entire decade, especially when there are other releases by giants (and we'll see lots of them as we climb higher up the number) that could have trampled this British soft pop purveyor to pulp that is worth a consideration. However, after repeated listens to Viva La Vida, the album exposes a different facade, a different quality to Coldplay that people in general can never find before in all their previous releases - it's a very sophisticated album. Yes, it is still a hush-hush, gentle nibble on the tits kind of excitement that will never put even the most modest women on heat but, behind all that gentle, swooning croon and quiet weeping-like wailing, it still exists and serves itself to be well respected. What I meant by sophistication is that unlike previous albums (especially the frankly honest brilliant debut) where Chris Martins pours his heart out and allowed no allusions whatsoever to the content of his emotion - it's a very straight, honest to goodness album. Which is good, but you'll get bored after the third listen. It no longer sounds like a frank admission but rather an annoying whine (yes, you Eminem).
With this album, the spotlight is no longer on the lyric craftsmanship of Martins (if it can so be called) but rather on the music that accompanies his words. This time, it's the guitar, the bass, the drums, the piano, the keyboard - it's the musical instruments that takes the limelight. And as a result of that, the album feels like a large field in which children roam free on it while pulling along a kite. It's no longer sitting in a small, dark room with Martins on your lap strumming his guitar, whispering into your ears. It's not an intimate affair - and gosh that does sounds awful come to think of it. Viva La Vida is not an album about Chris Martins, the lead singer, but an album of Coldplay, the whole band. It is artful without being pretentious; it does not insist on itself. You pop the CD into the player and you become delighted by its authentic honesty and artistic value.
And then there's the thing with the cover art: guns and titties - God, France is awesome.
Labels: 30 Best Albums of the Last Decade (2000 - 2009), coldplay
posted by Hafeez at 7:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home