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.
5. PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (2000)
I always have this minor problem every time someone come up to me and ask: "where do you come from?". Not that it is a tricky question, but it is. I was born in the town of Kuantan in Pahang, in the East Coast of the peninsula; then we moved to Subang Jaya where I spent my entire childhood, my primary and secondary school years and up until I was in the university, there, which is so far the biggest part of my entire existence; then my parents moved again to the relatively secluded Sungai Buaya whereas for me I was stationed first at Petaling Jaya, and then Gombak; and finally now working, I'm in Bangi. So when someone popped that question, I wasn't quite sure whether the "come from" part refers to where I was born, or where I grew up, or where I had my school, or where I'm currently staying. But irregardless of that confusion I instantaneously knew that there is only one definite answer to that: Subang. It is the place -it is the only place - where I left my heart at.
The reason why I am reminiscing my Subang years for this entry is simply because of this album at number 5: PJ Harvey's Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. The reason why I am reminiscing my Subang years for this album is simply for two reasons: one, I used to listen to this album religiously every time I'm on the Metrobus riding back and forth between Subang and KL, between my house and my usual stop at the Central Market, and it was the perfect soundtrack for me at the time; and two, because this album was written as an exclamation of Polly Jean's love towards New York during her brief stay there. Call it anthropomorphic or whatever else that you like, but I think I understand when someone is deeply in love with a particular city or town - irregardless of the huge difference between the Big Apple and the UEP-developed township.
PJ Harvey has always been a difficult case, either musically or personally. When she first broke through with the debut Dry in 1992, it was a sparse, raw and unforgiving record reeking of the Riot Grrrl spirit of Bikini Kill with its punk-ish kick-you-in-the-face attitude. I'm a little terrified to label her as feminist because the term has been so widely used, it kind of lost its real meaning and purpose; and besides, her materials has mostly been of personal taste rather than a revolution-for-a-purpose type, and the other reason is one which I will reveal a few lines down. When the second record was released the following year, her 'harsh' sound was given an even grittier touch thanks largely to Steve Albini on stewardship, which resulted in Harvey sounding a lot 'troubled' than what she was really on about. By the time her third album was released in 1995, a trend has emerged, and in which Harvey herself has admitted vocally - with each releases she refuses to repeat herself.
I'm not quite sure whether this is intentional or not, but when it comes to female artists, people always tend to look at the emotional depth angle of their materials, usually through their lyrics and the behaviorism or the mannerism of their delivery of the songs. There must always be a message encrypted in their songs - always. PJ Harvey though, as how I suspected, is not as much on the encrypted message or the emotional aspect of her lyrics but more on her musical leanings at every releases. This is in a way to say that Harvey's output has always been about musical style rather than message in the lyrics, furnished by the music. If that is still a little confusing, then try to listen to her music while ignoring her lyrics. For a brief moment, think of her lyrics as unimportant, and just focus instead towards the music, and you will start to realize what PJ Harvey is really about. She is like the singing version of Explosions in the Sky - it is always about the music, about the songs, about the style, about the genre.
The reason why I chose Stories as not only her best work as of last decade, but also for her entire career, is because it is a very stylish album, musically. And since this album is an exclamation of her love towards New York, it feels romantic. For all her other releases past and post Stories, the music has always felt personal, and alienating. and troubled, and gritty. But in this 2000 release though, it sounded unrestrained and free - it feels huge, like an occasion of some sort. And that occasion is no other than a celebration of love, like screaming on top of a top building, revealing your most intimate feeling towards the whole world, unashamed. It is the sort of occasion that makes you feel relived because you have just let out a huge burden, and it feels empowering and reviving. No wonder people say that love is a great thing - it makes you feel alive. It makes you realize that you're alive. And all the above-mentioned emotion you can experience it in this album. You might have not been to New York yet so you don't know how great that city is, until you've listened to this album and feel the groove of life in that city that is contained within this album. I kid you not, I could feel New York in me when I listen to this album, and I've never been there.
If I were PJ Harvey then this album would have definitely been about Subang - but it might have been rubbish compared to this.
*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.
5. PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (2000)
I always have this minor problem every time someone come up to me and ask: "where do you come from?". Not that it is a tricky question, but it is. I was born in the town of Kuantan in Pahang, in the East Coast of the peninsula; then we moved to Subang Jaya where I spent my entire childhood, my primary and secondary school years and up until I was in the university, there, which is so far the biggest part of my entire existence; then my parents moved again to the relatively secluded Sungai Buaya whereas for me I was stationed first at Petaling Jaya, and then Gombak; and finally now working, I'm in Bangi. So when someone popped that question, I wasn't quite sure whether the "come from" part refers to where I was born, or where I grew up, or where I had my school, or where I'm currently staying. But irregardless of that confusion I instantaneously knew that there is only one definite answer to that: Subang. It is the place -it is the only place - where I left my heart at.
The reason why I am reminiscing my Subang years for this entry is simply because of this album at number 5: PJ Harvey's Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. The reason why I am reminiscing my Subang years for this album is simply for two reasons: one, I used to listen to this album religiously every time I'm on the Metrobus riding back and forth between Subang and KL, between my house and my usual stop at the Central Market, and it was the perfect soundtrack for me at the time; and two, because this album was written as an exclamation of Polly Jean's love towards New York during her brief stay there. Call it anthropomorphic or whatever else that you like, but I think I understand when someone is deeply in love with a particular city or town - irregardless of the huge difference between the Big Apple and the UEP-developed township.
PJ Harvey has always been a difficult case, either musically or personally. When she first broke through with the debut Dry in 1992, it was a sparse, raw and unforgiving record reeking of the Riot Grrrl spirit of Bikini Kill with its punk-ish kick-you-in-the-face attitude. I'm a little terrified to label her as feminist because the term has been so widely used, it kind of lost its real meaning and purpose; and besides, her materials has mostly been of personal taste rather than a revolution-for-a-purpose type, and the other reason is one which I will reveal a few lines down. When the second record was released the following year, her 'harsh' sound was given an even grittier touch thanks largely to Steve Albini on stewardship, which resulted in Harvey sounding a lot 'troubled' than what she was really on about. By the time her third album was released in 1995, a trend has emerged, and in which Harvey herself has admitted vocally - with each releases she refuses to repeat herself.
I'm not quite sure whether this is intentional or not, but when it comes to female artists, people always tend to look at the emotional depth angle of their materials, usually through their lyrics and the behaviorism or the mannerism of their delivery of the songs. There must always be a message encrypted in their songs - always. PJ Harvey though, as how I suspected, is not as much on the encrypted message or the emotional aspect of her lyrics but more on her musical leanings at every releases. This is in a way to say that Harvey's output has always been about musical style rather than message in the lyrics, furnished by the music. If that is still a little confusing, then try to listen to her music while ignoring her lyrics. For a brief moment, think of her lyrics as unimportant, and just focus instead towards the music, and you will start to realize what PJ Harvey is really about. She is like the singing version of Explosions in the Sky - it is always about the music, about the songs, about the style, about the genre.
The reason why I chose Stories as not only her best work as of last decade, but also for her entire career, is because it is a very stylish album, musically. And since this album is an exclamation of her love towards New York, it feels romantic. For all her other releases past and post Stories, the music has always felt personal, and alienating. and troubled, and gritty. But in this 2000 release though, it sounded unrestrained and free - it feels huge, like an occasion of some sort. And that occasion is no other than a celebration of love, like screaming on top of a top building, revealing your most intimate feeling towards the whole world, unashamed. It is the sort of occasion that makes you feel relived because you have just let out a huge burden, and it feels empowering and reviving. No wonder people say that love is a great thing - it makes you feel alive. It makes you realize that you're alive. And all the above-mentioned emotion you can experience it in this album. You might have not been to New York yet so you don't know how great that city is, until you've listened to this album and feel the groove of life in that city that is contained within this album. I kid you not, I could feel New York in me when I listen to this album, and I've never been there.
If I were PJ Harvey then this album would have definitely been about Subang - but it might have been rubbish compared to this.
Labels: 30 Best Albums of the Last Decade (2000 - 2009), pj harvey
posted by Hafeez at 6:50 AM
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