1999 in music. • Page 4

Yeah, I mostly just think The Strokes are an average-at-best band.

 

Site was down for a minute, I think I broke it with my hot take.

 

definitely with Craig here, but harsher, The Strokes are a band band who make bad music

 

is this it is a more important record with more of a lasting legacy on music that would follow than 95% of the albums covered breathlessly on this site haha. i agree history has proven though they aren’t really a “good” band since they’ve now put out more bad albums than good ones

id say the same about JEW at this point

 

1. Sigur Ros - Ágætis Byrjun
2. Tom Waits - Mule Variations
3. Beth Orton - Central Reservation

Glad I know how to pronounce that Sigur Ros album now, but not knowing how to pronounce it, adds to the mystery and otherworldly-ness of it also. A beautiful piece of music that is extremely hard to categorise, and Jonsi's incredible vocals.

At what point in an artists career can we start calling albums "late career records?" It feels like Waits has been existing in that point for the entirety of his career, with his craggy voice, and musings on death. Mule Variations is one of his best (and the first Waits record I heard), combining his rambling experimental madman blues of something like Rain Dogs, with more sentimental ballads. "What's He Building in There" is as creepy as Waits ever got, and "Come On Up To the House" is possibly his most moving song.

Central Reservation is much more grounded, a really charming little album with a blur of folk songs, and electronic-y, trip hop beats. Really likeable, straightforward and well written.

Honourable Mentions;

Jimmy Eat World - Clarity: Will win this year I imagine, a wonderful record that shows their ambition and talent in excess of their peers.

The Get Up Kids - Something to Write Home About: Just Pure Power Pop Perfection (PPPP for short).

...And You Will Know us By the Trail of Dead - Madonna: Trail of Dead at their most direct and best, before they turned a little bit navel-gazing and a little bit too prog. "Mistakes and Regrets" is their best song.

Emilíana Torrini - Love in the Time of Science: Pretty similar to the Beth Orton record, a great little blend of folk, rock and electronic music.

Neurosis - Times of Grace: Another monstrously heavy and uncomfortable Neurosis album. Interestingly, this was released simultaneously with an ambient record named Grace, and both were supposed to be listened to simultaneously. I've never done that though, but I'm sure it'd be interesting.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity: Heavy in completely different ways to Neurosis, if Neurosis is being trapped under a slowly compressing vice, Calculating Infinity is like being kicked repeatedly from all angles. Exhausting listen.

Blink 182 - Enema of the State: The first CD I bought with my own money, when I would have been 8 - 9. Loads of memories associated with this.

Alkaline Trio - Maybe I'll Catch Fire: A great Trio album, showing their morbid but darkly funny take on melodic punk. [Edit: No, this is a 2000 album.]

Tegan and Sara - Under Feet Like Ours: I guess this is a demo album, but lots of promise here, and their first genuinely great song, "This is Everything".

NOFX - The Decline: For an aggressively dumb band, this is a genuinely impressive achievement, doing the whole punk rock opera thing 5 years before Green Day.

 

sure their legacy and blah blah blah is undeniable, I just personally think they make bad music. I never could get past the "sloppy drunk on purpose" vocal shit that he does

 

I get that that is the generally 'agreed upon' opinion, especially within the world of music critics, etc. But do you actually know people IRL that are diehard Strokes fans? I truly don't.

 

I know one @ComedownMachine

 

Idk, I think the Is This It legacy was overblown and overestimated by music critics from day one, and has only been further blown out of proportion by Meet Me In the Bathroom. And I'd actually argue that, if you really look at where popular music is right now and the way that rock is starting to creep back into the mainstream, bands like Jimmy Eat World and others from throughout that turn-of-the-century pop-punk/emo movement have probably proved to be more influential, more beloved, and more "important" in the long run.

 

yes lol. again, not that it’s fair to keep comparing the two, but i know way more people IRL that know songs from multiple Strokes albums that think of JEW as The Middle Band than that are more familiar with JEW

and the strokes play massive venues and headline festival slots lol there are clearly a lot of people that are still big fans

 

haven’t listened to Agaetis Byrjun in too long and, man, i forgot how good Ny Batteri is

 

I'm not dying on any hill here, I actually do like both bands, but Jimmy Eat World is just a way more personally important band for me. And Craig hit the nail on that head in describing it above.

I also totally get that this site is going to have a way higher ratio/contingency of JEW fans than Strokes fans, so it's probably unfairly skewed to reality. Strokes are/were also always way bigger overseas too, can't forget that.

 

Strokes opening for your boys the Chili Peps later this summer lol

 

i get preferring the band but i think it/writing for this site is skewing your perception of their influence. arctic monkeys are one of the biggest bands on the planet and they began covering strokes songs lol. they have a huge influence that is still going. the snail mail album from last year has a ton of is this it in the riffs

 

right. not trying to take away from anyones personal preference/importance at all! just don’t think saying this site maybe specifically being the only place where there won’t be more people with a personal connection to Is This It is that spicy of a take. they’re probably thee band for this site, and i don’t know of anywhere else really where they’re discussed like that *shrug*. the concept sounds like one that would be immediately infuriating lol but if these polls were conducted on a pitchfork forum (vomit), it would be a blowout in the strokes favor haha. it’s all good, vote for your fave! i’m just a little surprised is all

 

I'm not saying that they're NOT an influential band; obviously, they were at the center of a major moment in indie rock history. I just think they've had the benefit of having an extremely favorable critical narrative around them from the beginning, and I think that narrative was always a bit overstated if you actually look at how that band sold, performed on the charts, or transcended their "moment." Whereas bands that never got a fraction of the critical assist The Strokes got actually ended up reaching a lot more people. The most revealing moment for me in Meet Me in the Bathroom was when they were complaining about not having a hit on the level of "Mr. Brightside."

 

Damn it, I've spent too much time arguing about this; gotta get some work done, will dip back in later.

 

well, yeah, most bands in the world have never had a hit on the level of mr. brightside haha. that song rules.

 

hell yeah

also anecdotal but I knew at least 20 people in high school that were massive fans and just about everyone I knew who collected vinyl had “is this it”

 

Maybe I'll Catch Fire is 2000, and it will be on my list as well! You scared me haha.

 

Ah FFS, my iTunes labelling is a shambles ha.

 

Mine is too, lots of random reissues/remastered stuff that's way off haha

 

Here's my question:

Why would you want this site's pick to be the same as the consensus from every other site and critical outlet? Leaving aside that this community came together around a certain style of music that's likely to be the consensus, it'd just be so goddamn boring for another place to tout Is This It?

 

1. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
2. Tom Waits - Mule Variations
3. Tarentel - From Bone To Satellite

HM:
Silverchair - Neon Ballroom
Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
Botch - We Are The Romans
Mr Scruff - Keep It Unreal
Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles
Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left To Lose

 

From time to time, when I'm on my own, I'll find myself reciting lines from What's He Building? out loud in my most Waitsian voice. "And you won't believe what Mr. Sticha saw" being a favourite.