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Craig Manning Writes About His Top 200 Favorite Albums of the 2010s

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Dec 11, 2019.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    After launching our best of the decade feature yesterday, Craig Manning took to his blog to write about his top 200 favorite albums of the 2010s; because he’s a mad man. It’s a great walk back through the decade, and it made me realize I forgot to put Yellowcard’s Southern Air on my list because I’m an idiot.


    You have summers all your life, but you only have summers when you’re young. If you grew up in a place where summer was the season you lived for, then you know what I’m talking about. Sticking out the grueling winters with the knowledge that hot, sunny days would surely come again. Counting down the weeks in the spring, waiting for that first day when the temperature went above 50 so you could roll down your windows, crank the volume, and pretend it was already July. Making every waking minute of every August day and night count, because you knew Labor Day was coming way too soon. More than maybe any other band, Yellowcard understood what made a summer a summer. Songs like “Ocean Avenue” and “Miles Apart” defined a certain brand of beachside pop-punk that sounded perfect on teenage mixtapes traded during summer flings. Southern Air was the pinnacle of that sound, and the end of it. Because you can only have summers when you’re young, and we all have to grow up eventually.

     
  2. best news post I've ever seen
     
  3. tyramail

    Trusted Supporter

    Craig is a machine.
     
  4. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Chase Tremaine likes this.
  5. Having now read through the entire Chorus top 50 (this behemoth is next), I still, after all the years, find myself getting joyously pissed at how great of a writer you are. The Handwritten blurb, especially. I love when art inspires the creation of more art -- which is exactly what music criticism/journalism should be.
     
  6. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    This means a lot, thanks. That was definitely the goal here: writing about these albums in a more interesting way than just "Hey, here's what this song sounds like."
     
  7. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Also, @Jason Tate, I was definitely surprised when I didn't see Southern Air on your list. I just figured you hadn't been listening to Yellowcard a ton since they called it quits.
     
    Chase Tremaine likes this.
  8. I thought it came out in like 2009 or something 'cause I'm dumb. Just completely skipped my mind.
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  9. One of the reasons I'm afraid to even start making a decades-favorites list is because I'm absolutely sure I'll have some glaring omissions like this.
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  10. my word Craig. You are a machine.
     
  11. Just read the Southern Air write-up last night and was floored. Excited to read the rest over the next few days. I'll always be fascinated by your ability to make your writing feel both immersive and emotional. I rarely read reviews more than once or twice, but yours stay on my mind afterwards.
     
  12. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Thanks for reading, and for the kind words! As someone who also thinks a lot of modern music criticism is a little thin on substance, it's definitely the goal to do something a little different. Glad it's coming through.
     
  13. pbueddi

    Trusted

    @Craig Manning This was absolutely a fantastic piece. Nice job. And as someone who has just recently been getting into Jimmy Eat World, I really enjoyed your write up on some of their albums. With that said, where was Chase This Light? :( But again, thanks for sharing this!
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  14. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Thanks!

    Chase This Light actually came out in 2007, so it wasn't eligible here. But it did feature on my 2000s list, at number 25!
     
    pbueddi likes this.
  15. pbueddi

    Trusted

    Oh boy. You're right. Super embarrassing on my part lol. At least I have another list to read up on now! :)
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  16. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    I definitely had a few moments while making this list where I thought about those later 2000s records and was like "Wait, were those this decade?" Time flies, I guess!
     
    Jason Tate and pbueddi like this.
  17. alexjlow

    Regular

    This is an incredible and amazing piece of work Craig! So many albums I have truly loved over the past 10 years here and many I have not listened to, which I will make some time to check out. Thank you!
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  18. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Thanks so much for checking it out! Hope you find some new stuff you enjoy.