In first year university I lived a few doors down from a girl who played “So Fresh and So Clean” and “Ms. Jackson” on repeat for what felt like weeks. (There were probably other songs in between but I don’t remember them. I certainly don’t remember a single other track from this album.) That, combined …
Tag: 2000
Hybrid Theory (2000) by Linkin Park
My roommate was so excited when Meteora came out and I was just like “What are you talking about? You like Linkin Park? What are you, 12?” Or something like that. And I moved on and probably didn’t think about them much again until their singer died. Maybe it’s because I just endured a Limp …
Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (2000) by PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey is one of the great songwriters of her generation, and this album is another fine example of her abilities. but the record marks a bit of a change in aesthetic for her (as far as I know) that I don’t exactly love.
Whoa, Nelly! (2000) by Nelly Furtado
I’ve paid basically no attention to Nelly Furtado. I was aware of her hits – and remember the hits from this record – but was otherwise utterly uninterested. Some of that has to do with my music tastes – specially my tastes when I was 19 – and some of that appears to have to …
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000) by Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit are so monumentally dumb that, while I’m listening to a Limp Bizkit record, I have trouble imagining there are dumber bands. Now, I know there are plenty of dumb bands, but the scale of the Bizkit’s dumbness is so immense that, during the album, you just sort of forget that there could be …
Let’s Get Ready (2000) by Mystikal
When I first started purposely listening to hip hop about 5 years ago, the idea that a rapper had charisma was something I couldn’t really stomach. As a music fan I am primarily a fan of chops and, for me, vocal chops had to do with singing, not rhyming. I didn’t understand flow and I …
New American Gospel (2000) by Lamb of God
I thought I had read this was a big deal when it came out and then I came to Rate Your Music and saw it had a pretty mediocre rating. Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered?
Music (2000) by Madonna
For one of the few times in my life, I can actually say I’ve heard the previous Madonna record before listening to this one, so it gives me context that I normally wouldn’t have. (Normally my context would be “I remember the hit singles.” And I do! But I’ve actually listened to Ray of Light.)
Selmasongs (2000) by Bjork
I have not seen the film though it has been on my list for years. I suspect that the time for me to like the film is long past – if there ever was a time – but that doesn’t really apply to the soundtrack.
Felt Mountain (2000) by Goldfrapp
The British really did like a certain sound circa the turn of the millennium. It was one I was entirely oblivious to, living in rural Quebec, even though I had what was then an incredible internet connection. I suspect some of my radio station friends were into stuff like this, but I was honestly unaware.
The Teaches of Peaches (2000)
Remember electroclash? It felt like such a big deal for a couple of years there, but I must say I tried to pay as little attention as possible. I was super into prog rock, and post rock, and I was getting into jazz and “classical”, and I had no taste for minimalist things. And, also, …
Hearbreaker (2000) by Ryan Adams
Faithless Street (specifically the expanded edition from 3 years later) is one of my favourite albums of the 1990s and easily my favourite alt country album of all time. I went through a phase where I was chasing that dragon a bit, listening to the other Whiskeytown records and some Adams solo stuff, and never …
Sing When You’re Winning (2000) by Robbie Williams
It is one of the strangest musical careers of our time, that Robbie Williams was perhaps the biggest star in the UK, for like nearly a decade, and was just a guy with some minor hits in North America. It’s something that has happened over and over and over again – with British stars failing …
The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book (2000) by Wyclef Jean
Why are Wyclef’s albums so fucking long? I don’t know the answer but it feels like it’s not just a case of the ’90s album bloat. Here is a man with a lot of pretty decent material (arguably more than on his debut) who doesn’t seem to know how to present it to the world. …
Who Let the Dogs Out (2000) by Baha Men
I was dreading this. The chorus of the title track is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard and if I never heard it again that would be too soon. And then there’s the rating on Rate Your Music, which is insanely low, so I was really dreading it.
Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1
I don’t know if I can tell you who Jill Scott is, but I can tell you what she is: she’s ambitious. Scott wants us to both accept her as a very talented singer and a poet. That’s something very few people can pull off.
Parachutes (2000) by Coldplay
Imagine early Radiohead with none of the energy or edge (i.e. none of the alternative/grunge influences) and none of the aritness or idiosyncrasy, and imagine them playing mostly ballads (and the up-tempo songs are so soft they sound like ballads) and I guess you get some idea of what Coldplay sound like on their first …
White Pony (2000) by Deftones
I really thought the Deftones were a Nu Metal band for most of my life. And, while it’s true, that some of their music veers into Nu Metal, they are far more musically diverse than their Nu Metal contemporaries.
Domestica (2000) by Cursive
Context is so important and music. And not just historical context – did a record have a particular influence on music? – but also personal context for the listener. If you hear a record at the right time and it speaks to you, it’s going to be a big deal for you, even if it …
Ooops!…I Did It Again (2000) by Britney Spears
A lot of people think pop music is supposed to be ephemeral, disposable. I guess that’s one reason I don’t like so much of it. One of my criteria for deciding whether or not something is “great” is transcendence. And, if pop music is supposed to be disposable, it should be very hard for it …
All Hands on the Bad One (2000) by Sleater-Kinney
I like this band. I really like their aesthetic and I like their songs. But, at some point, I’ve come to realize that they are an AC/DC type band rather than a band that is concerned with making big artistic strides on each record. (I should probably pick a bett4er comparison given AC/DC’s lyrics, but …
Figure 8 (2000) by Elliott Smith
I think Elliott Smith is a good songwriter. As I have said when reviewing his other albums, I really don’t get the idea that he is one of the great songwriters of his generation, but he’s certainly very good. His songs are a little too poppy for my tastes, but I can at least appreciate …
The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone (2000) by The Apples in Stereo
I read that this was an attempt by Apples in Stereo to sound more like they do on stage, so it’s rawer than normal. I’ve heard one of their earlier albums – Tone Soul Evolution – but I don’t remember it. But reading my review that sounds like it might be true. But it’s kind …
Things to Make and Do (2000) by Moloko
I don’t know Moloko at all, so I don’t know how this album changed their sound from previous record. I read that they were considerably more electronic before this record, but I’m taking that on faith. All I can really talk about what’s here, whish might be described as soulful, funky, dancier Portishead – like …
Dongs of Sevotion (2000) by Smog
During one of our podcast episodes, we were discussing Palace Brothers and one of the guests said he reminded him of Smog. When I first listened to Smog – the earlier, weirder, more lo fi Smog – I had no idea what he was talking about. But listening to this record I really, really do. …
Like Water for Chocolate (2000) by Common
I’m sure I’ve heard a hip hop album quite like this, and I mean that as a compliment. I’ve heard music by some of the participants but I don’t know if I’ve quite heard something this clearly hip hop (as opposed to neo soul) which had such a neo soul feel, and lyrics which mostly …
No Strings Attached (2000) by *NSYNC
I absolutely hated *NSYNC when they first become popular, much like I absolutely hated the Backstreet Boys. And, though time has softened my feelings, it was still a struggle listening to “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me” as immediately my got up a bit, as I remembered being inundated with these songs and …
The Covers Record (2000) by Cat Power
When I was younger, I believed the people who sang others’ songs were somehow lesser artists. I believed this for quite some time until, one day, I didn’t. It took me a long time to get there, but one of the things that helped me get there was getting exposed to really good cover albums …
The Noise Made by People (2000) by Broadcast
Yo La Tengo with way less guitar, without a male singe, the female singer now has an accent and there’s programming. I mean, basically, right? (That’s unfair, but it’s there.)
He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms… (2000) by A Silver Mt. Zion
Less ambitious and grand Godspeed You! Black Emperor, with a slowcore song stuffed in the middle of it, basically.