Post-Punk Revival: Top 50 Albums

Post-Punk Revival: The Top 50 Albums

The post-punk revival was a movement which primarily took place in the first decade of the 21st century. It was a return of indie rock that was inspired by the garage rock of the 1960s as well as the new wave and post-punk music of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This list was created by aggregating 11 lists focused on the best albums of the post-punk revival. Other albums not featured on those lists, but by artists featured on those lists were also factored in. In addition, albums by artists mentioned as prominent in the movement who did not have albums on one of the lists were included. Only albums released between 2000 and 2010 were considered. Finally, all qualifying albums were then ranked according to their overall status in Dave’s Music Database. Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here. Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode The Post-Punk Revival, 2000-2010 based on this list. Premiere: March 16, 2022 at 7pm CST. Every Tuesday at 7pm CST a new based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database debuts. 1. The Strokes Is This It (2001) 2. The White Stripes Elephant (2003) 3. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) 4. The White Stripes White Blood Cells (2001) 5. Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand (2004) 6. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver (2007) 7. The Killers Hot Fuss (2004) 8. Kings of Leon Only by the Night (2008) 9. The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002) 10. Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) 11. The National High Violet (2010) 12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell (2003) 13. The Black Keys Brothers (2010) 14. Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) 15. TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) 16. Bloc Party Silent Alarm (2007) 17. Modest Mouse Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004) 18. LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening (2010) 19. The Shins Chutes Too Narrow (2003) 20. The National Boxer (2007) 21. Kaiser Chiefs Employment (2005) 22. The Strokes Room on Fire (2003) 23. TV on the Radio Dear Science (2008) 24. The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan (2005) 25. The Killers Sam’s Town (2006) 26. The Vines Highly Evolved (2002) 27. The White Stripes Icky Thump (2007) 28. LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem (2005) 29. Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica (2000) 30. Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better (2005) 31. Kings of Leon Come Around Sundown (2010) 32. The Bravery The Bravery (2005) 33. The Shins Wincing the Night Away (2007) 34. The Hives Veni Vidi Vicious (2000) 35. The Libertines The Libertines (2004) 36. The Hold Steady Heaven Is Whenever (2010) 37. Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) 38. The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America (2006) 39. Interpol Antics (2004) 40. The Strokes First Impressions of Earth (2006) 41. The Shins Oh, Inverted World (2001) 42. The Strokes The Modern Age (EP, 2001) 43. Spoon Kill the Moonlight (2002) 44. Kings of Leon Youth & Young Manhood (2003) 45. Editors The Back Room (2005) 46. The Futureheads The Futureheads (2004) 47. Franz Ferdinand Tonight (2009) 48. The Rapture Echoes (2003) 49. The Walkmen Bows + Arrows (2004) 50. The National Alligator (2005) Resources and Related Links: Wikipedia: “Post-Punk Revival” Dave’s Music Database: other best-of-genre lists First posted 3/9/2022; last updated 3/16/2022.

50 Reasons to Still Listen to "New" Music

image from SeanAyy.com

I am continuously frustrated by claims that today’s new music sucks or that rock and roll is dead. Such proclamations are often spouted by people so stuck on their favorites from 25 years ago that they are afraid to let anything new seep through. In response to a recent Facebook post from a friend who said he “quit following any kind of new artists in the late ‘90s,” I put together this list of 50 reasons to still listen to “new” music (i.e. albums released by acts who formed since 2000):

1. Ryan Adams “Heartbreaker” (2000)
2. Adele “21” (2011)
3. Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color” (2015)
4. Animal Collective “Merriweather Post Pavilion” (2009)
5. Arcade Fire “Funeral” (2004)
6. Arctic Monkeys “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” (2006)
7. The Black Keys “Brothers” (2010)
8. Bloc Party “Silent Alarm” (2005)
9. Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago” (2008)
10. Bright Eyes “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” (2005)

11. Coldplay “A Rush of Blood to the Head” (2002)
12. Lana Del Rey “Born to Die” (2012)
13. Duffy “Rockferry” (2008)
14. Florence + the Machine “Lungs” (2009)
15. Fleet Foxes “Fleet Foxes” (2008)
16. Franz Ferdinand “Franz Ferdinand” (2004)
17. Gorillaz “Demon Days” (2005)
18. Interpol “Turn on the Bright Lights” (2002)
19. Keane “Hopes and Fears” (2004)
20. Alicia Keys “Songs in A Minor” (2001)

21. The Killers “Hot Fuss” (2004)
22. Kings of Leon “Only by the Night” (2008)
23. Lady Gaga “The Fame” (2008)
24. Kaiser Chiefs “Employment” (2005)
25. Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015)
26. LCD Soundsystem “Sound of Silver” (2007)
27. The Libertines “Up the Bracket” (2002)
28. Linkin Park “Hybrid Theory” (2000)
29. M.I.A. “Kala” (2007)
30. Mika “Life in Cartoon Motion” (2007)

31. Mumford & Sons “Babel” 2012)
32. Kacey Musgraves “Same Trailer Different Park” (2013)
33. My Morning Jacket “Z” (2005)
34. The National “High Violet” (2010)
35. Frank Ocean “Channel Orange” (2012)
36. Pink “M!ssundaztood” (2001)
37. Scissor Sisters “Scissor Sisters” (2004)
38. The Shins “Chutes Too Narrow” (2003)
39. Sam Smith “In the Lonely Hour” (2014)
40. Streets “A Grand Don’t Come for Free” (2004)

41. The Strokes “Is This It” (2001)
42. Sufjan Stevens “Illiois” (2005)
43. TV on the Radio “Dear Science” (2008)
44. Vampire Weekend “Vampire Weekend” (2008)
45. The Vines “Highly Evolved” (2002)
46. The War on Drugs “Lost in the Dream” (2014)
47. Kanye West “The College Dropout” (2004)
48. Amy Winehouse “Back to Black” (2006)
49. The XX “XX” (2009)
50. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Fever to Tell” (2003)

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Grammy Nominations 2013

image from grammy.com

The nominations for the 2013 Grammy Awards were announced in conjunction with a live CBS broadcast in Nashville, Tennessee, which featured performances from Maroon 5, The Who, Fun., Hunter Hayes, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, and Luke Bryan. Taylor Swift and LL Cool J hosted. The Grammys will be awarded February 10, 2013. Here were the nominations for the biggest categories:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

• The Black Keys El Camino
• Fun. Some Nights
• Mumford & Sons Babel
• Frank Ocean Channel Orange
• Jack White Blunderbuss

RECORD OF THE YEAR: (goes to the performers)

• The Black Keys “Lonely Boy”
• Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
• Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe “We Are Young”
• Gotye featuring Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know”
• Frank Ocean “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You”
• Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Somebody That I Used to Know

SONG OF THE YEAR: (goes to the songwriters)

• Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
• Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe “We Are Young”
• Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
• Miguel “Adorn”
• Ed Sheeran “The A Team”

We Are Young

BEST NEW ARTIST:

• Alabama Shakes
• Fun.
• Hunter Hayes
• The Lumineers
• Frank Ocean

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Frank Ocean, Mumford & Sons, fun., Jay-Z, and Kanye West each scored six nominations. The Black Keys landed five and member Dan Auerbach also got one as producer. Miguel and Chick Corea each nabbed five noms. Among other artists scoring more than one nomination are Kelly Clarkson (4), Taylor Swift (3), Gotye (3), Jack White (3), Bruce Springsteen (3), Hunter Hayes (3), Alabama Shakes (3), Carly Rae Jepsen (2), Maroon 5 (2), Coldplay (2), Muse (2), and the Lumineers (2).

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Resources and Related Links:

• Grammy.com (full list of nominations)
• Wikipedia.org 2013 Grammy Awards

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Record Store Day: April 21, 2012

image from PopMatters.com

April 21, 2012 marks the celebration of the fifth annual Record Store Day. Independent record store employee Chris Brown conceived the idea in 2007 and the first one was held April 19, 2008. Approximately 300 stores participated. It has since been celebrated the third Saturday of every April.

According to the official website a participating store is defined as “a stand alone brick and mortar retailer whose main primary business focuses on a physical store location, whose product line consists of at least 50% music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70% located in the state of operation.”

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One of the highlights of the day has become special vinyl and CD releases. In its first year, there were roughly ten special releases from artists such as R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie, Vampire Weekend, and Jason Mraz. In 2009, the number grew to 85 special releases from artists including Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, The Stooges, and Leonard Cohen. More than 1000 stores participated. 2010 saw the participation of more than 1400 stores and more than 150 special releases from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, and Gorillaz. In 2011, the Foo Fighters, Beastie Boys, Duran Duran, and Todd Rundgren were among the 150 exclusive releases.

The 2012 day celebates releases from Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, David Bowie, The Clash, Coldplay, Florence + the Machine, Metallica, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, The White Stripes, and more than 100 others. See the full list here. The day’s official ambassador is Iggy Pop. Previous ambassadors were Ozzy Osbourne (2011), Josh Homme (2010), and Jesse Hughes (2009).

I capture the love of shopping in a record store in my latest PopMatters.com column, “Record Store Day: Spend Your Money on Music – It’s Better Than Therapy.”

TRAILER: SOUND IT OUT - A documentary by Jeanie Finlay from Jeanie Finlay on Vimeo.

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Resources and Related Links:

• PopMatters.com: Record Store Day: Spend Your Money on Music – It’s Better Than Therapy (my 4/18/12 Aural Fixation column)
• RecordStoreDay.com
• Wikipedia: Record Store Day

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The Black Keys Brothers released

Brothers The Black Keys

Released: May 18, 2010 Peak: 3 US, 29 UK, 4 CN, 8 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.1 UK, 2.34 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Everlasting Light [3:24] Next Girl [3:18] Tighten Up [3:31] (4/23/10, 87 US, 12 AA, 110 MR, 57 CN) Howlin’ for You [3:12] (1/8/11, 9 AA, 39 AR, 3 MR, 50 CN) She’s Long Gone [3:06] Black Mud [2:10] The Only One [5:00] Too Afraid to Love You [3:25] Ten Cent Pistol [4:29] Sinister Kid [3:45] The Go Getter [3:37] I’m Not the One [3:49] Unknown Brother [4:00] Never Give You Up (Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Jerry Butler) [3:39] These Days [5:12] Songs by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 55:29 The Players: Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) Patrick Carney (drums, percussion)

Rating: 4.020 out of 5.00 (average of 33 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: The Black Keys formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. They built an underground following through the decade while releasing five albums. Then came 2010’s Brothers which launched the band’s widespread commercial success when it reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard chart, sold more than a million copies, and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. Before that point, the band had a handful of songs reach the lower reaches of the UK charts, but had never made any headway in their native U.S. The lead single, Tighten Up, changed the band’s fortunes, landing at #1 on the modern rock chart. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song and won for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Buzzbin magzine’s Mark C. Horn said, “the song intros with the distinct whistling ofrom Ennio Morricone’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly composition, backed up by Carney’s monster thump drumming and Auerbach’s soulful voice.” WK The song was followed by Howlin’ for You, another success on the modern rock charts. The video, directed by Chris Marrs Pillero, parodied action movie trailers. It starred Corbin Bernsen, Todd Bridges, Shaun White, and others. It also received a nomination for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video. Auerbach and Carney were at a crossroads prior to the making of Brothers. Auerbach made a solo album without Carney’s knowledge and Carney feared it was the end of the band. Carney also went through a painful divorce. However, when Auerbach and Carney got together, they acknowledged how important the band was to both of them. They wanted to record in a historic old studio and Auerbach suggested Muscle Shoals in Alabama. The first song they recorded, Next Girl, shaped the direction of the rest of the sessions. Musically, they took a rhythm-first approach to songs throughout the session while lyrically that first song’s lyrics about moving on set a tone. They found their time at Muscle Shoals to be “productive and inspirational.” WK Notes: “Ohio” and an alternate version of “Howlin’ for You” were added as bonus tracks. A 10th anniversary deluxe edition added “Chop and Change,” “Keep My Name Outta Your Mouth,” and “Black Mud Part II.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Black Keys WK Wikipedia First posted 3/13/2022.