Two words: fuck Spin. I've been meaning to say that for about the last 10 years, but never got around to it. Let me also say that the brief existence of the magazine Raygun should remind us all that music journalism, atleast the way I see it, has fallen way off. Raygun was the ultimate medium-as-message for an entire subculture. Spin sucks alot of corporate dick, has abysmal circulation and is perpetually trying to jerry-rig their editorial focus around a shapeshifting demographic that they lost touch with years ago (to understand this, see the part about sucking alot of corporate dick...). Not to mention that Spin has been reduced to a collection of "Top 100" lists, much like VH1--when you have nothing new to say, why not retread the pages with nostalgia and pictures of pretty boy bands (Killers, The Bravery blah blah et. al)? Ok, now that that small editorial conceit is finished, here's what I really think about the partial list released today...
Brilliant so far. OK Computer is the closest thing to a perfect album ever produced--while I detest some of the self-indulgence of subsequent Radiohead, this album is completely worth it. I think a case can be made for Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as a very close #2 here, or even #1 (just saw Wilco live at the Greek, and it was lifted).
Everyone loves these lists, though, because it's like hoping your team will win, and at the end of it all we're all snobs who saw the Pixies when they were just doing college shows or the Germs or whoever--we all want to claim that sliver of authenticity that a rabid fandom can afford. There's always that moment when you hear something on KROQ or see the cover of Spin and you know that it's over, that now, your love affair with this group or artist has become without exception a "guilty pleasure". The subculture slips in to the mainstream as repackaged market-speak. But just like sports radio, this is all about "legacy" of an album, a musical marker of a moment in time.
So I will start the nominations here for other albums that should be added to some list, somewhere, even if it's just the one in my ipod...
My Bloody Valentine "Loveless"
Ice-T: "Power"
Neil Young "After the Goldrush"
Sonic Youth "Goo"
Smashing Pumpkins "Gish"
N.E.R.D. "In Search of..."
Oasis "What's The Story..."
TV on the Radio "Bloodthirsty youths..."
Helmet "Meantime"
NAS "Illmatic"
Black Moon "Enta Da' Stage"
RUN DMC "King Of Rock"
Notorious BIG "Ready to Die"
Superchunk "No Pocky for Kitty"
Bob Mould "Workbook"
U2 "The Unforgettable Fire"
Wilco "A Ghost is Born"
Dinosaur Jr. "Green Mind"
Hole "Pretty on the Inside"
Ministry "Land of Rape and Honey"
etc................
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