A Few Favorite Albums

After spending over a year in site, I thought doing an album review would be appropriate.  Without access to iTunes, Rhapsody, or Pandora, you come to appreciate, skip over, or realize gaps in your nearly static music library.  That being said, two albums surface to the top.  One being my "Best New Music" (new being relative) and the other being my "Oldie but a Goodie."


Arcade Fire
The Suburbs


From Pitchforkmedia.com:


Arcade Fire never aim for anything less than grand statements. That quality has played a huge role in making them very, very popular; it's also their greatest weakness. Funeral was wracked with agony and grief, but what made it one of the transcendent records of the 2000s was that it avoided easy answers. It proposed that the fight of our lives is just that, a fight, but a winnable one. But when they turned that same all-or-nothing intensity outward on Neon Bible, otherwise propulsive and elegant songs were sometimes bogged down by overblown arrangements or pedantic political statements. You'd figure an album bluntly called The Suburbs that focuses on The Way We Live might repeat some of Neon Bible's worst tendencies. Instead, it's a satisfying return to form-- proof that Arcade Fire can still make grand statements without sounding like they're carrying the weight of the world.  More...

Paul Simon
Graceland


I can't cop out and link to someone else's review since this album was released in 1986.  The short of it is the album combines incredibly catchy melodies with thoughtful lyrics and worldly sounds.  It's got just enough edge to never fall into the chasm of most pop, where music mainstreams for a spell and than dies a quick, painless death. Instead, I keep coming back.  Rainy day, throw on Graceland.  Not sure what music I'm in the mood for, throw on Graceland.  It's a solid album and it doesn't hurt that I grew up listening to it, so there's a certain nostalgia attached as well.  For those reasons, Paul Simon's Graceland will forever be in my "rotation."