#415: Paul McCartney - McCartney (1970)

Zack: I have, in the past, criticized much of the Beatles’ output for being boring. It turns out that this album has routinely been panned by critics for being too boring. I say these two things to frame the hypocrisy I’m about to spew. I really liked McCartney. It is a very rough album by design, and that gives it a sort of homespun charm that Beatles albums, where every note and melody has clearly been pored over, simply lack. There isn’t anything particularly challenging about McCartney. Other made-at-home classics we’ve run into like Nick Drake have combined the threadbare ethos with deep introspection. McCartney doesn’t really have that. There aren’t many grand statements built into the music. It’s just sort simple and direct and uncomplicated. Like a slice-of-life album. I can see why others would find that boring, but that’s so different from so many other things that I’ve heard that even if it’s simple it’s at least not repetitive.

Favorite Tracks: Maybe I’m Amazed; Junk; Momma Miss America

Emily: McCartney is the first post-Beatles release by Paul McCartney, and I think that shows through on the album. It seems like, once broken free of the creative sharing and conflict that came with the band, McCartney took the opportunity to make the kind of album he wanted without anyone else's influence or fingerprints on it. The result is slightly Beatles-esque, but with some of McCartney's quirks on more prominent display. As Zack noted, the music and lyrics are fairly simple and straightforward, but they're executed well so as to make them classic rather than boring. There's also a few instrumental-only rock tracks, plus some long instrumental breaks, which I wouldn't really expect from the Beatles. McCartney may lacks the experimentation of the late Beatles work that preceded it, but it is fully grounded in Paul McCartney's authentic sensibilities.

Favorite Tracks: Maybe I'm Amazed; Hot As Sun/Glasses; Junk

#414: Incubus - Make Yourself (1999)

Zack: Way too many years ago, when I was a freshman in college and before Emily and I had even started dating, I was sitting in my dorm building’s hallway talking with a friend at like 2 a.m. like freshmen in college do. There was this guy in our hall that no one liked. He walked down the hallway, saw us, and came over to tell us how excited he was because he heard that a new Incubus album had been leaked and he was on his way to his room to go download it. He asked me if I liked Incubus. I said that they were alright I guess, and then he left because I think I had deflated his enthusiasm a bit. After he was gone, I turned to my friend and asked her who the fuck gets that excited about Incubus. She did not know, because if it wasn’t sung in a Disney movie or a Broadway musical then she probably hasn’t heard it. And that’s the end of my story, although my central question remains unanswered. Who the fuck cares that much about Incubus? Now, when I look at Wikipedia and see that Incubus did not release any music in September or October of 2009 (I’m hazy on the exact time that this happened), I realize that someone was probably just messing with him and he probably got to his room, fired up his circa 2009 Macbook, went to the Pirate’s Bay, and saw no new Incubus album there. Was he disappointed? Really? Someone was disappointed about a lack of new Incubus? Look, Make Yourself is a fine album I guess. The songs that actually became radio singles are all largely pretty good. When the band chills out a bit and isn’t trying to make music that is exclusively the sound of debris falling in a Zach Snyder Superman movie, it can actually be kind of enjoyable. But it’s not exciting by any means. Which is why I’m so confused as to why this album is on this list. Was there just one guy (definitely a guy) in the room who was really passionate about Incubus and insisted that this album be on the list? Did everyone else in the room just cave in rather than ask him what went to horribly wrong that this was what he connected with at a spiritual level? The album is fine, but it’s only fine. That hardly seems good enough.

Favorite Tracks: Drive; Pardon Me; The Warmth

Emily: When Zack and I went home to visit our families for the holidays, we spent way more time in cars than we normally do in our city-dwelling, public-transportation-and-walking-filled everyday lives. My brother always has the radio in his car tuned to Radio 104.5, the Philadelphia alternative station that I've mentioned numerous times on this blog. He's not that into music, but Radio 104.5 has a solid enough rotation of music that it keeps him interested enough to not bother changing the station. Having not listened to Radio 104.5 regularly in some time (I occasionally listen to it on iHeartRadio, but have generally switched to their DC equivalent), I was somewhat surprised that I recognized nearly all of the music that I heard. Although they play some new stuff, alt-rock singles from the '90s and '00s remain in the heaviest rotation. It reminded me of all the time spent driving and as a passenger listening to the same station when I lived at home (which at this point was quite a few years ago). Included in that rotation are the singles off of Make Yourself. I wasn't listening to Incubus in 1999 when this album came out (because I was 8), but from many years of alt-rock radio in the car I knew every word. This album edges a little too far towards screaming for my taste (and, inexplicably, contains a rap-rock track), but the melodic singles hold up. Maybe it's nostalgia for the car-ride radio mix, but I'll take it.

Favorite Tracks: Drive; Pardon Me; Stellar

#413: Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics (2006)

Emily: As anyone who knows me well can attest, I love me some late-'90s/early-'00s pop jams. Just the other day my mom and I got our backseat groove on to the "Britney Body Workout" Spotify playlist (highly recommended for both working out and car dancing). Back when that music was actually popular, I generally preferred Britney to Christina. Christina obviously has the better voice, but Britney had the better songs out the gate. That voice, though, is the reason that Christina has been able to really diversify and change her sound over the years. Nowhere is that more apparent than on Back to Basics. The early-20th century big-band horns really complement her powerhouse-diva voice. Although the album is way too long (seriously, no album needs to be more than an hour) and overstuffed with unnecessary balladry, the best tracks are truly great pop songs from one of the greatest pop talents. They stand up today, over 10 years later, and rightfully hold a place on any '00s pop playlist.
Favorite Tracks: Ain't No Other Man; Candyman; Slow Down Baby

Zack: Christina Aguilera has been part of pop culture pretty much since I became aware that music was a thing that people listened to for enjoyment. Throughout all that time, she has gone through a number of versions. Back to Basics Christina is by far my favorite. Of all the pop stars of her era, I think she has by far the best voice (Mariah is one generation older of course), and pairing that with more of a big band sound really lets her show it off. I have an aforementioned bias against double albums, but this is one of the rare occasions where there is enough good content to almost warrant it. Almost.

Favorite Tracks: Ain’t No Other Man; Without You; Candyman

#412: Haircut One Hundred - Pelican West (1982)

Zack: Everything I knew about this album beforehand suggested to me that I would hate it. It’s a New Wave album. The band name sounds like the sort of thing a shitty band from the early 80s would think is a good name. And “Pelican West” is just two words mashed together randomly. I was ready to hate this album. But, much to my anti-dismay (just may?), it turns out that Pelican West is really good. Haircut One Hundred (seriously, that name is almost impossibly dumb) have a knack for mixing in enough jazz to offset the 80s cheesiness. It’s all the poppy danceability that the best New Wave singles have without the inherent one-noteness that makes albums made up entirely of those so boring 15 minutes in. Overall, the album itself was very fun and really blew away every other album from this genre that we’ve listened to, including the ones I didn’t totally hate like Duran Duran or A-ha.

Favorite Tracks: Kingsize (You’re My Little Steam Whistle); Lemon Firebrigade; Love Plus One

Emily: Obviously I picked this album solely because of the band name. It's absolutely ridiculous and could only come from a British early-'80s New Wave band that wasn't particularly successful. Turns out that, although both British and '80s New Wave, Haircut One Hundred was a little more successful than I thought they were (even though they burned out pretty quickly). Seriously - Pelican West reached #2 in the UK and #31 on the Billboard 200. After listening to the album, I kinda get why. It seems like they would be bad imitators of the more prevalent artists of the day since both the band name and album title are a few notches short of making any sense. However, this album does something a little different by fusing the New Wave synths, bleeps, and bloops with jazz-funk. It's a combo that seems a little off, but somehow totally works. Turns out Haircut One Hundred has more going for them than just a silly name.

Favorite Tracks: Lemon Firebrigade; Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl); Love's Got Me in Triangles