300 Down, 700 to Go...But First, Some Awards!

Everyone take a deep breath. Now exhale. Inhale again. And breathe out once again. Please continue repeating these two steps or else you’ll pass out while reading this super-long mega-post celebrating that we are now 30% done with this! As such, it’s time for everyone who’s anyone’s favorite feature: fake awards.

It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these (so long that the last one featured a Billy Crystal joke, and that is not hyperbole), so we understand if you’ve forgotten the routine. We’ll each nominate and then pick our favorite and not-so-favorite albums as well as a mystery category to be discussed shortly. And without further ado…

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Zack: No matter what, I go into every album with some sort of expectation. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard a song or two, maybe it’s because I’ve just heard of the band somewhere, or maybe having some loose notion of genre and thinking the band name is funny or stupid or something gives me something to go off of. Whatever it is, I have some sort of expectation. But sometimes albums shatter whatever preconceived notion I have. These are the albums that maybe didn’t end up being my favorites, but were much better than I expected. And the nominees for the @midnight Award are…

Sigur Ros - Agaetis byrjun
Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters
Steely Dan - Aja
Drive-by Truckers - Southern Rock Opera
Dexys Midnight Runners - Too-Rye-Aye

And the winner is…Southern Rock Opera by Drive-by Truckers! The name sounds hickish and the album title elicits a lot of different thoughts. And yet when you actually press play, you’re greeted with a thoughtful and balanced examination of the southern mythos backed by powerful guitars. I’ve listened to several other albums by Drive-by Truckers as well as Southeastern by Jason Isbell and all have been built on the same backbone of just plain smart lyrics. With a name like Drive-by Truckers, you might not expect that. But it’s what you get. 

Emily: As Zack know quite well, my memory isn't the best. While I'm really good at remembering a semester of material for my law exams (important!) and lyrics from obscure girl groups that were in heavy rotation on Radio Disney in 2000 (less important!), I'm not great at remembering books I've read, movies I've seen, and albums I've listened to - especially for this blog, for whatever reason. Sometimes, though, albums really stand out and stick in my mind for a long time after the first listen. So the nominees for the Oh Yeah - I Remember That One! Award are...

Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols!

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Drive-by Truckers - Southern Rock Opera

Black Flag - Damaged

And the winner is...Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics! I have always loved the new-wave title track of this album, so after listening to the whole thing I go back to that one song a lot since it's finally on my iPod. As a result, I keep listening to some of the other peripheral tracks and the album has stuck in my mind for way longer than many others have in the past 100.

Zack: Hey, no one bats 1001. So while it might not always seem like it, I do try to be understanding when an album isn’t working for me. Tastes are eclectic and just because I don’t appreciate it doesn’t mean that others wouldn’t. Then there are the following albums. They don’t fall into that category. They are abominations, and should be treated as such. And the nominees for The Newsroom Award are…

Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi
Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
Orange Juice - Rip it Up
The Residents - Duck Stab!?Buster & Glen
Napalm Death - Scum

And the winner(?) is…Napalm Death’s Scum! Scum is exactly like its namesake. We’ve both elaborated on why elsewhere, so all I’ll say here is don’t listen to it ever.

Emily: Some people might say that there is no such thing as objectively bad music. They clearly have not listened to some of these albums. These are the ones that made me want to throw my iPod into the street as I waited for the bus and made me curse both the writers of this list and my 19-year-old self for putting me through excruciating ear pain. And the nominees for the Goddammit Guys! Award are...

Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
Orange Juice - Rip it Up
The Residents - Duck Stab!?Buster & Glen
Napalm Death - Scum
The Verve - Urban Hymns

And the winner is...Napalm Death! I absolutely have to agree with Zack here. Scum is absolutely not fit for human auditory consumption. Probably not canine either.

Zack: Looking back at the two previous awards posts, I was struck by how wrong I was about my favorite albums at the 100 mark and so right at the 200. Maybe my tastes have crystallized a little more. Maybe I just picked those so recently that time hasn’t had the opportunity to change my mind (definitely not that one). But I’m going to shoot to do the same here. Which would be a lot easier if there were more stand-out albums from this batch. Instead, I found myself trying to cram 8-10 albums I liked about equally into only 5 slots. I could just change the rules like I’m the Oscars or something, but that seems kind of weak. So instead, I made some tough choices and ended up with the following list of nominees for the Joel Embiid’s Twitter Account Award for the Best Thing Ever…

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols!
The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
Neil Young - Harvest

And the winner is…Harvest by Neil Young! This one was deceptively tough, which frequent reader(s) might not expect since I’ve been pretty vocal about my love of Neil Young. Harvest is amazing, but I don’t put it on the same level as Are You Experienced or London Calling. But I still listen to Harvest straight through pretty frequently and it’s never gotten old, whereas I tend to just play my favorite songs from the others. That makes the difference here.

Emily: It was a bit difficult for me to determine what my favorite albums of this group were. A couple really stood out to me, but there was very large percentage of "meh" as well. After going over and over the list and re-reading my posts from the past year and a half, I think I've figured it out - it's the ones that I actually go back to again and again when so many others have fallen into forgotten corners of my mind. Without further adieu, the nominees for the I'm Sticking With You Award are...

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols!

Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters

Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

And the winner is...Dig Me Out! I just didn't realize how much more I needed '90s riot-grrl punk in my life until I listened to this album. And then dug it out again (see what I did there?) on a snowy walk to the train in January. And again and again and again at the gym, while commuting, sitting at my desk, and cavorting around the city. It's a great hidden gem on this list, and I'm just disappointed that I probably won't get to see them perform live. Until the inevitable festival reunion, though, Dig Me Out will remain one of my favorites.