SPIN Top 40 Of 2003

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I suppose I just have a hard time pinning down the Spin aethestic/demographic-targeting (unless the aesthetic really is "being lazy and then jumping on the bandwagon just early enough to pretend like you built the bandwagon"). Okay, fine, they're not big on DCFC, most likely for the "good but ultimately not that exciting or that different from their other albums" reason. But then why play up that Jealous Sound record, which to my ears falls under the exact same heading of good but very nearly identical to everything Blair Shehan has ever done (cf. Knapsack)? I guess I'm just baffled, even though I know full well how these lists get compiled...

― Nick Mirov (nick), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 09:09 (twenty years ago) link

Of course Spin's list will look better than the (ugh) Pazz and Jop poll! Pazz and Jop is a poll y'see. So OF COURSE it's all gonna be really obvious choices.

I don't understand why everyone cares about the damn thing. It's not like it's ever surprising at all.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 15:32 (twenty years ago) link

blah blah CANON blah blah

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 16:13 (twenty years ago) link

anthony, for pop-punk love get the new offspring (it's surprisingly good)

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 16:17 (twenty years ago) link

Records from this list that I've heard:

21 The Mars Volta "Deloused in the Crematorium"
16 Blur "Think Tank"
13 Belle & Sebastian "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
11 Metallica "St. Anger"
10 Radiohead "Hail to the Thief"
08 The New Pornographers "Electric Version"

Records from this list that made my top 10:

13 Belle & Sebastian "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
10 Radiohead "Hail to the Thief"

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 16:33 (twenty years ago) link

Wow, I didn't even know there was a new Robbie Williams album.

― scott m (mcd), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 16:45 (twenty years ago) link

can i just say that i think 'in da club' is totally, utterly overrated?

― maura (maura), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 17:33 (twenty years ago) link

it's like, big deal, you got shot nine times, can you at least sound AWAKE on your record

― maura (maura), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 17:37 (twenty years ago) link

I totally agree as far as his album goes, Maura -- I mean, OPEN YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU RAP, MORON! (Though my 12 year old kid sez, "Dad, that's 'cuz he got shot in the face!" I mean, the guy was more legend than artist to begin with; to pre-teen boys, he's like an invincible built in super hero who JUST CAN't DIE. Which is INTERESTING, maybe, but it doesn't make his music any better.) What I like about "In Da Club" (MAYBE my # ten single, no higher than that) is that its chorus is both the catchiest and most popular birthday song since "Happy Birthday to You," which last time I checked was the most popular song in the entire English language. The beat is okay too (Frank Kogan told me it reminds him of a spy movie or something), but honestly, the chorus is all I care about. The verses are completely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. So: Overrated? Definitely. But still good.

― chuck, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 17:49 (twenty years ago) link

I like the birthday theme of the intro to "Step In The Name of Love" more than the birthday theme of the intro to "In Da Club".

― Al (sitcom), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 17:53 (twenty years ago) link

3 of the albums made my top 50. Radiohead [#1], Dizzee Rascal [#4], and Outkast [#48].

Surprisingly, I've actually heard most of the rest of the albums.

And what I like about 50 Cent is his lack of enunciation. He's very soft, melodic, nearly legato, the words blend together like water. It's such a contrast to his image. What I don't really care for, is basically, everything else about him and his music.

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 17:55 (twenty years ago) link

I also like the backing track on "In Da Club" better than on any of his other singles. The string section and stuttering guitar work create some bounce and tension where "Wanksta" and "P.I.M.P." just become mind-numbingly repetitive.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 17:57 (twenty years ago) link

step in the name of love is definitely >>> in da club.

i would like to hear just the backing track of in da club as the new 'law and order' theme, i think

― maura (maura), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:06 (twenty years ago) link

Agreeing with Chuck and Maura here -- first time I heard him this time last year I was puzzled as to how this guy was supposed to be the new cool Eminem protege when there was nothing there...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:25 (twenty years ago) link

number of these albums I've never heard: 26.
number of these albums that made my top ten list: 0.
post in which I give up my claim to be any kind of knowledgable music critic: this one.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:26 (twenty years ago) link

i've heard 4 out of 40, Haikunym! and none of those are making my list. but i've never called myself a music critic. more of a part-time crank.(i have heard most of the singles though. and i'm gonna need lists like those when i make up my singles list so that i remember what came out 10 months ago. sean paul will probably be in my top 1 and 2. that part is easy)

― scott seward, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:34 (twenty years ago) link

yeah I started out
just to get the free CDs,
then got pretentious

in 2004
I will leave it all behind
SO looking forward....

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:40 (twenty years ago) link

you iz gud riter tho. do it for fun or free.too many bad riters. i am too lazy and shy to ask for free stuff. plus, i don't like people bugging me.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:44 (twenty years ago) link

thanks scott very much
I'm okay but no "genius"
(as you've been lauded)

I will keep writing
but will stop being obsessed,
SPENDING ALL MY CASH

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:46 (twenty years ago) link

MAURA I KISS YOU

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:46 (twenty years ago) link

haha 7 of these albums are in my provisional top 10!!

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:48 (twenty years ago) link

i am so "spin"

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:48 (twenty years ago) link

"Spin" is so YOU

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:50 (twenty years ago) link

re: Melissa's 2003 top 50 - will this be published on Quicksilver Shapeshifter? [PS Melissa, don't forget about J.Greenwood Mixing It special on Friday - with replay online for 7 days]

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:50 (twenty years ago) link

trife and i argued for like TWO HOURS over this list last night, and now i cant even remember why.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:51 (twenty years ago) link

re: Melissa's 2003 top 50 - will this be published on Quicksilver Shapeshifter? [PS Melissa, don't forget about J.Greenwood Mixing It special on Friday - with replay online for 7 days]

Yeah, I'll publish it fairly soon. I'm just a bit lazy about rounding up all the album covers and such.

(And of course I'll be listening to Radio 3 on Friday.)

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:55 (twenty years ago) link

everyone needs
a trife to argue this list
about! but I don't.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 18:58 (twenty years ago) link

I agree that 50 Cent is tremendously overrated. The only time I like "In Da Club" is when Beyonce does it, and the only time I like 50 Cent's vocals is on that one bootleg mix with "Wanktsa" vocals over Devo's "Whip It." It's amazing how he sounds kinda sharp and lively with the Devo music, and on the original he sounds as though he's a narcoleptic.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:36 (twenty years ago) link

Oddly enough I like "In Da Club" more every time that I hear it. Though "Step In The Name Of Love" is way, way, way better. I'm trying to get my band to cover it.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 4 December 2003 02:03 (twenty years ago) link

and though yeah 50 Cent is overrated every song I hear has at least one line that makes me glad it exists. Particularly "I love you like a fat kid loves cake."

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 4 December 2003 02:05 (twenty years ago) link

I like "In Da Club" just fine, but where the hell did he steal that "Go shorty, it's yer birthday" bit? It's been nagging me ever since I first heard the song. I KNOW I've heard it somewhere else, like several years ago.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 4 December 2003 04:47 (twenty years ago) link

i can't imagine this is what you're thinking of, snrub, but it's kinda vaguely like this novelty 45-rpm record my parents bought me for a birthday a long time ago in which someone who lived on the moon and was named zoom or something like that sang, "hey [my name], it's your birthday, it's your big day today!" and since my name is two syllables like shorty, the coincidence is that much more stunning!

― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:16 (twenty years ago) link

I just have to make one quick post and then we can put this puppy to sleep...again. I finally got my SPIN last night and I read Charles Aaron's piece on the ladies rockin' the stage, and I reiterate that the man is an excellent writer. His critique on Brody Dalle at the end of the story was spot-effing-on. So please ignore my ire way up on this post.

― Jeanne Fury (Jeanne Fury), Thursday, 4 December 2003 15:27 (twenty years ago) link

I think 4 of my top 10 are on this but I don't know what my top 10 is yet.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 4 December 2003 15:29 (twenty years ago) link

HAHAHA!!! Don't you folx remember? The guy from Blink 182 goes "go trig boy, it's your birthday!" in American Pie while Jason Biggs dances in front of the webcam.

Ok, maybe they both reference something else, but that's where I first heard the phrase at least.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 4 December 2003 16:42 (twenty years ago) link

Did it have to come from something? I feel like I've heard people use the "Go _____, it's your birthday" since high school, maybe, and figured it was derived organically.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 December 2003 16:51 (twenty years ago) link

I thought it was a 2 Live Crew song.

― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 4 December 2003 17:12 (twenty years ago) link

I'm pretty sure that bnw is OTM as far as widespread cultural disemination is concerned. I'm convinced I heard it before the 2 Live Crew explosion in an old-school hip-hop track but I can't remember what it would have been.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 4 December 2003 17:16 (twenty years ago) link

I refuse to believe it wasn't invented by Mark Hoppus when improvising for the film American Pie. Sorry you're all just wrong.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 4 December 2003 17:22 (twenty years ago) link

anthony you are like an archetype.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 4 December 2003 17:26 (twenty years ago) link

actually i'm amazed you and trife didnt get along better when he was posting.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 4 December 2003 17:27 (twenty years ago) link

>>It sounds like a ravey Paul's Boutique" and "they used 1000 samples" doesn't exactly scream "crap big beat" to me.<<

Nah, it screams "what a big lie" -- and it was, since the Avalanches album sounded way more like run-of-the-mill humorless diva house than *Paul's Boutique," no matter how many records it subtly sampled.

― chuck, Thursday, 4 December 2003 18:24 (twenty years ago) link

"diva house"? Are we talking about the same Avalanches or have I just never really paid attention to them? (The stuff I remember was dense sample-happy big beat that seemed to viscerally connect with everyone who heard it except me.)

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 4 December 2003 18:38 (twenty years ago) link

It FELT more like diva house than big beat (which can really rock). People made a big deal about all the samples, as if the samples (most of which weren't recognizable anyway) made the music FEEL any different (which samples often do). It's like they took a thousand samples and used them in the most uninteresting way possible! (Then again, I haven't played the damn thing in two years, so maybe I'm confused, or I'd think differently if I heard it now. But I doubt it).

― chuck, Thursday, 4 December 2003 18:57 (twenty years ago) link

i just heard the avalanches album for the first time a couple weeks ago! i bought it used. it was okay, but it already sounds old. as in dated. but even when it came out it must have sounded a tad too little to late, no? mebbe there was a 1 or 2 week window when it sounded sorta fresh. or maybe the people who really loved it had never heard the decade and a half worth of stuff that sounds similar? but somehow i doubt it. fatboy and chem bros fans musta been jonesing for something similar is my guess.

― scott seward, Thursday, 4 December 2003 19:00 (twenty years ago) link

It's funny, I was just checking that Avalanches record for the first time in a loooong time a day ago, and it struck me as sounding weirdly dated already too. It doesn't sound bad - a few of those tracks are pretty great - but yeah, it feels very stale.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Thursday, 4 December 2003 19:02 (twenty years ago) link

Compared to, I dunno, M/A/R/R/S or *Paul's Boutique* or "Adventures of Grandmaster Flash" or S-Express or KLF or Coldcut or Double Dee & Steinski or Todd Terry or DJ Shadow or Edelweiss on Kon Kan, the record just sounded so fucking SERIOUS. And people acted like Using A Whole Bunch of Samples was a new thing, which it wasn't. At. All. (Well, maybe the QUANTITY was. But then again, I don't like Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, either, you know? Lots of notes as such: who cares?)

― chuck, Thursday, 4 December 2003 19:04 (twenty years ago) link

I thought me and Trife got along fine Jess!

I just bought this issue cuz of the John Mayer/David Cross singles review thing and SPIN is so all over ILX's jock. They even did the Year In Fred Durst Craziness!

And Chuck is OTM re: The Avalanches. I found it incredibly hard to give a shit about any track for more than 10 seconds.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 4 December 2003 19:06 (twenty years ago) link

hee-hee, i was gonna mention everything you just listed, chuck. even edelweiss. people who really love the avalanches will no doubt tell us why all that stuff is beside the point or something. it's really not bad. just lacklustre in parts. i'll take any one song off of my major force box-set over that whole album though.

― scott seward, Thursday, 4 December 2003 19:10 (twenty years ago) link

Some bits from the Avalanches record would sound good if they were less busy, and had some good MCs rhyming over them. "Two Hearts In 3/4 Time," for example.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Thursday, 4 December 2003 19:12 (twenty years ago) link

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