2003 Pitchfork 'Best New Albums' - which of these is the best?

I know A LOT of these records bc in 2003 I was pforks target demo and downloaded so many of these thinking I had discovered the portal to coolness. ones I still love: Manitoba, lightning bolt, jaxx, four tet.

pfork gave the blueprint a rave BUT more accurately ethan gave blueprint a rave and ethan in the context of pfork 2001 was decidedly not the house voice. interestingly i think that review actually prompted the first interaction between ethan and former ilxor/current pforker patrin (nate was full backpacker mode at the time i think, outraged pfork would devote space to this, etc)(i feel like i'm talking about cockburn v hitchens here), back when drake was still wearing short pants and whiney was writing for a dying print mag. different times, different pfork.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/Algrt.jpg/350px-Algrt.jpg

This is Dizzee, Jaxx or Radiohead

honorable mention to The Ratpure

lot of likable records on this list, lot of risible ones too

albums i have five or more tracks from, admitting i never did cotton to that instrumental clickety clack shit much: Wrens, Ted Leo, Rapture, M83, Radiohead, Basement Jaxx

From the Black Album I've just got "Change Clothes," "99 Problems," "Justify My Thug" and "My 1st Song," a selection that I believe makes me a weirdo

I remember going to the christmas party for my local music paper at the end of 2001 and my (then new) editor asked me what my favourite rap album of the year was and I said Jay-Z (subsequently Iron Flag would overtake it) and he was really sceptical to the point of shock. "Jay-Z? Really?" It seems odd in retrospect given how obvious in its appeal to a rock press audience 'The Blueprint' feels.

Within 3 years he was a massive Jay-Z stan obviously.

The shift in the attitude of the rock press to contemporary rap during the first half of the decade was pretty dramatic, even though of course it hasn't gone as far as it might have.

I know A LOT of these records bc in 2003 I was pforks target demo and downloaded so many of these thinking I had discovered the portal to coolness. ones I still love: Manitoba, lightning bolt, jaxx, four tet.

Ditto. 2003 was probably when I did the most downloading. It was my first at uni. I've heard 22/23 of these I think and I'm still fond of a promise, guitar romantic, vaudeville villain, boy in da corner, who will cut our hair. lemon of pink, chutes too narrow. Going with vaudeville villain.

Vik Vaughn I guess, Black Album maaaaybe idk.

Boy in Da Corner is the only album I revisit regularly, with The Black Album second, I guess. I did like The Wrens thing a lot then.

(btw the point of my anecdote above is that i thought I had very safe MOR hip hop taste, it's funny how resistant so many people were back then even to going that far)

every editor/critic like the one in tim's story now considers the black album to be the best jay-z album

YES. This is actually true in the case of my story!

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Englabörn
Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
The Deadly Snakes - Ode to Joy
Ellen Allien - Berlinette
Jay-Z - The Black Album

xpost the punchline being that in 2003 he was so excited about TBA and I was pretty lukewarm.

deadly snakes probably my top pick

every editor/critic like the one in tim's story now considers the black album to be the best jay-z album

― J0rdan S., Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:14 PM

Last year:

The Black Album [Roc-A-Fella, 2003]
History has vindicated this album. On a meticulously hyped valedictory no one believed would be his actual farewell, the fanfares, ovations, maternal reminiscences, and vamp-till-ready shout-outs were overblown at best. But on an album where the biggest rapper of all time announces that he's the biggest rapper of all time, they're prophetic. Bitch about Kingdom Come and American Gangster if you must, but not The Blueprint 3 or Watch the Throne, and not his label presidency, amassed fortune, or close personal relationship with Warren Buffett. He's got a right to celebrate his autobiography in rhyme because he's on track to become a personage who dwarfs any mere rapper, and not only can he hire the best help dark green can buy, he can make it sing. Tracks four through nine enlist Kanye West, the Neptunes, Timbaland, 9th Wonder, Eminem, and Rick Rubin. Each one sounds different, each one means different, and each one kills. I'm also touched when "Justify My Thug" tag-teams Madonna and Run-D.M.C. Hova if you hear me. A

lightning bolt no doubt

"hova if you hear me" doesn't make sense at all

is that from pop matters, Alfred?

xgau

Voted Kish Kash over Viktor Vaughn

but i've only heard like 15 of these records, half of which i haven't listened to since 2003

15 might be overstating it, probably closer to ten

berlinette is cool too iirc

I've heard four of these and Dizzee is the best of them by a good measure

forgot dizzee in my personal list.

inner wire dbag compels me to vote for supersilent

i stand by xgau's original "honorable mention" review

Jay-Z: The Black Album (Roc-A-Fella): Raps like a legend in his own time--namely, Elvis in Vegas ("99 Problems," "My 1st Song").

I like at least a dozen of these to varying degrees -- Radiohead, Prefuse 73, Basement Jaxx, M83, and Broken Social Scene all made my top 10 list in '03.

interesting that by 03 they had already started shedding some of their rockist tendencies

Ryan Pitchfork crawls out of his indie cave

^ILM thread I started in Aug. 03.

really tempted to vote meadowlands tbh

vegas elvis was pretty rad, i don't know why ppl always act like it's a diss

On Stage smokes.

Out Hud, Soft Pink Truth, Ted Leo, Lightning Bolt and Dizzee were all big to huge deals to me at the time - I think they were all acts I was checking out for the first time (in album form at least) and I feel like I really pushed my fandom on my friends or whatever, which I can almost never be bothered to do now

lol take Soft Pink Truth out of that, it's the punk covers one I fuck w/

Ryan Pitchfork crawls out of his indie cave

― Trewster Dare (jaymc), Thursday, July 26, 2012

Not being a member of ILE yet, I'm still amazed that these dicussions actually got aired.

by which I mean "Why this rending of shirts over liking Broken Social Scene and Dangerously in Love?"

this is between You Forgot It in People, Magnolia Electric Co., Sumday, Hail to the Thief, It Still Moves, The Lemon of Pink or Chutes Too Narrow. thinking Songs: Ohia.

vegas elvis was pretty rad, i don't know why ppl always act like it's a diss

otm - his band at that time was fucking smokin

Yeah that songs: ohia album definitely meant spoke most to me back then and I'm sure it holds up, but don't think I'd ever be up for listening to it now, all these years later. I'll toss it a sentimental vote.

'03 was the year scott pl started editing pfork right

it almost seems like ryan's been lurking here for a while trying to figure out how he can please this board.
― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, August 4, 2003 11:13 AM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink - there was some truth to this right?

eventually i'll decide between Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu

The Wrens, one of the last great guitar band albums (sniff sniff)

sort of amazed how many of these I heard — nicely tracks my period of intense daily pitchfork reading + disposable income

A Promise has some of my fav Xiu Xiu on it ("Apistat Commander"!!!!!!), Greetings from Michigan and Castaways & Cutouts are both very pleasant indie-pop-with-ambitions, Up in Flames seems like a weirdly important/forward-thinking album, Lemon of Pink is a beautifully-crafted sonic artifact (artisanal sounds?) that's hard to get too excited about...

... but as a former semi-regular poster on SUF, I gotta go with Who Will Cut Our Hair

other stuff on this list I f/w: Ted Leo (but I like his later stuff even more!), M83 (ditto), Broken Social Scene (ditto), Prefuse 73 (never need to hear this again tho), The Shins (ditto), Constantines (I go back and forth between Shine A Light & the s/t), Exploding Hearts (RIP rockin' teenage dudes)

Clearlake, very underrated. Or really nonrated.

yeah i liked that unicorns album too *shrugs*

Up in Flames seems like a weirdly important/forward-thinking album

This is totally otm. While I still stick by my kneejerk Exploding Hearts votes, this is right there just a sliver of a nosehair behind it. That album IS important to me and, in retrospect, SUPER influential on how my tastes evolved over the last decade. Fwiw, The Unicorns would probably be third.

Jesus it was a joke, I officially retract it and an sorry for the distress it has caused Pitchfork and some dude

Now go have a nice sunday in baltimore!

Hard to choose between Ellen Allen or Out Hud.

Early Out Hud singles might be better than the album.

i like Xiu Xiu a lot, but that album is uneven - i think i have that Need New Body album somewhere and should listen to it

looking back, i would say it was fairly decent year all in all. 'boy in da corner' is my obvious choice, but a few good to great forerunners. without order :

Out Hud - S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D.
The Microphones - Mount Eerie
The Soft Pink Truth - Do You Party?
Supersilent - 6
Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Englabörn
Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
The Blood Brothers - ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn
Deerhoof - Apple O
Manitoba - Up in Flames
Sunburned Hand of the Man - Headdress
Polysics - Neu
Basement Jaxx - Kish Kash
Jay-Z - The Black Album
MU - Afro Finger and Gel

^^ especially these

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Glad I was able to give Prefuse 73 its lone vote.

Extinguished outtakes cd is way better, imo.

otm

Jesus it was a joke, I officially retract it and an sorry for the distress it has caused Pitchfork and some dude

Now go have a nice sunday in baltimore!

― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, July 29, 2012 2:43 PM (4 days ago) Bookmark

it's alright man. my last post was just kidding around.

damn, some dude and he1go can not be beefing. goon on goon violence.

Exploding Heart + BBs had a better showing than I expected

I can't complain too much about the results, glad to see Exploding Hearts put in a good run. Pretty good turnout too!

damn, some dude and he1go can not be beefing. goon on goon violence.

― tauheed & cambria (J0rdan S.), Thursday, August 2, 2012 1:51 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark

never that! like i said, i think he misunderstood my botched joke

Jesus it was a joke, I officially retract it and an sorry for the distress it has caused Pitchfork and some dude

Now go have a nice sunday in baltimore!

― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, July 29, 2012 2:43 PM (4 days ago) Bookmark

it's alright man. my last post was just kidding around.

― now there's a lot of bad bitches in the building (am0n) (some dude), Thursday, August 2, 2012 12:50 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

damn, some dude and he1go can not be beefing. goon on goon violence.

― tauheed & cambria (J0rdan S.), Thursday, August 2, 2012 12:51 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha no beef! and honestly, i guess i operate in a sphere of...um...journalism where my credibility is questioned basically every week by some reader or another and dudes genuinely do believe that everything we do is bought and paid and that we are like seriously evil etc for so saying shit like i said is kinda common gallows humor in the biz, but i should remember that it might seem harsh to someone in another zone.

yeah i mean maybe if i made a similar joke about your editorial content being motivated by ad buys you'd shrug it off because you hear it constantly. but my point was kind of just that it's a shame that that's become such an obvious go-to speculation for people to make anytime they don't agree with a review, even in absence of any evidence or even plausibility.

it's a shame that that's become such an obvious go-to speculation for people to make anytime they don't agree with a review, even in absence of any evidence or even plausibility.

― some random MC rappin' mcdude (some dude), Thursday, August 2, 2012 8:57 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, honestly you have no idea. sigh.