I'm going to spend a large chunk of this post talking about someone else's blog and posts, but bear with me, there's a brand new Dubhed selection waiting for you at the end.
SWC at the ever-excellent No Badger Required has just concluded The Noughty Forty, a countdown of the greatest albums of the 2000s. All voted for by a Musical Jury, assembled from music blog creators and commenters from around the globe.
NBR is an essential read anyway, not a single one feeling like it's been dashed off in the seconds that the idea itself is forming (yes, I'm looking at myself here). There's something even more impressive about series like this though, not least the sheer amount of effort that goes into planning, coordinating and curating the posts. And of course it sparks debate, anticipation and - let's be honest - a degree of feverish excitement as it reaches the Top Ten.
I was privileged once again to be a Musical Jury Member for this series. SWC assigns aliases to all and I won't reveal mine here, though my arch or overly earnest comments may be a giveaway.
I was pleased with the #1 choice, an artist and album I voted for though not my top scorer (which made the Top 10, but not the Top 5). Back in the summer, when this was just a plan taking shape in SWC's mind, he invited potential Musical Jury Members to submit their own nominations.
Over 300 nominations were submitted. Of these, SWC presented us with a longlist of 74, from which to pick our Top 20. After totting up the scores, The Noughty Forty was finalised, with a few surprises and an eleventh hour vote tipping the balance between the top two.
SWC not only delivered The Noughty Forty, but preceded it with ten of Not Quite The Greatest Albums Of The 00s, also sharing the albums that made #41 & #42 in the final list. The series was then bookended with four Honorable Mentions, meaning that NBR readers were treated to 56 albums in total.
I won't spoil things by posting the various lists here. If you haven't already followed the countdown on No Badger Required, go and check it out. You'll get to experience some great music, some controversial voting decisions and best of all, some top notch writing that brings the whole thing to life.
No Badger Required is 3 years old this month and November will see another series, this time focusing on the number 3. Not in the way that you might expect, of course, but naturally it's going to be required reading for the next 30 days. SWC sets the bar high, so much so that I'm on the Dubhed ladder, head tilted as far back as it will go, straining to see the bar up above me.
A constant inspiration and pace setter. Here's to you, SWC, and many more years of NBR to come.
So... what of today's selection?
Well, back at the beginning, when I was invited to submit nominations for the best albums of the 2000s, I applied some rules of my own. The most obvious one being that I had to own the albums, either physically or digitally, in their entirety.
This - and the subsequent Noughty Forty - immediately highlighted how many contenders where I had a few songs, but not the entire album. Examples being The Streets, Radiohead, The Strokes and Grandaddy.
The other dawning realisation when following the final run down was how many albums from the 2000s I'd never even heard in full at all. Arctic Monkeys, Art Brut, The Horrors, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Long Blondes. I'm working on it now.
The other rule which I mostly followed was to exclude nominations for an album which I thought would receive multiple votes from the MJMs and would therefore be a shoo in for the longlist, if not the final 40. Therefore, I left out LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand and The White Stripes, to name a few.
Not that my 20 nominations were by any means albums that I didn't consider to be anything other than essential listens. Or, so obscure that mine would be the only nomination. I mean, White Bread Black Beer by Scritti Politti had to be Top 30, if not higher, surely?
Of my 20 suggestions, 1 made the Not Quite The Greatest Albums Of The 00s list, 1 featured in the Honorable Mentions and 1 in The Noughty Forty...the Top 30 in fact, though it's no spoiler to say that it wasn't Scritti Poliiti.
So, 17 of my 20 nominations didn't get even a whiff of fame. One other artist did make the lower reaches of the countdown, though not with the album that I nominated!
However, all of this of course inspired today's selection. Without fear or favour, I've randomly selected 12 to create a snappy compilation to entertain for the next three quarters of an hour.
Hopefully, a few of them will provoke an "Oh, yeah!" response. Others may be unfamiliar, but inspire a search to check out the rest of the album, which will undoubtedly be worth your time and effort.
It's an eclectic mix, as always. Back in 2000, it was hard to imagine that it would be 2024 before The The's next full band, non-soundtrack album would appear. Sadly, we're still waiting for Green Gartside's follow up to White Bread Black Beer, and each year hope diminishes. A couple of artists - Mark Linkous and Mark Lanegan - have passed on, leaving us with a rich musical legacy, these collaborative albums included.
Mark Lanegan's association with electronic artists Soulsavers was perhaps no surprise, given his voracious appetite for working with others across multiple musical genres. What was unexpected was N.A.S.A.'s 2009 album The Spirit Of Apollo, not least from it's dizzying spread of guest artists, but that their number included Tom Waits, here 'duetting' with rapper Kool Keith.
There are a few albums that didn't make my nominations list, partly because I thought that no-one else would submit them, partly because I will deliver on my promise to SWC a seeming eternity ago to submit a Nearly Perfect Albums guest post for his consideration. I need to get on with it!
In the meantime, enjoy this companion piece/celebration of an inspirational blog, as it's likely back to the usual nonsense on Saturday.
1) The Whisperers: The The (2000)
2) Paris Is Burning: Ladyhawke (2008)
3) Superstylin': Groove Armada (2001)
4) It's A Funny Thing: Edwyn Collins (2002)
5) Road To No Regret: Scritti Politti (2006)
6) Pain: Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse ft. Iggy Pop (2009)
7) Ghosts Of You And Me: Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan (2007)
8) The Moss: Daníel Ágúst (2005)
9) Something Inside Of Me: The Coral (2005)
10) Huddle Formation: The Go! Team (2004)
11) Young Bride: Midlake (2006)
12) Spacious Thoughts: N.A.S.A. ft. Tom Waits & Kool Keith (2009)
2000: Naked Self: 1
2001: Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub): 3
2002: Doctor Syntax: 4
2004: Thunder, Lightning, Strike: 10
2005: Swallowed A Star: 8
2005: The Invisible Invasion: 9
2006: The Trials Of Van Occupanther: 11
2006: White Bread Black Beer: 5
2007: It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land: 7
2008: Ladyhawke: 2
2009: Dark Night Of The Soul: 6
2009: The Spirit Of Apollo: 12
