Music & Films for
Common People
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50
AMERICAN DREAM
LCD Soundsystem (2017)
Here's a band with a reason to be and with so many things to say, that American Dream seemed like the unavoidable record to be released after the 7 year hiatus they took. It's a channel for all the thoughts that a world that transformed itself for the worst inspired in one of the most iconic figures of the generation of cultured, non-conformist early-Millennials. James Murphy is coming to terms with aging in a decadent country where being smart and critical is now prosecuted by the president. But as much introspection it has, it refuses to let go of the personal way of partying that defined his cool persona.
Best tracks: Tonite, Call the Police, American Dream.
49
CELEBRATION ROCK
Japandroids (2012)
One of the most effervescent rock albums (and any genre albums, honestly) of the decade, Celebration Rock is the purest nostalgia for the fading youth and the disappearing excitement for late nights with friends that are happening less and less frequently and ending more and more early. But instead than commiserating, Japandroids decide to burn brighter and louder, bringing their fiery guitars and drums for a party, that if might be the last one, then it should be the biggest one. There's stamina and vigour from beginning to end, and they excel at deliver what they promise in the title of the album.
Best tracks: Younger Us, The House that Heaven Built, Continuous Thunder.
48
KILL FOR LOVE
Chromatics (2012)
Italo-disco revival very well might be the best musical trend of 2012. Propelled by the release (and following gain of cult status) of the film Drive, the idea of reinvent the electronic foundations set by Moroder, and envelope those heavy synthesizers and drum machines in nocturnal hazy atmospheres was the central idea of a single man, Johnny Jewel, and from among all his projects that explore this idea, it is Kill for Love the one that nails it better. Kill for Love evokes the idea of the late night as the magic moment where anything can happen and all the sensations are more vivid and intense.
Best tracks: Kill for Love, These Streets Will Never Look the Same, Back from the Grave.
47
22, A MILLION
Bon Iver (2016)
Bon Iver positioned himself as one of the best musicians in folk music with his lovely tunes that reproduced the beauty in the landscapes of the north of the USA. But, a restless artist, Justin Vernon decided to take his artistry to a new level, and breaking any expectation we might have had of him, released an album that is complex and demanding, but entirely poetic and hypnotic. 22, A Million creates an aesthetic language of its own, where the distortions and even the dreaded vocoder play a pivotal role in create this refuge of fantasy and unity against the inclemencies of real life.
Best tracks: 22 (Over S∞∞n), 33 "GOD", 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄.
46
7
Beach House (2018)
7 was the game changer for Beach House, the album that finally made the band's sound evolve, the one that saw them daring to go out of their comfort zones and the one that might be their most ambitious project to date. The usual ethereal quality of their sound is confronted with new textures, ones that are spiky and dissonant; we're no longer floating on a day-dream, but teleporting in a hyper-sensorial trip that awakens a kinesthetic sense that allows us to hear shapes and colors. As a whole, it's a complex exploration of the sonic space and how it can impact our emotions and perception.
Best tracks: Lemon Glow, Dive, Dark Spring.
45
HURRY UP, WE'RE DREAMING
M83 (2011)
If you ever get a kid, please don't expose them to Baby Shark; instead, play them Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, an album that excites your imagination, no matter how old are you, and takes you on an intergalactic trip to the most fantastic places that your mind will be able to imagine. Anthony Gonzalez takes the approach of play when dealing with his electronic sounds, he uses them to create a sonic fiction about fantastic worlds wrapped in dream-like atmospheres. This album, above all, is a reminder of the possibilities of music to take us out of our life and make us inhabit the most magical spaces.
Best tracks: Midnight City, Intro (feat. Zola Jesus), Reunion.
44
I LOVE YOU, HONEYBEAR
Father John Misty (2015)
One of the best songwriters nowadays, Father John Misty navigates his storytelling on a ship of irony. He uses elaborated anecdotes that he scrutinizes with a sharp eye that is prone to find the wit of the small details to talk about greater universal topics. One of the most awkward love albums ever penned, I Love You, Honeybear deals with relationships in the age of communicational void and digital saturation that renders everything meaningless. With sarcasm and folk orchestrations, Misty proves that it is way most sincere to make a love song about each other flaws rather that cliché honeybear names.
Best tracks: I Love You Honeybear, Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins), Bored in the USA.
43
TWO HANDS
Big Thief (2019)
Not happy with releasing one superb album in 2019, Big Thief released a second (and arguably better) one five months later, proving that not that many bands nowadays are at their creative level. If both U.F.O.F. and Two Hands are close enough to be considered two sides of the same coin, it is the rawness and intimacy of Two Hands what gave it a better rank in this list. The lack of a refined production works in their favor, it is almost as if the band was playing right there with us in a small room, confronting us with the crudeness of the world, but also showing us the beauty that inhabits in it.
Best tracks: Not, Forgotten Eyes, Two Hands.
42
AN AWESOME WAVE
Alt-J (Δ) (2012)
By 2012, the influence of the dark minimal electronics of The XX was all over the place, but from all the bands that jumped into that trend, one of the most remarkable efforts come from Alt-J (Δ). In their debut, they keep the deep guitars and obscure synths, but structure everything with a mathematician precision that give it all a sense of extreme intellectualism that borders the realm of geek. It is the duality their sound achieves what separates this album from anything similar, cerebral electronic sounds harmonizing with dark seductive atmospheres. Nerdy and sexy at equal parts.
Best tracks: Breezeblocks, Tessellate, Fitzpleasure.
41
HIGH VIOLET
The National (2010)
When one reads the term "adult rock", it immediately sparks ideas of boring, outdated and corny. But High Violet is everything that adult rock should ever aspire to be: mature, sophisticated and deep. Arguably the best album of a band that has only crafted good albums, High Violet is diving into the mind of a (privileged liberal) thirty-something, the nostalgia for the lost youth, the anxiety for not feeling as mature as they should, the failed expectations of where they should have been at this point in life. There's a great deal of care for the detail that makes this album superbly polished and virtuous.
Best tracks: Bloodbuzz Ohio, Terrible Love, Conversation 16.
40
BORN TO DIE
Lana del Rey (2012)
At the end of the decade, one can almost laugh at how divisive and controverted this album was. Time was on Del Rey's side and now we can shake all the superfluous discussion about her persona and her talent to focus on how this album was the stepping stone to found the legacy of one of the most interesting artists of the decade. Born to Die reveals an ambitious creator, one that is able to create a whole project that matches the depth of her music, and one that has a unique thematic palette centered on the vintage Americana nostalgia in her dark stories about love, sex, and excess that lead to death.
Best tracks: Video Games, Summertime Sadness, Off to the Races.
39
WOUNDED RHYMES
Lykke Li (2011)
Lykke Li decides to tell short stories in each one of the tracks of Wounded Rhymes. She inhabits the skin of different characters as needed: the depressive loner, the femme-fatale, the empowered teen; and through this personality explorations she is able to see the big picture of love, desire, passion and solitude, all through the lens of the wide female experience. Not only her lyrics grew in depth, by taking distance with the chripy indie pop of her debut, she is able to create more complex structures and arrangements, that evoke dark and mysterious atmospheres where one can easily get lost.
Best tracks: I Follow Rivers, Get Some, Sadness is a Blessing.
38
LONERISM
Tame Impala (2012)
Although their debut was a fine psychedelic rock album, it was Lonerism the record that put all the specialized media attention in the work of Tame Impala. A big step up on creative terms, Lonerism is incredibly refined in its arrangements and execution, and uses pop structures as a base that is constantly broken and bent by the distortion and the psychedelic riffs. Parker also rises the stakes in his lyricism, using the different tracks to explore solitude and relationship, toying with the ideas and the interrelation between the individual, the couple and the society.
Best tracks: Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, Elephant, Apocalypse Dreams.
37
CARRIE & LOWELL
Sufjan Stevens (2015)
After many years experimenting, Sufjan Stevens decides to go back to a minimalistic folk album with Carrie & Lowell, an album inspired by the memories of his childhood with his mother (who passed away a few years before the release of the album) and her partner for five years. The sincere way in which he strips his own history and bares his soul is heart-warming and very touching; we have stories that talk about family, but not in a romanticized way, there's abandon and addictions, but also love and hope, and a very heartfelt recount of the loss and the grief that comes from the death of a loved one.
Best tracks: Should Have Known Better, 4th of July, Death With Dignity.
36
LOST IN THE DREAM
The War on Drugs (2014)
The War on Drugs has never hidden the huge Bruce Springsteen influence in their sound, but rather than being an odd reproduction, they have managed to expand the possibilities of what Americana rock music can offer. Lost in the Dream might very well be their best album ever, one that translate the vitality of Springsteen to reflect the spirit of modern youth spirit. An album that comforts and sparks deep meditations on existential topics, every song in the album has, at different levels, a mix of nostalgia and hope. The War on Drugs just gifted us a new soundtrack for our transformative road trips.
Best tracks: Red Eyes, Under the Pressure, An Ocean in Between the Waves.
35
TREATS
Sleigh Bells (2010)
Treats sounded like nothing else we've heard before. From the blasting opening that rips the silence, the entire album was charged with stamina and demanded to be listened at the highest volume. Sleigh Bells aimed for disruption, to shake our zen and boring spots and offering industrial noise with a dose of sweetness in the voice of Alexis Krauss; it is music that you just can't ignore. The use of contrast is one of the biggest strengths of the band, noisy distorted sounds coexisting with sweet pop harmonies. It's an unsolved mystery why Sleigh Bells never fulfilled their promises to revolution music.
Best tracks: Crown on the Ground, Infinity Guitars, Tell' Em.
34
LP1
FKA Twigs (2014)
After a couple of very promising EPs, FKA Twigs dropped her debut to keep surprising both critics and audiences. A relentless desire to transgress and innovate is the central motivation behind LP1, an album that constantly defies expectations with the non-stopping experimentations that she threads in a complex net of mixed organic and electronic sounds. There's a raw force in her music that is charged with raw sexuality. LP1 bends the rules of the R&B game and with full confidence sets a new path for the genre; an album that is as as immediate as the sexual act, but as transcendent as the emotions.
Best tracks: Two Weeks, Pendulum, Video Girl.
33
IN COLOUR
Jamie XX (2015)
In his first solo effort, Jamie XX left very clear that if Romy Croft and Oliver Sim are the emotional heart of The XX, he is the mastermind behind the project. In Colour is a kaleidoscopic album that displays the full chromatic palette of electronic music. Taking minimal base as the foundation, Jamie is able to find rich shades and textures that open new paths for the exploration of synthetic sounds as three-dimensional installations that demand an interaction from the listener. One of the most creative individuals in music nowadays, Jamie XX seems to be only starting to create a fascinating legacy.
Best tracks: Gosh, Loud Places (feat. Romy), Sleep Sound.
32
EL MAL QUERER
Rosalía (2018)
Full of inventiveness, El Mal Querer is an effort to bring Flamenco music into postmodernity by shaking its foundations and mixing it with trap, pop and R&B. Inspired by a 13th century novel, it mixes the mysticism of the past and the immediacy of postmodernity to create a hybrid that is fascinating in how much it stretches the limits of traditional rhythms to make them sound as if they were just invented. Wether if it is using motorcycle engines as a bass or sampling Justin Timberlake, Rosalia keeps things interesting in every turn, and her hypnotic voice won't let your attention wander for a second.
Best tracks: Malamente, Pienso en tu Mirá, De Aquí no Sales.
31
21
Adele (2011)
Adele was a hurricane of emotions in 21, the album that epitomizes the anger and sadness post-break up in contemporary commercial pop music. Not only Adele's vocal skills found the best outlet to shine, but the accompanying arrangements show a great level of elegance and sophistication, adapting soul and jazz elements to her pop for grown-ups. Although her lyricism is simple and straight-forward, she is able to capture the emotional depth avoiding clichés and commonplaces, and she uses her powerful voice to give life and nuances, and the explosions of rage she achieves are unmatched.
Best tracks: Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You, Set Fire to the Rain.
30
REMIND ME TOMORROW
Sharon Van Etten (2019)
The emotional impact is the first thing that stands out from all of Sharon Van Etten's albums, she pours her soul in all her lyrics and in all her singing; but Remind Me Tomorrow transcends the emotions and is powerful also in the arrangements and the production. Van Etten evolves from one song to the next one, she navigates all her passionate stories as if she was creating different authors to each one of them. But as a good curator, she is able to keep cohesion in the whole and deliver her best achieved record to date to set herself as one of the most interesting figures in contemporary rock music.
Best tracks: Seventeen, No One's Easy to Love, Comeback Kid.
29
NO SHAPE
Perfume Genius (2017)
In No Shape, Perfume Genius still is exploring and questioning his place in this world, but now is not only from the pain or the protest, but also from pride. Hadreas' fourth album is just about musical growth (a bolder sound, bigger in its instrumentation, more adventurous in arrangements and more clever in its lyrics), as much it is about personal triumphs (an individual embracing his idea of self, and reclaiming his right to be, to do and to love). The biggest surprise is, in the middle of all this stridency, colors, emotion and orchestrated frenzy, to find so much intimacy, tenderness and elegance.
Best tracks: Slip Away, Die 4 You, Alan.
28
BEYONCÉ
Beyoncé (2013)
Dropped unexpectedly and without any marketing around it, Beyoncé's self-titled album was her most experimental effort up to that moment, as if she had spent fifteen years working on becoming the most powerful voice in music, the queen of pop, the saint patron of millions of fans, for then not having to give a damn for pleasing record labels or topping the charts; instead, now she can focus in creating avant-garde pop music that breaks boundaries and opens paths for a genre that seemed stagnant in easy formulas. For the first time in years, the fanbase of a superstar correlated with the quality of her music.
Best tracks: Drunk in Love (feat. Jay-Z), Partition, Mine (feat. Drake).
27
A MOON SHAPED POOL
Radiohead (2016)
Not many bands can say they've produced a masterpiece in three different decades, but not many bands come closer to being as half as interesting as Radiohead. If they have never produced a bad album, A Moon Shaped Pool is the return of the band to epic territory, with portentous arrangements and a deep emotional resonance. A relentless explorations of the possibilities of sound, we're facing a band that in their ninth album are still opening new sonic doors for themselves and for the world, gifting us with experimental ambiences that target the emotions as much as the brain.
Best tracks: Burn the Witch, True Love Waits, Daydreaming.
26
MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY
Vampire Weekend (2013)
Vampire Weekend was a refreshing band that sounded playful and irreverent while their lyrics revealed them as enlightened kids. Their third album is a step towards maturity without compromising their wit. The indie rock is much more refined and the lyrics are existential lucubrations of the urban cultured youth they represent. Modern Vampires of the City is an incredibly New York album, like a Woody Allen film, they use irony and an intellectual gaze to dissect the worries of young hipsters: from the inevitability of death to the future of music in the Internet era.
Best tracks: Diane Young, Hannah Hunt, Step.