What didn’t make the cut, or "Charles realizes that his tastes are really different than most bloggers"

Looking back at my list of favorite albums, and exploring the 100s of other lists out there, I decided that I may have the only list on all of the internets which fails to include at least one of: TV on the Radio, Joanna Newsom, The Knife, The Hold Steady, Grizzly Bear, Ghostface Killah, Destroyer, Belle and Sebastian, or Clipse. And there’s a whole second tier of slightly-less-popular albums that didn’t make it either.

I don’t dislike most of these – I just don’t have much interest in them. So I wanted to take a day to ponder why some of these didn’t appeal to me – which is an interesting project for me, if not anyone else. If you don’t care, skip to the bottom for some great Spector-influenced songs. In talking about this, I’ll group the records into general categories that might help explain a little bit.

Records that glorify lifestyles I find distasteful
The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America
Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury
Ghostface Killah – Fishscale

I don’t like drugs or alcohol and I don’t particularly like drug and alcohol culture. These artists do. I don’t mean that they uncritically support this stuff, although there is some element of that. It’s just that if they are critical, it is only in the details – they still buy into the general ethos that there is something unutterably cool about violence, addicts, and the general wreckage of human lives. Sure, you’re not supposed to idolize these people, but you are supposed to get off on the catastrophe of it all.

It’s like Fight Club, which wants you to think it’s a progressive movie, but is far too in love with how awesome all the violent scenes are to ever really get around to making an actual point. And when the movie’s over, all you really walk away with is a sense that fascism is kind of sweet.

I happen to like a bunch of the songs on Boys and Girls in America, but I just couldn’t get past this stuff. As for the others, they run into the next problem…

Rap music
Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury
Ghostface Killah – Fishscale
Lupe Fiasco – Food and Liquor

Call me stereotypical white indie boy if you want – you wouldn’t be wrong – but I just don’t like rap. I try. I listened to all of these records. I’m sure they’re very good. I just don’t like them. I don’t know what to tell you…I like melodies.

Electronic records that are really boring
Hot Chip – The Warning
The Knife – Silent Shout

Silent Shout was Pitchfork’s #1 album of the year? Really? I mean, it’s fine and all, but it remains the case that the only song by them I like enough to actually listen to is “Heartbeats.” And I want to say that my problem with Hot Chip is that it’s just the same damn beat over and over and over and over, but then I remember that I’m perfectly fine with that on all kinds of guitar-pop songs. So maybe it’s just that I don’t like this kind music very much either. Meh.

No particular reason at all
Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
The Annuals – Be He Me

There’s nothing wrong with these records. I wouldn’t complain if they were on in the background, but I really can’t imagine intentionally listening to them. I know they’re supposed to be complex and interesting and everything, but I just don’t hear it.

I swear that the following has happened at least five times this year: one of my favorite blogs raves about some Annuals song, I download it, get bored about 2/3 of the way through, delete it. Then, someone else whose taste I respect go nuts about them and I wonder if I just missed something the last time. And the cycle repeats itself.

Records that I appreciate artistically, but don’t actually enjoy that much
Joanna Newsom – Ys
Destroyer – Rubies

These are both significant achievements, but that alone isn’t enough. Dostoevsky is undoubtedly a brilliant author but that doesn’t mean when I want to curl up with a book I often choose The Brothers Karamazov.

So what’s the deal? Part of it may simply be that my ever-growing love of twee is completely destroying my patience for music that doesn’t have a pleasant melody. That’s not the most encouraging thing to realize about yourself, but whatever. I’d far rather be happy than right any day.

But this doesn’t mean “seriousness” is a fundamental impediment for me. To return to the Russian author analogy, Anna Karenina is an amazing piece of literature: packed with meaning, illuminating, complex. But it’s also simply a joy to read. That’s why it’s my favorite book.

Still, there’s a final set of records:

Ones that I ought to like more than everyone else
The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes
Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat

There are few things I like more than the 60s girl-group/Phil Spector revival. So I like the Pipettes. But the thing is, I don’t really like them that much. I mean, I bought their record and “Pull Shapes” is a pretty good song, but Camera Obscura wipes the floor with them. Frankly, so do The Havana Guns and The Wilson Hospital and The Revelations and pretty much the whole country of Sweden. And don’t even get me started on Johnny Boy.

If Looks Could Kill – Camera Obscura
You’re the Loser – The Revelations
She Always Goes Down – The Havana Guns
Call Me A.S.A.P. – The Wilson Hospital
You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve – Johnny Boy

I’ve commented recently that pretty much my favorite genre of music these days is Belle and Sebastian-esque twee. So how come Belle and Sebastian themselves don’t make the list? It’s not that I totally dislike their new approach (I actually think Dear Catastrophe Waitress is their best album) and I adore “Another Sunny Day,” but none of the other songs really got me. And really, it’s sort of always been the case that I like bands similar to them more than I actually like B&S themselves.

As for Jenny Lewis, give me a break. I love Rilo Kiley and I like Rabbit Fur Coat fine, but let’s not kid ourselves: this is country-lite from a dabbler. How anyone could listen to her, Neko Case, and Rosanne Cash and put this one on top utterly baffles me.

Now that I’ve probably pissed off pretty much everyone, let me make one last comment:

I cannot express how happy I am that the pile of industrial waste released by the Flaming Lips has been mercifully left off almost everyone’s list. Good job forgetting about that one, folks.

Alright, enough complaining for awhile. I’ll be back tomorrow with more songs that make me (and hopefully you) happy.