25 For 25: Local Musicians Discuss Their Favorite Album of the 21st Century
In case you missed it, last month, we launched a feature that celebrated local artists’ favorite albums from this quarter century. That’s right – this means that we’re 25 years into this here century, in case you weren’t feeling old enough. With that, we decided to take stock of all the incredible music that’s come out thus far. And we put a special spin on it, because y’all out there in Metroland hear enough of our hot takes. We went straight to the source and talked with the artists about the albums that were incredibly influential on their own creativity.
So without further ado, here’s the second installment of the best 25 albums of the first 25 years of the century, according to the Capital Region’s best and brightest.
Sydney Worthley
Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023)
Introduction:
Imagine this: you're doom scrolling through the godforsaken apps tailored just for you when you come across a perfectly-curated pop star running in place on stage, singing every note perfectly to the song "Red Wine Supernova." The lyrics are witty, her voice is angelic, her energy is contagious. Only to find out she's an opener on Olivia Rodrigo's tour and has a few thousand followers. It's like finding a diamond in a dumpster fire. This is how I came across the magnetic Chappell Roan the year before she released her debut album. How could you not be hooked from the start?
Influence:
Modern pop music has been stuck in a rut of the same recycled beats for the past 10 or so years. Everyone seemed to have collectively agreed it was time for something fresh. When Chappell demonstrated that you can make fun pop music that reflects the nostalgic ‘80s soundscape with modern relationship tropes in her lyrics, it was like a breath of fresh air. Something familiar enough where it didn't feel like an outlandish experiment but something new enough where you want more. I first listened to her album while I was in the process of making my own. The lyrics were already written and ready to be produced and I knew I was craving those ‘80s gated drums and expansive synthesizers. Chappell gave me the green light to try my hand in production and create that hopeless romantic ‘80s style of music. Besides the music, Chappell Roan is a beacon to marginalized communities. She has brought drag to the main stage of Lollapalooza, Reading and Leeds, Coachella, and across the world. Developing the courage in the midst of growing up in the midwest as an LGBTQ+ artist is daunting in itself but using that courage to transform pop music as we know it and set a new standard for artistic expression is a generational feat.
The Three-Song Sequence:
The first song that hooked me to The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was "My Kink Is Karma." An intoxicating breakup song about not getting revenge but letting the universe do its thing. The production inspired so much of my own album. "Casual" is heartbreaking and too relatable in the age of situationships and lack of commitment now that we have the world in the palm of our hands. Dating apps and the law of detachment have made human empathy a foreign concept that Chappell explores in this song. Finally, the song that has brought people together, "Pink Pony Club." If this song doesn't hook you, I don't know what will. This song gives me chills, specifically her Grammy performance, having this generation's best talent know every word to this "new artist’s” song about moving to California to make it despite being from a small town in Missouri. Chappell Roan has redefined the musician's American dream.
Ben Gorman (Boss Crowley / Banjo Gorman & the Casio Keys)
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
Introduction:
I found this record in Jr High when I was relentlessly ripping records onto the family computer. I was first drawn to the big rock songs like “I’m the Man Who Loves You” which had reference points to the classic rock radio I was most exposed to. As my listening attention and patience grew, I learned the brilliance lies in the tension and release between the pop bangers. My appreciation became obsession when I learned the drama and prophetic lore behind the songs.
This album is the result of a creative partnership at its breaking point. The colliding visions of frontman, Jeff Tweedy, and jack-of-all-trades, Jay Bennett, confused their record label who rejected the album. Bennett was fired shortly after its eventual streaming-only release on Wilco.com. When still signed to Reprise, the album was planned for 9/11/2001. With lyrics like “tall buildings shake, voices escape singing sad sad songs,” song titles like “Ashes of the American Flags,” and a cover featuring identical towers, the album evokes the tragedy in the rearview of its release. Some art begs to burst out at its most prescient moment.
Influence:
This is one of the classic records of the 2000’s and “Jesus, Etc” stands amongst the greatest songs of the American pop canon. Album nerds will be expanding their expectations of albums through Yankee Hotel Foxtrot for decades to come.
The Three Song Sequence:
“I am Trying to Break Your Heart”→ “Kamera” → “Radio Cure”
The entire album can be heard in these first three songs. “I am Trying to Break Your Heart” begins and ends with a minute of drones. The verses emerge and disappear beneath the noise. A buzzy, naked quarter inch jack sends your speakers feedback before spitting you into “Kamera,” a sunshiney pop hit. “Radio Cure” returns to discomfort and dissonance and doesn’t release until the second chorus where Tweedy wails, “Oh distance has no way of making love understandable”. If you’ve made it this far, you’ll be compelled to finish off the remaining eight tracks.
Joe Taurone
Spowder - Health Palm (2017)
Introduction:
If being a teenager in New Jersey taught me anything besides being a delinquent, it was that I needed to start a band as soon as I possibly could. On April 20, 2017, a friend and I arrived at some unassuming college basement to see Spowder, a self-proclaimed “swamp rock” band that toyed between catchy B-52s esque guitar riffs, an incredibly powerful rhythm section, and a vocalist with infectious energy. They began their set with a game show, where they called audience members up to answer ridiculous trivia questions as the band played in the background. My friend, Andy, won a copy of Health Palm, Spowder’s newest album. For the next couple weeks, we’d listen to that album over and over again in Andy’s Honda CR-V, singing “space powered over-watch destroying evil rats” and wondering how the hell they came up with this stuff.
Influence:
Health Palm reminds me very much of older rock records, in that it’s solely based off of Spowder’s chemistry as a band. It isn’t a spotless adaptation of the live show; it IS the live show, with some extra goodies. I remember coming to the realization that the songs weren't recorded to a click track, and that the drummer is really driving the bus. The songs speed up and slow down naturally and make the songs feel alive, and a song like “Let’s Skin Ruby” takes that to an extreme. It made me realize that the metronomic perfection everyone chases isn’t necessarily important; as long as it feels good no one will really notice. There is a chemistry when a band is on stage, and Health Palm taught me there is no reason to disturb that in the studio.
The Three-Song Sequence:
“Spowder” -> “Miracle Grow” -> “Pulp”
The first three tracks instantly got me hooked for life. Like some of the great rock bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Spowder decided to write a song and name it after the band. Shortly after the 30 second power-intro, you are met with the two hardest hitting riffs on the record. “Miracle Grow”, which is essentially an ad for the plant supplement, and “Pulp”, which is a rocker that gives the rhythm section a spot to really shine. It’s hard to stick to just three songs, but ultimately the record is less than 20 minutes long, so you should listen to the whole thing.
ELLECT (aka Dr. Stephen Tyson Jr.)
The Roots - Game Theory (2006)
Introduction:
It’s the end of summer in 2006, and it's the first week of my senior year of college. I’m driving around town with my new girlfriend at the time. We were big into exploring new music, so we stopped by a local record store to browse through their vinyl & CD collection. As she picked out a few new selections (Murs & 9th Wonder’s Murray’s Revenge and The Coup’s Pick A Bigger Weapon — excellent choices, by the way), I came across a new album from one of my favorite groups, The Roots, who had just signed to Def Jam Records. The album’s title, Game Theory, and its cover immediately caught my attention. The artwork and song titles were telling me this would be an album that was going to ‘say something’. If only I knew then how right I was. The album serves as an early warning to where we’ve currently found ourselves as a society today.
Influence:
As a kid, my earliest memories of hip-hop culture and music were KRS-One and Public Enemy. In 2006, I was a 21-year-old college student spending most of my time DJing parties, hosting radio shows, and honing my skills as an MC on the mic and with the pen. So I was always looking for inspiration within music. Whenever I visited a record store, I tried to find albums by MCs and musicians who address the state of the world in unique ways. I really love it when lyrics can generate introspection and unlock the door to potential social action. And I especially love it when music can be beautiful enough to enjoy and complex enough to tell its own story, with or without lyrics. The Roots do both of these exquisitely on Game Theory. It also helped to affirm that I didn’t have to compromise my values as an MC.
Three-Song Sequence:
“Game Theory” → “Don’t Feel Right” → “In the Music”
The core of this three-song sequence is the elite musical and rhythmic connection between drummer Questlove and the group's lead MCs, Black Thought and Malik B. They are so locked in together that it feels like their synergy could damn near open the same ancestral portal the character Sammie did during the juke joint scene in the classic Ryan Coogler film Sinners. These three songs not only establish the album's vision, tone, and energy, but they also set a phenomenal stage for the listener to enjoy the rest of the album's sonic diversity. Game Theory is a well-crafted, masterful project that showcases hip-hop as a descendant and contemporary of the great tapestry of Black music genres in America, including rock (“Here I Come”), soul (“Baby”), funk (“Long Time”), blues (“Bread and Butter”), and jazz (“Clock With No Hands”).
Joe Donlon (Sad Dads)
La Dispute - Wildlife (2011)
Introduction:
La Dispute’s debut full length, Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair, annoyingly long name aside, is an incredible album. It combines aspects of screamo, harcore and post rock and seamlessly weaves them together, oftentimes all within a single song. What really puts La Dispute above their peers like Defeater and Pianos Become the Teeth, is the dynamic and urgent delivery of lead singer Jordan Dreyer. I was fully sold on this band when I heard their debut and I couldn’t have been more excited when I caught wind of the follow up coming in 2011. Fortunately, they did not fall into the sophomore slump. Instead, they created a masterpiece the likes of which I haven’t heard since.
Influence:
I’m someone who generally gravitates toward dynamic instrumentation. Lyrics and vocals are typically an afterthought. I’m far more interested in the way vocals can blend in as an addition to the overall soundscape. On Wildlife, La Dispute toned down the technicality of their instrumentation in lieu of building a sonic palette that supported the energy and emotion of the lyrics. This is the opposite of what I’m normally interested in. As I listened to the album, I found that I had to have the lyrics in front of me, following along to every word, focusing on the delivery and feeling the ripple effects of what I was being told. The songs on the album are visceral in their humanity; they are stories of life, faith, tragedy, grief and finding your way back through it all. The stories are told from an omniscient perspective, separate from the unfolding events, but close enough to convey the emotions to the listener. With each listen, I couldn’t help but paint the vivid visuals in my head and they lived deep within my subconscious long after the final note.
The Three-Song Sequence:
“King Park” → “Edward Benz, 27 Times” → “I See Everything”
“King Park” is a challenging listen. Its raw intensity invokes the coldest of chills upon its epic climax. I’ll leave the surprise for you to discover rather than describe it here. “Edward Benz, 27 Times” lulls you back into a sense of comfort as a rhythmic mid-tempo riff wraps around a secondhand telling of a story about how a man got his scars. The sequence concludes with the haunting and emotional “I See Everything” which is another song that is best for you to discover on your own. While each song revolves around some kind of tragedy, the themes run the gamut from gang violence to mental health to faith, leaving a lasting impact that goes far beyond the tragic outcomes.
If you would like to participate in upcoming installments of 25 for 25, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’d love to hear what inspires you!