Happy New Decade, fair readers.
As you are no doubt aware, the impending change of a rarely overturned chronological digit has had music aficionados the world over scrambling for weeks putting together Best of the Decade lists.
Having read several, I've come to the conclusion that, while entertaining, these lists are essentially exercises in arrogance and are, at best, of dubious value.
Like any form of entertainment, music is a highly subjective medium. As a result, having someone (even a group of someones) dub a song or album the "best" of one year -- let alone an entire decade -- is bound to boil down to who created the list, not the intrinsic value of the music.
Case in point, even "experts" can't agree on who deserves top honors. Depending on who you ask, the best album could be any of the following:
* Radiohead's "Kid A" (Pitchfork)
* Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" (Q Magazine)
* Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois" (Paste)
* The Strokes' "Is This It?" (Consequence of Sound)
* Bob Dylan's "Love and Theft" (Glide)
* Green Day's "American Idiot" (Popdose)
If these lists were arranged more generally, as in NPR's list of The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings, I might be able to stomach them. Most of them, however, are listed in order, from best to worst.
Greek deities have turned people into animals for lesser examples of hubris.
With the literally thousands of albums that have come out in the last 10 years, all with different audiences and artistic goals in mind, to name one top of the heap seems not only pointless but potentially misleading.
If readers blindly trust another person's experience to tell them what the best album is instead of experiencing it on their own, they may miss out on an album that, to them, might resonate even more strongly.
I know I'm coming across as a fun-deprived curmudgeon, and maybe I am, but when it comes to music, I think it's important to experience it for yourself.
As far as I'm concerned, that's the No. 1 statement of the decade.
***
Essential Listening Project purchases for week 44 (Dec. 24): Warren Zevon's "Warren Zevon," Otis Redding's "Otis Blue" and The Beatles' "Past Masters."
Casey Phillips has worked as a features reporter in the Life department for three years. He writes about entertainment, young adults, animals and people of interest. Casey hails from Knoxville and earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in German. He previously worked as the features editor for Sidelines at Middle Tennessee State University. Casey received the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Award of Excellence for Reviewing/Criticism in ...
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