What Are the Most Essential Alt-Rock Albums of the Last 25 Years?

Many years ago, I did an Ongoing History of New Music show on the ten alt-rock albums everyone needs in their collection and I still get requests for that this.  So, one more time, here it is:

1. The Velvet Underground/Debut album
2. David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
3. Sex Pistols/Never Mind the Bollocks
4. The Ramones/Debut album
5. Joy Division/Unknown Pleasures
6. Clash/London Calling
7. Smiths/The Queen Is Dead
8. Beastie Boys/Licensed to Ill
9. U2/The Joshua Tree
10. Nirvana/Nevermind

Considering that this list is decades old, it's still not bad.  Everyone should still have those records in their collection.  But then last night, I received this email from Brad:

The most recent album on that list is Nevermind, and that came out nearly 23 (!) years ago.  And I've been wondering; what would you say the essential alt rock albums of the 20 years post-Nevermind are?

I mean, are there even 10?  Who would make the cut? Nine Inch Nails would have to be there, right? What about PJ Harvey or Liz Phair? Smashing Pumpkins? Green Day? Moby?  Any of the other Seattle bands? What about Britpop -- who's more essential, Oasis or Blur?  And that's just the 90s. What about the 2000s?  There'd definitely need to be some White Stripes ... but who else?  And what about Canadian artists like Arcade Fire?  Feist? 

Makes you think, doesn't it?

So there's the challenge.  What are the essential 10 post-Nevermind albums in alt-rock?  Right off the top of my head, I'd start with Radiohead's OK Computer and Definitely Maybe from Oasis.  American Idiot from Green Day?

Let's discuss.  What are your picks?

Surviving Beastie Boys Sign a Deal to Write Autobiography.

With Adam Yauch gone, the Beasties are finished.  The most anyone can hope for is to tie up some loose ends.

Perhaps that's what Mike D and Ad-Rock were thinking when they signed a deal wtih Spiegel & Grau (part of Random House) to write a first-person history of the band.  

The style of the book hasn't been determined (oral history? linear or not? text, pictures or both?), but hints have been dropped that this won't be a regular sort of autobiography. The quote from Mike D is "I don't want to do a straight memoir."

Spiegel & Grau seems to be a good choice having already published a high-concept book by Jay-Z called Decoded a couple of years ago.

There's no title for the book yet, but it's expected to be in stores sometime in 2015.

(Via the NY Times)

iTunes Turns 10 Today. What Has It Wrought?

It was April 28, 2003, that Steve Jobs strode out onto a stage and introduced Apples's new online music store.  It was the unveiling of iTunes 4, the first edition of iTunes to feature users' ability to purchase songs, not just to rip CDs.  Critically, it was also made available for PC users.

(Via CNN Money.  Go here for a look at iTunes iterations through the years.)

What began as a ploy to sell more iPods has grown into the biggest music relailer in the known universe.Billboard recalls how Jobs made this possible:

When executives from Warner Music and Sony Music reached out to Steve Jobs in January 2002 in hopes of recruiting Apple into a consortium to develop a standard for interoperable music devices, they approached the meeting in Cupertino, Calif., with much apprehension for the future of the music business. A few minutes into the pitch, Jobs interrupted and said:

“You guys have your heads up your asses.”

Click to read more ...

Deconstructing the Beatles Abbey Road Artwork

The NME did a very nice job deconstructing what we see on the front of the Beatles' last album.  Click on the image to see what I mean.

10 Uses of Bodily Functions in Recordings

Can you name the track that features the sound of a member of the band vomiting his guts out?  The French singer who kept a fart on her record?  The NME has these answers and more.