The Top 10 Albums of the 21st Century (so far)

During the pandemic shut-down, I was teaching my Rutgers University sport management classes remotely.  I took advantage of the remote learning opportunity to bring guests into the Zoom classroom – guests from all over the country who work and compete in sports, from former students working for sports franchises in Miami and Memphis to former Yankees third baseman Todd Frazier and former Yankees pitcher and current Army West point Athletics Director Mike Buddie.  The guests were all really gracious with their time and informative to the students by offering their perspective. 

One of the best guests was someone to whom I reached out to get the perspective of a professional touring musician who occasionally plays in sports arenas, because the concert industry is a big money maker for sports franchises who own and operate sports facilities.  That guest was Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., who was a phenomenal guest who gave tremendous insight into his career from playing clubs in critically acclaimed (but financially unsuccessful) bands to playing Madison Square Garden as Beck’s touring keyboardist.

At one point he had mentioned how homogenous pop radio sounded today.  I replied that I remembered how great radio was in the 1970s, when you would hear a country song, followed by a rock song, followed by a disco song.  Even the Theme from Star Wars actually cracked Top-40 radio, so you even heard classical music!  The variety was incredible, and Roger agreed, having grown up on 70s radio.

Thus, as a mid-50s adult male who does not make a living as a music writer, my Top 10 list of albums of the 21^st Century does not include any Top 40 pop artists or quirky “critics’ choice” artists.  But it does include some really outstanding music that is just great to listen to for a variety of reasons.  So here is my Top 10, in no particular order

1.  “Colors” by Beck – I know Colors is Beck’s most pop-oriented album and it spawned a number of singles and music videos, but it’s not a typical pop album.  What it is, however, is freaking great.  It’s so upbeat, yet quirky in the way that Beck’s music is always quirky.  Unlike other Beck albums, the songs fit together perfectly as it sounds like it has a musical theme, so the music flows well from one song to the next, but the songs still sound different enough to make every song a great song.  I know there are music websites that rank it well, but not as well as Guero or Sea Change, but for me I have been playing Colors pretty regularly since its release five years ago and I never tire of any of it.  I listen start to finish.  There’s a lot going on in every song and it’s just a lot of fun, and the world can use more fun!  While it’s hard to choose a favorite song from the LP, Up All Night and I’m So Free are great songs that my kids enjoy as much as I do.  It’s one of my all-time favorite albums and it probably always will be.

2.  “New” by Paul McCartney – I wrote an extensive review of McCartney’s “New” when it was released in 2013 that I have reposted on my new blog here, so I will not go on at length other than to say that this is probably McCartney’s best and most diverse album since Band On the Run set the standard for his post-Beatles band Wings.  The songs are very modern, well-written, expertly produced and feature McCartney playing dozens of musical instruments layered together in a well-produced manner.  It’s another album I managed to wear-out without tiring of it.  While the singles New and Queenie-Eye are pure pop as only McCartney can write, my favorite tracks are the more avant-garde Looking At Her and Road, which close the album.

3.  “Costello Music” by The Fratellis – Scotland’s Fratellis released their debut LP, “Costello Music,” in 2006.  It featured 6 singles released in the UK and each single featured two “b-side” tracks that were almost every bit as good as the thirteen tracks on the LP, including my favorite non-LP track, 3 Skinny Girls.  In other words, The Fratellis had about 20 songs worth of great material for their debut album, which is really impressive when you consider that only one guy in the trio writes – then 27 year-old guitarist Jon Lawlor, aka Jon Fratelli.  I was fortunate enough to see them on their first four New York market appearances including an acoustic set at the Virgin Megastore, a few ballroom shows at Webster Hall and Roseland Ballroom, and a gig at Giants Stadium in support of The Police.  They were great no matter the size of the venue or the format of the show.  Unfortunately, they’ve incorporated the piano on subsequent albums and that dramatically changed their rock-punk sound.  But that debut album was an absolute knockout.

4.  “The Land of Pure Imagination” by Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – I mentioned my Zoom session with Roger at the top of this piece and that experience really led me to explore his catalog.  He’s truly a musical genius on keyboards – a collector, he has over 100 keyboards – but can play any instrument well enough to record with competence.  He’s best known for his work from 1988 to 1992 in Jellyfish and as Beck’s touring keyboardist for decades, but in the interim, he’s released a number of solo and band recordings as well as some real oddball stuff (Moog Cookbook, basically he and a friend covering famous songs on 70s Moog Synthesizers.  The Cookbook albums were never intended to sell, and didn’t, but were probably a lot of goofy fun to record).  “The Land of Pure Imagination” is pure retro power pop.  It’s absolutely brilliant and it was basically recorded by Roger over time in his home studio.  His other solo album – “Catnip Dynamite” – is about as good as “The Land of Pure Imagination,” but I give the latter the nod on this list because the track Wish It Would Rain is about the best pure pop song ever recorded.  It’s so good that I got my then 20 year-old daughter into the song and she turned her friends on to it.  How many 50-something fathers can get their 20 year-old daughters to enjoy obscure power pop?  It takes a special song, and Wish It Would Rain is truly special.  Check out the whole LP!

5.  “Be As You Are” by Kenny Chesney – For the early 2000s, Kenny Chesney had hinted at going coastal, coastal country, that is.  In the 90s, he was a purely country artist but had discovered island life and began shifting his sound.  The shift was complete when he released 2005’s “Be As You Are.”  The album marked the first time an artist out-Buffetted Jimmy Buffett.  This collection of ballads with a little bit of party coastal country is a perfect album from start to finish – there’s not a weak song in the lot.  It’s just a fun album for sitting by the pool, having a cold one by the fire pit, or swinging in a hammock.  I should know as I’ve listened to this album while doing all of the above and more.  Key Lime Pie is a personal favorite - the song and the dessert - as are Magic and Soul of a Sailor.  The fact that those three songs are among the last five on the album give you an idea of how deep the album goes.

6.  “On An Island” by David Gilmour – Make no mistake, despite the title of this 2006 release, this collection of music is nothing like Kenny Chesney’s island music.  David Gilmour’s first solo LP in more than two decades starts with a few light, ethereal songs that are so relaxing and chill, but spacy, like classic Pink Floyd (the title track and The Blue).  He flexes his rock muscle a bit, too as the LP progresses.  His guitar playing – he was 60 years-old when he released this album and still at the top of his game – is outstanding, as always.  Gilmour makes my Top 5 all-time great guitarists and is so smooth on this LP.  Never a great lyricist, Gilmour teams with his wife, Polly Sampson, who’s writing style fits Gilmour’s music perfectly.  There aren’t too many great, young rock guitar players making great music like this anymore, so it is easy to see why this album by an aging British guitar god makes this list, which brings us to an even older British guitar god…

7.  “I Still Do” by Eric Clapton – I readily admit that I am biased toward this 2016 release because this was Clapton’s first release after the greatest professional gig of my career, robocam operator for Clapton’s 70^th birthday celebration concerts at Madison Square Garden and that gig set me off on a Clapton jag through the release of this LP.  There are critics who’ve said that this album breaks no new ground and isn’t adventurous enough, but at 71, what new ground is Clapton supposed to break?  He helped bring blues to the UK mainstream, did psychedelic acid rock, southern rock, Midwest Tulsa rock, country, reggae, and pop.  He's done about everything there is to do while always staying true to his blues roots.  "I Still Do" is a fun album with some great original songs and some equally great and fun covers.  Music for enjoying, and this album is enjoyable to me.  There are a few excellent originals, including Spiral, which features some fine rhythm playing by Andy Fairweather Low, and some great covers.  The closing track, I’ll Be Seeing You, is a brilliant cover of a classic covered by Sinatra, Bing, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holliday – four of the greatest voices ever recorded – and yet, Eric holds his own on his version.  Upon its release many thought the song a cryptic message that he was retiring, but less than two years later he released a Christmas album that was also really good and has released some subsequent singles.  Thankfully, Eric hasn’t gone anywhere.

8.  “Annie Up” by The Pistol Annies – Miranda Lambert is one of the most successful country artists of all time, so she never needed to have a side project, but when you hang out with Angeleena Presley and Ashley Monroe and wind up writing an album’s worth of material in no time flat, you suddenly have a side project.  And what a side project it is!  These ladies can do three-part harmony with the best of them, and they need no effects or auto tune – I saw them live and they sound as good live as they do in a recording studio.  Their music is what could be considered feminist or liberating for women, but it’s also witty to any listener.  They have a great sense of humor, tremendous songwriting chops and those aforementioned incredible vocals.  What’s not to like?  Particularly good are Hush Hush, Unhappily Married and I Feel a Sin Coming On.  Any of their three LPs could make this list, but I think “Annie Up” is the best album, start to finish.  As a side note, Ashley Monroe posted to social media just last week that she has likely beat an incredibly rare form of cancer that is considered incurable.  She’s been fighting it for a year, so her announcement was exciting news, for sure!

9.  “The Foundation” by Zac Brown Band – The 2008 debut album by Zac Brown Band spawned 5 top country singles and went five times Platinum, peaking on the Billboard album sales chart at 9^th overall.  This is something country albums simply don’t regularly do, but Zac Brown Band is not your typical country band.  From this debut album, they’ve continued to crossover genres and take modern country in new directions.  This album marked a change in the direction of country music – one old-timers hate but I absolutely love.  And these guys are extremely talented musicians who are among the most entertaining live bands in America today.  Toes and Where the Boat Leaves From are great summer tracks while Highway 20 Ride expertly tackles the delicate topic of the father who only gets to see his son two weekends a month.

10.  “All The You Can’t Leave Behind” by U2 – While this is not the best album by U2 and there is some filler, this LP marked a huge comeback album for the band.  The classic 1991 album “Achtung Baby” had been a high point, selling 18 million worldwide (and went 8 times platinum in the US).  U2 only released two more albums in the 90s - the experimental EDM Zooropa (4x platinum) and Pop (1x platinum) and the band seemed to be fading into obscurity when they chose to return to their rock roots and recorded the album with their 1980s production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.  The return proved to be a wise move.  The album was a tour de force featuring four singles, two of which were Record of the Year in successive years.  It sold 12 million copies worldwide and went 4x platinum in the USA.  The best tracks are Beautiful Day and Elevation while Stuck In a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of is an outstanding tribute to INXS singe Michael Hutchence.

That's it, my 10 favorite albums from the 21st century so far.  What's sad is that most of these albums are from the first decade of the century.  Maybe there's just not a whole lot of great music being made any more.

Shame on the Sports World for Supporting Putin for Decades

Vladimir Putin has essentially been running Russia since 1999.  An evil but shrewd dictator, Putin knew that one way to gain legitimacy and stature on a world stage and in the eyes of his citizenry was to bring major sports competitions to Russia for world-class events and to bring sponsorship deals worldwide to his oligarchs.  Sadly, when money talks, the international sports world listens. 

In the summer of 2007, Russia won the bid to host the 2014 winter games.  While there existed a Socchi Olympic Committee, Putin ran the committee from Moscow as a friend involved in the Olympics reported to me back in 2011 when I spoke with her about working at the games.  I chose to work Super Bowl XLVIII in my home state of New Jersey on February 2, 2014, instead, so I was not there to see the unfinished hotel rooms or eat the mystery meat served to the media at the games.

And somehow Russia was awarded the games despite a number of problems with Russia serving as host, most notably, their 2008 invasion and takeover of South Ossetia and the 2014 takeover of Crimea.  Those two events occurred after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the games to Russia, but there were other issues prior to the Committee’s decision.

The IOC was well aware that Russia had a long history of human rights violations that were still an issue in Putin’s country.  But somehow the IOC chose to overlook Russia’s sordid history and Putin’s equally abhorrent present.  Another major issue was the climate; with an average February temperature of 46.9° Fahrenheit and a humid subtropical climate, Sochi became the warmest city to host a Winter Olympic Games.

To top it all off, many Russian athletes in the 2014 Socchi games were found to have been part of a doping scandal from 2011-2015, a scandal involving hundreds of athletes.  The IOC then revoked many medals (though some were reinstated).  Incredibly, Russia was not banned from the 2016 games and in 2018, Russian athletes were permitted to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”  Some of those athletes failed drug tests after medaling.  As a result, Russia was banned from competition for the next four years.

Stunningly, the IOC then decided Russian athletes could compete as members of the “Russian Olympic Committee” in last months 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.  To add to the absurdity, Putin was permitted to attend the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing.  Clearly Russia has suffered no penalty for a decade of well-documented, widespread cheating.

Clearly the International Olympic Committee has provided an international stage for Putin and an opportunity to raise his stature in Russia.  And shame on them for doing so for the last two decades.  At this point, it’s clear that as long as Putin is running Russia, Russian athletes will cheat.  It is this author’s opinion that harsh punishment is absolutely deserved.  Russia and Russian athletes should be completely banned from competing in the Olympic games for the next 8 years – two summer games and two winter games – and Russia should be banned from hosting Olympic games for at least 20 years.

The IOC, however, is not the only major sports governing body to provide Putin with an international platform.  In 2018, FIFA allowed Russia to host the FIFA World Cup, soccer’s biggest event, held every four years.

The process to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments began in 2008 with a January 2009 filing deadline.  Somehow Russia was awarded the 2018 tournament while Qatar – a nation about as large as Rhode Island – was given the 2022 games.  The process was so corrupt that disgraced FIFA President Sepp Blatter and his team have subsequently been banned from any involvement in FIFA and while international investigations were initiated, somehow Blatter and company have avoided prosecution.

Once again, Russia’s dismal track record in human rights was overlooked by an international organization who claims to have equality and social justice as part of its mission.  Same for Qatar, who, as June 2021, had recorded at least 6,500 deaths among immigrant laborers building infrastructure for the Qatar World Cup, which will be held late this year.

Russia has also gotten Formula One to compete in Putin’s Russia, announcing in 2010 the debut of the Russian Grand Prix, which began with its inaugural race in 2014.  Formula One recently patted itself on the back for canceling the 2022 Russian Grand Prix after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, many sports leagues and teams have been praised for canceling contracts with Russian sponsors in the last week, but the question needs to be asked, why were Russian oligarchs allowed to purchase the Brooklyn Nets and Chelsea Football Club?  Why was Russian airline Aeroflot the presenting sponsor of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019?  Why did the IOC, F1 and FIFA all award competitions to Putin when he’s been a tyrant for over two decades? 

The answer is easy.  Money.  Sports governing bodies and teams boast human rights activism but look the other way when a tyrant is throwing cash their way.  That’s why the NBA continues to bow to the whims of the Chinese Communist Party, going as far as silencing a franchise owner who showed support for a free Hong Kong.

So instead of allowing sports figures to dislocate their shoulders patting themselves on the back this past week, it’s time for the media to ask them why they’ve been doing business with Putin – and legitimizing him on a world stage – for decades.