Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 3): My Top Twenty Albums, 15 - 11.

Continuing the year-end album list, and hoping I'm finished by Sunday. First, there are potatoes to cook.

15. The Decemberists … What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Clever and tuneful as always, with a pervasive wittiness encapsulated by the album's opening cut, in which the singer tries to reason with his fans.

14. Blur … The Magic Whip
Back in the 1990s, when Oasis recharged my adoration for all things Brit pop/rock, I wasn't aware of a rivalry between the Gallaghers and Blur, which became a cultural marker of sorts in the UK. I merely liked both bands for different reasons, and still do.

13. Squeeze … Cradle to the Grave
When it comes to great post-Beatles pop songwriting teams, I genuinely believe Difford and Tilbrook deserve to be included in the discussion, alongside the likes of Elton John/Bernie Taupin.

With its best songs vividly referencing the 70s South London landscape of Difford and Tilbrook’s youth, FTCTTG is frequently nostalgic, yet it’s largely upbeat and mostly eminently radio-friendly.

12. Florence + The Machine … How Big How Blue How Beautiful
I have no profundity to offer, apart from enjoying the vibe ... and I'm a sucker for music about lost causes, and one's principled defiance in their wake.

11. Muse … Drones
As thematic musical concepts go, perhaps militarization borne of drones isn't a shtick designed to capture addled minds -- though why not? Drones kill enemies, but isn't this the stuff of dystopian science fiction come to fruition? Isn't this as deserving of scrutiny as the Vietnam War? There's a protest here somewhere, right? I have no answers, and neither do Muse. The fact is, I've come to love the band's bombast, even if its reach exceeds grasp.

Previously:

Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 3): My Top Twenty Albums, 15 - 11.

Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 4): My Top Twenty Albums, 20 - 16.

Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 5): A few album odds and ends.

Roger's Year in Music 2015 (Part 6): Five musical news items not classifiable by album release.

Roger's Year in Music 2015 (Part 7): The band Lynched, and New Albany's perpetual drone.

Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 8): How did I die? A WWI lamentation.

Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 9): Kamasi Washington and his Epic.

Roger’s Year in Music 2015 (Part 10): But first, some 2014 leftovers.

Roger's Year in Music 2014: Everyday Robots, by Damon Albarn.

My tastes always have veered toward pop and rock from the British Isles, and so it should come as no surprise that I know Damon Albarn primarily as a major component of Blur. The cliched question was "Blur or Oasis," and my vote still goes to the latter, primarily owing to an affinity for Noel Gallagher's grandiose style of songcraft. Back then, Blur was far more about nuances of Britishness, and required a bit more effort for an American like me. Similarly, listening to Albarn's first solo album (as such -- he works prolifically with multiple projects) provides ample rewards for patience and repeated spinnings. It is low key, moody, and eschews the sweeping hook. It's Sunday morning music.