Alltime Favorite Albums Week: Part 3 of 4, 2001-2003

The Strokes - Is This It?, 2001 (Amazon / Insound)
One summer home from college, I listened to the Strokes practically every day on my drive to & from my stupid retail job at the mall. I didn’t have A/C in the Jetta (r.i.p.), so Is This It? would blare real loud from open windows— except at night, when the air cooled enough to keep windows up & scream-sing along with it blared even louder. I hardly ever listen to this album now, but when I randomly do, I get that same summertime carefree “I work a shit job that doesn’t matter & have no real attachment to anything” feeling. Every song’s just so catchily simplistic & downright fun to listen to.

Cat Power - You Are Free, 2003 (Amazon / Insound)
I don’t know where other fans stand, but I am of the opinion that You Are Free blows every other Cat Power album out of the water completely. It’s my favorite for antisocial evenings I feel inclined to blow off more exciting plans in favor of laying around the apartment in my underwear, eating bad food & pondering where the hell my life’s going. To me, this album contains a perfectly solid mix of sappily thought-provoking tracks I want to full-out mope to & soulfully upbeat rock n roll tunes I can’t help but slide & sway around the apartment to.


The Wrens - Meadowlands, 2003 (Amazon / Insound)
I moved to NYC in summer 2005 with BFF Joanna & dude I was dating at the time. The 3 of us shared a tiny UES 2-bedroom, until dude quit paying rent, cheated like 9x, & left, just as our walls/ceiling were torn open for gas repairs that took another 6 months to complete. I was a wreck that year— exhausted constantly & barely able to be around people— and I found some solace overplaying “Happy” & other heartwrenching Meadowlands songs. Now, years later, when I revisit the album, I feel toughened by those experiences & confident in my ability to survive just about anything. So cheesy, I know— but I very much love & appreciate that it is.



I’m posting these sentiment-based reviews all week, in order of release date, as part of Alltime Favorite Albums Week, which I’m also hosting. Please free to join in on your own site!