#top500

Our album today is a deep and emotional, sometimes quirky art pop album by one of the top alt pop voices of the late 90's and early 2000's. Extraordinary Machine is the third studio album released by Fiona Apple, and was in the works for almost three years before it was released, even facing some scandal and track leaks due to the delays in the production. The lyrics are deep end evocative, focusing on lost relationships and broken hearts, the frustrations of love and the empowering feeling of self-preservation. Opening up with the title track, Extraordinary machine, we hear Apple sing about pulling herself up when times get hard. If people disappoint you or shelter you, you've gotta be your own extraordinary machine and keep going despite the worst. Get Him Back follows, supposedly being about the relationship between Apple and P. T. Anderson, however these claims were never confirmed. This track gives us a bit more of a rocky feel, but the blend of piano and stretched out voice of Apple makes it more jazzy and artistic.

We hear more about heartbreak with O'Sailor, and more about personal growth and strength with Better Version of Me, those seem to be pretty common themes throughout this album, which are universal truths we can all relate to. The style of music that Apple focuses on is unique, especially for mid 2000's pop. There are some classic drum and bass elements that we hear in other artists of the time, but it's complimented by some eccentric piano, at times we hear plucking of what sounds like orchestra string instruments, and some xylophone that I don't really recognize from other artists in the same circle. This is the first Fiona Apple album that I've listened to, I was honestly expecting it to feel a bit more dated just based on my own presumptions but I think it hold's up beyond being 2000's pop.

Today’s album is considered to be one of the pioneer punk records and The Stooges are often seen as godfathers of the entire punk genre. Call it punk, proto-punk, garage rock, regardless of the nomenclature we can instantly hear not only recognizable tracks from the album but musical elements that this group originated that can be found in the sound of many bands to come. Opening very strongly with 1969 and I Wanna Be Your Dog, the group sets up their punk sound right away. 1969 focuses on complete apathy and nihilism, something punk is notorious for. Lead singer Iggy Pop talks about how he is wasting away as he grows up and becomes an adult, realizing the taxing reality that he lives in and wanting nothing to do with civilized society. The most popular track on the album I Wanna Be Your Dog, has Iggy singing about a sexual encounter of his with a dominant partner. The repetitive three note piano backing of this song combined with the apathetic yelling of Iggy make this track a punk staple. 

The Stooges take a bit of a creepy turn with We Will Fall, a ten minute track that features a chanting mantra in the background while Iggy sings vaguely of meeting someone in a hotel room and eventually repeating “we will fall” however its not clear what they’re falling into. Maybe they’re falling in love, maybe it’s a fall from grace, I’m not quite sure. We then get thrown back towards a more classic punk sound with No Fun, a track about boredom, having nothing to do, wasting time. We get two more “love songs” with Ann and Not Right. Love songs by The Stooges always focus on the dominant side of love, be it physical or emotional, instead of love feeling like a warm, glowing, comfortable feeling that most artists like to sing about, their view is more of a dominant, sometimes suffocating feeling of being tied down or attached to someone else. 

We’re jumping way ahead from when most of the early albums on this list came out to this late 2010′s pop hit by the well loved Harry Styles. Focusing on the bliss of early relationships, the looming pain of breakups, or as Harry Styles puts it “having sex and feeling sad”, Fine Line is a pop rock banger fit for a summer barbecue. This album opens with Golden and Watermelon Sugar, likely the most popular song on the album. These two tracks complement each other well, both focusing on the honeymoon phase of early relationships, and the high that comes along with it. It’s thought that Watermelon Sugar might be a reference to a 1968 dystopian novel by Richard Brautigan called “In Watermelon Sugar” that Styles read during one of his breakups, however this theory is unconfirmed. 

Lights Up is another powerful track on Fine Line where Styles continues the theme of lights an shining brought up in Golden to address his sexuality. There was much speculation on weather he was bisexual or not, and in this track Styles deeply questions himself and others, asking “Do you know who you are?” repeatedly. We hear him go into this more later on in She, a more narrative and ambiguous track that is left quite open ended. 

We then hear about Styles break up with Camille Rowe in Cherry, where he sings about the pain of separating from her. We hear him sing of the pain of hearing her call her new partner “baby”, and how much Harry misses her friends. The track ends with Camille’s actual voice played over guitar, adding to the heartbreak of this song. The melancholy theme continues in Falling, where we hear him continue to discuss his breakup while getting into a more self-reflective mood. To Be So Lonely greets us with an upbeat ukulele in the background, as we hear the tone change to be more care free and optimistic. Even though the subject is still sadness and heartbreak, this song is more about the growth that will eventually result from his pain. 

Following is a more upbeat section of the album featuring Sunflower, Vol. 6, Canyon Moon, and the very catchy Treat People With Kindness where the music and Styles singing style is much more cheerful. The topics range from relationship goals and dreams, feelings of security within oneself, and of course treating people with kindness and respect, a mantra Styles has expressed since 2017. We close the album with the title track, Fine Line. Going back to his break up with Camille, we hear him repeat “We’ll be a fine line” with a mellow guitar and piano accompaniment. While Styles knows that eventually both himself and Rowe will accept whats happened and be able to move on, the time they shared is not something any less special to either of them because of that. The outro then adds in drums and trumpets as the track builds to him singing “We’ll be alright”.

This album is full of catchy tracks that will cause you to feel smitten with a new love interest, help you get over a breakup, or just give you some optimism about the world.