The Red Circle

14. Death Cab For Cutie – Plans (2005)
Years of hard work and near constant touring combined with the growing exposure offered by the internet, Death Cab For Cutie were propelled beyond indie stardom to full blown mainstream success with their 2003 album Transatlanticism. Thus it was that a mature act found themselves with a major label deal at just the right point in their career, with the will to create something meaningful and the experience to pull it off. Plans consists of a series of meditations on death and the specific emotional responses it can conjure. Ben Gibbard seems to have an innate ability to tap into the commonality of the human experience in a way that still feels personal and that gift is put to good work here in tracks like “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” or “What Sarah Said.” The latter’s gutwrenching admission that “Love is watching someone die” is paired with the difficult question “Who’s gonna watch you die?” The acknowledgment of cowardice and courage as equally plausible options without judgment is the biggest part of what makes Plans so inviting despite its potentially dour subject matter. The album is a slight step away from the more overt pop of their previous effort, opting for some less conventional song structures and melodies. The choice creates charged crescendos, quiet releases and other memorable moments throughout and the disc’s tight sequencing adds a certain weight to the album as a whole. Plans is a series of sophisticated glimpses of death, grieving, hope and recovery.

13. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III (2008)
Lil’ Wayne recorded so much material between the release of Tha Carter II and III that it seemed almost impossible that the album could live up to the absurd hype that had built around it. Endlessly delayed by leaks and changes, the album finally came out in June of 2008 and was an immediate critical and commercial success. The ambitious blend of club hits (“Got Money,” “Lollipop”) and innovative concept tracks (“Dr. Carter,” “Let The Beat Build”) paints a compelling portrait of Wayne as an artist comfortable with the divergent elements of his personality. Where so many other rappers carefully construct a public persona, Wayne can’t help but be himself, warts and all, an endearing quality that can be attributed to his complete refusal to write anything down. His rationale in an interview with a confused Katie Couric was that his music was an extension of himself, that he and the music were one and the same, a mantra that he literally has tattooed on his face. Wayne’s voice is as unconventional as his approach to music, a stoned, easy croaking that ranges from nearly asleep to positively manic, often within the course of the same track. The production on the disc is handled by a Who’s Who of hip-hop’s hottest and the disc’s sixteen tracks represent some of these illuminaries’ finest work, most notably Bangladesh’s hypnotic groove of “A Milli” and Swizz Beatz’ unexpected David Axelrod-sampling “Dr. Carter.” Even the disc’s guests add real star power to the record. Jay-Z’s passing-the-torch verse on “Mr. Carter” adds a certain gravity to the entire album that follows and Bobby Valentino’s chorus in “Mrs. Officer” outdoes R. Kelly’s knack for sexual suggestion. Anyone not completely sold by the hour of music preceding it will likely be convinced by the magnificently executed ten minute rant that ends the record over a well used Nina Simone sample. From the beats to the lyrics and performance, Tha Carter III is a perfect rap record in nearly every way.

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