I agree that cynicism and musicians shying away from stating the obvious was behind the lack of really powerful protest music this decade, but…. I’m not sure that writing about how Hitler was evil would have been pointless, at least in the 1930s. I was having a discussion with a history lecturer about the “Don’t invade Iraq” protests in early 2003, and we agreed that although they failed, nothing else could really have worked. So that would suggest that yes, there was good reason to avoid “hackneyed cliches”. But…

Isn’t art at its most vital when it has something to communicate, something to change? Sure, Theophile Gautier would say “no, absolutely not,” but… dammnit, maybe it’s just me wanting art to mean something other than prettiness. Having said that, neither of my favourite albums of the decade were political, so, perhaps I’m forced to agree with you. But I don’t want to. Dammit I don’t want to. Maybe I just want the self-congratulatory feeling of listening to a song that makes me feel like I care. Eep.

Also, Endless Numbered Days also sprang to my mind when I read this list.

Today’s world seems to be more skeptical, and more cynical, than that of the ’60s and ’70s. I think musicians haven’t bothered with getting political simply because they know that they’d be stating the obvious. Bands have rarely been good at political gestures anyway, they almost always just end up rehashing hackneyed cliches. Everybody knows that America’s wars were stupid (except for ~1/2 of voting Americans apparently), so writing songs about them would be kinda like writing songs about how Hitler was evil. Also, after the failures of the counter-cultural movements in the ’60s, as well as the huge let-down of the Bush re-election, many young people simply lost faith in politics, and trying to engage with them in song would probably have seemed trite and a bit pointless. Of course, that all changed with you-know-who, but unfortunately the quality of the music which he inspired hasn’t been much good either (Will.i.am., I’m looking at you).

Anyway, I’m glad you liked the list, but I should probably clarify that it isn’t just mine. The Salient music writers (Ryan, James, Elle, Maggie and myself) got together, had some drinks, and came up with the list together. We each chose one album which we felt we personally wanted to see in the top 10, and the other 5 albums were selected by consensus.

To put the politics aside and focus on the art – Kim, I’d say this is a pretty damn decent list, obviously these things are ultimately subjective but I’d definitely put your top two picks in my top ten. However, I’m going to have to give top two to the Deftone’s White Pony and Iron & Wine’s Our Endless Numbered Days. Both are sublimely beautiful – you would never think metal could be as pretty as it is on White Pony, and the Passenger is my favourite gay anthem (tho I’m not sure Maynard and Chino meant it that way). As for Our Endless Numbered Days, Beam’s voice is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and tracks like Soddom South Georgia can be both clever and sublime at once. But I’m not going to say that you “missed” either album since these lists are about personal taste. And I don’t agree with Josh that these lists are stupid (provided there’s no pretence at objectivity); they’re a way of sharing what you love with other people. Miao.