Camiele: A Life in Music

2000:

Lewis II (Lewis Taylor)
Most people don’t know him — even in his home country of England. However, this man’s blues and his smoky voice just send me into spirals. His sophomore work was sexy, elegant, and just one of the most amazing pieces of music to kick off the new millennium. You can download this album on iTunes.

2001:

Black & Blue (Backstreet Boys), Songs in A Minor (Alicia Keys), Invincible (Michael Jackson)
As much as I loved BSB from debut to their last big success, Black & Blue was by far and away their best album. The boys were more mature, taking more control over their careers (contrary to popular belief, they were the first to give their record label the shaft, not N’Sync… you can see which fandom I rep, no?), and writing music that was distinctly personal. Shape of my Heart was actually a fantastic piece of pop, honest and unpretentious [MV]. I’ll go ahead and say it… Alicia’s debut was her best work. Don’t get me wrong, Diary was a great piece of music, but there’s something about the newness of a debut that makes it all the more remarkable when you listen to it. Plus, her mini-rendition of Brian McKnight’s Never Felt This Way… shivers in every limb of my body [MV].

I don’t care what anyone says, Michael Jackson has never, and I repeat NEVER released a bad album. His final original album was no exception. With Floetry contributing a track, MJ’s own incredible songwriting and composing, and some intense emotion, Invincible was a great pop album with some very moody and lovely R&B interspersed throughout.

2002:

In Between (Jazzanova), beautiful tomorrow (Blue Six/Jay Denes), International Affairs (Vikter Duplaix)
And this was about the time I started to listen to more transcendental sounds. Enter stage left: Jazzanova. Their first full length album is probably one of the most complete albums produced by a house DJ contingent. From the first track there’s a complex completeness in the sound. In Between cemented Jazzanova as my favorite house band to date.

In the same vein, Jay Denes’s beautiful tomorrow is just spiritual beauty at its best. The sound is deep and soothing, the groove is smart — all dance without the gaudy thumpa-thumpa of what house music can become [MV]. As far as Mr. Duplaix’s concerned, I’ll just let you read my review of this album to understand its effect on me [1].

2003:

A Beautiful World (Thicke)
All I have to say is A Fifth of Beethoven. Released when Robin Thicke was simply going by his last name, this debut may have been the funkiest anything to happen at that point in the 2000s. It’s certainly his most versatile album. I ran into this man watching a Sprite commercial where his anthem When I Get You Alone was the main focus. A Beautiful World was a masterful piece of art that took from so many facets of the medium that one could argue that it was a dynamic look at the grand scope of music. Yeah, it was that deep for me when I first heard it.

2004:

Van Hunt (Van Hunt)
This. Damn. ALBUM! If there was any indication of where my head was going in the latter half of the early 2000s, this album was the tip. It’s just full of sex and beauty. Down Here (In Hell with You)… probably one of the most sensual love songs I’ve ever heard in my life!

2005:

Stoned Pt. 1 (Lewis Taylor), Robyn (Robyn)
Yeah, another LT album, this one being his final release. He sadly abandoned the oh-so-fickle music business after the release of this album. It’s his most mature effort and definitely his most versatile in terms of sound. Nothing but complete respect and adoration for this man. Another album you can download on iTunes and can actually listen to at Xiami (a true gift because since he officially retired from the music industry, any traces of this man have been all but completely eradicated from the internet). What would 2005 be without some fangirling? Robyn’s self titled album has some of the most fantastic dance tracks on any album that I’ve ever heard. I actually just can’t get enough of this woman. Two words: pure class.