IE Gets Essential

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 17, 2007 5:31PM

We realize we’re a bit late to the game on this one, but Illinois Entertainer recently published a list of the top 25 local albums of the last ten years. And we’re a bit surprised that it hasn’t inspired more discussion on their site.

The usual suspects made the list with Wilco, Sea and Cake, Jim O'Rourke, Kanye and Smashing Pumpkins all making appearances. Local H seems to be the most glaring omission here, as the band produced a trio of records in that time period (As Good As Dead, Pack Up The Cats and Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles) that managed to comment on, as well as contribute to, the music scene of the time.

There are other quibbles to be made here. There’s a shortage of punk and jazz, Confessor Brings The Flood isn’t even the best Neko Case album for crying out loud, and the write-up on Disturbed seems like more of an apology to a potential cover artist than an acknowledgment of essentialness.

Thoughts?