Before 8:46 a.m. on the morning of September 11, 2001, it was just another Tuesday—which, for music fans, meant a trip to the local record store to check out the slew of new releases. This weekend, rather than remember the embarrassing wave of sappy, opportunistic inspirational music released in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, I thought I’d take a look at some of the albums that dropped that fateful Tuesday morning—five classic records that, despite their fateful street date, managed to make a lasting cultural impact.
Jay-Z
The Blueprint
Roc-A-Fella Records
Arguably Jay’s greatest solo album, The Blueprint eschewed the pop crossovers and heavy cameos of his previous discs, returning to the raw delivery of Reasonable Doubt with some of his hardest-hitting rhymes to date. Featured star-making production work from a then little-known beat maker named Kanye West.
Ben Folds
Rockin’ The Suburbs
Epic Records
The Ben Folds Five frontman’s solo debut features some of his most memorable and popular songs (“The Luckiest”, “Zak And Sara”, the hilarious title track) set a fuller, lusher production style that incorporated guitars, strings, and synthesizers. Finally, someone else understood what it's like to be male, middle class and white!
Bob Dylan
Love And Theft
Columbia Records
Dylan’s late career tour de force made several best of the decade lists with its sweeping and immediate performances by Dylan’s stellar touring band. Loose, funny, and tragic, it was rightfully declared a new classic upon release, receiving a well-deserved Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
The Moldy Peaches
The Moldy Peaches
Sanctuary Records
This lo-fi anti-folk classic was released in the U.K. earlier in the year, but found its way into U.S. record stores that fateful morning (with a track called “NYC’s Like A Graveyard”, no less). Today, it’s remembered for its childlike, hilarious songs and the warm vocal interplay between Adam Green and Kimya Dawson.
Nickelback
Silver Side Up
Roadrunner Records
Okay, so this one isn’t a classic at all, but like the 9/11 attacks themselves, it was the inciting incident for an entire decade of strife and pain… via mainstream rock radio. Ten years later, we’re still fighting a war in Afghanistan, and Nickelback are still writing and releasing music. Coincidence? Possibly.
Do you have any personal memories of the music of September 11, 2001? Hit up our comments section below.
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