| Daft Punk – Discovery (2001) |
Now here’s an album that’s just one big joyous ball of awesomeness. I am by no means a fan of dance music, but if there’s any album that stands as the definitive entry in the genre, for me it’d have to be Daft Punk’s Discovery. Hey I just realized this ties in with Tron: Legacy being released this week, and it also ties in with last weeks CAT being Phoenix. Nice.
The robotic duo known as Daft Punk have stated that Discovery was supposed to be a tribute to the music of their childhood, and the playful affect that music seems to have on you when you’re younger. This is certainly evident in the way Daft Punk infuses its signature brand of house music with this somewhat cheesy but undeniably catchy brand of bubble gum pop. I mean just try keeping yourself from getting a big grin on your face when you hear something like “One More Time” or “Digital Love”.
And it’s not just the singles that are great, though they’re certainly the songs that stand out. But tracks like “Crescendolls” and “Voyager” see Daft Punk applying a sound that’s a little bit house, a little bit disco, and just all sorts of fun. It’s just one of those rare records that manages to sound like a lot of music from the past, while also sounding like a document of the time in which it was released while also pointing the way to the future.
As we all know, 2001 wasn’t exactly the happiest year, so I guess it’s only fitting that the wide-eyed optimism of Discovery was unleashed on the world just a few months before the ’00s started to go downhill. It’s definitely got to be one of the best feel-good records of the decade, if not the best.
Favorite Tracks: “One More Time”, “Digital Love”, “Crescendolls”