Urban Hymns: Ten Years Later

Speaking of anniversaries, it's hard to believe that it has been ten years since The Verve's final studio album, Urban Hymns, came out. At the time of its release, I was sixteen year old punk rock, hip-hop-loving skateboarder - everything I listened to was hard or fast. But when I finally heard the sweeping symphonic soundscapes on the legally-fated single "Bittersweet Symphony" one afternoon on MTV, I was instantly hooked. With my recently acquired drivers license, I was able to make a beeline to the music store to buy the Urban Hymns cassette. (The truck I drove only had a tape deck, and I only had ten bucks.) I drove around listening to it until I had to return home for dinner. It didn't leave my stereo for months, and opened the gates to all the British shoegaze that came before it, when I was busy paying attention to Descendents, Subhumans, and Wu-Tang.

Today, nearly ten years later, I find myself sucked in by its swan song elegance. And I sincerely believe "Lucky Man" is one of the most beautiful songs EVER.