All right, fine, my Top 10 of the Year.
JackieBlue
I WAS going to wait til New Year's Eve to post this, y'know, since
albums DO come out in December, at least occasionally. But what the
Hell, I'm bored. Here we go.
1.Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One
Best album of their career, easily. Too low-key and understated for
most people to take seriously. Seems these days you have to have a
lavish package, obscure liner notes, and grand sweeping phrases like "we
hooooope that your... ruuuuules and... wiiiiiiiis-dom...
CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKE YEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" to be considered for "truly
great" status. This record is perfect in almost every way, and I mean
that literally. Out of 68 minutes of music, the only weaknesses are two
of the shortest songs, "Stockholm Syndrome" (good, but overly sappy) and
"Little Honda" (amazing cover, but it doesn't mesh quite well with the
overall feel). "Spec Bebop" is one of the best drone-rock epics of all
time, with no beginning or ending, just a fade-in and fade-out which
makes you feel as if yr tuning in, briefly, to some kind of alien
transmission which always has been and always will be. "Deeper Into
Movies" is another noteworthy song from the aliens. Also of note about
this record is that, on a few songs, you can't even tell if it's Ira
Kaplan or Georgia Hubley singing... and you don't care. Truly their
hearts beat as one. Put that in yr Valentine's Day pipe and toke on it.
2.Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
The best argument for the continued existance of indie rawk I've heard
in a good long while. If Pavement bores, switch to these kids. Beck's
efforts to the contrary, mixing country with indie rock still hasn't
caught on... but these boys might change people's minds about that.
Bravo.
3.Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Thankfully they've pretty much ditched the sickly-sweet new-age type
songs that marred their earlier work. Now more than ever J Spaceman's
new band sounds... like his old band. But that's a damn good thing in
my book. The sweeping gospel soundz are a nice touch, the guitars are
louder than ever, and lyrics are mostly foregone in favor of repeating
phrases over and over. It works. My best friend said "Listening to
this album makes you wish you had either a girlfriend or drugs." Right
on.
4.Flaming Lips - Zaireeka
Overlooking the fact of the 4-CD issue, this is just flat-out their best
album ever, with vast layers of sounds and melodies and harmonies and
dense interweavings of effects... each song is a movie in its own right,
with a definite story and characters. Sometimes the 4-CD thing is
flawless ("35,000 Feet of Despair", "March of the Rotten Vegetables")
and other times it's better to just do two or three discs at once. But
the fact is, this is a new form of music, and a new form actually DONE
WELL. Not even close to pretentious art-wank.
5.Sloan - One Chord to Another
Probably Canada's best band. And yeah, it's kind of pop, and yeah, it's
very Beatles-esque (listening, Geir?), but that's all well and good.
The lyrics are amazing as usual. Nicely different from their past
records, more instruments, more styles, more style period. It's just a
damn fine album. Oasis only WISH they were this catchy and original AT
THE SAME TIME.
6.Radiohead - OK Computer
No comment. It's good. That's all. I'm so sick of hearing about this
album.
7.Pavement - Brighten the Corners
Their first truly serious album. Not self-parody whatsoever. Probably
the first time Malkmus has actually opened up a little bit, except for
the liner notes to -Wowee Zowee-. It's obvious, though, that Spiral
Stairs should get off his ass and do a solo album, since his tunes
("Date with IKEA" and "Passat Dream") are two of the best on here.
8.Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman's Call
Well yeah, Birthday Party were great, and that old-school Nick thing was
nice, but really, this IS a great record. More focus on songwriting and
carving a new sound than on being "out there".
9.Fuck - Pardon My French
Ignore the name. They're not a joke band. Quite the opposite, in
fact. Lovely swoon rock on par with Low, though a lot less comatose and
a lot more instrumentally inventive.
10.Built To Spill - Perfect From Now On
Not as happily sloppily skewed as their first record, but maybe that's
better. I haven't quite decided. But even bad BTS puts most other
bands to shame in a hurry, so I'm not complaining. Good solid stuff.
--
Rev. Jack Godsey - rental messiah, slam poet, BV.
http://members.tripod.com/~spill/index.html
now playing: The Smiths "What Difference Does It Make?"
Lord of deXness
Probably the most interesting thing about putting out a top ten list is
looking to see who agrees with you and who thinks you're insane. :)
I make no apologies for my tastes (or lack thereof). This is music
that has struck a chord with me over the past year.
1. Squarepusher - _Hard Normal Daddy_
If someone had told me that I could find an artist who consistently
records electronic music of the type which runs through my head when my
imagination runs wild, I'd have laughed. I honestly didn't think
anyone out there was interested in a fusion of hard bop and drum 'n'
bass. Then, I noticed people RAVING about this guy who calls himself
Squarepusher. The descriptions intrigued me, so I picked up this album
to see if I'd like it.
Wow.
Yummy snare rolls surrounded by a solid musical center, mixed in with
more effects and odd noises than you can shake a stick at. Pinch me,
I think I'm in heaven. An electronic artist hasn't captured my
attention in this manner since the first time I heard Severed Heads.
Easily the best find of the year for me.
2. Radiohead - _OK Computer_
Let me start out by saying that I've always thought Radiohead was
"all right". They made decent music, but never produced anything that
made me sit up and take notice. In fact, I'd pretty much placed them
in the "adequate guitar band" category of current music.
Then, when visiting a friend who has cable, I happened to catch an
extremely odd video done in a style best described as South Park meets
Dr. Katz. The music was urgent and engaging. I was hooked. I had to
see who this was.
"Paranoid Android". Hmm... RADIOHEAD????
I got the album and was hooked. I'll admit, I'm still not 100%
conviced by "Electioneering", but "Climbing Up the Walls" is one of my
favorite songs of the year. I don't think any album could live up to
the hype this one received, but it comes close.
3. Supersonic - _Wall to Wall Moustache_
I heard this while browsing albums in Tower Records one afternoon.
I'm still amazed that people are gaga over The Crystal Method (whose
album contains exactly _2_ good tracks), yet have no idea who these
guys are. At least, I've yet to see anyone mention them, positively
or negatively. This is a crying shame, as their album is fantastic.
A keen ear for samples over some FEROCIOUS beats.
4. Various - _The Jackal Soundtrack_
Yes, I'm serious.
Yes, I know that hideous Bush song that Goldie remixed is on it.
Yes, I'm also aware of the horrendous track by Apollo 440.
I also know that several of the best songs were released in previous
years.
This album contains the track "Superpredators" by Massive Attack.
This alone makes it better than 75% of the albums released this year.
This track redefined my image of Massive Attack. I've seen them groove.
I've seen the flip it. I've seen them float through on some beautiful
mellow melodies that could make your heart melt and your booty shake.
I'd never seen them growl before. I've never heard a track of theirs
which exuded sex and danger in equal parts, capturing that moment when
the prey _knows_ that the figure swooping down upon it intends harm.
Four minutes of menace bathed in sweat that goes straight for the audio
jugular.
God help us all if Massive Attack's next album is like this. It might
be more than we can handle.
(Oh, and that Black Grape song is pretty damn funny... :)
5. Portishead - _Portishead_
I've seen some backlash towards Portishead for not moving far enough
ahead with their style on their second album. I don't understand these
criticisms. Obivously, there isn't as radical a shift in styles between
_Dummy_ and _Portishead_ as there is between, say, A Tribe Called
Quest's first two albums. This in no way makes _Portishead_ a bad or
inferior record. The fuzzier production seems to take up where "Glory
Box" left the previous album, expanding the melancholy feel of the first
album to encompass anger and frustration. Some might say that this
extension highlights their lack of innovation. I disagree. Ask me
nicely and I might even give you concrete reasons for why I feel this
way. :)
6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
No words are necessary. If you have it, you know. If you don't, you
should. My only regret in purchasing this album is that I waited until
two weeks ago to pick it up. This double album proves without a doubt
that hip-hop (and trip-hop) will never die.
7. Erykah Badu - _Baduizm_
Let's skip the superficial Billie Holiday comparisons. Let's just
highlight the fact the she is one of the few hip-hop divas who sounds
better live than in the studio. Let's concentrate on the notion that
her songs aren't about how she needs a man, or what she can do to a man
in bed. Erykah's lyrics are deeper than that, her beats are more
intelligent than your basic MJ.B, her voice is haunting and soulful,
and she commands the stage like a queen. More young performers like
her are needed.
8. Jane's Addiction - _Kettle Whistle_
I didn't get to see Jane's tour this year. In fact, I've _never_
been able to see them perform live. Much of this album captures the
essence of the band who helped "alternative" music become mainstream
in the United States. Perry Farrel's powerful wails, the haunting
melodies of the music, the ferocity the unleashed when they decided to
rock out... What can I say? I love this album to death.
9. Tricky - _Pre-Millenium Tension_
When this album came out in January, I knew it would make my top 10
list for the year. Tracks like "Bad Dream", "Makes Me Wanna Die",
"Lyrics of Fury", and "Christiansands" made this album a classic in my
eyes. Oh, and don't even get me started on "Tricky Kid"...
10. The Chemical Brothers - _Dig Your Own Hole_
"Back with another one of those block rockin' beats!" This album
started on an up note and went higher. It also proved that _Exit Planet
Dust_ was not a fluke. The Chems took up the mantle that Liam Howlett
of the Prodigy cast aside and wore it proudly, getting people across the
country to dance like fiends in the process. My only regret is the the
vastly superior trancy live versions of "Setting Sun" and "It Doesn't
Matter" didn't make it onto the album.
deX!
Lulu
>I WAS going to wait til New Year's Eve to post this, y'know, since
>albums DO come out in December, at least occasionally.
Yeah, but they all tend to be Mariah Carey Does Christmas, or something
like that.
>3.Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
>Thankfully they've pretty much ditched the sickly-sweet new-age type
>songs that marred their earlier work. Now more than ever J Spaceman's
>new band sounds... like his old band. But that's a damn good thing in
>my book. The sweeping gospel soundz are a nice touch, the guitars are
>louder than ever, and lyrics are mostly foregone in favor of repeating
>phrases over and over. It works. My best friend said "Listening to
>this album makes you wish you had either a girlfriend or drugs." Right
>on.
As everyone knows, I agree. I still can't believe that I know people who
have deemed this album as being 'all boring dream pop' (?!) after hearing
Electricity, or Come Together. Terrific album.
>5.Sloan - One Chord to Another
>Probably Canada's best band. And yeah, it's kind of pop, and yeah, it's
>very Beatles-esque (listening, Geir?), but that's all well and good.
As long as it's done well, it's all good. And Sloan do it well.
>9.Fuck - Pardon My French
>Ignore the name. They're not a joke band. Quite the opposite, in
>fact. Lovely swoon rock on par with Low, though a lot less comatose and
>a lot more instrumentally inventive.
I'm sort of seconding this one, as well: I totally avoided the band for
quite a bit based on the exceedingly stupid, stupid name, and stupid album
title, but I heard it and while I'm not a huge fan, it's not bad. Worth
buying.
Cheers,
Lulu
--
Visit the Spice Rack: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/6151/
Lulu
>4. Various - _The Jackal Soundtrack_
> Yes, I'm serious.
> Yes, I know that hideous Bush song that Goldie remixed is on it.
That song is the one reason why I refuse to listen to it at all, or even
look at it. Maybe I'll give Massive Attack's a chance.
>7. Erykah Badu - _Baduizm_
> Let's skip the superficial Billie Holiday comparisons. Let's just
>highlight the fact the she is one of the few hip-hop divas who sounds
>better live than in the studio.
Have you got her live album yet then? I might like it even better than
Baduizm, to be honest, but I'm not sure. It's lovely. Her voice makes up
for the shortcomings on the album, really.
>9. Tricky - _Pre-Millenium Tension_
> When this album came out in January, I knew it would make my top 10
>list for the year.
Are you sure this came out this year? I'm not going to argue, but I
remember it making a placing on a lot of last year's best-ofs, so now I'm
confused. At any rate, it is a top album.
Tom Ewing
On Mon, 15 Dec 1997 14:39:55 -0700, bitchyspice@*.geocities.com (Lulu)
wrote:
>>9. Tricky - _Pre-Millenium Tension_
>> When this album came out in January, I knew it would make my top 10
>>list for the year.
>
>Are you sure this came out this year? I'm not going to argue, but I
>remember it making a placing on a lot of last year's best-ofs, so now I'm
>confused. At any rate, it is a top album.
It was certainly on my last year's list, came out in November IIRC.
It's a superb album, I think, very underrated by the critics and
general public. I was so irritated when all the people I know for a
fact had copies of 'Maxinquaye' sitting on their coffee tables/orange
crates/cardboard boxes decided that they werent even going to bother
hearing the record, or that Tricky was now 'boring'.
More to the point, DEX's list hasn't filtered through to my server. A
summary would be keen.
Cheers,
Tom.
Nicole
> >> When this album came out in January, I knew it would make my top 10
> >>list for the year.
> >
> >remember it making a placing on a lot of last year's best-ofs, so now I'm
> >confused. At any rate, it is a top album.
>
> It was certainly on my last year's list, came out in November IIRC.
> It's a superb album, I think, very underrated by the critics and
> general public. I was so irritated when all the people I know for a
> fact had copies of 'Maxinquaye' sitting on their coffee tables/orange
> crates/cardboard boxes decided that they werent even going to bother
> hearing the record, or that Tricky was now 'boring'.
I found that annoying as well. It was almost as if people dismissed it
out of hand without listening to it because it was no longer trendy.
IMHO, it's superior to Maxinquaye, though that's great too...
Nicole
Lulu
>I found that annoying as well. It was almost as if people dismissed it
>out of hand without listening to it because it was no longer trendy.
>IMHO, it's superior to Maxinquaye, though that's great too...
Yeah, I agree with you. Both are good albums, but I think I like PMT
better. *shrugs* Tricky had been really trendy, but I guess people gave
up, because mags like Select didn't seem to enjoy PMT at all.
And yes, everyone, I'm aware of the obvious PMT joke, so can that right
now, I'm not being a dense idiot, it's easier to type :)
Cheers,
Lulu
PS I'm STILL laughing over the Noel Gallagher antiperspirant advert...
Matt B Parisi
In <34958A...@bbn.com> Lord of deXness <djp...@bbn.com> writes:
>
>Probably the most interesting thing about putting out a top ten list
is
>looking to see who agrees with you and who thinks you're insane. :)
>I make no apologies for my tastes (or lack thereof). This is music
>that has struck a chord with me over the past year.
>9. Tricky - _Pre-Millenium Tension_
>
> When this album came out in January, I knew it would make my top 10
>list for the year. Tracks like "Bad Dream", "Makes Me Wanna Die",
>"Lyrics of Fury", and "Christiansands" made this album a classic in my
>eyes. Oh, and don't even get me started on "Tricky Kid"...
This came out last year.
Matt P
Nate Patrin
Lord of deXness <djp...@bbn.com> wrote in article
<34958A...@bbn.com>...
> 6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
>
> No words are necessary. If you have it, you know. If you don't, you
> should. My only regret in purchasing this album is that I waited until
> two weeks ago to pick it up. This double album proves without a doubt
> that hip-hop (and trip-hop) will never die.
To me, seven words are necessary: Where the hell can I get this?! I've been
hooked on DJ Krush since I heard "Kemuri" (on a MoWax split single with
some guy named DJ Shadow on the other side <g>), and "MiLight" isn't
leaving my CD player anytime soon... but the same store that had "MiLight"
as well as his '95 album didn't have this. What's the disc like? Please
don't tell me it's one of those $26 imports...
--
-Nate Patrin: Gullible Music Consumer
****************************************************************************
*********
The Ramones, Beck, The Delta 72, A Tribe Called Quest, (the) Prodigy,
Nirvana, the Clash, Daft Punk, Iggy Pop and/or the Stooges, David Bowie,
U2, Sonic Youth, the Chemical Brothers, BDP/KRS-One, Dr. Octagon (aka
Kool Keith), DJ Shadow, Dead Kennedys, Soundgarden, Pink Floyd, Bob
Dylan, John Coltrane, Velvet Underground, the Doors, De La Soul, DJ Krush,
Miles Davis, Santana, Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, the Beastie
Boys, the Police, the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, and Jimi f*ckin'
Hendrix
(NOTE: You may dislike many of the above bands. So will WalMart.)
Lord of deXness
Lulu wrote:
>
> In article <34958A...@bbn.com>, Lord of deXness <djp...@bbn.com> wrote:
>
> >4. Various - _The Jackal Soundtrack_
> > Yes, I'm serious.
> > Yes, I know that hideous Bush song that Goldie remixed is on it.
>
> look at it. Maybe I'll give Massive Attack's a chance.
>
There's a lot of good stuff on that album:
"Poison" - The Prodigy (Though I know you can't stand 'em, this song
rocks. I think it's easily their best single ever.)
"Get Higher" - Black Grape (The Ron & Nancy Reagan speech is genius. :)
"Shining" - Moby (Easily the best I've heard from Moby in years.
Melodic and up-tempo without being ridiculous.)
"Red Tape" - Agent Provocateur (Not everyone will like this song. I
happen to adore it.)
"Shineaway" - BT featuring Richard Butler (Nice to hear Furhead
singing something which isn't as grating as his Love Spit Love stuff.)
"Demon's Theme" - LTJ Bukem (Old song, yes, but it still rocks.)
> >7. Erykah Badu - _Baduizm_
> > Let's skip the superficial Billie Holiday comparisons. Let's just
> >highlight the fact the she is one of the few hip-hop divas who sounds
> >better live than in the studio.
>
> Have you got her live album yet then? I might like it even better than
> Baduizm, to be honest, but I'm not sure. It's lovely. Her voice makes up
> for the shortcomings on the album, really.
>
Totally agree. Maybe I should have put the live album on instead of
_Baduizm_, but I figured it didn't matter too mucch since they contain
essentially the same material.
> >9. Tricky - _Pre-Millenium Tension_
> > When this album came out in January, I knew it would make my top 10
> >list for the year.
>
> Are you sure this came out this year? I'm not going to argue, but I
> remember it making a placing on a lot of last year's best-ofs, so now I'm
> confused. At any rate, it is a top album.
>
No, you're right. I went home and checked the release date, which was
last December. Grr, this means I'm going to have to pick another
album...
I might go with The Orb's _Orblivion_, which is the first Orb album
which convinced me that what they are doing isn't pretentious.
I'm tempted to mention Bjork's _Homogenic_ solely for the song
_Huntress_, but ultimately the weaker songs on that album made it
something of a disappointment. (Ditto Busta Rhymes's album _When
Disaster Strikes_ and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See".)
I have yet to pick up Wu-Tang or Biggie Smalls, both of which I
understand are excellent. (Biggie's album had _better_ lean more
towards "Hypnotize" than "More Money, More Problems" though, or I'm
going to be annoyed.)
As much as I'd like to, I can't say that The Prodigy's _Fat of the Land_
is one of the 10 best albums of the year. Perhaps if they'd thrown
out "Firestarter", "Serial Thrilla", "Fuel My Fire", and "Funky Shxt"
and released more varied material, the album would have been better.
I can't even entertain the notion that Insane Clown Posse's _The Great
Milenko_ was one of the 10 best albums of the year, even though I love
it to death. Clearly the album is not as musically inept as all of the
critics said, but it pales when compared to their _Ringmaster_ album.
Also, "Piggy Pie" is a terrible song. ("The Neden Game" makes up for
it, though. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee)
I liked the soundtracks for "The Saint" and "Spawn", but I can't say
that either contains enough quality material to merit being in an
end-of-the-year top 10 list.
O)+> didn't have an official release this year, so I can't stick him in
there, much as I'd like to. :)
I still haven't picked up some of the albums raved about this year, like
Spiritualized, Yo La Tengo, or Mouse on Mars.
Oh well. Unless I want to be super-contrary and pick _Spiceworld_, it
looks like this is going to be a Top 9 list from me. :)
deX!
Lord of deXness
Nate Patrin wrote:
>
> Lord of deXness <djp...@bbn.com> wrote in article
> <34958A...@bbn.com>...
>
> > 6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
> >
> > No words are necessary.
> To me, seven words are necessary: Where the hell can I get this?!
Ah, nice to see another Minnesotan on the board! (Even though I
haven't lived there in six years, I still consider myself a
Midwesterner.)
Due to six years of living in Massachucetts, I'm not sure where you
should go to find this album. A friend of mine in St. Paul is actually
the one who recommended it to me, so I know it's out there somewhere.
As far as online stores are concerned, CDNow has it for $15.49
(www.cdnow.com) and CD Universe has it for $14.38 (www.cduniverse.com).
deX!
Lord of deXness
Tom Ewing wrote:
>
> More to the point, DEX's list hasn't filtered through to my server. A
> summary would be keen.
>
Assuming you haven't gotten my other post yet and that this one will
beat the original (both of which are doubtful by now):
1. Squarepusher - _Hard Normal Daddy_
2. Radiohead - _OK Computer_
3. Supersonic - _Wall to Wall Moustache_
4. Various - _The Jackal Soundtrack_
5. Portishead - _Portishead_
6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
7. Erykah Badu - _Baduizm_
8. Jane's Addiction - _Kettle Whistle_
[Tricky deleted, as his album came out last year]
9. The Chemical Brothers - _Dig Your Own Hole_
I've been try to figure out what my tenth album would be. It seems to
be a toss-up between The Orb's _Orblivion_, Photek's _Modus Operandi_,
and Boymerang's _Balance of the Force_ at the moment, leaning more
towards one of the first two.
deX!
Lulu
>Lulu wrote:
>> In article <34958A...@bbn.com>, Lord of deXness <djp...@bbn.com> wrote:
>> >4. Various - _The Jackal Soundtrack_
>> > Yes, I'm serious.
>> > Yes, I know that hideous Bush song that Goldie remixed is on it.
>> That song is the one reason why I refuse to listen to it at all, or even
>> look at it. Maybe I'll give Massive Attack's a chance.
>There's a lot of good stuff on that album:
>"Poison" - The Prodigy (Though I know you can't stand 'em, this song
>rocks. I think it's easily their best single ever.)
No, I know that song, and I'm not keen on it. Just Voodoo People, really,
that's all I can get into. Sometimes Firestarter.
>"Shining" - Moby (Easily the best I've heard from Moby in years.
>Melodic and up-tempo without being ridiculous.)
Hmmm. He didn't put this on I Like To Score, I don't think. Which is odd,
cos he sold it as 'all the music I've done for films', the bastard. I'll
have to listen to that one too.
>> >7. Erykah Badu - _Baduizm_
>> > Let's skip the superficial Billie Holiday comparisons. Let's just
>> >highlight the fact the she is one of the few hip-hop divas who sounds
>> >better live than in the studio.
>> Have you got her live album yet then? I might like it even better than
>> Baduizm, to be honest, but I'm not sure. It's lovely. Her voice makes up
>> for the shortcomings on the album, really.
>Totally agree. Maybe I should have put the live album on instead of
>_Baduizm_, but I figured it didn't matter too mucch since they contain
>essentially the same material.
Well, yeah, mostly. I wasn't quibbling, cos really they are
interchangeable in terms of material, and besides, I don't remember the
name of the live one, so I'd put Baduizm myself :)
>I'm tempted to mention Bjork's _Homogenic_ solely for the song
>_Huntress_, but ultimately the weaker songs on that album made it
>something of a disappointment. (Ditto Busta Rhymes's album _When
>Disaster Strikes_ and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See".)
Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See is one of my favourite singles this
year, top, top song. But the follow up single was crap, so I ended up not
buying the album.
>I have yet to pick up Wu-Tang or Biggie Smalls, both of which I
>understand are excellent. (Biggie's album had _better_ lean more
>towards "Hypnotize" than "More Money, More Problems" though, or I'm
>going to be annoyed.)
Mo' Money, Mo' Problems. *groans* Mo' Puffy, Mo' Problems, more like. Is
it just me, or did it seem like on Biggie's singles, all featured Puffy
heavily, and on Puff Daddy's singles, all featured Biggie heavily? And all
featured Mase almost exclusively. I can't tell the three of their singles
apart anymore.
>I still haven't picked up some of the albums raved about this year, like
>Spiritualized, Yo La Tengo, or Mouse on Mars.
You really should, you know. :)
>Oh well. Unless I want to be super-contrary and pick _Spiceworld_
That's not contrary, someone's already done it! Weird, weird, weird.
Cheers,
Lulu
Michael Daddino
JackieBlue wrote:
> 1.Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One
>
> This record is perfect in almost every way, and I mean
> that literally. Out of 68 minutes of music, the only weaknesses are two
> of the shortest songs, "Stockholm Syndrome" (good, but overly sappy)
Oh no. I love it, if only because I often find myself in the same
situation, over and over again: "I know it's wrong, but I swear it won't
take long." How embarrassing.
> and
> "Little Honda" (amazing cover, but it doesn't mesh quite well with the
> overall feel).
Again, I disagree. Yes, an *ace* cover, you just gotta love the way Ira
drawls out "It's alright", but it's right and necessary within the
context of the rest of the album. It feels kind of refreshing after the,
um, impressionistic quietude of the last few songs.
> "Spec Bebop" is one of the best drone-rock epics of all
> time, with no beginning or ending, just a fade-in and fade-out which
> makes you feel as if yr tuning in, briefly, to some kind of alien
> transmission which always has been and always will be.
My god, that's perfect. Yes, exactly. (I'm a little disappointed that I
haven't seen them do "Bepop" live.) Also of note is the other longish
instrumental, "Green Arrow." Amazing that these New Jerseyans can, with
some steel guitar and effects, effortlessly suggest midnight in the
middle of nowhere.
(Man, a lot of these songs evoke the nighttime, don't they? The point at
night where you've stayed up too late but you can't go to sleep just
yet.)
--Mike
Cultural Artifact of the Moment: Umm...can't think of one at the moment.
colin freebury
Lord of deXness wrote:
>
> Tom Ewing wrote:
> >
> > More to the point, DEX's list hasn't filtered through to my server. A
> > summary would be keen.
> >
>
> Assuming you haven't gotten my other post yet and that this one will
> beat the original (both of which are doubtful by now):
>
> 6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
> 9. The Chemical Brothers - _Dig Your Own Hole_
>
> I've been try to figure out what my tenth album would be. It seems to
> be a toss-up between The Orb's _Orblivion_, Photek's _Modus Operandi_,
> and Boymerang's _Balance of the Force_ at the moment, leaning more
> towards one of the first two.
>
> deX!
I think your 10th album might be Belle and Sebastian (which was released
in England in 1996 but here in 1997. It might also be Laika
....Satellites.
Lord of deXness
colin freebury wrote:
>
> Lord of deXness wrote:
> >
> > 1. Squarepusher - _Hard Normal Daddy_
> > 6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
> > 9. The Chemical Brothers - _Dig Your Own Hole_
> >
> > I've been try to figure out what my tenth album would be. It seems to
> > be a toss-up between The Orb's _Orblivion_, Photek's _Modus Operandi_,
> > and Boymerang's _Balance of the Force_ at the moment, leaning more
> > towards one of the first two.
> >
>
> in England in 1996 but here in 1997. It might also be Laika
> ....Satellites.
This could be true if I'd heard either of those albums. Since I
haven't, it's kind of difficult for those to make my top 10 list. :)
Someone else's list reminded me that Bently Rhythm Ace's album came out
this year. Its omission from my list is a shocking blunder, so drop
that one in at #10.
deX!
Sinewave
>Lord of deXness wrote:
>>
>> Tom Ewing wrote:
>> >
>> > More to the point, DEX's list hasn't filtered through to my server. A
>> > summary would be keen.
>> >
>>
>> Assuming you haven't gotten my other post yet and that this one will
>> beat the original (both of which are doubtful by now):
>>
>> 1. Squarepusher - _Hard Normal Daddy_
>> 2. Radiohead - _OK Computer_
>> 3. Supersonic - _Wall to Wall Moustache_
>> 4. Various - _The Jackal Soundtrack_
>> 5. Portishead - _Portishead_
>> 6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
>> 7. Erykah Badu - _Baduizm_
>> 8. Jane's Addiction - _Kettle Whistle_
>> [Tricky deleted, as his album came out last year]
>> 9. The Chemical Brothers - _Dig Your Own Hole_
>>
>> I've been try to figure out what my tenth album would be. It seems to
>> be a toss-up between The Orb's _Orblivion_, Photek's _Modus Operandi_,
>> and Boymerang's _Balance of the Force_ at the moment, leaning more
>> towards one of the first two.
>>
>> deX!
Even though Kettle Whistle was not as good as their previous records its
hardly Unispiring.
--
EWA !!! !!!
IN VE !! !! !! !!
S---------!---------!---------!----------!---------!
!! !! !! !!
!!! !!!
Take the " "out of my emaill address to email me.
Lord of deXness
Sinewave wrote:
>
> >Lord of deXness wrote:
> >>
> >> 6. DJ Krush vs Coldcut & DJ Food Fight - _Cold Krush Cuts_
> >>
10. Bentley Rhythm Ace - _Bentley Rhythm Ace_
>
> Even though Kettle Whistle was not as good as their previous records
> its hardly Unispiring.
>
No, I didn't mean that the music I listed was uninspiring. I meant that
my top 10 album list is unlikely to change other people's minds about
their favorite albums of the year.
If this list _does_ cause people to follow my beck and call as far as
musical tastes are concerned, my plans for world domination are
considerably more advanced than I thought they were.
deX!
Tom Ewing
On Mon, 15 Dec 1997 11:29:49 -0500, JackieBlue <god...@planetc.com>
wrote:
>2.Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
Never even heard of them. But I will try to. One of the worst things
about the decline of all UK music papers/mags is that I very much
doubt anything will be even trying to cover American stuff beyond the
odd, tokenistic record shoved in the year-end polls.
>3.Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
>
>Thankfully they've pretty much ditched the sickly-sweet new-age type
>songs that marred their earlier work. Now more than ever J Spaceman's
>new band sounds... like his old band. But that's a damn good thing in
>my book. The sweeping gospel soundz are a nice touch, the guitars are
>louder than ever, and lyrics are mostly foregone in favor of repeating
>phrases over and over.
Got to agree that this is by a vast distance the best thing they've
ever done ('Medication' their only comparable track). Not so sure
about the repeated phrases bit, mind you - something like 'Come
Together' has excellent lyrics which this doesnt quite do justice to.
Cheers,
Tom.
Kris Srinivasan
Tom Ewing (eb...@NOSPAM.netcomuk.co.uk) wrote:
:
: >2.Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
:
: Never even heard of them. But I will try to. One of the worst things
: about the decline of all UK music papers/mags is that I very much
: doubt anything will be even trying to cover American stuff beyond the
: odd, tokenistic record shoved in the year-end polls.
I think they're kind of blah...I suppose everyone has their indie rock
bands of choice. I like Track Star myself.
Kris.
====================================================================
Listen to The Brick Collage
Thursday night/Friday morning: midnight-3:00AM (PST) on 90.3 KDVS in
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Visit http://www.geocities.com/soho/5708/bricolage.html
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"I don't think that I'm really more unhappy than most people -- I'm just
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-Theresa Stern
JackieBlue
Tom Ewing wrote:
> >2.Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
>
> Never even heard of them.
They're in the same general vein as Silkworm and Pavement, only better
than both put together.
--
Rev. Jack Godsey - rental messiah, slam poet, nude.
http://members.tripod.com/~spill/index.html
now playing: Negativland "OJ and His Personal Trainer Murder Ron and
Nicole"
JackieBlue
Sinewave wrote:
> Even though Kettle Whistle was not as good as their previous records its
> hardly Unispiring.
I find something QUITE uninspiring about Jane's Addiction being
transformed from a decadent LA-style straight-ahead psyche-rock band
into pseudo-hippie wank.
--
Rev. Jack Godsey - rental messiah, slam poet, animal.
http://members.tripod.com/~spill/index.html
now playing: Veruca Salt "Bodies"
Bobby Tendinitis
With more on that story, here's correspondent
ez05...@dogbert.ucdavis.edu (Kris Srinivasan):
$ I think they're kind of blah...
That's nuts. I was *convinced* I was the only person in the world who
found Modest Mouse boring. That's good news.
Bobby Tendinitis **_bedwarm(at)yahoo.com**
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Make sure and use either cash or stolen credit cards. You can never
be to carefull." - Belial, in <MPG.f03ab08d...@news.texasonline.net>
------------------------------------------------------------------
Gondola Bob
> Tom Ewing wrote:
>
> > >2.Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
> >
> > Never even heard of them.
>
> They're in the same general vein as Silkworm and Pavement, only better
> than both put together.
I have respect for Modest Mouse's musicianship and I know several other
people who think MM are great, but I just can't get past the singing. No
melodies, just rhythmic yelling. "Barking," perhaps? Gets real tiresome
over the course of an album, for me.
Eb