You must listen to the album below you: canon edition

[baystateoftheart]

1.

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Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand

For some reason I forgot to post about this for days after listening, so my memory is not super fresh. But this is a fun, catchy record that exemplifies the aughts post-punk revival in many ways. I would actually say it's aged rather well. The big hit track may be Take Me Out, but for me it's not head and shoulders above the rest. I'd put another four or five songs in the same tier. Even though this was my first time hearing their debut, this album felt nostalgic. Sure, it's not at the level of what The Strokes were recording at this time, but Franz Ferdinand s/t is still a worthy listen and a very good time. I'll be listening again. 3.5/5.

~~~~~

2. My favorite of those is Life by The Cardigans, with a caveat: it's very important to listen to the original Swedish track list (the one on BEA), which is great. The international reissue is just a weird jumble of tracks from their first two Swedish albums, making it highly redundant.

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Life by The Cardigans

If that version is too hard to track down, try this very good album:

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Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Unde...na Del Rey

~~~~~

3. BEA Top Albums By Decade

30s: 1. Negro Sinful Songs - Lead Belly
40s: 3. The Midnight Special (And Other Southern Prison Songs) - Lead Belly
50s: 11. Berry Is On Top - Chuck Berry
60s: 64. The Who Sell Out - The Who
70s: 62. Hotel California - Eagles
80s: 63. The Unforgettable Fire - U2
90s: 82. The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers
00s: 70. Fear Of A Blank Planet - Porcupine Tree
10s: 77. Hand. Cannot. Erase. - Steven Wilson
20s: 16. A Light For Attracting Attention - The Smile
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[LedZep]

(1)

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Life by The Cardigans
I'm not sure why I don't listen to The Cardigans more often. Excellent singles, pretty consistently fun albums, one of the best indie pop/twee bands around. I've heard this one before, but I think it was the US version. Anyway, this Swedish tracklist gives First Band on the Moon a run for its money. It's a more diverse and interesting album, but the mentioned follow up has all the hits. Closing Time is the highlight here, along with several other cool tunes like Carnival, Daddy's Car, Tomorrow, Sunday Circus Song... Goes straight to my fake overall chart.

(2)
The Unforgettable Fire is my favourite U2 album. It's a mix of their early post-punk style (which you like Bay iirc) and the more poppy U2.

(3)
Picks from BEA metal charts, 2023 wishlist, some other cool stuff.
R marks relistens

Pyrrhon - Mother of Virtues (AfterHours)
Today Is The Day - Sadness Will Prevail (R)
Lana Del Rey - Did you know there was a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
MIKE - Burning Desire
Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities and the Maple Death
Sempra - The Calling
Junior Boys - Last Exit
Ultravox - Ha! Ha! Ha!
NEU - NEU! '75 (R?)
The Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[Rhyner]

(1)
I posted in here a few years ago but never followed up. The album chosen for me was:

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Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
...which I had heard many times, and since then have listened to many times more. As baystateoftheart rightfully pointed out, this was bending the rules a bit. Fair enough, I'll change my process for selecting albums this time, to something more in the spirit of the game.

As for Loveless, it's a well-known all-time classic, according to just about any reliable source you could name. I don't have much to add to the mountains of analysis, praise, dissection, and critique that are already out there. It's a fuzzed-out dream of an album. Sometimes when I listen to it I like it a lot, and sometimes it doesn't do much for me. It's a weird combination of very pretty sounds/melodies and almost grating noise. In fact, it took me probably six or seven listens before I even began to appreciate it. I think I can see why some people would think it's one of the best things ever, but it just doesn't have that visceral effect on me that it would require for me to feel the same way. In my experience it's not an album that commensurately rewards full-attention, scrutinizing listens. I prefer it as background music. I like it, but it's not one of my favorites ever.

69/100 (which for me is a good score, by the way; I don't believe in giving absurdly high scores to every good album--use the whole scale!)
#214 on my overall list

(2)
Try Junior Boys. Sounds interesting.

(3)
Here's one album from each of the first ten pages (20 per page) of albums I've not yet rated on BEA. I've tried to choose from each page the album I'm least familiar with.

384. Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand (2004)
451. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix (2009)
527. Piñata by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib (2014)
633. Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts (2018)
673. Kick by INXS (1987)
758. Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes (1968)
824. Canción Animal by Soda Stereo (1990)
855. The Shape Of Punk To Come (A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts) by Refused (1998)
892. Re by Café Tacuba (1994)
910. Weezer (White Album) by Weezer (2016)

[EyeKanFly]

1.

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Angels & Devils by The Bug (UK)
I remember not liking what I’ve heard by The Bug, but not really why other than that it felt like the kind of 90s trance I’m not into despite being from a decade later. I think I found London Zoo a bit boring. Angels & Devils was definitely not boring, though not entirely my cup of tea. The tracks featuring Death Grips and Flowdan were easily the highlights, and the rest was a tad slower and more 90s-style electronica rather than the 2010s-style electronica in the Death Grips collab.
3/5, compared to 2/5 for London Zoo.

2.
Am I going to recommend Franz Ferdinand for the 2nd time in a month? Yes, yes I am.

3.
Acclaimed Music best "bubbling under" albums of the 2010s (https://acclaimedmusic.net/year/2010-19a.htm:
- Hell on Heels by Pistol Annies (2011)
- Public Strain by Women (2010)
- Quiet Signs by Jessica Pratt (2019)
- Hot Thoughts by Spoon (2017)
- More Than Any Other Day by Ought (2014)
- Oshin by DIIV (2012)
- Assume Form by James Blake (2019)
- Relatives in Descent by Protomartyr (2017)
- Hope Downs by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (2018)
- Everything in Between by No Age (2010)
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Rhyner]

(1)

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Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
Prior to re-listening for this game, I didn't have a clear mental "image" of what this album sounded like. I knew I had heard it before multiple times (and had heard the song Take Me Out quite a lot), but for whatever reason it hadn't stuck with me, aside from its vague positioning in genre-space. Then I listened to it again the other day for the first time in years and it all came flooding back. I think I've heard this album many, many times. I used to carpool with a friend to university. This seems like it was the kind of music he was listening to back then, and I bet he had this thing on all the time because every nook and cranny of it had the familiarity of a once oft-trodden path.

As for the music itself, I think it's pretty good. I generally like the album's sound, which is clearly of that early to mid noughties indie rock crowd (The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, and Bloc Party bear the strongest resemblance in my mind). Unfortunately I don't think there's too much about this that makes it stand out among the others. The songs are perhaps a bit too repetitive, merely switching back and forth between two or three catchy hooks without much in the way artfulness. The clear exception to this rule is that tempo change-up in Take Me Out, and I think that's likely the reason this song is generally considered the standout. They try a kinda similar thing in the opening track, but I think that attempt is a bit of a dud.

Regardless, as a whole it's a solid album. It's energetic and fun, and I'd be content to tap my toe to it pretty much any time.

63/100
#653 on my overall list

(2)
Check out Jessica Pratt. I listened to that album, just one time, a couple years ago. All I remember is that she had an interesting voice. I think I found it somewhat off-putting, but it could potentially be a grower.

(3)
Here's one album from each of the first ten pages (20 per page) of albums I've not yet rated on BEA. I've tried to choose from each page the album I'm least familiar with.

1: 411. Zen Arcade by Hüsker Dü (1984)
2: 452. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix (2009)
3: 632. Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts (2018)
4: 666. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey (2014)
5: 700. "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino (2016)
6: 758. Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes (1968)
7: 824. Canción Animal by Soda Stereo (1990)
8: 855. The Shape Of Punk To Come (A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts) by Refused (1998)
9: 892. Re by Café Tacuba (1994)
10: 910. Weezer (White Album) by Weezer (2016)

[baystateoftheart]

1.

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The Unforgettable Fire by U2

This is indeed a transitional album right at the midpoint between War and The Joshua Tree in both style and vibe. As someone who prefers the former, there's plenty to enjoy on The Unforgettable Fire. Pride is one of their better hits, the post-punk tracks are good, and this is a very nice record that flows well. Not enough highlights to measure up to War, but I still comfortably prefer this over what was to come (much of which is also quite good). Starting it at a high 3.5/5.

~~~~~

2. I love this album:

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Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes

~~~~~

3. BEA Top Albums By Decade

30s: 1. Negro Sinful Songs - Lead Belly
40s: 3. The Midnight Special (And Other Southern Prison Songs) - Lead Belly
50s: 11. Berry Is On Top - Chuck Berry
60s: 62. The Who Sell Out - The Who
70s: 62. Hotel California - Eagles
80s: 69. Avalon - Roxy Music
90s: 82. The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers
00s: 71. Fear Of A Blank Planet - Porcupine Tree
10s: 78. Hand. Cannot. Erase. - Steven Wilson
20s: 16. A Light For Attracting Attention - The Smile
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[LedZep]

(1)

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Last Exit by Junior Boys
Junior Boys are a Canadian electronic pop group, founded in 1999. Last Exit is their debut album after they caught the attention of the mainstream by having their early songs remixed by Fennesz and Manitoba/Caribou. The album is some fun, out-there synthpop. The glitchy sound design reminds me of some other early 2000s artists like Aco and Bjork, maybe even Sweet Trip. The music's not as interesting as any of them, but it's much groovier, at times funky and mostly very fun. What separates them from the mold is the reliance on microhouse, tech house and similar early 00s electronic grooves. Those generic tech house parts are especially very much of its time, and it's not a sound I enjoy. The other parts of the equation are more tasteful, and the mix of everything early 2000s is intriguing even when it doesn't fully work. It's a shame they didn't have better songwriting chops to fully realize their potential. Low 7.5/10

(2)
Fear Of A Blank Planet is my second fave Porcupine Tree album. It's a quintessential 00s prog album, give it a try.

(3)
Picks from BEA metal charts, 2023 wishlist, some other cool stuff.
R marks relistens

Pyrrhon - Mother of Virtues (AfterHours)
Today Is The Day - Sadness Will Prevail (R)
Kali Malone - All Life Long
Lana Del Rey - Did you know there was a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
MIKE - Burning Desire
Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities and the Maple Death
Blur - The Ballad of Darren
Ultravox - Ha! Ha! Ha!
NEU - NEU! '75 (R?)
Frank Zappa - Waka / Jawaka
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[EyeKanFly]

1.

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Quiet Signs by Jessica Pratt
The album title is apt. It reminds me a lot of the music of Joe Hisiashi for Studio Ghibli movies, which can work excellently as background music for quiet reflection or as active listening, still mostly relaxing though. I’ve never listened to anything by Pratt before, and her voice was a bit off-putting (especially after the excellent instrumental first track), but she grew on me by the end.

At under 28 minutes, I wish this album were longer. There’s some excellent stuff in here, with incredible production that makes me feel like I’m the lone listener while Pratt (with producer Al Carlson) plays live in a small church or farmhouse. This is what I wanted Áine O'Dwyer’s Music for Church Cleaners to sound like, but I was so off-put by O’Dwyer’s other sort of boring ambient music that I never got around to Church Cleaners.

Quiet Signs is minimal without being too minimal, although I will say I’ve been really getting into minimalism over the past few months or so. The “Lofi Girl” YouTube channel (which is apparently also a music label?) mostly goes with hip hop beats, but if you want that “lofi” feel with indie/folk/pop rather than hip hop, Jessica Pratt perfectly fits that mold.

2.
Neu! 75!

3.
Acclaimed Music best "bubbling under" albums of the 2010s (https://acclaimedmusic.net/year/2010-19a.htm:
- Hell on Heels by Pistol Annies (2011)
- Public Strain by Women (2010)
- Hot Thoughts by Spoon (2017)
- More Than Any Other Day by Ought (2014)
- Oshin by DIIV (2012)
- Relatives in Descent by Protomartyr (2017)
- Hope Downs by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (2018)
- Everything in Between by No Age (2010)
- Rich Gang: Tha Tour Part 1 by Young Thug, Birdman & Rich Homie Quan (2014)
- Poison Season by Destroyer (2015)
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Rhyner]

(1)

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Os Mutantes by Os Mutantes
There's not much about this that gets me very excited. I appreciate the experimental instrumentation and general willingness to be their own unconventional selves (while also borrowing elements from other artists, such as The Beatles or the artists they cover), but appreciation doesn't directly translate into enjoyment. It's alright. Some songs (*cough* Bat Macumba *cough*) are way too repetitive. Perhaps there's a cultural barrier to enjoyment. There's definitely a language barrier, although I looked up a translation of the lyrics and they didn't seem like anything particularly special. In all, it's something I'd be fine with putting on every now and then, but not something I want in my regular listening rotation.

51/100
#1308 on my overall list

(2)
Spoon some hot thoughts in through your ears.

(3)
Here's one album from each of the first ten pages (20 per page) of albums I've not yet rated on BEA. I've tried to choose from each page the album I'm least familiar with.

1: 409. Zen Arcade by Hüsker Dü (1984)
2: 453. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix (2009)
3: 623. Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts (2018)
4: 659. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey (2014)
5: 685. "Awaken, My Love!" by Childish Gambino (2016)
6: 789. Clics Modernos by Charly García (1983)
7: 800. Canción Animal by Soda Stereo (1990)
8: 853. The Shape Of Punk To Come (A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts) by Refused (1998)
9: 870. Syro by Aphex Twin (2014)
10: 918. Weezer (White Album) by Weezer (2016)

[baystateoftheart]

1.

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Fear Of A Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree

I'm surprised I enjoy this as much as I do. Modern-sounding prog rock / prog metal is typically not my thing sonically. And if lyrics about alienation and ennui in modern life don't resonate when I hear them from Radiohead, a band with a more appealing musical palette, what chance should they have here? Maybe it's the fact that the lyrics are woven into a more cohesive, blunt, and unrelenting concept album that does the trick for me. Fear Of A Blank Planet is a depressing listen and at its best, an arresting one. I'll start it at a low 3.5/5 and will listen again.

~~~~~

2. This is a great album imo:

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Syro by Aphex Twin

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3. Albums of the Year: Grammys + Pazz & Jop

Grammys

2021: We Are - Jon Batiste
2014: Morning Phase - Beck
2007: River: The Joni Letters - Herbie Hancock
2006: Taking The Long Way - Dixie Chicks
2004: Genius Loves Company - Ray Charles

Pazz & Jop

2006: Modern Times - Bob Dylan
1999: Play - Moby
1992: 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days In The Life Of… - Arrested Development
1990: Ragged Glory - Neil Young And Crazy Horse
1985: Little Creatures - Talking Heads
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