Best Ever Albums

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

sheep21 — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:25:26 GMT

Author: sheep21

Posted: 12/21/2012 03:25

Agree

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

jhuik — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:34:26 GMT

Author: jhuik

Posted: 12/20/2012 23:34

Mine is

1. Zero- Pumpkins: yes, very good indication of how I feel about this album and a good microcosm of MCATIS.
2. Backstreets by Springsteen. Not bad but not quite my fave here.
3. Caravan by Van Morrison. See what I mean here?
4. Getting Better from Sgt Peppers: Again, my theory holds very well. Love this track, love this album.
5. Stairway to Heaven, wow.
6. My Wife - the Who. Okay, the theory breaks down. This song is really an acquired taste for me.
7. Glorified G - PJ. Not my favorite on this album but a keeper nonetheless. Not really a microcosm of the album,
8. Breed by Nirvana. Again, not my favourite but not an unfair indication of the album as a whole.
9. Two Headed Boy -Aeroplane by NMH. Yup, fits awesome with the theory.
10. John Wayne Gacey JR by Sufjan Stevens. Yes, good inidcation of how I feel about this album.

So, in summary, my own rule comes out about 6/10 in my own current top ten list.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

jhuik — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:22:26 GMT

Author: jhuik

Posted: 12/20/2012 23:22

I'm not saying I follow this religiously. But in general, there are many albums that use track one as a warmup or they front load the album. In either of those cases, track four is a reasonable belweather for whether the album is any good. Of course this is a very limited way of assessing an album.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

videoheadcleaner — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:52:02 GMT

Author: videoheadcleaner

Posted: 12/19/2012 22:52

My Top 10 of 2012 mix:

Kindness - Gee Wiz
Oren Ambarchi - Fractured Mirror
Dead Can Dance - Amnesia
All India Radio - Golden
Joe McKee - An Open Mine
Grizzly Bear - Yet Again
Jeff Wayne - Forever Autumn
Marconi Union - Always Numb
Mono - Unseen Harbour
Something For Kate - The Kids Will Get The Money

To be honest, most of these are not memorable. Looking at the track listings, the third one was more likable.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

revolver94 — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:56:45 GMT

Author: revolver94

Posted: 12/19/2012 21:56

I'll do mine I guess

Pet Sounds - Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
This is my second favorite song on the album, and by the Beach Boys. So over-representative?

OK Computer - Exit Music (For a Film)
That's fair.

Velvet Underground & Nico - Venus in Furs
That's fair.

Kid A - How To Disappear Completely
Fair again.

Exile in Guyville - Dance of the Seven Veils
Very fair.

Is This It - Barely Legal
Very fair.

Violent Femmes - Add It Up
yeah

this is stupid I'm going to stop

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:08:22 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/19/2012 21:08

There was a period of time in the 90s where I was convinced that the 8th track was the best on every CD. But that has faded over time. It was just a coincidence of my favorite CDs at that time.

I see where you're going since the artist may put what they consider to be their strongest songs at the front so you skip a couple to see if you'll really like the album and not the single.

But I'm not really buy the 4th track rule. I think it's just a random thing if you like the 4th track or not and may not necessarily be a good indication of the rest of the album.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

joedec — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:06:30 GMT

Author: joedec

Posted: 12/19/2012 18:06

The Cure - Love Song

Guns N' Roses - Out Ta Get Me

Prince - Let's Pretend We're Married

Depeche Mode - Halo

Nas - The World is Yours

Marvin Gaye - Save The Children

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Joy Division - Colony

Notorious B.I.G. - Gimme The Loot

Smashing Pumpkins - Hummer

The Smiths - Girlfriend in a Coma

U2 - Until the End of the World

David Bowie - Sound and Vision

Wu Tang Clan - Wu Tang: 7th Chamber

Black Sabbath - Iron Man

Nine Inch Nails - Sanctified

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

pearljammer13 — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 07:21:53 GMT

Author: pearljammer13

Posted: 12/16/2012 12:21

swedenman wrote:

So you never sample albums without listening to the whole thing? That sounds incredibly time-consuming.

typically no, I'll listen to the whole thing online and then decide if I want to order the cd and i'll wait til I get it to listen again. Sometimes I'll listen only the first 4 or 5 songs then if I like it i'll wait til I get the cd to listen to the rest. I don't like listening to songs out of order though, it's a weird obsession. I've just always felt the order of the album is the way the songs are meant to be listened to (when first hearing it). It is time consuming though, your right. Probably the biggest reason I'm not as well listened as many of the users here.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 06:01:46 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/16/2012 11:01

pearljammer13 wrote:

Meh not on board with this one. I've always felt that an artist (for the most part) puts the songs in a certain order because that's the order they want them to be heard. Any time I listen to a new album for the first time, i'll listen to the whole thing start to finish and then decide if it's worth playing again. I'd never judge by just one song. The only way I wouldn't listen to the whole thing is if it was just god awful and I found nothing redeeming about it after 15-20 minutes. Maybe the rule ends up working sometimes, but it's coincidental. I could think of many albums where the 4th song is my favorite, and many where it's my least favorite. Again, I've just always been a firm believer in listening to an album start to finish when getting to know it. Then obviously you tend to jump around and pick favorites as time goes on.

So you never sample albums without listening to the whole thing? That sounds incredibly time-consuming.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 04:01:25 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/16/2012 09:01

pearljammer13 wrote:

Any time I listen to a new album for the first time, i'll listen to the whole thing start to finish and then decide if it's worth playing again.
The only way I wouldn't listen to the whole thing is if it was just god awful and I found nothing redeeming about it after 15-20 minutes.

works for me

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 03:43:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/16/2012 08:43

Lemme see. For my top 10:

A Night at the Opera - You're My Best Friend: Pretty close.
Superunknown - Mailman: Nope. Easily the best song on the album.
Doolittle - I Bleed: Not so much. A good song, but not on par with most of the album.
Automatic for the People - Everybody Hurts: Again, not really on par with most of the album.
Weezer - Buddy Holly: Pretty close. Probably slightly above the average song quality on this album.
Leviathan - Island: Eh, I guess. Probably one of my less favorites, though.
Dark Side of the Moon - Great Gig in the Sky: Not really, but then again no song on this album works too well as a stand-alone (except for Brain Damage).
Nevermind - Breed: Yep.
Toxicity - Jet Pilot: Yep.
Siamese Dream - Hummer: Yep.

Huh. I guess it works for several, but in my experience the 4th track tends to be weaker. Idk.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

pearljammer13 — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:34:29 GMT

Author: pearljammer13

Posted: 12/16/2012 02:34

Meh not on board with this one. I've always felt that an artist (for the most part) puts the songs in a certain order because that's the order they want them to be heard. Any time I listen to a new album for the first time, i'll listen to the whole thing start to finish and then decide if it's worth playing again. I'd never judge by just one song. The only way I wouldn't listen to the whole thing is if it was just god awful and I found nothing redeeming about it after 15-20 minutes. Maybe the rule ends up working sometimes, but it's coincidental. I could think of many albums where the 4th song is my favorite, and many where it's my least favorite. Again, I've just always been a firm believer in listening to an album start to finish when getting to know it. Then obviously you tend to jump around and pick favorites as time goes on.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:29:47 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/16/2012 02:29

it only works for 12.4% of all albums

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Defago — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:31:48 GMT

Author: Defago

Posted: 12/16/2012 01:31

Jasonconfused wrote:

Seems like one of those faulty logic things. While it could be true, there's probably just as much chance on the fifth track, or any other track. I might be more inclined to believe this if there were a reason for WHY this would be true. Like the firtrack would make more sense because it's the first impression the artist is trying to make. Or the last track because the artist wants you to remember it. Even then I don't find those to be true. A much better indicator I find is title tracks.

Pet Sounds.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Jasonconfused — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:24:26 GMT

Author: Jasonconfused

Posted: 12/16/2012 01:24

Seems like one of those faulty logic things. While it could be true, there's probably just as much chance on the fifth track, or any other track. I might be more inclined to believe this if there were a reason for WHY this would be true. Like the firtrack would make more sense because it's the first impression the artist is trying to make. Or the last track because the artist wants you to remember it. Even then I don't find those to be true. A much better indicator I find is title tracks.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:23:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/16/2012 01:23

I have more of a minute-rule. About 10-15 minutes, maybe more.

If I really don't like the first 15 minutes, I hope they grow on me for when I try it again later. It depends, though. If I know the sounds in the album are something I'm not used to, I'll put in the effort to hear the whole thing through.

Re: The Fourth Track Rule

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:14:57 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/16/2012 01:14

jhuik wrote:

A rule I have used over the past few years and have found it to work quite well. When 'trying out' a new band's new album, go directly to the fourth track and give it a listen. The fourth track of most albums is a very good indicator of your overall "like or dislike" of the album. Agree? Disagree?

Not necessarily, but for some albums that theory might work.

The Fourth Track Rule

jhuik — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:03:35 GMT

Author: jhuik

Posted: 12/16/2012 01:03

A rule I have used over the past few years and have found it to work quite well. When 'trying out' a new band's new album, go directly to the fourth track and give it a listen. The fourth track of most albums is a very good indicator of your overall "like or dislike" of the album. Agree? Disagree?