Best Ever Albums

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:58:46 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/22/2014 20:58

meccalecca wrote:

Yeah, the brothers who create the animated shorts were close college friends. They don't run the whole organization of StoryCorps though. not sure how much you know about it, but StoryCorps records thousands of stories. My friends just work with them to bring a handful to life. It's really fascinating. They travel out to meet the people from the stories and learn loads about them, and study their mannerisms in order to get the animated details right.

Oh I knew most of that from the television special and the kickstarter page but I didn't know that they flew out to meet the people again to study their behaviour. Then again, I suppose that makes sense when you consider the fluidity and individualistic expression of the animations that alter for every video. Still though it's a great series. I always hoped it would get picked up by PBS.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:48:15 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 20:48

CubaZed wrote:

Wait you know the StoryCorps creator? That's awesome. I've been following their channel for two years. They are beautiful shorts on human nature and the designs of them are so perfectly humbling.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:35:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/22/2014 20:35

meccalecca wrote:

Yesterday, I was busy cleaning the apartment and then went out for most of the night to say goodbye to my friend who's moving to LA.

Since I have the space, you guys should check out the animated series that he and his brother created. They air on PBS, and have even won some prestigious awards. The animation is beautiful and the StoryCorps stories are really really heartfelt.

Wait you know the StoryCorps creator? That's awesome. I've been following their channel for two years. They are beautiful shorts on human nature and the designs of them are so perfectly humbling.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:21:40 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 20:21

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Metti, Una Sera A Cena by Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone is best known for his brilliant Spaghetti Western soundtracks, but this one is just as fabulous while sounding nothing like anything found in The Good The Bad & The Ugly or Fistful of Dollars. Mysterious easy listening lounge music.

Link

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 16:14:24 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 20:14

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There Is No-One What Will Take Care Of You by Palace Brothers

"Cmon, sing happy songs!"

Such beautiful gloom. Country music the way it was intended to be.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 14:40:26 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 18:40

#2

A-Z by Colin Newman

Wire's first two albums appear on hundreds of charts, and 154 is also on more than a few, so it's a shame that 1980 Colin Newman's solo debut gets so little love here. As good as Wire's first three records are, Newman's debut is just as great if not better. I was never a huge fan of Pink Flag growing up, but once I heard Chairs Missing, things started to click for me. The I heard This Mortal Coil's covers of "Not Me" and "Alone". I had to see who wrote the originals. To my surprise, it was none other than Wire's Colin Newman.

A-Z feels more accessible and yet more experimental than any of Wire's first three albums, mixing in Eno-like funky synth soundscapes into Newman's oddball art pop and post punk elements.

Link

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Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 12:41:12 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 16:41

Since it's my final day as the center of attention here and I selfishly never want it to end, my last day will focus on a handful of my favorite records that tend to get overlooked on BEA for one reason or another. Hopefully, you'll check them out and fall in love.

First up:

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The Great Destroyer by Low

I Could Live in Hope gets all the love. It was Low's opening statement and will continue on as one of the finest representatives of slowcore. Oddly enough, BEA's love for Low kind of stops with their debut. And as much as I love how they started, the band's entire discography is thrilling, with just enough variation to keep them interesting from album to album. Many fans focus on their debut and Things We Lost In The Fire as the pinnacles of their career, while I've often seen The Great Destroyer treated as the black sheep. Lacking the subtlety of their debut, The Great Destroyer is Low's biggest sounding record to date. It's a beefy rock record with hulking guitars. But I also believe this is some of Alan Sparhawk's best songwriting and contains brilliant lyrics. It's often self-referential, shedding light on Sparhawk's struggles as a songwriter and unwillingness to thread water.

Exhibit A:

Link

Exhibit B:

Link

Exhibit C:

Link

This one really hits close to home, as I've suffered from temporary deafness.

I almost decided to give my Low attention to Drums & Guns, which only appears on 13 charts, many of which are my own. It's quickly risen to be my 2nd favorite Low record, and contains possibly their best song "Murderer".

Whatever the album, Low rules. And they're certainly not a one album band.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 12:18:53 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 16:18

So, back to the music, while cleaning the apartment, i went back to re-listening to some stuff from 2014

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Swarm by Atomic Ape

This one comes from the same label as Mr Bungle-alums Secret Chiefs 3 and is a similarly instrumental multi-genre melting pot. It's good, but lacks that special something that makes SC3 so great.

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The Serpent & The Sphere by Agalloch

First listen and this is really great. I think what really wins me over with this record is the neo-folk elements and the deep dark texture of the album.

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Love by Amen Dunes

Starts off really strong and trails off a little towards the end, but an excellent folk album with a good sound.

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Underneath The Rainbow by The Black Lips

I kind of late this band. They're total douchebags who enjoy pissing into each other's mouths on stage. But they're also a kick into the ass to an often unexciting live rock show, and every once in a while they cut a really fun anthemic garage rock song. While most of the record is rather boring. "Smiling" is a fun track, as is "I Don't Wanna Go Home"

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Back in the day, I saw Black Lips at an outdoor show. In this picture, you'll find the lead singer floating in the crowd, held up by adoring fans. Those same adoring, and a horribly drunk fans eventually, destroyed the barricade and stormed the stage, eventually cutting the show short. Then lightning bolts erupted in the sky and strong rains poured down upon us all. Trail Of Dead's set was cut.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 12:07:33 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 16:07

Yesterday, I was busy cleaning the apartment and then went out for most of the night to say goodbye to my friend who's moving to LA.

Since I have the space, you guys should check out the animated series that he and his brother created. They air on PBS, and have even won some prestigious awards. The animation is beautiful and the StoryCorps stories are really really heartfelt.

This one's a personal favorite:

Link

They've also been doing Farm League for Cartoon Network

Link

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 11:59:27 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/22/2014 15:59

latenighttv wrote:

Excellent log - trying to get an '80s ballot done for the poll jhereko is running and 'The Whole of the Moon' is in there as one of my top 10 or 12 songs for the decade. Have never properly worked through their full discog but will get round to it soon, hopefully.

Thanks. While I favor This Is The Sea considerably. Fisherman's Blues, A Pagan Place, and their self-titled debut are totally worth listening to.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

latenighttv — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 10:48:41 GMT

Author: latenighttv

Posted: 06/22/2014 14:48

meccalecca wrote:

The Waterboys' This Is The Sea has risen to the highest tier of my favorites.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 11:45:24 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/21/2014 15:45

I don't often spend money these days. It normally just disappears from my account to pay various bills. But today I decided to buy a pair of tickets to see the Replacements in September. This can be a wedding gift from myself to me.

Link

Paul Westerberg, you better not disappoint me.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 18:59:21 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/20/2014 22:59

RepoMan wrote:

This is their best...

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In The Future by Black Mountain

meccalecca wrote:

Also, their side project, Pink Mountaintops have released 4 excellent records.

Ah I remember that cover! Maybe I've seen it in a record shop, very cool indeed. Thank you, I'll check it out, togeter with the Pink Mountaintops's albums!

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 18:48:26 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/20/2014 22:48

So, I kinda shut down for a few hours. Working from home will do that to you. Fridays no longer feel relieving, because they're just like every other day. Lady Lecca has to work tomorrow, so it's like any day of the work. But I'll go catch some friends play a daytime gig. I need to get out more, but the sun is bright and every time you leave your apartment in this city, you lose another 100 dollars to bar tabs, transportation, entertainment, etc. It's dangerous when you're trying to save.

Instead of listening to some of the new albums on my queue, I went and played russian roulette on Plug.dj. And by god, I definitely took some bullets to the brain.

It seems like every room is overrun with Brostep bangers. If it was real life and I were to enter a room like that, I'd check my drink for Rufies. I wonder if this virtual world is filled with virtual date rapists.

And when it's not brostep, it's just really really bad major label "indie" dance pop so soulless it's scary. It's like there's a template and the labels are just changing tones and releasing it as a new product with a different band name.

And then there's the perfectly decent songs destroyed by piss poor remixes
or worse, covers that miss the entire point of the song.

Plug.dj is quick to remind me that the music I like is really not as popular as it might seem on BEA.

I had to create a "And Then Things Get Weird" playlist. Anytime I just can't handle the previously played music, it's my go to. Nothing like The Residents, Fantomas and Natural Snow Buildings to really ruin their sterile environment.

In my frustration, I ended up discovering this incredible Remix of Bjork by Fantomas. This is the correct way how to do a remix. A remix should just be the chorus on repeat over a boring techno beat with the occasional bass drop.

Link

If you ever wanna kill the mood to a party, put this on. Everyone will hate you.

Link

Time to go nom and intoxicate myself with some form of alcohol

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 18:19:25 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/20/2014 22:19

RepoMan wrote:

This is their best...

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In The Future by Black Mountain

Agreed.

Also, their side project, Pink Mountaintops have released 4 excellent records.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:05:05 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/20/2014 21:05

Mies wrote:

I only listened to their self-titled, and I loved it very much. Did they release other great albums or only weak ones like that you put here?

This is their best...

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In The Future by Black Mountain

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 16:56:33 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/20/2014 20:56

meccalecca wrote:

Figured I might as well complete the Black Mountain trilogy.

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Wilderness Heart by Black Mountain

Wasn't thrilled with this one when it came out. And it's still disappointing. Something major is missing from their sound, as they've gone too clean and pretty much sound like a 70s tribute band on this one.

I only listened to their self-titled, and I loved it very much. Did they release other great albums or only weak ones like that you put here?

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 12:58:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/20/2014 16:58

meccalecca wrote:

Since arriving at BEA, The Waterboys' This Is The Sea has risen to the highest tier of my favorites.

Yeah, I gave that a little extra attention in my history listening cause I saw it on your overall. It has a bit of a proggy sound, but I still really liked it. Mainly it just sounded like a talented dude having fun being a rock and roll star. Maybe I'll throw that on next...

Oh, and great ULL, of course. It's unique and makes the rest of us just a little more jealous of your life than we already are.

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 12:23:07 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/20/2014 16:23

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Entropicalia by The Soundcarriers

Another new record discovered via RYM. Enjoyed this much more than Distant Satellites. Relaxing neo-psychedelia.

Link

Re: BEA ULL Mecca Lecca

meccalecca — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 11:24:07 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 06/20/2014 15:24

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Distant Satellites by Anathema

This was ranked high on RYM's 2014 chart, so why not give it a spin. So far, really mixed feelings. There's some quality compositional elements, but it's just so pristine and starts reminding me of Evanescence.

You're not alone is a pretty cool track.

Fan of pompous stadium anthem U2 and Muse might love this. I don't.