Best Ever Albums

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

denmarkman — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 18:58:12 GMT

Author: denmarkman

Posted: 09/29/2014 22:58

Either my favorite or second favorite of hers. Her first two albums are just untouchable.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:58:05 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/29/2014 15:58

RepoMan wrote:

They actually sound pretty awesome! :D

cool! thanks for posting the video 😄 once upon a time i had a copy of their album, and there's a chance it's still hanging around in a box somewhere. i may have to go hunting for it!

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

WindowAbove — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:15:02 GMT

Author: WindowAbove

Posted: 09/29/2014 11:15

Probably my third favorite from her, prefer her first three albums the most in her discography

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 22:14:59 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/29/2014 02:14

philbutrin wrote:

i was in college and totally not in touch with the local music scene, which i regret now. my only connection was that i worked with a guy who was in a band called Stained Rug Theory. i never saw them play, and i don't remember what their record sounded like, but knowing the guy, they were probably weird :-)

Link

They actually sound pretty awesome! 😁

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 22:04:10 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/29/2014 02:04

RepoMan wrote:

What were u doing in Providence? Providence ended up having a wicked cool music scene in the 90s when lived on the East side with kickass bands like Six Finger Satellite, Arab on Radar, Scarce, Lightning Bolt, etc.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 22:01:35 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/29/2014 02:01

philbutrin wrote:

one additional note: the funny/frustrating thing was that i actually lived in Providence in the mid 80's, when the Muses were gigging at clubs around town. but at the time my musical tastes were very much top-40, so i had no idea they existed. looking back, i really wish i had taken advantage of the opportunity to see them in the early days!

Me too! Well, Warwick actually but close enough that I could bike to Thayer Street. I was only in junior high in the mid-80s, but once I got my license in the late 80s I started going to shows at The Rocket and AS220. Got to see Throwing Muses once, and they were awesome.

What were u doing in Providence? Providence ended up having a wicked cool music scene in the 90s when lived on the East side with kickass bands like Six Finger Satellite, Arab on Radar, Scarce, Lightning Bolt, etc.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:48:40 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/29/2014 01:48

RepoMan wrote:

@philbutrin & Gowi: Have either you read Kristin Hersh's book "Rat Girl?" I've heard great things about it & thinking about picking it up. It's incredible how fresh & inventive their music still sounds. Nobody else really sounds like them. Easily some of the best American underground music in the 80s. House Tornado is sooo fucking underrated.

yes, i would definitely recommend Rat Girl (which has the title Paradoxical Undressing outside the US). it focuses on the year 1985 and tells the fascinating story of the early days of the Muses, including the onset of Kristin's songwriting, and the band's eventual signing to 4AD. the only thing i disliked about it was that it ended... i wanted to read more 😄

one additional note: the funny/frustrating thing was that i actually lived in Providence in the mid 80's, when the Muses were gigging at clubs around town. but at the time my musical tastes were very much top-40, so i had no idea they existed. looking back, i really wish i had taken advantage of the opportunity to see them in the early days!

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:44:51 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/29/2014 01:44

@philbutrin & Gowi: Have either you read Kristin Hersh's book "Rat Girl?" I've heard great things about it & thinking about picking it up. It's incredible how fresh & inventive their music still sounds. Nobody else really sounds like them. Easily some of the best American underground music in the 80s. House Tornado is sooo fucking underrated.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 13:01:39 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/28/2014 17:01

RepoMan wrote:

What are your favorite Hersh solo albums? I LOVE Hips & Makers and Sunny Border Blue, but that's all I have.

those are my two favorites 😄 to me they are well ahead of the rest. although kristin's never done anything i dislike, i don't find myself listening to the other solo albums very often.

after those, i'd probably choose Crooked and Strange Angels. The Grotto has tracks i really like, but it's not an album i ever play in its entirety. Sky Motel and Learn To Sing Like A Star are similar... there are tracks i like but i rarely listen to the whole thing.

i'd also recommend the "10-4 All" series, which her site describes as:

These are very special & unique, solo acoustic, live-to-tape versions of these songs, encompassing most of Kristin’s career. Each volume contains 12 or 13 songs in alphabetical order and are available in MP3 format.

and some of my favorite kristin music comes from her work with her newest band 50 Foot Wave... it's the punkier counterpart to her quieter solo work. my faves are the 50 Foot Wave EP and the Golden Ocean EP.

also, Throwing Muses released a series called The Seasons Sessions, which features the band recording stripped-down versions of 25 songs picked from across the whole Muses discography. i really love the collection, which can be downloaded for free here.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

mickilennial — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:30:47 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:30

RepoMan wrote:

What are your favorite Hersh solo albums? I LOVE Hips & Makers and Sunny Border Blue, but that's all I have.

Hips and Makers is the best she's done solo, I started with The Grotto which for me (at the time) was underwhelming and I wrote her solo work off for longer than I probably should have if I should even have at all. At this point I also like Strange Angels, Sunny Border Blue, Sky Motel, and Murder, Misery and Then Goodnight and I'm going to check out 2010's Crooked soonish. This whole conversation got me into a Hersh mood so I'll probably listen to Hips within the hour lol.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:24:45 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:24

philbutrin wrote:

Red Heaven's also good if you haven't heard it. it was the first Muses album without Tanya Donelly, and their first as a three-piece band, so i think some fans were a bit ambivalent about it at the time. there was a limited version that included a solo acoustic set by Kristin that set the stage for Hips and Makers...at the time it was really interesting to hear Muses songs transposed into an acoustic setting.

What are your favorite Hersh solo albums? I LOVE Hips & Makers and Sunny Border Blue, but that's all I have.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:15:07 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:15

RepoMan wrote:

I'll check them both out this week. I'd heard bad things about Limbo so never got around to checking it out.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:07:42 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:07

Gowienczyk wrote:

Limbo and their second self-titled were pretty clean and crisp by Throwing Muses' standards.

i'd pick Limbo as another good starting point. i love the second self-titled disc, but i've always felt a little so-so on the production... i find the sound a bit muddy, and when i listen to it i end up adjusting the equalization on whatever music player i'm using. but it's a great batch of songs, and i loved having Tanya's backing vocals back in the mix.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:04:53 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:04

Gowienczyk wrote:

Limbo and their second self-titled were pretty clean and crisp by Throwing Muses' standards.

I'll check them both out this week. I'd heard bad things about Limbo so never got around to checking it out.

btw, I think my wife will LOVE Neko Case so I'll turn her on to that as well when I get back home. 😁

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:03:10 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:03

RepoMan wrote:

Yeah, I can see that. I had the advantage of kind of knowing how newbands approaches discographies. When I was trying to turn my wife on to Kristin Hersh & The Throwing Muses (my wife was already a Belly fan) though, I burnt her The Real Ramona for her car. My wife likes bright, clean production. :(

i was introduced to them pretty randomly... i was at a friend's house and we were hanging out and listening to music, and she pulled Hunkpapa out of her collection and told me that someone had given it to her and she hated it, so she offered it to me.

i'd never heard of the band, so i gave it a spin... the little guitar intro to "Devil's Roof" started, then the drums kicked in, and then kristin started singing... to this day it remains one of my favorite songs. i've always been a fan of female vocalists who don't have traditionally beautiful voices, so that helped 😄

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

mickilennial — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:01:13 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 09/28/2014 16:01

RepoMan wrote:

Limbo and their second self-titled were pretty clean and crisp by Throwing Muses' standards.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:55:53 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/28/2014 15:55

philbutrin wrote:

the self-titled debut came next, and it still holds a special place in my musical heart.it's an amazing album, but i know folks who really don't care for it even though they enjoy some of the later albums.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

philbutrin — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:47:14 GMT

Author: philbutrin

Posted: 09/28/2014 15:47

RepoMan wrote:

I think The Real Ramona and their debut are both fine places to start. I started with The Real Ramona myself. Not surprisingly, I like their debut better, but both albums are essential college rock imo.

i got my introduction through Hunkpapa. the self-titled debut came next, and it still holds a special place in my musical heart... i distinctly remember the moment i was sitting in my apartment and "Hate My Way" came on, and i was mesmerized... and then "Vicky's Box", and "Rabbits Dying"... and finally closing with "Delicate Cutters". it's an amazing album, but i know folks who really don't care for it even though they enjoy some of the later albums.

for me, there's not an album in the Muses catalog that i don't like 😄

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:42:23 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/28/2014 15:42

newbands1 wrote:

When trying a new artist I usually pick the first album from their discography that is well received e.g.Bob Dylan rather than start with the Self-titled debut I go for The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.So that way I get to see the artistic growth(or lack of).

That's funny. I just wrote something about people starting with Freewheelin' in lieu of his debut in my chart just a couple of weeks ago. I started with Freewheelin' myself for the same reason u gave even though, again like u, I almost always start at the very beginning of an artist's discog. Anyways, I think Dylan's debut is awesome & explain why here...

Repo wrote:

Dylan was a punk rocker, Dylan was a punk rocker!

Yet even Another Side of Bob Dylan. Too rough and raw for the well mannered Greenwich Village folk revival set, Dylan’s debut often gets bypassed by Dylan neophytes. And that’s crazy because this here is the best glimpse of what Dylan was really into (Woody, more Woody, and a white boy take on the rough & tumble delta blues that would make even the Stones proud) and where he would eventually head before he would cover his tracks, crafting the single greatest mystifying mythology of any rocker who chose to stick around.

Dylan’s no fool, he knew which way the wind blew back in the early 60s and promptly put his talents to churning out the best protest folk rock since Woody on the his next three long players until he got big enough & confident enough that he could call his own shots and plug in. At which point his vision had matured enough that he no longer sounded like anything either before or since on Bringing It All Back Home. Those who were surprised or affronted, gawking open mouthed in the first row, had probably never properly digested THIS, his opening remarks.

Aside: Don’t think for a second that I don’t love, love, love Freewheelin’ and ASOBD. As I’ve said before, geniuses like Dylan can transcend whatever genre they put their talents to, even ivory tower protest folk.

Re: Album of the day (#1402): Rid Of Me by P.J. Harvey

mickilennial — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:41:10 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 09/28/2014 15:41

RepoMan wrote:

My first one was Limbo and I still like their second self-titled a lot too.