Best Ever Albums

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 21:43:52 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 11/25/2025 02:43

Played Balinese gamelan for the first time tonight. The class was taught by a real Balinese musician who is visiting my school's campus for a performance. Really rusty, because I haven't been able to play drums in years, but I got the hang of it by the end. Luckily there were enough other people around that they drowned out my horrible timing for the first 15-20 minutes, lol.

The open seat when I got there was on one end of the reyong (?) possibly bonang(?) Most of the other folk there were actual music performance students, but they told us that anyone could show up. They're trying to have a campus ensemble again, so maybe I'll go back if they get started.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:31:45 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 11/20/2025 05:31

Long time, no post 😁

Still listening to a lot, both new and old.

Added some solid records to the collection.

Working on a thesis and applying for PhD programs.

Currently writing a paper on sound studies/soundscapes for one of my semester courses. Thinking on focusing on albums that attempt to replicate "cold sounds".

Two classic favorites of mine:

Substrata (1997) by Biosphere

Permafrost (1993) by Thomas Köner

If anyone has suggestions or thoughts on "what makes something sound cold", then I'm all ears.

Peace & Love 🥰

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:34:12 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 03/28/2025 04:34

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Jhazmyne's Lullaby by 7 Angels 7 Plagues

Ok, this album is not from 1995, but I listened to it for the first time today; it had been on my list for awhile. Rated very highly on RYM, then I come here to see that it has no listens and no ratings. INSANITY. Unique Metalcore with elements of Emo (Midwest), acoustic elements, and even a beautiful purely piano track. I'm not going to go that in depth on this, but when I saw that there was nothing for this album, I thought it would be a good idea to try and spread the word. If Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Emo type stuff is something that you vibe with, then this is surely worth a listen.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 02/28/2025 05:19

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Gold by Starflyer 59

Hey kids! You ever wanted your Shoegaze to be heavier and more misanthropic?!? Well, Starflyer 59 have you covered! With tracks like "When You Feel Miserable" and "Stop Wasting Your Whole Life", Starflyer 59 certainly evoke a vibe of complete and utter hopelessness...with loud guitars. Situated somewhere between Low and Failure (the bands not the dispositions) Starflyer 59 encapsulates a Gen X malaise that few other bands of the time can truly claim. Perfectly themed music for the current state of affairs in the former United States of America.

Seriously though, a great album. Their debut "Silver" is also worth a listen if you dig this. Slowcore, Shoegaze, Noise, etc. What more could you want?

1995 30th Anniversary

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 23:03:59 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 02/24/2025 04:03

In the interest of writing a few little blurbs about some albums that are turning 30 years old this year...

Why?

Well, because this old chunk of coal is also turning 30 this year.

How well do these albums age? How well have I aged?

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Worship The Glitch by ELpH Vs Coil

In the world of John Balance and co. ELpH vs Coil tends to be one of the releases that seems to fly a bit under the radar.

"Worship the Glitch" was released during an in between period for the band. After the underground successes of their late 80s and early 90s albums, the band came back in 1995, 4 years after their last proper LP "Love's Secret Domain" in 1991, rebranded as "ELph vs. Coil".

This "rebrand" was not without warrant. This was a marked departure from the band's earlier sound, and it is also unique compared to their work as "Time Machines" in 1998, and the "Musick To Play In The Dark" series that would come later.

From Discogs, here is the description of what "ELph" was:

The musical equipment is as much as a contributing member to any musical group as any other person. ELpH is the entity Coil use to describe what musical compositions come out of the equipment that are sometimes unrehearsed or consciously thought of.

During the studio sessions that developed into what would become "Worship the Glitch", Coil became aware of random compositions emitting from their gear, and were at odds with constant "accidents" that were perpetually plaguing the recordings. The band called these unintentional emissions "ELpH": a conceptual being that is one part physical equipment, one part celestial being... constantly playing the role of trickster, throwing a wrench into Coil's methodology. Eventually, these accidents and mistakes were embraced by the band, and the process of misusing audio software to create intentional "errors" was adopted as a musical technique. The acceptance of the "mistake", and the use of discovered mistakes as intentional elements slowly became the drive and concept behind the album, thus birthing the title "Worship the Glitch".

"Worship The Glitch" features no vocals from Balance or any other instrumentation; I believe this was the band's first "fully electronic" album. The absence of the vocals further centers the album around the mechanical and indeterminate aspects of the music. To what extent the members of Coil had in making this album is hard to determine at all as a sticker on the original release states that it was "untouched by human hands".

Here are some further notes on the CD release:

The CD has no printing or graphics at all, no color, making it impossible at first glance to determine which is the playing side as both look identical. The playing side is the one with non-mirrored matrix/runout data.

[From sticker on jewel case:]
This is a Sidereal™ Sound Recording untouched by human hands
100% Recycled Sound

Durations are not listed on the release.
[/i]

Not knowing the production process behind this album before I gave it a listen a few days ago, I am dumbstruck by a few things.

One, as the title implies, it is one of the earliest releases on discogs to have "Glitch" as a genre tag. It's not quite what I think of when I think of the prime glitch releases which would come around 1999-2001 (Or later that year with Oval's 94 Diskont which I'm sure I might talk about as well). While a decent amount of tracks I would not categorize as "glitch" in the sense that I know it to be, a track like "Opium Hum" was definitely ahead of it's time by a few years. "The Halliwell Hammers" is probably my other favorite track on this, all three "versions" giving a different flavor of decay and spontaneity on the main theme.

I do wish the album would have remained completely vocal-less, but there are some weird little pitched up rantings on two of the tracks near the end of the album "Decadent & Symmetrical" and "Ended". Should have mentioned that a lack of percussion on this album adds to the kind of "possessed equipment" thing going on. It also takes it away from the industrial music of Coil's earlier days as industrial music tends to rely heavily on percussive elements thematically and musically.

One other thing I thought about after I learned of the production of this album was the encroaching usage and availability of AI in music production. Reading the thoughts behind this album, and the concept of using the machine's limitations and errors as a means to create something new, has me relatively hopeful. What will happen if AI programs are given the opportunities to create art with minimal human input? Will we get something we've truly never heard before? (IDK could have already happened by now. This shit moves too fast 😨 ). It actually kind of makes me feel better about the situation in a way; although, I can't fully articulate why that is.

Anyways, I had a good time with this one, and I look forward to getting around to some other albums from 1995 to see how they stack up.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 01:09:53 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 09/29/2024 05:09

Well, I certainly have not been active on the site much this year 😨 , but I hope things are going well for y'all.

I'm not so sure I'll be active much in the future either, but I would like to say that I have enjoyed my time here over the years, and I'm very grateful for the good conversations and deeper appreciation and understanding of music that I have received from the collective knowledge of users on this site.

I am overjoyed to be back in school, and I have had ample opportunity in courses to share some of my, ahem, particular musical ideas with people in meaningful ways. If I do post here in the future it may have to do with research I'm conducting or some short critical response I wrote.

In any case, I think it's important to remember that 2024 is the year that Scott Stapp played Frank Sinatra in a movie about Ronald Reagan.

"I did it my way/ with arms wide open"

-Fratt Sinapp

🤣

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

WeWereInLove — Thu, 8 Aug 2024 22:56:16 GMT

Author: WeWereInLove

Posted: 08/09/2024 02:56

Wow, you did a really amazing 😁 job wi5 this list. So many great choices that you don't always expect... "Pacific 202", "Since I Left You", "Come On Let's Go", "Heaven or Las Vegas", "The Light", "Lovesong", "Station to Station", "Disparate Youth"(!!), "Spellbound", ESG, Gustavo Cerati, Kino, Little Simz, Natalia Lafourcade, Nujabes, X-Ray Spex... Unfortunately, I don't care for how much trap there is, but I guess I gotta get with the times. 😁 😁

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Fri, 31 May 2024 14:23:21 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 05/31/2024 18:23

In February of 2024, Rolling Stone revised their 2021 version of the 500 greatest songs of all time. I was unaware of this until last week. Well, I've now spent the last week updating and revising the reactionary list that I had made back in 2021. (Which did not age well in my own estimation.) This new list I feel is way better than the first and is more objective. My goal was to keep about half of the Rolling Stone list and change about half. I ended up with 231 songs in common with the Rolling Stone list. I included a few songs from the RS list that I would not think to put on my own at all, as there are still a few on my own list that might be a little too personal or subjective as well. (See BTS "Dynamite" as an example).

Also, just an update, because I haven't been around here for a minute. I just got done with my 5th and last year of teaching for the time being. In the Fall, I am going to begin a Master's program in Popular Culture. Suffice to say that using this site and doing exercises such as this is preparing me for some of the things that I am going to want to study in the future.

Anyways, here is a spreadsheet with all of the songs and a few bonuses. (There are some other statistics I want to add, but this is good for now.)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/...sp=sharing

And here is the link to a playlist of all of the AVAILABLE songs on Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GaJwQuLOWqIR3yR4yhKgx?si=2371228ff4594f94

I plan on actually making a ranking at some point in the future, but I don't think it will be too soon.

Feel free to tell me my best picks my worst picks and everything in between. 😁

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

CharlieBarley — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 23:10:00 GMT

Author: CharlieBarley

Posted: 03/29/2024 03:10

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

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This is an excellent album. I'd never heard of it either. Many good tracks. The last one is my favourite.
Good to discover it on your thread. George is my favourite Beatle too. Spiritual dude.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 00:07:35 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/28/2024 05:07

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Exterminator (XTRMNTR) by Primal Scream

Year: 2000

Genre (s): Alternative Dance, Electronic
Electro-Industrial, Big Beat, Neo-Psychedelia, Noise Rock, Grebo, Experimental Rock

Yeah man. This is the shit. Over the past year or so, I've been listening to a few cuts off of this regularly. What a gnarly, energetic, and intense album. Really gets the blood pumping. Unlike any other album by the band as far as the consistency and overall vibes are concerned. Screamadelica is fine. Vanishing Point is good. But XTRMNTR is a powerhouse. On this album, you add Mani, from The Stone Roses on bass, and Kevin Shields on guitar/ production; you can feel their contributions all over.

Some artists that end up being pigeon-holed attempt to shed their initial images at some point in their careers with varying successes. It would seem from the firs track "Kill All Hippies" that Primal Scream (Bobby Gillespie, really) are attempting to distance themselves from their Screamdelica roots. This album blends everything great about eh drugged-out formula that worked for them in the past, but it adds a depraved and nihilistic edge to everything that makes a huge difference.

Sorry, before I gloss over it, I just want to make it clear that THE Kevin Shields is present on this album. Like, you know, the Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine. Those guitars on "Accelerator" Shieldsian I'd have to imagine. That song is LOUD. Although, I wouldn't say the album is a complete victim of the loudness wars. More a casualty. I think most of the loudness on this album is purposeful and to great effect. Anyway, there's also the song "MBV Arkestra". I can't tell what it has to do with MBV exactly, but it does feature some Kevin Shields/Phil Spector "wall of sound" guitars.

I don't attach certain feelings to albums that often, but this album certainly hits a feeling of rampant drug-bender better than almost any other. The title track, "Swastika Girls", "Pills", etc. could all be the soundtrack for a night (or day) of debauchery. There's also an underlying noir/spy music kind of feeling with some of the samples on here. "Kill All Hippies" and "Blood Money" being the two prime tracks for that vibe.

"Keep your Dreams" is really the only track in which you can kind of calm down on. Although it's a nice track, the vibe actually feels out of place considering how urgent the rest of the album sounds.

One nitpick would be the two different versions of "Swastika Girls" on the album. I'm fine with remixes, but I don't care for remixes to be featured in the tracklist for one album. Good thing is that both versions have their stregths and weaknesses, so it doesn't mess up the flow too much. It just seems like you're repeating a bad trip from earlier in your awful night out. That being said, I think the Jagz Coomer is better than The Chemical Brothers. (By a small margin.)

Yeah, I think this is great. Long story short. It goes real fucking hard, man. 😁

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 23:43:12 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/28/2024 04:43

LedZep wrote:

Damn that's some hot shit Chief. Great diary, will be following. So is The Birthday Massacre something like the 00s version of Lebanon Hanover? Female singer, throwback darkwave sound done pretty well, a bit derivative but fun?

I would say that's not too far from the point, but they definitely have more of a 00s mainstream-adjacent sound than Lebanon Hanover who are more traditional in that vein.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

LedZep — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 04:04:20 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 01/25/2024 09:04

Damn that's some hot shit Chief. Great diary, will be following. So is The Birthday Massacre something like the 00s version of Lebanon Hanover? Female singer, throwback darkwave sound done pretty well, a bit derivative but fun?

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:22:39 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/25/2024 05:22

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Brainwashed by George Harrison

Year: 2002

Genre(s): Pop Rock
Singer-Songwriter, Folk Rock, Soft Rock (according to RYM)

It's never fun when I have to admit that I'm a poser. "George Harrison is my favorite Beatle," I've been heard to say on numerous occasion. And, while it's true I've listened to the bulk of his 70s output, this album somehow eluded me. I've honestly never heard anyone bring this album up in conversation about George, so it was never anywhere on my radar. I feel like I may have heard "Any Road" at some point though, because it sounds super familiar, but that may just be the latent George Harrison/Jeff Lynne songwriting hallmarks. I am ashamed to have never listened to this until a few months ago.

Released nearly 1 year after his passing, Brainwashed is very clearly a great musician's last will and testament. It reflects the quiet Beatle's best qualities, musically, spiritually, or otherwise. There's an urgency in the lyricism on Brainwashed that only comes from a man that has accepted the most difficult of all things to accept. It could also be serving as a clearing of conscience in a final moment.

The songs are typical George, and probably the closest he ever came to replicating the brilliance of All Things Must Pass. I'm most impressed by the consistency from track to track on this album. I don't feel that any of these songs really miss the mark at all. Especially the slide guitar-heavy middle suite of "Rising Sun", "Marwa Blues", and "Stuck Inside A Cloud". George is playing his ass off on that slide guitar on those tracks. Beautiful & emotional. The closing title track is George giving the world one last warning before he goes. His off-kilter nasal delivery and politicized lyrics sound like a Dylan tribute in his final song. The last few minutes of the track though is reserved for George's Krishna chanting along with his son and others. George understood that spirituality and God were the keys to happiness and satisfaction in a modern world that offers nothing but artifice and consumerism. It's a fitting end for his career, and a great treatise on living a life not controlled by the will of material possession.

Don't make the mistake I did. Go out and listen to this one if you haven't.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 00:39:19 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/23/2024 05:39

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Violet by The Birthday Massacre

Year: 2004

Genre(s): Industrial Rock, Darkwave

Synthpop, Gothic Rock

First question: How was this band not a bigger success?

The Birthday Massacre is a band from London, Ontario. They've been consistently making music since the early 2000s to the present day. They have not achieved a great deal of mainstream success, but they seem to have enjoyed a steady cult following. They also seem to have cultivated a very particular aesthetic and symbology surrounding their own music, which is cool.

This 2004 album from the band which, Hey!, is now 20 years ago, is a great entry into the faux-80s worship subgenre.

Second question: How has this band's music not been on 'Stranger Things'?

The Birthday Massacre (keep wanting to type 'The Birthday Party') take a lot from their obvious influences in The Cure, Depeche Mode, etc. but the production and vibe of this album is, almost to a fault, 00s. It would work great on that show. This album can go from hooks to heaviness and intimacy all in the same track. All while maintaining a cohesive theme and feeling. It never feels too derivative especially when you think of what was going on in the alternative rock space at the time.

And, knowing how successful certain emo groups were in this time period, I'm finding it hard to grasp how this band was not a larger part of that scene. They really would only be on the fringe of that scene anyway, because what they are doing on this album (and the great 2007 followup 'Walking With Strangers') is frankly quite a bit better than what was being released at the time. They sound more fully realized stylistically than a lot of the other groups working in the Emo/Goth space in the 00s. (I know they aren't the same, but emo kind of converted a lot of Goths during this time if I'm not mistaken).

Most of those more successful bands had a male lead though. Generally some kind of easily-posterable heart throb. Paramore or Evanescence would be some points of reference, although this band definitely fills it's own niche. If it were a spectrum, then they would be in between those two bands. However, here we have a female vocalist, that is probably one of the strongest points of the band. Paramore or Evanescence would be some points of reference, although this band definitely fills it's own niche. If it were a spectrum, then they would be in between those two bands. Anyways, she's great. Theatrical at times and dynamic. She goes from a kind of spoken word growl-whisper on occasion to clean mainstream alternative vocals in a few tracks. It's a fun juxtaposition. With the spooky synth melodies going over some tracks, it creates a great atmosphere. Lyrically the album has some fun turns of phrase, but it definitely is an album with lyrics for teenagers on it. Nothing wrong with that.

I've had a great time listening to this album and the followup, which is why this spot is reserved for both, as they're remarkably consistent. Take a listen and have some fun.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 07:20:41 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/22/2024 12:20

CharlieBarley wrote:

Excellent thread Chief!

I have heard of literally NONE of these albums.
Not that I read the whole thread.
But it looks like it could be fun to check some snippets of these albums out on a rainy day soon.

From a music diary newbie.

Thanks! Hope you find something you enjoy!

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

CharlieBarley — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 00:20:18 GMT

Author: CharlieBarley

Posted: 01/21/2024 05:20

Excellent thread Chief!

I have heard of literally NONE of these albums.
Not that I read the whole thread.
But it looks like it could be fun to check some snippets of these albums out on a rainy day soon.

From a music diary newbie.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:12:36 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/21/2024 01:12

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Sunset Mission by Bohren & Der Club Of Gore

Year: 2000

Genre: Dark Jazz

This album was a weird blindspot for me for a long time. I've known about other bands in the "dark jazz" genre like The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Orchestra & The Dale Cooper Quartet, but I had never heard the progenitors; Bohren & Der Club of Gore. Personally, I'd rather have called it "doom jazz" as the lurching pace of the tracks compare more favorably to Doom Metal composition than anything else. However, I understand that it also has its origins in "Dark Ambient", so I guess the nomenclature is accurate enough. Enough about semantics, let's get to the music. If you're not already familiar with it, you may be thinking "what does Dark Jazz sound like?" I have a hard time determining how to explain it myself. Think of Cool Jazz, slow it down even more, and strip away most of the instrumentation leaving drums, keyboard, maybe guitar (treated & textural), and a lone sax. Add some intimate production and depressive atmosphere. There you go.
There's a man in a heavily smoke-filled bar. He's sitting in the corner alone; staring at a crooked knot in the wooden table slats. He looks across to see a woman as lost as he is, but he shifts his eyes to the middle distance. He pushes out any ideas of happiness or companionship. He feels he doesn't deserve it.

This is the soundtrack for the fantasy noir movie in your head. The quiet and still moments that pass slower that most. Listen to this at night walking or driving the city streets. It really does hit different. It sounds cheesy, but this music truly captures that "lonely" feeling better than almost anything else.

I don't really have a favorite track on this, because it sounds all nearly the same. Which could also be a flaw, but, when the vibes are this immaculate, that sameness is a positive.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sun, 14 Jan 2024 20:30:58 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/15/2024 01:30

Here's a new chart of HOT albums this time from the 00s. As the chart states, these are mostly newer listens (within the last year) but a few old favorites as well. Just like last time, I'll be going through and giving an analysis for each of them.

Rocka's Hot 00s Albums (Winter 24) by Tha1ChiefRocka

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Mon, 8 Jan 2024 23:49:37 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 01/09/2024 04:49

Going to briefly finish off the last 3 albums I had put on this list with brief reviews so as not to completely abandon it.

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Love In The Time Of Science by Emiliana Torrini

Year: 1999

Genre(s): Downtempo, Dream Pop, Trip Hop

Emiliana Torrini is basically chill Downtempo Bjork, which is cool. You really only notice the similarity on specific annunciations and vocal affectations. I don't know how purposeful this was, but they're both from Iceland, so IDK. (I'm obviously not the first person to bring this up, but you kind of have to.)

This album is a richly orchestrated late 90s audio feast. If you like the sound palette on something like Air's Moon Safari, then you'll find a lot to love on "Love In The Time In Science". (Throw some "6 Underground" and a little Portishead in to the mix too.) Torrini's vocals perfectly compliment the production and the atmosphere, and I wish this kind of thing never went out of style. I'm happy to still be finding new things from 1999 to listen to in 2023(4). Surprised I didn't somehow windup listening to this years ago though.

"To Be Free" the first track is an absolute banger. Really love the way the piano is mixed on the track. Sounds like something Thom Yorke would do.

My next favorite might be "Easy" which sounds to me like it could have been the kind of Adult Contemporary crossover hit that the 90s were known for.

The dynamic "Telepathy" (which may be one of the more "Bjork" songs on the album) is another favorite here. It just has all of the elements that music of this kind is known for. Got some emotional string arrangements, driving drums, and soaring vocals.

As a final note, the song "Tuna Fish" has some really strange lyrics, but it's probably the coolest song called "Tuna Fish" that I know. 😎

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The Fragile Art Of Existence by Control Denied

Whether or not you enjoy Chuck Schuldiner's last album under the name "Control Denied" will primarily hinge upon your patience for Progressive Metal wankery and your opinions on Death's final album "The Sound of Perseverance". If you're fine with both of those things ( as I am) then "The Fragile Art of Existence" should probably get a listen.

Taking the same cues of melodicism from TSOP, Control Denied is essentially same lineup as Death's final album with vocalist Tim Aymar taking over vocal duties instead of Chuck. The power metal vocals add a bit of a different flavor than the typical Death album, so that's a plus. Oh, and Steve Digiorgio is back on the bass, so you know that the low end is completely locked down. (Check out the third Track "Expect The Unexpected" for a particularly tasty bass breakdown.)

"What If.." starts off with some gnarly bass too.

It's tragic this was the last thing we got from "The Godfather of Death Metal" it would have been interesting to see how his sound continued to transform over the years. These songs have a lot of energy, and it all starts at the top with Chuck's riffage. The man knew what he was doing.

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Mods Carve The Pig: Assassins, Toads And God's Flesh by Thought Industry

Um.

Yeah, this is one of those albums that I really have no idea how to approach it.

Thought Industry is some kind of schizo-metal band from Kalamazoo Michigan that are nearly uncategorizable. They sound like everyone and no one at the same time. Some have made some comparisons of their first album and this one to the similarly enigmatic Mr. Bungle, but that's really only in spirit. They don't really sound much alike apart from being challenging music that can turn on a dime. (I saw this in the comment box for their first album "a weird mixture of Voivod and Faith No More.")

Every song that's over 5 minutes long overstays its welcome, and sometimes it gets too out there for its own good, but it never loses interest that's for sure.

If you can get past the first song (which is probably the most abrasive) then you can get through the whole thing.

Link

Here's where I tell you that most of the second half of this album has a lot of acoustic guitar. 🤣

Link

Yeah, IDK what to tell you. Give the whole thing a listen if you want, but I won't blame you if you don't.

Re: ChiefRocka in 2026

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 2 Nov 2023 00:00:09 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 11/02/2023 04:00

Link

Wtf is this?

No, really, WTF IS THIS?!?!

So, I'm rewatching Eraserhead, because I haven't watched it in ages. I had been meaning to, because I finished Twin Peaks, and I wanted to see if I came away thinking about the film in any different ways with the context of "The Return". I've had "In Heaven" stuck in my head for the past day, so I was interested to see what bands had covered this song, because I only remembered a few.

Devo, Tuxedomoon, The Pixies, y'know things that make sense. But then I see that AJR sampled this song in their 2019 single "Birthday Party".

AJR is a band that my niece saw when she was 12. AJR is a band that I don't really know that much about. (Except that they are villified by the music-loving sites out there.) I've heard snippets of their songs, enough to know that it is so far away from anything I'd want to actually listen to, that it would serve no purpose for me to do so.

I have to listen to this song, right? How in the world would this band, with their style of music, implement this song from Lynch. Not that the song is particularly strange, because it's not, but thematically, what would the lyrics of "In Heaven" have to do with a birthday party?

I listen to the song.
It's even worse than I thought it would be.
The lyrics are utterly inept, bizarre even.
The instrumental is disjointed, unnecessarily syncopated, and loudly produced.

"BUT WAIT!" I think to myself.

Eraserhead could be considered to be bizarre.
Eraserhead could be considered disjointed.
The audio is definitely well-known for its nonstop onslaught of differing sounds clashing together.

Maybe there is more here than I thought.

What was this song about again? A Birthday Party? Let me see.

Oh, it's told from the perspective of a baby that's just been born.

😲 😲 😲

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Do they know? Is this a purposeful sample? Is AJR secretly surreal? Dada?

Let's take a look at some these lyrics.

"A minute ago, I did not exist
It's nice to finally meet my relatives"

One minute you don't exist. Much like the sperm-like creature seen at the beginning of the film. The violence and trauma of birth. Thrust into a cold and unforgiving world.
The child is not visible when Henry met with Mary's parents, but I'm sure the child was happy to finally meet both mama and papa in Henry's apartment.

I bet our parents always stay in love
Always stay in love"

Unfortunately for the child in Eraserhead, I don't think Mary or Henry were ever in love. They couldn't even stay together for the sake of the child.

"I bet my ignorance is always bliss
Except ignoring pigment in our skin
I bet my country's nice to immigrants"

Henry's passive nature could be described as ignorance masquerading as "bliss".
What about the the discolored pigment on the face of the man who is seen with the "beautiful girl across the hall"?

There could be subtext to Eraserhead dealing with an immigrant's experience in a America. Frightening. Isolated. In poverty. Industrial occupation.
Lynch's great grandparents were immigrants of Finnish-Swedish ancestry.
And do you know the racial epithet that immigrants of Scandinavian descent were called?

"Squarehead"

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Looks a little square, huh?

Ok, we're connecting a few things here. It's all coming together now.

Let's talk about that sample. The sample is not just a sample they actually sing it in the song themselves.

Although the subject of the song is newly born, it seems to already have a concept of troubles that are facing the world, and possibly like Henry, it would already prefer being embraced by "heaven" the afterlife.

Oh good, here's a video with the band talking about why they used the sample.

Link

13m23s

Edit: oh shit just submitted this before I was done. 🤣

Oh well, the joke has run it's course by this point anyways. Still really weird that this is something that exists though.

Edit 2: And fuck these guys. Their music sucks and they don't like Lynch.