Best Ever Albums

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 22:04:24 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 11/01/2020 02:04

So yeah, that obviously didn't work out how I was planning... 🤣

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K.R.I.T. Wuz Here by Big K.R.I.T.

I settled on hip-hop, re-listened to this 2010 gem, and bumped it back into my top 5 for the year with an 85.5. But I didn't have time or energy to write about it, or to do more scored listens that week.

I will be focusing any subsequent scored listens on hip-hop, but in all likelihood I'll be writing more about the genre in the canon game, where I am working through major albums in hip-hop history that I haven't heard.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

Repo — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 22:27:50 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 10/22/2020 02:27

Whatever your feeling! All three sound good to me!

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

RoundTheBend — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 21:57:50 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 10/22/2020 01:57

Hip/Hop & R&B... soul?

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 15:47:39 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 10/21/2020 19:47

Another furlough this week, with a third to follow later in the semester. Think I'm going to score some albums for one of my three genre charts that have been in progress forever. Which would be more interesting to people? The options are hip-hop, r&b, and indie/jangle/twee.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 15:08:16 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 06/14/2020 19:08

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Journey In Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane

An album I've loved for years, but have only now given the close listen it needed to break into my overall chart. As might be expected, Pharoah Sanders is excellent, but this is a rare album in which his playing is not the highlight. Instead, it is the swirling harp of album mastermind Alice Coltrane that defines the album. The first two tracks are especially excellent, and my favorite on the album is Shiva-Loka (because I prefer Tulsi's tambura tone here to track one). After a couple somewhat more subdued and piano-driven tracks, the electrifying live recording Isis And Osiris is a fitting finale, featuring great contributions from new additions Charlie Haden and Vishnu Wood. Score: 88.4

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

Repo — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 13:21:12 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 06/14/2020 17:21

baystateoftheart wrote:

I'm on furlough this week, so in theory I should be able to listen to more music than usual before I go back next week. Will I have time/energy to write anything of substance here? As usual, probably not. However, I want to note that this transcendent album has just broken into my top 20:

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New Age Of Earth by Ashra

Side A is perfect, and Side B is not far behind at all. Highly recommend if you like electronic music and/or need a gorgeous and relaxing album to try. It has grown on me with every listen.

I am a bit surprised that no one has it ranked higher than me. It's not even in the top 50 for 1977 yet!

Another GREAT Mellow Zone addition! Thanks, brother! 🥰

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

Repo — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 00:20:11 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 06/14/2020 04:20

LedZep wrote:

Btw if you’re in the mood for some jangle pop:

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Funeral Dress by Wussy

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 22:07:16 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 06/14/2020 02:07

LedZep wrote:

baystateoftheart wrote:

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New Age Of Earth by Ashra

Great rec, currently 20 minutes in and loving it! That 70s Berlin school electronic scene is under appreciated as a whole. Have to dig deeper into it.

Btw if you’re in the mood for some jangle pop:

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Funeral Dress by Wussy

Thanks for the rec! Added to my to-do list. Terrible band name though lol

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

LedZep — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 18:21:38 GMT

Author: LedZep

Posted: 06/10/2020 22:21

baystateoftheart wrote:

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New Age Of Earth by Ashra

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Funeral Dress by Wussy

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 16:24:59 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 06/10/2020 20:24

I gave this album another try yesterday:

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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles

And while I continue to regard it as very good, I remain confused by its relative level of acclaim among their discography and among albums in general. There are a bunch of great tracks, but there is also so much filler! I consider 5 out of 13 tracks to be relatively disposable, and I'd much rather listen to Magical Mystery Tour. And while it is an excellent song, A Day In The Life is not close to perfect. The song structure ideas are great, but the musicality of the sections that are stitched together is not much better than a replacement-level Beatles track. Although I can't agree with its #1 ranking here, it is definitely better than the next five tracks in the list, so that's something. Score: 74.8

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Tue, 9 Jun 2020 16:37:58 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 06/09/2020 20:37

I'm on furlough this week, so in theory I should be able to listen to more music than usual before I go back next week. Will I have time/energy to write anything of substance here? As usual, probably not. However, I want to note that this transcendent album has just broken into my top 20:

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Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 18:53:52 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 09/16/2019 22:53

I have been picking up the year-by-year project again for a bit. First, I switched from using RYM years to BEA years. At least when the year is wrong on BEA, it's feasible for me to correct it.

Now, I have some gaps to fill in for the 50s and 60s to get to round numbers. I started off by picking three more albums to hear from 1966.

My favorite of the three is:

Meditations by John Coltrane

Underrated! The first track and Consequences are both virtuosic and mind-bending spiritual journeys. The other tracks are great but not transcendent.

My second favorite is:

Indestructible by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Another great album. Much more traditionalistic and a bit behind its time (the fact that it was released over two years after the recording didn't help). However, everyone is at the top of their game in these sessions and every track is at least solid.

My third favorite is:

Black Monk Time by Monks

I had been looking forward to this, so finally hearing it was a major wtf moment. Why do you folks love this so much?? It is... not good. It doesn't rock very hard, and is only very tenuously proto-punk. The humor is not funny at all and ruins many tracks. The Sonics came first and were much better. Their debut is essential listening, and it's a crying shame that it's several hundred spots lower than this. This was going to round out my 1966 chart but now I have to find something else, because it's just not good enough to chart. I can see how it was still ahead of its time in certain ways, and I don't actively dislike it, but it seems so mediocre. There are a handful of really solid tracks along with some major duds.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 21:42:45 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 08/12/2019 01:42

Thanks for the advice everyone! 😄

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

RoundTheBend — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:23:20 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 08/11/2019 20:23

Yeah I second the $5 records and the thousand times thing.

My Sony record player didn't have the ability to adjust the tracking... and my records aren't "ruined". Now there's some goof who will say they can hear the difference if the record was played once on your record player and that goof likely would fail a blind test.

If you have a really priceless record, maybe don't play it on that record player either at all or much pending on some stuff and things.

I will say that an improper setup can really kill the sound/experience. If playing your phone through the same speakers/setup sounds WAY better/record player sounds awful, you probably want review the turntable's setup/parts.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

Jimmy Dread — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:59:15 GMT

Author: Jimmy Dread

Posted: 08/11/2019 19:59

Yeah, that model has got a preset VTF, which likely means it’s default setting is not going to do your records much good.

If you want to persevere with the Panasonic, the best thing you can do is get yourself a brand new stylus without delay. Personally speaking having had a hi-fi system with a built-in turntable before getting a separate deck, amp, speakers and a decent cart makes a HUGE difference. If you’re paying $5 or less for your records then fine, but don’t expect them to sound anywhere close to how good they could.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:33:55 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 08/11/2019 19:33

I tried to find a decent picture of your record player, but I can't really see how the arm is constructed. If it came with any instructions, then it should tell you what the tracking force should be set at. Like that article suggests, it's usually 2 grams. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. It won't destroy your records unless it's played a thousand times.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 21:50:26 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 08/11/2019 01:50

RoundTheBend wrote:

Cool, that's what got me into it as a teenager, I inherited it from my parents and that was my thing for about 15 years and then it finally died after probably 30 years of good service... so I broke down and bought another.

Know anything about the player?

Estate sales are where it's at... probably got $200 worth of vinyl as priced by discogs for $50. Ameoba used to be awesome in the early 2000s, but now it's in demand... so sometimes I'm buying my favorite records at ridiculous prices.

It's a Panasonic SG-H10. Just set it up (sound is solid), and then looked it up. Found this thread...

So, not very encouraging... those with more knowledge, how worried should I be about this? If the tracking force is already set correctly for the cartridge, this article makes me think there shouldn't be problem.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

RoundTheBend — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 19:12:15 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 08/10/2019 23:12

baystateoftheart wrote:

My grandpa was cleaning out his storage unit and found a nice record player and speakers that he's not using. I may be joining the ranks of the vinyl collectors soon! Probably going to limit myself to records under $5 and see what I find.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 12:49:17 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 08/10/2019 16:49

My grandpa was cleaning out his storage unit and found a nice record player and speakers that he's not using. I may be joining the ranks of the vinyl collectors soon! Probably going to limit myself to records under $5 and see what I find.

Re: Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

baystateoftheart — Sun, 7 Jul 2019 15:55:43 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 07/07/2019 19:55

Yeah, not doing those weekly posts anymore.

Anyway, my co-worker just recommended this album to me and I loved it. Americana with strong songwriting, great vocals, and an excellent cover of Stolen Car. I can see Gowi, Tilly, Mercury, and others enjoying it.

1000 Kisses by Patty Griffin