Best Ever Albums

Cibo Matto- Blue Train

imacgill — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 16:31:47 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 02/26/2023 21:31

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Art pop with a Metallica like riff, "Blue Train" is a somewhat heavy song taken from an otherwise chill album.

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Stereo Type A by Cibo Matto

Outkast- Happy Valentine's Day

imacgill — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 16:46:42 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 02/14/2023 21:46

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Ya won't believe in me
But you would fancy leprechauns or groundhogs
No, thank you, Easter Bunny
There's so much fuss about Santa Claus, but see
Cupid will not be defeated

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Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by OutKast

Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul- Fallin'

imacgill — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 19:53:01 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 02/14/2023 00:53

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RIP David “Trugoy The Dove" Jolicoeur

In 1993, to promote the movie Judgement Night, the sound producer was tasked to bring hip hop and alternative rock acts together to record a unique set of songs for the movie. These included collaborations between Pearl Jam and Cypress Hill, Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill, Sir Mix-a-Lot and Mudhoney!!!, plus the song "Fallin'" from Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul. (There was another collaborative album that brought together divergent artists for a movie soundtrack; the 1997 Bruce Willis film The Jackal featured electronic artists teaming up with alternative rock bands.)

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Judgment Night (Music From The Motion Picture) by Various Artists

School of Seven Bells- Bye Bye Bye

imacgill — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 16:47:20 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 02/12/2023 21:47

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(Thankfully) this is not a N'SYNC cover and it's a 1000x better than anything that group ever released.

School of Seven Bells is a widely missed band. RIP Benjamin Curtis

Top 100 Albums of 2010

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Disconnect From Desire by School Of Seven Bells

Depeche Mode- Never Let Me Down Again

imacgill — Sun, 5 Feb 2023 17:53:09 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 02/05/2023 22:53

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I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I decided to start watching the HBO series The Last Of Us. Everybody's talking about the third episode, and I will watch it soon enough, but what made my day was the Depeche Mode song "Never Me Down Again" playing over the end credits in episode one. Some of the best movies and TV shows include choice music cuts and so far this series is showing promising results.

Top 100 Albums of 1987

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Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode

Re: Song Chronicle

imacgill — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 22:52:12 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/31/2023 03:52

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That when you walk away
It's gonna be for good
You were my Tom Verlaine
Just sitting on the hood

From the song "Tom Verlaine" by Alvvays (Blue Rev-2022)

A few weeks ago when Public Image Ltd guitarist Keith Levene passed away he was feted as being one of the most influential post punk guitar players, same with Gang of Four's Andy Gill when he died a few years ago, but these two greats probably would not have become who they were without the legendary Tom Verlaine. Verlaine was not only the greatest post punk guitarist to ever play, he was one of the greatest guitarists, period. Television released one of the all time great albums of the 70's with Marquee Moon and it's influence can be heard throughout punk and post punk history including many modern acts like Parquet Courts, Ought and The Strokes.

A good read is Robert Forster of the Go-Betweens article in The Guardian on how he thinks the song "Venus" off of Marquee Moon is the perfect pop song: "It was a great rock song and a great pop song combined. Perfect, I thought. A song could be highly melodic and still challenge. Rivers of melody could be flowing and the lyric was “My senses are sharp and my hands are like gloves”.

Well said...

RIP Tom Verlaine

Marquee Moon by Television

Re: Song Chronicle

imacgill — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 22:33:55 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/30/2023 03:33

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"Vicious Streak" is a great song from New Order's first album of the 21st century. I don't think New Order has ever released a bad album and Get Ready from 2001 showed that they were still a force to be reckoned with. A couple of guest musicians doesn't hurt with Billy Corgan and Bobby Gillespie cameoing on two of the tracks from this release; at this point of the band's career they probably had a lot of contemporaries knocking on the door to come and work with them.

Top 100 Music Albums of 2001

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Get Ready by New Order

Re: Song Chronicle

imacgill — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 17:42:43 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/27/2023 22:42

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After last year's amazing Someday Is Today album, I needed to go back and listen to Winnipeg shoegaze band Living Hour's previous two records. Not surprisingly both are equally as good as last year's release and "Seagull" from their debut self titled is the best of the songs from their earlier albums.

Canada: Under The Radar

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Living Hour by Living Hour

Jonathan Fire*Eater- Give Me Daughters

imacgill — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 20:45:49 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/21/2023 01:45

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Jonathan Fire*Eater is one of the greatest lost bands of the 90's and were highly influential to the NYC garage rock revival groups that sprung up in the following decade. In fact, they might have invented what we now know as "indie sleaze", the term that describes the era that spawned The Strokes and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs that is illustrated in Lizzy Goodman's book Meet Me In The Bathroom (The introductory page to Part One of the book has a picture of lead singer Stewart Lupton smoking a cigarette while donning angel wings).

Jonathan Fire*Eater were poised for big things and had signed a major label deal after the release of their first EP, but their debut album tanked and Lupton who was schizophrenic developed a drug addiction that eventually led to the break up of the band. The remaining members hooked up with singer Hamilton Leithauser and went on to form The Walkmen. Sadly, Lupton took his own life in 2018.

Third Man reissued their compilation album Tremble Under Boom Lights in 2019 which contains the tracks from their EPs, and features their best song, the boisterous garage rock anthem "Give Me Daughters".

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Tremble Under Boom Lights by Jonathan Fire*Eater

Caesars- Strawberry Weed

imacgill — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 22:53:41 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/18/2023 03:53

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Caesars were a Swedish indie rock band that were prevalent in the "aughts" but never got the recognition as some of their peers like Peter, Bjorn and John, The Shout Out Louds, The Mary Onettes, and The Concretes despite the fact that their song "Jerk It Out" was included in an iPod commercial. The band didn't get a popularity bump like Cansei de Ser Sexy, Chairlift and Feist did when their songs were featured in Apple ads. It's too bad because they produced two amazing albums with Paper Tigers and Strawberry Weed in the late "aughts" before they called it a day. Even though their sound was little bit more "garage" than most of the Swedish bands around at that time (except for The Hives) the title track to Strawberry Weed proved they could write a an almost perfect pop song. And being from Sweden they kind of have to as everybody aspires to be ABBA, even the indie bands.

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Strawberry Weed by Caesars

Just Mustard- I Am You

imacgill — Sun, 15 Jan 2023 17:53:42 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/15/2023 22:53

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Just Mustrard's "I Am You" is my favourite shoegaze song from 2022 and is from one of my favourite albums from last year. The Heart Under track is an absolute anthem.

Got to see Just Mustard in concert last May when they opened for Fontaine's D.C., and even though they were not at their best they still were pretty good and I am looking forward to seeing them again.

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Heart Under by Just Mustard

Top 79 Albums of 2022{/url}

Jarvis Cocker- Black Magic

imacgill — Sun, 8 Jan 2023 17:15:05 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/08/2023 22:15

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In which Jarvis Cocker borrows heavily from Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover" to produce the best song off of his debut solo record. Five years after Pulp went on hiatus, Cocker released Jarvis, an album that is a little underwhelming, but does have a couple of goodies including "Black Magic", and the oh so true expletive laden "Running The World."

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The Jarvis Cocker Record by Jarvis Cocker

Abecedarians- Smiling Monarchs

imacgill — Fri, 6 Jan 2023 19:39:35 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/07/2023 00:39

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The Abecedarians song "Smiling Monarchs" came up in my shuffle and it instantly brought back memories of 80's club nights.

Abecedarians specialized in post punk but on their single "Smiling Monarchs" they brought in New Order's Bernard Sumner to mix the track and as a result the song became a staple at new wave club nights in the 80's. The DJs used to play this song early in the night to get everybody warmed up for more high energy dance tracks like "Pump Up The Volume" or "Blue Monday".

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AB-CD by Abecedarians

Traams- The Greyhound

imacgill — Mon, 2 Jan 2023 17:32:12 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/02/2023 22:32

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Traams (Time Reference Angle of Arrival Measurement System) is a post punk/indie rock band from Sussex UK who have been releasing great under the radar music since 2013.

One of those great pieces of music is a one-off epic 9 minute + single titled "The Greyhound" that is steeped in shoegaze and krautrock. The song is a slow builder, and is guided along with the help of Black Country, New Road saxophonist Lewis Evans, but the repetition of the first 8 minutes eventually storms into an explosive ending.

Traams did release a new album in 2022, Personal Best, but this 2020 single was not on that record.

Camera Obscura- Happy New Year

imacgill — Sun, 1 Jan 2023 16:37:01 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 01/01/2023 21:37

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Happy New Year and all the best in 2023!

Crossing my fingers for new music from Camera Obscura in 2023.

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Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi by Camera Obscura (UK)

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever- Dive Deep

imacgill — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 17:13:01 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 12/28/2022 22:13

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Here is a goodie from Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever's album Endless Rooms released earlier this year. "Dive Deep" features one of Joe White's best guitar pieces and as singer Fran Keaney describes it "Joe White came up with the perfect lead guitar tone. He was given full license to wail, and did so. I remember sitting by the fire, looking up at the stars, and hearing the guitar echoing all around the valley."

Top 72 Albums of 2022

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Endless Rooms by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Tiny Ruins and Hamish Kilgour- Hurtling Through

imacgill — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 16:23:27 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 12/26/2022 21:23

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Tiny Ruins is the moniker of Auckland singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook who is signed to the famous New Zealand label Flying Nun. In 2015 she recorded a collaboration titled Hurtling Through with Hamish Kilgour (R.I.P.) the late drummer of the great indie rock band The Clean. There isn't much Kilgour does here other than provide a bit of background instrumentation and added support for the young singer. This is all Fullbrook's record and it is very beautiful throughout the album's seven songs including the featured title track.

Re: Song Chronicle

imacgill — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 19:48:21 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 12/24/2022 00:48

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Heading into the Christmas break on this cold, windy night I am thinking of somewhere warm and there is no better artist to get you in the mood than Bethany Cosentino and her band Best Coast. Her enthusiasm for her home state knows no bounds as she has proven throughout her discography and on her third album California Nights she even adds a bit of shoegaze to her sunny pop. The music on this album has been taken to a bigger and higher level than the bedroom pop of Best Coast's prior records as attested to by the title track where Cosentino's vocals soar above a wall of shoegaze guitar.

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California Nights by Best Coast

Re: Song Chronicle

imacgill — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 22:24:19 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 12/20/2022 03:24

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Hello, I'm Terry, and I'm going to enjoy myself first

R.I.P. Terry Hall...heartbreaking day for Specials fans. Remembering him and "enjoying myself" by listening to the great music The Specials blessed us with.

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More Specials by The Specials

Re: Song Chronicle

imacgill — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 17:31:22 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 12/18/2022 22:31

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"Pow" is nice airy indie rock track that bounces along and gets your toes tapping. You don't need to be fluent in French to appreciate how good a song this is.

Corridor is a Canadian band from Quebec and the first French group to be signed to Subpop.

"Pow" is taken from their third album "Junior" which is their first album for the ubiquitous indie rock label. The band make a nice set of motorik psychedelic French lyric songs on this record that seem to be in debt to Animal Collective. "Pow" on the other hand stills maintains a motorik beat but might be closer to 80's post punk.

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Junior by Corridor