Best Ever Albums

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 08:26:07 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/22/2013 12:26

Idk Curtis sucks or sth \_O_o_/

16-11

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 17:52:59 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/21/2013 21:52

To be fair, as far as shoegaze goes, I find a lot of the bigger bands in the genre to be overrated (meaning MBV and even Slowdive to an extent), mainly because I think a lot of other bands do it better. I love Nowhere, amazingly breathtaking and relaxing album at that, but I always find it fair to speak about both contestants during the match and well Crutis is also pretty damn amazing, in a different way of course, just so groovy (alright, my diction may be incorrect here to display what I actually feel about the album, I'm not the greatest with words).

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 03:00:40 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/21/2013 07:00

I think it's a little reductive and easy to discard 'Nowhere' as a boring or indie (???) record. I thought it was pretty generic when I first heard it but it's actually become my favourite album of any late 80s/early 90s shoegaze (enjoy it more than anything by MBV, Slowdive, Catherine Wheel etc). It's an album of perpetual regret and simultaneous acceptance of circumstances. Their riffs are precise and never outstay their welcome and no sounds are there just for the sake of it (same goes for lyrics). The percussion is incredible and is probably the biggest thing that separates it from other shoegaze.

There's a part of me that wants to vote for the effortlessly "cool" Curtis but it's far too meandering for me to grab hold of for too long. Either way it's a fair fight.

But yeah, Nowhere is incredible and certainly not just another boring "indie" record.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:12:10 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/20/2013 23:12

Nowhere was really boring.

I love Curtis.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 18:24:27 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/20/2013 22:24

Apologies to everyone (especially Curtis) but it's hard for me forsake my deep love for shoegaze, particularly a shoegaze classic like Nowhere.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Norman Bates — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 14:52:19 GMT

Author: Norman Bates

Posted: 09/20/2013 18:52

lethalnezzle wrote:

Also, it's my birthday so vote for Curtis.

Happy birthday, man !

Link

Best present I could come up with from the top of my head.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

19loveless91 — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 09:58:53 GMT

Author: 19loveless91

Posted: 09/20/2013 13:58

I don't know, I just prefer Nowhere. It might be down to genre preference, though I do find Superfly to be better and on par with Nowhere. Maybe because it's funkier...

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Listmeister — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 08:54:07 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 09/20/2013 12:54

Last fall, a band called The Wanted did a song called "I Found You." I thought it was one of October's best singles, with a Philly soul sound seldom heard since Earth Wind and Fire broke up. After listening to Curtis, especially Move On Up, I understand what they were going for. Curtis is an amazing album, more musically interesting than the more acclaimed What's Going On by Marvin Gaye. Vote to Curtis.

I liked the sound of Ride, but after four or five songs it all sounded a bit same-ish.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 07:29:58 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/20/2013 11:29

lethalnezzle wrote:

EDIT: Also, it's my birthday so vote for Curtis.

Happy birthday! 😁

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 05:12:09 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/20/2013 09:12

Curtis is one of the greatest albums ever - debut, soul, or otherwise. Nowhere is a very good indie album (nowhere near as good as some of its peers, though - Loveless or Souvlaki or Lazer Guided Melodies or On Fire or So Tonight That I Might See). The choice is easy.

I actually picked Curtis as one of the albums to write about for the 500/1001/however many albums book, but I'm really struggling to find something worthwhile to say about it, so this probably isn't going to be the most eloquent defence slash promotion. 'If There's a Hell Below' and, particularly, 'Move On Up' are arguably the two greatest funk songs of all-time. The horns and bongos combination in 'Move On Up' has yet to be bettered by anybody. That those two songs kick off proceedings (respectively) on each side is perfect sequencing, each displaying muscle and oomph before Curtis showcases his soft soul side, which is a style he was clearly just as comfortable with. He had no sort of formal training musically, and apparently used to ask the session musicians hired to play chord sequences (or even play in keys) that they thought were weird or unconventional or that wouldn't work. This much is evident in the slowly snaking horns of 'We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue', which sit at a strange angle to the string section beneath, not to mention that song's sojourn into bongo-break territory and its subsequent path back to melody via harp. The album is full of fantastic musical nuances, above and beyond what soul artists usually aim for, even on this album's peers, the likes of What's Going On and Talking Book. 'The Makings of You' still doesn't make any sense to me musically, from its playful, Disney princess opening to its stumbled upon chord sequence that shouldn't work but does, emphatically so. The likes of 'Miss Black America' and 'Give It Up' are of a much more formalist bent but - due to Mayfield's grasp of the genre - they are still some of the greatest exercises in soft soul that you are ever likely to hear, both featuring triumphant horns and immediately familiar choruses. To me, the album is very similar to Pet Sounds, ostensibly a fairly light album that balances bombast and subtlety but also able, through that, to touch on much bigger issues, be they society wide or deeply personal. He was the single biggest influence on Marley, Hendrix and Lauryn Hill, and this is his greatest album (though I urge everyone to check out Roots, There's No Place Like America Today, Super Fly and pretty much everything you can find by The Impressions). Its peers are the aforementioned What's Going On, Innervisions and There's A Riot Goin' On, and it stands up next to all of them as one of the best albums ever released.

But blah blah blah. Curtis is in my Top 20, so obviously I adore it. It's a little disheartening to see it losing against what I see as a good but not great indie album, but we're a very indie-centric forum. I just hope that everybody takes the time to listen to Curtis and gives it a chance. You might hate songs about racism, or find that he just sounds like the old pervert from Family Guy, but you might find an album to cherish forever.

EDIT: Also, it's my birthday so vote for Curtis.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

junodog4 — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 22:08:06 GMT

Author: junodog4

Posted: 09/20/2013 02:08

Curtis.

What a tremendous album by a fantastic artist.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:29:03 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/19/2013 21:29

Nowhere. If I do my top 100 songs it'll have two songs off this album.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

CellarDoor — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:21:42 GMT

Author: CellarDoor

Posted: 09/19/2013 19:21

Love nowhere. 🙁

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Norman Bates — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:14:33 GMT

Author: Norman Bates

Posted: 09/19/2013 19:14

I really like Nowhere. But Curtis has "Move On Up", plus at least 4 other masterpieces. I'll vote Curtis.

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

meccalecca — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:31:37 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 09/19/2013 18:31

hands down Curtis. I've never liked Ride anywhere near as much as MBV and Slowdive

Re: BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

meccalecca — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 14:30:39 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 09/19/2013 18:30

hands down Curtis. I've never liked Ride anywhere near as much as MBV and Slowdive

BDAT Rd. 1 - Curtis vs. Nowhere (CLOSED)

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 01:30:24 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/18/2013 05:30

BDAT

Round 1

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Curtis - Curtis Mayfield (1970)
Sponsor: alelsupreme

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Nowhere - Ride (1990)
Sponsor: Dingerbell

PLEASE DO NOT VOTE UNLESS YOU HAVE HEARD BOTH ALBUMS