TBH, I don't know why I put that Bo Diddley album on there. It's pretty good, but it's probably borderline chart worthy. I'd rather just listen to all the hits and other great stuff that's on the Chess Box.
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
There are two totally different albums with this exact name, from 1950 and 1953, with only the former being on BEA. I consider myself a fan of of Charlie Parker's energetic bebop, but this string-drenched style is pretty different. In fact, RYM considers it to be one of the first ever cool jazz LPs. I really enjoyed it, and it flew by at less than 19 minutes, but I certainly prefer his iconic adventures in bebop to these subdued standards. 3.5/5.
1951: Sonatas And Interludes For Prepared Piano - Maro Ajemian
1953: This Modern World - Stan Kenton
1954: Images - Sarah Vaughan
1957: This Is How I Feel About Jazz - Quincy Jones
1998: Nightfall In Middle-Earth - Blind Guardian
2001: The Photo Album - Death Cab For Cutie
2011: Metals - Feist
2013: The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You - Neko Case
2014: Meshes Of Voice - Jenny Hval & Susanna
2020: Skull Echo - Julia Marcell _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
This is like an even more intrusive version of "A Crow Looked At Me". That's the artist's dead mother on the cover there, and the first track "God and Cancer" tells you all that you need to know of her outcome. There's a slight exploitation that comes with the way this album is presented, but, seeing as though it's fairly obscure, I don't think this was really meant for a wide audience. It defies easy categorization, and I even would consider this to verge on performance art, because of the subject matter and it's presentation. It's a confusing feeling to have when you're listening to something like this, because you want to empathize with the artist, but you can't help but feel a little weird. Like you're hearing something that you're not supposed to. Have you ever been in a room when somebody else breaks down in tears or gets emotional over something? It's like that except you can't leave the room and give them space, you still have 30 minutes more to listen to. Anyways, this was an interesting one for sure. The music is mostly Harsh Noise or ambient based with some mixtures of synth pop thrown in. It's actually pretty good musically, but I don't think this is something I could ever listen to again.
If anybody's interested, here's the only place I've found it.
Aviador Dro โโ Alas Sobre El Mundo
Patty Pravo- Concerto Per Patty
Ama Divers- Shadow Seeking Sun
Steve Roden - Crop Circles
Hertzainak - Hertzainak
Skepticism- Stormcrowfleet
Crash Worship - This
Death Comet Crew โโ This Is Riphop
Brigitte Fontaine & Areski - L'incendie
Mutual Benefit - Love's Crushing Diamond
AMENDMENT:
Actually, here's an excerpt from the bandcamp of the artist. A good read.
Sometimes I feel embarrassed.
Other times I feel proud.
This Song Is A Mess But So Am I existed from 2003 until 2007. Originally the project dealt with a personal loss of a family member to cancer. Originally it was about something cathartic. I stopped it in 2007 when it was no longer cathartic.
Whether or not it was "okay" to have ever done and release This Song Is A Mess But So Am I recordings is something I still think about often and something I still grapple with in terms of whatever music project I am working on. Maybe it was for the better or maybe it was for worse. I can think of several instances for both sides of the fence.
This is one document of a very particular time in my life.
Pop by Gas
Think I've heard this one before, but I'm not 100% sure. I have certainly heard Kรถnigsforst though. Both albums are very similar, which isn't that bad since both are good. GAS is Wolfgang Voigt's project started with intention to "bring the forest to the disco, or vice-versa". Apparently he liked taking LSD and walking around the Kรถnigsforst forest in Germany when he was young. I barely see the "disco" part of the equation, since both of his works that I've heard are very repetitive, low-key, meditative and I couldn't possibly imagine them being played at any club. Repetitiveness is both a positive and a negative in his music, depends on how I'm feeling at the moment. Similar to that Oren Ambarchi album. I think there's even less going on than on Grapes From the Estate. It fits a certain mood, but doesn't blow me away otherwise. 7.5/10
Worthwhile avant-garde classical music from one of its masters. Very good composition, and very good playing by Ajemian. It's quite mellow, but it remains compelling and unpredictable throughout. I somewhat prefer the interludes to the sonatas. 3.5/5.
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2. Ghost Tropic interests me the most.
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3. I'm going to continue the AOTY theme, but with Chief's this time. Btw, I haven't built out most of my year charts properly on BEA, but you can find all my AOTYs here if you're interested.
1969: Uncle Meat - The Mothers Of Invention
1981: Tin Drum - Japan
1982: Milo Goes To College - The Descendents
1987: George Best - The Wedding Present
1999: Play - Moby
2001: The Argument - Fugazi
2003: Wonderful Rainbow - Lightning Bolt
2008: Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp
2011: Gloss Drop - Battles
2014: Plowing Into The Field Of Love - Iceage _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
This album probably missed it's sweet spot by about seven years. This is the kind of thing that was killing in the mid 00's, but in 2013, I don't know if anyone was listening to this delicate kind of folk-stuff. However, although this kind of music can usually annoy me quite a bit, this album is beautifully produced, so I enjoyed it more than I was expecting. It's also pretty short and sweet at 31 minutes, so it could be one that I return to if I need to listen to this sort of thing. The vocal style is what nearly kills it for me though. The hipster-warble gets in the way of the nicely made music.
Baystate, I haven't updated the years in awhile, but i'm still happy with most of those albums. I can't pass up an opportunity to make someone listen to Uncle Meat. At least you'll hear a great Madvillainy sample! (If nothing else :))
Listen to the playlist on youtube that has 28 tracks. The CD version on spotify adds in a few extras that aren't really necessary.
Aviador Dro โโ Alas Sobre El Mundo
Patty Pravo- Concerto Per Patty
Ama Divers- Shadow Seeking Sun
Steve Roden - Crop Circles
Hertzainak - Hertzainak
Skepticism- Stormcrowfleet
Crash Worship - This
Death Comet Crew โโ This Is Riphop
Brigitte Fontaine & Areski - L'incendie
gangpol & mit - the hopelessly sad story of the hideous end of the world
Oh man. I loved every Molina album I've heard so far, and this one's no different. It's probably the most experimental and the most subtle of the bunch, with songwriting being as excellent as ever. It's somewhere between The Microphones and The Magnolia Electric Co. and in terms of quality, it's rivaling both. Every song is great, but it's much more than a collection of good songs. I'm really glad I finally got to it. 9/10
Good choice for me Zep. This is the album I would have picked for myself first, having liked what little I've heard of Bo Diddley, and wanting to hear more for a long time now. Probably since the late 80's when JAMC referenced him as an influence. This album may not be rated that well but I thought it was a blast! I had a ton of fun listening to this. It had a genuine feel to it. A little bit rough and raw, and some great sounding guitar tones that were probably a bit experimental for the time. A decent amount of variety too with some R&B, and blues influences in his rock and roll. As well as some catchy rock and roll tunes there was some light storytelling, some (admittedly bad) jokes that I somehow found humorous, a couple of great instrumentals, and a song (I don't recall which one it was) that brought to my mind The Cramps and made me wonder if he was an influence on them? Anyway definitely chart worthy in my opinion, 8.5/10, now my #1 for 1960, and enters my decade chart #31.
I've wanted to hear more Xiu Xiu so Fabulous Muscles next.
Now to have a look at 1970 for a little while. Some albums I've wanted to hear for a while in this list.
BEA Best Albums of 1970 (5 picks left)
11. Let It Be by The Beatles
12. Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominos
15. Dรฉjร Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
16. American Beauty by Grateful Dead
17. Deep Purple In Rock by Deep Purple
18. Tea For The Tillerman by Cat Stevens
19. Abraxas by Santana
21. Morrison Hotel by The Doors
22. Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One by The Kinks
24. Third by Soft Machine
The group was founded by schoolmates Arturo Lanz and Servando Carballar in 1979, when they published an ad in a magazine requesting musicians who liked Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and The Residents to join them.
That's all I needed to read to know that I would like this band, and they lived up to their influences. Not quite as good as those, but a fun electronic experience that's very much of its time.
Purple, Third is the most interesting out of those. Get ready for 20 minute songs.
Patty Pravo- Concerto Per Patty
Ama Divers- Shadow Seeking Sun
Steve Roden - Crop Circles
Hertzainak - Hertzainak
Skepticism- Stormcrowfleet
Crash Worship - This
Death Comet Crew โโ This Is Riphop
Brigitte Fontaine & Areski - L'incendie
gangpol & mit - the hopelessly sad story of the hideous end of the world
Rippikoulu - Musta Seremonia
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Tha1ChiefRocka
baystateoftheart
LedZep
Purplepash
