This has been on my to-do list for at least five years, so it's about time I tried it. I found a file instead of streaming it, because Afrika Bambaataa is a serial child molester. The best part of Planet Rock is definitely the hard-hitting and interesting electro production, which takes heavy influence from both earlier hip-hop and Kraftwerk. The rapping is fairly pedestrian, but never detracts from the danceable party atmosphere. The first three tracks in particular slap and are historically important. The rest of the album remains quite fun (we even get some go-go), but it's definitely not on the same level. Overall, this crown jewel of the Zulu Nation is a worthwhile listen with several iconic songs. 3.5/5.
1980 silver: Sugarhill Gang - Sugarhill Gang
1981 gold: Live Convention 81 - Various Artists
1982 silver: Live Convention 82 - Various Artists
1983 silver: Whodini - Whodini
1984 gold: Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C.
1985 silver: King Of Rock - Run-D.M.C.
1987 silver: Criminal Minded - Boogie Down Productions
1989 bronze: No One Can Do It Better - The D.O.C.
1990 bronze: The Geto Boys - The Geto Boys
1997 gold: Sobrevivendo No Inferno - Racionais MC's _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
I was pretty excited to listen to this since this has been added as a top 100 album from The Rolling Stones as well as an episode from Todd for a Trainwrecord. And no, it's not the one you think. But after giving this a full listen, I think this is a good album. There is a part of me that think this is great. But an all time favorite? Not necessarily. I think what plateau my enjoyment for this album is where I wished the record had the pizazz to make me have more investment. Maybe if I didn't listen to Rid Of Me first, maybe I would have enjoyed this some more. But Rid of Me does a lot more for me. I enjoy the theatrics on that album way more. I feel like the lo fi aesthetic and Harvey's vocal inflections made that album more engaging and more raw than this. Though I could see how people do enjoy this. Liz does have a delivery that is alluring and her rawness has more self control compared to Harvey where a couple of passages from Harvey could be a bit kooky. So yeah though it was good, but not an absolute fave.
Grade:80
(2) Bay listen to the 1997 album. Never have heard of that album.
(3)
BEA: Top 100 of 1993
(5) Pearl Jam-Vs.
(12) Snoop Dogg-Doggy Style
(13) Blur-Modern Life Is Rubbish
(15) The Breeders-Last Splash
(17) Depeche Mode-Songs of Faith and Devotion
18 Radiohead-Pablo Honey (R)
(20) Tool-Undertow
(21) The Afghan Whigs-Gentlemen
(22) Morphine-Cure For Pain
(23) U2-Zooropa (R)
I'm too lazy to add the album that I listened to right now. Loyal was a richly-textured ambient album, but, luke many middling albums in the genre, it's not guite nuanced enough to be great.
Luigii, Cure For Pain is definitely a favorite of mine.
Il Baricentro - Sconcerto
Musette - Datum
MIchael Chion- Requiem
Violent Onsen Geisha - Excrete Music
Silvio Rodriguez-Al final de este viaje
Caroliner Rainbow Open Wound Chorale - Rise of the Common Woodpile
These Trails- These Trails
SLAB! -Descension
Monster Rally- Mystery Cove
Anubi- Kai Pilnaties Akis Uzmerks Mirtis
I have heard of Morphine before. Always found the cover for there 1992 album Good to be one of my favorite covers. But whenever I start it up, I start to lose interest and do something else. So I kind of had a bit of hesitance with this album. But after giving this a listen, this was great. Morphine does tackle jazz rock in quite a unique way. There is a part of me that could see a link from this to ska that took place in the 90's. I would also put the question out there with does Manic Street Preachers hit similar qualities? Or do they go at it a different way? But back to this. This was great. I think what prevents me for going further with my admiration with this album, would be more dynamics? I will say Thursday went the full mile. But the rest of the album was really enjoyable. To the point that I do want to go through the rest of there discography. In a certain ways I think on an aesthetic level, I prefer this over In Utero. But I would say on a quality level/go further, In Utero has this beat.
Grade:85
(2)
Chief listen to Slab!
(3)
BEA: Top 100 of 1993
(5) Pearl Jam-Vs.
(12) Snoop Dogg-Doggy Style
(13) Blur-Modern Life Is Rubbish
(15) The Breeders-Last Splash
(17) Depeche Mode-Songs of Faith and Devotion
18 Radiohead-Pablo Honey (R)
(20) Tool-Undertow
(21) The Afghan Whigs-Gentlemen
(23) U2-Zooropa (R)
(24) Tindersticks-Selftitled
Industrial rock from the UK with some other genre-embellishments thrown in like metal and no wave. Bit of jazz too. I'd liken it, like I've seen some others do, to Godflesh or early Swans. I'd say this is better than early Swans for the most part, but maybe not quite as good as Godflesh. This song in particular stood out, but there wasn't a weak moment on this album. Consistently inventive an bone-crushingly heavy throughout.
Luigii, Tindersticks will be the next one for you.
Il Baricentro - Sconcerto
Musette - Datum
MIchael Chion- Requiem
Violent Onsen Geisha - Excrete Music
Silvio Rodriguez-Al final de este viaje
Caroliner Rainbow Open Wound Chorale - Rise of the Common Woodpile
These Trails- These Trails
Monster Rally- Mystery Cove
Anubi- Kai Pilnaties Akis Uzmerks Mirtis
Emmanuelle Parrenin – Maison Ros
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
This seems to be the most acclaimed hip-hop album in Brazilian history. And it makes me regret how rusty my Portuguese has gotten over the last few years - for the most part, I was lost. The album is bookended by the swelling strings of an iconic Isaac Hayes sample. In the intro we hear about racial injustice in Brazil, and in the outro, I think it's largely shoutouts. In the middle, we get a lot of above-average rapping. The themes may be Brazilian, but the sound is more American than I expected. I hear a good deal of west coast influence. I found the album to be quite engaging, but I don't know how much of that was the music itself and how much was me trying to figure out what was happening. In any case, it's a very good album, but I'll need more listens and lessons to say much beyond that. 3.5/5.
1980 silver: Sugarhill Gang - Sugarhill Gang
1981 gold: Live Convention 81 - Various Artists
1982 silver: Live Convention 82 - Various Artists
1983 silver: Whodini - Whodini
1984 gold: Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C.
1985 silver: King Of Rock - Run-D.M.C.
1987 silver: Criminal Minded - Boogie Down Productions
1989 bronze: No One Can Do It Better - The D.O.C.
1990 bronze: The Geto Boys - The Geto Boys
1997 bronze: Funcrusher Plus - Company Flow _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Purplepashranker, rater, & music list makerProfile Western Australia
I want to like this more than I do. Right from the start his voice annoys me. Not that it's bad, I just find it a bit grating. I don't mind the thrashy guitars, but the guitar solos don't excite me at all, and there are other bands that do the thrash metal better. By halfway through the album I just started to find it all a bit monotonous and I was glad when it was over. I will give it a generous 6.5/10, and it comes in at 48/49 for 1990.
I didn't mind a bit of Run-D.M.C. at the time so let's go with their self titled.
8. Repeater by Fugazi
11. The Good Son by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
13. Canción Animal by Soda Stereo
16. Flood by They Might Be Giants
18. Shake Your Money Maker by The Black Crowes
19. Ragged Glory by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
20. People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest
23. The Rhythm Of The Saints by Paul Simon
25. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 by George Michael
27. Behaviour by Pet Shop Boys
You know, back in early 2020 before the world decided to go to bricks and spend my time with 2020 albums and Animal Crossing New Horizons, their 1997 album was something I was quite interested. And I will get to that album whenever I decide to go back to 97. Because this album, while has some pretty good to great tracks. It has some issues. I think the biggest thing for me and if I could reference Chief, it would be the length. You could have streamlined this album and you might have gotten a more refined debut. Like you really had to make a three part song and spread it out through the whole album? But it also has the issue, and this is definitely a me problem, where this isn't on any platform like I Tunes, so I had to rely on Youtube for the full album. And whenever I get an album I'm not as invested as I could be, I would start to consider to go to something else or wanting to listen to another song or album. Also the opening to track 6, I thought that was an ad that I wanted to skip. Until I realized, oh shit! This is part of the album. There was also a couple of songs, mainly the opener and closer where it was kind of hard to know what the singer was saying due to how the vocals sound somewhat lower compare to the mix of the album. This might be a bit of an upset for 1993, but I wasn't as crazy as I feel like I should be.
Grade:70 Maybe better than 36 Chambers but not by much.
(2) Pash, now listen to Soda Stereo.
(3)
BEA: Top 100 of 1993
(5) Pearl Jam-Vs.
(12) Snoop Dogg-Doggy Style
(13) Blur-Modern Life Is Rubbish
(15) The Breeders-Last Splash
(17) Depeche Mode-Songs of Faith and Devotion
18 Radiohead-Pablo Honey (R)
(20) Tool-Undertow
(21) The Afghan Whigs-Gentlemen
(23) U2-Zooropa (R)
(25) Stereolab-T.R.N.B.W.A
Curious what will be next. My guess it would be Stereolab.
Also here is the updated ranking list. It's at 15 albums now. 5 more and I'll be 1/5 done with the year.
https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=63004
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
Another iconic hip-hop album that helps me suddenly fully understand all sorts of little references and homages throughout later records in the genre. Uncovering those origins (some feel like Easter eggs) has been a fun part of hearing these foundational albums after their descendants. Run and D.M.C. both have solid flows and rhymes, but sound quite dated, like pretty much all pre-Rakim emcees. Jam Master Jay chips in some nice scratches. Russell Simmons' production is solid. It's nothing too exciting by contemporary standards, but from what I understand, drums had never hit this hard before. Overall, their debut is an enjoyable and significant album that breezes by, but I can't say I'm a huge fan, and I didn't like it as much as Raising Hell. 3.5/5.
1980 silver: Sugarhill Gang - Sugarhill Gang
1981 gold: Live Convention 81 - Various Artists
1982 silver: Live Convention 82 - Various Artists
1983 silver: Whodini - Whodini
1984 silver: Escape - Whodini
1985 silver: King Of Rock - Run-D.M.C.
1987 silver: Criminal Minded - Boogie Down Productions
1989 bronze: No One Can Do It Better - The D.O.C.
1990 bronze: The Geto Boys - The Geto Boys
1997 bronze: Funcrusher Plus - Company Flow _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
Drinking Songs by Matt Elliott
One of the Youtube algorithm staples. I've heard Drinking Songs some time ago, and throughout the years my appreciation for it grew. But I haven't heard it in a few years, and wasn't sure what to expect in 2020. It seems I still like it a lot, and in fact I still feel it has the same issues as well as the same strengths. So not exactly a revelation I had hoped for. Its highlights are clear: strong songwriting, beautiful atmosphere and fantastic use of accordions, strings and other instruments as an accompaniment to traditional folk mournful guitars and pianos. It's not an album I listen to a lot, but when in the right state of mind (presumably Sunday evening, feeling down because the weekend is ending 😁 ) it's fantastic. And the issues are clear too: the songs are too long. The Kursk has a 6 minute intro that could've been 3-4 minutes, and it wouldn't lose any of the enchanting atmosphere it manages to create. The last song, 20 minute The Maid We Messed is a weird drum n' bass/techno/folk/noise mashup, which is utterly unique but at least 10 minutes too long. Like if that was a 6-7 minute closing instrumental, it would've been one of my favourites on the album. I feel that a few other songs might've been a tad shorter too. Still love it despite some flaws. 8 or 8.5/10
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Drums Of Death by Ashanti Tribe Of Ghana / Ewe Tribe Of Ghana
So I got round to Drums of Death eventually, and it's not at all what I hoped for. Olatunji's Circle of Drums was pretty damn good and I was hoping for more of the same. This is much less varied, it's just raw ritualistic drumming straight from the heart of Ghana. I guess that's a good thing if you enjoy authentic music like this, but after the initial 10-minute adrenaline rush (I played it loudly on speakers) I didn't found too much new things to appreciate. It was just more of the same throughout the other 30 something minutes. There's a lot of drums which sound cool. That's about it. Maybe my ear isn't yet used to these kinds of recordings, but I have a feeling that hearing this live would move me more. It's a shame, but I didn't really like it overall. 6/10
KMD - Black Bastards
Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
--------------------------------------
Kasai Allstars - In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic
Boubacar Traoré - Mariama
Oidupaa Vladimir Oiun - Divine Music From A Jail
Rokia Traoré - Bowmboï
Sun City Girls - Torch Of The Mystics
Jimmy Lee Williams - Hoot Your Belly
Soungalo Coulibaly - Dengo
Ali Farka Touré - Niafunké _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
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baystateoftheart
Tha1ChiefRocka
Purplepash
LedZep
