Top 5 concerts of 2022 - Music Diaries - Forums : Best Ever Albums

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

98 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 8, 73

The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Position: 8

Another absolute smasher. I prefer the doomer version, but the single, released in 1992 to promote a best off comp, is fine as well. The Smiths are one of my favourite bands, or at least were for a long time and this is the pinnacle of Morrissey's beautiful, whiny, sadboy pop songwriting. The debut is my fave, that lofi production is extremely charming, but this is just... pure perfection in terms of mixing, production, even sound engineering. The flute, the sound they got out of that guitar (which was written together with Bigmouth Strikes Again guitar parts, what a session!)... THE sad indie anthem.

Nas - The World Is Yours
Position: 74

This is getting extremely tough. There Is a Light and 1979 are both very nostalgic songs for me, neither is the best by the respective band, yet both are close to perfect. No idea how to rank them. And then there's this. The man himself. The World Is Yours is probably my 2nd fave Nas song and features some of the most legendary lines of all time. Pete Rock beats are to die for. Here's what he had to say about the song:
"Next thing you know, we in Battery Studios knocking it down. When I was doing the scratches, [DJ Premier] was there. He was just standing there, looking in amazement, and I was like, “Come on, nigga! You that dude, too.""
It's another cut I've loved for a long time, and I think it just edges the two indie/rock classics. All three are lyrical giants, but Nas has this line while the other two don't: "I'm out for presidents to represent me. I'm out for dead presidents to represent me."

The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

Repo
BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

LedZep wrote:

Repo wrote:

It's never too late! Wink

<Will listen to some Opeth this weekend! - Great list! Very Happy

>

Here's my RRW...

Top TEN Albums of 1992
==========================================

10. Ride - Going Blank Again [Brit Pop, Shoegaze]
9. The Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hal [Alt Country, Power Pop]
8. Tom Waits - Bone Machine [ Blues Punk]
7. Alice In Chains - Dirt [Grunge, Alt Rock]
6. Sade - Love Deluxe [R&B, Trip Hop]
5. The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray [Power Pop, Alt Rock]
4. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II [ Hip Hop]
3. Aphex Twin - SAW I [IDM]
2. Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill [Slowcore]
1. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted [Indie Rock]

Hey, it's not too late! I'm gonna drop that list one lazy Wednesday Very Happy

This is a cool one, don't think I've heard the Jayhaws record or the Sade one. Missed the Lemonheads tour recently in my town, they were playing the whole It's a Shame About Ray. It's a shame. Not sure how my 1992 list would look like, but it'd include Dry, Dirt, Henry's Dream and Wish. And Aphex Twin, obviously.

Nice! Dry was definitely close to making my top ten. Wish I find uneven and mostly a repetition of their past glories.

I NEED to check out Henry's Dream! I never got into Nick Cave that much weirdly enough. You'd think he would be more one of my faves.

Last edited by Repo on 10/04/2022 01:35; edited 1 time in total

kokkinos

Hey, that’s a great idea for a project, I’ll be following and listening along – it’s much easier with songs than it is with albums.
I don’t think I had ever looked at this list, it’s decent, there isn't much to complain about really, though I'd like it if the usual suspects (Radiohead, Kendrick, Bowie, Bjork, My Bloody Valentine, etc. ) didn't have such a dominating presence and more artists were represented.

LedZep wrote:

nor will you see metal near the bottom.

I don’t want to spoil the party, but there isn’t much of that anyway, you could have stopped at "nor will you see metal" – it's only Deftones I think. Mr. Green

Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space is better than I remembered it being. It takes the romanticism of the ‘60s, production inspired in equal parts by Phil Spector and shoegaze, the dreamy atmosphere that is reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins and it all reaches an ecstatic climax that would make GY!BE proud, which is even more Impressive taking into account its running time. And I happened to read Sophie’s World when I was a teenager. It is a great book, a beginner’s friendly and digestible way to get acquainted with the basic branches of philosophy and each one’s main ideas and concepts.

I am not a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins - to be fair, I don’t think I’ve ever given them a proper chance – but I love 1979, it crushes you in the most gentle way. And I agree about its importance, the synth loop is probably the most interesting aspect of it. Funnily enough, I’d say this song shares something in common with both Spiritualized (the dreamlike quality) and The Smiths (the overall bittersweetness).

Speaking of The Smiths, I’ve already expressed my adoration for them countless times, so I won’t repeat myself. The one thing I’ll say is that, on most days, I don’t consider it their best song either – mind you, this doesn’t make it any less than perfect. Smile

LedZep wrote:

Nas has this line while the other two don't: "I'm out for presidents to represent me. I'm out for dead presidents to represent me."

Hmm, you know how it goes though: you made it a hot line, I made it a hot song Wink

I would probably take 3 or 4 songs from Illmatic over it but even the big Jay-Z fanboy that I am can't deny it's a great song nonetheless not as great as Dead Presidents of course. What makes it stand out for me is the charming piano sample and that the rare moment of softness/weakness adds another dimension to the album.

So, I'd go with There Is A Light That Never Goes Out>1979>The World Is Yours>Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space.

I'm really curious how this will turn out. I think I know which song will be my #1, but after that it's a mess, too many fantastic songs. Do you have a rough idea of your top-5/top-10 already? (If yes, don't name it, keep it spoiler-free)
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LedZep

Repo wrote:

Nice! Dry was definitely close to making my top ten. Wish I find uneven and mostly a repetition of their past glories.

I NEED to check out Henry's Dream! I never got into Nick Cave that much weirdly enough. You'd think he would be more one of my faves.

Seems I'm one of the rare Cure fans who consider Wish to be some of their best work. From the Edge... Open, Apart, High, Trust, End, Doing the Unstuck are all some of my faves. Also, everyone has their Nick Cave phase, I'm sure you'll have one as well Repo Cool

Quote:

I don’t want to spoil the party, but there isn’t much of that anyway, you could have stopped at "nor will you see metal" – it's only Deftones I think. Mr. Green

TBH despite making the playlist, I haven't actually looked closer at the songs. So no metal is not surprising, but it's disappointing. Deftones song is a really weird case, I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Quote:

Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space is better than I remembered it being. It takes the romanticism of the ‘60s, production inspired in equal parts by Phil Spector and shoegaze, the dreamy atmosphere that is reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins and it all reaches an ecstatic climax that would make GY!BE proud, which is even more Impressive taking into account its running time.

This is a perfect summary, thanks for that. And Spiritualized definitely have some Billy Corgan in their sound. I share the opinion on There is a Light... as in, it's not their best song and it's still a literally perfect pop gem. 1979 as well, although I'm a big Smashing Pumpkins fan, unlike you. Really glad you've joined kokkinos, it's a manageable project, only a dozen songs every week. Also, you're much better at this diary thing than myself Laughing

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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

Last edited by LedZep on 10/05/2022 21:42; edited 1 time in total

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

96 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 61, 13

The Cure - Pictures of You
Position: 63

Speaking of The Cure and me being a fan... Yeah, it's one of the best things ever. The single version and the album version differ slightly. Album cut is the first one I've heard (so a definitive cut for me), but I'm really drawn to the single version's bass intro. It's incredibly potent, and that short break in the middle of the song near "remembering you" is such a lovely detail that it elevates the whole song. What I like slightly less is the single's vocal "ta ta" snippet in the intro. The opening lyrics are much more powerful when they're the first vocals you hear in the song. They're both 10/10 as far as I'm concerned. There are other versions of the song, including an extended one and a Mixed Up version, all of them excellent. And it's possibly not even a top 5 Cure song. Ridiculous. Seeing them live for the 2nd time in October, the first time was great but I'm expecting even more from this solo show as opposed to a festival performance. Back to Pictures of You and Robert Smith's lyricism. According to the interviews, the inspiration for the song came after a fire broke loose in Robert Smith's home. He was going through the burnt remains and came across the pictures of his wife, Mary. Self-explanatory, simple, but incredibly cool and original concept in a sea of love song clichés.

"Remembering you
How you used to be
Slow drowned
You were angels
So much more than everything
Hold for the last time then slip away quietly
Open my eyes
But I never see anything
If only I'd thought of the right words
I could have held on to your heart
If only I'd thought of the right words
I wouldn't be breaking apart
All my pictures of you"

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Position: 14

Is it one of the finest pop songs of all time? Probably. 14th best single ever? Probably not. I'm a big fan of the book, so that's a huge plus. Bush was 18 when she wrote the song and it was famously the first number 1 single in the UK charts written and performed by a woman. In fact, it debuted at number 27 and rose to dethrone ABBA's Take a Chance On Me 3 weeks later. It's one catchy as hell tune. The vocals are amazing, but I understand if someone doesn't dig her raw, early years voice. Despite all that I can't rank it over anything I've heard bar Spiritualized. Just as genius as 1979 and There is a Light, but here comes the nitpicking part: it's a bit too long. Like 15-ish seconds near the end and at least 1 or 2 too many choruses. Doesn't even make much of a difference, except when you compare it to other all-time great songs. (I'm booing every single list that has Wuthering Heights ranked 5/6, including this one.)

Pictures of You
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
Wuthering Heights
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

94 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 21, 36

Radiohead - Idioteque
Position: 23

I've had the Idioteque phase. Then I've overplayed the song. Now I'm feeling it again. Go figure. It's definitely some of the best sounding Radiohead music, and I've always been a big fan of the lyrics. Most of them don't make much sense since Thom Yorke cut up phrases and drew them out of the hat to write the lyrics for Kid A, but it sounds mysterious and cool, which is in most cases enough for me. Go play Kid A Mnesia Exhibition if you've got a good PC. Psychedelic af, your GPU will melt, it's worth it. Pictures of You holds up slightly better imo, but I prefer the melancholic, broken IDM journey to some of the best rapping of all time (at least right now). And to think I didn't like this being in the semi finals of our BEA best 2000s song tournament... In my defense, it was the "this is overplayed" phase. And it's more fun having less popular songs in the semi-finals of those BEA tourneys anyway. The drum machine sound on this one is one of the most beautiful instrument sounds I've ever heard.

Black Midi - Sugar/Tzu
Position: 38

I'm underrating it because it's new. The most adventurous song so far, has technically the best musicians apart from Kate Bush (which doesn't mean that much, but it's definitely fun listening to Morgan's drumming). Insane song structure. Insane vocal performance. Insane lyrics. Insane. And I hope these young'uns continue getting better and better, this song's amazing but hardly their ceiling imo. A bizarre lyric sheet altogether, but I guess that's how the boxing matches on the February 31st, 2163 will look like.

"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the sporting event of the year? To the thousands in attendance, and to the millions watching around the world, let's see some thunder!"

Pictures of You
Idioteque
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
Wuthering Heights
Sugar/Tzu
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

kokkinos

I’m a proud member of the “Kid A > OK Computer” team, so it’s easy to guess I consider Idioteque one of the greatest songs of all time. The transformation they went through in the span of less than a decade is one of the most impressive I can think of. A band that started as a poor man’s Nirvana -Pablo Honey era - then took Floyd’s throne as the most “artistic” (whatever that’s supposed to mean) rock band out there – OK Computer era - and suddenly became Kraftwerk’s worthy successor – Kid A era - and then added some more. Idioteque is probably the only song of the album that somewhat resembles a traditional hit, super catchy, I can see why you overplayed it, it’s extremely addictive. Another thing I like about it is how it might appear “cold”, but it’s definitely not emotionless. You aren’t dancing because you are being entertained, the existential dread is the driving force. A masterpiece.
Sugar/Tzu is wild with a capital W. I don’t think I’ve ever heard guitar and horns that sound like this – not that the drumming is any more reasonable, they just keep punching you in the face, no pun intended. Clearly not my thing, but it’s good to know what the cool kids are up to these days. By the way, I didn’t know “Brutal Prog” was a thing, that’s something new for me.
Speaking of “not my thing”, vocalists with such a dominating presence as Kate Bush usually make me uncomfortable, I’m too faint-hearted. Anyway, calling her debut single a game changer would be a fair assessment. As Bob Dylan showed the world that you don’t have to be a great singer in the traditional sense in order to make it, opening the door for the likes of Lou Reed and Tom Waits, Kate Bush paved the way for tons of “weird” singers that would follow, from Bjork to Joanna Newsom and everyone in between. And as you correctly said, there’s no place where her voice sounds more authentic than her early recordings. A fantastic artist and what happened with Stranger Thing was great, well deserved.
Regarding The Cure, I had written in relative depth my opinion about them when Mercury carried out his ‘80s project about a year/a year and a half ago. There's no reason to repeat myself, so I'm keeping it as short as possible, I think Pornography is one of the greatest albums of all time, but also their peak, I don’t like the direction they took afterwards, it’s as if they had to compromise and, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. I mean, they are still depressed, but their sound got brighter - arguably more commercial as well - and there are moments of beauty or - speak of the unthinkable - fun. Good for them and they won many fans thanks to that, but I prefer the utter despair of Pornography, a fully committed artistic statement.
It's getting tough, but I'd go with something like this:
Idioteque
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
The World Is Yours
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Pictures Of You
Wuthering Heights
Sugar/Tzu
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

Repo
BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

kokkinos wrote:

Regarding The Cure, I had written in relative depth my opinion about them when Mercury carried out his ‘80s project about a year/a year and a half ago. There's no reason to repeat myself, so I'm keeping it as short as possible, I think Pornography is one of the greatest albums of all time, but also their peak, I don’t like the direction they took afterwards, it’s as if they had to compromise and, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. I mean, they are still depressed, but their sound got brighter - arguably more commercial as well - and there are moments of beauty or - speak of the unthinkable - fun. Good for them and they won many fans thanks to that, but I prefer the utter despair of Pornography, a fully committed artistic statement.

Pornography is my favorite Cure album and what I consider probably the best album of all time. <Haunted> world building of the highest order. BUT, I also love the next few albums after that and consider Disintegration another one of the best world building albums of all time. The Cure fricking ruled the 80s!

LedZep

Repo wrote:

kokkinos wrote:

Regarding The Cure, I had written in relative depth my opinion about them when Mercury carried out his ‘80s project about a year/a year and a half ago. There's no reason to repeat myself, so I'm keeping it as short as possible, I think Pornography is one of the greatest albums of all time, but also their peak, I don’t like the direction they took afterwards, it’s as if they had to compromise and, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. I mean, they are still depressed, but their sound got brighter - arguably more commercial as well - and there are moments of beauty or - speak of the unthinkable - fun. Good for them and they won many fans thanks to that, but I prefer the utter despair of Pornography, a fully committed artistic statement.

Pornography is my favorite Cure album and what I consider probably the best album of all time. <Haunted> world building of the highest order. BUT, I also love the next few albums after that and consider [b]Disintegration another one of the best world building albums of all time[/b]. The Cure fricking ruled the 80s!

My opinion as well. I'd give a slight edge to Disintegration's songwriting over Pornography, even if I think the latter is a more important and more unique album. I guess in a sea of near-perfect songs, the title track from Pornography has always struck me as a bit of an oddity. Either could be my fave album of all time at any given moment. Sugar/Tzu is absolutely wild and if that's what the kids and/or my generation are listening to these days, I'm all for it.

kokkinos wrote:

I’m a proud member of the “Kid A > OK Computer” team

Me too, at least most of the time. They are close in terms of quality, OK Computer's got the 90s classics, slightly better songwriting, no filler, legendary status, yada yada, but Kid A's atmosphere is almost unbeatable when it comes to indie music. A friend always claims that Kid A is a pretentious fan's fave, but all Radiohead fans are pretentious, so no worries here Laughing

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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

kokkinos

LedZep wrote:

A friend always claims that Kid A is a pretentious fan's fave, but all Radiohead fans are pretentious, so no worries here Laughing

Nah, any self-respecting pretentious fan will tell you that Amnesiac>Kid A >>> OK Computer. Mr. Green

And I get why Repo, LedZep and millions of people love Disintegration. I wouldn't say I actively dislike it either, a more accurate description of my feelings would be that I simply don't care about it.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus