Listmeister Listens - My Top 106: The Fame

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bobbyb5



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Location: New York
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  • #111
  • Posted: 05/15/2018 23:58
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Listmeister wrote:
New Discovery 2: Guitar Rock of 1970


American Woman by The Guess Who

BEA Ranks: 63rd of 1970; 583rd of 1970s; 2989th of All Time
Ranked Highest by: Mauce, 23rd of All Time

"They were invited to the White House, under the guise that they would not play one particular song. They played 'American Woman' anyway, and were kicked out. How badass is that?" junodog4

"Those three hits are probably three of the 100 best radio songs ever." jhuik

Mathematically, one out of every 13 or 14 albums that I hear should be in my top 100. Given that it takes an album several listens, and I'm not going to rank it into its true place the first time I hear it, it may be more like one out of 25 or 30. Still, I expected I'd have more than two new discoveries since I started this diary. Happily, I now have the chance to rectify that a little bit. This had been in my wish list for a long time, but I just didn't get around to listening to until last week I wished I listened to it sooner.

The guitars are amazing on "American Woman". "8:15" shows the virtuosity of the band, with the accoustic guitars, bass, and drums each taking a moment in the spotlight. The interplay of guitar and vocal harmonies is amazing on "No Time." More fantastic harmonies in "When Friends Fall Out" and "Proper Stranger." "Talisman" is a 1960's poetry exercise with some interesting vocals by Burton Cummings, and on "Humpty's Blues" he pushes his voice to the limit. "969 (the Oldest Man)" is an instrumental, it has flute in it.

"No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" is in a class almost by itself. It's two songs, really. One sung after another, and then both at the same time. That is so hard to do that few bands have even attempted it. Simon and Garfunkel did something similar with "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", and that's the only other example I can think of.

When I heard the album, it immediately went to number one for 1970s ("Lola vs. Powerman & the Moneygoround" by the Kinks is now runner-up). I had to put in the top 100, even the my top 100 are already glutted with 70's albums. I'll make room for one more.

91. Breakfast in America
92. Book of Dreams
93. Actually
94. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
95. Revolution Radio
96. American Woman
97. Use Your Illusion II
98. London Calling
99. Don Quixote
100. American Graffiti Soundtrack
101. The Fame Monster


I don't know which three songs that guy was talking about who said those three songs are three of the best radio hits ever, but if he's talking about either No Time, Laughing, These Eyes or Undun, he's absolutely right. Some of the best hit singles ever.They make today's tuneless wonders look sick in comparison.
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Listmeister



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Location: Ohio
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  • #112
  • Posted: 06/06/2018 01:36
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Epoch moments in rock and roll history.

9 July 1955: Rock Around the Clock, by Bill Haley & his Comets, is the Number One Song on Billboard's Pop Charts
3 Feb 1959: Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash, ending the career of the greatest songwriter of the first generation.

1 Febr 1964: I Want to Hold Your Hand, by The Beatles, Number One on Billboard's Hot 100
26 May 1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles released in the United Kingdom

8 May 1970: Let It Be, by The Beatles, is the last Beatles album released.
1 March 1973: Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd is released

28 Oct 1977: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is released
14 Dec 1979: London Calling, by the Clash, is released

27 March 1984: Run-DMC (the album) is released.
21 July 1987: Appetite for Destruction, by Guns 'n' Roses, is released

24 Sept 1991: Nevermind, by Nirvana is released.
16 June 1997: OK Computer, by Radiohead, is released

12 June 1999: Agaetis Byrjun, by Sigur Ros, is released
1 April 2003: Elephant, by The White Stripes, is released

27 Oct 2006: Back to Black by Amy Winehouse is released
19 Aug 2008: The Fame, by Lady Gaga, is released

24 Jan 2011: 21, by Adele, is released
17 May 2013: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk is released

23 April 2016: Lemonade, by Beyonce, is released

A generation in pop music is seven years. Young musicians learn their craft from the generation before them, and it takes about seven years for them to go from teenagers messing around with guitars to pop stars. Every half-generation, it seems, a great album, a game-changer, is produced. Sometimes there's more than one, sometimes the length of time varies a little. These are the albums that stand out for me as the bell-ringers and peaks of each generation.


Lemonade by Beyoncé

Our current epoch.
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Listmeister



Gender: Male
Location: Ohio
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  • #113
  • Posted: 06/30/2018 00:47
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29. Just Dance. It'll Be Okay


The Fame by Lady Gaga

BEA ranks: 39th of 2008; 465th of 2000s; 2,165th of All Time
Ranked highest by KryptoniteKait, 3rd of All Time.

"It's great and very infectious pop, I never complain when this disc goes in the player or ipod." --joeMT

"She might be annoying, but she writes catchy pop songs." --pearljammer13

"This displays some talent. We'll see where her career goes from here." --junodog4


I was going to make this review about how this album was a game-changer, but I think I bit off more than I could chew when I tried to write music history analysis. I do believe the album changed the direction of pop music over the next seven to ten years, but I could not find the words to explain how, with examples. After all, as good as it is, it didn't really invent anything.

Well, you do have that half-second self-echo in the middle of "Just Dance"("Half psychotic, sick hypnotic, got my blueprint electronic"). I'd never heard that before. There's a subtle bass drum undertone throughout "Lovegame" that I thought was really cool. "Paparazzi" single-handedly invented a genre that I call "Sweet Creepy", but this genre never really took off, so that doesn't count.

After that, you have several really good pop/dance songs. "Fame", "Poker Face", "Eh-eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)", and "I Like It Rough" are all amazing pop tunes. Now, the album is not flawless. Paper Gangsta is badly written. Really badly written.

To be fair, it's meant to be blasted from club speakers at high volume, so don't expect a lot of subtlety. But unless you deliberately clamp your butt to your chair, it's going to get you moving, and that is what the album set out to do.

29. Rocky Horror Picture Show
30. Slippery When Wet
31. Nightflight to Venus
32. Flood
33. Bat Out Of Hell
34. The ArchAndroid
35. Brill Bruisers
36. Help!
37. The Fame
38. Up!
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Bork
Executive Hillbilly



Location: Vinson Mountain, GA
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  • #114
  • Posted: 06/30/2018 04:07
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Been reading from start to finish with great enjoyment. I don't necessarily agree with all you're saying, but keep it up Listman. This is a good thread.
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