You must listen to the album below you: canon edition - Games

Repo
BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

baystateoftheart wrote:

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

I rarely mention lyrics at all in any review of music (unless it's hip hop of course). In anything else, especially singer songwriter music, I'm more interested in the counterpoint between the sound of the singer's voice and the guitar, piano, tambourine, didgeridoo, whatever instrumentation is happening. Lyrics almost always have no bearing on any rating I would give an album unless they are so incredibly lackluster or extraordinary that not mentioning them would be stupid. I didn't hear anything on the album that I was impressed with. Typical idealistic-romantic meanderings.

Am I supposed to replace Blue with something else, or do I just post the same list with Blue removed now? You can PM me the answer to this question if you don't want to clog up the thread.

Interesting philosophy. To me, the lyrics are almost always important. Exceptions are if they're in a language I can't understand at all or if they're totally incomprehensible without reading the lyric sheet. If I had to pick one genre other than hip-hop where lyrics are key to consider in evaluating the music, it would probably be singer/songwriter.

The list should be ten every time, so just add the next one you haven't heard.

Yeah, I know that's a bit weird. People look at me like I'm crazy when I ever talk about this. I'm just much more interested in sounds.

Nah! I'm the exact same way. Lyrics don't mean that much to me. The vocalist is just another instrument for me. I'm all about the sounds too. So the hip-hop/folk music I like is mostly about the sounds.

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

baystateoftheart wrote:

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

I rarely mention lyrics at all in any review of music (unless it's hip hop of course). In anything else, especially singer songwriter music, I'm more interested in the counterpoint between the sound of the singer's voice and the guitar, piano, tambourine, didgeridoo, whatever instrumentation is happening. Lyrics almost always have no bearing on any rating I would give an album unless they are so incredibly lackluster or extraordinary that not mentioning them would be stupid. I didn't hear anything on the album that I was impressed with. Typical idealistic-romantic meanderings.

Am I supposed to replace Blue with something else, or do I just post the same list with Blue removed now? You can PM me the answer to this question if you don't want to clog up the thread.

Interesting philosophy. To me, the lyrics are almost always important. Exceptions are if they're in a language I can't understand at all or if they're totally incomprehensible without reading the lyric sheet. If I had to pick one genre other than hip-hop where lyrics are key to consider in evaluating the music, it would probably be singer/songwriter.

The list should be ten every time, so just add the next one you haven't heard.

Yeah, I know that's a bit weird. People look at me like I'm crazy when I ever talk about this. I'm just much more interested in sounds. My overall chart now reflects this since I think there are vocals on maybe 5 of the albums. If I want to read something melancholy, then I'll read actual poetry. And yes, I am definitely one of the people that makes a clear line between lyrics and poetry. Joni Mitchell and Gwendolyn Brooks (as an example) aren't even in the same universe when it comes to writing. Now my English Teacher bias is showing, and I should probably stop.

Makes sense. One issue though is that lyrics and music aren't cleanly separable. A lot of music is unremarkable on its own, but remarkable in the way it complements the lyrics, and that element gets lost with your approach. To put it in terms of hip-hop, since that's the one genre where you do consider lyrics, plenty of albums with great beats in context don't work particularly well as isolated beat tapes. And while that's partly because of vocal style and flow, which aren't lyrics-related, lyrics and beats do have an important interdependent relationship as well.
_________________
Add me on RYM

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

1.

Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath

Wow I liked this album way more than I was expecting. Great guitar work and engrossing music. I listened to the US version. Not sure if this is better than Paranoid, or if I've simply acclimated more to metal since, but this replaces Paranoid for now as the best metal album I've heard so far, and is the first metal album I've ever awarded a 4/5.

~~~~~

2. Chief I'm going to assign you this one, my favorite out of the seven on your list I've heard:

If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle And Sebastian

~~~~~

3. Here's my list from before, modified accordingly:

38. Red - King Crimson
40. Spiderland - Slint
44. The Bends - Radiohead
47. F♯A♯∞ - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
51. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
53. Master Of Reality - Black Sabbath
55. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
56. Ride The Lightning - Metallica
63. Tago Mago - Can
65. Close To The Edge - Yes
_________________
Add me on RYM

Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.

Location: Kansas

If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle And Sebastian

Dammit. You got me. This album's good. It lost some steam by the end, but their are a couple songs I can see maybe getting more playtime from me in the future. This is nice and harmless music.

NOW,

You've got a lot of winners in your list, but Spiderland is one of the most idiosyncratic and singular pieces of music ever created, so you should probably listen to it. Like, right now. Like your life depends on it. Then keep in mind that this album was made by a bunch of barely 20 something kids from Kentucky. And then watch the documentary "Breadcrumb Trail" about the mysterious band and their albums.Then listen again and again and again and again....

Spiderland by Slint

BTW, this is one of those albums that even I pay attention to the lyrics. Mostly because they're a bit cryptic.

The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
Born To Run- Bruce Fucking Springsteen
Definitely Maybe- Oasis
For Emma, Forever Ago- Bon Iver
Reflektor- Arcade Fire
Hot Fuss- The Killers
High Violet- The National
Bon Iver, Bon Iver- Fucking Bon Iver
Hospice- The Antlers
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John (Dammit)

Last edited by Tha1ChiefRocka on 10/19/2018 21:57; edited 1 time in total

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

1.

Spiderland by Slint

This was my first time listening to an album classified as math rock. I liked this a good deal instrumentally. The vocals were pretty buried in the mix, and I was driving most of the time I was listening, so I didn't get to assess the lyrics much. Laughing

It didn't leave me in the mood to listen obsessively or watch a documentary, sorry. But I will revisit it at some point for sure. A pleasingly dark and beguiling record. 3.5/5

~~~~~

2. I'm going to assume you want to keep working from your earlier list. If that's not the case, let me know. In the future, would appreciate if you could leave your ten at the end of the post for clarity. Anyway, I wouldn't call any album remaining in those nine amazing, but my favorite is probably this one. I apologize in advance lol. Especially for the final track, because if you don't like that one you'll almost certainly hate it with a passion.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver by Bon Iver

~~~~~

3. My list:

38. Red - King Crimson
44. The Bends - Radiohead
47. F♯A♯∞ - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
51. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
53. Master Of Reality - Black Sabbath
55. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
56. Ride The Lightning - Metallica
63. Tago Mago - Can
65. Close To The Edge - Yes
67. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
_________________
Add me on RYM

babyBlueSedan
Used to be sort of blind, now can sort of see

Gender: Male

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

It's just so... OK. It's pretty and delicate and pleasant to listen to (although when she gets to a higher register sometimes not so much) and there is really nothing wrong with it. However, I still think it's boring. When something interesting comes in like a slide guitar, I think, "OOH, OOH something's happening! Something's happening!", but then it's gone. I'm too boorish I think. I started laughing on the last track, because I thought it would be funny if the title was "The Last Time I Saw Dick" instead of "The Last Time I Saw Richard". I'm so sorry for that last line.

I'm a person where good lyrics can really elevate an album for me, but they're actually not what drew me into Blue. What drew me into it seems to be the thing that you disliked most about it - Mitchell jumping back and forth between different registers. To me it just sounds so effortless, as if she's approaching all these topics about isolation with grace. I will agree that musically there's not a lot going on but that sparseness helps me focus more on her voice.

I just found a way to listen to Red, so I'll report back sometime tonight after I've had a chance to listen to it.
_________________
And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.

Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.

Location: Kansas

I had probably the same reaction the first time I listened to Spiderland as well.

Bon Iver, Bon Iver by Bon Iver

Not bad. By the time I got to the 21 minute mark I was ready to be done. It's very front heavy. Yeah, what's up with that Phil Collins bullshit on the last track? Complete tonal shift.

If you can't find anyway to listen to "Red", then listen to "Tago Mago".

The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
Born To Run- Bruce Fucking Springsteen
Definitely Maybe- Oasis
For Emma, Forever Ago- Bon Iver
Reflektor- Arcade Fire
Hot Fuss- The Killers
High Violet- The National
An Awesome Wave- alt j
Hospice- The Antlers
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John (Dammit)

babyBlueSedan
Used to be sort of blind, now can sort of see

Gender: Male

Red by King Crimson

Before this I had only heard In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson and more or less hated it. I'm not a fan of prog, and while I hate to use the words "noodling" or "technical proficiency" much of my reason for not caring for it is its emphasis on musical complexity over eliciting emotion. But from the first song this one felt..different. This prog is definitely louder than a lot of the other stuff I've heard; the title track has some real driving guitars and clattering drums that are actually pretty in-your-face. The first three tracks are all pretty good, and the horns on One More Red Nightmare were my favorite part of the album. Track four really dragged the album down - I wouldn't mind listening to it if it was the band messing around before a show but on record I don't really care about it. Starless started slow but ended well. I'll come back to it eventually, rated it a 70 for now which is my default "liked it" rating.

You've got some slim pickings Rocka. I'll give you Hospice - it's an album I've never been able to love but really wish I could, and it falls into the "lyrics are the most important part" camp, but that's because the lyrics are one huge story and tell a pretty unique story. And I think you'd find it more musically interesting than some of those others.

My updated list:

238. Legend by Bob Marley
262. Hatful of Hollow by The Smiths
302. Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
351. Debut by Bjork
354. Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
380. Dog Man Star by Suede
394. Bad by Michael Jackson
400. License to Ill by The Beastie Boys
403. Sublime by Sublime
417. Blue Train by John Coltrane
_________________
And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.

Tha1ChiefRocka
Yeah, well hey, I'm really sorry.

Location: Kansas

Hospice by The Antlers

That was better than I was expecting. I don't know why websites say this is similar to Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens, which is one of the many reasons I hate the label "indie". Sometimes it can be a complete misnomer. Anyways the album had some good production quality and some ambient-type moments that I enjoyed. Probably not anything that I'll be returning to soon, but I'm glad I got it out of the way.

Listen to Bad by MJ. You've probably already heard most of the good songs on it, but give it a spin anyway.

The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
Born To Run- Bruce Fucking Springsteen
Definitely Maybe- Oasis
For Emma, Forever Ago- Bon Iver
Reflektor- Arcade Fire
Hot Fuss- The Killers
High Violet- The National
An Awesome Wave- alt j
XX- The XX
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John (Dammit)

Repo
BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

Tilly, listen to this album from Baystate's chart.

Stress: The Extinction Agenda by Organized Konfusion

Oh! I LOVE this. It's menacing, raw, & unexpected. Definitely underground stuff. Will certainly burn this for my car and check out their debut which I just read was one of the first underground Hip Hop classics. (Do u guys want me to comment further after several listens? I realize this isn't much of a review except for "I like it." I just don't have much traction with it yet. )

I like this far more than Nas' Illmatic which I checked out just yesterday. Only got through four tracks before turning it off. Just too repetitive, and I actually don't like the cliche choruses. If the songs were shortened GBV/Minutemen style I'd probably dig it a lot. Because I love the first couple of minutes of each track and then I just get bored.

My Blindspots of RYM's Top Chart

Ok. So I've probably heard every album in RYM's top whatever, BUT a lot of them have never gelled with me or I don't have the best recall of it. I'll call them blindspots.

18. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
22.. Kendrick Lamar - TPAB
31. Nas - Illmatic
36. Mingus - Black Saint & Sinner Lady
71. Slowdive - Souvlaki
73. Bjork - Homogenic
87. Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
103. Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind
118. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
126. Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

So... Chief. You actually get one of my favorites from the past decade. I HATED it at first and couldn't underfand the fervor, but the hype turned out to be well deserved. It's even in My Mellow Zone Chart...

xx by The xx

where I wrote...

Quote:

SASSY CUTE BAND ALERT

There are certain couples that are sooo frickin’ cute together they just want to make you barf. They finish each other sentences. Laugh at the same jokes. And they’re always exchanging those glances. You know the ones. As if they are in ensconced in their own private world, apart from all the rest of us. That’s the couple of XX. The cutest couple to come into the indie rock world since that Moldy Peaches duo that essentially had a guest role in that Juno movie. Gosh I love that movie.

Anyways. They’re adorable together and their fresh adorable love is contagious. In fact, this album just goes by far to fast. Maybe it’s a short album. Maybe it’s just really good. But it’s always over way before I want it to be. It’s like flirting with that super cute, bubbly girl at a party and next thing you know she’s gone. You’re all excited imagining new love and possibilities and then she vanishes. Whisked away by her clearly jealous & covetous friends as you both give once last longing glance at each other hoping that you will meet again and her cursing me for being to gun shy to ask for her digits. (Seriously, girls would eventually just foist their numbers on me. I was quite the looker back in the day. lol.) Luckily, with records you just get to turn them over and start all over again.

What’s interesting is that I have used to have a serious problem with this record. Like… I didn’t like it. At all! I make no secret of the fact The Cure & Black Sabbath are my two favorite bands of all time!. And have been since the dawn of time (or high school whichever came last). And trust me. Those two bands are more alike than they seem on the surface. So when I heard an awesome new indie band was mining the Cure’s sound I was crazy quick to check them out. And was left completely underwhelmed. Sure they had stolen The Cure’s guitar licks, but the mood and tone and power was all wrong. Completely different. It sounded like fake plastic soul. A teenager pop band. And I shelved it. For years!

But boy (as is so often the case with albums and everything else in life lol), I was dead wrong. This album has spirit and spunk in spades. And for two teenage kids they actually have a lot of soul. The whole album is a flirtatious romp through their young, infectious love. Boy, I miss those days. You think it will go on for ever and then one day you wake up from a loveless marriage with a divorce looming in the near future like the grim reaper and you’re like what the fuck happened. lol. All the good things - like this album - go by way too fast! So enjoy your youth! Don’t let that girl (or boy) be stolen away before getting their digits first. Life’s just far too short. And things are over before you know it. (Just remember they can always start up again. So never give up either!)

Grade: A. One of the most novel and intriguing indie pop debuts in years when it came out . So much so I didn’t even know what to make of it. Now that it’s clicked, I realize it’s one of the best indie pop album of all time. And the Robert Smith with just some hints of Bernard Sumner guitar licks fit this plastic indie pop soul perfectly. Just one more time I was initially totally wrong about an album. Hopefully it won’t be the last. And this album flirts it way smack dab into the middle of my little chart that could.