You must listen to the album below you: canon edition

[LedZep]

(1)

Aerial by Kate Bush
Bay's absolutely right, Pi is pretty cringe. The last song/suite is too much as well, although I really like the idea of Kate Bush going full prog. Despite that I really enjoyed the album, lots of great moments and the more laid back and experimental style suits her well and it sounds like a grower. I'm currently going through a major Kate Bush phase, this was a perfect fit. 7.5 or 8/10

(2)
I'm really glad you liked The Ocean (and also a good review of Siftorde, it's wonderful). And understand the slight dislike towards Ulcerate, it's not something that appeals to that many people I guess. For the last pick go with Nemanja, his latest is a must listen from Croatian scene (and the debut before is fantastic as well). It's some kind of funky space disco rock, maybe you'll like it.

(3)
Genre combinations

The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh (Avant-prog + Blues)
Estradasphere - Buck Fever (Doo-Wop + Klezmer)
Mother's Finest - Black Radio Won't Play This Record (Soul + Alternative Metal)
Plutonium 74 - Pasilasta Kallioon (Dub + Indietronica)
Jaga Jazzist - A Livingroom Hush (ECM Style Jazz + Drum n' Bass)
Jam City - Dream a Garden (Deconstructed Club + Sophisti-Pop)
Seefeel - Pure, Impure (Dub Techno + Dream Pop)
Archive - Controlling Crowds (Hip Hop + Progressive Rock)
Spectral Lore - III (Space Ambient + Dark Folk)
Flight of the Concords - Flight of the Concords (Funk + Indie Folk)
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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Slightly Odway by Jebediah

Contrary to my thoughts on the Lemonheads, this album was WONDERFUL. I really enjoyed this, and have been listening near-nonstop since I put it on. Taking a break now but will probably listen again this weekend.

I really appreciate the context from when you first heard this Purplepash, but even your context didn't prepare me for how well produced this album is. It's so crisp, it's so well mastered. I started to listen to later Jebediah, but it just didn't have the same feel (granted, only listened to a couple tracks, so will have to re-assess). This leads me to award all points to Neill King, Slightly Odway's producer/engineer/mixer.

This is seriously good stuff though, reminiscent of some of the altrock from the same era that I do love, but different enough that they have their very own spin on things. Easy 8/10, maybe higher on future listens. Thanks P!

2)
Yeah Pi is awful, but I definitely dig the rest of the album, glad it sounds like you did too LedZep!

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Flight Of The Conchords by Flight Of The Conchords
I can't NOT go for FotC

3)
5 albums from each at least until one or the other runs out of steam.

NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
97. Daydream by Mariah Carey*
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum]
110. Platinum by Miranda Lambert
114. Rumor Has It by Reba McEntire
117. I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Purplepash's top albums of the 1990s:
8. Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr.
17. 30 Something by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
24. Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs by Ministry
26. Guide to Better Living by Grinspoon
27. Whatever and Ever Amen by Ben Folds Five

*last chance
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

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Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sa... Orchestra

Put off listening to this for awhile for no real reason other than laziness.

As an insight into my song list, "The Creator Has A Master Plan" has skyrocketed into my top pieces of music ever made. I'd even go as far to say that pound for pound, Sanders may even pass his mentor John Coltrane with that work.

So, you could say I'm something of a Pharoah Sanders fan myself.

I was familiar with Floating Points prior to the listen as well, and he's an artist that I've enjoyed over the past several years as well. Not nearly to the same degree of course, but he's been a reliable listen.

I'm happy to report that this is as good as advertised. Each of the elements and artists get their respective opportunities to shine over the course of the album, and I was impressed by how well everything came together as cohesively as it did. Before I forget, are people talking about how well this was recorded? I've got some great speakers, and I've listened to A LOT of stuff on them, and this may be one of the best sounding digital recordings I've ever heard. Crystal clear and full of color, Which has always been how I feel about Pharoah Sanders' playing. He is a true artist. He uses that saxophone like a great painter uses his brush, fluidly mixing and creating new colors, shapes, and textures at will. I could gush about him for hours, but I'll save that for another day. To keep it short, this album is great, but it lacks a few things that would make it better. The structure seems a little off to me. It didn't flow as well as I hoped that it would, and the last few tracks seemed to disrupt the progression that preceded it. Especially the last little coda. It also could've have used more Pharoah. I don't know if that was his decision or someone else's, but I just wanted more of the man. Who knows how much longer we'll have him around? I want to hear him as often as possible. Those things are minor enough though, and what we're left with is a wonderful album for the year 2021.

Ben Folds Five would be my choice.

G_d's Pee at State's End- GY!BE
Chemtrails Over The Country Club (fuck you guys)
To See The Next Part Of The Dream- Paranoul
Donda- Kanye West
Daddy's Home- St Vincent
Carnage- Nick Cave
Blue Weekend- Wolf Alice
Happier Than Ever- Billie Eilish (now y'all just trippin')
Hey What- Low
A Beginner's Mind- Sufjan Stevens & whocares

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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Whatever And Ever Amen by Ben Folds Five
Yeah this was great. I enjoy Ben Folds a lot, seen him live twice (once with a full symphony orchestra which was awesome), so it's a shame I haven't listened to what many consider to be his best album.

Well to start, it is very good but I don't know that I'd say it's his best album. Certainly his best with Ben Folds Five, but I think I slightly prefer his solo debut. There are some standout tracks here though that I think get lost behind "Brick": "Steven's Last Night in Town" might be my favorite, and a track of his that I don't think I've actually heard before. Hopefully I'll get the chance to see him live again.

2)

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Carnage by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
I think I have this ranked higher than the others there, check it out. I think stylistically Nick Cave has backtracked a bit, it's closer to Push the Sky Away than Skeleton Tree or Ghosteen.

3)
5 albums from each at least until one or the other runs out of steam.

NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum]
110. Platinum by Miranda Lambert
114. Rumor Has It by Reba McEntire
117. I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
118. I Feel for You by Chaka Khan

Purplepash's top albums of the 1990s:
8. Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr.
17. 30 Something by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
24. Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs by Ministry
26. Guide to Better Living by Grinspoon
33. Frogstomp by Silverchair
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[baystateoftheart]

1.

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All Mod Cons by The Jam

Oh yeah, this is a great record, and I prefer it to Setting Sons (the only other Jam album I've heard so far, which is also great). I love the power pop sound with the disaffected punk edge, and Weller's songwriting is at a high level. There are a few tracks that are merely good, but overall this is a rock-solid album with plenty of catchiness and lyrical depth. Tough to choose, but my favorite track on first listen is either English Rose or Down In The Tube Station At Midnight. Looking forward to hearing more from them. 4/5.

~~~~~

2. Haven't heard any of those albums, but this one has some good songs:

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I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Joan Jett &...lackhearts

~~~~~

3. Alphabet Game, Cohort 15 (5 picks left)

L: Unseen Worlds - Laurie Spiegel
M: Wap Konn Jòj! - Mach-Hommy
M2: Zoo Is Sad, People Are Cruel - My Little Airport
M3: WLFGRL - Machine Girl
N: Greatest Hits - N.W.A
O: Trophies - O.C. & Apollo Brown
P: Truckload Of Trouble - The Pastels
R: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II - Raekwon
S: Soul Men - Sam & Dave*
S2: System Of A Down - System Of A Down

*Last chance!
_________________
Add me on RYM

[Purplepash]

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Cosmic Disco by Nemanja

Thanks for choosing this one Zep, I think you got it right with which one I would most likely enjoy. This definitely fits my taste. An aptly named album with its spacey dancey vibe throughout. Slightly psychedelic with funkiness aplenty, and a world music influence from various continents of the world. I can tell I would so get into grooving and dancing along with this at a festival, preferably with some herbal enhancement. The opening and closing tracks were the highlights for me, with a slight dip in the middle of the album where it was just that little bit more discoey and a little less cosmicy, but the whole album is really good, and a great length (as a slight aside I do still much prefer the 35-40 min long albums. If they are good they leave me wanting more in a good way ,and if they are not at least it's over relatively quickly and they usually don't drag). 8/10 and makes my top 100 for the year at #74.




Let's go with the last chance before it's too late with Sam & Dave.

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Soul Men by Sam & Dave




Top 100 Music Albums of 2020 by baystateoftheart (5 picks left)

3. Rocket To Nebula by Killah Priest
11. @@@@@ by Arca
14. Jump Rope Gazers by The Beths
16. Dedicated Side B by Carly Rae Jepsen
17. Laughing Gas by Wild Nothing
24. From King To A God by Conway The Machine
27. Disco by Kylie Minogue
31. Island by Owen Pallett
33. Little Dominiques Nosebleed by The Koreatown Oddity
36. Manger On McNichols by Boldy James & Sterling Toles

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

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Carnage by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

I'm a big Nick Cave fan; I've seen him live, and I'll still rank it as either the greatest live performance that I've seen or in the top three. I haven't listened to Ghosteen, and I hadn't listened to this one, because I'm kind of satisfied with anything Nick Cave at this point. Not that I don't think that he's been getting worse or anything, but Skeleton Tree was so good, I'm not chomping at the bit to listen to the next one. Anyways, that's kind of a silly thing to do, because this is another great Cave album, and I enjoyed the somewhat restricted nature of it just being a Warren Ellis collab. The electronic drums and production were a surprise on that first track. The rest of the album doesn't use so much of that same feel, but it was still classic Cave and Ellis. "White Elephant" had some surprising lyrics, his most stark and violent in awhile, but like that Jenny Hval record I just listened to, they felt a little silly. "Botticelli Venus with a Penis"

Conway The Machine will be my pick.

G_d's Pee at State's End- GY!BE
Chemtrails Over The Country Club (fuck you guys)
To See The Next Part Of The Dream- Paranoul
Donda- Kanye West
Daddy's Home- St Vincent
Blue Weekend- Wolf Alice
Happier Than Ever- Billie Eilish (now y'all just trippin')
Hey What- Low
A Beginner's Mind- Sufjan Stevens & whocares
By The Time I Get To Phoenix- Injury Reserve

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Joan Jett &...lackhearts
I had no idea the title track was a cover, that's super interesting because it's clearly the definitive Joan Jett song. It's solid of course, but the rest of this album leaves a lot to be desired. Following The Runaways, I feel like Joan Jett solo (or...with a new band) is a huge step down. "Nag" and "You're Too Possessive" were both solid, but the rest of the tracks were largely forgettable. And what the fuck is "The Little Drummer Boy" doing here? I mean I'm all for holiday songs, but it feels like it should have been a bonus track or just a single for the holidays rather than included on the album. As mediocre as the album was, this one track really flops at the end of the album.

2)
I think Paranoul is my highest rated out of these? Let's go for that.

3)
5 albums from each at least until one or the other runs out of steam.

NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum] *last chance
110. Platinum by Miranda Lambert
114. Rumor Has It by Reba McEntire
118. I Feel for You by Chaka Khan
124. No Secrets by Carly Simon

Purplepash's top albums of the 1990s:
8. Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr.
17. 30 Something by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine
24. Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs by Ministry
26. Guide to Better Living by Grinspoon
33. Frogstomp by Silverchair
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[LedZep]

(1)

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Flight Of The Conchords by Flight Of The Conchords
Much more indie folk than funk, didn't even notice any funk here to be completely honest, but I did listen to it 2 days ago so I don't remember details from every song. A friend of mine is a fan of the Conchords so I already knew 2 or 3 songs. Overall this was fun, but unfortunately some of the jokes just didn't land for me. Not as good as I'd hoped for but still cool. Robots sums up my feelings about this album well: it's a silly song in which I didn't quite dig the concept, but there was a handful of lines which were hilarious, the best being the binary solo (0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1). This one was also great

"There is no more unhappiness.
Affirmative
We no longer say ‘yes'. Instead we say ‘affirmative'.
Yes - Err - Affirmative."

Business Time and Mutha'uckas were also excellent, but Inner City Pressure was the best song here imo, it's much more than a comedy song as it's quite great even without the lyrics. That was the problem with the whole album I think, I didn't quite dig the music without the lyrics and it's also not my style to listen to the whole album of nothing but comedy music. That separates Conchords from let's say Open Mike Eagle, who is also very comedy-oriented but he can mix things up, make a great song about any topic with varying amounts of humour. Then again it's probably not fair to compare an album I've heard for the first time to one of my favourite musicians of the past x years. I'll stop rambling now. 7.5/10

(2)
CARTERS, I've not heard that album in ages but loved it when I was a kid (it's very much not music for kids though). Cannot wait to be 30 something to order a shirt.

(3)
Everything and then some

Turnstile - Glow On
Lorde - Solar Power
The Pyramids - King of Kings
A Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms...
Cursed - II
Gigi Masin - Wind
Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment
Pink Siifu - Gumbo'!
Univers Zero - Ceux du Dehors
Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[Purplepash]

Every Flight of the Conchords song works better in the context of the (highly rewatchable) TV series. I can't really imagine listening to the album on its own without the visuals and the background stories to each song.

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From King To A God by Conway The Machine

I'm very fussy and particular when it comes to hip hop and this doesn't hit my sweet spot at all. Some of the slightly dissonant beats were okay, but the rapping didn't really appeal to me, and Front Lines was the only song where I got something out of the lyrics. 6/10




Wind is the only one of these I've heard and I surprisingly liked it.

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Wind by Gigi Masin




Top 100 Music Albums of 2020 by baystateoftheart (4 picks left)

3. Rocket To Nebula by Killah Priest
11. @@@@@ by Arca
14. Jump Rope Gazers by The Beths
16. Dedicated Side B by Carly Rae Jepsen
17. Laughing Gas by Wild Nothing
27. Disco by Kylie Minogue
31. Island by Owen Pallett
33. Little Dominiques Nosebleed by The Koreatown Oddity
36. Manger On McNichols by Boldy James & Sterling Toles
39. Marlowe 2 by Marlowe