You must listen to the album below you: canon edition

[Mercury]

1.

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Nonagon Infinity by King Gizzard & ...ard Wizard

This was an interesting album. I like so much of it and so many of the elements of it. It obviously is recorded as one long track, each individual track flowing into the next seamlessly. It's cool and well executed. The guitar tones are distinctively KGLW, there is a duzzy dirty and exotic sound that the guitars have that is cool here as it is on all the albums I've heard from them. The fact that the album very very abruptly ends but really just should be looped and it goes right back in on track 1 and that is the whole infinite loop aspect of it. The psych elements and the heavy psych elements are cool and at times I was rightly hypnotized by the repetitive psych somewhat kraut rock-ish riffs and patterns. The whole thing is fascinating in execution.

I listened 3 times and... here's the thing that prevents me from loving this: I don't really like the songs, or the melodies and there aren't really any MOMENTS or melodies or aspects that hook me in isolation. There aren't any moments I'm looking forward to, even on 3rd listen. So, I don't know. I'm mixed somewhat on this album. It sort of is the audio or music equivalent to Birdman... cool concept, immaculately produced and executed, but (to me) empty and unmemorable moment to moment. like a strong-ish 3/5 bordering on 3.5. It's cool and I am glad I heard it and all but not likely to revisit much if at all.

-------------------------

2.
Hey, Repo! Super stoked to see you here!!!!

As for picking one f those... I was interested in checking out Heavy Load recently and that album looks interesting, so I nominate this:

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Death Or Glory by Heavy Load

fun fact: I just discovered that the band I was ACTUALLY thinking of was Running Wild with their album titled the same. STILL, I stick to my nomination lol.


------------------------

3.

Okay, I have decided what to do as a "gimmick" for my list, and that is simply no gimmick, no challenge and no forcing myself to listen to anything I'm not already majorly interested in and kind of in the bag for lol - so I simply have this big list of albums I want to hear and I roughly ranked em and then now I will at random grab 10 that seem like either really cool and up my alley or ones that I feel like an idiot for never listening to em. Here we go!

1. Colors - and Colors Live - by Between the Buried and Me/2007+2008 (I am weird about listening to al bums while feeling like I don't have context. Its silly because I should be able to just jump in and listen to an album and see if I like it or not. So this year Colors II came out and people seem to like it but I haven't touched it because I have never heard the first one from awhile ago. That's also the reason I haven't listened to Brockhampton's latest despite similar acclaim - simply because I never heard any of their Saturation albums so I feel like I should hear them first. Anyway, this album and live album are considered great metalcore stuff.)

2. Rear View Mirror by Townes Van Zandt/1993 (I used to idolize TVZ. Still love him. And this live album is a legendary release of his work. I have heard it but for some reason it never caught on with me when I was in the throes of TVZ listening. It's been over a decade and I really am interested in jumping back into this album)

3. Lanquidity by Sun Ra/1978 (A month ago I listened to a bit of this. I thought going into it that perhaps it would be a bit or a lot "beyond me" and maybe a bit too abstract for me to dig. Boy was I surprised to find that it kicks fucking ass! I want to jump back in and give this the time and attention it deserves at some point soon. Jazz Fusion of the coolest kind based off the 10 to 15 minutes I heard. And yes, this will be the first Sun ra album for me, friends, so that is a big deal.)

4. Mark Hollis by Mark Hollis/1998 (This is a shameful admission: I have never sat down - nor even stood up! - and listened to this album in one sitting - nor in one standing! I know I know how is this even admissible for someone that has Spirit of Eden high on his all time faves list? Idk. I have bit-and-pieced this album 1 or 2 times over the decade or so of awareness of it. I intend to rectify this soon. RIP Mark Hollis.)

5. Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan/1999 (In the early days of music interest I came across pitchfork and I remember them laying mondo praise upon this indie rock album. This must have been 2003 or so when I stumbled on their review. I bought it on CD and wasn't impressed as a lad. Still, I wanna give it its day in court. It endures as a noisy and wild indie rock classic and I have no idea what it sounds like - my memories of what i liked or, rather, disliked about it have faded far away.)

6. Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles/2008 (I am a huge fan of Mayer. Especially love his Continuum album and his live shows. Somehow I have never heard this live album - his highest rated record by far. Seeing him live was, again, amazing. This is peak Mayer in concert and I hear its stellar. This probably won't be chosen by you hip badasses, but I'm including it for consideration.)

7. I Could Live In Hope by Low/1994 (I love this album or I remember loving it. Its been awhile. I sampled it to see if I still liked it and I actually discovered I may love it now more than back in my early 20s. And after falling head over heels in love with their latest, HEY WHAT, i think going back to their beginnings is a smart and nourishing and emotional and smart move.)

8. Ask the Ages by Sonny Sharrock/1991 (I have a very VERY good feeling about this one. I think I am ready and primed to experience a truly transcendent avant garde modern jazz album. This just feels right, like with a melon, you can just tell. I hope I'm not overhyping this in my mind and setting myself up for a let down. I doubt it, I don't generally let that happen.)

9. Left hand Path by Entombed/1990 (Bring on this absolutely classic and legendary Swedish death metal classic! I couple months ago I absolutely saw the light on Entombed's peers, Dismember, and their 1991 masterpiece Like an Ever Flowing Stream. At that time I meant to now delve into the works of Entombed... but I never did. I listened to the first few tracks of this album newly and thought it was cool but no Dismember and went back to them. Now I would like to give this one the time and TLC it deserves. I heard it awhile ago but I was not a DM fan at the time and I didn't love it just liked it.)

10. Arthur Verocai by Arthur Verocai/1972 (I was digging the new BADBADNOTGOOD album Talk memory a few days ago and I saw that this old icon was featured on many of those tracks and his guitar stole the show on many of those songs and I was like "That's It! I neeeed to check this stuff and his music out!" so here we are. It's labeled MPB and Psych Pop.)
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Repo]

[quote="Mercury"]

-------------------------

2.
Hey, Repo! Super stoked to see you here!!!!

As for picking one f those... I was interested in checking out Heavy Load recently and that album looks interesting, so I nominate this:

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Death Or Glory by Heavy Load

fun fact: I just discovered that the band I was ACTUALLY thinking of was Running Wild with their album titled the same. STILL, I stick to my nomination lol.


------------------------

Haha! I'll listen to that too! (I've always wanted to check it out too!) You get a TWOfer!

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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Raise by Swervedriver
This was an interesting album, and I agree about the blend of shoegaze and grunge. Generally I'm not a huge fan of grunge, and I'm very particular about my shoegaze. I tend to like it when shoegaze gets more psychedelic rather than just noise rock or art pop (this is a big part of the reason why I enjoy MBV much more than Slowdive). And unfortunately I think this album didn't really capture my interest as much as I was hoping.

The first track "Sci-Flyer" was probably my favorite, and the close of the album "Lead Me Where You Dare..." was also a quality ending. I just got a bit distracted and lost in the middle, enjoying bits here and there but without it really hooking me into the music like "Sci-Flyer" did. I suppose I ought to give this another spin, and listen a little closer, but the grungy bits really just seemed meh to me. I do think a British grunge band is pretty interesting though. I don't really know of any other non-American grunge acts other than Bush and Bush...I don't like Bush much.

Anyway, I've been a little inconsistent about giving ratings to albums here, but I'll try to moving forward. This is a 3/5, middle of the road for me. I liked it, so it gets more than 2.5, but it didn't thrill me.

2)
Mercury I TOTALLY agree about Nonagon Infinity. There are other KG albums which have high and low songs and those great songs are really fantastic, but since Nonagon is just so consistent, it's not their album I find myself returning to unfortunately. Glad you listened though. This time let's go for:

Colors by Between The Buried And Me

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Colors Live by Between The Buried And Me
I did the same thing where I listened to both at once. I slightly preferred the studio version, I didn't feel like the live version added much on top of that (other than cooler album artwork). Between the Buried and Me actually released Colors II a few months ago, I haven't checked that out yet, but it appears to be getting decent reception.

3)
Gonna roll with NPR until that's done, filling out the remaining 10 albums with Purplepash's chart.
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
114. Rumor Has It by Reba McEntire
124. No Secrets by Carly Simon
132. I Am Shelby Lynne by Shelby Lynne
148. The Mosaic Project by Terri Lyne Carrington *this marks the end of this chart!
Purplepash's top albums of the 1990s:
8. Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr.
24. Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs by Ministry
26. Guide to Better Living by Grinspoon
43. From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah by Nirvana
46. Incesticide & 50. Hormoaning by Nirvana (there's a lot of overlap in the b-sides compilation and the EP)
58. Lego My Ego by Mercury Rev
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Purplepash]

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Welcome To Hard Times by Charley Crockett

I don't listen to much country (some I like, some I don't) but this sounded like some standard retro traditional country to me, although RYM has it as progressive country. Either way I didn't hear anything special musically or lyrically. 5.5/10




Try Where You Been. I think it's great obviously.

Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr.




Top 63 Music Albums of 2020 by Tha1ChiefRocka (4 picks left)

2. Roped In by North Americans
3. Rattle by Wailin Storms
4. Burden Of Proof by Benny The Butcher
6. Tellusboutyourself by Yerin Baek
9. Healing Is A Miracle by Julianna Barwick
13. Anime, Trauma And Divorce by Open Mike Eagle
14. Royal Swan by Phoxjaw
15. Motherhood by No Joy
16. My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell by Nick Storring
19. Blizzards by Nathan Fake

[Mercury]

1.

Colors by Between The Buried And Me

This is absurdly impressive. I don't know why but I always sort of turned my nose up at anything with the metalcore label/tag, I associated it with my peers in high school with the myspace pages and the stupid haircuts and the whole "scene" aesthetic. Meanwhile I was over here looking just a dorky and stupid and listening to my own dorky music and just being a bit of an idiot teenager (redundant). granted this band wasn't the poster child in any way of that era and culture so to speak, as far as I know... but I was, again, an ass and I associated them and this band and this genre with very specific people and styles in my teen years.

When I listened to this holy shit... this is an accomplished and intricate album. The melding of so many sounds and styles, the technical proficeiency and execution, the fact that despite the insanely high amount of prog metal wank going on there are still many many moments of genuinely emotional and hard-hitting moments, and despite the high amount of prog wank and emotional bits there is also a lot of brutal and in your face death-y metal-y explosions to sink my teeth into as well.... all this in one 64 minute "metalcore" album. Fuck. I mean, damn, this is impressive.

I am not a huge fan of the very fast and very melodic almost Dream Theater esque bits. But they are there and for what they are they are fine. Just not my style. I love the intricate almost mathcore switch ups that happen underneath these filthy growled vocals. The vocals are sick on this whole thing. When the big melodic soaring vocals come through throughout (especially thinking of the final minute of "Informal Gluttony" but its all over) I am almost always blown away and sucked into the atmosphere of this album.

"Ants of the Sky" is a truly impressive song, long and multi parted with gorgeous and varied vocals and despite some dream theater-ish wank, the whole thing is beautifully orchestrated and written and its just a nice and never boring or tired song. And the jazz guitar solo?... yeah one of the best solos I have heard in a long time or possibly ever. Its remarkable. Its short, but shit when it comes in I am blown away. Okay, actually the solo on White Walls may be better and more fleshed out. Idk, there are a few solos here that are incredible feats of emotionally moving shredding (which is tough and rare to my ears).

Of course the song that I believe or I am guessing gets the most attention as the Great Work of this album is the 14 minute closing track "White Walls". And I understand it. Haven't decided if its the best song here. They each have some greatness in them. This does give me a chance to praise the drummer, Blake Richardson. What a beast. Yet he knows when to be understated. But on White Walls alone there are dozens of great little rhythmic bits. He's excellent throughout the album. And the rich array of riffs on the absurdly heavy side and more technical and ear-wormy side on THIS ONE SONG is great - especially love that out-of-nowhere almost-dejenty, groovy chug of a riff about 10 minutes in... then the song manages to level-up from there and make the final 4 minutes of this song/album a triumphant send-off of the whole work. Brilliant brilliant stuff.

The fact that this album has Jazz bits, prog rock, almost black metal bits, strange detours into like country, and of course lots of thrashy and death metal bits and fusion bits and all this under one roof and brought together so well is impressive. While I prefer generally speaking a band or album have a unique sound that is stuck to throughout without a lot of clear genre hopping (Slayer's Reign In Blood for example... also another one because RIB is my favorite metal album ever, an example of this is Leviathan by Mastodon), or an album that just goes deeeeep into one sound with such verve as to make the whole thing an overwhelming assault (Slayer's Reign In Blood for example lol... or that Nails debut or or or), when a band has the chops and imagination necessary to pull off one of these genre-hopping style-to-new style-to-new style arcs, its badass and I give them credit for pulling it off. This is one of those albums.

These are great musicians. I don't feel they are robots or aliens sent to earth for one express purpose of making the most complex and cartoonish prog music ever composed (like a Dream Theater or a Atheist). Instead they are a level or 2 below that level of obscene skill so they seem to have more imaginative freedom or they seem less beholden to the forms, which frees them up to make truly emotional statements and melodies and it frees them to lean into the baser and meaner side of extreme metal which provides a reminder quite often in this album that you are listening to a metal album and an extreme metal album first and foremost and not listening to someone who is taking the aesthetic of Metal and making classical music. Bless em.

This seems like an album that I will return to to learn more of its intricacies. As of now after 2 listens, its a remarkable mix of the virtuosic show offy stuff (that I generally am annoyed by) and the mean and gnarly stuff (which I generally gravitate toward) and the off the wall, conceptual concept album stuff (which is sort of generally "meh" for me)... while I think the best possible melding of these attitudes or elements is presented in a more cohesive way, (as opposed to having clear compartmentalization) this does a damn fine job attempting to make a concept album (didn't read lyrics, have no idea what is in Colors but I have a feeling there are whole articles on it's arc) with a nice variety of sounds and not to much awkward compartmentalization but instead a relatively or actually QUITE cohesive metal odyssey. I didn't expect this level of artistry and skill and not-dated-ness(?) from this band when I started listening.

The first couple minutes of the album is so soft and melodic and inviting and beautiful, I do wish they came back to that more. Maybe if I dug into the story of development of the album I would discover why that is how it started and why its basically 106% furious speed and epicness thereafter (until the cuite little solo piano in the final 30 seconds of the album). But for now I somewhat wish they had come back to that stripped down sound a coupke more times. I don't know. That opinion sort of contradicts my general message of wanting more heavy and death-y sounds in my metal earlier. I guess I don't know what I want and I'm just nit-picking and honestly massive triumph of an album. One of the best modern metal albums i've heard. 4-4.5/5 and likely to be more loved the more i listen in the coming years.

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Colors Live by Between The Buried And Me

okay and now I will push play on the just as revered (by fans) live album version of the same album. I suspect I will say less and just give a simple comment or 2 to prvent this post being the single longest in the history of this game thread... okay pushing play in 3...2... 1... NOW!

...this was impressive. they manage to play the entire dense and complex album straight through with a lot of precision and high energy. Just about as good as the studio version. added benefit of live context is a greater "liveness" and i like the occasional sound of the crowd. disadvantage is... well its not quite the complete intended musical experience. the studio album is the one i will be going back to in other words given a choice. another 4/5
-------------------------

2.

let's go with the highest ranked despite having never heard it... don't believe I have heard any of those 10...

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Roped In by North Americans

------------------------

3.

Okay, I have decided what to do as a "gimmick" for my list, and that is simply no gimmick, no challenge and no forcing myself to listen to anything I'm not already majorly interested in and kind of in the bag for lol - so I simply have this big list of albums I want to hear and I roughly ranked em and then now I will at random grab 10 that seem like either really cool and up my alley or ones that I feel like an idiot for never listening to em. Here we go!
+ = this is the newly added choice

+1. The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu /1978 (this was Ulcerate but I couldn’t wait so I listened to Everything is Fire and yep it’s almost perfect. So now it’s this album I present as a possible nom. It’s been so long since I last heard this I almost forget what it sounds like. Absolutely classic classic post punk.)

2. Rear View Mirror by Townes Van Zandt/1993 (I used to idolize TVZ. Still love him. And this live album is a legendary release of his work. I have heard it but for some reason it never caught on with me when I was in the throes of TVZ listening. It's been over a decade and I really am interested in jumping back into this album)

3. Lanquidity by Sun Ra/1978 (A month ago I listened to a bit of this. I thought going into it that perhaps it would be a bit or a lot "beyond me" and maybe a bit too abstract for me to dig. Boy was I surprised to find that it kicks fucking ass! I want to jump back in and give this the time and attention it deserves at some point soon. Jazz Fusion of the coolest kind based off the 10 to 15 minutes I heard. And yes, this will be the first Sun ra album for me, friends, so that is a big deal.)

4. Mark Hollis by Mark Hollis/1998 (This is a shameful admission: I have never sat down - nor even stood up! - and listened to this album in one sitting - nor in one standing! I know I know how is this even admissible for someone that has Spirit of Eden high on his all time faves list? Idk. I have bit-and-pieced this album 1 or 2 times over the decade or so of awareness of it. I intend to rectify this soon. RIP Mark Hollis.)

5. Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan/1999 (In the early days of music interest I came across pitchfork and I remember them laying mondo praise upon this indie rock album. This must have been 2003 or so when I stumbled on their review. I bought it on CD and wasn't impressed as a lad. Still, I wanna give it its day in court. It endures as a noisy and wild indie rock classic and I have no idea what it sounds like - my memories of what i liked or, rather, disliked about it have faded far away.)

6. Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles/2008 (I am a huge fan of Mayer. Especially love his Continuum album and his live shows. Somehow I have never heard this live album - his highest rated record by far. Seeing him live was, again, amazing. This is peak Mayer in concert and I hear its stellar. This probably won't be chosen by you hip badasses, but I'm including it for consideration.)

7. I Could Live In Hope by Low/1994 (I love this album or I remember loving it. Its been awhile. I sampled it to see if I still liked it and I actually discovered I may love it now more than back in my early 20s. And after falling head over heels in love with their latest, HEY WHAT, i think going back to their beginnings is a smart and nourishing and emotional and smart move.)

8. Ask the Ages by Sonny Sharrock/1991 (I have a very VERY good feeling about this one. I think I am ready and primed to experience a truly transcendent avant garde modern jazz album. This just feels right, like with a melon, you can just tell. I hope I'm not overhyping this in my mind and setting myself up for a let down. I doubt it, I don't generally let that happen.)

9. Left hand Path by Entombed/1990 (Bring on this absolutely classic and legendary Swedish death metal classic! I couple months ago I absolutely saw the light on Entombed's peers, Dismember, and their 1991 masterpiece Like an Ever Flowing Stream. At that time I meant to now delve into the works of Entombed... but I never did. I listened to the first few tracks of this album newly and thought it was cool but no Dismember and went back to them. Now I would like to give this one the time and TLC it deserves. I heard it awhile ago but I was not a DM fan at the time and I didn't love it just liked it.)

10. Arthur Verocai by Arthur Verocai/1972 (I was digging the new BADBADNOTGOOD album Talk memory a few days ago and I saw that this old icon was featured on many of those tracks and his guitar stole the show on many of those songs and I was like "That's It! I neeeed to check this stuff and his music out!" so here we are. It's labeled MPB and Psych Pop.)
_________________
-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[EyeKanFly]

1)

Where You Been by Dinosaur Jr.
I've only listened to Bug and You're Living All Over Me in the past, and wasn't really too impressed with Dinosaur Jr. This was quite good though, possibly my favorite DJ album. I listened twice and I think my favorite tracks were "Start Choppin", "Hide", and "Goin Home", but overall everything was solid. I love the subdued lo-fi indie rock sound they developed a little further to not be so harsh. This is something I find wonderfully interesting, since this album was released when Grunge was in full swing. So not only did they not really go with the trend, they actively developed a sound that was a bit further from grunge than their previous sound. Others may hear different things in this album, but I think the production was a little tighter and more technically competent, which to me leads to an overall better sound and more enjoyable album. 3.5/5.

2)
Excellent write-up Mercury! So glad you enjoyed that, I figured you'd be more into it than I was. I gotta go with a hometown hero, The Dismemberment Plan:

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Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan
Everything about their post-punk/indie rock sound from that era is typically something that I wouldn't like, but I feel that Dismemberment Plan do it so well that I can't help but love it.

3)
Gonna roll with NPR until that's done, and going to start rotating through other charts to fill out the remaining 10.
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
114. Rumor Has It by Reba McEntire
124. No Secrets by Carly Simon
132. I Am Shelby Lynne by Shelby Lynne
148. The Mosaic Project by Terri Lyne Carrington *this marks the end of this chart!
Purplepash's top albums of the 1990s: *4 picks remaining
24. Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs by Ministry
26. Guide to Better Living by Grinspoon
43. From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah by Nirvana (I don't love Nirvana but I do like their hits, which I assume a live album will provide en force)
46. Incesticide & 50. Hormoaning by Nirvana (there's a lot of overlap in the b-sides compilation and the EP)
58. Lego My Ego by Mercury Rev (not a huge fan of early-era Mercury Rev but I love their later 90s work, so we'll see how this goes)
59. Frizzle Fry by Primus
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Repo]

[Mercury]

1.

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Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan

So this is a really really cool album. I am listening right now for the 3rd time today. First time through I thought it was better than I rememebered but nothing particularly great. Second time a few more songs stuck out to me and I started to vibe with the atmosphere and style and now I can say I like a it a bit more. Still a 3.5/5 so far to my ears. But... this is a unique album. The vocals are the aspect that I don't particularly care for. Sound somewhat like many bands of that time and since, not commanding and kind of untrained emo vocals.

But musically, the songs are so varied. Some tracks rock and a cooly angular way. Some songs are noisy and unhinged. Some are just lazy slacker bangers and some have a sad angsty heart emotionally. The bassist I suppose is the member that catches my ear the most. There are gobs of cool as fuck post punk-y bass lines here that kick ass. The drummer is really cool as well.

The song structures and writing make some dope songs here, especially like the opening track, "Memory machine", "What Do You Want Me To Say?", "I Love A Magician" and "The City" right now.

Overall, yeah super cool and maybe soon would be in contention for my 90s faves chart, with a few more listens.

The song "You Are Invited" i am not a fan of. Don't like the drum machine sound, and the vocals aren't great. But the climax of the story is quite cute and sweet and heartwarming.

-------------------------

2.

As a kid I had a huge crush on this lady and then years later I realized she is a very very good pop artist and songwriter. So, this is my choice for you...

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No Secrets by Carly Simon

------------------------

3.

Okay, I have decided what to do as a "gimmick" for my list, and that is simply no gimmick, no challenge and no forcing myself to listen to anything I'm not already majorly interested in and kind of in the bag for lol - so I simply have this big list of albums I want to hear and I roughly ranked em and then now I will at random grab 10 that seem like either really cool and up my alley or ones that I feel like an idiot for never listening to em. Here we go!
+ = this is the most recently added choice

1. The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu /1978 (this was Ulcerate but I couldn’t wait so I listened to Everything is Fire and yep it’s almost perfect. So now it’s this album I present as a possible nom. It’s been so long since I last heard this I almost forget what it sounds like. Absolutely classic classic post punk.)

2. Rear View Mirror by Townes Van Zandt/1993 (I used to idolize TVZ. Still love him. And this live album is a legendary release of his work. I have heard it but for some reason it never caught on with me when I was in the throes of TVZ listening. It's been over a decade and I really am interested in jumping back into this album)

3. Lanquidity by Sun Ra/1978 (A month ago I listened to a bit of this. I thought going into it that perhaps it would be a bit or a lot "beyond me" and maybe a bit too abstract for me to dig. Boy was I surprised to find that it kicks fucking ass! I want to jump back in and give this the time and attention it deserves at some point soon. Jazz Fusion of the coolest kind based off the 10 to 15 minutes I heard. And yes, this will be the first Sun ra album for me, friends, so that is a big deal.)

4. Mark Hollis by Mark Hollis/1998 (This is a shameful admission: I have never sat down - nor even stood up! - and listened to this album in one sitting - nor in one standing! I know I know how is this even admissible for someone that has Spirit of Eden high on his all time faves list? Idk. I have bit-and-pieced this album 1 or 2 times over the decade or so of awareness of it. I intend to rectify this soon. RIP Mark Hollis.)

+5. Blood Fire Death and/or Under the Sign of the Black Mark by Bathory/1988 + 1987 respectively (Kind of cheating here. If you pick this, feel free to pick one. But I will likely listen to both. These are some of the highest ranked and most revered metal albums as of yet unrated by me. I must have heard these surely but I cant remember much or anything about them. So yeah some of the most influential 80s metal albums are what is here for your choosing.)

6. Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles/2008 (I am a huge fan of Mayer. Especially love his Continuum album and his live shows. Somehow I have never heard this live album - his highest rated record by far. Seeing him live was, again, amazing. This is peak Mayer in concert and I hear its stellar. This probably won't be chosen by you hip badasses, but I'm including it for consideration.)

7. I Could Live In Hope by Low/1994 (I love this album or I remember loving it. Its been awhile. I sampled it to see if I still liked it and I actually discovered I may love it now more than back in my early 20s. And after falling head over heels in love with their latest, HEY WHAT, i think going back to their beginnings is a smart and nourishing and emotional and smart move.)

8. Ask the Ages by Sonny Sharrock/1991 (I have a very VERY good feeling about this one. I think I am ready and primed to experience a truly transcendent avant garde modern jazz album. This just feels right, like with a melon, you can just tell. I hope I'm not overhyping this in my mind and setting myself up for a let down. I doubt it, I don't generally let that happen.)

9. Left Hand Path by Entombed/1990 (Bring on this absolutely classic and legendary Swedish death metal classic! I couple months ago I absolutely saw the light on Entombed's peers, Dismember, and their 1991 masterpiece Like an Ever Flowing Stream. At that time I meant to now delve into the works of Entombed... but I never did. I listened to the first few tracks of this album newly and thought it was cool but no Dismember and went back to them. Now I would like to give this one the time and TLC it deserves. I heard it awhile ago but I was not a DM fan at the time and I didn't love it just liked it.)

10. Arthur Verocai by Arthur Verocai/1972 (I was digging the new BADBADNOTGOOD album Talk memory a few days ago and I saw that this old icon was featured on many of those tracks and his guitar stole the show on many of those songs and I was like "That's It! I neeeed to check this stuff and his music out!" so here we are. It's labeled MPB and Psych Pop.)
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-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Purplepash]

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Roped In by North Americans

Not an album I would seek out based on the description but I think there is a few people around these parts that would like this. Acoustic guitar plucking and strumming over an ambient/droney background. Not normally my thing but this was really nice. Like not only did it have a nice sound but it gave me a really nice feel good vibe. I wanted to drift off or drift away while listening. So it probably wasn't a good idea to listen to this driving home from work on a Friday afternoon like I just did, before going out to see some live music. I just want to have a nap now. 7.5/10




Pere Ubu Mercury.

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The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu




Top 63 Music Albums of 2020 by Tha1ChiefRocka (3 picks left)

3. Rattle by Wailin Storms
4. Burden Of Proof by Benny The Butcher
6. Tellusboutyourself by Yerin Baek
9. Healing Is A Miracle by Julianna Barwick
13. Anime, Trauma And Divorce by Open Mike Eagle
14. Royal Swan by Phoxjaw
15. Motherhood by No Joy
16. My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell by Nick Storring
19. Blizzards by Nathan Fake
22. Sorry You Couldn't Make It by Swamp Dogg

[LedZep]

(1)

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Buck Fever by Estradasphere
This is, of course, not primarily a doo-wop or klezmer album, but both of those genres did feature at one point or another. In fact you could hear bits and pieces of as many genres as on any Mr. Bungle album. Chief was absolutely right, this is perfect for everyone who likes Disco Volante's shenanigans. Much more metal than anything Mr. Bungle have done in the 90s, though, at least as far as I can remember. There's several (wannabe) death and black metal songs which were cool and the best thing is that everything seems like it was though out, rehearsed and not done just for comedy or shock effect. Whether it's doo-wop or grindcore, they do it mostly right. Not sure what's a highlight here, which makes sense since juxtaposition's more important than singular compositions here imo. 8.5/10

(2)
I cannot pass on OME, so go listen to some songs about anime and Black Mirror episodes which ruin marriages.

(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
Pink Siifu - Gumbo'!
Univers Zero - Ceux du Dehors
Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
Nikos Xilouris - Sillogi
Milo - So the Flies Don't Come
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s