You must listen to the album below you: canon edition

[LedZep]

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Neu! '75 by Neu!
I'm certain I've heard their debut, but Neu 75... idk. Felt pretty new, perhaps it is my first time hearing it. Went ahead and listened to the debut again after tackling Neu 75! to make the comparison easier. And... '75 is better. Easily. Consistently interesting, keeps you on the edge of your seat, gorgeous ambient parts, fantastic jams, the songs work well on their own, as well as in full album format. Honestly, everything I'd want from a krautrock record. I can see now why Neu are listed among the best and most innovative bands of the 70s. Kinda missed that train when I was listening to German classics, but it's never too late, I guess.

The highlight was Leb' wohl, a truly beautiful ambient cut. I've recently figured out that I really like sea-themed music. For some reason. Be it the sea sound effects/field recordings like on Leb' wohl, meandering/"wavy" music (Fennesz, Pep Llopis, Boris' Flood, Hancock's Crossings, Tortoise...), ethereal, dreamy and noisy stuff (Ride, Slowdive, Swirlies) or even the crushing aquatic riffs (Ahab, Drown, Mastodon...) Not even sure what the connection is beyond the loose water themed artwork and sound design. Might start a project to listen to any and all such music

Neu! '75 gets high 8.5/10

(2)
Moby next

(3)
Picks from BEA metal charts, 2023/24 wishlist, some other cool stuff.
R marks relistens

Pyrrhon - Mother of Virtues (AfterHours)
Unaussprechlichen Kulten - Häxan Sabaoth
Squarepusher - Dostrotime
glass beach - plastic death
Lana Del Rey - Did you know there was a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
MIKE - Burning Desire
Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities and the Maple Death
Ultravox - Ha! Ha! Ha!
Frank Zappa - Waka / Jawaka
King Tubby - Dub From the Roots
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Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[Rhyner]

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Syro by Aphex Twin
This bleep bloop type music is not for me. It's okay as background music sometimes, but that's about it. Even then it gets tedious after a while. And just about every album of this type--this one included--overstays its welcome. It's far from terrible, but almost all the time I'd rather be listening to something that actively stimulates me in a positive way.

46/100

(2)
Plastic Death

(3)
Here's one album from each of the first ten pages (20 per page) of albums I've not yet rated on BEA. I've tried to choose from each page the album I'm least familiar with.

1: 417. Zen Arcade by Hüsker Dü (1984)
2: 453. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix (2009)
3: 623. Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts (2018)
4: 659. Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey (2014)
5: 706. My Woman by Angel Olsen (2016)
6: 790. Clics Modernos by Charly García (1983)
7: 807. Canción Animal by Soda Stereo (1990)
8: 857. The Shape Of Punk To Come (A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts) by Refused (1998)
9: 903. O by Damien Rice (2002)
10: 922. Weezer (White Album) by Weezer (2016)

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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Hot Thoughts by Spoon
I used to love Spoon around 2006-2009 or so, then sort of stopped listening to them after Transference from 2010, so I missed great albums like this and They Want My Soul. I caught up on They Want My Soul a couple years ago, but this is the first time I’m listening to their 2014 album.

It’s really solid, and while the first half of the album is a bit better, the quality remains pretty consistent. One thing that surprises me is how consistently good Spoon has been for almost 30 years. Their sound really hasn’t varied that much other than their more recent albums having crisper production as opposed to their more garage rock-oriented 90s and early 00s albums. But this was a pleasant surprise. “Hot Thoughts” and “Shotgun” could easily become some of my favorite Spoon songs alongside “The Underdog”, “Don’t Make Me a Target”, “The Way We Get By”, and “My Mathematical Mind”.

2)
Let's go with

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Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts has a similar vibe to Spoon

3)
Acclaimed Music best "bubbling under" albums of the 2010s (https://acclaimedmusic.net/year/2010-19a.htm):
- Hell on Heels by Pistol Annies (2011)
- Public Strain by Women (2010)
- More Than Any Other Day by Ought (2014)
- Oshin by DIIV (2012)
- Relatives in Descent by Protomartyr (2017)
- Hope Downs by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (2018)
- Everything in Between by No Age (2010)
- Rich Gang: Tha Tour Part 1 by Young Thug, Birdman & Rich Homie Quan (2014)
- Poison Season by Destroyer (2015)
- Soft Sounds from Another Planet by Japanese Breakfast (2017)
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!