Get To Know A Top 10: December 2018 Thread - SquishypuffDave

[Norman Bates]

1. The Runners Four - Deerhoof haven't heard yet
2. In Rainbows - Radiohead is good
3. The Way Out - The Books haven't heard yet
5. Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush is an all-or-nothing affair
6. Of Natural History - Sleepytime Gorilla Museum haven't heard yet
7. Selected Ambient Works Volume II - Aphex Twin remarkable record
8. Music For 18 Musicians - Steve Reich haven't heard yet
9. Endtroducing... - DJ Shadow is good
10. Laughing Stock - Talk Talk remarkable record
11. Donuts - J Dilla very good, has grown out of me lately

Out of these, the Reich is the only one I have been planning to listen to for a long time, as I know other works of his that I think are superb. I probs need to listen to that Books LP as well, as I loved the only one I've listened to so far.

[Luigii]

I finally finished Donuts. Wow that was great. I do have some complaints. Like I'm not a fan of the song Glazed. That one is a song I just don't like. But not only is this pretty soulful. The techniques on this album are quite varied.

The only thing I somewhat disagree is that though Dilla died from Lupus three days after this being released, I never feel like the album as a cohesive whole is sad. Sure there are some sad songs on this. But the album cover and the way these songs are crafted fell like Dilla was gonna conquer and if he didn't pass away would have made way more insane shit if he had the chance. That album cover alone looks like he was gonna kick a lot of producers in the ass.

Plus, I feel like Blackstar by David Bowie fits this mold way better.

So my verdict is between an 80 and 85. Glad I finished this album up.

[baystateoftheart]

10. Laughing Stock - Talk Talk

Gave this one another listen, and while I think it's quite good, I'm afraid I'm still far from grasping any brilliance present. It sounds nice throughout, but somehow feels a bit drab, and the songs don't have payoffs in the same way as in Spirit Of Eden. Holding out hope that I will get it in a few years. 3.5/5.

11. Donuts - J Dilla

This is currently my #23 album overall, so it was in line for my vote at the start, and after listening again that has not changed. The best instrumental hip-hop album ever, the best use of soul samples ever, and the best goodbye album ever from my perspective. This time it wasn't quite as stellar as I remembered, and not all the tracks are excellent (some being merely good). But then again, there are natural fluctuations in one's enjoyment of the same music due to a variety of factors such as mood and sound system, and nothing gave me the impression that I should consider downgrading my rating at this time. 4.5/5.

~~~~~

Final Ranking:

Amazing

1. Donuts
2. Endtroducing.....
3. Music For 18 Musicians
4. Hounds Of Love

Strong

5. The Runners Four
6. In Rainbows

Solid

7. Selected Ambient Works Volume II
8. Laughing Stock
9. The Way Out

Good, But Flawed

10. Of Natural History
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[gloriousgoo]

I've been slowly working my way through this. Just listened through the Aphex Twin album. I'm a big fan of it. Though I still think I'm going to go for Eno stuff when I want some ambient sounds, it's impossible to deny the quality of that album. I've been thinking about going on a true dive into ambient music at some point in the future and this has only solidified my resolve. I'll get to the rest of the things on here eventually!

[babyBlueSedan]

When I first looked at this list the first word that came to mind was "formless." While some of these albums have well-defined songs, a lot of them feel like they're focused more on building off of a central idea than creating memorable individual songs. Of course that's not a bad thing, just an observation. Here are my thoughts on the albums:

1. Deerhoof: I remember liking this one quite a bit but a revisit left me a little cold. I like the vocals a lot and the random bursts of drums make things unpredictable, but I find a lot of the songs a bit half-baked. I think I'd like this a lot if it was a bit more poppy, but I know that's not really what they were going for. After listening again I realized that Any Other City by Life Without Buildings is really the album I wish this was.

2. Radiohead: I don't have much to say about Radiohead that hasn't been said. This may be my favorite of theirs and Videotape is a top 5 Radiohead song for me.

3. The Books: I remember these guys being mentioned on BEA a lot a few years ago, maybe back during the best year tournament? This has always been my favorite of theirs; the samples make it feel so relaxing even during some of the more freak-folky songs like Cold Winter Night. The Story of Hip Hop gives me chills.

5. Kate Bush: I've never been able to get into Bush unfortunately. I really like Running Up That Hill and Big Sky but I remember there being a lot of songs on this that went nowhere.

6. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum: I haven't heard this but the genres on RYM make it sound interesting.

7. Aphex Twin: I have no plans to listen to this, sorry. Not an ambient fan and 2+ hours is too much.

8. Steve Reich: Listened to this for the first time this week, and while I wasn't blown away I enjoyed it very much. I loved the way that it subtly changed as it went, but so slightly that it felt like it hadn't changed at all.

9. DJ Shadow: Never been able to get into this one. I like it when it's on well enough, but I never take anything away from it. The last sample always makes me smile though.

10. Talk Talk: I like Spirit of Eden, and The Color of Spring. But this one has always left me cold since it's a little more subdued than its predecessor.

11. J Dilla: Whenever I listen to Donuts I'm blown away at the beginning and bored by the end. There are some really good beats here but they're cut so short that the album just feels scattershot. I wish I could hear the sadness in this that other people hear but I just never do.
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[gloriousgoo]

[babyBlueSedan]

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

Purely ambient music and Minimalist music are two entirely different concepts. Good ambient music is shapeless and formless, gradually changing from one sound to the next.

Minimalism is a more structured approach to the same concept; repetition of sounds, usually simple chords, that gradually change over time, adding and taking out layers as the piece evolves.

You can snap your finger to minimalist music, because it has a reliable tempo, whereas most ambient has no discernible time.

Same concepts, the gradual change of a piece of music over time, but much different results.

[SquishypuffDave]

Re: Donuts being a sad album, I don't feel that at all. I just find it really fun. That said, I never found Joy Division's music sad either.

Tap's comment about genre-agnosticism was pretty astute. This tendency could be due to the fact that Porcupine Tree was my first musical love as an adolescent, and they were unabashed genre mongrels. It didn't occur to me that they were breaking any kind of musical tradition until other people mentioned it.

I could say the same about growing up on 90s television. It was a pastiche of tropes with which I wasn't familiar, and a deconstruction of traditions I'd never been exposed to, so my core understanding of art was built on fragmentation and ambiguity, rather than a clearly defined sense of what is normal/abnormal.

[gloriousgoo]