Catching Up

[guzguzgarbit]

I’ve always been into music. But I was more of a single track listener rather than an album listener. I was a lot (and I’m still) into electronic music: beats and programming were my element of predilection. Around two years ago, I started to realise something was wrong. There was another format I was not taking enough into consideration: the album. So I started listening to albums, electronic music at first and then I broadened the range and I discovered there actually was an immense universe I was missing completely. And now I’m trying to catch up.

I’ve been keeping some kind of music diary for the past months, mostly for myself. But now that I’m on this website (and with the intent to stay), I thought I could just throw it here. It’s probably not very informative, but could give you a brief opinion on some albums I’m hearing. I’ll try to do it as a weekly recap.

[guzguzgarbit]

Warning: These comments are spontaneous reaction and aren’t in any case final. Bare in mind that I’m always open to discussion.

WEEK 1 (02/04 - 02/10)

Here we are.
Every work day I have one hour of subway in the morning and one in the evening, that’s where I listen to albums.

Monday

One Love by Electric Universe (not on BEA)
What a glorious way to start the week: an unknown psy-trance album from some German. I sometimes have no idea why I listen to such albums. This one was actually on my list for a very long time. Because I have a list of what I should listen to it’s approximately 400 albums long at the moment, and keep expending. This album must have been there for such a long time, I don’t exactly remember why I put it there on the first place…


Out Of The Blue by Electric Light Orchestra
Perfect transition, two artists starting with Electric. This one is much better than the former (and actually have nothing to do with it) but is a disappointment. Probably not the best album from ELO, so I’ll keep on listening.

Aja by Steely Dan
It’s a nice album to work to I think. But it won’t get very far in my charts sadly.

Tuesday

Destroyer by Kiss
I had already listened to Destroyer, but for some reason, I couldn’t recall anything about it, so I gave it a go again. And I liked it more than expected, it got the raw power I’m expecting from this kind of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal from this era, and it doesn’t disappoint. But in term of album, it’s a bit poor IMO, shortly after the first three tracks, it’s looking for a broader audience and is loosing a bit of purpose and consistence, but well, that’s ok.

Take My Head by Archive
Londinium (Archive’s first album) is one of my all time favourite. But this one is not really what you could be expecting, it’s actually kind of boring.

Engineers by Engineers
The cover and the name were pretty much the only things making me listen to this, so I was surprised by the fact it was actually pretty good.

Wednesday

Kusanagi by Toronto Is Broken (not in BEA)
Another one of my failed discovery, a pathetic dnb album. It’s not that bad, but it’s really not worth the time.


The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
I was jogging around in the suburbs, so this was the perfect time for this. I’d already listened to Funeral (and that was a huge disappointment) and I was not hoping for much, but it’s in BEA top 100, so let’s give it a go, I said to myself. And it started out really good, like really, really good. The Suburbs and Ready To Start raised my expectations faster than most albums I listened to in the last few weeks. I was starting to think whether I would put it in my overall chart, when it started to fail miserably.

I’m tired of this. I don’t understand. Is my attention spam more limited than most people, am I crazy? Almost all the albums I listen to just bore me out. It’s like I already heard them 10 times or something. It’s not about whether I like the album or not. Because I liked the suburbs. It’s about whether the album is going to bring me something. And after the first two tracks, The Suburbs really didn’t bring me anything, listening to it was as dull as watching a stone for almost an hour. Every time, I say to myself it’s because the album was made this way: a few killer tracks, and then fillers. But I can’t pretend any more. I see everyone loving the album, and I know there is something wrong. I must understand what.

Menagerie by Bill Withers
What a joke. I really picked this after what happened with The Suburbs. At the time is still doing my jogging and it was maybe (what was I thinking) supposed to bring me up. I did this, partly thinking about the black history month project (but I have to much to listen to to do this seriously) and partly because I absolutely love “Lovely Day”, it’s probably my favourite soul song (for the few I’ve heard). But it was obvious the album was just going to be completely shallow after it, and it was. Not much more to say. It’s an ok album (I guess).


Crime Of The Century by Supertramp
I actually have this on vinyl, I must have heard it when I was 10 or so, and then lost it. I just recovered it, and well, it’s amazing. That’s what I like with prog rock, you know, that at least, it’s not going to be boring. It’s not necessarily good, but at least it’s not boring. And this one is not boring. And very good, the closing track is beautiful, and everything before really stands out.

Thursday

Not So Green Fields by Dusty Kid (Not on BEA)
I really like Dusty Kid. It’s techno music mixed with a lot of other things. And that’s what I like with electronic music, it’s rarely boring, because at least, the sounds are usually different. So, yes this is a good album, but I’m not sure there are a lot of people here that would agree.

Forever Changes by Love
It’s ok. And I’m tired of discarding supposedly incredible albums as just being ok. But really, I don’t see what’s extraordinary in this. For me plenty of albums achieve the exact same thing. Sure, this was before, but still. This time, at least it was not boring, every song was approximately as good as the others.

The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu
This what happens when I start experimenting with styles I don’t know much about. Well, this was not boring, it was worst. I was probably not in the right mood to listen to this. I was expecting some music, when I should have been expecting noises and atmosphere, alright, my bad.

Soaring by Don Ellis
This album contains Whiplash (which was later used in the movie) and that’s probably the only reason I listened to this. But it was not bad for a late era Jazz album (my knowledge is probably not enough to judge about this). At least jazz is never annoying, it can just melt in the background in the worst cases. But I’m still looking for Jazz album that is going to get my full attention.


My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
I heard Graduation last week, and was quite shocked by that fact I liked it pretty much. Graduation was not incredible, but was showing a lot of potential. I was thinking that I was missing a lot all these years. So, yes, my expectations were high, and maybe not in the right direction. I really don’t liked MBDTF that much. I think the production looks more professional, but the flow just seems flawed. It’s repetitive. Graduation was repetitive, but it was more spontaneous, this is just not. I really don’t think the 6 minutes length of most tracks is justified and the 9 minutes of Runaway are even less justified.

A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
This is really my favourite Radiohead album (and one of my favourite album overall). I really needed this after the beginning of the week. I actually thought that listening to more albums, would actually mean more good albums, but I forgot it also mean more bad albums. AMSP have this power to make all the trouble disappear. This should have been a great way to end the day.

Boots by Nancy Sinatra
For some reason I listened to this just before going to sleep, as if I was taken by a sudden will to listen to 60s pop. This wasn’t all bad, actually it was mostly good. But no more than good I think.

Friday

Doppelgänger by Curve
I don’t know where I should put this. Is this industrial, shoegaze or else? Anyway it was pleasant to listen to, I’m glad I did. It’s another of this albums I put in the list a year or so ago, but now it’s off the list.

(What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
I already listened to Definitely Maybe and kept good memories of it. This one is probably even better, so the week is suddenly getting lighter (two good albums in a row!).

What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ by Stephanie Mills (not on BEA)
I really like the cover of the title track by Inner City, so I gave a try to the original. It’s another of those soul album where everything is put on the first track. I really don’t want to comment.



Souvlaki by Slowdive
Another one of these albums I got on my list for a long time. I might have add this just after listening to Spiderland for the first time. And it’s a bit above good but also disappointing. I already had listened the 5 EP and remixes from them, that they made approximately around this time, and they are a lot better imo. With the EP they got a lot more experimental with some instrumental pieces, and I like them very much. At least more than the album.

Saturday

Blackout by Scorpions
I’m still looking for this kind of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal album that could compete with Iron Maiden, but it’s becoming clearer and clearer that it’s not going to happen. Blackout is in my overall chart. Because all the tracks are killers. It’s one of the few albums like this I have on my chart, because I usually prefer to promote albums with a decent structure. But I just love this one too much.

Music To Moog By by Gershon Kingsley
This is a very unexpected album. It contains the first ever version of Pop Corn and some electronic covers of The Beatles (in 1969??). So, at least, it’s fun.

Curtis by Curtis Mayfield
This is different, but this is a soul album without everything on the first track, so this is what I call an album. So this is good, but didn’t kept my attention much longer. I’m still searching.

You're A Woman, I'm A Machine by Death From Above 1979
I don’t really remember why I got to listen to this (it just happened), but well it was another ok listening. A bit annoying around the end but I guess that’s the spirit.

Sunday

Pump Up The Volume by M|A|R|R|S (not an album (and not on BEA))
This is funny to know that 4AD released a house music classic in 1987.


This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem
I already heard the first two LCD Soundsystem albums, and was quite unamused. But when I recently heard I Can Change, I decided to give a go at this, and what a surprise, it was a lot better than expected. Now I understand the hype around it.

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder
This is exactly the kind of album that just sits in the background of my mind while I do something else. I seriously tried to listen to it, but really… I like it, but it’s not the kind of album that moves me.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
And yet another one. A good beginning, a good end, but frankly in the middle there is nothing for me.

And this was my music week.

[RoundTheBend]

[Fischman]

Methinks you're selling Aja short. It is indeed fine background music, but it's also a very good one to really pay attention to. Some of the chord progressions are positively brilliant.

Although I get what you're saying with regard to Forever Changes, I wouldn't necessarily apply it to that particular album. It may not be top 10 material, but it's pretty darn good.

[guzguzgarbit]

It's true I haven't given Aja a fair chance (yet), but it's already in my "to listen again" list. I have the feeling it's going to be one of this albums I have to listen to a few times before realising how good it it (my chart is full of albums like these). That's why it's so hard to write about it after a first listen.

I was maybe a bit harsh with Forever Changes because I remember it being pretty good. I was surely in a bad mood when I wrote this. I really need to reread myself...

Anyway, thank you for reacting

[guzguzgarbit]

I was thinking that maybe I could talk more about less albums, but I prefer giving a quick word on everything I listened to during the week.
I tried to be fairer this time. I usually think that if someone love an album and I don't, it's because I'm missing something (and I have to do what's necessary to find it).

WEEK 2 (02/11 – 02/17)

Monday


What's That Noise? by Coldcut
Is there a better way to start a week than to listen to some beats and bleeps on Monday morning ? Well, I guess so. Anyway this was a good album, full of strange and/or great moments. This a very aptly named album. The name of the label is pretty good too : "ahead of our time" since this was released in 1989.

Fear Of A Black Planet by Public Enemy
I'm trying to compensate my complete lack of knowledge of Hip Hop, and since I loved PE second album, I thought this one would have been a good choice. It have its strong moments, but in the end I'm settling on It Takes A Nation Of Millions.

Dance Party Album by Z-Factor (not on BEA)
I was intrigued by this album which is, according to discogs, the first ever house album. It was a fair listen honestly, and if it was surely largely inspired by disco, it was surely inspired many later albums.

Exile On Main St. by The Rolling Stones
I'm disappointed myself by not liking this album. Even if I'm probably not a big fan of the stones, Let It Bleed (and part of Sticky Finger) left an important impression on me. But I found exile on main st. to be a particularly hard listen. I get the atmosphere they were trying to get, and it's a success, it's just that I don't like it.

Heaven Or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins
It's a very strong dreampop album, but I have to listen to it at least twice before really expressing an opinion.

I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You ...a Franklin
I don't know why, but I have a really hard time with soul music. I like funk and disco, but soul is smoother and it's hard for me to like it atm. I need to hear more of that I think.

Tuesday

Hunting High And Low by a-ha
This was actually a lot better than expected, for me most of the tracks are good.


ReComposed by Carl Craig & Moritz Von Oswald
You probably don't know this album and it's a shame. I find the simple fact that this album exists (and two or three others in the same series) wonderful. It's deutsche grammophon releasing remixes from classical recordings made by techno producers. Carl Craig always tried to give more artistic consideration to the music he makes and I honestly don't know if it serves or deserves the purpose. But it's a very interesting album nonetheless.

Pastel Blues by Nina Simone
This album is definitely lacking the consideration it deserves. It's very strong blues supported by a great vocalist and an amazing album progression (especially for the time). Sinnerman is one of the greatest song of the time I heard.

Wednesday

Dialogue by Four Tet
The beginning was very good, but I'm not a fan of the rest, it got me interested enough to listen to his other albums.


Embrace by Sleepy Sun
I guess it depends on my mood. Last week I was pretty bored, but it seems this week I was happier maybe. Anyway, I think this album have exactly what's missing from most albums I listened from the era. It have a strong progression, interesting lyrics and lots of good moments. Not just one incredible song at the beginning and nothing else afterwards.

Illmatic by Nas
More hip-hop. I was actually expecting a lot more violence. This is quite measured and have a jazzy atmosphere, while still quite violent, it's not going too far and that's a good point.

I Am by Earth, Wind And Fire
Every intro from this is excellent except Boogie Wonderland, which is just excellent.

Sixteen Stone by Bush
I see some positively great tracks here, but also a good dose of filler, I may listen to it again.

My Generation by The Who
I'm planning on hearing every Who albums during the next few weeks and it starts with their famous debut "My Generation". And against my expectations, the title track is not the only standpoint of the album, it's full of other rock madness from the time like "The Ox", "Out In The Street" or "The Good's Gone".

Thursday

Portishead by Portishead
I don't know what's the deal with Portishead. It's an Ok band. But really, there almost nothing that could compare with, for exemple, Massive Attack. It's all pretty safe songs, I guess it's by being safe they achieved what they did, but honestly, for me, it doesn't make a great album. It makes a bunch of great tracks, sure, and commercial success, but not a top 100 album imo.

Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan
My favourite Dylan album from the three I've heard. I'm starting to like this guy a lot, I'll definitely check out some of his other albums.

Four Seasons Of Love by Donna Summer
A very good concept disco album produced by Giorgio Moroder. What's the concept? Love, of course. Move that evolves around in cycles like the four seasons, it's not very philosophical, but honestly, it doesn't matter.

Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
This have not much to do with their debut (which is in my overall), it have a very very strong 80s aesthetic but it turns out to be sufficiently free in its form to be great.

Third by Soft Machine
When I put this album on listen, I was completely turned off by the intro... But then, the jazz started and the rest was very good eventually. But gosh, that intro? I really don't get it.

Edwin Birdsong by Edwin Birdsong (not on BEA)
Some 70s experimental funk that eventually lead to being sampled by Daft Punk for Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. The album in itself is not uninteresting, but lacks some variety I think.

Friday


Animamundi by Timewarp
A greek Progressive Psy-Trance (maybe?) album from 2002. It's actually quite good and take a reasonable amount of liberties with its style making it quite unpredictable. I don't know if I can recommend this to anyone on this site, but it gets my seal of approuval.

Maldita Vecindad Y Los Hijos Del Quinto...a Vecindad
I listened to this one as a part of "You must listen to the album below you" game. I'll put the review there.

Saturday


Just Outside Of Town by Mandrill
Another good funk album, maybe overlooked, maybe not. I'm starting my journey for this style, as usual, any recommendation is welcome.

Hunky Dory by David Bowie
I like a lot some of Bowie's famous tracks, like Life On Mars?, Starman, Space Oddity... But I don't get his albums. Even if lots of them are supposed to be concept albums, I just find most of the tracks to be uninteresting. Take Hunky Dory for exemple : I love Life On Mars?, I like Changes and Kooks, but I find the rest to be between ok and poor (like "Andy Warhol" and "Song For Bob Dylan", what are those?). And that doesn't make a good album.

On Fire by Galaxie 500
I don't remember much of this one for some reason, I'd like to avoid saying something I'll regret. I'll listen to it again.

Bitches Brew by Miles Davis
Slowly, but surely I will get myself to appreciate jazz. This is a good start and a great album. Even if a bit long it gives a full span of time to a better understanding of the flow and chords progression.

Sunday

Lost In The Sound Of Separation by Underoath
I'm not a big fan of the vocals, but I think I get the idea. The music is ok even if a bit overaggressive.

Rising by Rainbow
I'm still searching for a great Hard Rock/Heavy Metal album from this time and I have yet to hear it. Rising is not bad at all and have a good progression but is a bit short.

That's all for now

[Fischman]

Don't kick yourself too hard for not liking Exile on Main Street. It's a lot to swallow and if the mood doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. I love the album... but not on a regular basis, and I can see how it would have limited appeal to many. Even some serious Stones fans can't take it.

I agree, Mandrill can be a lot of fun.

Rising is generally considered to be Rainbow's best although I generally go for the self-titled debut from the year previous. Personally, I find a great deal of excellent hard rock/heavy metal from that same year (1976). My top 10 in that category from that year are:

Rush - 2112
Blackfoot - Flyin' High
Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune
Triumph - In the Beginning
Grand Funk Railroad - Good Singin', Good Playin'
Led Zeppelin - Presence
Boston - Boston
Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
the aforementioned Rainbow - Rising

[guzguzgarbit]

[Repo]

[guzguzgarbit]

WEEK 3 (02/18 - 02/24)

Monday

Salt Of The Earth by The Soul Searchers
The week starts with one of the most sampled albums of all time. A funk album and a fun listen.

Live by Âme (not on BEA)
Is it really a live album with this kind of music? Because basically the tracks were already made and they just played then, even worst, I don't think this was even played live in any location. None of the tracks from the album where already in another album, so question stands, is this a live or a studio album? Maybe both, but who cares. I've always liked Âme, so this another good album from them.


Grace by Jeff Buckley
I'm slowly listening to BEA's top 100, and the next stop is this. And I wasn't exepecting to like it. I mean, I already knew some of the tracks and really thought this was going to be a single showcase with lots of filler, but it's not. The progression is slowing smoothly, starting quite fast and violent for the style and getting softer throughout until Hallelujah. It's quite nice actually.

Tuesday


TNT by Tortoise
Another lucky discovery for me. I was delaying listening to this album because I thought this was going to be yet another standard post rock album like Mogwai, Godspeed You or Explosions In The Sky, and I had a whole bunch to hear. But TNT is not standard, it's really special. It have a spectacular progression and some very interesting tracks like Ten-Day Interval, it's going to need another listen but it might be inducted in my overall chart.

RAL9005 by Tiefschwarz
I was going to write that it's an overlooked album by overlooked artist, but don't think it's even been overlooked. It have some intersting beats and chords and the progression make some sense somehow. It's even a bit jazzy sometimes only with electronic sounds.

Conversations by Woman's Hour
A third good discovery in a row (that's rare). Conversations is good little indie pop album with a few great songs and interesting lyrics all wrapped up in a calm ambiance.

Wednesday

Kraftwerk 2 by Kraftwerk
It's unexpected but this experimental album is already giving glimpses of what's coming next it might be close to noise sometimes, but when it's good, it's good.

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I...ic Monkeys
It's probably not my kind of album, but anyway. I really fail to see what's worth of a 45th place on BEA's top. It's not bad, most tracks are actually good, but tbh it's full of cliché songs and guitar play. So it's good, but as good as many other albums from the same time for me. (Maybe I'm wrong of course)


Eli And The Thirteenth Confession by Laura Nyro
Well, this is a good demonstration that the beatles weren't the only one to make great pop songs in the 60s. The whole album is as consistent as Abbey Road or Sgt. Pepper and full of great songs like Luckie or Eli's Comin'.

Transcendence Into The Peripheral by Disembowelment
It's a strange Death-Doom album, it's very harsh as the style wants but also have a my bloody valentine order from chaos kind of thing. There is some very strange tracks like Nightside Of Eden, that make the whole album an experiment.

Natural Feelings by Airto Moreira
Airto Moreira is one of these Brazilian jazz players. He is a drummer and gives this very good debut album in 1970. Even if the album's art is properly hideous, the album is very consistent and full of great moments.

Thursday

Sequenchial by Quench (not on BEA)
An old quite classic trance album. Some of it is good, some of it is bad. It was mostly conceived as a vehicle for the hit "Dreams" I think, so the album is of little interest.


Bad Company by Bad Company
I got to listen to this album just because I thought the album art was quite good. And surprisingly enough, the album was very good. I don't know much about the band or the context of release, but it's already one of my favourite for the year. It's very consistent and there are some very good banger like Can't Get Enough or Rock Steady.

Fixed Water by Sophia
Already half forgotten after a first listen. It was not bad, but I think it's a bit uninspired maybe.

69 by A.R. Kane
These are the guys that are supposed to have created Dream Pop and pioneered shoegaze. Well, it's good, but miles away from mbv. Not much to say about it except that it seems to get better as the album progress.

Parallel Lines by Blondie
I really don't like this album. It's supposed to be new wave and all but honestly I don't get it. It seems to evolve between a dying punk scene and soulless pop, a few good tracks like heart of glass, but for me that's mostly it.

Forth by The Verve
I really like The Verve, but I was delaying listening to this album as it was considered by some critics as a failed attempt by Richard Ashcroft to boost his solo career. But it's just not, the album is good, the tracks are all overlong, but in a good way (is this possible) and the album reconnect with the first Verve attempts at Dream Pop. There are great songs like Love Is Noise (just the title is priceless) or Numbness, and the progression makes sense too.

Friday


Divided By Night by The Crystal Method
A nice proof that The Crystal Method still rocks after more than 10 years. The sound changed, the tracks are more constructed, but it's for the best. I'm really starting to like those guys too.

Marquee Moon by Television
I don't get it. I think I need to listen to it again.

We Are Family by Sister Sledge
It's another great disco album from the Nile Rodgers / Bernard Edwards fame. It's weird how my least favourite song is supposed to be the highlight of the album "We Are Family", I think this is too close to Chic style and doesn't fit. Everything else gets me.

Saturday (No album on saturday)

Sunday

Heimatmelodien by Super Flu (not on BEA)
It's an OK tech house album made by yet another german duo. Honestly I don't know what to think about it, it's good, but miss something.

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
Another good funk album. It doesn't have the same appeal to me as The Soul Searchers or Mandrill, but gives me enough to go deeper into my exploration of the style.

xx by The xx
I don't know about this. I was expecting to like this a lot more considering that I liked
Conversations (see above) a lot, but it didn't get to me as much there are some good tracks in here but as a whole I don't find it very special.

And that's it for the week.