Top 5 concerts of 2022 - Music Diaries - Forums : Best Ever Albums

kokkinos

Ouch, that was a brutal pair of songs.

Be My Baby is one of the greatest songs of all time, the pinnacle of the entire Girl Group/Phil Spector “movement”/”scene”/call it what you will. What I find the most impressive is how it manages to be so incredibly innovative yet it remains irresistibly easy on the ear, you have the gorgeous and oh so painfully sweet vocals and of course the trademark “heavy” production (also known as wall of sound) that fits nicely the themes of teenage romance, where everything appears more dramatic than it actually is. And, as you correctly said, it’s extremely important, too. Without Girl Group there’s no Beach Boys and without Beach Boys there’s no pop music as we know it today.

Nothing against Wilco either, they proudly represent the most melodic branch of indie/alternative and more or less justify the hype that surrounds them. Jesus, etc. is a song that strikes a fine balance, as it embraces the tradition (country/folk/rock), yet is willing to experiment (the string arrangements that you also brought up), it is catchy yet odd, comforting yet depressing. The most striking part of it, though, has to be the lines “Tall buildings shake” and “Skyscrapers are scraping together”, which are -unintentionally of course, the song had already been written and recorded by then- outright devastating when viewed in the context of 9/11.

LedZep wrote:

It's crazy to think that both Prodigy and Havoc were 19 at the time. Similar to Nas, who started recording Illmatic when he was 17 and released it when he was 21. Seems it's already too late for my hip hop masterpiece Very Happy

Nah, it's ok, you might go down the Jay-Z road. Release your debut at 26 years old (no idea if you are past that, but it fits the narrative) and go on to become a billionaire - and marry Beyonce in the process. Mr. Green

Idioteque
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Shook Ones, Part II
Alright
Runaway
Epitaph
Be My Baby
Care Of Cell 44
1979
The World Is Yours
The Heart Part 5
Enjoy The Silence
Jesus, Etc.
Pictures Of You
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Wuthering Heights
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Sinnerman
Sugar/Tzu
Marquee Moon
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

80 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 60, 18

Beach House - Space Song
Position: 77

Ok this might be the only song on the list which I genuinely don't care for much. I've tried getting into Beach House time and time again, it's not working for me and it's tiring. Space Song is one of their better cuts tbf, it's a nice song, but you won't find me listening to it in my free time Laughing

I've seemingly given up on Beach House, apart from a few songs and Space Song is borderline in that group. The first "this isn't that great even if it's cute and comfy and I don't have anything against it" song.

Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Position: 25

Naive melody is a brilliant (sub)title for the track. The title of course refers to the repetitive bassline and melody played by relative amateurs — Tina Weymouth and David Byrne played the guitar and keyboards respectively, even though Weymouth was the bassist and Byrne usually played guitar. It's literally one of the most memorable melodies in music history. The epitome of simple and effective. From an enjoyment perspective, I like this a lot and definitely recognize its ingenious ideas and songwriting. Not sure where it's positioned in my Talking Heads rankings, but probably top 5 or top 10. So yeah, a superb single, classic with a capital C.

Pictures of You
Epitaph
Marquee Moon
Idioteque
The Shook Ones Pt. II
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Wuthering Heights
Care of Cell 44
Alright
Sugar/Tzu
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Runaway
Enjoy the Silence
The Heart Part 5
Sinnerman
Jesus, Etc.
Be My Baby
Space Song
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

78 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 3, 76

My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep
Position: 4

Feels like I'm in the minority when I say Loveless is fantastic, but not one of my absolute favourite albums ever. People usually either wholeheartedly love it or can't stand it. And it makes sense, it uses a gimmick which you either like or don't. When You Sleep is up there with MBV's best work in my humble opinion, and most of the people seem to agree - it's the 4th best single of all time according to the RYM list. The main riff is probably the closest that Loveless comes to a catchy melody and it's generally one of the more accessible songs from that MBV period. A funny story from that time says that it took Shields more time to write the lyrics than the music. A dozen vocal takes were needed to capture only a few satisfying performances, which were then layered on top of one another. (And I've read the lyrics like 2 times in my life lol) This attention to detail resulted in one of their best vocal tracks, so it was worth it even if the whole story borders on pretentious. Their lyrics are great, but I doubt the lyrics are the biggest selling point of noisy shoegaze Very Happy

UGK feat. Outkast - Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
Position: 96

The first time I've heard this one was in that 2000s tourney. Didn't like it that much, thought the sample sounded a bit cheap and repetitive and wasn't exactly fitting. Couldn't have been more wrong. After repeated listens I've now realized why it's considered a classic - and it's not just because it's a collab of 2 of the best rap groups ever. Andre's opening verse is legendary, but THE moment is when the beat starts rolling and Pimp C spits some of the coolest bars you've ever heard. From that moment on the song is a modern classic. And the sample is such an earworm! I've been singing "I choose you baby" the whole day. It's one of the rare cases where the song (or rather the sample) went from "too repetitive" to "hey this is actually fire" for me.

Pictures of You
Epitaph
Marquee Moon
Idioteque
The Shook Ones Pt. II
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
When You Sleep
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Wuthering Heights
Care of Cell 44
Alright
Sugar/Tzu
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Runaway
Enjoy the Silence
The Heart Part 5
Sinnerman
Jesus, Etc.
Be My Baby
Space Song
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

kokkinos wrote:

The most striking part of it, though, has to be the lines “Tall buildings shake” and “Skyscrapers are scraping together”, which are -unintentionally of course, the song had already been written and recorded by then- outright devastating when viewed in the context of 9/11.

Didn't even think about that but you're absolutely right - a strange coincidence which probably raised the profile of the song at the time and also added another dimension to the whole bittersweet love story (or at least I think that's what the song is about, it's ambiguous). Right place at the right time to give consolation to the people, and I'm glad for Jeff Tweedy and Wilco.
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

kokkinos

Talking Heads and My Bloody Valentine are great bands, there’s no doubt about it, but I can’t help feeling that the internet worships them too much and as a result they are usually overrepresented in such lists (I mean, Talking Heads have four(!!) songs in the top-100 , while MBV may have only two, but they have two more in the top-200, not to mention their catalogue is too small, they’ve released about 10 singles in their entire career). And the same applies to Radiohead, David Bowie, Kendrick Lamar etc. Nothing against those two particular songs either, though I'd have a hard time calling them favourites of mine.

Speaking of My Bloody Valentine, do you know who else love them? Beach House – and they are proud of it, though they aren’t as aggressive as their heroes and go full-romantic instead, so I’d say they share more in common with bands such as Slowdive, Cocteau Twins or even The Flaming Lips. Anyway, Space Song is one of their finest moments, pure bliss.

And it’s great that Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You) made the cut, what a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, it’s one of the last things we would listen from either of those duos (for different reasons, Pimp C passed away while OutKast had practically called it a day), which on the other hand adds extra sentimental value to it. And yeah, Pimp C could steal the show no matter who he was rapping with, Andre in this case or Jay-Z in Big Pimpin’ being obvious examples. All in all, a perfect throwback to a bygone era, they don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

Idioteque
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Shook Ones, Part II
Alright
Runaway
Epitaph
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
Be My Baby
Care Of Cell 44
1979
The World Is Yours
The Heart Part 5
Space Song
Enjoy The Silence
Jesus, Etc.
Pictures Of You
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Wuthering Heights
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Sinnerman
When You Sleep
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Sugar/Tzu
Marquee Moon
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

LedZep

kokkinos wrote:

Talking Heads and My Bloody Valentine are great bands, there’s no doubt about it, but I can’t help feeling that the internet worships them too much and as a result they are usually overrepresented in such lists

Absolutely. Especially MBV since they're much more of a niche band than Talking Heads. I do love them both though.

I was surprised as well that Int'l Players Anthem made the cut, feels a bit odd seeing it grouped together with some much more prominent classics. It does belong, though. I've no sentimental connection to it, I was too young at the time to follow the rap world, and even with all that it's still a great piece of music. "a perfect throwback to a bygone era, they don’t make ‘em like that anymore" indeed.
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

76 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 9, 60

The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning
Position: 15

Every time I hear Sunday Morning (or other 5-6 classics from the banana album) the first thing I think is "wow what a legendary song". It has that legendary... something. Sound? Charisma? Production? Not sure if it's only my experience, but the moment I hear the intro I feel like I'm witnessing a piece of history. It's even funnier when you think of the context: VU & Nico sold around 30000 copies in the first 5 years. Literally the most important/influential album of all time or very close to it, and it was just an underground oddity at the time. So yeah, Sunday Morning is probably a top 3 track on the album for me and definitely the one I'd show to someone who's not heard VU before. Well, either this or Waiting for the Man or I'll Be Your Mirror. It is interesting that this is the highest rated VU single, not sure if I'd consider Sunday Morning their signature song, no matter how good it is. But I guess its poppy nature and beautiful main melody have left an impression on a lot of people. It truly is one of the best songs of all time, I'm ranking it top for now. Not an easy call, though.

M.I.A. - Paper Planes
Position: 81

A great pairing, 60s art pop classic and 00s weird pop rap hit. And both have stood the test of time and repeated listens, Sunday Morning obviously for a much longer time, but Paper Planes has also been increasingly cited as one of the proto experimental internet pop songs. It slaps, as simple as that. The lyrics are excellent and I still love the whole concept/story of thieves who target tourists. Some have noted that with all of M.I.A's controversies (political, anti-vax, conspiracy theory, activism-related, etc.) the lyrics aren't as innocent or cool as in 2007, but I don't personally have problems with that. The main sample is from The Clash's Straight to Hell and if I'm being honest, M.I.A. owns that guitar line now.

Sunday Morning
Pictures of You
Epitaph
Marquee Moon
Idioteque
The Shook Ones Pt. II
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
When You Sleep
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Wuthering Heights
Paper Planes
Care of Cell 44
Alright
Sugar/Tzu
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Runaway
Enjoy the Silence
The Heart Part 5
Sinnerman
Jesus, Etc.
Be My Baby
Space Song
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

74 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 9, 60

Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Position: 16

Another Radiohead song which I've definitely overplayed. Easily their most iconic song and I have no objections there. Actually it's not the best rated Radiohead song on the list, which is weird considering the legendary chord progression, unique structure, one of the most recognizable guitar sounds of all time and a great solo, which is usually not a forte for Radiohead. The name was ofc taken from Douglas Adams' character Marvin the paranoid android. If I was ranking these tracks at 14 yo, Paranoid Android would've ranked in the top 10 easily. Nowadays, there are perhaps more than a dozen Radiohead tracks I prefer, and some of them are on this list. Not to take away anything from the songwriting or Thom's lyricism - this might be the best indie track of all time lyrically. There are numerous lines I can highlight, but the first and the last part are probably the best.

"Please, could you stop the noise?
I'm trying to get some rest
From all the unborn chicken voices
In my head"

"That's it, sir, you're leaving
The crackle of pigskin
The dust and the screaming
The yuppies networking
The panic, the vomit
The panic, the vomit
God loves his children
God loves his children, yeah"

Apparently they were trying to make it sound both serious and cartoonish because it's basically a prog song, and they didn't like the overt seriousness of Pink Floyd and the like. In fact, the whole album's definitely not "preachy and boring middle class whining" like I've seen it described, it's far more fun than the mood and the majority of the themes suggest.

The Clash - Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
Position: 83

I've known this song since I was like 6. A legendary closer to a legendary album, but middle of the road London Calling track in terms of personal enjoyment. Which still means it's excellent and I love it. Probably the closest thing to "radio hit" on the whole album if I'm being honest. And further research proves it: the third single from London Calling was the only Clash song to break the top 30 in the US. So yeah, I'm a biased fan of this pop rock breakup gem.

Sunday Morning
Pictures of You
Epitaph
Marquee Moon
Idioteque
The Shook Ones Pt. II
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
When You Sleep
Paranoid Android
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Wuthering Heights
Paper Planes
Care of Cell 44
Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
Alright
Sugar/Tzu
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Runaway
Enjoy the Silence
The Heart Part 5
Sinnerman
Jesus, Etc.
Be My Baby
Space Song
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

72 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 37, 36

JPEGMAFIA - HAZARD DUTY PAY!
Position: 53

Youthinkyouknowme I like Peggy. Don't mind the RYM/internet hype at all, he's doing something really innovative with experimental internet rap. Actually I have a hard time naming anyone similar. If nothing else, he deserves a gold medal for I Cannot Fucking Wait Til Morrissey Dies. As far as Hazard Duty Pay is concerned... Well, played it really loud at the party with several friends recently, and just then I've realized how much of a banger it is. One of those random moments which make me appreciate the song a lot more. Fun as hell and a good culmination of recent (last 10 years) internet trends. That being said, give me Calvert, Real Nega, Thug Tears, Baby I'm Bleeding, or even Jesus Forgive Me I'm a Thot instead of HDP any day. (Clear Veteran bias and proud of it.) Whatever, nitpicking again, I do like Hazard Duty Pay, adore the Ain’t No Need to Worry sample and I'm happy (but not really surprised) this song has cracked the top 100. "Peggy keep scoring, I feel like the Dream". Plus for Peggy, plus for Hakeem.

Radiohead - No Surprises
Position: 51

One of my Radiohead hot takes (I've got many) is that No Surprises and Karma Police are both in the bottom half of OK Computer song rankings. Never really liked either song as much as Airbag, Subterranean Homesick Alien, Exit Music, Let Down, Paranoid Android, Lucky etc. Iirc Karma Police is also on this list, so we'll get back to that conversation. Obviously, both are still immense tunes. No Surprises has a touching melody, it's a truly beautiful and gentle song, and it's barely worth a mention in the grand context of OK Computer. It's also pretty catchy, but I still think they've done this "single-style melancholic banger" format better elsewhere. Is it something I'd call an all-time great song? Not really in terms of personal enjoyment, not really in terms of its importance for Radiohead and the 90s music scene. I'd easily give all of those titles to Paranoid Android, a much more inspired and influential track. Again, I have to repeat that even middle of the pack songs on this list (like No Surprises) are wonderful. Excellent lyrics by Tommy once again:

"A heart that's full up like a landfill
A job that slowly kills you
Bruises that won't heal
You look so tired, unhappy
Bring down the government
They don't, they don't speak for us
I'll take a quiet life
A handshake of carbon monoxide
And no alarms and no surprises"

Sunday Morning
Pictures of You
Epitaph
Marquee Moon
Idioteque
The Shook Ones Pt. II
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
When You Sleep
Paranoid Android
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Wuthering Heights
Paper Planes
No Surprises
Care of Cell 44
Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
Alright
Sugar/Tzu
HAZARD DUTY PAY!
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Runaway
Enjoy the Silence
The Heart Part 5
Sinnerman
Jesus, Etc.
Be My Baby
Space Song
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

LedZep

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1zMqY...3074344a2f (mid September 2022)

70 remaining. Random number generator gives us: 64, 10

David Bowie - Lazarus
Position: 91

It's one of the songs which absolutely destroyed me emotionally in 2016. Not as much as Blackstar, but still. Talk about going out with a bang, typical of Bowie. There are people who call Blackstar his best album and I ain't even mad at that. This is legit one of the best late career albums I can think of. Gil Scott Heron and perhaps Pharoah Sanders are the only ones I can think of who had a legendary career and then dropped a late career masterpiece as their swansong. Who can forget the videos for Blackstar and Lazarus? Even the album cover is the best thing ever, the whole package feels iconic. Caught Moonage Daydream in the cinema 4-5 days ago, I'll take this chance to write a short review.

Firstly, if you're not a Bowie fan and you don't know much about his career and life, I'm not sure how much you'll enjoy this. It goes deep into his characters, persona and worldviews without giving much context - you're supposed to know the backstory. Immaculate visuals, using Bowie himself as a narrator is an inventive idea and works incredibly well most of the time. Editing is some of the best I've seen in 2022. Live performances slay, but don't kill the pace at all. I couldn't believe that 2h+ of Bowie narrating over random images and performances was entertaining all the way through. The remixes of songs used for this are hit or miss. Loved the Word on the Wing remix, didn't like some of the others. The songs used are also varied and make for an interesting soundtrack. Now for the bad stuff, as it's a bit polarizing documentary. The biggest omission by far is not talking at all about his drug use. You can't tell me that he went to Berlin just to change scenery Laughing

(although I really didn't know he was basically a nomad, he didn't buy a house until the 80s and was frequently changing cities). The drug use, be it good, neutral or bad, is an essential part of the Bowie story, but since this is sponsored by his estate, it's also kinda censured. A huge blow to the project imo, it'd really benefit from showing all sides of the man. Bowie's pseudo-philosophical monologues aren't terrible, but at times those parts feel repetitive and shallow. And since they are kinda central to the whole doc, it leaves a bit of a sour taste. Despite the somewhat experimental approach, the story is still linear and starts around the time of the second album. It goes all the way to Let's Dance era, but after that, the 80s and especially the 90s to his death are only briefly mentioned. I don't mind that much, but Blackstar definitely deserved more than a few snippets of Blackstar and Lazarus. Despite all that, I've still enjoyed it a great deal. Excellent year for both music and cinema.

Radiohead - Reckoner
Position: 18

Radiohead. Again. Hot take, again. Reckoner is not one of my favourite tracks off the album, in fact, I was just recently listening to In Rainbows and thought "well this could be the best Radiohead album if not for that All I Need - Faust Arp - Reckoner - House of Cards run". Ok, Reckoner is by far the best track in that run, but still. I know why people love it, it just doesn't do as much for me as Nude or 15 Step or Weird Fishes. One reviewer says "Reckoner takes the excruciating pain from deep gashes and makes it beautiful, and that’s why it moves me like few other songs do." I completely understand that, the "ripples" part is incredibly haunting and beautiful.

"Because we separate
Like ripples on a blank shore"

Side note, how many Radiohead songs do we need to have in the top 100 tracks of all time? Enough for now, thank you.

Sunday Morning
Pictures of You
Epitaph
Marquee Moon
Idioteque
The Shook Ones Pt. II
The World Is Yours
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
1979
Lazarus
When You Sleep
Paranoid Android
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Wuthering Heights
Paper Planes
No Surprises
Care of Cell 44
Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
Alright
Sugar/Tzu
HAZARD DUTY PAY!
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Reckoner
Runaway
Enjoy the Silence
The Heart Part 5
Sinnerman
Jesus, Etc.
Be My Baby
Space Song
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s