Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#2

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englishozzy
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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by englishozzy »

I'll take May 8th. Four days after the wedding and hopefully things have calmed down then.

#3

Radiohead, "Kid A", 2000

Image

Radiohead really surprised me when they released this album, moving away from their rock sound on the previous OK Computer and introducing a more electronic sound to their music. Somehow though it seemed to work and this stands out as my best album from the English band. It has been very hard to narrow this down to 2 songs but that is probably why this is so high on my countdown.

How to Disappear Completely


Idioteque
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7bIYSVpYSU
"Then telephone for an axe"

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Good pick ozzy, though I have to say I'm surprised at the number of people who rate Kid A as Radiohead's best work. I thought by a clear margin it would have been OK Computer for most. I wonder how many people would have believed that following it's venemous critique when first released!

Anyway, still need dates from Ron and Geezer, and NSpan if we ever see him again. And also need the no.2 picks from quite a lot of you, please get them in asap.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Album No.2

englishozzy
Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik"
, 1991

Image

This is the album that really got me listening to RHCP, although I had heard a few of their songs growing up I picked up this album while wondering around a music store with some loose change in my pocket. After putting it into my disc-man I had to re-buy it a couple of months later due to excessive use, I couldn't get enough of this album. Easily my favourite RHCP album although my favourite song of their's appears on Californication (which is an amazing album in itself) this one is stronger as a whole.

"Suck My Kiss"

"Under the Bridge"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLvohMXgcBo

Geezer
To Be Added At A Later Date

JohnErle
Big Country, "The Crossing"
, 1983

Image

I first heard this album when I was 11 years old at a time when "In A Big Country" and "Fields Of Fire" were big hits all over Canadian radio and anywhere that played music videos. The Crossing was one of only a dozen or so albums I owned on vinyl before I made the transition to cassette in the mid 80s and all my vinyl wound up collecting dust in my parents' basement. After that, as a kid growing up in a small town in Canada, Big Country had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth, but I never totally forgot about The Crossing.

Then, sometime in the early 90s, I had the urge to hear this album again. I went digging through the basement, pulled my record player out of storage, and when I played The Crossing for the first time in eight years it changed my life for a second time. Hearing songs like "Harvest Home" and "Chance" was like running into old friends whose names I'd forgotten, but the memories of good times we'd shared were buried deep in my subconscious. When I listened to this album in '83 it started a life-long fascination with Celtic music and New Wave, and when I heard it again in the 90s it re-kindled a passion for Big Country that's lasted ever since. They became “my band” and while everyone else was tuning in to the latest trends, I was busy tracking down imported albums by this forgotten band from Scotland. The first words I typed into an internet search engine were "Big Country" and I found a thriving community of dedicated fans and learned that the band had never stopped recording or touring. I turned my back on the mainstream hype machine and never regretted it.

When Stuart Adamson took his own life in 2001 I felt like I'd lost a brother, but I wasn't exactly shocked because there had always been a profound darkness in his lyrics that made me think he was capable of such a thing. And Stuart's death left me in a difficult situation. For the past decade, whenever I had been feeling down or depressed, Big Country's music had been one of the first things I would turn to to lift my spirits, but how could I listen to Stuart's voice when it was his suicide that was causing me so much pain? I made it through the first ten seconds of “Chance” that day before I started crying, but even though it was Stuart's final act that had wounded me, it was Stuart's words and music that were helping me heal.

(There, be cynical about this song now you heartless Millennial bastards!)

"Chance"

"In A Big Country"
(Normally I wouldn't highlight their signature song, but some of you are so damn young it's actually possible that you haven't heard it before, which boggles my mind, makes me feel really old, and kind of sad. And if you have heard it before but never paid attention to the lyrics it might be worth listening to it again.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk5SkiBna24
"Porrohman"
(Will this be post-something enough for Six?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3xcfOCqtqQ
"The Crossing"
(this album was so chock-full of brilliance that the title track actually got relegated to b-side status. I own collections of Big Country's best b-sides that I love more than most other band's greatest hits.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9JfLxEhBIk

Leestu
Nirvana, “Nevermind”
, 1991

Image

“Territorial Pissings”

“Lounge Act”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMssntFZNaM
“Something In the Way”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD3qjo2Cgio

NSpan
To Be Added At A Later Date

numbersix
Joy Division, “Closer”
, 1980

Image

I think the best albums are the ones that grow on you. You like a song or two, you're not sure what to make of the rest but you give it a few more listens. Soon another tracks becomes your favourite, ad before you know it every song is a highlight. After buying Unknown Pleasures, I forked out for the stunning Heart And Soul boxset, and was most interested in hearing Joy Division second, and last, album.

I was surprised at how different the band sounded, especially considering it had only been made a year after their debut. The guitars of Sumner shed their historical incarnations and became jagged punctuations to Hooky's driving rhythm. Synths are now to the fore, but instead of making a light pop or disco sound they're heavy like treacle. Curtis lyrics of heartbreak and forlornness are at their most intense, and even within knowing of his impending suicide they are alarming. To call him a poet is pretentious, but his words read like they've been crafted more than most lyrics. The album also seems to go on a journey, at least in terms of sonics. Opener Atrocity Exhibition is aggressive and almost futuristic, there's heavy rock at times and catchy keyboard tunes at others. And then the final two songs, The Eternal and Decades, are almost baroque in their heavy, sober atmosphere. I remember reading one critic who claimed it was called Closer because each song got closer to perfection. That's not a bad description.

"Twenty Four Hours"

"The Eternal"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY_kALuWB_c
"Isolation"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bkcPS3GHQY

Ron Burgundy
Eminem, "The Marshall Mathers LP"
, 2000

Image

Best Rap album of all time by a white guy? Well yeah its crazy, his lyrics, rhymes and sharpness all rise to the point where nobody can top, and unfortunately Eminem himself wont top this.

"The Way I Am"

"Criminal"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7DDTd_ZZIk
"Kill You"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brS8KxkgE_I

silversurfer
Manic Street Preachers, “The Holy Bible”
, 1994

Image

Man, this was agonising. I've been flipping back and forth between my two very favourite albums of all time now for the last 8 months. There literally is nothing between the two records, despite being polar opposites, at least in terms of musicianship. Eventually The Holy Bible has had to settle for second place, though tomorrow it could quite easily be my first, as the Manics are by far my favourite band I have ever heard, and the only band I have been truly obsessive over. Yet here it stands today as my no.2 record. I remember reading a review just prior to its release in the NME, in which the critic regarded the record as 'vile'. I was more hungry than ever to hear what Richey and co. had created. Yet The Holy Bible was not born from vileness, or paranoia as some others commented, nor was it an easy attempt to stir up cheap 'politically incorrect' controversy. This was an intelligent, sustained attack on the liberal concensus. Richey had found himself indentifying strong with David Thewlis' character from Mike Leigh's 'Naked', as a flawed avenging angel of death, as well as Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver. In doing so his lyrics, take on a whole new level of intensity than ever before. James Dean Bradfield has to run his mouth as fast as possible just to fit them in to the music, and as a result the songs take on an awkward, abrasive dynamic, perfectly complementing the overall theme of the record.

As much as it's message, the mood and atmosphere of the record is particularly sombre, and perhaps even a little gothic. However, where as goth rock was conventionally epic or expansive, The Holy Bible was like the sound of compressed metal, as though the songs had been put in a pressure cooker and buckled under their weight, emerging like white hot strips of the purest vitriol. Where as Generation Terrorists and Gold Against The Soul had utilised a sort of Trojan horse approach, carrying uncomfortable messages via melodic rock, in The Holy Bible message and medium are inseparable, with the music discordant and harsh, just like it's lyrics. It works sort of like a companion piece to In Utero if I think about it, with references such atrocities as rape, cancer and the holocaust bearing a damning impact on mankind. I could go into the parallels of some of the lyrics to Richey's life and soon to become fate, and it's impossible not to draw similarities to some of the words spoken and what he must have been going through. But this is a much more intelligent record than just the sprawlings of a man on the edge.

About 35 minutes into the record, the voice of J.G Ballard archly announces: "I wanted to rub the human face in it's own vomit... to force it to look in the mirror". This is the perfect definition of The Holy Bible, as its aggressively attacks the state of mankind in the later 20th Century, and never before, or since has such a statement had such a reaction on me. I was shocked by just how impactful this record was on me when I first heard it almost 20 years ago. I literally lay on my bed after hearing it, just trying to take in and comprehend what I had just listened to. No album has ever had that impact on me. The record is not an easy listening experience. But it is an experience. It's atmospherically charged, exciting, and intense, leaving you with an experience you can never shake, nor forget. I never have, and each listen since has had that same devastating effect.

"Yes"

"4st7lb"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25cRoLCreP0
"Faster"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl2Jv4dzFqg

transformers
Between the Buried and Me, "The Great Misdirect"
, 2009

Image

"Fossil Genera: A Feed from Cloud Mountain"

"Desert of Song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vE0FuRlwI8

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

One thing I like about the Manics is that James Dean Bradfield is the #2 guy the UK press go to when they want a quote about what an underrated genius Stuart Adamson was. When The Edge is not available, they go straight to Bradfield.

I can hear similarities in the guitar work, the band's energy and sense of drama, but the lyrics were never a big draw for me. If you've never listened to The Skids you probably should.

The Manics and Joy Division are among the many, many bands where I've always been satisfied with the compilations, but The Eternal may have convinced me to check out Closer in full. The studio version of Isolation was great too. I think I've only heard live versions before, or maybe the song just never stood out to me in the past.

And what's with all the bands with tragic histories this round? Three suicides, a disappearance, a heroin overdose, and the general batshit craziness of Eminem. Who would have thought Tranny's metal band would be the normal ones. ;-)

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by numbersix »

Wow, it really is the suicide round. Perhaps our #1s will top that by all lead singers who were murdered by puppies. Anyway....

Ozzy: I'm pretty sure this is their best work, so I'll give you that.

John E: Boy am I glad I enjoyed this, otherwise I would have felt like an utter dick for ragging on something so deeply personal to you. But I did enjoy it. I'm familiar with In A Big Country (which, you'll be delighted to know, features as one of the songs to play to on Rock Band 3), a song I've always admired but unfortunately always ended up on compilations of cheesy 80s tracks. But as a signature tune it's actually a very tricky song, always going in ways you don't suspect. And even though I did enjoy the post-xxxx tint of Porrohman it was actually Chance that I ended up hitting replay immediately after finishing. I think this record sounds like a mix of The Smiths and mid 80s Springsteen, both of which they preempt. I like the soulful lyrics and even the dash of Celtic music in the guitars actually works. Great stuff, and an album I'm very interested in hearing more of. And if I didn't already mention, I got into The Chameleons recent and their album Script of the Bridge might be your kinda thing.

Leetsu: Another Nirvana record? You might be more of a fan than Geez. I like this, it's perhaps a tad over-rated but it still has quality.

Ron B: His silly stuff is fun, but I can't say I'm a huge fan.

SS: Good to see this get some love, and it's surprising to see an album that's so difficult to listen to up so high. It's an intense experience, but not something I can pop on. i do love it though. As a teen I used it as a cultural reference guide, discovering writers like Mailer, Miller, Plath and Pinter. A unique record.

Tranny: Like the other record, this is an interesting dilemma. Across the longer track, the band take on so many genres. I drifted but came back to the moments I like the most, but like eating everything at the buffet I can't say it all fits together well.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

numbersix wrote: John E: Boy am I glad I enjoyed this, otherwise I would have felt like an utter dick for ragging on something so deeply personal to you. But I did enjoy it. I'm familiar with In A Big Country (which, you'll be delighted to know, features as one of the songs to play to on Rock Band 3), a song I've always admired but unfortunately always ended up on compilations of cheesy 80s tracks. But as a signature tune it's actually a very tricky song, always going in ways you don't suspect. And even though I did enjoy the post-xxxx tint of Porrohman it was actually Chance that I ended up hitting replay immediately after finishing. I think this record sounds like a mix of The Smiths and mid 80s Springsteen, both of which they preempt. I like the soulful lyrics and even the dash of Celtic music in the guitars actually works. Great stuff, and an album I'm very interested in hearing more of. And if I didn't already mention, I got into The Chameleons recent and their album Script of the Bridge might be your kinda thing.
I don't expect everyone to like the same things I do, and I only get annoyed when people imply that there's something inherently wrong with the things I love simply because they don't like them. All art is subjective, and when people don't get that it can set me off. Still, I'm always happy when I can introduce people to this band.

I've always heard a shade of the Smiths in there, and Stuart Adamson definitely shared Springsteen's working man ethos. I could write an essay on how In A Big Country became an albatross around the band's neck, but I'll save that for another place and another time. I still love the song anyway.

The only Chamelons I know is Swamp Thing from the Left Of The Dial compilation, but I've never gotten around to checking out the rest. Great song, though.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

Are we still thinking May 1st is a good time to start revealing our #1s? When that date was decided on we thought the full-year draft would be nearly done by then, but now we're going to starting right around the same time, plus there'll be that other draft and the new round of super leagues to prepare for. That's already a lot and throwing the #1s on top seems a bit much.

I'd be fine with pushing it back another week or revealing a few this week for those of us who are ready, then taking a break until the full-year draft is sorted out.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by numbersix »

I'm pretty much ready, but I'd be happy to push forward or delay.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

[sigh]

I really just wish we had this all set in stone. If enough of us want to move it forward a few days though, I guess I could begin tonight and then we could have another 3 or 4 before the draft commences next week. We could then either continue on for another couple of days into the draft (I mean it's not like more than four of us are commenting on any of the picks at this point anyway), or take a break til the end of the draft. I'm good with either.

Who could be ready other than myself, six and John to submit in the next couple of days?

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by JohnErle »

Things change, man. There's lots of holes in your current schedule, so it's not like things are set in stone already. May 1st made sense when the yearly draft was supposed to be taking place right now, but that got pushed back a week at the last minute creating a conflict. I'd rather see the #1s get pushed back a week as well.

If you want to go May 1st no one can stop you, but I'll move to the last slot available when I won't be overwhelmed by the yearly draft.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

It's ok, I'm fine with it. I'm starting to work on my no.1, so if you will be ready for tomorrow and perhaps six the day after we can get started. I'm just a little fatigued with the whole countdown, it's been going on for so long, much longer than I think any of us anticipated, but it'll be good to finally hit our no.1s.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by transformers2 »

I could absolutely be ready to post mine in a few days if it came down to it.
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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Okay, reworking the interary, we can start tonight with this line-up, which can be amended as we go. Perhaps we should look at concluding the no.1s week commencing 13/05?

No.1 Itinerary

25/04 - silversurfer
26/04 - JohnErle
27/04 - numbersix
28/05 - transformers

TBC - Leestu
englishozzy
Ron Burgundy
Geezer
NSpan

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by silversurfer19 »

Album No.2

Man, I guess the emotional turmoil of looming death really inspires us and our tastes!

englishozzy: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" - Never owned this record, but I do know many of their big commercial hits from it, and that it's supposed to be right up with their best. I should probably look into it, but I kinda waned on their appeal about ten years ago and haven't really looked into them since. There are certainly some great songs on the record though, "Suck My Kiss" is one of my favourites. Will make the effort and check it out.

JohnErle: Big Country, "The Crossing" - A band I've long known by name but didn't think I knew any of their music, apparently I know their signature song though. Enjoyed the first track, he has great vocals that also reminded me of The Smithereens you picked earlier, or XTC (though maybe it's just me), with that crisp 80s New Wave croon, and the music was decent, but it was Porrohman that really grabbed me.

Music and musicians in particular truly can have an emotional effect on you though. I have been through it so many times with Richey, and while the The Holy Bible is perhaps a more abbrasive and unusual record to pick up and play when in that kind of emotional state, it does have an effect. The sound of despair can often reveal hope. I guess this is why they rank so highly up our lists. Music so profound really does have a way of burrowing into your soul and while other records can be catchy, it's this type of music which I believe leaves a longer impression, perfectly emphasised by your story. Really, really want to hear more of Big Country's work now.

Leestu: Nirvana, “Nevermind” - Another powerful record, and one I hold close to my heart.

numbersix: Joy Division, “Closer” - Indeed, many albums I now adore, and made this list, didn't have that great an impact on me at first listen, but over time just grew and grew into so much more. Again, that's to me where a great album sound apart from a collection of catchy songs. And this is a fantastic record, as you say a very different record from Unknown Pleasures, but equally as rewarding.

Ron Burgundy: Eminem, "The Marshall Mathers LP" - Just can't find the appreciation in this guy that has gained him so many fans. Still reminds me of my teenage sister who decided it was rebellious to listen to a foul mouthed rapper at the highest possible volume level just to aggrieve my parents. Every so often I find his satire fun, and Lose Yourself has a good riff, but otherwise I just don't get the love.

transformers: Between the Buried and Me, "The Great Misdirect" - I REALLY want to like these guys, they certainly offer something unique in a genre that often seems very repetative to a novice like myself, but the growling really agitates me. Like I've mentioned previously, I bought Colors after you showcased a song from that record in the song countdown, and I hated it. I think this is a band for me where I'll just have to pick the odd song to like (or even a segment of a song!) rather than a whole record.

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Re: Fantaverse Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Thread #10) #10-#

Post by transformers2 »

Fair assessment of Between the Buried and Me of surfer. They're a very polarizing band even amongst metal fans and I completely understand being annoyed by the screaming when you're a non-fan of the genre. The heavy elements of their music are very much rooted in death metal and that turns off a lot of non-metal fans (you should've seen the reaction they got when I saw them open for Coheed and Cambria last month, it was equally split between people completely loving it and people that were completely horrified by what they were hearing.) Their newest record, Parralax II: Future Sequence, is definitely their most mellow full-length to date and if you were to enjoy a full record from them, it would be that one. Here is a song from it that I think you'll enjoy (it's very Faith No More-esque and there is about 15 seconds of screaming in the whole song)
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