Thought - Provoking List

[MasterCylinder]

The 50 Albums that Changed Music

Oh, wow.............a little something here for all my friends here at the board.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/jul/16/popandrock.shopping

COMMENTS, PLEASE.

[bobsticks]

Comments? After a cursory scan I'd say that the British experience rather more adequately reflects my own tastes than most of the lists I see sponsored stateside. A few quibbles, sure...Beach Boys and no Rolling Stones? Really? ...and several that I feel that my life is no way less enriched by their absence, but on the whole quite a good list.

I'm sure there'll be many to disagree.

[MasterCylinder]

bobsticks.......Two observations :

First..............This list attracted me because it was not a "best of" but rather a group of work that is purported to have "changed music".

Second.........This list appears to be fair in the context of extensive diversity.

[bobsticks]

Agreed.

[dean_martin]

Pretty good list. From the intent of the author(s), I agree that Pet Sounds probably did more to change/influence music than say Beggar's Banquet or Let It Bleed, but I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite among those three. It's interesting to see the British perspective on reggae, world music and their own club scene none of which I know much about.

While home for lunch, I found my cd copy of Bringing it All Back Home and played it on the way back to work. The ride was way too short. Made it through Maggie's Farm though. Pretty funny stuff while driving old farm-to-market roads and seeing big machinery in the fields.

[Mr MidFi]

I remember this list from the first time it was posted here, about 5 years ago. I'll say the same things now that I did then...

I don't want to live in a world where the Spice Girls were more musically influential than the first Jimi Hendrix Experience album.

Also, this entry makes almost no sense to me whatsoever...

43 Primal Scream
Screamadelica (1991)
Thanks to producer Andrew Weatherall and some debauched raving, this former fey indie outfit enthusiastically took on dance music's heady rushes. It was a conversion bordering on the Damascene, but one being mirrored in halls of residence, cars, clubs and bedsits all around the nation. Screamadelica brought hedonism crashing into the mainstream.

Without this ... no lad culture - it was no accident that a mag founded in 1994 shared its name with Screamadelica's defining single, 'Loaded'.

[bobsticks]

I don't want to live in a world where the Spice Girls were more musically influential than the first Jimi Hendrix Experience album..

Yeah...but you can wish on one hand and crap in the other and see which gets filled first...I mean, I know, but..err...no Gwen Stefani...um....hell, I don't want to live in a world in which Ellen Degeneres has a talk show so I'm not gonna comment...




Also, this entry makes almost no sense to me whatsoever...


43 Primal Scream
Screamadelica (1991)
Thanks to producer Andrew Weatherall and some debauched raving, this former fey indie outfit enthusiastically took on dance music's heady rushes. It was a conversion bordering on the Damascene, but one being mirrored in halls of residence, cars, clubs and bedsits all around the nation. Screamadelica brought hedonism crashing into the mainstream.

Without this ... no lad culture - it was no accident that a mag founded in 1994 shared its name with Screamadelica's defining single, 'Loaded'.

I have enough primal screaming in my own life...never heard 'em...

[dean_martin]

Yeah...but you can wish on one hand and crap in the other and see which gets filled first

Really? You can do that? Does it matter which hand gets what? Is it kinda like flippin' a coin - 50/50 chance?

'Sticks you crap . . .errr crack me up.

[Swish]

The 50 Albums that Changed Music

Oh, wow.............a little something here for all my friends here at the board.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/jul/16/popandrock.shopping

COMMENTS, PLEASE.

You may not remember, but I was in London in July of 06 and picked up that issue of The Guardian and decided to do a post each week (Mondays I think) starting at #1 and allow everyone to comment on it. Overall it worked out pretty well and I hung in there for 50 weeks.

Did you forget about that? Maybe this will refresh your memory...or not.

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=18550&highlight=Spice+girls

[dean_martin]

You may not remember, but I was in London in July of 06 and picked up that issue of The Guardian and decided to do a post each week (Mondays I think) starting at #1 and allow everyone to comment on it. Overall it worked out pretty well and I hung in there for 50 weeks.

Did you forget about that? Maybe this will refresh your memory...or not.

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=18550&highlight=Spice+girls

Wow! I remember the weekly series. Wasn't there more than one?

[Swish]

Wow! I remember the weekly series. Wasn't there more than one?
...but this one started in July of '06 and ran for 50 straight weeks. I can't quite recall the other one, if indeed I started one. Just seeing the new thread reminded me of this one though.

[Stone]

I can't argue with most of it, but how about these:

Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks

Brian Eno - Ambient 1

Bad Brains - s/t (ROIR cassette)

Wire - Pink Flag

[bobsticks]

This is a retread of something I did over 4 years ago...

It's always gotta be about you, doesn't it? Next week, "Top 50 ways in which Swish looks like Al Gore with Spina Bifida"...

[bobsticks]

Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks


I kinda took exception to that too. From the American perspective, NMtB gave a kick in the arse to the burgeoning Orange County scene (to say nothing of later a lil' band called Nirvana), did it not?

I'm still having issues with the whole Beach Boys/Stones thing...

[Jim Clark]

Also, this entry makes almost no sense to me whatsoever...

43 Primal Scream
Screamadelica (1991)
Thanks to producer Andrew Weatherall and some debauched raving, this former fey indie outfit enthusiastically took on dance music's heady rushes. It was a conversion bordering on the Damascene, but one being mirrored in halls of residence, cars, clubs and bedsits all around the nation. Screamadelica brought hedonism crashing into the mainstream.

Without this ... no lad culture - it was no accident that a mag founded in 1994 shared its name with Screamadelica's defining single, 'Loaded'.

Well, I gotta agree somewhat, I'm not entirely sure what Damascene even means or what any of this has to do with Lad Culture, other than sharing a name with the magaize, which I presume was basically an early version of Maxim.

The inclusion of the album though makes a lot of sense. My justification would have gone something like this: "With the creation of Screamadelica, Primal Screen brought their fusion of Rock, Techno, and House into a world that had heavily divided lines up until that point. Not only did it give all the subcultures a single rallying point, but it helped legitimize the rave scene into modern culture (which may not have been the greatest thing ever)

Without Screamadelica - No Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, Daft Punk, "West Texas Blowers", Fat Boy Slim...

Tell me someone remembers West Texas Blowers : )

jc

[Mr MidFi]

Yeah, I'm not really trying to comment on the wisdom of including Primal Scream on such a list... it's a debatable point. Fair enough. But at the risk of flogging a dead horse, let's deconstruct this turd one line at a time:

Thanks to producer Andrew Weatherall and some debauched raving, this former fey indie outfit enthusiastically took on dance music's heady rushes.

That sentence describes a band being influenced and changed, not influencing and changing others.

It was a conversion bordering on the Damascene, but one being mirrored in halls of residence, cars, clubs and bedsits all around the nation.

I have no idea what is actually meant here, but it's essentially gibberish. Damascene bedsit halls of residence notwithstanding.

Screamadelica brought hedonism crashing into the mainstream.

Apparently, the author believes that 'hedonism' was nowhere to be found in the mainstream of the popular music scene prior to 1991. As if glam rock, disco and the Rolling Stones never existed.

Without this ... no lad culture

Horrors! No lad culture?! What next... no lassie culture? No plaid culture? No cultured yogurt?

it was no accident that a mag founded in 1994 shared its name with Screamadelica's defining single, 'Loaded'.

The topic of this article is supposed to be Albums That Changed Music. But like most Brit publications, they're only using 'music' as an excuse to wallow in poncey fashion and gossip.

[Swish]

It's always gotta be about you, doesn't it? Next week, "Top 50 ways in which Swish looks like Al Gore with Spina Bifida"...

I was actually surprised that Master Cylinder didn't remember that I had done that tour of duty for 50 weeks. Could it be he was MIA at that time?

[MasterCylinder]

I was actually surprised that Master Cylinder didn't remember that I had done that tour of duty for 50 weeks. Could it be he was MIA at that time?

I do now !

I found this list the other day because I was reading about DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and it was mentioned..........I looked at the list and was surprised DSOTM was not ranked as high as I expected.

[SlumpBuster]

Just for those that may not know, Damascene is a reference to the Apostle Paul's conversion to Christianity. So the assertion is that Primal Scream went through some fundamental conversion from a guitar band to a dance band. Okay, fair enough. Until you see how the perform Loaded at Redding. Still looks like a guitar band to me, albeit one that screws around in the studio and changes up the sound.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mDf_LlF2UAc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nevertheless, I wore Screamadelica out in college and would drop it in between crap like Quad City DJs and Hadaway when I deejayed house parties and it never cleared the dance floor even though the Woo Girls had know idea what it was. Plus, my girlfriend at the time was on a dance team, and when they were looking the new hotness to do a routine to, Rocks won out. It's still a tasty piece of white boy P-Funk.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Qm3AvDGtJJ4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Didn't change music though.

[Mr MidFi]

Just for those that may not know, Damascene is a reference to the Apostle Paul's conversion to Christianity.

Ah, as in "road to Damascus". Got it.

Yeah, I prolly could have looked it up. But I'd rather complain anyway.

[dean_martin]

I was actually surprised that Master Cylinder didn't remember that I had done that tour of duty for 50 weeks. Could it be he was MIA at that time?

Underappreciated and ignored. I know the feeling. Heck, I didn't remember until you brought it up. Then, I remembered looking forward to the weekly posts especially when it was slow around here - speaking of which, it may be time for another weekly series. Your cooperation in that regard will be appreciated. Very truly yours.

[SlumpBuster]

No, it ain't you. These Guardian articles are trolly, but I love 'em because of it. Pompous use of words like Damascene are just part of it.

See also,
"The Human League - Dare (1981) Until Dare, synthesisers meant solemnity."
Really? Because ELO hadn't made any records before 81? No, only there classic sound defining synth heavy were before 81.

Or hows about,
"Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982) Pure, startling genius from beginning to end..."
Really? Okay, hum the melody from Baby be Mine and Lady in My Life. Go ahead, I'll wait. Can anyone do it? There are only 9 songs on Thriller and two are complete steaming piles. 7 out of 9 ain't "genius" it's 78% or C+.

Compare to track list of Boston's debut.

1. "More Than a Feeling" 4:45
2. "Peace of Mind" 5:02
3. "Foreplay/Long Time" 7:47
1. "Rock & Roll Band" 3:00
2. "Smokin'" (Scholz, Brad Delp) 4:22
3. "Hitch a Ride" 4:11
4. "Something About You" 3:48
5. "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" (Delp) 4:43

Regardless of anyone's feelings about Boston, each one is hum-able whether you are a fan or not. Even if you don't instantly know the melody from the title, if I hum three notes, you'll bring it home. The upshot, no Baby Be Mine or Lady in My Life on Boston, only "startling genius from beginning to end."

Without Boston, no corporate rock, no Journey, Foreigner, Styx, Speedwagon. See, it's so easy even I can do it.

[SlumpBuster]

Plus, not one Queen record? That's just ill informed.

[Swish]

No, it ain't you. These Guardian articles are trolly, but I love 'em because of it. Pompous use of words like Damascene are just part of it.

See also,
"The Human League - Dare (1981) Until Dare, synthesisers meant solemnity."
Really? Because ELO hadn't made any records before 81? No, only there classic sound defining synth heavy were before 81.

Or hows about,
"Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982) Pure, startling genius from beginning to end..."
Really? Okay, hum the melody from Baby be Mine and Lady in My Life. Go ahead, I'll wait. Can anyone do it? There are only 9 songs on Thriller and two are complete steaming piles. 7 out of 9 ain't "genius" it's 78% or C+.

Compare to track list of Boston's debut.

1. "More Than a Feeling" 4:45
2. "Peace of Mind" 5:02
3. "Foreplay/Long Time" 7:47
1. "Rock & Roll Band" 3:00
2. "Smokin'" (Scholz, Brad Delp) 4:22
3. "Hitch a Ride" 4:11
4. "Something About You" 3:48
5. "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" (Delp) 4:43

Regardless of anyone's feelings about Boston, each one is hum-able whether you are a fan or not. Even if you don't instantly know the melody from the title, if I hum three notes, you'll bring it home. The upshot, no Baby Be Mine or Lady in My Life on Boston, only "startling genius from beginning to end."

Without Boston, no corporate rock, no Journey, Foreigner, Styx, Speedwagon. See, it's so easy even I can do it.

Was it a good record? Yes. Influential. Not terribly so. With all the studio trickery, who else wanted to bother trying to sound like them? You can't effectively use octave splitter live, and rightly so. They sucked live for that very reason. Journey was around several years before the Boston record, and I wish, really wish, we never had Foreigner, Styx or REO Speedwagon.

[SlumpBuster]

Good points. I really just picked Boston as a contrast to Thriller, not really to argue its influence. Every single track on that Boston record gets played regularly on radio. Not too many albums can make that claim, and that is another reason the album has always stuck out for me.

But I can still make a case for their influence, at lease in America. The Guardian's conceit was Albums that "changed" music. The Rockman. Something like 50 gazillion of those things were sold and negated the need for stacks for many kids that couldn't afford stacks. The Rockman was invented for that Boston sound and became a standard part of a guitar kit. That Boston sound, or at least a very small part of it, is on lots of subsequent records. My recollection is that Hysteria was done exclusively with Rockman amps. I know Neal Schon was a big supporter of the Rockman. And that first version of Journey doesn't really count. :D But I'm not sure when the Rockman was actually invented. I don't think it was on that first record. It might have been Third Stage. But the sound was there from the start.

[atomicAdam]

no My Bloody Valentine

rame

[Stone]

no My Bloody Valentine

rame

If you're getting into the shoegaze subgenre, I think you really need to go back to Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy. The same can be said for Rites of Spring's album triggering the emo subgenre. I didn't list those because they seem tied to very specific subgenres, but I guess if something like Screamadelica is on the list, those should be too.

[bobsticks]

If you're getting into the shoegaze subgenre, I think you really need to go back to Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy. The same can be said for Rites of Spring's album triggering the emo subgenre. I didn't list those because they seem tied to very specific subgenres, but I guess if something like Screamadelica is on the list, those should be too.

Shoegaze at least merits discussion here if'n only that the whole Jesus&Mary Chain set including Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins was the hallmark of 4AD...which in turn supports current RR darlings The National and Tindersticks.