What are YOUR modern classics? [Archive]

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nobody

09-24-2004, 06:47 AM

What albums have been your biggest players that have been released in let's say the last 10 years? I don't want just lists of what you think should be considered the "best" albums. I just want to know what you've personally really liked enough that they've gotten a ton of play. I'll start off with a trio...

Everything but the Girl: Walking Wounded
Beautiful meloncholy electronica. A nice blend of folky vocals with minimilist electronic beats. Sparse and beautiful, it really sets a mood and I've listened to this one a ton.

Maxwell: Urban Hang Suite
Another mellow gem. This one is a regular for me to reach for when I want somthing smooth and mellow with an R&B vibe. One of the early classics of the whole neo-soul thing, this one holds up to repeated listens.

White Stripes: De Stijl
Here's a case where my head tells me their next 2 records were both better, hbgut for some reason the simplicity of this one just draws me back nin over and over again. If someone asks which is their best record, I don't know what I'd say, but I know when I reach for some White Stripes, this is the one I grab more than anythiong else time and time again.

OK...plenty more, but I just wanted to get something started. C'mon, what's become a real important part of your regular listening over the last decade?

Dusty Chalk

09-24-2004, 07:16 AM

Well, anyone who reads my posts knows that Einstürzende Neubauten's Silence is Sexy is fairly frequent in my rotation. Great bass, and nice contrasts in dynamics. Clever lyrics: It's not as golden as Zeus' famous shower. etc.

Might be a little early, but the Franz Ferdinand album hits me in the almost instant classic spot. I sure do listen to it a lot, even when it's not playing (I.E. it gets stuck in my head, and that's not a bad thing...yet).

And one that might surprise people, not because I like it, but because I listen to it so frequently, is The Faint, Danse Macabre. It was a while ago, but I was in the record store after I hadn't played it in a while, and it hit me just how much better it is than pretty much everything else they've ever played in the store.

So I'll stop at three, also, but there's plenty more where that came from.

-Jar-

09-24-2004, 07:19 AM

Hum - DOWNWARD IS HEAVENWARD. This is the epitome of the big wall of guitar sound that was popular in the 90's. Maybe Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden got all the fame for bringing back big-sounding arena rock, but Hum's music on this album sounds like it needs to be played in stadiums. Though in a small club it was downright overwhelming.

Beck - MUTATIONS. Proved he was more than just two turntables and a microphone, and had become a serious, mature artist. I play this way more than ODELAY or MIDNITE VULTURES.

Radiohead - OK COMPUTER. Almost goes without saying. Though some will argue for THE BENDS (I wouldn't argue), OK COMPUTER gets more play with me.

Flaming Lips - THE SOFT BULLETIN. YOSHIMI seemed to get more attention, but its predecessor for me, really expanded what the Flaming Lips were about. Though it's not a perfect album, there was several perfect songs on this one.

Mercury Rev - DESERTER'S SONGS. Again, the follow-up to this album ALL IS DREAM seemed to turn more heads, DESERTER'S SONGS has a special place. Sort of like BULLETIN for the Lips, it was a huge step forward for the band. DREAM didn't seem like a step forward for me, but more of a holding pattern.

Tom Waits - MULE VARIATIONS. A Wonderful collection of oddball blues, piano-bar tear jerkers and hillbilly romps as filtered through the mind of one of our greatest musical voices. It might not be as strikingly groundbreaking as BONE MACHINE was, but it's still a fantastic collection of songs.

Red House Painters - SONGS FOR A BLUE GUITAR. Some amazing originals, a few very interesting covers makes their most consistent and enjoyable album. I think the thing that's most obvious about this one is that it's just more relaxed.. that tension that seemed to define much of Mark Kozelek's earlier work on 4ad is just absent here.. it's just a more sunny album.. their cover of the Car's "All Mixed Up" has got to be one of the most brilliant inspirations in music. Whodda thunkit would work as well as it did?

Bark Psychosis - HEX. This one barely makes the "10 year limit" but it's just an amazing record, as effective for what it doesn't say as for what it does say. If you get that then you'll get this album.

-jar

Davey

09-24-2004, 07:57 AM

Hmmm, from the mid 90s to the present. Good question, there's so many that I wouldn't want to be without. That Walking Wounded is a nice one. I have it on vinyl and always liked it, but it just never moved to that upper echelon for me. The Massive Attack Protection album did, but it's been quite awhile since I've had that one on the table so it doesn't count. Same with Portishead Dummy for that matter, although I would put both high on my best of the 90s list. I only have about 50 CDs with me right now so my list would be from that batch since many of them exactly fit your description and that's why I have them with me. So, without further adieu....

Have to pick Califone Roomsounds. No-brainer for me. But surprisingly, I've found that the new Old Canes Early Morning Hymns has been doing almost the identical thing for me lately, giving me a big dose of that acoustic and bluesy folk-rock that I love so much but also throwing into the mix a little of the emotional zaniness that I love so much about Neutral Milk Hotel - and I've been playing it constantly...so I'll make both of them my first spot on the list. A tie...is that cheating?

The Laika Silver Apples of the Moon debut album from 1995 is another that is always with me and gets much attention so I'll make it #2.

And Yo La Tengo Electr-o-pura, also from 1995, will round out the top 3 for today. "Blue Line Swinger" is one of my alltime favorite songs and I can't recall any other song that I've actually spent all afternoon listening to over and over like I have with this one.

But I'll add a bonus pick at #4 of Hector Zazou Sahara Blue. Just makes the 10 year cutoff at 1994. The entire album is based on poems by the 19th Century French symbolist Arthur Rimbaud and is one of the largest and most eclectic gatherings of talent for one recording as you are ever likely to find featuring such diverse artists as John Cale, Bill Laswell, Brendan Perry, Lisa Gerrarad, Barbara Gogan, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Gerard Depardieu, Dominique Dalean and many others (over thirty in all) with lyrics sung in six different languages. It's such an enchanting musical adventure that also beckons you to read the lyrics and soak up the beauty of Rimbaud's poetry. All tied together by Zazou's wonderful sense of atmosphere. Indispensible.

EDIT: I should note that there are actually two versions of this album. The first is rather rare and is on the Crammed Discs label from 1992. It has the same running order, however two of the tracks are by unknowns and were replaced on my 1994 TriStar Music disc with two great songs featuring the Dead Can Dance team of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard. I haven't heard the two songs on the first version and this 1994 disc has been oop in the USA for a few years now I believe, so if it sounds interesting, don't bother searching for it in your neighborhood Borders :)

nobody

09-24-2004, 08:18 AM

Yeah, I limited myself to the first three that poped into my head. Massive Attack would be there for me, but I couldn't remember off hand if that one was over 10 years old or not and was too lazy to look it up.

I could probably add several more as well, but didn't want to take up a ton of choices since I was asking for others' input.

I'll probably add to my list later...

Slosh

09-24-2004, 09:05 AM

ok computer
emergency & I
sumday
crooked rain, crooked rain
it's a wonderful life
blueberry boat
remission
does dallas
a series of sneaks
perfect from now on
high society
rings around the world
amore del tropico
the photo album
the lonesome crowded west
in the aeroplane over the sea
inches
castaways & cutouts
chutes too narrow
yankee hotel foxtrot

BRANDONH

09-24-2004, 09:19 AM

mad rhetorik

09-24-2004, 09:26 AM

At The Drive-In: Relationship Of Command (2000)
A real post-hardcore gem--blistering tempos, driving rhythms, incredible vocals courtesy of Cedric Bixler, and electronic effects used to produce awesome collages of sound. The band broke up after this, forming The Mars Volta (great) and Sparta (suckage). Maybe they realized that they simply couldn't top this.

McClusky: Do Dallas (2002)
Raw, abrasive, catchy, hiliarious, and just plain rad. More indie rock should be like this.

Dillinger Escape Plan: Calculating Infinity (1999)
Noisecore's defining album, this has still yet to be topped. Furious, spasmodic metal that will twist your brain into knots.

Refused: The Shape Of Punk To Come (1998?)
Collective of Swedish Marxists turn out a hardcore punk album that rocks like a mofo while throwing in techno, sampling and some unconventional instruments (standup bass, for example). Truly subversive and great.

Death: The Sound Of Perserverence (2003)
The previous Symbolic was awesome too, but this manages to reach even greater heights. Classic progressive death/thrash. Guitarist and founding member Chuck Schuldiner lost his battle with cancer after this. Too bad.

Radiohead: OK Computer (1997?)
Masterpiece. 'Nuff said.

Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Beautiful, sonically expansive, touching alt-country/pop. Jeff Tweedy finally stepped out of Uncle Tupelo's shadow.

Meshuggah: Chaosphere (1998), Nothing (2001)
It's very hard to choose a single best album from these demented Swedes, so I went with two. This band basically picks up where Fear Factory left off, and inserted their own hyper-cerebral mathematics and Holdsworth-like jazz phrasing to create dark, pummeling, bleak metal that sounds like an army of cybernetic war machines destroying everything in their path. Chaosphere is the onslaught; Nothing the aftermath.

Opeth: Morningrise (1996)
Though they've gone on to make more excellent albums, I feel that Opeth peaked early with this epic masterwork. It's rare that a metal band can craft 10+ minute songs and keep them interesting and beautiful.

Others include Sonic Youth's Murray Street, Queens Of The Stone Age's Rated R, Tool's Lateralus, Porcupine Tree's In Absentia (Stupid Dream is good but not quite solid enough), Mr. Bungle's California, White Stripes' De Stijl (I'm in full agreement with Nobody), Massive Attack's Mezzanine, Cash's American III-IV.... I'm sure I could think of more but I'm kinda pressed for time.

nobody

09-24-2004, 09:30 AM

Try the White Stripes Elephant Vinyl LP you will not be disappointed.

Got it...love it. Still reach for De Stijl more often. Elephant is real close, and if they had just left off Little Acorns, it may have taken my personal top spot, although Ball and Buscuit isn't really my cup of tea either. Come to think of it, I guess i like White Blood Cells better too. The first one's not all that strong though in commparison even with some good tracks and really energetic guitar work.

White Stripes are one of my favorite modern rock bands.

MindGoneHaywire

09-24-2004, 10:14 AM

I've got to start with one from 1993 that was my favorite r'n'r rec of the 90s; sorry to break the rules, tough. First Muffs album. I'm going to see them tonight, I think. They're playing nearby. They've never come close to the first record, but that's a tall order, really. Criminally overlooked. Honorable mention from 1993 would include the first Pharcyde album, Big Star's live Columbia recording, and Nirvana's In Utero.

From 1994 I'd go first with Nirvana's Unplugged rec & also the first of the four Johnny Cash American recordings. All of which I think are as good as they are interesting. And while Odelay was hailed as his masterpiece, I thought Beck's Mellow Gold was better & deserves inclusion. And I certainly listened to the first Portishead rec enough times.

Not sure when it came out, but the Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is one HELL of a rec. I guess Tom Waits' offerings give him a run for his money, and Steve Earle, but overall I'd say his output was the best in the way of singer-songwriter stuff over the course of the 1990s. I know that's not a real album but I can't really pick one and I certainly never played any of 'em as many times as I've flogged this. Honorable mention to Bob Mould, but 10 years ago was the last Sugar album...which wasn't quite as good as the first...and his 1996 solo album was real good, yes...but the followup was only okay...

P.M. Dawn's Jesus Wept is pretty darned good. Have to program it to skip the weaker tracks, but I still listened to it plenty. Not much else in the way of rap...1st Eminem album, hell, all the Eminem albums, but that's the one I've listened to most. I think they're all brilliant, but honestly I can only listen to it so often. Nothing from the Beasties in the past 10 years I'd place in this category. Their videos have been consistently better than their albums. Still haven't quite gotten Outkast, though I need to give it another shot. And while I never heard much about Tupac Shakur I thought was all that great, I did hear a Notorious Biggie cut recently that I did think was quite good. The voice he had, it really stood out. One of these days I'm going to check him out...when he was at his height I'd long given rap up for dead...

Beck's Mutations was probably my favorite album of the 90s, if I liked it more than the first Muffs album, that is. Sea Change struck some pretty similar chords but just doesn't hold up as well, as Midnite Vultures hearkened back to Odelay. Some moments of brilliance on recs like MV, but Mutations is the best thing he's ever done, sez I. But hey, when Odelay, MV, & Sea Change are the recs you've put out that aren't as good as yr best, that's quite a resume there.

I liked Dylan's Time Out of Mind an awful lot, then I heard Love & Theft. Wow. Much better, I thought. And that's saying something. In a similar vein I'd say Neil Young's Greendale & also even My Morning Jacket's It Still Moves. Which I didn't listen to as much as the others but when I did I thought it was real, real good. Love & Theft, though...a great record, and if you're only buying one Dylan rec from this century, I figure this'll be the one to grab.

Wilco sure gets a lot of juice. Not from me. I like AM a lot, and I like a bunch of stuff on Being There, too. But it's a double album that can easily fit on a single disc. Summerteeth never grabbed me, and I probably never gave Yankee Hotel Foxtrot a fair shake. But in 1997 I saw the Old 97s & ordered their album out of curiosity. It didn't thrill me. Not sure why I took a chance on Fight Songs, but I did, and that rec for me is everything that Wilco should've been trying to do. I think Tweedy's talents would've been well-suited towards making a rec like that, instead of Summerteeth, and if he'd gone in that sort of direction--not that what he does is all THAT different--he might be thought of quite differently these days, instead of an eccentric pill-gobbling Radiohead-wannabe weirdo. Satellite Rides is real good, too, but although I like Fight Songs better, I still think that the 97s have really done what they can to develop a strong melody-first approach to songwriting. And that's important, especially if you can't write lyrics like Dylan. And that's why a rec like the Cult's Electric or the Mooney Suzuki will always grab me on first listen, & make me want to listen to it more. The 97s lyrics are better than average garage fare like MS, but you understand what I mean. I think. I think I understand what I mean.

It's hard to believe hearing her subsequent releases (especially the 3rd album) that I'd like Jane Monheit's debut rec as much as I do, but hey, I do. The new one's not quite as bad as its predecessor, but I do not understand this woman's career. Much as I'd love to hear her do something in the way of electronica--jazzy trip hop, most likely--I suspect that's not going to happen. Hearing her do Barbara Streisand schmaltz when she has such a natural gift for jazz is disappointing, but what can you do. Wait--I know what I can do. While she does the major-label dance with Sony (why the HELL would they issue her major-label debut on Sony Classical?) Listen to her first album, that's what.

I like the turn David Johansen took a few years ago, doing the blues thing. And the first Harry Smiths album has gotten a LOT of play in this house. Don't hear a lot of great blues recs these days so this stands out. Oh, actually I did hear a blues rec I liked a lot--Nick Curran & the Nitelifes' new one. Very good stuff, & a Stooges cover to boot.

As for new stuff just coming out that I think might qualify in the future, I'll nominate the new Luka Bloom, the Libertines, & the new Green Day as possiblities. I've never really heard any LB prior to this, but I like this a lot. As I said before, very Leonard Cohen. The Libertines has been grabbing me lately the way the Replacements once did. And Green Day--I have liked them an awful lot for 10 years, but always thought of them as having great tunes but not great albums. Still, I can't think of a r'n'r act from the past 10 years that I really thought was better. Guess what--this might be the album. It's not perfect or anything, but so far I think it's damn good. I never thought they had great lyrics, but they always got away with their words, managed to say what they had to say without spilling over into outright inanity (though it was sometimes close). Well, Billie Joe is no Bob Dylan or anything, but the way this rec flows, it might just be heard in this house a lot from now on.

Lastly, couldn't let this go without mentioning last year's Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros record, Streetcore. Definitely the best thing he'd done since Sandanista (which might not be saying all THAT much), and possibly since London Calling (which is). The best r'n'r record of this decade probably so far, and something that I hope the White Stripes, the Hives, the Strokes, Jet, & others were listening to--so they can hear what a well-done piece of work from start to finish sounds like. They sure have the potential to put one together, but I haven't heard it yet. I'd sure like to.

DarrenH

09-24-2004, 10:15 AM

Let's see......off the top of my head:

The first three Gov't Mule albums, Gov't Mule, Dose and Life Before Insanity are always finding their way into my CD player.

Porcupine Tree's Stupid Dream and In Absentia

Blackfield - Blackfield. You PTree fans that don't have this yet what are you waiting for?

Allman Brothers Band - Hittin' The Note

Radiohead - OK Computer. I didn't like this rec at first and put it away. Weeks later I picked it up again and everything clicked.

Chroma Key - Dead Air For Radios

Mooney Suzuki - Alive & Amplified. I know it's new but it's a real humdinger in my book.

The Killers - Hot Fuss. Same as the Mooney rec above.

Dead Soul Tribe - Dead Soul Tribe and A Murder Of Crows. Excellent dark and brooding metal with abundant gloominess. The vocals are outstanding and the music is killer.

Anathema - A Fine Day To Exit. More dark and gloomy metal. Melodic ear candy.

Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down. Once again, it's dark. It's gloomy. And it's metal.

Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around. I like all four of his American recordings to some degree or another but this one always seems to make it in the player more often. From the title track to Hurt to Bridge Over Troubled Water and all the rest, just a fantastic disc.

Darren

EDIT: Forgot about Cash

ForeverAutumn

09-24-2004, 11:05 AM

Tough question. There's lots of stuff that I love from the last 10 years, but if I have to pick "classics", I would have to say...

Wilco - Summerteeth. I think I'm in the minority here. I prefer Summerteeth over YHF.

Rush - Counterparts. Yeah, it's 11-years-old. Sue me.

The Honeydogs - 10,000 years. My new addiction...can't live without it!

IZZ - I Move. I've listened to this a kajillion times. I never get tired of it.

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia. I used to prefer Stupid Dream, but I've grown to love the harder edge on IA.

Davey

09-24-2004, 11:21 AM

The Honeydogs - 10,000 years. My new addiction...can't live without it!
Brilliant, simply brilliant! Hehehe, nice pick Ms. Autumn. Could've easily been one of my picks too. Have you seen that latest Guinness TV commercial? Kind of a Monty Python influenced thing, but they say "brilliant" a lot :)

http://members.mailaka.net/davey/guinness.gif

Davey

09-24-2004, 11:40 AM

I think Tweedy's talents would've been well-suited towards making a rec like that, instead of Summerteeth, and if he'd gone in that sort of direction--not that what he does is all THAT different--he might be thought of quite differently these days, instead of an eccentric pill-gobbling Radiohead-wannabe weirdo.
Hehehe, it's funny how wrong you can be sometimes, Jay - when you really put your mind to it. Old 97's certainly made a good rec in Fight Songs, but gawd I'm glad Wilco didn't follow that heavily travelled deadend. There's at least 4 songs on Summerteeth that I think are an order of magnitude more meaningful to me than anythig on Fight Songs. The images in songs like"Via Chicago" on Summerteeth or "Radio Cure" on YHF are almost scary at times, they're so heartfelt. Love that feeling. Total connection for me.

Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable.

Brilliant, simply brilliant*

* see reply to ForeverAutumn :)

nobody

09-24-2004, 12:02 PM

OK....I'm gonna toss out a few more...

Reverend Horton Heat: Holy Roller
OK, I'm cheating here since it's a compilation and some of the tunes go back more than 10 years. Still, it came out in 99 and the thing's spent a ton of time getting played in my house. It's just fantastic straight up rock 'n' roll with no messin' around. Great party music from a fantastic live band.

Eryakah Badu: Baduzium
Another neo-soul classic. Her voice is simply amazing. There's not a lot she could do that I wouldn't like, and could have easily thrown on Worldwide Underground here, but this one is my favorite.

Boards of Canada: Music Has the Right to Children
Warm, fuzzy synths make this one a classic to kick back to. In the right mood, it can be a wonderful experience. it's catchier and more melodic than their followup, making it my favorite full length of theirs.

Massive Attack: 100th Window
I like everything by these guys, but outside of Blue Lines, which falls past the ten year mark, this is the one I pull out the most. It's got a powerful somewhat ominous undercurrent and has really been a mainstay of my listening habits. Like I said, all their stuff gets played around here, but this one gets more than most and I feel was sorely underrated when it was released.

Funny, lots of mellow stuff. My lists from past ten year periods would have been much harder. Guess I'm getting really, really old.

OK...break time...probably back with more later since it's a slow day.

-Jar-

09-24-2004, 12:04 PM

Hehehe, it's funny how wrong you can be sometimes, Jay - when you really put your mind to it. Old 97's certainly made a good rec in Fight Songs, but gawd I'm glad Wilco didn't follow that heavily travelled deadend. There's at least 4 songs on Summerteeth that I think are an order of magnitude more meaningful to me than anythig on Fight Songs. The images in songs like"Via Chicago" on Summerteeth or "Radio Cure" on YHF are almost scary at times, they're so heartfelt. Love that feeling. Total connection for me.

Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable.

Brilliant, simply brilliant*

* see reply to ForeverAutumn :)

just been listening to "She A Jar" - perhaps my favorite Wilco song...

though the images are very strong in this song, I still don't feel I totally understand it..

the way the song mutates from "miss her" to "hit her" is pretty disturbing..

there seems a few images of crying here too:

"Please beware the quiet front yard
I warned you before there were water skies
I warned you not to drive
Dry your eyes you poor devil
"

can the red eyes be taken in more than one way here?

"When I forget how to talk, I'll sing
Won't you please bring that flash to shine
And turn my eyes red unless they close when you click
And my face gets sick, stuck like a question unposed
"

I wish I had more time to really dig into Jeff's lyrics..

-jar

Mr MidFi

09-24-2004, 12:07 PM

All of the discs I was going to mention have already been mentioned in this thread (YHF, Being There, OK Computer, The Bends, Mutations, White Blood Cells, etc.). But there are two notable exceptions:

1. Built to Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future
This is a great collection of songs, and a fabulously cohesive album for me. But a classic isn't really a CLASSIC until it goes out there and reaches for that moment of glory. This disc does that on track 8 (You Are), abandoning its powerfully hooky song structures for a transcendent, explosive swirl of guitar and emotion. It either works for you or it doesn't. It does for me.

2. The Notwist - Neon Golden
The sound of world-weariness has never sounded so beautiful, so wistful, so fragile, and yet so powerful. Who was it that said writing about music was like dancing about architecture? Now I know what he meant.

Oh...and an honorable mention to REM's overlooked, underappreciated New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Ex Lion Tamer

09-24-2004, 01:33 PM

No time for any pithy descriptions so I'll just list those that come to mind...

The Bends - Radiohead
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
American Water - Silver Jews
I Feel Alright - Steve Earle
Bewitched - Luna
Girls Can Tell - Spoon
Keep It Like A Secret - Built to Spill
White Blood Cells - White Stripes
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda WIlliams
The Moon and Antarctica - Modest Mouse
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement

audiobill

09-25-2004, 05:31 AM

Seeing that the modern era ended, just prior to world war 2, and the post-modern era began soonafter, I'll post my "post" moderns of the last ten years (just being glib folks, he,he,he,he, :)

Steve Wynnes' "Here Come the Miracles" -- for me this 2-disc set gets plenty of airplay. It's got tons of creativity and variety to merit repeat spins on any weekend. A post-modern classic, imho.

Slayer's "God Hates Us All" -- Slayer is a band I keep reaching for regularly, especially when the family is out of the house and I can really crank the volumeter to 11. Rids one of residual angst, just like running 5 miles -- only in a more agressive manner. Rick Rubin's production, certainly, propels this one above the others.

Chappaquiddick Skyline's "s/t" -- a late afternoon spin that always competes with any one of Nick Drake's albums for my attention, after a long day of work. Very relaxing in a non sleep-inducing kind of way.

Songs Ohia: Magnolia Electric Co. -- this one definitely meets all of nobody's criteria for inclusion on this list. Problem is.... any of Songs Ohia's albums could sit here, for me.

Fear Factory: "Demanufacture" -- existentialist heavy metal that gets the toes tapping and the heads banging. Imho, the best drummer in the metal business today belongs to these guys. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're a gamer), they are spending most of their energies these days scoring tracks to video games.

I must mention that there are at least another ten discs, that others have mentioned above, that would definitely make this list, too.

Great thread nobody,
audiobill

Davey

09-25-2004, 07:58 AM

Steve Wynns' "Here Come the Miracles" -- for me this 2-disc set gets plenty of airplay. It's got tons of creativity and variety to merit repeat spins on any weekend. A post-modern classic, imho.
Brilliant, simply brilliant! Hey, lots to like on your list and like you said, lots of favorite albums showing up in this thread. Funny, but I just made a post a few days ago about that Steve Wynn album over at <a href=http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/music/rock/messages/41702.html>Rocky Road</a> and also referred to the modern era :)

Slosh

09-25-2004, 08:26 AM

Have to pick Califone Roomsounds. No-brainer for me. But surprisingly, I've found that the new Old Canes Early Morning Hymns has been doing almost the identical thing for me lately, giving me a big dose of that acoustic and bluesy folk-rock that I love so much but also throwing into the mix a little of the emotional zaniness that I love so much about Neutral Milk Hotel - and I've been playing it constantly...so I'll make both of them my first spot on the list. A tie...is that cheating?

I gave my three local indie stores one more shot yesterday to no avail so I ordered up Early Morning Hymns online when I got home. Can hardly wait! :) While I was trying to get an idea of what I may like to use on my year-end comp (I know, it's kinda early to start worring about that) it was kinda depressing to see I only have nine '04 releases (plus an EP), and one of those is a comp with only two new songs. So I also decided to get The Arcade Fire even though the mp3s I sampled didn't exactly knock my socks off (wait, I'm not wearing socks :rolleyes: ), and took a bit of a chance with Rogue Wave (which technically is a 2003 release but remastered and improved and getting its first relatively wide distribution for '04) . . . and it's vinyl. :D Looks like the new Decemberists got pushed back to '05 and I'm not sure when the new Built To Spill or Spoon albums are coming. I guess I still have a bit of wiggle-room since I never did pick up the latest Califone or Blonde Redhead recs.

NP: Sparklehorse - Good Morning, Spider (nice :) )

audiobill

09-25-2004, 08:26 AM

Brilliant, simply brilliant! Hey, lots to like on your list and like you said, lots of favorite albums showing up in this thread. Funny, but I just made a post a few days ago about that Steve Wynn album over at <a href=http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/music/rock/messages/41702.html>Rocky Road</a> and also referred to the modern era :)

Great minds think alike, Davey. Way cool.

One more.......for ya......... The Eels' -- "Daisies of the Galaxy". A fabulous album.

I feel that this thread has awoken this site.
Cheers,
audiobill

Slosh

09-25-2004, 08:40 AM

1. Built to Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future
But a classic isn't really a CLASSIC until it goes out there and reaches for that moment of glory. This disc does that on track 8 (You Are), abandoning its powerfully hooky song structures for a transcendent, explosive swirl of guitar and emotion. It either works for you or it doesn't. It does for me.

everybody
everybody knows
that you
that you
are

Gets my vote for best five words in the whole song-song ever :)

mad rhetorik

09-26-2004, 07:16 AM

Fear Factory: "Demanufacture" -- existentialist heavy metal that gets the toes tapping and the heads banging. Imho, the best drummer in the metal business today belongs to these guys. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're a gamer), they are spending most of their energies these days scoring tracks to video games.

Definitely a great album. It's on par with Obsolete which I've always felt was their best. Ultra-tight fusion of metal and industrial. "Edgecrusher" and "Resurrection" are really great tracks, and the rest is almost as good. Ray Herrera is pretty awesome behind the kit. When I first listened to Fear Factory I could've sworn that he was a drum machine. Incredibly precise and very fast. He's not as flashy as, say, Gene Hoglan or Richard Christy, but that mechanistic groove fits the feel of Fear Factory to a T.

I didn't know they were scoring video games. They just put out a new album recently, Archetype. It's supposed to be a return to the Demanufacture sound. Haven't heard it yet, you might want to give it a listen.

Check your PM.

audiobill

09-26-2004, 10:53 AM

Definitely a great album. It's on par with Obsolete which I've always felt was their best. Ultra-tight fusion of metal and industrial. "Edgecrusher" and "Resurrection" are really great tracks, and the rest is almost as good. Ray Herrera is pretty awesome behind the kit. When I first listened to Fear Factory I could've sworn that he was a drum machine. Incredibly precise and very fast. He's not as flashy as, say, Gene Hoglan or Richard Christy, but that mechanistic groove fits the feel of Fear Factory to a T.

I didn't know they were scoring video games. They just put out a new album recently, Archetype. It's supposed to be a return to the Demanufacture sound. Haven't heard it yet, you might want to give it a listen.

Check your PM.

Hey, Mad Rhetorik.
I, too, thought that Ray Herrera was a drum machine when I first heard Fear Factory's music. The old catchphrase: "The man's a machine," certainly holds true for Ray. I'll definitely have to check out the new one, Archetype.
Thanks,
Bill

Davey

09-26-2004, 04:17 PM

So I also decided to get The Arcade Fire even though the mp3s I sampled didn't exactly knock my socks off (wait, I'm not wearing socks :rolleyes: )
I think someone was saying the Merge site indicated the Arcade Fire was sold out right now and will be a couple weeks or so before more ship. Not sure if that'll effect your order. Seemed to be plenty when I bought mine but that was locally. Unfortunately, it does come in one of those cheapass mini-gatefold lp covers (like the last Cat Power CD) which most of us have grown to hate. But it does have a separate lyric sheet and notes so that part is cool (also like the Cat Power, but not the huge folded thing that caused the cover to bulge and tear on hers). Don't worry, I think you'll grow to appreciate it more when you get to hear the whole thing even though it's not a very good recording. But what pop/rock is these days? It all has the crap compressed out of it even if it does start as a good recording. And it did start to grow on me after a few listens even though I wasn't too thrilled with the mp3's either.