Music Banter - View Single Post - The Urban 100 - 4 Years On (Now With Added Authors Commentary)

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-01-2005, 12:06 PM

60. Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984)

You have to give credit to anyone that can knock out...
1. A double album where EVERY song is worth listening to
2. A double album that was recorded in 85 hours where EVERY song is worth listening to.
I listened to this the other day & it did kinda strike me as sounding a little dated , however in the context of some of the rubbish that came out around 1984 it`s as fresh as anything, I was never much a fan of Husker Du`s hardcore punk era , To me they seemed to mellow with every album they recorded , and this one being one of their 'middle' albums I think they get the balance just right between great melodic hooks & great driving riffs. I`ve have a little idea of what the concept of this album is (For it is a concept album) It`s just that the music is just so great I don`t really care about it.And when you`ve gone through the whole album thinking things can`t possibly get any better they chuck on all 14 wonderful minutes of Reoccurring Dreams.That song in in itself being one reason why Husker Du showed up just how boring and one dimensional most 80s punk rock really was.

Favourite Songs - Never Talking To You Again , Masochism World , Reoccurring Dreams

59. The Cult - Love (1985)

I think a Cult revival is due , to me the Cult were one of the best bands of the 80s, or at least they could have been in the eyes of the public had they not spent the next 2 albums after this trying to become some AC/DC tribute band.The Cult were the first ever band I saw live that I really wanted to see. I remember the day well , The Milton Keynes bowl May 29th (My birthday) 1993, Blind Melon & Soul Asylum (before either band had a hit) opened the show to total indifference , The Cult came on , played the opening bars to She Sells Sanctuary & the whole place turned into a lunatic asylum. Guns n Roses headlined that day , The Cult blew them offstage ,to me it was them that headlined that day.Getting back to the album this is the Cult during their Gothic / Psychadelic peak before the overindulgence of 2nd hand AC/DC riffs with guitarist Billy Duffy going for overload on his wah wah pedel.This to me is probably THE most underrated 80s album ever.

Favourite Songs - Rain , The Phoenix , She Sells Sanctuary

58. Sly And The Family Stone - There`s A Riot Goin` On (1971)

I don`t really know a lot about this album , I know that the album caused a bit of a stir when it was released , both due to it`s cover and it`s content (it`s cynical look at the world was totally at odds to the usual woodstock era hippy stuff that was going around at the time).And I also know that the band were quite possibly the first ever band to have both blacks , whites , males & females as equal members in the band.The main reason I bought this album was because of the huge influence it had on Primal Screams Screamadelica album , and it`s not difficult to spot where Bobby G got his ideas from.One thing I will say about this album , cynicalism never sounded this funky.

Favourite Songs - Love n Haight , Family Affair , (You Caught Me) Smilin'

57. R.E.M. - Green (1989)

"Please kill me if I ever say I like this band"
Me ... circa 1992 to a friend after seeing the video to Shiny Happy People on MTV.

So then , how did I go from thinking this to the present day where I own 14 REM albums?
Well around that time i`d only heard 3 REM songs , Shiny Happy People , Stand & Everybody Hurts , and I hated all 3 , in fact I still hate those 3 songs now.Well when Monster came out showing a more 'rock' REM I was impressed & bought the album & loved it. So I decided maybe I should give them another chance & check out some more of their stuff. I avoided Automatic For The People & Out Of Time for some reason & decided on this album , and was shocked at just how much I loved it.Listening to it now taking their earlier indie albums into context you can really hear the progression on this album. I can`t think of too many indie bands who get better once they`ve signed to a major label , yet REM managed it.I saw them live in February this year, they only played Orange Crush off this album , I almost lost control of my bodily functions it sounded so good.

Favourite Songs - Pop Song 89 ,World Leader Pretend ,Orange Crush

10-01-2005, 12:06 PM	#72 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	60. Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984) You have to give credit to anyone that can knock out... 1. A double album where EVERY song is worth listening to 2. A double album that was recorded in 85 hours where EVERY song is worth listening to. I listened to this the other day & it did kinda strike me as sounding a little dated , however in the context of some of the rubbish that came out around 1984 it`s as fresh as anything, I was never much a fan of Husker Du`s hardcore punk era , To me they seemed to mellow with every album they recorded , and this one being one of their 'middle' albums I think they get the balance just right between great melodic hooks & great driving riffs. I`ve have a little idea of what the concept of this album is (For it is a concept album) It`s just that the music is just so great I don`t really care about it.And when you`ve gone through the whole album thinking things can`t possibly get any better they chuck on all 14 wonderful minutes of Reoccurring Dreams.That song in in itself being one reason why Husker Du showed up just how boring and one dimensional most 80s punk rock really was. Favourite Songs - Never Talking To You Again , Masochism World , Reoccurring Dreams 59. The Cult - Love (1985) I think a Cult revival is due , to me the Cult were one of the best bands of the 80s, or at least they could have been in the eyes of the public had they not spent the next 2 albums after this trying to become some AC/DC tribute band.The Cult were the first ever band I saw live that I really wanted to see. I remember the day well , The Milton Keynes bowl May 29th (My birthday) 1993, Blind Melon & Soul Asylum (before either band had a hit) opened the show to total indifference , The Cult came on , played the opening bars to She Sells Sanctuary & the whole place turned into a lunatic asylum. Guns n Roses headlined that day , The Cult blew them offstage ,to me it was them that headlined that day.Getting back to the album this is the Cult during their Gothic / Psychadelic peak before the overindulgence of 2nd hand AC/DC riffs with guitarist Billy Duffy going for overload on his wah wah pedel.This to me is probably THE most underrated 80s album ever. Favourite Songs - Rain , The Phoenix , She Sells Sanctuary 58. Sly And The Family Stone - There`s A Riot Goin` On (1971) I don`t really know a lot about this album , I know that the album caused a bit of a stir when it was released , both due to it`s cover and it`s content (it`s cynical look at the world was totally at odds to the usual woodstock era hippy stuff that was going around at the time).And I also know that the band were quite possibly the first ever band to have both blacks , whites , males & females as equal members in the band.The main reason I bought this album was because of the huge influence it had on Primal Screams Screamadelica album , and it`s not difficult to spot where Bobby G got his ideas from.One thing I will say about this album , cynicalism never sounded this funky. Favourite Songs - Love n Haight , Family Affair , (You Caught Me) Smilin' 57. R.E.M. - Green (1989) "Please kill me if I ever say I like this band" Me ... circa 1992 to a friend after seeing the video to Shiny Happy People on MTV. So then , how did I go from thinking this to the present day where I own 14 REM albums? Well around that time i`d only heard 3 REM songs , Shiny Happy People , Stand & Everybody Hurts , and I hated all 3 , in fact I still hate those 3 songs now.Well when Monster came out showing a more 'rock' REM I was impressed & bought the album & loved it. So I decided maybe I should give them another chance & check out some more of their stuff. I avoided Automatic For The People & Out Of Time for some reason & decided on this album , and was shocked at just how much I loved it.Listening to it now taking their earlier indie albums into context you can really hear the progression on this album. I can`t think of too many indie bands who get better once they`ve signed to a major label , yet REM managed it.I saw them live in February this year, they only played Orange Crush off this album , I almost lost control of my bodily functions it sounded so good. Favourite Songs - Pop Song 89 ,World Leader Pretend ,Orange Crush __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.