Music Banter - View Single Post - In Which I Attempt To Listen To 125 Albums

OOS · 03-25-2013, 10:07 PM

I've been really slow to make my way through a lot of band's discographies, so a lot of those are filling in gaps for artists I already enjoy. As for why I haven't listened to those specific albums yet...I honestly don't know. Somehow I just never got around to it. That's sort of why I'm doing this; to give myself an organised way to make it through all these albums that have sort of been in my musical blind spot.

So, time for album number 2!

Pet Shop Boys - Behaviour

For all that the Pet Shop Boys are an incredibly well known band, they don't seem to have any one cannon "classic" album. And so my process for deciding on one of their albums for this list was basically to go to Sputnikmusic and grab the first release by them to get a 4.0 user rating. Which, obviously, was "Behaviour". As it turns out, it was a fantastic decision, because this is an absolutely wonderful album.

"Behaviour" is probably one of the finest executed collections of synthpop that I've ever heard. It's textured, catchy, and propulsive to the core. "Being Boring" kicks things off on a fantastic note, an incredible chorus hook trading off with a perfectly atmospheric electronic background. From there it just moves from strength to strength. Although most of the album is built on similar instrumental textures, the Pet Shop Boys manage to change things up just enough to keep it interesting without losing focus. "This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave", for example, contrasts the opening track's bite with an undercurrent of melancholy, and "My October Symphony" adds chopped up vocal samples to its synth-pop backbone.

Really, I don't have much of anything negative to say here. "Behaviour" is an album that knows exactly what it wants to do, and knocks it out of the park on every one of its 10 tracks. I suppose I should get into this band more now.

So, next on the docket is Rush's 2112. As a Canadian I feel that I really do need to give Rush a chance, and as someone who's never delved into much prog (with the exception of a couple Pink Floyd albums)I think this should be pretty interesting.

03-25-2013, 10:07 PM	#9 (permalink)
OOS Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 124	I've been really slow to make my way through a lot of band's discographies, so a lot of those are filling in gaps for artists I already enjoy. As for why I haven't listened to those specific albums yet...I honestly don't know. Somehow I just never got around to it. That's sort of why I'm doing this; to give myself an organised way to make it through all these albums that have sort of been in my musical blind spot. So, time for album number 2! Pet Shop Boys - Behaviour For all that the Pet Shop Boys are an incredibly well known band, they don't seem to have any one cannon "classic" album. And so my process for deciding on one of their albums for this list was basically to go to Sputnikmusic and grab the first release by them to get a 4.0 user rating. Which, obviously, was "Behaviour". As it turns out, it was a fantastic decision, because this is an absolutely wonderful album. "Behaviour" is probably one of the finest executed collections of synthpop that I've ever heard. It's textured, catchy, and propulsive to the core. "Being Boring" kicks things off on a fantastic note, an incredible chorus hook trading off with a perfectly atmospheric electronic background. From there it just moves from strength to strength. Although most of the album is built on similar instrumental textures, the Pet Shop Boys manage to change things up just enough to keep it interesting without losing focus. "This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave", for example, contrasts the opening track's bite with an undercurrent of melancholy, and "My October Symphony" adds chopped up vocal samples to its synth-pop backbone. Really, I don't have much of anything negative to say here. "Behaviour" is an album that knows exactly what it wants to do, and knocks it out of the park on every one of its 10 tracks. I suppose I should get into this band more now. So, next on the docket is Rush's 2112. As a Canadian I feel that I really do need to give Rush a chance, and as someone who's never delved into much prog (with the exception of a couple Pink Floyd albums)I think this should be pretty interesting.