I decided i'd post two more since it's friday and i'm bored.
18. Morrissey "Viva Hate"
Popular 80s band breaks up, singer goes solo, bad idea? WRONG! Viva Hate not only proved (thanks to Suedehead) to be more succesful then the Smiths but it proved to be on par with some of their best work. While there's alot of haters for Morrissey's solo stuff (hate I frankly don't understand) it really is amazing stuff and it is much more versatile then the Smiths (not that that's a dig at the smiths) and that's all pretty seeable in just this one release. Morrissey kept the jangle pop (I just learned what that is today
) sound of the Smiths but branched off to do other things like the Joni Mitchell inspired ballad Late Night, Maudlin street, the string Driven Angel, Angel Down We Go Together all the way to the slow and hateful closer Margaret On The Guillotine. Oh and I want to note that Vini Reilly is often uncredited but it should be said he shines on this album. Anyone who can fill Johnny Marr's shoes the way he did on the more Smithsy tracks deserves praise. Viva Hate was the first Morrissey solo album I heard and I think it's my favorite. Though it's very hard to pick a favorite album because when he's solid, he's solid and it should be said that my favorite is off of Your Arsenal.
I remember when I bought this, it was a long drive to California and I was given 50 dollars and told to go buy albums because i'd left everything at home except like a dozen albums or so which wasn't enough. We pulled into the truck stop and the optimistic side of me was hoping maybe they'd have some cheap Johnny Cash compilation. INSTEAD I found a bunch of bad, cliche or cheesy (take your pick) 80s album and I thought "hmm, this'll be fun" amongst those bad 80s albums was Viva Hate and I thought "well the smiths are good, this can't be too bad." I ended up loving it, particularly Everyday is like Sunday since we drove through a variety of coastal towns and it felt like Morrissey had written the song about each and everyone of them. He is right too, there is something strangely depressing about a seaside town out of season.
Favorite Song: Late Night, Maudlin Street
MySpace.com - Morrissey - Alternative / Indie / Rock - www.myspace.com/morrissey
17. Panda Bear "Younger Prayer"
There's beauty in simplicity and this album is a testament to that. It's essentially Noah and his acoustic guitar, creating mellow and ghostly ambient music and I never really know what to say about these sort of albums, especially this one without getting too personal but it just came to me at the right time. I remember several nights just playing it on repeat in my room. It's essentially a eulogy from a son to a father.
Favorite Song: Untitled 6
MySpace.com - panda bear - NEW YORK, New York - Dub / Pop - www.myspace.com/rippityrippity