21. French TV – The Violence of Amateurs (1999)
A wonderfully sunny combination plate of R.I.O. (Rock In Opposition) insanity and quirky jazz-oriented rock n' roll, French TV rips avant-garde music a new one with this very entertaining escapade into the unclassifiable. Featuring every instrument under the sun, delicious riffs straight out of an old surf rock album and some absolutely steller drumming on top of all that,
The Violence of Amateurs has some of the best replay value I've gotten compared to most albums of its ilk since I discovered it two years ago; hence, its my favorite modern avant-rock album of all time and one I'm always willing to praise when given an opportunity.
Track Highlights:
The Odessa Steps Sequence, Mail Order Quarks
20. D'Angelo – Brown Sugar (1995)
A soul classic for a more modern generation, words can't express how much I love this guy's debut. The flow is godly and D'Angelo's voice and his novel sense of sound are what turns this from the usual "something good to put on in the car" to a prime work among the various albums that were umbrella'd under the moniker "neo soul", the one album in fact that singlehandedly rejuvenated an entire generation of songwriters while inspiring plenty of new ones simultaneously.
So sure, these are merely songs about life and love and subjects we've had shoved down our throats in numerous ways by genres equally multitude, but that still doesn't change the fact that, just like anything Stevie Wonder did at his peak, you can simply press play and let the music take you and forget everything else. And when it comes down to it, isn't that the thing that matters most in what you enjoy musically?
For me atleast,
Brown Sugar is, in a word,
divine.
Track Highlights:
When We Get By, Alright
19. Nurse With Wound – Huffin' Rag Blues (2008)
You know that when Steve Stapleton's one-man industrial project goes into film-noir soundtrack mode that something really freakin' incredible is going to flutter out forth from your speakers, and its a personal favorite as of late. Whether he's channeling Nick Cave on 'Black Teeth' or eerily recreating Arthur Brown at a 60's club scene on 'Groove Grease [Hot Catz]', it all comes off as if its completely and utterly natural even if you normally wouldn't think so. Such is why I love NWW: its not just music, its an entire WORLD to get lost in, and this take on the late 60's is certainly no exception to that standard!
Track Highlights:
Ketamineaphonia, Thrill Of Romance... ?