20 X 5 (ambient, blues, funk, rock, cd)

jackhammer · 04-05-2008, 06:50 PM

No.1 MASSIVE ATTACK-MEZZANINE

I had a massive internal fight about where to put this album genre wise. There was never any question that it would be included somewhere along the line. The only question was where? After perusing many best of album polls, online forums and magazines I came to the conclusion that this album is vastly underated amongst the (so called) heirachy. Maybe this is because it was primarily born in the studio and not from an instrument. Their loss. Music will always be subjective and some great great music falls from our radar, while banal crap survives.

There should be no excuses for Mezzanine. The album is genuinely one of the finest albums made in the last 30 years. Any exclusive genre fan has been converted to this album upon hearing. Indie, Dub, Trip Hop, Rock, Metal, Hip-Hop, Electronica, Experimental, Ambient-it's all here. Not random. Not here for showmanship. The genre flitting is borne into every track. Can you honestly say that you have heard many albums as cohesive and listenable than this whilst still being completely original?

The album throws so many musical moods at you, you can almost find it almost impossible to hate. Fortunately, like it you will. Love it over time. Teardrop envelopes you with it's soothing vocals. It's hypnotic beat resembling a trusted heartbeat. Dissolved Girl rises majestically on a perpetual monotonous beat before exploding with venom and drowning you with it's cavernous, forbidding metal sound.

Inertia Creeps uses a middle eastern drum pattern juxtaposed against North American tinged Rap vocals and Black Milk is reliant on a Dub imitating bass line.

Everytime that Mezzanine is played, I gain something new from the huge soundscape on offer.

Angel. The albums opener.

Teardrop. Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins guest Vocals

MASSIVE ATTACK

sleepy jack · 04-05-2008, 07:04 PM

That is a great album, not one I'm personally into but I still have mad respect for it.

jackhammer · 04-26-2008, 02:36 PM

TOP 5:AVANT GARDE/EXPERIMENTAL

NO 5:THE RESIDENTS-TWEEDLES

I am a relative newcomer to the strange but brilliant world of The Residents. A band that has been together for over thirty years, yet they are shrouded in mystery. To describe The Residents is actually doing them a dis-service. Their music just IS. It is'nt particulary complex and regularly has straightforward easily recognisable rock traits, however their unique approach to what exactly is a three minute track is what makes them a true one off.

Tweedles is one of their more recent releases (2006) and was actually concieved by a Residents fan wanting his favourite band to test out his newly built studio to which they duly obliged.

The tracks lyrical themes deal with dark sexuality and are mainly spoken by "The Singing Resident" as he takes us on a journey regarding a sexually obsessed clown while taking in angular metal like riffs, musique concrete, melancholy ambience and that unique layered Resident approach to vocals.

This review is fairly inadequate as I am fairly new to this album, yet each time I hear it, I get dragged into it's own delirious and surreal world. A good place to start if you have never heard one of rock's most original outfits.

<The Residents Blog>

TheBig3 · 04-26-2008, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiron

@jack

the 20 minus the crap genres that are really subgenres which only a pretentious few listen to.

wtf is a genre, I only listen to hot tunes and rocking tracks.

In all seriousness, I hear you loud and clear on the albums and ordering them. I tried at least three times and I love the idea you've come up with.

Expect me to hijack it.

jackhammer · 04-27-2008, 05:25 PM

4: JOHN ZORN-NAKED CITY

John Zorn is a highly accomplished Jazz musician. He also get's off on Hardcore Punk, Speed Metal and B-movie trash, which automatically ensures his inclusion in the school of cool.

Naked City is a musical mish mash and is as much a musical project as an album. Taking in Avant Garde Jazz musings, Speed Metal bursts and soundtrack homages it set the bar for genre experimentation and sounds supremely original nearly 20 years on.

A brilliantly competent saxophonist, Zorn certainly reveres his Jazz roots but also knows that the secular nature of Jazz is as much of a hindrance than plus point. Naked City fuses two seemingly disparate genres of music and emerges unscathed. Most definitely an acquired taste but compellingly rewarding too.

James Bond theme:

MySpace.com - John Zorn - NEW YORK, New York - Experimental - www.myspace.com/johnzorn

cardboard adolescent · 04-27-2008, 06:00 PM

Sicilian Clan sends shivers down my spine

SubPop · 04-29-2008, 07:48 AM

My favourite album that you have listed so far is the Kruder and Dorfmeister, that album (esp disk 1) is the gear!

jackhammer · 05-04-2008, 03:00 PM

3: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART-TROUT MASK REPLICA

Okay a fairly obvious choice but it's so damn good. Why should music follow natural progressions. It can excite, confuse, infuriate and delight in equal measure. This is what TMR can do. On first listen 90% of listeners hate it. The strange noises, the abrupt change in rythmns and disregard for genre conventions leads you to the assumption that this is just a product of it's drug induced time (1969). Subsequent listens reveal an unbelievably well written, highly textured album that takes in free form jazz, swamp blues, psychedelic rock riffs and spoken word snippets.

An album that is nearly 40 years old has an astonishing capacity to excite and remain wholly original. What is also remarkable is the complete lack of keyboards on the album with Musique Concrete filling in the ambience on the album.

I cannot really compare it to anyone else except perhaps early Zappa (who just so happened to produce!) and that is testament to the demented genius of Captain Beefheart. Even if you don't want it in your collection, anybody with a passing interest in music should listen to it once to proclaim that you made it through to the end after being aurally and sonically battered.

The Captain Beefheart Radar Station

jackhammer · 05-04-2008, 04:34 PM

2: FRANK ZAPPA-HOT RATS

I had to have Zappa in here but which one? His discography is huge and I freely admit to knowing perhaps about only 25% of it, so I have chosen an album which is not neccessarily one of his more experimental albums but one that I adore. Hot Rats is a mainly instrumental album with only track 2 Willie The Pimp having vocals (courtesy of Captain Beefheart) and could be described as Jazz Fusion. There are some extraordinary guitar workouts on here spliced with saxophones, clarinets and flutes.

Later Zappa releases feature his customary wit and genre hopping but as there is so much to hear I reasoned that a cohesive release would appeal to the unitiated.

It is also very well produced and is an album that took full use of early 16 track recording. Tracks such as the aforementioned Willie The Pimp benefitting from this with the immense guitar parts and brass work allowed to breathe due to a lack of compression.

If you love great rock guitar music then this is one album you should definitely hear and for the unitiated it is a relatively accessible slice of Zappa.

Willie The Pimp:

Welcome to zappa.com - The Official Frank Zappa Website

jackhammer · 05-04-2008, 06:14 PM

No 1:PINK FLOYD-PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN

You what? You can't include this in your Avant Garde/Experimental top 5! Oh yes I can, because it is effortlessly Experimental and as debuts go, decidedly leftfield. I have already reviewed the album on this site here:
http://www.musicbanter.com/editors-p...-reviewed.html, so because that exists I will say a little about WHY I made this choice.

I got into Pink Floyd at approx 18 ( which was half a lifetime ago for me) and it was the Gilmour era that I had heard. After a few years I finally heard Piper and I was completely dismayed. What the hell was this nursery rhyme freak-out shit? How could a band with such lush and ambient soundscapes make an album so disjointed and amateurish?

Time softens the body but sharpens the mind. Piper was revisited extensively about 6 years ago and my disdain grew to admiration and finally blossomed into utter devotion. The phenomenal success the Floyd recieved is so encumbent on this album I almost want to brand myself for uttering such sacrilege all those years ago.

Forget Sgt. Peppers. Piper has shaped the English musical landscape like no other. Monstrous heavy riffs crash and collide amidst gentle English eccentricity to create an album that is rapidly becoming my favourite Floyd album. Once you 'get' it then the album takes on a whole new meaning. It has character, style and uniqueness that fully warrants top spot in this genre and maybe more top 10 finishes in critics circles if only they had the balls.

Phenomenal album. RIP Syd.

Lucifer Sam (one of my albumfaves):

04-05-2008, 06:50 PM	#11 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	No.1 MASSIVE ATTACK-MEZZANINE I had a massive internal fight about where to put this album genre wise. There was never any question that it would be included somewhere along the line. The only question was where? After perusing many best of album polls, online forums and magazines I came to the conclusion that this album is vastly underated amongst the (so called) heirachy. Maybe this is because it was primarily born in the studio and not from an instrument. Their loss. Music will always be subjective and some great great music falls from our radar, while banal crap survives. There should be no excuses for Mezzanine. The album is genuinely one of the finest albums made in the last 30 years. Any exclusive genre fan has been converted to this album upon hearing. Indie, Dub, Trip Hop, Rock, Metal, Hip-Hop, Electronica, Experimental, Ambient-it's all here. Not random. Not here for showmanship. The genre flitting is borne into every track. Can you honestly say that you have heard many albums as cohesive and listenable than this whilst still being completely original? The album throws so many musical moods at you, you can almost find it almost impossible to hate. Fortunately, like it you will. Love it over time. Teardrop envelopes you with it's soothing vocals. It's hypnotic beat resembling a trusted heartbeat. Dissolved Girl rises majestically on a perpetual monotonous beat before exploding with venom and drowning you with it's cavernous, forbidding metal sound. Inertia Creeps uses a middle eastern drum pattern juxtaposed against North American tinged Rap vocals and Black Milk is reliant on a Dub imitating bass line. Everytime that Mezzanine is played, I gain something new from the huge soundscape on offer. Angel. The albums opener. Teardrop. Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins guest Vocals MASSIVE ATTACK __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

04-26-2008, 02:36 PM	#13 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	TOP 5:AVANT GARDE/EXPERIMENTAL NO 5:THE RESIDENTS-TWEEDLES I am a relative newcomer to the strange but brilliant world of The Residents. A band that has been together for over thirty years, yet they are shrouded in mystery. To describe The Residents is actually doing them a dis-service. Their music just IS. It is'nt particulary complex and regularly has straightforward easily recognisable rock traits, however their unique approach to what exactly is a three minute track is what makes them a true one off. Tweedles is one of their more recent releases (2006) and was actually concieved by a Residents fan wanting his favourite band to test out his newly built studio to which they duly obliged. The tracks lyrical themes deal with dark sexuality and are mainly spoken by "The Singing Resident" as he takes us on a journey regarding a sexually obsessed clown while taking in angular metal like riffs, musique concrete, melancholy ambience and that unique layered Resident approach to vocals. This review is fairly inadequate as I am fairly new to this album, yet each time I hear it, I get dragged into it's own delirious and surreal world. A good place to start if you have never heard one of rock's most original outfits. <The Residents Blog> __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

04-27-2008, 05:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	4: JOHN ZORN-NAKED CITY John Zorn is a highly accomplished Jazz musician. He also get's off on Hardcore Punk, Speed Metal and B-movie trash, which automatically ensures his inclusion in the school of cool. Naked City is a musical mish mash and is as much a musical project as an album. Taking in Avant Garde Jazz musings, Speed Metal bursts and soundtrack homages it set the bar for genre experimentation and sounds supremely original nearly 20 years on. A brilliantly competent saxophonist, Zorn certainly reveres his Jazz roots but also knows that the secular nature of Jazz is as much of a hindrance than plus point. Naked City fuses two seemingly disparate genres of music and emerges unscathed. Most definitely an acquired taste but compellingly rewarding too. James Bond theme: MySpace.com - John Zorn - NEW YORK, New York - Experimental - www.myspace.com/johnzorn __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

05-04-2008, 03:00 PM	#18 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	3: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART-TROUT MASK REPLICA Okay a fairly obvious choice but it's so damn good. Why should music follow natural progressions. It can excite, confuse, infuriate and delight in equal measure. This is what TMR can do. On first listen 90% of listeners hate it. The strange noises, the abrupt change in rythmns and disregard for genre conventions leads you to the assumption that this is just a product of it's drug induced time (1969). Subsequent listens reveal an unbelievably well written, highly textured album that takes in free form jazz, swamp blues, psychedelic rock riffs and spoken word snippets. An album that is nearly 40 years old has an astonishing capacity to excite and remain wholly original. What is also remarkable is the complete lack of keyboards on the album with Musique Concrete filling in the ambience on the album. I cannot really compare it to anyone else except perhaps early Zappa (who just so happened to produce!) and that is testament to the demented genius of Captain Beefheart. Even if you don't want it in your collection, anybody with a passing interest in music should listen to it once to proclaim that you made it through to the end after being aurally and sonically battered. The Captain Beefheart Radar Station __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

05-04-2008, 04:34 PM	#19 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	2: FRANK ZAPPA-HOT RATS I had to have Zappa in here but which one? His discography is huge and I freely admit to knowing perhaps about only 25% of it, so I have chosen an album which is not neccessarily one of his more experimental albums but one that I adore. Hot Rats is a mainly instrumental album with only track 2 Willie The Pimp having vocals (courtesy of Captain Beefheart) and could be described as Jazz Fusion. There are some extraordinary guitar workouts on here spliced with saxophones, clarinets and flutes. Later Zappa releases feature his customary wit and genre hopping but as there is so much to hear I reasoned that a cohesive release would appeal to the unitiated. It is also very well produced and is an album that took full use of early 16 track recording. Tracks such as the aforementioned Willie The Pimp benefitting from this with the immense guitar parts and brass work allowed to breathe due to a lack of compression. If you love great rock guitar music then this is one album you should definitely hear and for the unitiated it is a relatively accessible slice of Zappa. Willie The Pimp: Welcome to zappa.com - The Official Frank Zappa Website __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

04-27-2008, 06:00 PM	#16 (permalink)
cardboard adolescent ;) Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CA Posts: 3,503	Sicilian Clan sends shivers down my spine

04-29-2008, 07:48 AM	#17 (permalink)
SubPop Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 121	My favourite album that you have listed so far is the Kruder and Dorfmeister, that album (esp disk 1) is the gear!

05-04-2008, 06:14 PM	#20 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	No 1:PINK FLOYD-PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN You what? You can't include this in your Avant Garde/Experimental top 5! Oh yes I can, because it is effortlessly Experimental and as debuts go, decidedly leftfield. I have already reviewed the album on this site here: http://www.musicbanter.com/editors-p...-reviewed.html, so because that exists I will say a little about WHY I made this choice. I got into Pink Floyd at approx 18 ( which was half a lifetime ago for me) and it was the Gilmour era that I had heard. After a few years I finally heard Piper and I was completely dismayed. What the hell was this nursery rhyme freak-out shit? How could a band with such lush and ambient soundscapes make an album so disjointed and amateurish? Time softens the body but sharpens the mind. Piper was revisited extensively about 6 years ago and my disdain grew to admiration and finally blossomed into utter devotion. The phenomenal success the Floyd recieved is so encumbent on this album I almost want to brand myself for uttering such sacrilege all those years ago. Forget Sgt. Peppers. Piper has shaped the English musical landscape like no other. Monstrous heavy riffs crash and collide amidst gentle English eccentricity to create an album that is rapidly becoming my favourite Floyd album. Once you 'get' it then the album takes on a whole new meaning. It has character, style and uniqueness that fully warrants top spot in this genre and maybe more top 10 finishes in critics circles if only they had the balls. Phenomenal album. RIP Syd. Lucifer Sam (one of my albumfaves): __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”