The Alfred Top 25 - Music Banter Music Banter

Go Back   Music Banter > The Music Forums > General Music
Register Blogging Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Welcome to Music Banter Forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with over 70,000 other registered members. After you create your free account, you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 1,100,000 posts.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-06-2009, 03:02 PM   #11 (permalink)
Ba and Be.
 
jackhammer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: This Is England
Posts: 17,331
Default

Good one son. Nice to see a band that have never really got decent attention in their homeland getting praise in America. Album kicks balls. They utilise 'Bhangra' in some songs as homage to their heritage (Asia).
__________________

“A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”
jackhammer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2009, 04:07 PM   #12 (permalink)
one big soul
 
Alfred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,096
Default

23. At The Drive-In "In/Casino/Out" (1998)

What it is: post-hardcore/indie rock
Favorite track: Napoleon Solo

It seems At The Drive-In improved with every release they put out. However, In/Casino/Out is the point in their career where they really got good at what they did. In/Casino/Out is their second full-length album, but fifth release in total (if my memory serves me well).

It took a while for me to get into In/Casino/Out. I was kind of dissapointed the first time I heard it. I was put off by the somewhat slower, more laid back sound. I could enjoy Alpha Centauri and Chanbara because they sounded more like the At The Drive-In I was used to, but I didn't really enjoy the rest of the album. Then I began to enjoy Napoleon Solo, and this led to me being more comfortable with the sound. After that, the next growers were Lopsided and Hourglass. Now, I can appreciate the album as a whole.

In/Casino/Out is a softer, slower album on average than Relationship Of Command, but surpasses it terms of emotion (on average yet again). Napoleon Solo definitely ranks up there with Invalid Litter Dept from ROC as some of the most intense stuff they've ever done. Cedric Bixler-Zavala absolutely pours his soul into this, and other songs on this album.

As usual, you will find the unorthodox guitar and cryptic lyrics ATDI is known for here.

In/Casino/Out is an awesome album, and for those who think that At The Drive-In's only good album is Relationship Of Command, you're very wrong. In/Casino/Out is very much worth the listen, and you may be scratching your head on whether it's better than Relationship Of Command. I still like ROC better, but In/Casino/Out puts up quite a fight.

__________________

Last edited by Alfred; 01-16-2009 at 08:17 AM.
Alfred is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-08-2009, 04:11 PM   #13 (permalink)
Let it drip
 
Sneer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 5,430
Default

This might sound absurd, but i actually dont own an ATDI album, i've been put off by every Mars Volta album after De-Loused, even though i know the 2 bands music dont really share much similarity at all. I should get my finger out.
Sneer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2009, 03:41 PM   #14 (permalink)
one big soul
 
Alfred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,096
Default

I'm slacking...

22. Matisyahu "Youth" (2006)

What it is: Reggae performed by a hisidic jew
Favorite track: Time Of Your Song

Matisyahu sounded pretty interesting when I first heard about him. I mean, 21st century reggae with hints of hip hop and rock, and performed by a jew. Of course, I'm not gonna bore you with the whole "OMG A JEW DOING REGGAE" thing.

Many fans prefer "Shake Off The Dust... ARISE!", but that album didn't do it for me. Maybe it was because I heard this one first and that's the one I stick with etc, but this album just has more memorable songs. The choruses are catchy, and it's really more of a feel good album.

I really like Matisyahu's lyrics. His usage of Jewish and Biblical themes makes his music a lot more interesting to me. Some of my favorite lyrics on the album are:

Quote:
Fire descends from on high in the shape of a lion
Burn the sacrifice of pride and ride on Mount Zion
Rub me the wrong way, taking the highway
Rubbing sticks together but your fire's man-made
from Fire Of Heaven/Altar Of Earth

Quote:
Sons and daughters of Abraham
Lay down to a higher command
Don't be tricked by the acts of man
Gods' wisdom revealed in a holy plan
from What I'm Fighting For

Matisyahu is like a rabbi singing reggae, but you don't have to be Jewish to find his music, or even his message enjoyable. Though his music is very focused on the Jewish religion, he doesn't come off as preachy.

Excellent album, all I can say.

__________________
Alfred is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2009, 03:44 PM   #15 (permalink)
Ba and Be.
 
jackhammer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: This Is England
Posts: 17,331
Default

I like Youth and appreciate the cultural significance but it's not all that high on my Reggae list TBH. Still a great album though. PM me if you want to dip your toe a little more in that area.
__________________

“A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”
jackhammer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2009, 08:44 AM   #16 (permalink)
one big soul
 
Alfred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,096
Default

21. Millencolin "Pennybridge Pioneers" (2000)

What it is: Fun, poppy skate punk
Favorite track: No Cigar

The musical elitist deep inside me tells me that it should be embarassing that I like this album. But you know what? Screw you inner musical elitist. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't love this album. It's fun skate punk with big pop hooks.

Let's travel back in time to when I was about ten or eleven. Many a day I would spend rocking out to the wonderful music on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. No Cigar was one of my favorite tracks on that game, and it was made for skateboarding. I bought this album in the summer of 2008. By then I'd heard a lot of Millencolin songs, and I liked them a lot.

As with others on this list, this is a fun album. There's high-octane guitar riffs, such as the main riff on Penguins & Polarbears, big pop choruses, such as the one on The Mayfly. While I described it as a skate punk album, some songs are more pop-rockish, such as A-Ten and Fox. It's all good.

I don't recommend this album to the average MBer, because you'd probably find it juvenile and "shitty", but that's your business. As for me, I'll keep spinning Pennybridge Pioneers until the CD dies.

__________________

Last edited by Alfred; 01-16-2009 at 08:49 AM.
Alfred is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2009, 03:20 PM   #17 (permalink)
one big soul
 
Alfred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,096
Default

20. Teenage Bottlerocket "Total" (2005)

What it is: catchiest pop punk ever
Favorite track: Fall For Me

This list is looking bleak, innit? This is the second pop punk album in a row! Not to fear, the future is bright...

...but the present is gloomy. This may be the second pop punk album in a row, but this one is quite a bit different than that other one. Whereas Millencolin had more conventional rock stuff on their album, this one is raw and punky, and pretty much sounds like what The Ramones would be recording if they were still going.

There's real art and skill in this album, you must know. I mean, how hard it must be, making catchy-as-hell songs and worrying about whether you've stolen a chord pattern from Screeching Weasel or The Lillingtons or The Ramones.

Whether they did or not, nothing can take away from the fact that this is the catchiest pop punk album you'll hear. Most of the songs here are about girls and the lyrics are cheesy as hell, but isn't that part of the appeal of the genre? One thing's for sure, this band isn't to be taken seriously, they're goofballs.

Bloodbath At Burger King expresses an employees desire to murder his fellow his employees. Go Away, the most repetetive track on the album tells about how he "loves it when you go away". I mean, what the hell is this?

But, Alexisonfire put it best: "Sometimes it's just about feeling good/John Cusack, pop punk".

__________________

Last edited by Alfred; 01-22-2009 at 06:57 PM.
Alfred is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2009, 06:28 PM   #18 (permalink)
dac
MB's Biggest Fanboy
 
dac's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land
Posts: 2,852
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfred View Post
23. At The Drive-In "In/Casino/Out" (1998)
At the Drive-In is the one single hardcore band I can listen to. I think that says a lot about the quality of their output.
__________________

dac is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2009, 06:33 PM   #19 (permalink)
one big soul
 
Alfred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,096
Default

Yes that does. They've blown my mind since March, they're one of my top bands.
__________________
Alfred is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2009, 05:44 PM   #20 (permalink)
one big soul
 
Alfred's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,096
Default

19. The Clash "Give Em Enough Rope" (1978)

What it is: better than their debut dammit
Favorite track: Safe European Home

See, I told you the future was bright!

I could be wrong, but "Give Em Enough Rope" always seems like the overlooked Clash album. Everyone loves their debut, because it's their first album and shows their early sound. "London Calling" goes without saying, "Sandinista!" is so huge and weird, but loved by many fans. Combat Rock has "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Rock The Casbah", and everyone seems to avoid Cut The Crap like a swarm of bees (I myself am guilty of this).

As a punk rock band, this is the greatest thing The Clash could have possibly achieved. There's lots of energy here, and they're tight as hell. The melodies are great, and the lyrics are pure Clash. Safe European Home is superb, the finest punk track that they made. English Civil War was also a treat for me, because of its usage of an old melody that I've always loved. Stay Free has lyrics of youthful rebellion, but it sounds like it should be on London Calling. The production here is very slick.

I could be wrong, but as I said before, this album doesn't seem to get the recognition it deserves. There are many memorable songs here, and as an album it works extremely well. It's a more energetic sound, but at the same time, more laid back than their debut. Their feel-good record if you like.

__________________
Alfred is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes



© 2003-2024 Advameg, Inc.