Wire's 100 Albums That Set The World On Fire (while no one was listening)
 

I ran into this list a few weeks ago.

This list came out in 1998 and it basically lists a number of releases "that should have ignited the world's imagination - but somehow got forgotten along the way."

How many have you listened to?

I've only heard six. :o:

The List

Not going to lie, I've listened to exactly 0 of those albums.

23 (out of the full 130 )....but i saved that list....and really want to check some of those out

i love the fact that they included both William Burroughs and Steven Bernstein's poetry....Bernstein was such a bad-ass and i think often his stuff falls through the cracks

I've heard Son House - Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions and although he may not be well known now I do know that he was a very prominent and influential bluesman. So I don't really know if you could say "nobody was listening", but I'm glad it made the list.

I've also heard Dancing in Your Head by Ornette Coleman. It's one of my favorite Coleman records, actually.

Of course I've heard Bad Brains self-titled. Again, I don't think this is a lost treasure. It's a treasure all right, but it was highly influential and remains popular today.

I also wouldn't say Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed was anything particularly good. Maybe it didn't deserve the critical bashing it got, because after all it was an experimental album, but I don't consider it a lost treasure as it was quite high profile to begin with.

Overall I think this list contained some interesting write ups and I'm looking forward to checking out some of them.

I've heard two, Bad Brains and First Utterance.

13

I've only listened to a handful of those albums but it seems like a decent list. I'll have to check so of the other stuff out.

Plenty of stuff I've not heard, can't wait to check some of it out. Nice to see The Homosexuals and Labradford mentioned, too.

I would love to hear the Joe Meek album! In fact, this is a bit of a shopping list.

Still, there are albums I have heard.

Blue Cheer - Good, loud sounds!

Dr. John - Great! Believe this, I heard parts of it in the Nudie flick Sweet Bird of Aquarius

Pearls Before Swine - Found this in an antique store for a couple of dollars in good condition. I played it a couple of nights back and still like it. A little more dramatic for my tastes, but it's relaxing in it's own way.

Skip Spence - Oar is one of those albums that the writers like, but still just can't really get into it...yet.

Brian Jones/Master Musicians of Joujouka - Still a fine late night listen!

Miles Davis - Remember this a LONG time ago, siging it out from a Library, and getting into the music. I must hear it again!

Lou Reed - I have to give this a lot of credit for sparking a few minds here and there for the shock/Noise/Industrial worlds that many have traveled since it's release. To me, it's still a mix of indulgence and telling RCA where to go, but it is one of Reed's more interesting albums, even if it's to me listenable through one part at a time.

Human League - I caught the single on a Fast Products compilation (along with Gang of Four and others) just when The League were in their final year of stardom in The US. I really had to convince a couple of friends of mine that they were not always the "Don't You Want Me"/"Human" band, especially with their early records, but when I did, it turned into one of my favorite memories.

Walker Brothers - There's reason why the write up did not mention John or Gary's songs...you can't top Scott's, end of story! I was in a bad mood when I first heard "The Electrician" and nearly cried that I finally heard the beauty that I always read about. There were a number of albums I passed up as I turned into "Choosing the most rare album I could find" when I bought this, so Pulp's excellent This Is Hardcore (with songs I could mix in with Scott's songs with ease) could wait as I was listening to Scott.

A side note - in an Mojo article about Manic Street Preachers' The Holy Bible (Great album!), Nite Flights, This Is Hardcore, and Oar were listed in a small list of other albums that were dark listening. Moving on...

Nurse With Wound - OK, a bit of a cheat as I mainly heard tracks through a compilation (The Sisters of Pataphysics), but at least I was experienced with the sounds of the early Nurse. I have to seriously catch up with Stephen Stapleton's works as I think I last heard NWW with Thunder Perfect Mind (Have both the Current 93 and NWW albums)...and there's loads of catching up!

Bad Brains - Someone had the tape, and I heard it quite a bit in my days of hanging out with the Hardcore Punks in my area. I should thank them for the experience!

Royal Trux - A used find a long time back that I was not into then (this being around 1992), and as such sold it after a couple of plays. Then again, I just may have to hear it once more. either way, it's cool to see something I heard put into a list with a publication I respect.

Dead Can Dance - Great sounds! Beautiful!

Although I don't have the Dylan Bootleg Series Vol. 4, I do have No Direction Home and Don't Look Back on DVD, getting me ready to add this into the collection

I'm listening to Bad Brains again now... album holds up so well.

Great ****ing list. Something that truly lets people branch off into the less appreciated side of influential music. Everything I've heard off of this list is a gem in its own special way.

I've heard about 20. There are a couple of names I've heard different albums from, so they don't count.

Heard: Steve Reich, Pearls Before Swine, The United States of America, Silver Apples, Kevin Ayers, Alvin Lucier, Cluster, John Cale, The Modern Lovers, Faust, Pere Ubu, Lou Reed, The Residents, Chrome, Nurse With Wound, Bad Brains, Royal Trux, Tony Conrad, Dead Can Dance, Labradford.

Really want to hear: Robert Fripp, Mark Stewart, Christian Marclay, Oval, Last Exit, Rachel's, and many more...

Very interesting list.

i've never heard Steve reich but the name really rings a bell

Five.

I think you'd like his music. Very listenable minimalism.

I'm happy The Dead C is on the list, but unfortunately I haven't heard that album.

I have heard two. The Steve Reich album and the NWW album. that is it.

Looks like an interesting list definatley going to check out some of those albums :hphones:. I've only listened to 5 of the albums on there though.

Heard 23 of those and own another 3 that I've yet to listen to.

Best list I've seen in ages. I think I might have to work my way through it.

^i was think the exact same thing.....there is so much in there that i would probably never have known about

Agreed about Son House. He's my favorite blues musician.

Really interesting list, I've only heard 1 of those albums out of 130 unfortunately (Bob Dylan's Live 1966 Concert Bootlegs).

There's a lot of punk/garage rock that I want to look up on this list, such as The Modern Lovers, Pere Ubu, The Electric Eels, Bad Brains (who I can't believe I've never listened to), and The Homosexuals. I also am curious about that single by The Residents, they are great but I don't know that one.

JOEY BELTRAM! Just for him this is an amazing list.

I haven't listened to any of those albums but I do recognize some artists that I have heard other albums from them. if I counted that up...it would be 5

Great list there but you'd expect that from wire really. Makes me wonder why I never buy the magazine.

There's lots there I haven't heard, especially the jazz and classical stuff.

I have heard about a handful of the albums on this list.

My favorite, without a doubt, is Joe Meek's "I Hear A New World." I remember the first time I heard that record.. It blew me away. It still does. :) Talk about innovative music..

Just downloaded these two from the list:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cLxnR3lIhe...oundtrack.jpeg

I've actually been meaning to check both of them out for a long time, I'm glad this list came along and gave me the nudge.

Oh, and by strange coincidence earlier this evening I also downloaded this album, based on a recommendation from elsewhere, which I just noticed is on the list too:

http://jazzbluesclub.com/uploads/pos...b646d26b6f.jpg

I've never heard any of these, but I'm going to check out:

Pere Ubu - 30 Seconds Over Tokyo / Heart Of Darkness
Pearls Before Swine - Balaklava
The Dead C - Trapdoor ****ing Exit
Tony Conrad - Four Violins
Dead Can Dance - The Serpent's Egg

I've only listened to two of those albums, Faust and The Dead C.

Robert Fripp - Exposure ...used to listen to that one a lot. Brilliant album.

Some of that stuff I've heard of, some of it I've heard other albums by the artist mentioned, most entries I don't know at all ... there are quite a few names on that list that I'd definitely want to check out at some point, Mark Stewart being first on the list. Well, if I can find it...

only heard Comus and Bad Brains, like Alfred. Both thanks to Musicbanter :)

Been ignoring my suggestion for years then? :p:

Good list, definitely will have to trek through it.

Wire > Rolling Stone

Great list. Derek Bailey is... strange. I won't knock him quite yet, though.

Saw this list a little while back and I have heard 15/130.
I'd personally recommend the Blind Willie Johnson, Pearls Before Swine, Eric Dolphy, Faust, Skip Spence, Alvin Lucier, Comus, Iggy Pop, Chrome and Family Fodder. Bad Brains have always been overrated in my opinion, don't see the appeal.

I've listened to the Pere Ubu, John Cale, Human League,and Bob Dylan records featured here, and that is it. My music nerdery is showing it's limits it would appear.

I've heard 16/130.

I really love Skip Spence's Oar - it really is one of my favorite albums. Also, really pleased to see Blue Cheer's Vincebus Eruptum on there. Very solid album, that. I'd actually almost forgotten about the Bad Brains before reading the list - haven't listened to them in ages, and that album is wonderful.

Also - loads of stuff I really need to check out on there.

Did you recommend that to me at some point? I'm amazed how much I forget sometimes.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ngeStrings.jpg

Sun Ra—Strange Strings
I got this based on the write up in that list and, damn, am I impressed. I don't think I've ever heard music that sounds as incredibly alien as this does. When I listen to this for some reason all I can imagine is that I'm an astronaut in some 1950s science fiction comic like the one below. I stumble into one of the towns those weird, green, blobby aliens live in and discover an orchestra playing in a purple cave. The music they are playing sounds exactly like this album.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...irdscience.jpg