Pinkerton is just as good...maybe even better.

Agreed, definitely. These are really great reviews I've enjoyed reading them, keep them up.

My first of only a few repeat-bands on this list. I was debating whether or not to keep it to 30 seperate bands, one album each, but in my eyes, what the list would gain in eclectisity (word?) it would lose in quality. Also, there was more than one Pavement album that I really wanted to mention, and if I'm going to make an exeption for them, I'm going to have to make one for everyone. So here you have it, the second, and final, Husker Du album on this list, and my favorite Husker Du album. Although I bought this in 2006, I had a cassete of 'New Day Rising' since I was in ninth grade, although the only song I ever listened to was "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill". In retrospect I can see why, this is Husker Du's perfect fusion of their hardcore roots with their indie aesthetic, giving the song a sound that would be mimicked by dozens of more succesful, yet less talented 90's bands.

"New Day Rising" is like if "Zen Arcade" were reduced to one album, and it was all their more straightforward punk songs. This album is very 'to-the-point', opening with "New Day Rising", something that sounds like a hardcore song, yet would be welcome on any of Husker Du's alternative albums. From there you go into "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill", "I Apologize", "Books About UFO's" and the albums masterpeice, "Celebrated Summer".

Not only is "Celebrated Summer" an absolute classic song, one that I revere for its great melody, and lyrics about summer like, "Getting drunk out on a beach/or playing in a band" that I can relate so many summers to, but this seems to predict every early 90's band's sound as well. We have acoustic guitar quiet openers, distortion coming in halfway through the verse, and the chorus is a joyously loud outburst of energy. The Pixies did not invent 'quiet-LOUD-quiet', in fact on the posters they used to hang up when they were looking for a bassist, they stated their main two influences as Husker Du, and Peter Paul and Mary. Listening to 'New Day Rising', it's fairly obvious that it's an extremely rough, lost Pixies album, with more of a punk influence.

'New Day Rising' has the same sound as 'Zen Arcade', but where they make it really count, is immediacy. The only truly skippable tracks are the last two noise songs, and every once in a while I'll let them close out the album, they're not bad, it's just the rest of the album completely eclipses them. This is Husker Du at their prime, and one of the best 'alternative' albums of the 80's.
91/100

Been meaning to get some more Husker Du for years (I've only got Zen Arcade, which I really should dig out again sometime soon) Very much looking forward to hearing this one when I can - great review (again) :)

Although "Murmur" by R.E.M. is consistently reffered to as the beginning of alternative rock moving on from post-punk, I think this album does a much better job. This album is more than just jangle-pop, and although I can't really make a completely worthwhile opinion since I havent heard all of "Murmur", this is a better album. The Violent Femmes have that Holden Caulfield-esque relatability that I call the Richman factor, since the first album that I feel excecutes this perfectly is the Modern Lovers first album. Other bands I would classify as possesing the Richman factor are Neutral Milk Hotel and Daniel Johnston, and it's defined by simple naive lyrics that are sort of anti-teenage-when Beat Happening sings about holding hands after sex, when The Modern Lovers sing about wanting a girl they care about rather than a one night stand, and on this album when The Femmes sing about trying to get just one kiss in "Add It Up", an album highlight.

Lyrically, this is naive, vulnerable, and completely relateable to me, the 12th grade loner in 2006. On top of all that, the songs are all solid, and this is a great example of an album with no filler. It opens with "Blister in The Sun" the great 80's alternative sing-along, and if you like the sound on this song-the off kilter singing, the drum set being played with brushes, the acoustic instuments that are being played as though they were being plugged in at the SUperdome, than theres not much I could fathom having fault with throughout the album.

Another great thing about this album, is that the breakthrough originality is in the sound-other than that, these are simple, well made pop songs, which of course has all been done before. But because the sound is so unique, and the lyrics so personal, it's easy to fall in love with. Take "Please Do Not Go" with it's reggae beat and typical Femmes lyrics. It could have been written years before as a generic reggae song, but The Femmes add so much personality and orinality with their sound that the songs attains a sort of brilliance that is greater than the sum of its parts.

This is the first 80's album that I really fell in love with, and proved to me that that decade often shunned for bands like Duran Duran and Motley Crue, had so much to offer underneath its glossy vapid surface. I thought of it as striking oil in a desert, this album being the first of many oil fields I would stumble upon in 2006, not to mention the ones I continue to find over two years later.
92/100

^^^

One album that I would love to check out.

Ha, d'you know, I was only looking at that album the other day thinking the same thing.

Too many albums, too little time.

I think if I had made this list in 2006 rather than now, this album would have been #2 or #3, because I LOVED this album when I first heard it. And the reason why it's higher now isn't because it's gotten stale over the years-it's still just as fantastic as when I first popped it into my CD player-it's just that alot of albums that I wasn't listening to that year that were less immediate didn't get played as often, and only now have a realized how wonderful they are.

In any case, this is one of the best punk albums ever made. I absolutely adore 70's punk, but unforunately, it's more of a singles genre than one that put out great albums. Out of the hundreds of seventies punk bands I've listened to, theres maybe only 10-12 solid albums that I've heard, this being one of them. You have the obvious great songs here- the singles, "Blank Generation" and "Love Comes In Spurts", and if this was any other punk band, there might be one MAYBE two other good songs. Howver, of the ten songs on this album, only the last one do I have a distaste for, and it's more over the length, "The Plan" clocks in at over eight minutes, than the quality. No, you have "New Pleasure" one of my favorite Voidoids tunes, "Down at The Rock and Roll Club", and an awesome cover of "Walking on the Water" by CCR.

The Voidoids sound is basically a combination of Richard Hell's previous two bands, The Heartbreakers and Television. His songs have the basic rock and roll structure of the Heartbreakers, but the post-punk guitar workings of Television, thanks to Robert Quine, one of the best guitarists of the era. The guitar playing on this album really makes this album, along with the energy, which is one of the most important factors for me when listening to an album. To me, the Voidoids have much more energy than the Heartbreakers, while also having a much more unique sound, which is why I will always rate Richard Hell above Johnny Thunders.

Theres another reason why Richard Hell is better than Thunders-he's an absolutely brilliant songwriter. Take for example the song "Blank Generation", where Richard affectionately retells the story of his birth,


This is nt your average punk song, no, this is far wittier and more cerebral than 99% of what was out there in 1977. Don't forget Richard Hell was in Television, and good friends with Tom Verlaine, and that before punk rock came along, they wanted to be poets. This is one of the reasons why I fucking hate when people hear The Clash and The Sex Pistols, and dismiss punk rock altogether. Albums like this, that have almost nothing in common with the thick headed, 'I hate everything', three chord ramones/pistols rip off punk. This is not that. Listen to this album and tell me punk rock has nothing to offer, I dare you.
93/100

And don't that sum up life.

I dare you to find a larger, more eclectic collection of music released that is not a compilation or box set, that holds up as well as this does. Somehow Stephen Merrit put out 69 songs on one release, the majority of which are solid, and even the ones that are not, never ruin the album(s). I use the interchangeable plural there because you can think of this as one huge release, or three volumes, which is the way I purchased it. In any case, all three volumes are solid enough to place the entire work as my 16th best music purchase of 2006.

When you have 69 tracks, three albums worth of material, theres plenty of room to reach out into other genres, and that's exactly what Merritt does here. You have the piano ballad, "I Don't Believe In The Sun", the Johnny Cash tribute, "Chicken With It's Head Cut Off", an electro-pop gem "I don't Want to Get Over You", the crooner, "My Sentimental Melody", and the wonderful epic, "Sweet Lovin' Man". And that's just on the first CD, admittedly the best of the three, but that's not to say there arent plenty of other gems on the other two parts.

Theres three things that make this such a solid release to me, one is how different all of the songs are, all the genre hopping, which I already mentioned. Another is how solid all these songs are melodically. I have The Magnetic Fields' first two albums, "i", and "Distortion", and although I like those albums, they're spotty at best. Theres generally 2 or 3 AWESOME songs, 3 or 4 decent ones, and the rest filler. On the entirety of 69 Love Songs, theres maybe only 10-15 songs I don't care for, the bulk of which are under 1:30 anyway, so they never disrupt the amazing flow of this album, a flow driven by well written melodies, and-ah! The third thing I love about this album, the lyrics.

Stephen Merritt is one of my favorite lyricists. For me, the best kind of lyrics, are simple, yet tightly constructed, and very witty. That sums up the whole of this album, it's all very witty, cutesy, simple, yet you can tell the man behind them is very intelligent. Take the lyrics of "The Night You Can't Remember", about a dancer taking advantage of and marrying a drunken sailor, with the chorus, "The night you can't remember...the night I can't forget!" or the bridge in, "I Think I Need A New Heart", in which Merritt laments his incapacity for love, "Because I always say 'I love you' when I mean 'turn out the light'/and I say 'let's run away' when I mean 'just stay the night'". These aren't just love songs, in alot of them, the narrator is a bitter, heartless douchebag. This is another reason why the album is so listenable, it's not just some mushy singer-songwriter album-theres a wealth of emotions, instruments, attitudes, singers (theres three different singers on this album, including a female, and Merritt himself), themes-Merritt has 69 tracks on this release, but he uses all the space to it's fullest extent, and covers just about every facet and genre of pop music created in the 40 years before the release of this masterpeice. And the fact that he does all of that in a mere three hours worth of music is a true testament to the genius of this album. No, theres nothing new here, but these 69 songs not only instill a passion for the past of pop music, but hope that in the future, that in another 40 years perhaps a performer as witty and talented as Merritt can create another perfect summary of pop music, using 69 Love Songs as a touchstone.
95/100

Same here. That's why I could only do a list like this, where it's limited to what I've heard, because if I were to do something like "My favorite albums of the 90's" I know thered be stuff I'd leave out that would make it worthless to me in 5 years.

What a fantastic example of people making the album they were meant to make.

In retrospect, I can't think of any album that would have brought me out of the depths of classic rock worship into the bright light of 80's alternative rock faster than The Replacements' 'Let It Be' could have. This album is the perfect bridge between the 70's and 80's, and the first album I always bring up (of course, to blank confused faces) when people trapped in 1973 say the 80's had nothing to offer.

"Let It Be" is for the most part split three ways between loud, fast punk songs, fun catchy pop-rock songs, and tender ballads. This is a very eclectic album, so of course it's high up on my list. The album opener, "I Will Dare" has a fantastic chorus, and even a mandolin part that makes putting on this album that's essentially by a punk band an easy listen. "Let It Be" can fool you, at times, into thinking that you're listening to a different band entirely-that's a strong point of an album, while in the hands of a lesser band, could easily be a weak one.

This is sloppy rock n' roll/power pop, or as The Replacements referred to themselves, 'Trash Rock'. If you enjoy tight sounding generic music performed by perfectionist robots, this is not your album. If you appreciate passion more than technical ability, if you appreciate genre crossing more than avant garde experimentation, if you always thought pop was done better by the bands that weren't popular, than "Let It Be" is for you.
95/100


1 I Will Dare (3:18)
2 Favorite Thing (2:19)
3 We're Comin' Out (2:21)
4 Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (1:53)
5 Androgynous (3:11)
6 Black Diamond (2:40)
7 Unsatisfied (4:01)
8 Seen Your Video (3:08)
9 Gary's Got a Boner (2:28)
10 Sixteen Blue (4:24)
11 Answering Machine 3:40

Okay, so I've decided to revive this thread. Only this time, it won't just be albums from a specific year, it'll be anything I want. That way I won't get bored or discouraged and have to abandon the thread. So if any mods want to rename the thread "Brad Stengel's Magical Musical Orgy of Sound", it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm in the mood to write, so I think right now Im just going to start reviewing everything in my collection alphabetically, from 45's to full lengths, starting with...

!!!

"Take Ecstasy With Me (45 rpm)"

I basically bought this last summer because I wanted to check out '!!!', and also, it's a cover of my favorite Stephen Merritt song. The song is a beautiful dreamy pop song on the surface, but if you listen a little closer, the lyrics are actually about a *** couple getting the shit kicked out of them, ("A vodka bottle gave you those raccoon eyes"). A perfect tune.

Now, as far as !!!'s cover, they do a great job. They give it the dance music treatment, and drag the song out for 7 minutes (the original is like 3 or 4 minutes long), but in a good way. It's a melody I want to hear for that long, and although Stephen Merritt's absurdly deep vocals aren't present, Nic Offer does a fine job. While I still prefer the original, this is everything I hope for in a cover tune: !!! make the song their own while still maintaining everything great about the original.

The B-Side, "Get Up" is your standard dance-punk fare, though it's not entirely dismissable. I particularily enjoy the drawn out noisy bits over the pounding drums. Relistening to this reminds me that I still need to hear an album from these guys, anyone who dares to cover my favorite Magnetic Fields song and leave me satisfied is worth repeated listens as far as I'm concerned.

8/10

Deerhunter has a lot to live up to after the success of their three previous releases, 'Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.', the 'Fluorescent Grey' EP, and 'Cryptograms', this not even taking into account how great all of the music Bradford Cox's solo project Atlas Sound has released for free on Deerhunter's blog. Thankfully, 'Rainwater Cassette Exchange' adds to Deerhunter's extremely solid discography.

The tracks on 'Rainwater Cassette Exchange' all debuted (save 'Game of Diamonds') as live versions posted online in an entire Deerhunter set. It should be noted that these versions are all much different than the actual studio release. A friend of mine and equally obsessive Deerhunter fan mentioned hearing these live versions and being disappointed by the straightforward 'Strokes-y' sound. Deerhunter however are notorious for making music that is orgasmic to listen to with headphones, and they truly deliver adding theremin, bongos, and sound collages to the Microcastle-esque pop songs contained within.

The albums highlight is by far 'Famous Last Words'. Reported by the blogs as being perhaps the poppiest Deerhunter song as of yet when the live version emerged, Deerhunter still prevent any mainstream access by adding off-kilter guitar leads, theremin(!), and lyrics about a boy being run over by a truck while skateboarding to the mix, giving it that signature 'catchy but fucked up' Deerhunter sound.

The only thing about this EP I'm not head-over-heels in love with is the version of 'Game of Diamonds' presented. Don't get me wrong- the version on this is great, it's just that the version posted as a demo on the Deerhunter blog was another thing entirely. With one of the loudest guitar tracks I've ever heard, the original 'My Bloody Valentine as a 60's pop group' version is superior.

Overall, an excellent new member of the Deerhunter discography will satisfy any fan of the band, although now I'm going to be anxious for a new album until 2010. At least Atlas Sounds' 'Logos' is slated for release this year.
84/100

Hey MusicBanter reader.

Do you like punk rock?
Do you like James Brown?

If you answered yes to both of these, download this NOW.

If you answered no, download this anyway. If you still don't like it do yourself a favor and see them live anyway. The nudity, energy, and banana throwing will provide the best live music performance you'll ever see, I guarantee it. Look up shows in your area now.
88/100

Highlights: How Can I Keep You (Outta Harms Way), I Wanna be A Girl, Land of the Freak

I have last years release:

King Khan & His Shrines - The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines based on the cover art alone and really liked it

http://www.pastemagazine.com/article...es_300x300.jpg

Have you heard this:

http://www.auralexploits.com/ebay_im...eInBlack_1.jpg

This came out a few years earlier and is an actual cover album of Soul & Funk tunes done sorta Garage/punk style and is well worth a listen. I have it if needed.

I'm looking for that on Soulseek now. 'What Is!?' is much better than his greatest hits, IMO.

Woah, I didn't know !!! covered a Magnetic Fields song, mad props to them.. I love that tune.

This album is fucking sick, especially the feedback utilized in a few songs, notably 'The Thing'. Anything else you know of that sounds like this?

Also, holy shit I had know idea this came out 8 years ago I legit thought this was from the seventies, mainly from the cover but, oh man, tell me this group is still around?

I'm glad you liked it. Unfortunately I don't know of anythin similarg. Holler back if you do find anything similar though please.

As I write this, my ex-girlfriend/roomate is ****ing some dude in our room, my n, b, and space bar keys are broken, and im shattered on the pullout couch, writing on a site for music nerds. ALIEN LANES is playing, and I can't help but feel the same identifiability and warmth as I did years earlier when I first heard PAVEMENT's second album.

This is healing pop music, like NMH. It's like Picasso, yeah, you think you coulda done it, but you didn't, did you?

Modern art in general really.

It's about Vanilla Ice and his girlfriend at the time, Madonna.
Malkmus was referring to pictures of Madonna of her with fingers in her mouth.

Here's the happy couple

Moderator cut: image removed

New!
 

So after an extremely brief hiatus, I've decided to revive this journal. I know it hasn't been long since I've last posted, but I feel as though I may have to alter the format a bit to reflect my more recent tastes.

So further on out, the entries posted here shall be...


Entries will be brief, and when able I'll link to the actual youtube (if it's only on youtube live I won't even bother. Feel free to contribute your own discoveries as the amount of music in these genres is pretty much infinite, even if you add a time constraint.

Hey! Nice to see you around again! :)

100.Charlie and the Moonhearts- "Thunderbeast"
2008, Laguna Beach, CA

Kind of a messy noisy mess that attempts briefly during the verses to latch on to a surf rhythm. I have the album (same title as the song) and this is the only track I remember being worth mentioning

99.The Traditional Fools- "Layback!!!"
2008, San Francisco, CA

If you've ever heard The Untamed Youth's "Pabst Blue Ribbon", you pretty much understand the idea of this song. Super simple variations on one riff, pausing to yell the title. This is one of the punchier sounding selections from the surf-punk vaults however, making it worthy of the list.

98.El Paso Hot Button- "Snake Boy Lives in the Mississippi"
2007, Oklahoma City, OK

The first of many one-man-sludge-blues bands. Personally, when it comes to blues, especially newer stuff, I strictly only take to the really filthy recordings. Not necessarily poor quality, I just like it to sound like you're going to have to scrape the mud out of your speakers after, which this song definitely does an excellent job of. Ruining your electronics.

97.Intelligence- "Garbage in, Garbage Out"
2005, Seattle, WA

Now is a good time to point out that as I start this list, the lions share of less poppy tracks are going to be more concentrated in the 90's through 50's of this list. Personally, I'll take a well crafted pop tune over a pile of noise 9 times out of 10. That being said, these noisier punk songs still have a lot to them. This one's got a winning combo of bullhorn vocals, out of tune sludgy guitar work, and a drum beat in desperate need of a defibrillator.

96.The Hunches- "Ate My Teeth"
2009, Portland, OR

Another noisy track, much faster though, and even with a (saxophone?) obnoxiously wailing at the end. This one kind of goes the opposite direction as "Garbage In, Garbage Out", as it chaotically attempts to switch gears periodically.

After reading that sticky from Urban, I'm gonna try to keep the youtube posts to a minimum. That being said, here's The Hunches!

95. The Glamour Pussies- "Wont Take It Up the Ass"

The Glamour Pussies do some pretty abrasive punk songs, this one sounding similar to a lot of early 80's hardcore. From what I can make out from the lyrics, somebody is on "the rag", and they only use their asses, "to go poo". It sounds juvenile, (and it is to an extant, as should be most punk) but it's good punk rock, Kathleen Hannah would be proud.

94. Cheap Time- "Penny and Jenny"

The first of several cuts in this list featuring Jeffrey Novak, an extraordinarily under-looked figure in the national scene. This is his most "punk" band, his other projects focusing on whimsy Kinks fetishism and one man band blues scum. You may remember Cheap Time getting brief coverage on Pitchfork when Jay Reatard was blowing up, as they were both on the excellent label In the Red. Overall I don't find Cheap Time to be anything that special aong similar Tennessee acts, but this is still a really tight, spunky little ditty.

93. Magic Kids- "Good to Be"

As I made my list closer towards the top, I realized a lot of the punk/garage got poppy enough to be considered straight up indie-pop. I still couldn't tell you the difference between the genres when fidelity is taken out of the equation. This is a simple guitar back, with some hand-claps, goofy vocals, and an entire keyboard orchestra. Catchy as hell, although I admit it does get a bit too happy-go-lucky for me at times. In any case, excellent feel-good music.

92. Boston *****s- "Swollen Useless"

Let me start by respectfully admitting that the A-Side "Let It All Go" by Jay Reatard is one of the greatest punk/garage songs of all time, and virtually everything put onto a B-Side of such a track would be disappointing. In any case, this track still does maintain an extremely high level of quality on Side B, making this one of my favorite 45's of all time (Not that I own a hard copy-this is strict music collector's theory from the digital age) An excellent balance between fun catch and an urgency underlined by some excellent guitar work.

91. Crusaders of Love- "Next Summer"

Like I stated before, this genre is truly endless, and despite making this list in advance (eventually if anybody's interested I'd be happy to message you all these tracks), I found this one merely hours ago. Luckily It's still early in the list, and since I've decided to use only one track from each group, it makes it easy to make room to insert artists I've overlooked. A somber, sloppy sad garage song from France. It nails everything that it hammers towards.

90. Dan Melchior und Das Menace- "Williamsburg, Brooklyn"

This is a simple pop song with a hilarious message. "All these musicians that don't write any songs; let's relocate them to ghettos in the city; the Starbucks will pop up before long"

[CENTER]

89. Needy Visions- "Endless Possibilities"

Excellent pop song. All of this music is my pop, you see, despite its anti-mainstream characteristics.

88. Dum Dum Girls- "Catholicked"

Excellent girl punk. I wish there were more female bands for me to comment on honestly. Bullhorn vocals despite low guitar.

87. Catholic Boys- "Psycho Voodoo Mind Control"

Very abrasive, yet poppy. This band does an excellent of being tough, and yet listenable. Get it NOW.

86. The Intellectuals- "Go to The Beach With Cinnamon Girl"

Generic, wonderful Garage Punk. The dude who made the compilation I took most of this from is Italian, so there's a good deal of Italian Garage. It all RULES though. good for them.

85. Estrogen Highs- "Friends, Family, LSD"

This is one of those songs that doesn't need to be heavily distorted because the energy is simply in the music. They also came out with a record last year! I haven't heard it. This song has my approval, however.

84.The Dirtbombs- "All My Friends Must Be Punished"

"Ultraglide In Black" is the go-to album, (It was actually recommended to me through this site), but this is the illest of jams. Very laid back vocals against a cacophony of garage riffs.

83.FNU Ronnies- "Meat"

This sounds like you would get injured if you were to see it live.

82.Apache Dropout- "Shot Down"

If it weren't so lo-fi, this could be a White Stripes single. The break sounds exactly like Pink Floyd. DOWNLOAD IT.

To tell you the truth, the "rateyourmusic" user that supplies all of my garage rock rated this #1 of 2011. I disagree, but maybe you wont!



Apache Dropout - Shot Down [2011] - YouTube

81.Bad Sports- "Stuff"

The brilliance behind this track is that anybody reading this right now could have wrote it, despite that it's an imeccable pop track, between the buried backups, and the brief start/stops.


Bad Sports - Stuff - YouTube

75. Ed Schrader's Music Beat- "When I'm In A Car"

I saw Ed first opening for Deerhunter/Dan Deacon/No Age on their "round robin" tour. Blew me away. One man and a snare drum had more energy than the 12 guys I payed to see. He got a bassist but he's still every bit as good.

74. Reigning Sound- "Time Bomb High School"

Probably the leaders of the garage rock scene since the Exploding Hearts died. Excellent chorus. They still make good music, this one is my favorite though.

73. Thee Makeout Party!- "Wreckless Epic"

Really epic adolescent jam. That's what this is all about though. Never heard the rest of the album. Probably sucks to be honest.

72. The Bobbyteens- "Be My Baby"

Very excellent "girl-punk" although I hate the term. None of these women are attractive, solidifying the music as amazing.

71. Batman and Robin- "Whatever, I Hate Rock and Roll"

"Oh Batman, do you like rock and roll music?"
"Whatever. I hate rock and roll, Robin"

80-76 is missing. Please fix, mods.

There's nothing there, though.

There was.....


Well, this sucks. I suppose I'll rewrite it.


First I think I'll murder everything within 10 feet of me.