21 August 2012

 Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary - 1994 - For one thing this as a "no skip" album, every song is awesome. Then there is the content, it really is like an introspective and melodramatic teenage diary. Yes it's all "Holden Caulfield," but there is something Shakespearean about it, almost like ancient Greek tragedy. And then there is the intelligent and astounding rhythm section. AND this album started a genre!

Big Brother & The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills - 1968 - This record is a little scratchy, but it almost seems more appropriate that way. This band is so unadulterated, which fits Joplin's voice. And it's approved by the "Frisco" Hell's Angels... rock.

 Black Sabbath - Paranoid - 1970 - This album is very accessible. Yeah it is "dark" and mostly about drugs, but Sabbath's humility is the most obvious thing in their music, that and their lack of polish. No other band writes as heavy and catchy grooves, e.g. "Iron Man" and "War Pigs," not to mention my personal favorite "Electric Funeral."

 

The Psychedelic Furs - Forever Now (US release alternate cover) - 1982 - First of all "Love My Way," really is an amazing song. I can't deny the allure of sarcastic British vocals and synthesizers.

The Faint - Blank Wave Arcade - 1999 - I'll never forget the first time I heard this album, it was such a departure but also the next natural step. They are kind of an 80's throw back band, bass, drums, guitar, and heavy synths that buzz and scream like a Nintendo plugged into a distortion pedal.

Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes - 1972 - Granted I heard the title track for the first time in the movie "Juno." To be fair I already liked Glam... I don't know what I'm trying to justify. It is a great song. This album also has an early version of "Ready for Love" which is a Bad Company song according to the internets. Also there is a sweet cover of "Sweet Jane" originally by the Velvet Underground. huzah!