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Essential albums?

  
  

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+#'s, - names
04:30 / 12.01.04
Number Nun's Desert Island Discs:
Boredoms - Vision Creation New Sun
Brian Jonestown Massacre - Methadrone
Add N to X - On the Wires of Our Nerves
Psychic Tv - Pagan Day
David Bowie - Lodger, Heroes, Honky Dory & Station to Station
Wendy Carlos & Various Others - Clockwork Orange Soundtrack
Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Kool Keith - Sex Style
Hawkwind - Space Ritual

But that is just my mood right now, listening to the new Liars right now, have become obsessed with it over the last 26 hours, too soon to tell if it will stay as strong on repeat listenings.
 
 
diz
06:44 / 12.01.04
In my opinion "...And Justice For All" is when Metallica started their slide downhill, whereas "Ride the Lightning" has them at the top of their game

i would say that Ride the Lightning is right before their peak, and ...And Justice for All is right after, which would put Master of Puppets at the peak itself. if you only want one Metallica album, that's the one.
 
 
Cop Killer
21:29 / 12.01.04
I think that their first three albums are them at the top of their game, actually, and I'd recommend Kill 'Em All before Master Of Puppets, but that's just me. I'd put Show No Mercy or Reign In Blood by Slayer before any Metallica, because I think Slayer is the peak of thrash metal. And while metal is being talked about, by me, at least, I'd like to throw out Welcome To Hell and Black Metal by Venom, because that's where the whole black metal thing came from.
 
 
I'm Rick Jones, bitch
21:53 / 12.01.04
But all metal albums are terrible anyway
 
 
rakehell
03:41 / 13.01.04
To avoid rotting this thread with any more talk of metal and nazis, I've started this thread.
 
 
rizla mission
09:53 / 13.01.04
But all metal albums are terrible anyway

resist.. urge to.. respond ..
 
 
40%
15:53 / 13.01.04
Well, what can you expect from someone who recommends "Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" as an essential album?
 
 
Locust No longer
21:08 / 13.01.04
This a really broad thread but I'll put a few of my recommendations down for essential albums:

- PETER BROTZMANN'S "Machine Gun" LP (German/British/Dutch Super-free jazz. Like sticking your head in a orgy of flashing steel and clatter.)

- MINOR THREAT "Discography" (Early '80s DC punk rock; each song kicks ass.)

- JOHN COLTRANE "Crescent" "Interstellar Space" and "Giant Steps" (Really, almost anything by J. Coltrane is essential, but those are my favorites.)

More later....
 
 
De Selby
08:10 / 14.01.04
oooh this is a fun topic - I haven't been here for ages, and this is what I come home to!

Electronica

Autechre - Tri Repetae
Lots of slowed down beats with fucked up noises. Good for any occasion.

Squarepusher - Music is Rotted One Note OR Feed Me Weird Things
Jazzy OR Fucked up breakbeats.

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker EP AND The Richard D. James Album
I love Windowlicker so much. If I could marry a track, it would definitely be that one... so much warmth. And you simply have to have the Richard D. James album, even if its only for Milkman.

Pole - 3
Most of my dreams sound like this. Dubbed out electronica. Sounds kinda like computers having sex.

The Avalanches - Since I Left You
The most fun ever. So many samples, so little record. How did they do it?

DJ Shadow - The Private Press
Shadow changed the rules, just when all the beat thieves were catching up. In many parts, sincere and touching, for the rest its just fun.

Other (because this is what is currently essential)

The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Sister Ray anyone?

Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
I can't believe Rizla didn't include this on his stoner list. Stoner metal for all those flannel wearing bogans.

Tool - Aenima
I've got back into Tool recently and realised the true brilliance of their vision. From start to finish, this is pure tool-like goodness. A friend once called it "The thinking mans metal".

Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
I rant about this all the time. Perfect spliff music.
 
 
juan de marcos
00:50 / 15.01.04
I recently posted something on a simular thread on the site from the Flemish radio station "Studio Brussel". Some guy just started collecting rock music and he wanted advise.


There I basicaly said that the professional critcs would recommend the classic albums from the Beatles//Rolling Stones//Bob Dylan//Elvis Costello//Velvet Underground//and so on but I wouldn't dwell too much on these because you can find those lists everywhere.

So I mentioned that IMHO you can't go wrong with these:

Swans: 'White Light from the Mouth of Infinity' // Leftfield: 'Leftism' // Wire: 'Send' // Ministry: 'The Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste' & 'Psalm 69' // Nine Inch Nails: 'The Downward Spiral' // T.C. Matic: 'T.C. Matic' & 'L'apache' // Metallica: 'Kill'em All', 'Ride The Lightning' & 'Master of Puppets' // Johnny Cash: 2 live albums in the jailhouses of San Quentin and Folsom Prison + everything on American Recordings // Marianne Faithfull: 'Broken English' // NoMeansNo: '0+2=1' & 'Why Do they Call Me Mr Happy?' // Young Gods: 'L'eau Rouge' // Dead Can Dance: 'Toward the Within' // Slayer 'Raining Blood' // Eurythmics: 'Sweet Dreams' // B-52's: 'Play Loud'// Ramones: 'Ramones', 'Leave Home' & 'It's Alive' // Motörhead: 'Ace of Spades' & 'No Sleep 'til Hammersmith' // Godspeed You Black Emperor!: EVERYTHING // Faith No More: 'The Real Thing' // Radiohead: 'OK Computer', 'Kid A' (half of it) & 'Hail to the Thief' // U2: 'Rattle & Hum', 'Achtung Baby', 'Under a Blood Red Sky', ... // Smiths: 'The World Won't Listen' // Chemical Brothers: 'Exit Planet Dust' // The Sisters of Mercy: 'First & Last & Always' and all the EP's before that// Deconstruction (side project with Dave Navarro, pretty much underestimated) // Various Artists: 'Return of Cool 5' // Dead Kennedys: 'Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables' & 'Frankenchrist' // Morphine: 'Yes', 'Good' & 'Cure for Pain' // Diamanda Galas: 'Masque of the Red Death Trilogy' & 'Defixiones, Will and Testament' // Elbow: 'A Cast of Thousands' // Underworld: 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman', 'Dark & Long' (EP) & 'Dirty Epic' (EP) // Front 242: 'Front by Front' & 'Tyranny For You' // Neon Judgement: 'Mafu Cage' // Urban Dance Squad: 'Mental Floss for the Globe' & 'Life'n Perspectives of a Genuine Crossover' // Mano Negra: 'Puta's Fever' // Jane's Addiction: 'Nothing's Shocking' & 'Ritual de lo Habitual' // The Cure: early stuff // Red Hot Chili Peppers: 'The Uplift Mofo Party Plan' // Led Zeppelin: 'Remasters' & 'How the West was Won' // The God Machine: 'Scens from a Second Storey' // AC/DC: 'Highway to Hell' // David Baeerwald: 'Triage' // Beastie Boys: 'Licensed to ill' & 'Ill Communication' // Jello Biafra & D.O.A. : 'Last scream of the Missing Neighbors' (Just because a 14 minutes epic 'Ful Metal Jackoff' ) // Nick Cave ; 'The Firstborn is Dead' & 'Henry's Dream' // Einstürzende Neubauten: 'Halber Mensch', 'Ende Neu & 'Silence is Sexy' // Godflesh: 'Streetcleaner' & 'Selfless' // Jimi Hendrix: 'Are You Experienced?' // Joy Division: 'Heart and Soul' (the ultimate compilation) // Massive Attack: 'Blue Lines', 'No Protection' & 'Mezzanine' // Masters of Reality: 'Sunrise on the Sufferbus' // Moby: 'Play' // Nirvana: 'Bleach', 'Nevermind' & 'Unplugged' // Pixies: 'Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim' // Iggy Pop: 'Lust for Life' & 'The Idiot' // Primus: 'Frizzle Fry' // R.E.M.: 'Document', 'Green' & 'Out of Time' // Sepultura: 'Beneath the Remains' & 'Roots' // Sex Pistols: 'Never Mind the Bollocks' // Sigur Ros: 'Agaetis Byrjun' // Smiths: 'Hatful of Hollow' // S.O.D.: 'Speak English or Die' // Sonic Youth: 'Sister', 'Daydream Nation' & 'Goo' // Soundgarden: 'Louder than Love' & 'Superunknown' // (Iggy Pop &) The Stooges: 'The Stooges', 'Raw Power' & 'Funhouse' // Tindersticks: 'Curtains' // Tool: 'Aenima' & 'Lateralus' // Transvision Vamp: 'Pop Art' // Tricky: some Best Off // The Triffids: 'Born Sandy Devotional' // Various Artists (from now on V A) : '110 Below Volume 1' // V A : 'Full Metal Jacket' // V A : 'Natural Born Killers' // V A: 'Pi' // V A: 'Wit-Lof from Belgium Vol 3: 80's' // ...
 
 
LDones
02:44 / 15.01.04
Here are some of the more magnificent and idea-representative albums I've encountered. Some of these are obvious, but you may not own them. Shamelessly long list ahead...

Dr. Octagon - Octagonacologyst
Kool Keith and the Automator make a record about a rapper/gynecologist from Jupiter who travels back in time through space and a fax machine to open up a gynecological practice, score chicks, murder people, and throw a rap concert. He also has an uncle who is a 208-year-old half shark-alligator, half man. Porn skits and sinister beats meet insane Keith's best work.

MF Doom - Operation Doomsday
What if Dr. Doom was an MC? Wickedly 80's beats and production released in the late 90's - sheer brilliance from start to finish. The Richards family and Ben Grimm help move the proceedings along.

Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
Extremely jazzy early 90's rap record. Cruder and stupider than early Tribe Called Quest records, but more rewarding on repeat listens. "Strobelight Honey" is an old school classic.

Prince - The album w/ the symbol thing on it
Best post-80's Prince record, hands down. "My Name Is Prince", "Sexy MF", "2 The 9's", "Blue Light", "Seven", "The Sacrifice of Victor" all amazing songs that hit home with proper funk/soul sensibilities.

Beastie Boys - The In Sound From Way Out
The obligatory Beasties instrumental record has a really rich and involved sound from start to finish. The monk chanting tracks are a little weird, but still a fantastic album.

Ramones - Ramones & Leave Home
First Ramones album kicks down the door and sleeps with your daughter, bouncing from "Blitzkrieg Bop" to "Judy Is A Punk" all the way to the end with the jaw-dropping "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World". Leave Home rocks ten asses just as hard and fast. The triple-blast of "California Sun", "Commando", and "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" makes me feel like teenage victory and make-out sessions everytime.

Misfits - Earth AD
The fastest, hardest, most fun thrashing sound Danzig ever accomplished. Hopelessly simple music and lyrics, endlessly entertaining. "Green Hell", "Devilock", "We Bite", and "Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?" are anthemic beyond explanation.

Danzig - Danzig IV
Danzig at his post-Misfits best - the perfect encapsulation of All Things Danzig. Dark, hard, soft, fun.

Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin
Lips at their peak. Pretty and sad and silly. About the time I think they realized that you can still be ridiculous and deeply honest & make great art. (Yoshimi's still peak, but this record is more consistent & operatic)

Nirvana - Unplugged In New York
A great farewell to a great band. It doesn't rock hard, but it's a magnificent, melancholy, honest listen.

The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
Probably the best encapsulation of Smiths material. Poppy, crooning, sad-fun w/ that unmistakable 80's guitar.

Oingo Boingo - Boingo Alive
I've met few people outside of southern California that are familiar w/ Boingo (the band Danny Elfman 'Came From'), but they were a preeminent force for death-and-sex obsessed Weirdos & Nerds with a sense of humor in rock from 1980-1995. Largely thought of as an 80's band, with this record they re-did most of their classics and wrote a bunch of new ones, effectively reinventing their sound for the latter third of their career. Extremely fun, extremely catchy songs.

Nina Simone - The Colpix Years & In Concert/I Put A Spell On You
Nina Simone is the Weirdo's standards singer, and these two records give about the best spread selections from her career. "You've Got To Learn", "Tomorrow Is My Turn", "Forbidden Fruit", all amazing. "House of the Rising Sun" and "Go Limp" (hilarious song about love amd the NAACP) are magnificent listens. "Pirate Jenny" is scary as fuck, and "You Can Have Him" is the most devastatingly honest performance of a love song I've ever heard.

Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
Often unfairly referred to as 'twee', Belle & Sebastian's first two-three records were probably the best band that can still be categorized as college-age folk-rock. If you have any interest in them, this is the record to grab. Really solid album from start to finish. "Mayfly", and "Judy And The Dream of Horses" are great songs.

In reference to some above posts - If you don't own The White Album or Deltron 3030 then God Hates You.
 
 
telyn
13:29 / 15.01.04
Reading above there's lots of music which is really heavy sounding. So for some variety:

Kings of Convenience - Quiet is the New Loud

I love this because it is so quiet, just two blokes singing with acoustic guitars, occasionally joined by the odd bit of trumpet or piano or drums. The lyrics are all disfunctional relationships, but the music is peace on a cd (for me at least).

JS Bach - Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin

This isn't an 'album', but you can buy a cd of it. Go for a performance by Arthur Grumiaux for some effortlessly beautiful sounds. This is probably the furthest away you can get from extreme metal. It's worth listening to an entire sonata or partita before making your mind up - the first track is not intended to be heard on its own and isn't representative by itself.

Beth Orton - Daybreaker

A singer song-writer who also makes really lush arrangements. You could go for either of her previous albums (Central Reservation and Trailer Park) and find something lovely there too.

(and another vote for the music of DJ Shadow)
 
 
agvvv
15:47 / 15.01.04
Dj shadow? Pure genius.. I love the mixing of styles, its just so..fresh. And GDMFSOB is just wow..appeals to all the childish anger deep down inside of me love the Brainfreeze album..why aint people talking of that one?
 
 
The Strobe
16:06 / 15.01.04
Because if any Shadow album is not essential, it's probably Brainfreeze. Two mates pissing around rehearsing for a show in which they mix 45s only? Yes, it's great fun, but it's a mix CD. And it's not one of my favourite mix cds. Really, I'd say, the essential ones has to be Endtroducing; the first proper album, the groundbreaker. Though I'm a big fan of Private Press, which is unfarily looked down on; it has a great arc to it, a consistent feel and verges on concept.
 
 
diz
16:55 / 15.01.04
Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
Extremely jazzy early 90's rap record. Cruder and stupider than early Tribe Called Quest records, but more rewarding on repeat listens. "Strobelight Honey" is an old school classic.

oh, hell yes. also contains "the choice is yours," which is definitely belongs in a best of early 90s hip-hop collection.
 
 
agvvv
17:00 / 15.01.04
nah.. I like listening to people pissing around as long as its somewhat interesting or entertaining that is..which I think Brainfreeze is.. agree with you on pp though, in some ways I find it better than Entroducing..
 
  

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