PuffyPat's Top 50 Albums v WE DID IT!

[PuffyPat]

I'm glad I was able to open the door to some hip-hop that enjoyed! Contrary to what many believe, it's not all bad.

[sneakyblueberry]

its actually the only TMV album ive been able to geet into (its also where i started).

FYI, i listened to some rap cuz of your list. i probs wouldnt normally, but your writeups musta had an effect. also, i enjoyed much of what i heard.

What'd you listen to?

[Lolzeez]

Love that QOTSA album. Song For The Dead (the song) is such a jam. 

[PuffyPat]

Love that QOTSA album. Song For The Dead (the song) is such a jam. 

Oh yeah. And live, they take it to an entirely different level that just blows minds. Especially now with the new drummer Jon Theodore, things have really taken on a new identity, and I love it.

[pain of occupation]

its actually the only TMV album ive been able to geet into (its also where i started).

FYI, i listened to some rap cuz of your list. i probs wouldnt normally, but your writeups musta had an effect. also, i enjoyed much of what i heard.

What'd you listen to?

mostly just good kid, mAAd city

[sneakyblueberry]

its actually the only TMV album ive been able to geet into (its also where i started).

FYI, i listened to some rap cuz of your list. i probs wouldnt normally, but your writeups musta had an effect. also, i enjoyed much of what i heard.

What'd you listen to?

mostly just good kid, mAAd city

[PuffyPat]

Kendrick is the best in the game, and he's just getting started.

[PuffyPat]

4. A Great Big Pile of Leaves – Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex? (2010)



I’ve listened to a lot of indie pop in the past few years, and these guys are the best in the biz. The record takes you back to when life was simpler: when you could just run around with your friends all day not worrying about the future, and getting a scrape on your knee just meant you’d run a little funny for a few minutes. Being a kid was a much easier time for most people, and this album is the perfect representation of what it felt like to just not care.

It’s easy to tell that the band took a lot of time and effort putting together an album that they really loved and were very proud of. There’s not one song that you could do without or replace. It’s one of the most fun albums I’ve ever heard, and it never gets old. The lyrics aren’t serious, but the music is serious as it gets in terms of quality, especially for that fact that it was self-recorded, and self-released. This record draws on a lot from their previous two EPs, The Fiery Works, and The Fiery Works II, but with a more streamlined approach. There’s more fluidity and consistency which makes it a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end, and seems fresh with every subsequent listen. I’ve listened to this record hundreds of times, and I always seem to find something that I had missed the previous hundred times. There are not many records that can do that, especially on such a small budget, and this one achieves more than you can fathom (especially on only one listen). I always look forward to giving this record a spin because of all of the nuances that have escaped me in all of my previous listens, and all of the memories of being a kid without a care in the world. There’s something for everyone on this record, and it only takes one listen to realize that this is a special one.

Nostalgia hasn’t always been my thing, but this record is the perfect blend of guitar noodling, intricate drum parts, and eating an ice cream bar from an ice cream truck on a not too warm summer’s day. When you have musicians who don’t take themselves seriously, but take their craft very seriously, and have the work ethic to rival even the busiest, you get a high quality product that can stand the test of time. I can definitely say that I’m proud to call these guys my friends not just because they make some of the best music that has come out in a long time, but because they’re extremely hard working, and well deserving of every single bit of praise that they get, and I’m excited to see them continue to grow as a band, and contribute even more extremely high quality music to the world.

Favorite Song(s): Racecar Driving, We Don't Need Our Heads, Lean to Share, Vampires in Love, A Few Screws Loose, Alligator Bop,

[Outcrier]

Kendrick is the best in the game, and he's just getting started.

He got robbed at the Grammys (Album of the Year and Best Rap Album), not that i care too much but

[bl5150]

 

Don't keep us in suspense 

[PuffyPat]

Well, this is embarrassing. I totally forgot I was doing this. I guess all the sitting around really got to my memory. There's only two after this one, and one of the write ups is already done, so this should be over with in a matter of a few days. Now, without further ado, let's get this done.

3.   John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (1965)



This is a jazz symphony. There’s no other way to explain it. John Coltrane was a genius, and his playing wasn’t half bad either. Before the 60s he had a much more conventional approach to music, but as his career continued, his playing and composing developed into something more than what anyone expected. I’m not an expert on jazz or Coltrane, but it doesn’t take an expert to realize that this man was out of everyone else’s league when it came to jazz in the 1960s. He was ahead of the game, and when A Love Supreme came out, he somehow outdid his entire legacy up to the point, and cemented his place in music history.

It’s nearly impossible to talk about John Coltrane without at least mentioning A Love Supreme.  It’s one of his best works (my personal favorite), and one of the best jazz recordings, and simply one of the best albums of all time. It’s truly a masterwork that can be looked upon when talking about the best jazz recordings, or just the best music out there. I find that the best time to listen to this album is when I’m making breakfast at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning. It’s the perfect morning music, although it works whenever you feel like listening to it. Now, I’m not the most educated when it comes to jazz music, but there isn’t a need for a large background in jazz to realize that this record was special now, and when it was released over 50 years ago. There’s a lot going on in this record, and the talent that were in the studio really got the most out of their respective instruments to combine for such a breathtaking musical experience.

There really isn’t much more to say about this record other than to check it out. Whether you’re into jazz or not, I think you’ll find that this has something that will appeal to you if you’re a fan of music.


 

[Big Hath]

great one!  Funny you mentioned it is perfect morning music.  It's one of my go to albums on Sunday mornings.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I've been meaning to listen to Coltrane. I did hear most of Interstellar once, and I quite enjoyed it, though I understand it was one of his more experimental works.

[jsem]

While my jazz preferences lie in swing and hard bop, there is a reason this is my avatar. Flawless.

[Onno]

I really need to check that one out.

[PuffyPat]

2. Brand New – Deja Entendu (2003)



2010 was a tough year for me, and this record was there to keep me going. I know, it’s the stereotypical “Brand New SPEAK to me,” but honestly, they really do. This album is what kept me from slipping away from reality and into a deep depression. I was already detached from the rest of the world, but I was able to cling to music to keep my head above the water. I don’t know exactly why I was so enamored with this record, but I’m glad it was there because I have no idea what would have happened if I didn’t have it.

I first heard of this record around the time everyone else did when they had a big hit with “The Quit Things No One Ever Knows,” but I never pursued it any further. Even with the other couple singles that achieved significant airplay, I still felt no urge to hear the rest of it. Fast forward a few years, and my older siblings were starting to get into Brand New, so as most younger kids do, I followed what the older kids were doing. A lot of the stuff that my brother and sister liked didn’t always stick with me, but this band, and this album in particular really wowed me. from start to finish I was captivated by every moment. Jesse Lacy (vocals/guitar) is one of the best lyricists, and he is able to craft songs that can mean something to almost anyone. Along with stellar songwriting, the musicianship on this record is phenomenal. There are a lot of alt rock bands out there, some better than others, but it says something when a band like Brand New can, not only be a better band, but have better songwriting. Over the years I’ve heard a lot of music that people say is similar to Brand New, and while a lot of them sound similar, they’re just missing the togetherness that Brand New has been able to achieve album after album (and this one in particular).

This was originally my number one, but I was doing a write up for another album on my list, I knew that it had to have the top spot instead. However, that doesn’t take away the fact that I love this album more than almost every record I’ve ever heard.

Favorite Song(s): Jaws Theme Swimming, The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows, Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades, Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die, I Will Play my Game Beneath the Spin Light

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I swear, you got most of these albums from my "to check out" list.

I've enjoyed what I heard from The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, but I haven't gone any further than that.

[PuffyPat]

I swear, you got most of these albums from my "to check out" list.

I've enjoyed what I heard from The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, but I haven't gone any further than that.

I would highly recommend checking out their other albums. The Devil and God is widely considered their best, but this one and Daisy, I feel, are better.

[Mladen]

Ooh, a nice pick! I got into Brand new this January, and even though this album is solid, I definitely like The Devil and God are raging inside me and Daisy much, much better. The Tommy Gun song from this album is brilliant, though.

[PuffyPat]

Well, this is it, guys. We're finally at number one. Thank you to all of you who followed, commented, and also to those who only saw this once, or even those who saw the thread and made an effort ignore it. I had a lot of fun doing this, and thoroughly appreciate all of the people who have stuck around these past couple months. I honestly didn't think anyone was going to really care, but you proved me wrong. One of my favorite things is sharing my favorite music with other people, and it's really great when someone actually discovers something that they like, and I really think that happened more than once during this list, so thank you again, everyone, for making this more than just me posting in an ghost town of a thread.

So now that I've got that out of the way, it's time for the most anticlimactic #1 reveal with an album that I am almost 100% sure none of you have ever heard of (which fits nicely with the rest of my list):

1.   Karate – In Place of Real Insight (1997)



The 1990s were a great time for music. People were making money of everything, and the music industry was flourishing. Lost in all of the chaos was a small indie rock band from Boston called Karate. Their jazz influence was bursting from the seams of their punk infused jams, and their albums ensnared those lucky enough to hear them to come back for more. However, apart from a network of devout fans, they never really caught on, and after 12 years of touring the world, they were gone without so much as a detailed Wikipedia page, but not before they recorded six fantastic albums, and several EPs.

I’ve only listened to four of their six albums extensively (since they won’t be coming out with any more I’m taking my time), but In Place of Real Insight is by far my favorite of theirs. This is the one album that they released when they had four members, and it really opened up their music. Having two guitarists gave both players an opportunity to be more creative with their parts because there was someone else that was there to play an accompanying part that added depth to the compositions that couldn’t be there with only one guitar. The other benefit to having two guitarists, is that if both of the sing, and in this case they did, the possibility for a back and forth on the vocal end is possible, which added yet another element to this album that is not heard on any of their others which really stuck out to me (and still does). When all of the musicians are as talented as those that were featured on this record, there are such high possibilities that can occur, and with this album, they were somehow able to overachieve. It’s definitely more rock oriented than their future music, which had a lighter, jazzier tone, and while their other records are just as good musically, In Place of Real Insight just has an energy that over shadows the other five records.

Since the end of Karate, the members have all gone on to do other things, and it seems like the chances of a reunion get slimmer with each day that passes, if there was any chance at all. Only one of the members, frontman/mastermind Geoff Farina, is still in music, but the music he plays is much less rock oriented, and more engrained in folk due to hearing damage caused by years of being in the greatest band to ever exist. Karate lives on in the memories of those who were fans in their heyday, and those, like me, who are lucky enough to have friends who were fans of the band, and turned them on to their music. I’ll keep praying for a reunion, but for now I’ll have to make do with what they left behind.

Favorite Song(s): New New, New Martini, It's 98 Stop, Wake Up, Decide, Die Die

[bl5150]

I've hardly heard of any of it , but enjoyed following   

[PuffyPat]

I've hardly heard of any of it , but enjoyed following   

Thanks for sticking around, man.

[Mladen]

Oh yeah, I remember you liking these guys. I did check out Unsolved a while ago, and only Sever stood out, but I've been spinning that song quite a bit since. But with so much great music out there, I wonder if I'll ever be not lazy to give them another chance.