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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: ReaperKK on April 12, 2023, 09:18:22 PM
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Much like my roulette last year I realized that it's been a while *checks notes* 11 years!! since my last top 50 list. In that time I've listened to more music than ever and really expanded my tastes (for better and worse). There is going to be some new stuff here and some old stuff that didn't make the first top 50 that I've since grown to appreciate more.
Other than the one album per artist rule there won't be much else. In the end I'll also rank this set of 50 against my original set of 50 and see how things shake out.
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Top 50 List:
41. Taylor Swift - Lover (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2995392#msg2995392)
42. Kiss - MTV Unplugged (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2992905#msg2992905)
43. Godsmack - The Other Side (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2992115#msg2992115)
44. Limp Bizkit - Three Dollar Bill, Y'all $ (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2990646#msg2990646)
45. Lucy Rose - No Words Left (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2989696#msg2989696)
46. Wiz Khalifa - The Saga Of Wiz Khalifa (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2988304#msg2988304)
47. Ekcle - Yoja (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2987312#msg2987312)
48. Matthew Halsall - Fletcher Moss Park (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2986395#msg2986395)
49. Neil Crowley & Ben Lukas Boysen - Grains & Motes (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2985150#msg2985150)
50. Russian Circles - Guidance (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58288.msg2984351#msg2984351)
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I wish I'd been able to do a top 50 a decade ago to compare. It seems like such a fun and useful exercise. I'll be casually following.
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Following :corn
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Following.
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Following to see how many Taylor Swift albums finish in this top 50. :hat :hat
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You might be surprised Kev.
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I wish I'd been able to do a top 50 a decade ago to compare. It seems like such a fun and useful exercise. I'll be casually following.
I did one and honestly if I did one now, it probably wouldn’t change much.
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Following! That reminds me, I really need to bump my own thread, oops :lol
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Following and shit. I'm going to put the over/under of me asking 'how the hell did I win your roulette!?!?!' at 17... and I'll take the over.
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Following this for sure.
I'm going to put the over/under of me asking 'how the hell did I win your roulette!?!?!' at 17... and I'll take the over.
The memory of that roulette still stings me a bit :azn:
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Will be keeping an eye on this. Need to make sure mine keeps moving so you don’t pass me!
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I wish I'd been able to do a top 50 a decade ago to compare. It seems like such a fun and useful exercise. I'll be casually following.
I did one and honestly if I did one now, it probably wouldn’t change much.
Well, yours has had more time to be entrenched. If I look at my tentative draft of my current top 50, there are 16 albums that wouldn't have been there a decade ago. About half of those are just different albums from artists that most likely would have been there.
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When the idea came up to do this thread again, I started combing through my RYM profile and then comparing it to my first 50 list. It was really interesting to see how much my music tastes have evolved over time. With that said this list is going to be a mix of old a new and stylistically it’ll be all over the place. The order is mostly a guestimation as a lot of these albums get spun depending on the mood I’m in or how I’m feeling that particular day. This was actually a bit of a problem because I’d save the list, come back and completely change it.
Anyway, enough rambling about nothing, lets ramble about number 50, Russian Circles.
50. Russian Circles – Guidance
(https://i.imgur.com/XGTns6K.jpg)
Over time the genre’s that I’m into have been fairly consistent with one exception, post rock. There was a span of time where a large chunk of my music listening was dedicated to bands like Mogwai and Grails, hell my last list had 5 post rocks album on it. There was a switch over a short period of time where I just fell away from the genre. There were two main reasons for this, the albums sound design aged terribly and the songs often lacked an edge to keep me interested.
Russian Circle’s Guidance was the album that brought me back to the genre. The heaviness of the album was what initially sparked my interest, but there was a lot more to unpack. The songs are short but flow from one another seamlessly and clocking in at just over 40 minutes it’s a ride that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
The album starts with “Asa” the album gives you a beautiful, simple intro before stampeding into “Vorel”. “Vorel” sets the tone for the rest of the album with its bombastic drumming and guitars that are the epitome of sludge. The pacing is so well done here, I feel like the album values your time by having well-constructed songs that seem to peak at the perfect moments before letting your ears catch a break. That said I don’t think this is an easy listen the first go around but it’s definitely worth the listen if you’re a fan of the genre.
I’ve linked the first two songs “Asa (https://youtu.be/U_5VedBIbKA)” and “Vorel (https://youtu.be/vUez-umeBT8)”.
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/2UskUDH7emQ3nBqhDgGhzj?si=BS4z6nMqS52dKRLigxtFqA
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Nice! I started listening to Russian Circles (and generally post-rock) back in 2017. I love post-rock as an album listener, as generally a full album experience is what you get. I could reel off loads of my favourite post-rock albums, but almost no favourite post-rock songs (as in, individual songs I would just want to listen to in a playlist).
Russian Circles are exactly this sort of band for me. They are far from my favourite post-rock band, but I do enjoy them. I was quite underwhelmed by their latest album, and there are some of theirs albums I've yet to check out. I know Guidance is one of the ones I prefer (even if it's been a number of years since I listened) as I have it on my ipod, along with Memorial. I'm going to give it another spin today.
I also saw Russian Circles supporting Mastodon a few years ago, they were great :metal
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Yeah, my favorite post-rock band. Saw them live when they were promoting this album and it's amazing how huge 3 piece band can sound. Nice album but I like Enter and Station more.
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Not sure this is for me.
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Nice! I started listening to Russian Circles (and generally post-rock) back in 2017. I love post-rock as an album listener, as generally a full album experience is what you get. I could reel off loads of my favourite post-rock albums, but almost no favourite post-rock songs (as in, individual songs I would just want to listen to in a playlist).
You kinda hit it on the nail there. There are some exceptions to the rule where I do really like the songs off From Monument To Masses' last record but largely I'm in the same boat regarding single songs.
Yeah, my favorite post-rock band. Saw them live when they were promoting this album and it's amazing how huge 3 piece band can sound. Nice album but I like Enter and Station more.
I really need to go through and listen to their discography sometime. I remember a bit of Station but nothing from Enter
Not sure this is for me.
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Out of general curiosity how do you feel about instrumental only music and artists?
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Nice! I started listening to Russian Circles (and generally post-rock) back in 2017. I love post-rock as an album listener, as generally a full album experience is what you get. I could reel off loads of my favourite post-rock albums, but almost no favourite post-rock songs (as in, individual songs I would just want to listen to in a playlist).
You kinda hit it on the nail there. There are some exceptions to the rule where I do really like the songs off From Monument To Masses' last record but largely I'm in the same boat regarding single songs.
My favourite post-rock band is Crippled Black Phoenix, and they definitely have some individual songs I like, but yea post-rock is fully about the album experience! Out if interest have you heard Crippled Black Phoenix? Tomi will back me up when I say I, Vigilante is an incredible album.
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My favourite post-rock band is Crippled Black Phoenix, and they definitely have some individual songs I like, but yea post-rock is fully about the album experience! Out if interest have you heard Crippled Black Phoenix? Tomi will back me up when I say I, Vigilante is an incredible album.
Yes, one of my favorites when it comes to more atmospheric post-rock. What I like about Russian Circles is that many of their songs are riff based.
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Never heard of them. Vorel was pretty sweet though. Didn't mind that at all.
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Out of general curiosity how do you feel about instrumental only music and artists?
No issue at all. I have many instrumental albums / artists in my library.
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I really need to relisten to their work again. I remember not being overly impressed with them many years ago when checking them out, but I love the song "Memorial" for obvious reasons.
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I love Enter from Russian Circles.
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I saw Russian Circles opening for Coheed and Cambria (with BTBAM second on the bill) just over ten years ago. I remember enjoying it a bit, but I never checked them out further despite seeing the name mentioned quite a few times.
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I saw Russian Circles opening for Coheed and Cambria (with BTBAM second on the bill) just over ten years ago. I remember enjoying it a bit, but I never checked them out further despite seeing the name mentioned quite a few times.
That's quite the line up. I'm kinda surprised to see them touring with Coheed and BTBAM, but a great line up nonetheless.
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Nice! I started listening to Russian Circles (and generally post-rock) back in 2017. I love post-rock as an album listener, as generally a full album experience is what you get. I could reel off loads of my favourite post-rock albums, but almost no favourite post-rock songs (as in, individual songs I would just want to listen to in a playlist).
You kinda hit it on the nail there. There are some exceptions to the rule where I do really like the songs off From Monument To Masses' last record but largely I'm in the same boat regarding single songs.
My favourite post-rock band is Crippled Black Phoenix, and they definitely have some individual songs I like, but yea post-rock is fully about the album experience! Out if interest have you heard Crippled Black Phoenix? Tomi will back me up when I say I, Vigilante is an incredible album.
I've never heard of Crippled Black Phoenix but I did check them out on my drive to Florida and I really liked what I heard. I'll give I, Vigilante a spin when I get back home later this week.
I really need to relisten to their work again. I remember not being overly impressed with them many years ago when checking them out, but I love the song "Memorial" for obvious reasons.
I need to do a proper re-listen sometime soon.
I saw Russian Circles opening for Coheed and Cambria (with BTBAM second on the bill) just over ten years ago. I remember enjoying it a bit, but I never checked them out further despite seeing the name mentioned quite a few times.
That's quite the line up. I'm kinda surprised to see them touring with Coheed and BTBAM, but a great line up nonetheless.
Agreed, that seems like one hell of a lineup.
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Up next I have the shortest album (EP) on the list at under 20 minutes. I'm a big fan of ambient/minimalistic music so when one of the tracks to this album popped up on Discovery playlist on spotify I had to explore. I present to you:
49. Neil Cowley & Ben Lukas Boysen – Grains & Motes
(https://i.imgur.com/p0oiZGe.jpg)
My mind races all the time, I constantly try to do multiple things at once, often failing at them because my focus is all over the place. Years ago I started meditating to help try and center and focus myself, even if it's for those moments where I'm consciously sitting in a dark room. Me being me there was no chance in hell I was going to sit in silence otherwise I'd be sitting there thinking about my day, my job, what would JP be like if he was a bear and if he was a bear would be extra hairy because he'd be an Italian bear? I started playing ambient music to focus on and my tastes slowly grew to really enjoy ambient music in those times I wasn't just focusing on my breath.
One day a song (I can't remember which) came up on my discovery playlist in Spotify that piqued my interest so I checked the album out. What I found was a very somber, slow, piano driven ambient EP that I could get lost in. The album starts with a track called "Solitary Refinement". It contains an interesting electronic drum sample with piano on top. Once "Motes" kicks in you starts to feel a vibe similar to latter Ludovico Einaudi albums with these beautiful chords played on the piano with some slight electronic elements mingling with the piano in the background. This is further exemplified in "A Grain of Truth". Finally you are taken back to another pulsing noise that carries on through most of "Ascent' that climaxes with some electronic keyboard elements very reminiscent of 2010's EDM music.
The EP is short, it was short enough to debate even putting it here but I really enjoy the record. It's quick enough to probably not be called ambient but slow enough that it can be buried in the background of whatever you're, or in my case debating what kind of bear JP would be.
Give “A Grain Of Truth (https://youtu.be/v8wABq2kmYg)” a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/4BTiXKYmwKDOGg25g4FU9M?si=joXDPLodTI-rQTvxiOcEOg
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Give “A Grain Of Truth (https://youtu.be/v8wABq2kmYg)” a spin!
That's a beautiful track. I find that I usually enjoy ambient music when I give it time and attention, but I struggle with it as background music sometimes. I also sometimes have a sense that it's all a bit interchangeable and hard to really remember, but it can be really powerful at times.
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I'm not massively into ambient stuff, but will give this a spin later today :tup
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Give “A Grain Of Truth (https://youtu.be/v8wABq2kmYg)” a spin!
That's a beautiful track. I find that I usually enjoy ambient music when I give it time and attention, but I struggle with it as background music sometimes. I also sometimes have a sense that it's all a bit interchangeable and hard to really remember, but it can be really powerful at times.
I think that is always a hard balance for ambient stuff. Too busy and it's not really ambient, to slow and it just fades away. Brian Eno's music is sort of like that, there just isn't enough for me to latch on to and easily forgettable.
I'm not massively into ambient stuff, but will give this a spin later today :tup
Let me know what you think!
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49. Neil Cowley & Ben Lukas Boysen – Grains & Motes
Never heard of this before, but this is right up my alley.
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I'm not massively into ambient stuff, but will give this a spin later today :tup
Let me know what you think!
Not a bad listen. It's true I don't listen to a lot like this, but there are definitely bands I listen to that have little instrumental breaks similar to stuff on this EP, as part of a non ambient song. I personally prefer this sort of thing when it's more of a breather on a record, and a palete cleanser of sorts.
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Going to check out That Russian Circles album. I started listening to them around the first album release Enter. When Station came out I was obsessed with them. That is still my favorite album, my class mate at the time had grown up or jammed with Dave the drummer when they were in St. Louis and kept in touch with him even after joining Russian Circles. I haven't followed them since Emporos and see they have a 2nd half of their discography that I haven't checked out. I had sent tracks from Station to TAC in his roulette which I think he would've enjoyed but alas they were banned.
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49. Neil Cowley & Ben Lukas Boysen – Grains & Motes
Never heard of this before, but this is right up my alley.
I'm glad you liked :tup
I'm not massively into ambient stuff, but will give this a spin later today :tup
Let me know what you think!
Not a bad listen. It's true I don't listen to a lot like this, but there are definitely bands I listen to that have little instrumental breaks similar to stuff on this EP, as part of a non ambient song. I personally prefer this sort of thing when it's more of a breather on a record, and a palete cleanser of sorts.
Completely agree on the pallette cleanser part. One of my favorite albumes El Cielo by dredg had great instrumental interludes, like "A Walk In The Park".
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Hell yeah. This is just my speed. I definitely hear the Ludovico Einaudi comparison, and I love it.
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Super glad you dug it seneca :tup
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48. Matthew Halsall – Fletcher Moss Park
(https://i.imgur.com/VVfaP6W.jpg)
Every week I typically skim through the Discovery playlist that Spotify gives me. 90% of it is stuff that I don't really care for, 5% are covers of the "Pyramid Song" by Radiohead, and the other 5% is usually good enough for me to explore further. One track popped up years ago that really perked my ears up that that was "The Sun In September" by Matthew Halsall, intrigued I took a listen to the rest of the album.
This album defines easy listening to me. It's the perfect coffee shop album but it isn't in the same realm as muzak, it's soulful, thoughtful and a perfect addition to list, especially as a preemptive response to the much heavier stuff coming up later in the list.
The album starts off with "Cherry Blossom", beautiful cascading chords before the mood is stripped down some brushed drums and wonderful horns. The casual, feel continues in to the album's second song, the title track. One thing becomes immediately apparent to me and that is how the melodies are delicate but also intricate. There is real meat here and it's engaging to which some of the credit goes to the obsoletely stellar mix this album has.
The pace picks up with "Mary Emma Louise" with a spirited walking bass line that carries the tune forward before giving you a little break with "Sailing Out To Sea" which brings a heavier use of strings to the track before going right into another walking bass line with "Wee Lan".
Finally we reach my favorite track and the one that sparked my love for this album, "The Sun In September". You really should listen to this track yourself and experience it, the year I discovered this song it was one of my top 10 tracks of that year. The vibe of the tune is warm and the flute brings in some new textures that weren't really as prevalent in the previous tracks. Half way through the trumpet takes the lead and gives a little more cutting edge to the song before handing it off to the flute again as a reprise and closure to the song. Finally the album finishes with the most abstract track "Finding My Way". The piano and drums really carry this final tune, the piano provides a more structured focus while the drums have some space to explore and try different rhythms.
One of the many things I enjoy about this album is that with every tune there seems to be something new added while still staying thematically true to it's overall presentation and feel. Shamefully I haven't checked out any other stuff from Matthew but I'll remedy that sometime soon, just a lot of music to discover on my plate.
Give “The Sun In September (https://youtu.be/3f5KfgdY8BM)” a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/3vtqNv0pHpl2ESUfSITiB6?si=Meoi7_IdRNO_oyxY4cpy-Q
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A gnat went up my nose just looking at that album cover lol.
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Always down for something I have no preconceptions of, it's queued up :tup
This was real nice. Another album that is perfect for a certain mood. I want to be relaxing, at the end of the day, beer in hand and a gorgeous view in front of me. Just sit back and soak it in.
Admittedly, life is generally too hectic for me to get to relax like this very often. Next time I do though (hopefully next time I take the kid camping) I'll put this on.
Incidentally, last time I went camping, the album I stuck on after getting the kid to sleep, beer in hand watching the sunset, was Wish You Were Here. It was glorious!
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I was crate digging at one of my local record stores yesterday, and found this record. I was very tempted to pick it up, and may do when I get paid, it's the perfect kind if Sunday morning record.
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That's awesome, when writing this up I kept saying to myself that I needed to check if there is a vinyl of it out there, I'm glad there is.
Update later today!
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Another EP and with this one things get a little more exciting. If I were to guess this is probably going to the be the most unpopular of the albums on this list (are any of these albums popular here? :lol). There was a few years of my life where I was huge into EDM/dubstep music, I've been to a bunch of shows, EDC in vegas and really got into the scene.. I think it largely came from just exhaustion from listening to the same genres do the same thing and dubstep was just so new to me. As time went on I slowly came back to the material I was listening post-edm obsession but always had a soft spot for electronic music.
I still listen to electronic music just not as often anymore, much like the metal/rock/acoustic genres and sub-genres I was listening to prior to my edm phase I just sort of burnt myself out. My brother is still very much into the genre and still sends me recommendations to which this is one of them:
47. Ekcle – Yoja
(https://i.imgur.com/rHqdziu.jpg)
To start this stuff is pretty out there, even by dubstep standards. It's heavy, disjointed, and abstract at times but with repeated listens you find these melodies to really sink your teeth into. The EP starts off with the track that I was introduced to, "Within the Palms of a God". It's brazen and off-putting at first but what stuck with me was the later half of the song which is simply gorgeous, probably the best bit of music on this entire list. I found it so compelling I kept playing that part over and over and then the song over and over and finally started listening to the rest of the album.
"Totemfire" is the second song and after that little acoustic break in "Within the Palms of a God" you get teleported back to a realm of electronic music. The rhythm is slowed down here letting a lot of the ambient sound design do the heavy lifting gradually building in a nice little climax. "Moonstone" picks up the pace a bit here with what sounds like little raindrops of samples being dropped throughout the track before going into a chorus. Next up we have my second favorite track of the album, "Clandestine". This track probably has the most cohesive song structure of the whole record. It starts slow and just keeps building and is very reminiscent to the straight-forward dance music I first got into, again the sound design is just killer. Finally the album ends on a fast note with "Crafted in Ice". It's like a rollercoaster ride and as it builds up the tempo keeps getting quicker and quicker leading to nice little breakdown and a slow exit out.
For those of you who have six minutes to spare I've linked "Within the Palms of a God", if you check it out give the whole track a spin as it's pretty unique and has a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing going on. If you're interested I've also linked "Clandestine"
Give “Within the Palms of a God (https://youtu.be/LXueYBb9rAM)” and "Clandestine (https://youtu.be/5N5yaaB78Yo) a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/7lFylJXhCo9ScGJFWLCTDr?si=XzvGymmDTXWLbFfk90Jj6Q
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I've got to be honest, this really doesn't sound like my thing, but I'm willing to put my ears in your hands, as it were. Wish me luck ...
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I think you sent me something from this artist in my roulette, right? It was cool
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You know what, this wasn't bad. I've left this, and the Matthew Halsall, album in my main rotation playlist on Spotify. I'll be revisiting both in the next week or so.
I don't even know how to fully define dubstep but this definitely had elements I enjoyed. And dubstep (I assume) elements didn't totally over power the record, there were some nice little breathers.
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46. Wiz Khalifa – The Saga Of Wiz Khalifa
(https://i.imgur.com/nzWNhed.png)
Rewind a few years ago and my buddy calls me up from LA telling me he caught a little bit of a break in the music biz, he is going to be producing on the new Wiz Khalifia record. I said awesome and he starts sending me some demo tracks. I'm pretty new to the R&B/Rap scene, I don't have the knowledge like I do for prog or metal acts but once my buddy sent me the track "Bammer" and I was hooked, it was just a fun track and I couldn't wait to hear more.
Wiz Khalifia has been around since I was in college but I never paid that much attention to him until this album. The beats are fresh, the rhythms flow, and this is just a fun album to listen to (especially on some jazz gummies)
The album I listed is the deluxe edition, there are some extra tracks here that round off the album in my opinion. The album opens with "What's the Move" and "Millions" which are set to sort of hype you up for the journey you're about to check into to. Next up you have "On Top" which is great hip hop tune with a really catchy chorus. "POV" launches into a more traditional rap tune with great flow from Wiz followed by "This Time Around" which has a great guitar sample in that carries throughout the tune.
"Trap Nap" follows up and really provides the theme for the record. It's a great laid back trap vibe, lean back in your chair, pour a drink and just vibe. That vibe carries onto "Villa". We then reach on of the most interesting tracks on the record. I surf a lot of music forums and a lot of them will shit on hip hop or R&B but I think that this is a great example of how well the genre can be executed. Per my buddy the plan was to have a boisterous rap in a lower tone and then have more introspective lines auto-tuned and in the upper register. Listening to the lyrics you really see how this effect really works here.
The album keeps going with "Still Wiz" with a classic sample from Dr. Dre, it isn't gratuitous and instead provides a different flavor from what you're used to. "Contact" and "Y U Mad" provide some decent mid-tempo tunes before going into the acoustic "High Today". This is another fantastic tune simply for the relaxed vibe that ebb's and flows through out. We have a few more mid-tempo tunes before we get to the final song of the album and the first single from the album "Bammer". I fucking love this song. I love the acoustic horn that is recorded as is, I love the beat, and I love the lyrics about smoking weed :lol.
This album is just flat out fun. It's no surprised that Wiz is touring with Snoop this year because I think that Wiz is the modern age Snoop. Smoking weed, great trap beats, and hypnotic hooks are the name of the game with this record.
Give “Above Average (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeHxxR3aUpE)” and "Bammer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mdl4Ptwu2M) a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/7GmwwE2wcNtyq7nlsrYVuD?si=ddkOckypQAqhpbF9MTN9GA
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I think you sent me something from this artist in my roulette, right? It was cool
I think I have!
You know what, this wasn't bad. I've left this, and the Matthew Halsall, album in my main rotation playlist on Spotify. I'll be revisiting both in the next week or so.
I don't even know how to fully define dubstep but this definitely had elements I enjoyed. And dubstep (I assume) elements didn't totally over power the record, there were some nice little breathers.
Dubstep is an interesting genre for me. I like bands or artists that push things to the edge and dubstep dj's certainly fall in that criteria. I think what attracted me to the Ekcle record was how abrasive it was yet there were things in it that just kept bringing me back. There is a metal band I'm going to have later on in the list that has the exact same effect.
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I'll give this one a spin as well, but literally every post so far has been further and further out of my wheelhouse.
I don't like to judge music without giving it a go though, so I've queued it up for today.
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So, it's a 3-way tie for #48? :lol
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So, it's a 3-way tie for #48? :lol
The best Top 50s are actually Top 100s
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So, it's a 3-way tie for #48? :lol
It's all 48 :lol.
I'll give this one a spin as well, but literally every post so far has been further and further out of my wheelhouse.
I don't like to judge music without giving it a go though, so I've queued it up for today.
Hopefully things steer back into the wheelhouse with the next few coming up
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I'll give this one a spin as well, but literally every post so far has been further and further out of my wheelhouse.
I don't like to judge music without giving it a go though, so I've queued it up for today.
Hopefully things steer back into the wheelhouse with the next few coming up
Yea I tapped out of this one, couldn't make it past the first few songs. I was huge into rap and hip hop as a 17 year old, but can't get on board with this current stuff (I am very aware of how old I sound :lol ).
On the plus side, listening to that Ekcle EP again, and I'm really enjoying it, as it's so different to most of what I listen to.
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I'd like to get more into hip hop, as some albums are among my very favorites, so I'll give this a go.
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45. Lucy Rose – No Words Left
(https://i.imgur.com/mjjWttP.jpg)
This is the newest addition to this list. I only discovered Lucy Rose through a Spotify recommendation of the song Question It All (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuhCX5EKNfs). I was sitting at work and stopped what I was doing when I heard the song. This hypnotic fretless bass comes in with some atmospheric guitar work that was reminiscent of Kaki King. Lucy's voice came in and just tied everything together.
I get super excited when I discover a song I love by an artist I'm not familiar with. I immediately dive in and start consuming everything I can find and truth be told it's usually a let down. I'd say a majority of the time the song I discover is the one song that's an outlier in the discography and the rest is kind of forgettable, not the case here! Going through her work I notice that she started as a more traditional singer/songwriter but with every passing album I saw more experimentation that had her stand out from a sea of singer/songwriters. Finally we arrive to her most recent full length album:
No Words Left starts off with "Conversation" which is a more traditional, delicate tune. You're greeted with a fragile voice over soft instrumentation that takes a little bit of an off kilter vibe towards the end. That continues into "No Words Left - Pt. 1" which sounds like something Steven Wilson could be involved with, it's both haunting and melancholy. For me the album peaks at "Treat Me Like A Woman" & "The Confines Of The World". The orchestration here is simply beautiful. There isn't a moment where she overpowers the song with her voice and instead takes the center stage when needed.
There is another interlude with "Just A Moment" before we get into a slightly more upbeat "Nobody Comes Round Here". The chorus is a little more structured and catchy which I think would make a great radio single. As we near closer to the end of the album we have "Save Me From Your Kindness" which has some interesting background vocal work that carries into "Pt. 2". We finally reach the end of the album with "Song After Song", a slight brighter tune that wraps up this 34 minute album.
This album has a lot going for it. It shares some of the same DNA as other artists I really enjoy like Feist or Kings Of Convenience but still establishes it's own identity
Give “Treat Me Like A Woman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuFVXngWS4w)” and "The Confines Of This World (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZmkaoDieps) a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/7pmpIBfTUQFC5jTd6VgV22?si=PSVvDcAAQQ2egnttzeHvXg
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I checked out that Matthew Halsall album and really dug it. Glad I happened to check this list out.
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that's awesome Bill, I'm glad you dug it :tup
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44. Limp Bizkit – Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$
(https://i.imgur.com/zh3pxhK.jpg)
Alight so I've gotten very little response to the albums posted here so far so with this one I expect zero response :lol. Over the years I've sort of become obsessed with hearing new music, with that I rarely go back and listen to stuff I grew up with. With that realization I've been trying to go back and listen to some albums from my childhood this album was one of those.
I will argue up and down that Limp Bizkit has some great musicians who write some stellar music. Wes Borland is one of the most creative nu metal guitar players around, John Otto and Sam Rivers form an incredibly tight rhythm section one that is akin to Chad and Flea from RHCP. The problem lies with the backwards hat, JNCO jean wearing elephant in the room that goes by the name Fred Durst. He is a passable front man but his lyrical contributions range from ok to terrible, often leaning to towards the latter. That said though, listening through this album as a middle aged man and not a angsty middle school kid I'm surprised at how well it all holds up. If bad lyrical writing was the sole qualifier for a good album than most music on this forum wouldn't make the cut.
Tree Dollar Bill, Y'all is Limp Bizkit at it's heaviest and rawest, often that's the case with debut releases of bands. The album starts with brief Intro track before launching into "Pollution" and "Counterfeit". It's immediately apparent that the album is heavy, it's fast moving and relentless with the opening tracks. Wes, Sam, and John fucking slay on these songs. Moving into "Stuck" the bass line is more reminiscent of something you'd find on the first couple of Korn records. This carries through "Nobody Loves Me" and gets into "Sour" which has DJ Lethal take more more of the stage.
Moving on we get to "Clunk" which is one of favorite tracks off this record. The powerful bassline propels the song forward through it's interesting song structure, the song is perfect representation of the album. "Clunk" is followed by the only clunker of the album (see what I did there?!?!?!) "Faith". The George Michael cover that was everywhere, or at least that's how I remember it, which is ashame because I feel like it's really the only skippable track IMO. It feels like the band is trying to capture the popular trend of punk bands covering pop music. Things pick back up with "Stink Finger" and the album reaches it's conclusion with "Everything", a 16 minute track that has some post-rock sensibilities.
Looking through my list I feel like this album is the one that made it most on nostalgia so it's hard to separate myself from those memories of hearing it but I think that's also why I have to include it. It still rocks and brings me back to a time when I was really starting to explore music that wasn't contained to the collection my parents had.
Give “Pollution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHmgNDo5rqA)” and "Clunk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he0HlYR0044) a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/3I34EprFC0rlAO4pKNeX1t?si=ecKG6TdbQD6TKjZcuj7WcA
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Reap, I did give No Words Left a spin, but forgot to post about it. It was fine, but as with a lot of easy listening albums like that, it kinda washed over me. It's something my wife would like though for sure.
Onto the Bizkit. You know, I revisited a load of Limp Bizkit albums a few months ago, including Three Dollar Bill, Y'all.
I missed this album at the time it came out, and only really became aware of the band when the song Take a Look Around came out (I even taped it on cassette, off the radio). 17 year old me loved Chocolate Starfish, and that was definitely partly due to how huge Rollin' was, and that they used it (and My Way) on a few WWF Promos around that time.
My interest in the band dropped off as I got into other heavy bands, and I never went back through their catalogue as I had no interest. So yea, I only heard this album, in it's entirety, for the first time this year. Yea it's not bad, and as you said it's Durst who's kinda the weak link.
In the interest of this thread I've queued it up to listen again, either tonight or tomorrow.
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44. Limp Bizkit – Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$
(https://i.imgur.com/zh3pxhK.jpg)
Alight so I've gotten very little response to the albums posted here so far so with this one I expect zero response :lol. Over the years I've sort of become obsessed with hearing new music, with that I rarely go back and listen to stuff I grew up with. With that realization I've been trying to go back and listen to some albums from my childhood this album was one of those.
I will argue up and down that Limp Bizkit has some great musicians who write some stellar music. Wes Borland is one of the most creative nu metal guitar players around, John Otto and Sam Rivers form an incredibly tight rhythm section one that is akin to Chad and Flea from RHCP. The problem lies with the backwards hat, JNCO jean wearing elephant in the room that goes by the name Fred Durst. He is a passable front man but his lyrical contributions range from ok to terrible, often leaning to towards the latter. That said though, listening through this album as a middle aged man and not a angsty middle school kid I'm surprised at how well it all holds up. If bad lyrical writing was the sole qualifier for a good album than most music on this forum wouldn't make the cut.
Tree Dollar Bill, Y'all is Limp Bizkit at it's heaviest and rawest, often that's the case with debut releases of bands. The album starts with brief Intro track before launching into "Pollution" and "Counterfeit". It's immediately apparent that the album is heavy, it's fast moving and relentless with the opening tracks. Wes, Sam, and John fucking slay on these songs. Moving into "Stuck" the bass line is more reminiscent of something you'd find on the first couple of Korn records. This carries through "Nobody Loves Me" and gets into "Sour" which has DJ Lethal take more more of the stage.
Moving on we get to "Clunk" which is one of favorite tracks off this record. The powerful bassline propels the song forward through it's interesting song structure, the song is perfect representation of the album. "Clunk" is followed by the only clunker of the album (see what I did there?!?!?!) "Faith". The George Michael cover that was everywhere, or at least that's how I remember it, which is ashame because I feel like it's really the only skippable track IMO. It feels like the band is trying to capture the popular trend of punk bands covering pop music. Things pick back up with "Stink Finger" and the album reaches it's conclusion with "Everything", a 16 minute track that has some post-rock sensibilities.
Looking through my list I feel like this album is the one that made it most on nostalgia so it's hard to separate myself from those memories of hearing it but I think that's also why I have to include it. It still rocks and brings me back to a time when I was really starting to explore music that wasn't contained to the collection my parents had.
Give “Pollution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHmgNDo5rqA)” and "Clunk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he0HlYR0044) a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/3I34EprFC0rlAO4pKNeX1t?si=ecKG6TdbQD6TKjZcuj7WcA
Look, I listen to what moves me, and don't spend a lot of time on the extraneous stuff, but while I agree Wes is a really good player, there's something... false about Limp Bizkit. It kinda seems to me they want to be sort of Slipknot, but they're not... Fred wants to be a music mogul, but he's not... he's hard to get past. I don't know if it is or not, never really bothered to find out, but he just screams "poser". It all seems so planned and calculated.
Plus - and I'll try to find a time stamp - but Durst does this annoying thing, I call it the "hip-hop thing" where he sings in this sing-song-y voice and it's the same little riff every time. I feel like it's in every song. (Found it: The melody to the line "Look into these eyes" at about 0:33 seconds (https://youtu.be/JTMVOzPPtiw)).
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I recently listened to a podcast with Fred Durst and it was a pretty interesting listen. He went on about how his dream was always to be a director not a singer, how at the start when Limp Bizkit was starting to get successful he was going to leverage that popularity into film making but that part of his career never really took off.
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‘Results May Vary’ was their best IM. No Borland, but I’m not sure how important that is.
‘Boiler’ from Starfish is their best track. As you say, Otto is a good drummer. Very underrated.
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Yeah, I think Otto is even more key to their sound than Borland, who is usually the first candidate for the "hey guys, Limp Bizkit isn't actually that bad, it was just Durst's fault!" parade. His grooves and kit sound on tracks like "Just Like This" and "Rearranged" are excellent. I especially love the slowly increasing reverb on the kit at the end of the latter after the heavy guitars fade. I actually think nu-metal like them and others heavily influenced me a few years later in terms of the metal I came to love. The downtuned, bass-heavy sound of nu-metal guitars just has such a satisfying impact even if the songwriting and vocals from those bands is often shaky, to say the least.
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w00t w00t update time!
43. Godsmack – The Other Side
(https://i.imgur.com/iTGD9Q5.jpg)
I wouldn't classify myself as a Godsmack fan, I've heard a few hits on the radio, didn't hate them, didn't really think to investigate further. One of my buddies who I would jam out with suggested this album, he knew I loved acoustic albums especially of the unplugged variety.
When I gave this record a spin I was pretty surprised just at how tight the song writing and performances are. Not really a Godsmack fan so I recognized a couple songs and the ones that I didn't recognize I figured they were just renditions of songs I wasn't familiar with, it turned out I was wrong and this album does something that Nirvana's unplugged did which is to take the concept a little bit further than simply trading the Strat and Les Paul for a couple of Taylors. In addition to painting some of their singles with an acoustic brush they wrote some new tracks and reworked one entirely.
The first song "Running Blind" is one of those tracks. You're struck the raspy voice of Sully Erna blended perfectly between guitars, bass, and really great sounding drum kit. "Re-align", "Keep Away", and "Spiral" are straight ahead renditions of their radio hits, however the more obscure tracks like "Touche", and "Voices" are really the stars of the show. The former has a few guest performers, John Kosco and Lee Richards. Kosco add a lot of depth to the song and provides the perfect call to Sully's response. The 7-track album wraps with a bleek reworking of "Awake" in a track called "Asleep". The lyrics are altered, the tempo is much slower and Sully's voice is haunting.
Over time I did get around to listening to some Godsmack records but none of them captured my attention like this EP, I return to it frequently.
Give “Voices (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOMd6Cr9WDI)” and "Touche (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xemGrVz-xck)" a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/13qGRN8tCEARDYxmMPdX35?si=DlEo9sWvTJWSq_zmGVTarQ
Up Next! Another acoustic record!
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I do enjoy some Godsmack music from time to time, and I agree that this acoustic setting works pretty well…incidentally, Sully Erna’s solo record, Avalon, is pretty cool too. Quite different.
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I didn't realize Sully did a solo album, I'll give it a spin soon!
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Catching up with some of these. I've been listening to the albums I don't know just haven't commented on them.
46: Wiz Khalifa - There was a time when I would've enjoy this, but it just isn't for me anymore. There's very little I get out of this style of music. Side note, if I were to do a top 50 album, Eminem would probably make the list (maybe twice).
45: Lucy Rose - I enjoyed this, and it is quite beautiful. However, Similar to #46, there is very little I get out of this style of music, since the songs seem to blend in together (For me at least).
44: Limp Bizkit - Nothing against this album, but I always enjoyed Significant Other a little more. Plus, SO has what I believe to be Limp Bizkit best song (Not that it says much) in Re-Arranged.
43: Godsmack - I never been a huge fan of Godsmack, but whenever I do listen to their stuff I enjoy it. I did not know about this acoustic album and is pretty good :tup
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I'm not a huge Godsmack fan, but I like Sully's voice, and a good number of these bands - I don't know what the terms is, 'nu metal'? - have talent. Staind is big up here in the northeast (they're nominally from the city right over the border into Massachusetts) and Aaron Lewis does acoustic shows down at the casino and elsewhere (like radio stations) and they are usually pretty highly regarded. I know I like them.
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Big fan of Godsmack from the debut up to IV, including this one. I really like the reworked versions in an acoustic setting and the new songs too. Only downside is that it's relatively short, more like an EP.
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42. Kiss – MTV Unplugged
(https://i.imgur.com/VxG1s76.png)
I wouldn't classify myself as a Godsmack fan, I've heard a few hits... wait this is for the next album.
Well a lot of similar stuff can be said about Kiss that I said for Godsmack. Growing up I was never really familiar with their work and when I went to listen through their catalog I honestly didn't like a vast majority of it. I often wonder if the reason I like this album as much as I do is because my dad had it on laser disc and would play it frequently.
That said I think out of all the unplugged shows I've listened to this is one of the most fun to me, a lot of the songs translate really well live and, in my opinion, are superior to the electric counter parts. The whole gang seems on fire and really grooving well together. Bruce is a great soloist and Eric keeps everything together with a cool confidence.
The only stain on this record for me personally 2,000 Man. From what I've heard from Ace I never though he was great (although I won't deny his impact on guitar players) and his vocals on this track make it an instant skip. Despite that this album gets a lot of play time.
Unlike the other records on my list I'm going to forego the track breakdowns. I'm not really familiar enough with the source material to comment on the differences. I am curious though how this album is received by Kiss the community.
Give “Comin' Home (https://youtu.be/yp8poWnxtro)” and "Goin' Blind (https://youtu.be/gTw2GpzRGbg)" a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/5rf66ReWkobYT88G0Ky52y?si=1i5H56sNRoej_BtGwQjdwg
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As one of the larger Kiss fans here, I can weigh in. I think it's a great record. I was familiar with some of the Konvention songs (I've got a boot somewhere), and many of those - Comin' Home, Plaster Caster, Rock Bottom - were from that. These are more polished - many of the Konvention songs were by request and impromptu - and I think it goes to the old adage that a good song is when you can play in solo on acoustic, and most of these pass the test.
I know a song like "Plaster Caster", which strains all credibility in it's original form, takes on a sort of new life here and transcends it's dodgy lyrics. It's actually a pretty well crafted song.
The two ballads, I Still Love You and Every Time I Look At You are, for me, the definitive versions, losing some of the cheese in the performance.
I also love that Kiss - mocked for being one of the worst offenders at recycling setlists - played a virtually hit-free set. Other than Beth and RnRAN, the former being the showcase for Peter, almost every song was a deeper cut, and easily 2/3 of the set didn't appear previously on one of the three "Alive" albums. They even did a song from the solo albums ("See You Tonite", another beautiful song that doesn't make a ton of sense lyrically) and one from "The Elder" ("A World Without Heroes").
I don't skip it, but I do agree that "2,000 Man" is an odd choice. First it's a cover (the Stones); second, I know they needed an Ace showcase, but why not "Two Sides Of The Coin"? "Rocket Ride"? "Parasite" with him singing (Gene sings the studio and live versions with Kiss)? Hell, even "Torpedo Girl" (yet ANOTHER great musical tune with lyrics that should have been scrutinized a little harder). I know hits were off the table, but they gave Peter "Beth" and not "Hooligan" (won't go to school again) or "Baby Driver". Why not "New York Groove" or HIS signature tune, "Shock Me"?
Side note: I know Rick Nielson has said publicly that Gene "sucked" as a bass player - but I think he was joking, because Rick is a shit stirrer, and the song he played on Gene's solo album is NOT Gene on bass. But he's friends with Gene, and they go way back, so... Others have said that he's a pretty underrated player, and I think this record shows that. There are some really tasty bass lines here that translate well to the acoustic bass.
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41. Taylor Swift – Lover
(https://i.imgur.com/NMkJ34o.jpg)
My wife is a huge Taylor Swift fan, and even if she wasn't it's pretty hard to escape the Taylorverse. That said I've never had any issues with Taylor's music, it's good but I never thought it really stood out or really appealed to me. I was more of a Ed Sheeran fan when it came to my pop music. With that said when this album came out I found myself really digging it.
I've listened to Taylor's discography more times than I can count and while I enjoy her music through the years I never really clicked with any of it until Lover came out. To me Lover is everything I want from a pop album and I think it's Taylors strongest showing. The ideas are fresh and the lyrics are really well written, which has largely been my issue with her music, they are often clunky and the album flows incredibly well.
Starting with a more stripped down feeling "I thought that you existed" to "Paper Rings" to "London Boy" the songs flow effortlessly while still having their own unique footprint. I think my only issue with this album is "ME!" and that's largely because I can't stand Brendon Urie and Panic! At The Disco. That said it's only a slight ding in this 18 song collection of fantastic tunes.
Give “I Forgot That You Existed (https://youtu.be/p1cEvNn88jM)” and "The Archer (https://youtu.be/8KpKc3C9V3w)" a spin!
Album Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1NAmidJlEaVgA3MpcPFYGq?si=H30s_CevR2yUk6Ur0BfrUw