@Ryzee; thanks for the recommendations, I will surely check them out!
And then; Update time!
We move away from prog for the next three albums and this may thus very well be one the weirder updates from my list. On we go with the next three:
41. The Dandy Warhols – Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (2000)You know how useless the term ‘alternative’ is in combination with music? Whenever something doesn’t really fit any bill it gets labeled ‘alternative’ for lack of a better description, as with this album. Well, this is alternative rock at its finest. Like with that Sublime album, this is some great stuff to put on when you don’t want to have a lot going on. This band is known mostly for their song
Bohemian Like You. At least over here it was huge, because it was featured in multiple television ads. Conveniently, that song is on this disc, but it’s far from the reason why this album is good. In fact, I think it’s one of the lesser songs on this album. Actually, though it might sound more pretentious than it really is, this album really feels like it gives you more than just a couple of songs. The songs flow into each other in a way that some other bands can learn a thing or two about. The whole album has a chart of flow as well, with the placement of the songs playing a very important role in the overall feel this album gives. Starting of slow and easy with
Godless, we segue into
Mohammed, arguably one of the better songs on the album. After
Nietzsche we get into a more up-tempo feel with
Country Leaver and it gradually gets heavier with
Solid, the first ‘true’ alternative rock song, whatever that means, and
Horse Pills.
Get Off then is one of the better known songs, followed by the very mellow
Sleep. Without zooming in too much on the tracks, it really feels the band knew what they were doing, in composition of the songs as well as in their placements on the album. While this is technically not really progressive or interesting at all, it does make for some very good music.
Favourite song: Mohammed
Other songs worth checking out: Country Leaver, Nietzsche, Solid
40. David Bowie – Hunky Dory (1971)It´s sort of funny how much influence your parents can have on your choice of music. This album might come as a surprise to some, but to me, this is a very logical inclusion in my top 50 albums ever. My mother would listen to David Bowie often, and, as we will see further down the line in my top 50, my mother has had a lot of influence on the music that I currently listen to. Without going too much in depth,
Life on Mars? was one David Bowie’s songs my mother loves and still does and for some reason, I took that from her, finding the same brilliance that song has to offer as she did, years before. I even got as far as offering it to a radio show (to all the Dutchies, that was the radio 2 top 2000) as one of my favourite 15 songs. It was included in the top 2000 and the story I wrote about it, thanking my mother for showing me so much music was broadcast throughout the whole Netherlands. Unfortunately, I never heard it live, but my father did and notified me of it. Luckily, I could hear it back through recordings. Anyway; David Bowie was an enigma, somebody who couldn’t be understood by any normal means and who constantly changed not only his appearance but the way he would be perceived. He reflected this through his music and while most Bowie fans would say ‘Ziggy Stardust’ (see the Honourable Mentions
) was his best album, this is where it really happened for me.
Life on Mars? is one of the best songs ever written and I doubt I would have ever listened to this record if that songs wouldn’t have been on here. In that way, I owe the record something, even though my story was broadcast live throughout the Netherlands. Well, this was the first of probably a couple of emotional (and therefore shitty) write-ups, but I couldn’t make this list without including this album. Thank you, David Bowie and thank you, mother, for this great music.
Favourite song: Life on Mars?
Other songs worth checking out: Quicksand, Song for Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol
39. Avantasia – The Scarecrow (2007)Let’s see how many people still remember Aniland. I do, for sure, and it was through him I got to know this album. He had his list of favourite albums on rateyourmusic and considering the amount of stuff I recognised and knew in his list, I was put off by something he had very high in his list. I think this was his #3 album ever and by the time I read that list (hell, I didn’t even know the guy, but I love other people’s opinions on music) I had never heard of Avantasia, or even Tobias Sammet for that matter. Because our music tastes had quite a lot in common I bought this album, blindly, without having heard anything off it and I was blown away. The music is.. well I don’t know. It’s power metal-ish here and there, folk metal at other parts and just straight forward heavy metal in some songs and the album draws a lot of influence from symphonic metal, but the main focus here is on the vocals. Tobias Sammet has a good array of guest vocalists (most notably Jørn Lande) on this album and he himself rips as well. The songs have been composed very well and supposedly tell a story that spreads out over even two more albums. To be honest, I couldn’t really be bothered with that and this is, to this day even, the only Avantasia album I have heard yet. Frankly, I don’t need more, because this provides enough good music of this sort to keep me happy.
Favourite song: The Scarecrow
Other songs worth checking out: Another Angel Down, Twisted Mind, Devil in the Belfry