MikeMangioy's 50 reasons why I'm better than you - v. Numero Uno

[jjrock88]

The DT and Metallica updates are awesome!!!! 

No comment on green day

[Elite]

So, you're saying yourself that the album has lots of shitty stuff on it, yet you place it as your 21st favourite record ever? That's weird.

[mikemangioy]

So, you're saying yourself that the album has lots of shitty stuff on it, yet you place it as your 21st favourite record ever? That's weird.

The amazing stuff is so amazing that it makes up for it. It's an 18-songs record after all. The flow is awesome, also.

[sneakyblueberry]

American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown, and no Dookie?  Jesus. 

When did you abandon reason for madness?!

[mikemangioy]

American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown, and no Dookie?  Jesus. 

When did you abandon reason for madness?!

Dookie is amazing. It was actually going to be on the list, but then Haken.

[OpenYourEyes311]

I appreciate 21st Century Breakdown. For me, it wouldn't be in the top 50 (as American Idiot, the AI Soundtrack, and Dookie could be), but it really does have some of the best Green Day tunes they ever put out. Know Your Enemy, Viva la Gloria, Before the Lobotomy, Last Night on Earth, Peacemaker, Little Girl, Restless Heart Syndrome, Static Age. All fantastic songs!

21 Guns is a really great song, but the album version pales in comparison to the American Idiot Soundtrack version. They definitely lost something in the studio when they recorded that song. I saw them perform it on SNL before I got the album, and was excited to hear it, but it really let me down. Luckily the re-recorded version owns!

But anyway, 21CB is a record of ups and downs for me, but I agree with you that the ups are really really good and make this record a worthwhile listen.

[mikemangioy]

It's nice to have some Green Day support once in a while 

[Sacul]

Neither Green Day nor Metallica are my cup of tea . But DT12 is really good, the best they've done since ToT or even SC.

[Evermind]

So, you're saying yourself that the album has lots of shitty stuff on it, yet you place it as your 21st favourite record ever? That's weird.

I kind of support this point. Maybe you have another definition of "shitty", but to me this means the songs that are such crappy that you skip them. And this is really weird for your Top 50, let alone the album that is your 21st best album of all time.

Well, anyway, let's see what you've got next. 

[mikemangioy]

So, you're saying yourself that the album has lots of shitty stuff on it, yet you place it as your 21st favourite record ever? That's weird.

I kind of support this point. Maybe you have another definition of "shitty", but to me this means the songs that are such crappy that you skip them. And this is really weird for your Top 50, let alone the album that is your 21st best album of all time.

Well, anyway, let's see what you've got next. 

Good point but the album has to be there. I don't know why, but that's the placement I'm most satisfied with.

Ok, we now enter the top 20, this is where shit gets serious. These 20 albums are basically my life-basis and taught me everything I know on a musicianship level, and made me everything I am as a person. And the first one of the Holy 20s is indeed

PORCUPINE TREE

STUPID DREAM
Alternative/Pop Rock, 1999

Aaah, whenever Stupid Dream gets mentioned I always hear in my head "And I had a Stupid Dream that I could change things" and man is it a joyful feeling.
After being a psychedelic band/project thing for ten years basically, Steven Wilson (I would like to say the whole band but, yeah, Steven Wilson) decided to take a step behind and write less complex music, and when I say less I mean a lot less: this is infact a very catchy, poppy, but still depressing (it's PT after all) record. Apart from a few songs of course.

Stupid Dream has one heck of a flow too, the songs are perfectly placed but my complaint is this:

WHY IS THE SECOND HALF OF EVEN LESS MISSING
It could've been the perfect closer for this record (I'm just talking about Part 2, not the whole song), given that Stop Swimming is easily one of my least favorites on this. Even Less is so awesome that it's both an awesome opener and an awesome closer. Seriously, the song starts slowly with a slide guitar solo and then, I would like to say BAM but there's not an explosion, there's more of a polite approach, like "Hey, we're Porcupine Tree, welcome to Stupid Dream". The lyrics are top notch, in the whole record (and geez, in the whole discography too  ), but especially in Even Less.
Then there's Piano Lesson which is a strangely happy song in a quite dark record, I really enjoy listening to this one - the chorus is very anthemic, with all those layered vocals. Then there's the "downward spiral trio", which consist of Pure Narcotic, Slave Called Shiver and Don't Hate Me. The songs narrate the decline of a guy who loves someone, but isn't loved back. He goes from being sorry (Pure Narcotic, an acoustic-guitar-driven piece) to being obsessed (Slave Called Shiver, a very In Absientia-ish tune), to absolutely depressed (Don't Hate Me, a very laid back tune, with amazing vocals). This Is No Rehearsal is a poppy soudning tune with very dark lyrics, and it might be my favorite of the album after Even Less and Baby Dream In A Cellophane, which is the next track. A very ethereal song, about a sentient unborn baby. Wat. It's very sweet and.. geez, I don't know, it's one of those songs which is hard to describe. Other great tracks are of course, the highly acclaimed A Smart Kid, a very melanchonic piece, Steven's vocals here and Richard Barbieri's effects are  and Tinto Brass (do not search for this song on youtube if  you have children around or are at work), one energic instrumental.

So, what can I say? Stupid Dream is godly: it somehow still can be both happy and sad and it flows amazingly, and overall, it's just a really good hour of music. Check it out if you haven't.


Tracklist:

Even Less
Piano Lessons
Stupid Dream
Pure Narcotic
Slave Called Shiver
Don't Hate Me
This Is No Rehearsal
Baby Dream In Cellophane
Stranger By The Minute
A Smart Kid
Tinto Brass
Stop Swimming

--Performed by Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar, piano) Richard Barbieri (keyboards) Colin Edwin (bass) Chris Maitland (drums)/with Theo Travis (sax) and the East Of England Orchestra--

[Evermind]

Yeah, that's more like it. Stupid Dream is a great album.

[Sacul]

Stupid Dream is a great album.

This. I'm in total love with Piano Lessons, specially of the guitars . But the rest of the albums is still glorious though. I'd love Steven to do more stuff like that (Blackfield has another approach on pop).

[sneakyblueberry]

Couldn't really get into PT.  Lord knows I tried.

[mikemangioy]

Here he is, once again, with his absolute masterpiece. That's right, at number 19 we have

CAPAREZZA

VERITA' SUPPOSTE
Rap-based everything, 2003

You know, each Capa album has a theme or a concept (reincarnation, huge mindfucks, heresy and art) but this album doesn't. Verità Supposte has no theme. BUT. EACH. SONG. IS.

FLAWLESS

IMO this album is his most sarcastic work. And that's saying a lot. Each song is ridicolous but it has a really strong message behind the sarcasm and playfulness. Il Secondo Secondo Me (The Second One According To Me) opens the  album with  a funkadelic groove, with lyrics about clichès. Nessuna Razza (No Race) is the album's most serious song and it has a strong groove with beautiful lyrics about honesty and humility. After track 2, the album goes completely nuts. La Legge Dell'Ortica (The Napple Law) combines lyrics about Capa's will to make people use their heads, with a nice 4/4 groove, with folk influences. And those sound effects  - Track 4, Stango E Sbronzo (Tired And Drunk) is a nice tango piece about the effects of being drunk. Quite nice to sing along to, and I love how Capa can change his vocal tone in this song. Limiti is next, and it might be my favorite in the album. It's a slow-tempo dance song in which Capa retraces his years as a child, with a strong description of italian 70's pop culture. Even though I can't relate really to the lyrics of this song, being born in the 00's practically, the concept of it is nostalgia, and how it can eat us up everyday, and how  in the end living in the past can be awful. The awfulness is told by the music in a really nice heavy metal section (yes, from dance to metal.), which is one of my favorite moments in any of his albums 
Vengo Dalla Luna (I Come From The Moon) is one of Capa's classic pieces. He played it in every concert, and it's really well-known (and I appreciate that). The lyrics take an alien as a metaphor to speak about immigrants and their disadvantages, and the chorus is really anthemic. Nice rock tune, too.
The album goes on with Dagli All'Untore, a really dark song about pest infectors in the '500, Fuori Dal Tunnel (Out Of The Tunnel), which is Caparezza's most known song, with its marching band sound - I really relate to the lyrics of this one. It talks about how someone can have fun with simple things, like being with friends, watching a movie or just eating pizza. Giuda Me is a description of Southern Italy's conditions (still very relevant today), also another funkadelic tune. Nel Paese Dei Balordi is a realistic version of Pinocchio, whilist L'Età Dei Figuranti critiques reality shows, with very fun sound effects and change of moods in the song, and a really huge chorus.
The last three songs are godly.

Dualismi reminds me strongly of Korn. It revolves around the concept of duality and bipolar disease, and it has a very haunting sound, with an exceptional chorus and great guitar solo in the end.

Follie Preferenziali is the other serious tune in the record, a strong critique towards war. The lyrics here are just 

The last track, Jodellavitanonhocapitouncazzo (try reading that), is a jodel-based song about Caparezza's carreer essentially.

So yeah, Verità Supposte is a strong description of what Capa is and what he does (even though, once again, this album isn't a concept album, like all of his other ones) and I really love the fact that it is his most popular album, because of that. Very fun, but really thought-inducing listen.

Once again, I invite you to listen to one of those songs and tell me what you think.


Tracklist:

Il Secondo Secondo Me
Nessuna Razza
La Legge Dell'Ortica
Stango E Sbronzo
Limiti
Vengo Dalla Luna
Dagli All'Untore
Fuori Dal Tunnel
Giuda Me
Nel Paese Dei Balordi
L'Età Dei Figuranti
Dualismi
Follie Preferenziali
Jodellavitanonhocapitouncazzo

--Performed by Caparezza (vocals, keyboards, other strange things) Alfredo Ferrero (guitars) Rino Corrieri (drums) Giovanni Astorino (bass) Carlo Ubaldo Rossi (guitar, recorder, harp) and many other people--

[Sacul]

Hey, this guy's stuff seems really interesting. Will add this to the to-listen list, and maybe hear a track or two later .

[mikemangioy]

This next album (#18) is... a flowing river. An unstoppable piece of music.

PINK FLOYD

WISH YOU WERE HERE
Classic prog, 1975

This is really a timeless record. While I think that Dark Side Of The Moon is definetely much more of a "classic" album than this one, Wish You Were Here takes the ideas and thoughts from it and take them to a next level. The album's tracklist is incredibly well structured, with the two parts of Shine On You Crazy Diamond both at the beginning and at the end of the album. It's a wonderful piece of art, the soundscapes and the atmosphere of that song are unique. The chorus is historical - the lyrics, as everyone here knows, talk about Syd Barrett, and the funny thing is that Syd actually visited the guys while they were recording WYWH, an album which largely speaks about him. Welcome To The Machine has some desperate vocals and a nice use of synthesizers and cool electronic effects. It sounds both futuristic and folk-ish, one real nice combination. Have A Cigar is amazing. The song has a  groove that really takes you to other places, and really well-done vocal lines and lyrics, this time focusing on the music business. The title-track is another classic and timeless track.

You know, the thing with Pink Floyd records is that everything is just so perfect, and everything just speaks for itself. An applause to this outstanding collective of musicians.

Tracklist:

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5)
Welcome To The Machine
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6-9)

(favorites: EVERYTHING)

--Performed by David Gilmour (guitar, vocals, keyboards, effects) Roger Waters (bass, vocals, guitar, effects) Nick Mason (drums, effects) Rick Wright (keyboards, effects)/ with Dick Perry (sax), Roy Harper (vocals on Have A Cigar), Vennetta Fields and Carlena Williams (backing vocals)--

How I've discovered Pink Floyd:

This is one of those bands that I've known since I was little. I decided to explore their catalogue after I fell in love with DSOTM and The Wall; I remember clearly, in early 2012 there was a snowstorm in my town and school was closed, we were all locked up in our houses for 5/6 days, and I spent my time listening to those albums. I had a great time.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Wish You Were Here is nothing short of amazing. Shine On You Crazy Diamond as a whole just barely edges out Echoes for my favorite PF song, and it's definitely one of my favorite songs pretty much ever. The other three tracks it bookends are also stellar in their own way. All around, my favorite PF album, and one of my absolute favorites of all time.

[Evermind]

Yeah, basically this.

[Scorpion]

Haven't commented a lot the last couple days but lemme just say that I love everything about WYWH. Definitely a Top 20 album for me as well, maybe even higher. Not a second wasted on that album.

[Sacul]

Although I love it's cinematic atmosphere, I still can't get through most of it.

[mikemangioy]

Number siebzehn!

RAMMSTEIN

REISE, REISE
Industrial metal, 2004

Man, I really love Rammstein. You can tell that by the fact that half of their discography is on my list!  - When I said that each album was very consistent, I wasn't kidding.

Reise Reise is my favorite 'Stein record, and  as always, it's a flawless collection of music, and this time around it's actually pretty varied: there are epic songs, there are heavy songs, there are ballads and even acoustic pieces this time around.
From the huge-sounding title track (one of my favorite choruses of all time) we get to Mein Teil, which gained some controversy thanks to its music video (which is not that bad). The song is very fun to sing along to, and to see live especially, if you know what I mean.
Keine Lust is a masterpiece. The riff kinda rips off Metallica's One, but it's in a different rythm, and so you don't really notice that. The music video of this one is simply 
Los is a strange song. It's an heavy riff done on acoustic guitar, with some nice vocals. The Volkerball version though kicks the ass of this one, just sayin'. Amerika is obviously the most known piece out of this record, I hate to repeat myself, but that one also has a great video with a great message. Very nice song, with an annoying chorus though, I can't get through that 
Morgenstern is very underrated, I love the way the vocals are delivered and the chorus is plain awesome. And Stein Um Stein, man. I won't say nothing, just go listen to it. NOW.

So yeah, I really love Reise Reise, the best/my favorite Rammstein songs are on there. And that's what qualifies it.


Tracklist:

Reise, Reise
Mein Teil
Dalai Lama
Keine Lust
Los
Amerika
Moskau
Morgenstern
Stein Um Stein
Ohne Dich
Amour

--Performed by Till Lindemann (vocals), Richard Kruspe (guitar), Paul Landers (guitar), Dr.Flake (keyboards), Christoph Schneider (drums), Oliver Riedel (bass)--

[Evermind]

Rammstein album higher than WYWH is a crime.

[mikemangioy]

Arrest me then.

[Sacul]

 

[sneakyblueberry]

Still following although you have proved you are better than me with the last 5 or so posts, haven't heard a single lick of the bastards.

[mikemangioy]

Still following although you have proved you are better than me with the last 5 or so posts, haven't heard a single lick of the bastards.

Aww come on, man. That doesn't mean anything. Though I'm surprised you didn't hear any Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree.

[sneakyblueberry]

Oh, I may have exaggerated, I love that Floyd album.  I never dug Porcupine Tree, tried a lot to get into it but it never gelled with me. 

[mikemangioy]

Guys, I'm sorry, but no updates until saturday. I'm pretty busy these days.

[Evermind]

I knew calling the police will work.

[mikemangioy]

 

[mikemangioy]

Number sixteen. It's HevyDevy time!

DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT

ADDICTED
Pop Metal, 2009

After the bipolar elegance of Ki, Devin decides that it's time to party!
Addicted is an album that I often see in top 50's, and I think that's because this is a very enjoyable record. The reasons are:
- the songs are quite catchy, and they have pop-based structures, but with some cool progressive/industrial metal influences that make the poppiness A LOT more interasting. Also, great use of the wall of sound.
- Addicted flows amazingly well. It sounds like a concert to me, and infact, DTP did reproduce very well this aspect of the album when they did it live, during the By A Thread concert series. For those who didn't, you should really watch it. Not only it's very fun, but the songs are performed very well and overall it's pretty glorious.
- Anneke Van Giersbergen. Wow. Her voice fits extremely well in this record. It was really meant to be.

The ten songs are all nearly flawless: the album opens with the title-track, which is a really pounding heavy guitar-driven song, with some great vocal work by both Devin and Anneke and tremendous riffs. Seriously the bridge is completely  - the second song is Universe In A Ball, that's more of a classic Devy song if you will, with sweep arpeggios and calm parts alternating with some serious heavy vocals and riffs, and of course, catchiness. Bend It Like Bender is the most poppy song, with a really cool rythm and chorus sung happily by Anneke. The whole album is in this delusional state, lyrically speaking. The concept of it is denying that there's something bad going on inside you, thing that will clearly show up in the next album. But more of that later.
The second part of the album opens with Supercrush, a beautiful power ballad with Anneke singing on verses and Devin on choruses. The melody of this one is absolutely shiver-inducing (especially the unexpected screams in the bridge), one of the best tracks on the record. Hyperdrive follows that, and it's a remake of a song that first came out in the Ziltoid album. And even though I prefer this version between the two, I think that the best and ultimate version of this song is a mashup of the two. Since it's sung by Anneke, and the original by Devin, their voices blend together in a really cool way. The album goes on with Resolve, IhAh and The Way Home, my least three favorite songs, but still, really cool tracks, especially Ih-Ah, although I prefer the Retinal Circus version. Numbered is my favorite. It represents the album really well, being heavy, catchy, epic and shiver-inducing. There's even a reprise of Universe In A Ball in it, in one of the best moments in Devin's carreer, IMO.
Awake closes the album in a great way, although at least 3 of these 9 minutes are just a fadeout. Oh well, whatever. One thing that you can't deny the amazing forshadowing of Deconstruction. A really cool addition to the concept of these four DTP records.

So yeah, Addicted. The title fits well with the mood of the songs, and yeah, really easy to get into, and I think you should start with this record if you want to start with Devin.
 

Tracklist:

Addicted!
Universe In A Ball!
Bend It Like Bender!
Supercrush!
Hyperdrive!
Resolve!
Ih-Ah!
The Way Home!
Numbered!
Awake!!!

(Favorites: ALL)

--Performed by Devin Townsend (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Mark Cimino (guitar), Ryan Van Poederooyen (drums), Brian Waddell (bass), Anneke Van Giersbergen (vocals)--

[Sacul]

After a few months of growing on me, it's my fav Devin record. I can't believe how damn constant it is, not a single filler or band song .

[Fluffy Lothario]

I'm not sure how you could review Reise, Reise and not mention Dalai Lama, one of the best songs the band has written. In case you're not aware, it's a retelling of possibly the most famous poem ever written in German, called Der Erlkönig.

[mikemangioy]

I'm not sure how you could review Reise, Reise and not mention Dalai Lama, one of the best songs the band has written. In case you're not aware, it's a retelling of possibly the most famous poem ever written in German, called Der Erlkönig.

Yeah, it's a good song, but not one of my favorites on the record. It didn't do much for me as much as the other songs.

[Elite]

I don't understand a single word of what this CapaRezza guy is singing, but the music is quite enjoyable.