F:ATtie Favorite Fives - Records

The King in Yellow wrote:

Believe me, Animals is one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums as well (and Dark Side of the Moon could be on the list too).
I just get tired of hipsters (and I'm not referring to anyone on these boards) proclaiming that a "real" Pink Floyd fan's favorite albums are Wish You Were Here and The Final Cut (The Final Cut, for God's sake).

I'd like to say that I don't understand why people say that but it's the internet and it wouldn't be that if someone couldn't lord their opinion over you. I like all of the Pink Floyd albums and would be really hard pressed to pick one as my all time favorite. They are all different stages of the band. I guess if I did, it would still have to be Meddle because that was before Roger Waters completely took over (don't get me wrong, I love Roger Waters but I dunno). Anyways, if I were going to do it in order:
1. Meddle
2. Animals
3. Wish You Were Here
4. Dark Side of the Moon
5. The Wall
6. Momentary Lapse of Reason
7. Atom Heart Mother
8. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
9. The Final Cut
10. The Division Bell
11. Saucerful of Secrets
12. Ummagumma
13 Obscured by Clouds
14. More

Michael Barnes wrote:

Well, it's got to be "London Calling" because that is one of the great records of all time. Lately though, I have to say that "Sandinista!" is my favorite Clash record.

Copy cat.

Sagrilarus wrote:

Chasch wrote:

1) Soundrack Blade Runner -Vangelis
2) Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
3) Songs from the Wood - Jethro Tull
4) Abbey Road - Beatles
5) Rumours - Fleetwood Mac

Holy crap -- Songs from the Wood made someone's list. I was damn close to putting that one in mine.

S.

It was the only album that I was absolutely sure would make the list.

It's a worthy album. You mention Jethro Tull and, given the airplay quotient of Aqualung compared to the rest of the Tull cannon, most people understandably start rolling a tape of it in their head. Personally I don't like Aqualung, but it's also nothing at all like the utter renaissance-warp that Songs from the Wood is. I like every track on SftW, though the title track is a standout. But even it pales next to the lusty Velvet Green, the most original and technically proficient reworking medieval instrumentation during the British folk revival of the 60s and 70s. Tull was in the middle of a lot of talent swapping between Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, and other Brit folk outfits, and it shows.

Whether it's your bag or not, I think giving Velvet Green a listen is worthwhile if for no other reason than to understand the full spectrum of what the band was doing. In much the same way that you haven't heard Bowie if you haven't listened to his collaborations with Brian Eno ('Low'), you haven't heard Tull until you've heard SftW (also released in 1977).

Dr. Mabuse wrote:

The Hounds of Love - Kate Bush

I used to love this album, but eventually it started to annoy me a bit. The pop bits are too pop and the experimental bits are too experimental. "The Morning Fog" is wonderful though - one of the few pieces of music that's guaranteed to choke me up every time I hear it. I'm going all misty-eyed just thinking about it. Of her albums I think Sensual World is probably my favourite nowadays.

Dr. Mabuse wrote:

Head Over Heel - Cocteau Twins

Really? More than Treasure, or Heaven Or Las Vegas? Wow. I love me some Cocteau but I think you've picked one of the weaker albums there.

Hmmm, tough one.

1) Aeroplane over the sea- Neutral Milk Hotel
2) Ok Computer-Radiohead
3) Funeral-Arcade Fire
4) The Queen is Dead-The Smiths
5) Pinkerton-Weezer (dont even talk to me about what they're doing now.)

Always subject to change, of course.

1) In the Aeroplane over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
2) The Clash - The Clash
3) Viva Last Blues - Palace Music
4) May I Sing With Me - Yo La Tengo
5) Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes - The Music Tapes

What an impossible task!

Gary, I came here to post knowing what my #1 was going to be and found that you also have impeccable taste

MattDP wrote:

Dr. Mabuse wrote:

The Hounds of Love - Kate Bush

I used to love this album, but eventually it started to annoy me a bit. The pop bits are too pop and the experimental bits are too experimental. "The Morning Fog" is wonderful though - one of the few pieces of music that's guaranteed to choke me up every time I hear it. I'm going all misty-eyed just thinking about it. Of her albums I think Sensual World is probably my favourite nowadays.

Gimme boh-coo pop or experimental anytime, I can never get enough.

A Woman's Work does the misty eye, goose-bump thing for me every fucking time.

SW is a beautiful album and my second fave of her stuff but HOL introduced me to Kate Bush. The Red Shoes is my least favourite out of all her works.

Dr. Mabuse wrote:

Head Over Heel - Cocteau Twins

Really? More than Treasure, or Heaven Or Las Vegas? Wow. I love me some Cocteau but I think you've picked one of the weaker albums there.

I chose HOH as that was the first CT album, I ever listened to back in High School. Out of all there albums I think Heaven or Las Vegas or Four Calendar Cafe is their best.

My list has more to do with pinnacle records (and I'm talkin' LPs) in my life, not necessarily the best.

I would have also added The Sundays' Reading, Writing & Arithmetic (my introduction to college radio stations which turned me away from commercial radio for good).

mikoyan wrote:

The King in Yellow wrote:

Believe me, Animals is one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums as well (and Dark Side of the Moon could be on the list too).
I just get tired of hipsters (and I'm not referring to anyone on these boards) proclaiming that a "real" Pink Floyd fan's favorite albums are Wish You Were Here and The Final Cut (The Final Cut, for God's sake).

I'd like to say that I don't understand why people say that but it's the internet and it wouldn't be that if someone couldn't lord their opinion over you. I like all of the Pink Floyd albums and would be really hard pressed to pick one as my all time favorite. They are all different stages of the band. I guess if I did, it would still have to be Meddle because that was before Roger Waters completely took over (don't get me wrong, I love Roger Waters but I dunno). Anyways, if I were going to do it in order:
1. Meddle
2. Animals
3. Wish You Were Here
4. Dark Side of the Moon
5. The Wall
6. Momentary Lapse of Reason
7. Atom Heart Mother
8. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
9. The Final Cut
10. The Division Bell
11. Saucerful of Secrets
12. Ummagumma
13 Obscured by Clouds
14. More

If I had to make my Floyd list...
1. The Wall
2. Animals
3. Dark Side of the Moon
4. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
5. Meddle (One of These Days, Fearless, and Echoes -just awesome)
6. Wish You Were Here
7. Saucerful of Secrets
8. Momentary Lapse of Reason
9. The Final Cut
10. The rest

The King in Yellow wrote:

If I had to make my Floyd list...
1. The Wall
2. Animals
3. Dark Side of the Moon
4. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
5. Meddle (One of These Days, Fearless, and Echoes -just awesome)
6. Wish You Were Here
7. Saucerful of Secrets
8. Momentary Lapse of Reason
9. The Final Cut
10. The rest

The funny thing is that if I did my list on another day, it would be different....

The List
1. Waiting for Columbus - Little Feat
2. Back to Basics - Billy Bragg
3. The Thieving Magpie - Marillion
4. Blue Trane - John Coltrane
5. Velvet Underground & Nico - Velvet Underground

Commentary
1. One of the greatest live albums of all time and the definitive Little Feat album [even if Lowell's voice was a bit of a wreck by this point].

2. Billy Bragg is at his best with just his guitar. (And, yea, I know he can neither sing, nor play a lick....)

3. I'm a big Marillion fan, so this one is kind of a nostalgia pick but it's a great live record by an excellent 2nd wave brit-prog band. It also is a good combo of hits (plus all of Misplaced Childhood) from the entirety of the Fish-era catalog. If you wanted one, you can't go wrong here.

4. Genius.

5. Torn between any of the first 3 VU records plus the later VU (Loaded is fine and, yea, everyone knows all the words to those songs, but it always feels too contrived for my taste). And, yea, Nico is an aural pantload...there's no getting around that...but both "Heroin" and "Venus in Furs" are pure smoking brilliance and make this one one of my all-time faves.

I've come to actually prefer "White Light/White Heat" over "VU & Nico", although that's obviously the more significant record. It's one of those records I wish I could have heard in its proper historical context. I bet it was just _blistering_. Still is.

I've been listening to the Prince records after listing them...one thing that always strikes me about the Revolution stuff in particular is how it creates this hypersexualized, ambiguous world. Listening to the music feels decadent, and there's all of these codes and specific semantics. I think that's one of Prince's greatest powers as a songwriter, to just kind of envelop you in this decadent vision. At least before "The Rainbow Children" and all that.

Michael Barnes wrote:

I've come to actually prefer "White Light/White Heat" over "VU & Nico", although that's obviously the more significant record. It's one of those records I wish I could have heard in its proper historical context. I bet it was just _blistering_. Still is.

And that's the thing, innit? To go back to my old music critic pretentions for a minute: I think ...& Nico is the most significant of the lot and feel that both Heroin and ViF are two of the best "soundscape"/sound sculptures--songs that effectively capture/depict their theme in song.

But yea, "blistering" is absolutely the best term for White Light, White Heat. The title song is about mainlining speed and the damn near whole record captures that sentiment. Sister Ray in all its 17-minute self-indulgent glory is one the greatest musical rollercoaster rides out there. (Plus, "Here She Comes Now" is actually one of my favorite single songs from any artist.)

The one I have hard time placing is VU. I can't escape thinking that Lou Reed's Velvets-era songwriting is possibly its most mature on this record even though it's got none of the "everyone knows the words" classics like Loaded is, well, loaded with. I dunno... If you don't own it, it's worth tracking down the Peel Slowly box set to get Lou Reed's original "Closet Mix" of the record. Somehow it sounds worse but works better...


Michael Barnes wrote:

I've been listening to the Prince records after listing them...one thing that always strikes me about the Revolution stuff in particular is how it creates this hypersexualized, ambiguous world. Listening to the music feels decadent, and there's all of these codes and specific semantics. I think that's one of Prince's greatest powers as a songwriter, to just kind of envelop you in this decadent vision. At least before "The Rainbow Children" and all that.

For Prince's "decadence," have you tracked down a copy of The Black Album? (I think Warner Bros' finally did a fairly limited Archives series reissue of this thing on CD a few years back. I had the original only-available-from-Greece import LP for a long time [finally sold it off to a DJ friend who had begged me to the point of self-abasement ] but I think it's still around It's "sexy Prince" gone completely off the fucking rails but still a solid "sex-funk" album. I used to joke that it's the soundtrack to a slideshow of all the old Ohio Players' album covers.


BTW, I didn't realize you were such a big Bowie-head. I've got a couple of very high quality ZiggyDiamond Dogs-era bootlegs (Santa Monica '74 off the top of my head, but I'm almost certain there's a few more) plus a killer soundboard from LA during the NIN-Bowie tour. I *may* also have the NIN set from that same night. You want me to burn a copies of this stuff up for you and send it on down? (Gratis, of course. Consider 'em payment for the shipping on the Pandora games )

Dogmatix wrote:

And that's the thing, innit? To go back to my old music critic pretentions for a minute: I think ...& Nico is the most significant of the lot and feel that both Heroin and ViF are two of the best "soundscape"/sound sculptures--songs that effectively capture/depict their theme in song.

But yea, "blistering" is absolutely the best term for White Light, White Heat. The title song is about mainlining speed and the damn near whole record captures that sentiment. Sister Ray in all its 17-minute self-indulgent glory is one the greatest musical rollercoaster rides out there. (Plus, "Here She Comes Now" is actually my favorite

The one I have hard time placing is VU. I can't escape thinking that Lou Reed's Velvets-era songwriting is possibly its most mature on this record even though it's got none of the "everyone knows the words" classics like Loaded is, well, loaded with. I dunno... If you don't own it, it's worth tracking down the Peel Slowly box set to get Lou Reed's original "Closet Mix" of the record. Somehow it sounds worse but works better...

To me all the VU albums are like this. Shit that would have had your jaw on the floor BLOWING YOUR FUCKING MIND at the time they were released. But, to my ear at least, are fairly tame now. It's that eternal problem with the real trailblazers being copied so much and having such a big affect on subsequent music that at this point their music just sounds... dated.

I never know how to feel about those bands. They should be rightly revered but it never makes me want to listen to a VU album, even though I have them all.

Bowie is my #1 music person of all time. I'd love to hear those bootlegs.

He's the _only_ performer that I've ever been starstruck by. The first time I saw him, it was at a general admission venue and I got there like four hours before the show started so I could be up front. When he came on (by himself with an acoustic guitar, doing "Quicksand"), I'm not too macho to refuse to admit that I was teary-eyed.

There is literally no one in music that captures _everything_ I love about music. He is the best rock star of al time.

"The Black Album" was on my "best of Prince" list...great stuff.

On the subject of dirty Prince, "Erotic City" is one of the more neglected Prince cuts, it being a B-side and all.

@GarySax: Oddly enough, I've found myself going completely the other way. Every time I hear a new, allegedly "groundbreaking" artist, I find myself saying, "I much prefer the way the Sonic Youth/Buzzcocks/Robert Fripp/David Sylvian/Slayer/The Grateful Dead/Howlin' Wolf did it." It's been a very long time since anything truly blew my mind as it feels to me that there is less "influenced by" and more "nearly covering" these days. (Christ, Afrocelt Soundsystem and A3/Alabama-3 *might* have been the last time I was surprised by a band, and even then there was a niggling bit in the back of my head saying "I'd rather be listening to Tackhead...")

But we all also know that I have a significant "Get the hell off my lawn you young whippersnappers" quality about me, so that might be a factor