Monthly Archives: February 2010

The List 2010, #70-61

Part the fourth!

70
Tortoise 1994
Tortoise
I had tickets to go see Tortoise, this past Monday. Was too sick to make it. That's probably OK, since I haven't liked much of what they've put out in the last 14 years. This album, though. Mmm Mmm post-rocky Good. It's a bit more song-oriented than the other Tortoise record on the list. A bit less like a big sound collage. Sounds more like a band playing these cool, jazzy, spacey instrumentals.
69
Neutral Milk Hotel 1998
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
I rarely listen to this any more. It's so strange, and often abrasive, that I rarely find myself in the mood. So, when I was assembling this list, I made myself listen to it again, to at least have it fresh in my head when it came time to do the sorting. And, so I gathered my courage, and I put it on, to see if I still liked it. I did. Having grown more familiar with Syd Barrett's music, over the last couple of years, this no longer seems as shockingly original as it once did. But, it's still mighty powerful.
68
The Sundays 1990
"Reading, Writing and Arithmetic"
This is one of the many suprising entries on this year's list - suprising to me anyway. I've always liked this record, and I've been playing it a lot recently. I just never realized how much I liked it, I guess. So, here it is! I really do love the sound of it - her voice, his guitar, the whole lazy, dreamy, thing. And, I love this guitar player's sound and style. For instance, listen to that second clip ("Joy"), and then listen to this (skip ahead to 2:15 or so):

I = Theef!
In my defense, it did take me 15 years to recognize where I got that guitar bit from. I didn't copy it consciously.
67
Rogue Wave 2005
Out Of The Shadow
It's a quirky little slightly-psychedelic folk rock record! It's very much in the same niche as The Shins' first (though tending more towards the acoustic), and it's kindof like what Modest Mouse used to sound like. Ah, the good old days... of five years ago.
66
The Colorblind James Experience 1987
The Colorblind James Experience

Imagine Frank Zappa took over a western NY wedding band, broke all their polkas and line-dances and country swing tunes into short jerky fragments which repeat over and over while the singer sings surreal lyrics in a pleasant deadpan. With vibes! I doubt I'd know anything about these guys, if I didn't go to school in Rochester, NY.
65
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 2005
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Here's another surprise. I do like this record, but I don't think it has earned such a high spot - I've only had this for a few months. Nevertheless, here it is! This band has somehow captured the essence of the Talking Heads without sounding a whole lot like them. It does take a bit to get used to the singer's lazy groan, but if you can manage that, it's a great record.
64
Cowboy Junkies 1996
Lay It Down

"That lonely, sinking feeling". This is probably the most somber of all the Junkies' records. It's like a 50 minute melancholy sigh.
63
The Cars 1978
The Cars


Everyone knows at least six of the nine songs on this one, and you can hear any of those six any time of the day, if you just flip through the channels.
62
The Doors 1967
The Doors

Even today, this sounds unique; nobody ever tried copying their sound. And even The Doors themselves couldn't manage to hold onto it for too long.

Relatedly, this is an abomination.

61
Big Star 1972
#1 Record
The first time I heard this band, or ever heard of this band was more than twenty years after this record was released - and I wasn't alone. A lot of people were introduced to them in the early 90's, during a kind of Big Star revival. Why such great songs would wallow in obscurity for so long remains a mystery.

And, the histogram:

Still Ill

I'll try to get the next installment of The List up tomorrow. But, no promises...

In the meantime, enjoy Gillian Welch & David Rawlings doing "Rock Of Ages":

Mardi Blah

And here I was just thinking to myself last week about how I hadn't had a cold since last spring. Hack. Cough.

Interview tomorrow! Maybe I can avoid sneezing on the hiring manager.

The List, 2010, #80-71

Round three! Six of the following are new to The List.

80
The Smiths 1984
Hatful Of Hollow

It took me a long time to really get into The Smiths: 25 years, in fact. My friends in college liked The Smiths, so I got to hear plenty of them; but they were always too foppish for my taste. A couple of years ago, though, I decided to give them another chance, and so I bought this. It's basically live versions of the songs on their first album, along with a couple of (at the time) new things: notably, "How Soon Is Now". Being live versions, (most Peel Sessions) most of the songs have a bit more kick than the versions on "The Smiths", which is why this album is here, and not that one.
79
The Doors 1967
Strange Days
I love the creepy slide guitar in "Moonlight Drive", and "When The Music's Over" is my favorite of all The Doors' epics.
78
Spoon 2002
Kill The Moonlight
It was the one right after "Girls Can Tell" - with which it has much in common - so I expected more sublime greatness. It falls just short. There are plenty of great songs here, though. It's solid start to finish, in fact. Definitely my 2nd-favorite Spoon record.
77
The Beatles 1964
Hard Day's Night

My favorite of their early records. It starts with that chord, and the next 16.5 minutes are solid classic early Beatles: "A Hard Day's Night", "I Should Have Known Better", "If I Fell", "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You", "And I Love Her", "Tell Me Why", "Can't Buy Me Love". And that's just side one. Until earlier this year, the songs on side two were unknown to me; and while they aren't as strong as the first side, many are strong enough that I wonder why I hadn't heard them before. I still haven't seen the movie.
76
Wilco 2007
Sky Blue Sky
It's a nice, mellow album. Good for driving around to. And excellent for close listening. Tweedy's songs are fantastic, and his lyrics are some of my favorite ever. For example, the stinging "Hate It Here": "I'll check the phone I’ll check the mail I’ll check the phone again and I call your mom She says you’re not there and I should take care"; and the cryptic and mellifluous "You Are My Face": "I remember my mother’s Sister’s husband’s brother Working in the goldmine full-time Filling in for sunshine". It's just fun to hear.
75
John Mayall 1966
Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton
I've had it forever, but for some reason, I've been listening to this one a lot lately. I guess it finally clicked with me. Clapton's playing sizzling, of course, but the songs themselves are fun. I'm not much of a blues guy, but I think I'll see if I can figure out where this stuff came from.
74
Rolling Stones 1971
Sticky Fingers

Yet another that I've only recently started listening to. A few years back, I got all the Stones' records at once, and I've been slowly making my way through them. In that context, this one was kindof easy to overlook; flip through the Stones' catalog and you'll find a litle clump of three records, all from a three-year time span, that are stuffed-full with classic-rock ™ Stones songs: "Beggars Banquet", "Let It Bleed", and "Sticky Fingers"; and up until recently, I only had the strength of will to get through the first two. But I have persevered and now I know "Sticky Fingers", too. It's a gritty and often dark record, much more so than any of their other records (at least of those I've really listened to so far). I still have to skip "Brown Sugar", but after that - good stuff.
73
The Breeders 1993
Last Splash

I could never get into Frank Black's post-Pixies stuff, but I really dig what Kim Deal has done. This wasn't their first, but this album was the first to catch my attention - and everyone else's too - with a most unlikely hit, the oddly fun "Cannonball". That's one great thing about The Breeders, no matter what they're playing, they always sound like they're having fun - and that's infectious.
72
The Breeders 1990
Pod

Two Breeders records in a row? Yep, that's how the computer ranked 'em, and this time round I'm not going to argue with the computer. But, even though I was a bit surprised to see it here, it makes sense. I do like "Pod" more than I like "Last Splash", but not a whole lot more. "Pod" is a very different record from "Last Splash"; it's a bit less accessible, a bit rougher, more experimental, it has Tanya Donnely (of Belly) and Britt Walford (of Slint, on drums), it has Beatles cover. And it's more like the albums that would follow "Last Splash".
71
Alison Krauss & Union Station 1992
Every Time You Say Goodbye

I've told this story a million times on this blog, but to me, this album is the soundtrack to our leaving upstate NY, one dreary late winter, and arriving in NC where the flowers were out, trees were blooming and the grass was green - the heart of Bluegrass country.

The Histogram tells the tale: