With the new update comes one of my favorite simple list games (and a nice way to organize my listening habits).
Just go down the new updated list and find the first gap of 10 albums that you haven't listened to completely.
I can't remember what my gap was last time but I know that I've listened to a ton of acclaimed music over that past couple of years. This time I first get to my 10 albums at #480 starting with The Fall's This Nation's Saving Grace through The Beatles Please Please Me, with In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Coming to rescue me at #490 before I get to an 11-album gap.
How do you fare? [Harold Wexler doesn't get to play by the way!]
870-879. The highest ranking album I have not heard is At The Drive-In's "Relationship Of Command" at 464. I had just finished listening to the whole top 500, and now I just need that album to complete it again. Next ones are also recent climbers, Notwists's "Neon Golden" and Roni Size's "New Forms" (at least I think it is). And then I'm back to where I was, at #592: "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One".
870-879. The highest ranking album I have not heard is At The Drive-In's "Relationship Of Command" at 464. I had just finished listening to the whole top 500, and now I just need that album to complete it again. Next ones are also recent climbers, Notwists's "Neon Golden" and Roni Size's "New Forms" (at least I think it is). And then I'm back to where I was, at #592: "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One".
Oh man, Stephan. Skip the others and make the Yo La Tengo album your next listen. The clear apex from a really great band. Firmly in my all time top-20.
870-879. The highest ranking album I have not heard is At The Drive-In's "Relationship Of Command" at 464. I had just finished listening to the whole top 500, and now I just need that album to complete it again.
Relationship of Command is my #20 all-time, it's the album that is just at my limit between "almost flawless" (my top 19) and "very good". If I gave Pitchforky grades, it would be my 9.0!
Though I came close a couple times earlier, my first gap is 491-500. I've been wanting to listen to Crazy Rhythms for a while now, so this gap should be closed pretty soon.
I second the recommendation for the Yo La Tengo album. Also, the OP should definitely give a listen to This Nation's Saving Grace and turn his 10-album gap into a 9-album gap.
#196 Rock Bottom until #205 We're Only in it for the Money. But Blood Sugar Sex Magik (#200) will be listened to shortly. Although I don't think I will particularly like it.
#196 Rock Bottom until #205 We're Only in it for the Money. But Blood Sugar Sex Magik (#200) will be listened to shortly. Although I don't think I will particularly like it.
If you don't expect to like BSSM then you might as well listen to Rock Bottom or Zen Arcade from that section, as both are far superior.
#196 Rock Bottom until #205 We're Only in it for the Money. But Blood Sugar Sex Magik (#200) will be listened to shortly. Although I don't think I will particularly like it.
If you don't expect to like BSSM then you might as well listen to Rock Bottom or Zen Arcade from that section, as both are far superior.
Thanks for the advice. Rock Bottom seems very interesting and I am not familiar with the Canterbury scene, so I am looking forward to listening to that album. I am less curious about Zen Arcade, because punk is not my genre, at all. But I'll keep it in mind anyway.
I wouldn't classify Zen Arcade as punk. If anything I'd group them with 80's underground rock.
So you think that somebody who dislikes punk quite a bit could enjoy Zen Arcade? In that case I should check it out.
It kinda depends what you call punk, Husker Dü clearly does not sound at all like Ramones, Pistols or Clash, they sound to me much more influenced by Wire. Maybe your opinion on Sonic Youth or Minutemen could reflect more how you would like them.
BSSM is on my top 20 all time, and I don't think any other Red Hot album comes even close : it's much less muddled than their previous ones and much more original than the following (except maybe One Hot Minute which has some strange moments). If I was objective, it would not deserve a top 20 all time, because the reason why I like it that much is because it was my favourite album through all my teenage years, but it is really great enough to deserve that 200th spot on AM.
I wouldn't classify Zen Arcade as punk. If anything I'd group them with 80's underground rock.
So you think that somebody who dislikes punk quite a bit could enjoy Zen Arcade? In that case I should check it out.
It kinda depends what you call punk, Husker Dü clearly does not sound at all like Ramones, Pistols or Clash, they sound to me much more influenced by Wire. Maybe your opinion on Sonic Youth or Minutemen could reflect more how you would like them.
BSSM is on my top 20 all time, and I don't think any other Red Hot album comes even close : it's much less muddled than their previous ones and much more original than the following (except maybe One Hot Minute which has some strange moments). If I was objective, it would not deserve a top 20 all time, because the reason why I like it that much is because it was my favourite album through all my teenage years, but it is really great enough to deserve that 200th spot on AM.
It's a good thing that they don't sound like the bands you mentioned. Although I appreciate Wire and Sonic Youth (not familiar with Minutemen) more than the 'classic' punk bands, I am still not a fan of them (nor a specialist, at all). I have the same problem with a band like Nirvana. I like them, but I don't love them and that's partly caused by their punky sound.
I wouldn't classify Zen Arcade as punk. If anything I'd group them with 80's underground rock.
So you think that somebody who dislikes punk quite a bit could enjoy Zen Arcade? In that case I should check it out.
It kinda depends what you call punk, Husker Dü clearly does not sound at all like Ramones, Pistols or Clash, they sound to me much more influenced by Wire. Maybe your opinion on Sonic Youth or Minutemen could reflect more how you would like them.
Although I appreciate Wire and Sonic Youth (not familiar with Minutemen) more than the 'classic' punk bands, I am still not a fan of them (nor a specialist, at all). I have the same problem with a band like Nirvana. I like them, but I don't love them and that's partly caused by their punky sound.
The line between what is punk or what is alt./indie rock is very blurred, but it's safe to say that it all started with the first generation of Punk bands. Although most of them were on major labels, it was the attitude they stood for: That you don't necessarily need to practise your instrument for 15 years or play 50 notes in a split second for making great music. Thirty-five years later, this attitude still makes sense for all things related to alt.rock.
The first punk wave turned into a DIY Hardcore punk scene with its own venues, fanzines and independent record companies. SST, Homestead, Alternative Tentacles, Touch & Go, etc., all those legendary indie labels came out of the hardcore environment. Hüsker Dü, Meat Puppets, Replacements, Minutemen, Beastie Boys, Butthole Surfers, they all started as punk bands. Even Nirvana has its roots firmly in hardcore (before he joined Nirvana, Dave Grohl was in Scream).
After awhile many of the above mentioned bands got tired of playing the same kind of ultrashort-faster than the speed of light songs and evolved their music into other directions. This new development was more open and adventurous, also bands with different backgrounds joined in. Like Sonic Youth, which came from the NY art scene, or REM and The Wipers, who brought more conventional influences like '60s/Garage Rock. In the mid-80s, alt.rock had many different sounds and faces, but what they all had in common was that same DIY Punk ethic.
The current 2010s scene is musically not so different from their elder brothers of the 80s (although I would say, now it's even more varied but also much more inoffensive). With this in mind, I always wondered why on this forum, which is so biased towards alt.rock, there is so little acclaim and respect for punk music. Without Punk there probably never would have been any alt. scene as we got to know it and we still would be listening to 20th generation upgrades of the Eagles and ELO.
Your gap contains some real personal gems of mine Moonbeam... I think given what I've figured from your tastes you might find Something/Anything the most interesting.
I wouldn't classify Zen Arcade as punk. If anything I'd group them with 80's underground rock.
So you think that somebody who dislikes punk quite a bit could enjoy Zen Arcade? In that case I should check it out.
It kinda depends what you call punk, Husker Dü clearly does not sound at all like Ramones, Pistols or Clash, they sound to me much more influenced by Wire. Maybe your opinion on Sonic Youth or Minutemen could reflect more how you would like them.
Although I appreciate Wire and Sonic Youth (not familiar with Minutemen) more than the 'classic' punk bands, I am still not a fan of them (nor a specialist, at all). I have the same problem with a band like Nirvana. I like them, but I don't love them and that's partly caused by their punky sound.
The line between what is punk or what is alt./indie rock is very blurred, but it's safe to say that it all started with the first generation of Punk bands. Although most of them were on major labels, it was the attitude they stood for: That you don't necessarily need to practise your instrument for 15 years or play 50 notes in a split second for making great music. Thirty-five years later, this attitude still makes sense for all things related to alt.rock.
The first punk wave turned into a DIY Hardcore punk scene with its own venues, fanzines and independent record companies. SST, Homestead, Alternative Tentacles, Touch & Go, etc., all those legendary indie labels came out of the hardcore environment. Hüsker Dü, Meat Puppets, Replacements, Minutemen, Beastie Boys, Butthole Surfers, they all started as punk bands. Even Nirvana has its roots firmly in hardcore (before he joined Nirvana, Dave Grohl was in Scream).
After awhile many of the above mentioned bands got tired of playing the same kind of ultrashort-faster than the speed of light songs and evolved their music into other directions. This new development was more open and adventurous, also bands with different backgrounds joined in. Like Sonic Youth, which came from the NY art scene, or REM and The Wipers, who brought more conventional influences like '60s/Garage Rock. In the mid-80s, alt.rock had many different sounds and faces, but what they all had in common was that same DIY Punk ethic.
The current 2010s scene is musically not so different from their elder brothers of the 80s (although I would say, now it's even more varied but also much more inoffensive). With this in mind, I always wondered why on this forum, which is so biased towards alt.rock, there is so little acclaim and respect for punk music. Without Punk there probably never would have been any alt. scene as we got to know it and we still would be listening to 20th generation upgrades of the Eagles and ELO.
Nice little punk/alternative rock history, interesting.
Still, I don't care too much about influences when listening to music. I know punk has been a very influential movement in popular music. I don't underestimate that. But that doesn't mean I like the sound of the average punk band. It's a good thing some band really make their own music in their own way, but for me, it is still way more important to appreciate the sound of a band rather than the level on the scale of DIY.
A lot of genres are (or were) very influential for today's pop music. And although I like to hear where the bands I listen to come from, I still listen to music because I like their music and not because they wre so influential.