Thanks to everyone for putting together such great year-end polls.

I thought I would start something to give a chance for anyone to celebrate favorite albums and artists on the 5-year increment anniversaries of their release. For fans of prolific artists (like say, Frank Zappa) upcoming anniversaries give us a chance to focus on different parts of a musician's catalog, or serves as a reminder to pop in older records from our ever-expanding music collection that might be forgotten.

I hope that people can post their thoughts on popular and obscure albums as close to the anniversary of their release date as possible. Every great album deserves attention at least every five years. Please share your celebration of classics from 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004!

I looked at Frank Zappa's discography today, and I happened to get an exact release date annivesary! I hope to add some more favorite albums onto my computer calendar, but FZ is as good a place as any to start.

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Frank Zappa - Sleep Dirt - released 1979

One of the more accessible albums of Zappa's deeper catalog of intricately composed genre-hopping music, this was one of a handful of records released in a short period of time to solve some sort of contractual snafu between FZ and Warner Brothers. Excellent epic instrumental work (the CD reissue overdubbed some interesting jazz vocals by Thana Harris over 3 tracks) recorded in the mid-1970s. This is probably one of the records I would turn to prove to skeptics that Zappa was more than a goofy novelty act.

Anybody else?

Led Zeppelin I came out today 40 years ago.

1984 was a great year for Minneapolis, with "Purple Rain," "Zen Arcade" and "Let It Be" all coming out.

February was a dud month of releases for me, so I start this thread and then it sinks into oblivion. But now...

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS!

BECK - MELLOW GOLD - Released March 1, 1994

While I was suprised at how slow most of the songs were compared to the breakout Loser, this was still a warped classic, and two songs with the F-word made a 13-year old like myself rebellious for listening to it! Hard to believe that this is the same guy to morph into Sea Change and Midnite Vultures.


CELEBRATING 40 YEARS!

VELVET UNDERGROUND - (self-titled) - Released March 1969

Amazing how different each of VU's 4 albums sound. Sort of the original alternative rock n' roll chameleons. Beautiful understated record.

Feel free to use the release dates of your respective home countries or whatever to commemorate the 5/year anniversaries of your favorite records.

Exploring New Sounds In Hi-Fi
for 50 Years and beyond...



far afuera..


(signed from your next dimension, Esquivel)

and this even shot 55 crystal skulls through its fervent orbit...



boombawoombawow..

March 6: Arcade Fire - NEON BIBLE (2 years - already!?)

March 9: U2 - THE JOSHUA TREE (22 years)

March 12: Velvet Underground - THE VU & NICO (42 years)

March 13: Radiohead - THE BENDS (14 years)
The Stone Roses - THE STONE ROSES (20 years)

March 15: Slint - SPIDERLAND (18 years)

March 16: Carole King - TAPESTRY (38 years)

March 22: The Beatles - PLEASE PLEASE ME (46 years)

March 24: Pink Floyd - DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (36 years)

Good timing for this whole album anniversary thing because today marks the release of my #1 favorite album of all time!

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS!

Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti - released March 3, 1979

What am amazing album, to have songs both obnoxious and beautiful, eccentric and epic, and borderline offensive all in an extensive musical package.

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS!

nine inch nails - the downward spiral

Released March 8, 1994

this album is in my top 20 of all time

Trent Reznor, still angry about something after all these year.

Hey remember this... time to celebrate some more record release anniversaries. I already missed some important personal ones, but I'll stick to ones this month.

CELEBRATING 5 YEARS!

Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse - released June 7, 2004

I'm seeing them for the first time later this month! I came into Sonic Youth appreciation with 1992's Dirty and I'm been moving backwards and forward with them at the same time. Everything since 2002's Murray Street has been so awesome... a mature sounding chaos. This one's my favorite, and close to my favorite album of the decade. Deserves more acclaim, without having to compare it to their pioneering earlier output.

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS!

Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica - released June 16, 1969

Very tough record to appreciate, but an absolute unique experience. With 69 Love Songs fresh on my mind over the past months, this record probably gave future musicians the freedom to explore the sprawling depths of their personal form of expression, regardless of song length, single potential, or even the need for singing or instruments.

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since that album came out, and even longer since the 'heyday' of the late 80s. They sounded so revitalised on that album especially. Also, their live show will be amazing - the first time I saw them, they were performing Daydream Nation...a few years ago...and it was amazing! Such a great atmosphere.

Anyways...

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS!!

Sigur Ros - ágætis byrjun (out 12 June 1999)

I would without a doubt still place this as one of my favourite albums of all time - this was the first band I truly loved. So much has been written about this album, but I remember one particular monday afternoon, doing (=bunking) sports, and listening to ny batteri, and my god it was overwhelming! I also remember how happy I was when I found the album in my local library - according to the staff and catalogue, it had probably been taken out, never to be returned, but I found it! And yeah, I have cried listening to this

Antimony92: great call on Agaetis Byrjun. Without question, one of my favorite albums and a true highlight of this past decade (or the '90s, if you want to get technical). "Ny Batteri" is the underrated masterpiece from it, for sure.

And lest we forget another classic album anniversary. The classic of all classics, celebrating its 12th birthday, TODAY!!!




Let's all take a moment.

Happy Birthday OK Computer! Talk about aging well; OKC still sounds better than just about anything else.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.

There's so much to be said about this album, so, for the most part, I won't try to say it...instead, I'll refer anyone who's interested to Ashley Kahn's terrific book, Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, or, for those more pressed for time, Fred Kaplan's appreciation which was posted on Slate today: http://www.slate.com/id/2225336/

Just two points:

1. KoB deserves all the praise heaped on it. It really can be appreciated by someone who knows zilch about jazz. And it has aged beautifully well.

2. Like some other great albums (Sgt. Pepper, Nevermind), its influence has been far from universally positive. However, like those albums, that shouldn't be held against it.

Incidentally, Kind of Blue is the oldest album in the AM top 100, and the highest-ranked album prior to 1965. Proper and fitting.

Great post, schleuse.

Kind of Blue... my 3rd or 4th favorite album of all time (depending on which way the wind is blowing that day). Maybe the most perfect record I've ever come across.