Catch Up (Ketchup)

Oops. I really got behind this time. Which is pretty much what I say every time but this time I mean it. Moving from Texas to Chicago will do that to you though. So before I keep listening to more albums I am making myself at least give you a quick list.

Leave on the Shelf
These are albums which I either didn't like, will never listen to
 again, or down right pissed me off.

382 The Modern Lovers, The Modern Lovers - Yeah I get it, it was new for 1972 and it also sucked for 1972. I realize if these guys didn't ever play maybe David Bowie wouldn't have been David Bowie but I got a feeling he would have found his way otherwise.

379 CrazySexyCool, TLC - Creep and Waterfalls will always make me feel crazy nestalgic for watching MTV in the house I grew up in but that is all this album will do for me. (Fully admit I will never own an R&B album from this era.)


375 Late for the Sky, Jackson Browne - Another Jackson Browne album?!?

374 Siren, Roxy - Brian Eno strikes again!!! I feel like I missed the boat for this genre of music. If you weren't listening to it in the 70s good luck enjoying it now.

373 Volunteers, Jefferson Airplane - I'm all set.

370 Mott, Mott the Hoople - We already have a David Bowie, thank you very much.

367 Ray of Light, Madonna - Madonna's House/TripHop transition is in full swing and I hate it.

357 Between the Buttons, The Rolling Stone - Sorry Mr. Moore, the Beatles already wrote a better version of this album. Though Wes Anderson has got plenty to borrow from here.

Listen to on Spotify

Enjoyed and maybe I'll check in on it on from time to time.

383 More Songs About Buildings and Food, Talking Heads - A band I have never really given a chance and I may end up loving them. The hyperactivity and ADD nature in their music could be exactly what I need. This is the sound of a band discovery a new way of writing music without sounding like they are just making it up on the spot or being pretentious about it.

381 Smile, The Beach Boys - If I get into the Beach Boys more I may buy this album but it's more of a documentary than a record. 

378 (What's The Story) Morning Glory, Oasis - A band I have been quite biased against since my youth because it wasn't cool to listen to them in the mid 90s. At least if you skated it wasn't. On the whole, ok songs, and worth a listen.

369 Louder than Bombs, The Smiths - Once you accept Morissey for who is The Smith's become far more enjoyable and almost adorable. If I was listening to music in 1986 I might have loved this album, as it stands it's a good listen but only occasionally. 

368 The Eagles, The Eagles - Breezy cool Eagles as is standard. Good for a Tuesday afternoon. It ain't prime-time listening.

363 Substance, New Order - A poster on my brother's door growing up made me curious. This album is a compilation of the band's singles up to 1987. New Order developed and embodied what may be considered quintessential 80s pop.

361 Stankonia, Outkast - I will never listen to the whole album ever again (it fails on the grand scale) and that's why it's not on the buy list but some of my favorite Outkast tracks are on this album. So Fresh, So Clean, Ms. Jackson, and B.O.B.. B.O.B. will always get me pumped up. I'm going to listen to it right now.

360 Singles Going Steady, Buzzcocks - Yeah. It was fun and not nearly as terrible as the Ramones loved to be. Plenty to hook yourself with.

359 Honkey Chateau, Elton John - Great reminder that Elton John didn't always sound like lame. Rocket Man and Honky Cat. Great choices. But still maybe just take the greatest hits.

Buy

Or already own.

380 Funky Kingston, Toots and the Maytals - I've always admitted that I am a Bob Marley fan and not necessarily a reggae fan. But! I have always wanted to be more of a reggae fan. Toots embodies all that I love about Marley but still stands apart for me. If Marley is the dealer then Toots is the sweet ganja he's slinging.

377 The Ultimate Collection, John Lee Hooker - All that I love in the blues Hooker gave me. Most other blues musician seem to merely recycle him which makes me grimace.

376 Post, Bjork - Bjork is often accused a merely being weird for the sake of being different but I never bought that. She's weird because that's was comes out of her but it's her norm. Post is sweeping (Army of Me to It's Oh So Quiet) and uses soundscapes better and more directly than most can (Isobel).

372 Reggatta de Blanc, The Police - You want find anyone who sounds like The Police and if you do it's probably some terrible cover band at a county fair. This album is their classic blend of punk and reggae and all before Sting was truly hate-able. If you don't like Walking on the Moon I say walk away now, but otherwise, spin it.

371 Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not, Arctic Monkeys - British-pop-punk. Simple, straight forward, energetic, infection. Try Dancing Shoes on for size.


366 American Recordings, Johnny Cash - By far the best thing I stumbled across this last go. Simple as country can get and that's the beauty of this album. It is just Cash and his guitar. The entire album. Basic songs, no fancy studio tricks. Rick Rubin knew there was a force still inside Cash and helped him show it by stepping out of the way. The themes are classic, mostly about God and forgiveness (Down There By The Train) and it's a beautiful record.

365 Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine - "Your anger is a gift." It's angry and uses simple riffs and hard knocks to prove it. William Wallace loves Freedom.

364 L.A. Woman, The Doors - The last of The Doors is maybe some of the best of The Doors. I know I have a soft spot in my heart for this album because Steve was always willing to rock out to L.A. Woman.

362 Siamese Dream, Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock, Today, and maybe throw in a little Geek USA and you've got the makings of a great album. Mid 90s at their best.


358 Sketches of Spain, Miles Davis - Oh hell yes!!! One of my favorite Miles Davis albums. It gets plenty of criticism for not being a jazz album and people don't know what to do with it but few albums can get me to stop what I am doing and just listen. Davis and Gil Evans were trying to encompass the beauty of Spanish music without just hawking it. I won't even suggest a song to listen to from it as an introduction. It really is a work that has to be listened to in it's entirety.You just have to put it on let it work for you if it will. It's slow, melodic, and textured.

Wu-Tang Clan and Steely Dan

Back at it again. After that first 100 I needed a little break...it was pretty rough at times. However the first 15 back gave me hope for a bright future. So here they are...the good, the OK, the ugly.

The Ugly:
~The End of Innocence -  Don Henley (#389), had Boys of Summer been on this album I possible could have forgiven it but...no BoS no forgiveness
~Music for Your Pleasure - Roxy Music(#396), uugggghhhh....Eno strikes again
~Enter the Wu-Tang - Wu-Tang Clan (#387), I know that rap connoisseurs would berate me for not liking this album but I am not a rap connoisseur myself so...
~A Quick One - The Who (#384), Really? Really?


The OK:
~Good Old Boys - Randy Newman (#394), I never thought I would say this, "But I like a Randy ~Newman album." Perhaps it was the faint memories of Monk that it brought to mind but this album is actually quite entertaining and either quite racist or an amazing social commentary.
~The Pretender - Jackson Browne (#391), 70s singer-songwriting at is best which is why it's just OK.
~Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan (#386), I actually really enjoyed this album but something kept me from moving to the The Good. Probably the fact that the named the album Pretzel Logic.
~Elephant - The White Stripes (#390), Jack White at his Stripes finest (Though I recommend The Raconteurs if would want Jack at his finest.)


The Good:
~Blue Lines - Massive Attack (#397), one of the first, if not the first, trip-hop albums, Blue Lines encompasses all that is worth listening to in the genre. Plus it always reminds me of my brother.
~Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem (#395), An odd mix of dance, electro, and punk. I have loved this album since the first time I heard Someone Great.
~Let It Be - The Beatles (#392), what more could I say about Let It Be that hasn't been said, however if I don't ever have to listen to the song Let It Be again I'll be ok with that. And Hey Jude for that matter. (Not that they aren't good songs but I have just heard them too many times.)

~The Indestructible Beat of Soweto - Various Artists (#388), liking, and even listening to this album, goes against my main problem with this list, it's not an "album" at all. But I am really glad I did listen to it. I was mostly intrigued with the genre because I had never heard of it. If you are looking for music that makes you feel nostalgic for a place you've never seen Soweto is your jam.
~Love and Theft - Bob Dylan (#385), with some artists their catalog is too large to know where to step into it at and Bob Dylan is one of the artists. I have always wanted to understand him but never knew where to start and I feel like this is that open door for me. One I will own soon. (I know this album is far departure from who Bob Dylan was in the 60s and someone will tell me try Freewheelin' or something but this album worked for me.) Try Cry Awhile on for size; love the way they play with the time-feel in that song.
~Kala - M.I.A. (#393), rhythm and texture is the phrase. Everyone has heard Paper Planes but I was happy to find there was a lot more to M.I.A. than just one song. Try Boyz or Bird Flu. Especially if you want to get a party going.

100 Down

Well I'm 100 down and I have gotten a little behind and I lost my notes for the past albums so I am going to cheat and play catch up the easy way.

Thumbs Down:

Sandista! - The Clash (#407)

Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd - Lynyrd Skynyrd (#403), yeah it's got Freebird on it but...whatever

Illmatic - Nas (#402)

The Best of the Temptations (#400), I like the Temptations but I have already made my argument against compilation "albums." 

Thumbs Sideways:

Time Out of Mind - Bob Dylan (#410)

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got - Sinead O'Connor (#408), I know what you are thinking but it wasn't that bad actually

Rain Dogs - Tom Waits (#399), not bad but it's Tom Waits and like I said before he just willies me big time

Eliminator - ZZ Top (#398), it's ZZ Top and you'll get the hits but they don't last real long

Thumbs Up:

Strange Days - The Doors (#409)

Radio City - Big Star (#405), compared to other of their albums I have listened to this was actually good

Dr. John's Gumbo - Dr. John (#404), simply an enjoyable listen

Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers (#401)

until next time...

 

Catch Up

It's been awhile since I posted but I have been continuing strong...ish. I took a little break to breath but I am back at it. 434-411 kind of blurred together for me. Especially that run of Diana Ross & The Supremes (#423), The Ronettes (#422), and Best of Girl Groups, Volumes I & II (#421), all three of which were "best of albums." I've already seen a few "best of" or "greatest hits" on this list which I think defeats the point of this list. To me an album is an entity, not just a collection of songs; it's a novel produced by an artist or group and like a novel, good albums tell a story (not in a literary way but a story nonetheless) and should be listened to as a whole and not just in a piecemeal manner. Anyway...

There really was only one album I did not like in the past 24, and that was honestly, Paul McCartney's Band on the Run (#418). Mr. McCartney, like most of the other Beatles, spent what he had in The Beatles. I just didn't care at all for what he wrote on this album, and I honestly if I have to listen to Bluebird again and hear the word "bluebird" mentioned well over 50 times in that song, I may write Paul of letter of derision or worse.

Oh and, The Go-Go's (#414) are...ugh. Seriously? They ain't terrible but the ain't not terrible, you know?

Brian Eno (#432 & #429) is Brian Eno and just weird. There is no sentiment in his music to keep me coming back. Same as with Bruce Springsteen (#424). Not the weird part but the sentiment part. I've never listened to his music and thought it was trash, it just doesn't grab my ear. I was grateful for Van Halen's Van Halen (#415) though it isn't their best album at all. That's 1984.

The real surprises - but not in a poop my pants kind of way - were Tom Waits (#416) and Minutemen (#413). Tom Waits surprised me with Mule Variations as it wasn't weird poems with creepy sound effects. Hold On and House Where Nobody Lives were songs I could definitely listened to again. And his crooked voice lends itself well to stories of blue. Not sure I can really get behind him as an artist on the whole however, as he willies me big time. Minutemen's Double Nickels On the Dime, for me kind of comes out of nowhere. They are a sloppy, more talented version of your brothers jr. high band. The album is collection of 43 short novelles, none longer then 3 minutes and most around 1:45 minutes. It's really hard to know what to say about this album besides that if the songs were any longer I might hate them and that I will definitely listen to this album again, though I don't know why. Try Viet Nam or This Ain't No Picnic.

Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend (#430) has been one my favorites albums for the past couple of years now. They are great at incorporating somewhat none-traditional-rock-instruments and afrobeats into what I would call a great rock album. Much in the similar way that The Police (#428) worked reggae into their own crafted rock. The Kids Don't Stand A Chance and Oxford Comma (watch the F-bombs) are most satisfying.

Piecemeal.

Sea Change

You know as I have been going through this list something has dawned on me; there are a good number of albums that I love that took a few spins for me to really get into them. Up to this point, I listen to an album and make a quick judgement (like a Roman emperor deciding the fate of a gladiator) and move on. Some music takes time to understand and have it make sense to you personally, and sometimes an artist I couldn't have cared less for at 25, will connect with me in a much needed way at 30. When I first heard Yankee Hotel Foxtrot I didn't give it a second thought but a couple years down the road, when I stumbled across it again, we were like dear childhood friends building huts and lighting tires on fire together. Inseparable. Also my mood on any given day can predict if I will have the patience for certain types of music. Sometimes I just need something really easy and accessible like Justin Timberlake and would rather not have to invest in an album. What I'm trying to say is that I fear that at times I may be too hasty in my judgements of an album after only one listen. That's really not hurting anyone but myself and in a hurt-myself-kind-of-way like missing-the-last-eposide-of-The-Shield king of way. It will be alright. I'm not going to listen to all 500 albums multiple times, I'm just going to be a little more open minded and big-bear-hearted moving forward.

You know what else, suicide sucks! And so does Suicide (#441). I suppose this one of those albums that had a huge impact on other artists but it sure is a bowl of poop. If Ghost Rider went anywhere it might be tolerable but it surely doesn't even try that. The breadth of this album doesn't really extend beyond what I could do with an old Casio, a loop station (heavy on the 4 minute loops), and an old tape recorder.

But luckily that was the worst of the last little bunch. Devo (#442) was enjoyable and it might be one of those albums that in order for me to appreciate it I would have to listen to it a few more times. It didn't make a good first impression. It seemed too...ADD for me. Too...cheeky. Though Uncontrollable Urge keeps me coming back and the Too Much Paranoias starts out promising but doesn't really deliver. Cheap Trick (#443) surprised me as not being total fluff and in fact I kind of enjoyed it. Definitely worth a second look, if only to listen to You're All Talk again. MC5 (#446) is far more hooky than I thought they would be and especially when they wanted to party in any kind of anti-establishment kind of way. I really dig Let Me Try.

The real treats were Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto (#447), Sam Cooke (#439), and Beck (#436). Getz/Gilberto is one of the finer jazz albums to come out of the...smooth-latin-jazz scene (I just made that up). No but really it is a great album and one that I think too many people would easily pass over, marking it as "passe et cliche" jazz. However, you'll rarely hear a more smooth sax anywhere than Stan Getz and the vocals by Astrud and Joao Gilberto are wonderful. "The Girl From Ipanema" shows up on this album but I suggest Corcovado.

Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963 was an incredible relief after just listening to Suicide. I've only been partially aware of Sam Cooke before this; songs like "Chain Gang" and "Twistin' The Night Away" show up in most any movie set in the 50s and 60s. But I've never really listened to him before and hearing him live made me appreciate the real soul in his voice (The Father of Soul) and I really look forward to exploring more of his stuff. Somebody Have Mercy makes me wish I was there in 1963. I may have been too white though.

I am really happy Sea Change by Beck made it on this list. I once read a statement that called this albums Beck's magnum opus and I would definitely agree. I think it's one of those albums that will last beyond Beck's years and future kidos may one day find a new appreciation for it. Though it does have a tendency to bum me out righteously sometimes. Already Dead is one of my favorites on here and Round the Bend has always reminded me of a Nick Drake song.

Round the Bend.

Zak Making Dollars

The bad: Just when I think I have heard the worst of the worst, I am proven wrong. Public Image Ltd (#461) was about the worst I've heard and not just on this list but in general. It makes me long for...I'd rather lick a tramp or listen to Creed than have to go through that album again. Public Image Ltd was Johnny Rotten's band post Sex Pistols and though it was a departure from the Sex Pistols it was far from an improvement. Def Leppard (#464) sacrificed any real talent they had for the sake of smash-hyper-sex hits that made them millions of dollars and created an album I couldn't care less for; though it didn't make me long for Creed. I like The Drifters but I don't think it's quite fair to put a 'best of' album on a list of greatest albums of all time. Los Lobos, though talented, offered little in the way of catchy tunes. As did Big Star and Alice Cooper. Wait! No! Big Star was crap. When Big Noize (Blake and Steve might be the only peeps who know that reference) can do a semi-decent and almost indistinguishable cover of one of your best hits...well maybe don't write songs and do taxes instead.

The good: I highly doubt that Here, My Dear by Marvin Gaye (#456) would be the only album of his on this list and it makes me excited for what's to come. Z by My Morning Jacket has a modern sensibility that I really connected to and will listen to again, though the effects on the vocals, after an albums worth of songs, might get distracting. Jackson Browne (#450) is one of the better singer-song writers to come out of the 70s and worth looking into more. EPMD (Eric and Patrick Making Dollars) (#453) had a similar swag to A Tribe Called Quest though quite different in musical influences and tempo and more obsessed with "dollars" and "business." Echo and the Bunnymen (#463) gave me a reason to give New Wave a serious look into. Not a bad album, though I think it's not the best of its type. I fully admit that New Wave is a genre that I think you had to grow up with to fully appreciate. The highlight of the last handful of albums was Back to Black by Amy Winehouse (#451). A wonderfully fresh and unique album. Amy Winehouse had an incredible soul in her voice, especially for a white girl, and the music is real throw-back but in no way does it merely rip off or recycle old Motown. I think Aretha and Otis should be proud. If you are like me, you never really gave her a chance but try listening to Me & Mr Jones or You Know I'm No Good or Tears Dry On Their Own if you don't want to listen to the whole album. Really though, the whole album is great.

485 - 465

Well...this is tough! There has been some doozies in the past 20. Mott the Poodle (484), sounded like a cheap Bowie rip-off, while if I saw Gang of Four (483) perform live I probably would have walked out; very little to hold my interest. Steve Earle (482) and Merle Haggard (477) were enjoyable as was Funkadelic (479) while Faith on Faith by George Michael was really the only thing worth listening to on that album. The rest just kind of ran together for me. I want to punch Morrissey in the throat after listening to The Smiths first album (473). Did you even try to sing on that album dude or just moan into the microphone? The surprises were Elvis Costello and the Attractions' Armed Forces (475) and Loretta Lynn's Greatest Hits (478). I have never really given either a chance and both were very accessible for me. Elvis Costello, at least at one point, did a great job of combining a quirky approach with real musicianship while Loretta Lynn could sing to me anytime of the day. Oh! And The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was white boys playing the blues as best as they can. I'll take them over B.B. King any day.

Here's to hoping it gets better quick...