Day 4 of 10: My all time favorite albums that are STILL in listening rotation. Today is Friday, so part of me wants to go easy and pick one of my less controversial records. And John Cari and Darius Gambino each have named a record that may well wind up on my list too. But in lieu of naming one of those aforementioned LPs, I'm once again going my own way.
Today's pick is 2005's "Demon Days" by Gorillaz, an album that's dark and weird in all the best ways. It's one of the first records to effectively capture the post-apocalyptic struggle of living after the horror of 9/11, and it topped the virtual band's 2001 debut. This time out, Damon Albarn teamed with Danger Mouse to reach his creative peak. (There may still be room on this list for Blur -- stay tuned.)
Albarn, along with graphic artist Jamie Hewlett, devised the cartoon band in the late 1990s, but by 2005 the novelty needed something more substantial. Albarn found it in the unease many felt in the early 21st century. And right from the jump, "Demon Days" brings a sense of foreboding -- eerie sounds and sirens tell the listener that something horrible has happened. On track two -- Albarn asks the question "Are we the last living souls?" -- a theme repeated throughout the album -- over a series of electro beats and blips. But it's not all grim -- and, like a microcosm of the record itself -- the darkness gives way to a lovely chorus -- trademark Albarn with melancholy vocals accompanied simply by acoustic guitar and piano.
The album sticks to the theme, but this is far from a dirge: "Kids with Guns" borrows a Salt n Pepa riff to illuminate an issue society can't seem to shake. The album veers from dark to light, getting bright and upbeat at times as Albarn taps into a vast arsenal of influences and musical styles -- including gospel, Hip hop and world music.
For me, the high point comes on two stellar tracks: De La Soul join the party on the infectious single "Feel Good Inc", which to this day I sing along with birds -- much like this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXHCZdZkEQE (and I thought I was the only one!)
The other highlight is the dancey track "DARE", on which Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder takes lead vocals, playing up his image as a Mancunian thug. There's also a spoken word track featuring Dennis Hopper before the album's climactic and hopeful end. Overall, it's about the most fun you could have thinking about humanity's end and the destruction mankind has wrought on the world. Enjoy!
Day 3 of 10 of my all time favorite albums that are still in regular rotation -- in no particular order. I've enjoyed reading the lists from fellow Discordants John Cari and Darius Gambino and I'm pleased to share my latest entry: It's 1989's debut album by Manchester's Stone Roses.
The band had kicked around the Manchester scene for a few years before their debut, almost losing their drummer Reni to The Who (Pete Townshend recruited him, calling him the most naturally gifted drummer since Keith Moon). Lucky for us, The Who's loss is music's gain: Reni's dance-influenced beats combined with Mani's bass grooves laid the foundation for John Squire's psychedelic guitars and Ian Brown's larger-than-life vocals. And the result was a transcendent album that took cues from the past but blazed the way for the future -- defining Madchester and ushering in rave culture and Britpop.
Every track on this album is a gem, starting with the slow burn of "I Wanna Be Adored" (one of the greatest intros ever), the triumphant "She Bangs the Drums", the lovely "Waterfall", through my personal favorite "Made of Stone" and ending with the messianic "I am the Resurrection".
Ultimately, the Stone Roses are a cautionary tale -- a band that would never again match the dizzying heights of their debut.
I first got into this record in 1991, when it formed the soundtrack to a summer I spent in Los Angeles. In 2016 I was lucky enough to see the Stone Roses at Madison Square Garden -- and it ranks as one of the best live shows I've ever seen: 20,000 people dancing, singing, practically worshipping before four lads from Manchester.
A few months back, Facebook was awash with everyone's ten greatest albums of all time. The catch was the records had to STILL be in regular rotation, even if only once in a while. I had such a good time doing this exercise that I am posting my list here, on The Discordants.
Day 1 of 10 in no particular order: 10 of my all-time favorite albums (do the kids still say "albums"?) that are still in my regular rotation, even if only now and again. John Cari thanks for nominating me. I have a lot more than ten that I can think of, but I'll give it a go. (And I think I'll spare others the nominating process, but encourage anyone who wants to weigh in with their selections.)
I'm starting off with the album that I've listened to night after night on my basement turntable lately, 1986's "Big Shot Chronicles" by Game Theory. Schizophrenic power pop, at times aggressive, at times awkward. Clever chord structures, intelligent lyrics and great production from Mitch Easter. An underrated gem.
I was watching a great documentary last night about pioneering radio station WLIR on Long Island -- they're the ones who broke plenty of New Wave and Alternative bands in the early 80s and paved the way for MTV and a whole new youth culture. Check it out on Showtime.
In any case, the documentary used the chorus of Killing Joke's "Eighties" to mark the changing decade and musical styles. When I went back to listen to "Eighties" in full, I noticed an eerie similarity, right from the off:
Yep. That opening guitar riff sounds a whole heckuva lot like this:
In fact, when Nirvana was trying to decide which song to release as the second single off of Nevermind, Kurt Cobain worried that the guitar riff from "Come As You Are" was too similar to "Eighties". As Nirvana biographer Everett True writes, the head of Nirvana's record label Danny Goldberg pushed for the more commercial sound of "Come As You Are" over runner-up "In Bloom".
After "Come As You Are" was released, members of Killing Joke recognized their riff. But they didn't file a lawsuit for copyright infringement. And there are conflicting reports about why: Rolling Stone reported they didn't sue because of "personal and financial reasons" but Kerrang! reported differently.
It didn't take long for the two sides to bury whatever hatchet they might have had. After Cobain's death in 1994, Dave Grohl and his band Foo Fighters recorded a cover of Killing Joke's song "Requiem" as the B-Side for their 1997 single "Everlong". And in 2003, Grohl took a break from Foo Fighters to record drums with Killing Joke.
And yet... both Killing Joke and Nirvana might have been borrowing that guitar riff from an earlier source -- Captain Sensible. Here's "Life Goes On" by the Damned.
Another year, another best-of list. 2017 was a solid year, musically speaking. So here we go...
"Star Roving" - Slowdive
2017 marked the creative return of the ill-titled and oft-mocked genre of shoegaze, with Slowdive and Ride leading the way. Both bands released new material after decades out of the spotlight, but it was Slowdive's self-titled album -- 22 years after their last one -- that tops my list this year. The lead-off single "Star Roving" is everything a shoegaze fan lives for: dreamy soundscapes and swirling guitars over a driving Krautrock beat. It's my song of the year.
"High Ticket Attractions" - New Pornographers
I've always been a fan of the Vancouver supergroup, but Carl Newman won me over with his great Song Exploder two years ago for "Brill Bruisers". Now the power pop and perfect hooks continue with this year's album -- the band's seventh -- Whiteout Conditions. It's the first one without Destroyer's Dan Bejar, and this track speeds along with purpose and some great synth riffs.
"Everything Now" - Arcade Fire
We'll stay north of the border for this one, and where Vancouver's New Pornographers scaled back a bit on this year's release, Montreal's Arcade Fire went all out. There is A LOT going on in this song -- including some sort of disco pan flutes -- but somehow Win Butler and his mates make it work. It's catchy, anthemic, and right out of the 80s.
"No CD" (featuring Rebel Kleff) - Loyle Carner
How many hip hop artists in their early 20s would rhyme about collecting records? Or hanging out with their kid sister? London's Loyle Carner does both on his debut album Yesterday's Gone. This track features an irresistible old school bass riff and some sublime rhyming -- he manages to rhyme No P's (as in pounds), old CDs, Old Jay Z's, ODB (as in the late Ol' Dirty Bastard), and --in a coup de grace -- OCD -- which clearly an artist this good must have more than a touch of.
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" - The National
Cincinnati's The National gets a much-needed jolt of energy on this track, with an aggressive guitar solo in the middle and that intoxicating guitar riff that repeats throughout. Lean and mean.
"Darling" - Real Estate
Jangle pop lives on in the Telecaster of Martin Courtney, Real Estate's frontman. This lovely tune kicks off the band's fourth album. But it hides the turmoil they went through over the past year -- firing their founding lead guitarist Matt Mondanile over allegations of mistreatment of women.
"Call the Police" - LCD Soundsystem
On his first album in seven years, James Murphy sings "We all know this is nothing". But this is definitely something; many music critics put American Dream at the top of their best of the year lists for 2017. As Murphy sings about Berlin there are unmistakable references -- I imagine both intentional and unintentional -- to David Bowie and even U2, both of whom famously had rich creative phases in the German capital. In fact, listening to this track you can almost hear Bono's earnest yearning in Murphy's voice.
"Pain" - The War on Drugs
Each year, there are albums with multiple songs that could make this list. A Deeper Understanding, the fourth studio album from Philadelphia's The War on Drugs, is that kind of record. I chose this track over "Up All Night" and "Holding On" because a couple of days ago, I decided it was my favorite of the bunch. I hear so many influences in the vastness of Adam Granduciel's music -- American roots rock, brooding Springsteen-esque lyrics, even British synthpop. Plus they were great to see on a late-summer night in Central Park.
"I Can Only Stare" - Sleigh Bells
Now for something completely different. The bombast of Derek Miller's music and Alexis Krauss's voice takes a pop turn on this song, which is about loneliness, isolation and longing for someone from afar. If that sounds like Morrissey, it's worth noting that Miller says he was trying to rip off Johnny Marr with the guitar parts on this song.
"Feels Like Summer" - Weezer
Every year needs a great summer song, and this was admittedly the most obvious choice. It may be 4 degrees in New York right now but that chorus still makes me want to roll all the car windows down and sing.
"Over Everything" - Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
Pure slacker brilliance that builds to a crescendo of multilayered guitars. Don't let the casual delivery from both Barnett and Vile fool you -- these are two major individual talents who find a way to be better together. And why is there always a Kurt whenever there's a Courtney? Just asking.
"Money for Breakfast" - Spinning Coin
The Glasgow five piece has toured with Real Estate and Teenage Fanclub and with the debut release Permo, their influences are loud and clear: Big Star, Game Theory and the aforementioned pair are all here. As are fellow Glaswegians Orange Juice, and no surprise: Edwyn Collins produced this track.
"Bike Dream" - Rostam
The multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij left Vampire Weekend in early 2016 and his debut studio album Half-Light was released this past September. This song -- about the complications from dual love affairs (and perhaps a bad hangover) starts with a cello, drums and fuzzed-out synths -- all to serve in contrast to the sweetly-sung and deeply personal lyrics..
"Andrew in Drag" - The Magnetic Fields
Stephin Merritt marked his 50th year by releasing 50 Song Memoir, an autobiographical concept album featuring one song for every year of his life thus far. And if that's not monumental enough, he wrote each song in the style of the music that was popular at the time -- an incredibly rich endeavor. This bittersweet but very funny song is about a straight guy who falls in love with his best friend dressed up as a woman. And every line rhymes with drag.
"Airborne" - Cut Copy
Australia's Cut Copy released this track this summer ahead of their fifth album Haiku From Zero, which wasn't one of their best. Still, as a fan of the iconic Chic guitar riff that fueled countless pop songs (not the least of which is "Rip it Up" by the previously mentioned Orange Juice), I'm happy to add this one to the list.
"Charm Assault" - Ride
We'll end where we began -- the return of shoegaze. Oxford's Ride -- along with Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine -- are the genre's progenitors and 2017 saw them reach creative heights they hadn't seen in over two decades. Led by Mark Gardener and former Oasis bassist Andy Bell, Ride released Weather Diaries, their first album in 21 years. This song, the first single off the album, may lacks the swirling guitars shoegaze is best known for, but more than makes up for it with a machine gun-like assault that is anything but charming.
Farewell 2017 and hello 2018. I hope everyone is off to a Happy New Year, and let the music keep flowing.
[Exhale]. It's hard to believe we endured a year like 2016. An immense mountain of work promised to give way to something calm and content, and yet... And the fact that it's taken me into the second month of the new year to come to terms with the last one tells you everything you need to know.
I'm allowing myself time to get lost in the trivial -- and not so trivial -- matters of music. Because now more than ever, music (and art) matters. So here's the best of 2016, as I heard it.
Preoccupations - "Memory"
They traded a name that offended some and put out a record that should be admired by many. I liked Vietcong -- the band, if not the name -- but the new album as Preoccupations is an improvement from start to finish. And by the time you reach this track -- the fourth of the album -- you realize just how strong a record Preoccupations have made.
DIIV - "Under the Sun"
Brooklyn's DIIV (say "dive") have created the perfect offspring of chillwave and shoegaze. Shimmery guitars, swirling vocals and all over a Krautrock motorik beat.
The Early Years - "Do It (Again)"
This London band combines the hazy sound of Spacemen 3 and the synth flourishes of The Advisory Circle with the motorik beats of Krautrock, and I occasionally hear the triumphant melodies of Julian Cope in the smoke-filled mix. 2016 saw the release of their second album, ten years (to the week) since their 2006 debut.
Wombats - "Give Me A Try"
Pure pop -- and very much a radio staple this year. Still, I challenge you not to sing along. I've liked these guys ever since they wrote a song called "Let's Dance to Joy Division".
Avalanches - "Frankie Sinatra"
The Australian sample masters are back with this rollicking send-up of Ol' Blue Eyes, powered by MF DOOM and Danny Brown.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Go Robot"
This is a bit of a throw-in for me -- it's far from the Chili Peppers at their best. But I thought it was worth noting that Anthony Kiedis clearly takes technology a bit too seriously and has now crossed over into the sexualization of machines. "Robots don't care where I've been" -- certainly good news for Kiedis. Oh, and enjoy the straight-out-of-"Saturday Night Fever" video.
Car Seat Headrest - "Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales"
Will Toledo's project may not have the greatest band name in history, but he's hit the low-fi sweet spot with this track.
Ghosts of Social Networks - "Love Potion"
One of the podcasts I discovered this past year is Mr Peeps Presents, showcasing the best of Manchester's unsigned and indie bands. Mr Peeps featured these guys in one of his recent episodes and I liked it.
Dinosaur Jr., "Tiny"
Nice to hear the drawl of J Mascis (do folks in Massachusetts really sound like this?") as well as his aggro guitar work (that's a Squier he's playing!). There were several standout tracks from their latest effort Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not.
White Room - "Think Too Much"
Shoe-gaze psychedelica from Brighton's White Room, another offering on Mr Peeps Presents.
Strumbellas - "Spirits"
Another radio hit and a catchy one nonetheless. This Canadian six-piece serves up a country-tinged sing along that's been described as gothic-folk, whatever that means.
Four Lions - "We Are England"
One good thing about 2016 was the European Championship. And while England crashed out in the second round against Iceland (!), Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder gave us incredibly catchy number that was no doubt sung by the nobs and hoodlums drinking lagers through France as they watched the Three Lions come up short in international competition once again.
Super Furry Animals - "Bing Bong"
Another Euro 2016 song, this time for the upstart Wales. Nevermind that the song makes absolutely no sense in a football context (or any other context, for that matter). And nevermind it appears to be named for the clown from the movie "Inside Out". This trippy anthem is the Furry's first single in seven years.
PJ Harvey - "Community of Hope"
Polly Jean turns her acerbic eye to the paradox of Washington DC -- at once a seat of enormous power and abject poverty. I like how she drove around with a reporter from the Washington Post who had no idea who she was and a lot of the things he told her during that drive ended up as lyrics in her Hope Six Demolition Project album. Also worth a listen is "Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln", which picks up where 2011's Let England Shake let off.
