The Urban 100 - 4 Years On (Now With Added Authors Commentary) (lyrics, pop)

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-01-2005, 12:09 PM

Light my fire eh?

Sounds interesting , is it better than Will Young`s abomination?

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-01-2005, 01:06 PM

60. Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984)

You have to give credit to anyone that can knock out...
1. A double album where EVERY song is worth listening to
2. A double album that was recorded in 85 hours where EVERY song is worth listening to.
I listened to this the other day & it did kinda strike me as sounding a little dated , however in the context of some of the rubbish that came out around 1984 it`s as fresh as anything, I was never much a fan of Husker Du`s hardcore punk era , To me they seemed to mellow with every album they recorded , and this one being one of their 'middle' albums I think they get the balance just right between great melodic hooks & great driving riffs. I`ve have a little idea of what the concept of this album is (For it is a concept album) It`s just that the music is just so great I don`t really care about it.And when you`ve gone through the whole album thinking things can`t possibly get any better they chuck on all 14 wonderful minutes of Reoccurring Dreams.That song in in itself being one reason why Husker Du showed up just how boring and one dimensional most 80s punk rock really was.

Favourite Songs - Never Talking To You Again , Masochism World , Reoccurring Dreams

59. The Cult - Love (1985)

I think a Cult revival is due , to me the Cult were one of the best bands of the 80s, or at least they could have been in the eyes of the public had they not spent the next 2 albums after this trying to become some AC/DC tribute band.The Cult were the first ever band I saw live that I really wanted to see. I remember the day well , The Milton Keynes bowl May 29th (My birthday) 1993, Blind Melon & Soul Asylum (before either band had a hit) opened the show to total indifference , The Cult came on , played the opening bars to She Sells Sanctuary & the whole place turned into a lunatic asylum. Guns n Roses headlined that day , The Cult blew them offstage ,to me it was them that headlined that day.Getting back to the album this is the Cult during their Gothic / Psychadelic peak before the overindulgence of 2nd hand AC/DC riffs with guitarist Billy Duffy going for overload on his wah wah pedel.This to me is probably THE most underrated 80s album ever.

Favourite Songs - Rain , The Phoenix , She Sells Sanctuary

58. Sly And The Family Stone - There`s A Riot Goin` On (1971)

I don`t really know a lot about this album , I know that the album caused a bit of a stir when it was released , both due to it`s cover and it`s content (it`s cynical look at the world was totally at odds to the usual woodstock era hippy stuff that was going around at the time).And I also know that the band were quite possibly the first ever band to have both blacks , whites , males & females as equal members in the band.The main reason I bought this album was because of the huge influence it had on Primal Screams Screamadelica album , and it`s not difficult to spot where Bobby G got his ideas from.One thing I will say about this album , cynicalism never sounded this funky.

Favourite Songs - Love n Haight , Family Affair , (You Caught Me) Smilin'

57. R.E.M. - Green (1989)

"Please kill me if I ever say I like this band"
Me ... circa 1992 to a friend after seeing the video to Shiny Happy People on MTV.

So then , how did I go from thinking this to the present day where I own 14 REM albums?
Well around that time i`d only heard 3 REM songs , Shiny Happy People , Stand & Everybody Hurts , and I hated all 3 , in fact I still hate those 3 songs now.Well when Monster came out showing a more 'rock' REM I was impressed & bought the album & loved it. So I decided maybe I should give them another chance & check out some more of their stuff. I avoided Automatic For The People & Out Of Time for some reason & decided on this album , and was shocked at just how much I loved it.Listening to it now taking their earlier indie albums into context you can really hear the progression on this album. I can`t think of too many indie bands who get better once they`ve signed to a major label , yet REM managed it.I saw them live in February this year, they only played Orange Crush off this album , I almost lost control of my bodily functions it sounded so good.

Favourite Songs - Pop Song 89 ,World Leader Pretend ,Orange Crush

right-track · 10-01-2005, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

Light my fire eh?

Sounds interesting , is it better than Will Young`s abomination?

Whoops...haha...the light my fire song isn't rare at all, its on one of his albums.

The one I meant to say is called, 'Hey Love' and can be found on the cd 'Tamla Motown Connoisseurs'.

Must have had the abomination that is Will Young on my mind. Stevie Wonders version, as you can imagine is far less nauseating.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-01-2005, 06:50 PM

56. Iggy And The Stooges - Raw Power (1973)

I`ve always felt this is probably the most appropriate album title of all time. Forget the pussified 90s remastered version, the orginal version was almost painful to listen to , and thats just how it should be.This is my favourite Stooges period , which is ironic as the band were on the verge of collapse. As much as I like the debut album & Funhouse i`ve always felt that this album was the best they recorded , this may have been down to the fact that new guitarist James Williamson co wrote most of the material with Iggy as opposed to the the Asheton brothers & Dave Alexander writing them (As on the other 2 albums).While the other 2 albums had a kind of slow grinding feel to them this was more uptempo with better songs but just as brutal.I think this is the album that proved Iggy didn`t really need The Stooges.

Favourite Songs - Search & Destroy , Gimme Danger , Raw Power

55. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)

This album really warms me inside & that has nothing to do with the music at all , even though the album itself is totally bonkers and a total experience in itself. It was almost surreal seeing this band i`d loved for over a decade make it big for all the right reasons. I never expected to see The Flaming Lips appearing on mainstream chat shows & music programmes but when this came out , it happened. There they were on prime time TV shows playing songs from this wearing assorted bunny rabbit & teddy bear costumes not taking themselves seriously at all. Also I just love it that a band that have been together over 20 years like the Lips have can still be making the best music of their careers.In fact i`d go as far as saying every Flaming Lips album is better than the last , I can`t think of one single band you can say that about that have been around over 2 decades. I can`t wait to see what they come up with next & they are still the band i`d most love to see live.

Favourite Songs - Fight Test , Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt 2 , Ego Trippin At The Gates Of Hell

54. Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967)

I`ve never been the biggest Pink Floyd fan. Don`t get me wrong I can appreciate Dark Side Of The Moon , Wish You Were Here , Animals & even Meddle is probably my favourite Waters era Floyd album (The Wall just leaves me cold , I hate it) , but for me they don`t come close to this. I think maybe it`s because Syd Barretts songs are more accessable , they almost have a childlike quality to them. To me Syd Barretts songs are a similar sort of thing to Ray Davies`s songs , as in he captures things about being British or English, only Barretts are with about a gallon of LSD added to them. I`ve always had a soft spot for twisted weirdy pop songs & Barrett was an expert at writing them (I also own all his solo stuff) this album is just full of them.

Favourite Songs - Astronony Domine , Lucifer Sam, Intersellar Overdrive

53. Beck - Odelay (1996)

Christ , where do you even begin with this album?
When I bought this I had no idea what to expect from it.I`d been told it was a great album but when I asked what sort of thing it was I just met lots of people not really sure what to say about it.So I sat back & listened , and when the album was finished I was still none the wiser as to what on earth this album is , all I know was that I loved it & I don`t think I took it off my stereo for about the next 6 years.In fact I still listen to it once in a while , and it still never gets boring.If only he could do another album this good , although his last came close to it.

Favourite Songs - Hotwax , The New Pollution , Ramshackle

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-07-2005, 02:31 PM

52. Eels - Beautiful Freak (1996)

I like Eels
Eels are one of those bands , you can`t imagine them being somebodies favourite band of all time , yet you know when you go out & buy an album of theirs you know you`ll be getting some quality songs. I would imagine if most people were putting an Eels album up here they would probably choose Electro Shock Blues. I do like that album but for me it didn`t have the impact of this one. This is one of those albums where you could probably pick any song off it & it would make a great single. Back in 1996 right slap bang in the middle of the Britpop explosion , Eels were one of the very few American bands I had any time for. In fact i`ve always been puzzled as to why they were always more successful in the UK rather than the US.But on the other hand given that America was listening to Bush , Pearl Jam & Hootie & The Blowfish at the time I shouldn`t really be that surprised.

Favourite Songs - Novocaine for the Soul , Susan's House , Your Lucky Day in Hell

51. Wire - Chairs Missing (1978)

Wire are probably one of the most unsung bands of all when it comes to influence on todays music. It`s been said bands like Franz Ferdinand , Kaiser Cheifs , Bloc Party blah blah blah .... owe a huge debt to Gang Of Four , but i`ve always seen more of Wire in their music than them. Even during the whole Britpop thing they were ripped off mercilessly by Elastica , Menswear & many more here today gone tomorrow NME favoured bands. This is probably Wire at their peak , they had the urgency of their debut album Pink Flag , but their songwriting had become much much better.And if you don`t like a Wire song , it doesn`t matter anyway because usually there would be another one along in just over a minute.This album also contains Outdoor Miner , in my opinion one of the best songs ever written. That song is to me is what Teenage Kicks was to John Peel.

Favourite Songs - Practice Makes Perfect , Outdoor Miner , I Am The Fly

50. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (2000)

I have no idea where or when I first heard of Grandaddy , I just sort of found myself liking them , I don`t remember seeing or hearing them anywhere.It was just a feeling of sort of knowing I like them without actually hearing them. Maybe it`s because they sound like a cross between Mercury Rev & The Flaming Lips, so it was probably destined that i`d like them. Although to be honest I think Grandaddy write better songs than both those bands.I also love the way they take totally random & idiotic song themes & turn them beautiful sounding songs , for example the song Jed The Humanoid is about a forgotten alcoholic android , yet as daft as it sounds it`s a wonderful moving ballad.Odd.

Favourite Songs - He's Simple He's Dumb He's the Pilot , The Crystal Lake , Hewlett's Daughter , Jed The Humanoid

49. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998)

This was the first ever Massive Attack album I ever bought and my God was I impressed with it. I was never into the whole Trip Hop thing. I respected it , but it was a little lightweight for me.I like Blue Lines and could see that it was a genre inspiring album , but it was a bit light & a bit popish for my liking , and to be honest Protection never really did anything for me. But THIS album was a totally different kettle of fish , It was dark , it was brooding , it was funky. I don`t think I would ever get sick of hearing the dub bass on this album that i`ve listened to so loud it rattles your jaw. Angel for me is THE best album opener of all time. I just love the way the bass (Dub of course) starts off quite & builds & builds with the percussion rattling in the background steadily getting louder & louder before the main riff with the duel guitars just comes crashing in. I swear that bit makes me orgasm.

Favourite Songs - Angel , Karma Coma , Inertia Creeps , Black Milk

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-07-2005, 03:53 PM

48. The Doors - The Doors (1967)

Let`s see if I can go the whole way through this without saying once that I think the singer in this band is a total & utter cu.... oops almost. You know I love a nice big organ in my music & they don`t come bigger or better than Ray Manzarek`s big organ.In fact Ray Manzarek is my hero in this band & I doubt I would like them half an much as I do if it wasn`t for his influence. Choosing my favourite Doors album is a tough one , I bought all their albums as a box set so i`ve had an equal amount of exposure to all of them. I guess this one gets the nod due to it having the most of their most well known songs on it. However if you take out 'The End' & replace it with 'When The Music`s Over' I would have probably put this album a lot lot higher.

Favourite Songs - Break On Through (To The Other Side) , Soul Kitchen , The Crystal Ship , Light My Fire

47. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike (2004)

I ignored this band for a while because the name racked up images of some crappy punk pop band ....what an idiot I was.
One evening I was looking on the website for Later With Jools Holland & noticed that they would be playing on it.It said on the site that they sounded like a cross between Sonic Youth & The Jackson Five , that made me take note. I watched the show & it has to be said they were the best band on it , and the following day I bought the album. The Sonic Youth/Jacksons comparison was only the tip of the iceberg, there is so much going on in this record. It`s pop , it`s rock , it`s old skool hip hop & it just blends wonderfully together with it`s lo-fi fuzzy production , there are not many bands I can say this about but I am literally salivating at what their next album will bring.

Favourite Songs - Panther Dash , Ladyflash , Junior Kickstart , The Power Is On

46. The White Stripes - De Stijl (2000)

It was a really difficult choice as to which White Stripes album to include , this or Elephant. This one just scraped it due to my love of all things lo-fi & garagy, and I think this is probably the most bluesy album they ever made.Plus this one hasn`t been played to death on TV or radio. Oh and it was the first White Stripes album I owned. The great thing about this album is it`s rawness , It just sounds like somebody set up in a studio , knocked out a load of great tunes there & then , and then said 'yeah that`ll do' and put it out. Which is how it should be.This album to me sounds like it could have been recorded anytime between 1963 & 2000 , it`s just a timeless album. Listening to this now after hearing the incoherent mess that is Get Behind Me Satan makes me think that a back to basics album is badly needed.

Favourite Songs - You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) , Apple Blossom , I'm Bound to Pack It Up , Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?

45. Talking Heads - Fear Of Music (1979)

This is probably the hardest album for me to write about. It`s just one of those albums you really have to listen to yourself to understand it.To take elements of what this record about is pointless really. It`s far greater than the sum of it`s parts. Everything is contradictory. Some of the songs almost have a disco feel to them yet to call them disco would be a huge insult. The album has a serious tone yet a lot of the lyrics are just plain nonsence. I saw David Bryne being interveiwed on this album when it was nominated on Channel 4`s top 100 greatest albums. He didn`t have a clue what the album was supposed to be about either & said that he was going for the lyrical sound rather than what the words themselves meant , using his voice as an instrument as it were, On paper this album should be a huge mess , yet in my opinion (and I guess a lot of other people too) think this is Talking Heads best album. I have absolutley no idea what the hell I am rambling about here , just listen to it ...ok?

Favourite Songs - I Zimbra , Air , Cities , Life During Wartime

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-09-2005, 04:57 AM

44. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honeys Dead (1992)

This band are the reason i`ve never really been that impressed by Nirvana. The Mary Chain were doing that sort of thing years before in a much more original way.And their songs were much better too. The opening salvo of Reverence & Teenage Lust in my opinion is better than anything on Nevermind. The problem with the Mary Chain was there was always something that stopped their albums being great. Psychocandy`s awful production grated on your ears after a few songs , Darklands was a bit lightweight & too jangly indie & Automatic had one of the worst examples of tinny 80s production going.Luckily this is where they finally got it right (And for the first time ever a proper drummer). I`ve never really understood why this album wasn`t bigger , in fact the reaction to it was that of total indifference.Shame really coz apart from the early singles this album contains the best songs they ever did.

Favourite Songs - Reverence , Teenage Lust , Sugar Ray , Good For My Soul

43. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)

No I didn`t choose If Your Feeling Sinister ...shoot me
The reason why I didn`t choose it is because before this album Belle & Sebastian were a novelty to me. They were just a little bit too twee & I found it hard to take them seriously. I couldn`t listen to more than just a couple of songs without getting bored.They were one of those bands that I could listen to an odd song every now & again but that was it.
And then this album came along.
This album totally changed my perception of Belle & Sebastian.After the huge borefest that was 'Storytelling' this album totally blew me away.It could be for a number of reasons but I think the main one was due to Stuart Murdoch finally becoming a proper frontman & taking more responsability , which is a good thing when you take into account he is their best songwriter. Also it could be down to the producer Trevor 'Buggles,Frankie Goes To Hollywood,Tatu' Horn`s production. But the biggest change is the tweeness has gone.We finally get to here Belle & Sebastian rock out a little , we even get hear Thin Lizzy guitars as done by B&S. So this is the most fun B&S album & it`s the album I thought 'wow there`s a great band under all the tweeness here somewhere'. And I love it to bits.

Favourite Songs - Step into My Office Baby , Dear Catastrophe Waitress , I'm a Cuckoo ,Wrapped Up in Books

42. MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (1969)

This album is a wonderful album , don`t get me wrong here but could you imagine how great this record would be if the album opener actually was Kick Out The Jams , instead we get the f*cking awful Ramblin' Rose opening this up ....WHY?????????
We`d be talking top 30 placing if it had,
Forgetting the negetives this is one band I would have loved to see live, there`s just so much energy in this record.I remember the first time I heard this album & being shocked at just how aggressive & loud this album was.In fact I seem to remember thinking to myself 'They had bands this heavy in 1968????' (This was before i`d heard The Stooges) I`d say I much prefer MC5 over the Stooges , they just seemed that little bit more thought out & more ambitious musically with touches of psychadelia,blues & jazz
mixed in the noise somewhere. Godfathers of Punk? ... Who the hell cares.

Favourite Songs - Kick Out The Jams , Motor City Is Burning , Rocket Reducer No 62 , Starship

41. The Who - The Who Sell Out (1967)

The best album they ever did , better than Tommy (Concept albums are boring) Better than Who`s Next (You can tell a Led Zeppelin fan coz they always say this is the Who`s best album)and a lot better than everything else.
Now it could be argued that this is a concept album and that I am contradicting myself here , but it`s a fun concept and it takes nothing away from the songs themselves. The songs themselves are great and stand up perfectly well on their own merits, in fact they were probably the last actual pop songs the Who ever wrote before coming this huge stadium rock monster. Of course this album just HAS to be heard for all the radio jingles. Sorry but I just couldn`t imagine the stars of today obviously taking the piss out of themselves like the Who do here. You think we`ll see Billy Corgan in a bath full of baked beans on his next album? I doubt it.

Favourite Songs - Armenia City in the Sky , Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand , Tattoo , I Can See For Miles

dog · 10-09-2005, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

You think we`ll see Billy Corgan in a bath full of baked beans on his next album? I doubt it.

because thats already been done by the who.

Urban Hat€monger ? · 10-09-2005, 05:11 AM

Thats never stopped him using second hand Smashing Pumpkins riffs in Zwan

boo boo · 10-09-2005, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger

41. The Who - The Who Sell Out (1967)

The best album they ever did , better than Tommy (Concept albums are boring) Better than Who`s Next (You can tell a Led Zeppelin fan coz they always say this is the Who`s best album)and a lot better than everything else.Now it could be argued that this is a concept album and that I am contradicting myself here , but it`s a fun concept and it takes nothing away from the songs themselves. The songs themselves are great and stand up perfectly well on their own merits, in fact they were probably the last actual pop songs the Who ever wrote before coming this huge stadium rock monster. Of course this album just HAS to be heard for all the radio jingles. Sorry but I just couldn`t imagine the stars of today obviously taking the piss out of themselves like the Who do here. You think we`ll see Billy Corgan in a bath full of baked beans on his next album? I doubt it.

Favourite Songs - Armenia City in the Sky , Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand , Tattoo , I Can See For Miles

I strongly disagree with that, and so would 99% of all diehard who fans.

10-01-2005, 12:09 PM	#71 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	Light my fire eh? Sounds interesting , is it better than Will Young`s abomination? __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

10-01-2005, 01:06 PM	#72 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	60. Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984) You have to give credit to anyone that can knock out... 1. A double album where EVERY song is worth listening to 2. A double album that was recorded in 85 hours where EVERY song is worth listening to. I listened to this the other day & it did kinda strike me as sounding a little dated , however in the context of some of the rubbish that came out around 1984 it`s as fresh as anything, I was never much a fan of Husker Du`s hardcore punk era , To me they seemed to mellow with every album they recorded , and this one being one of their 'middle' albums I think they get the balance just right between great melodic hooks & great driving riffs. I`ve have a little idea of what the concept of this album is (For it is a concept album) It`s just that the music is just so great I don`t really care about it.And when you`ve gone through the whole album thinking things can`t possibly get any better they chuck on all 14 wonderful minutes of Reoccurring Dreams.That song in in itself being one reason why Husker Du showed up just how boring and one dimensional most 80s punk rock really was. Favourite Songs - Never Talking To You Again , Masochism World , Reoccurring Dreams 59. The Cult - Love (1985) I think a Cult revival is due , to me the Cult were one of the best bands of the 80s, or at least they could have been in the eyes of the public had they not spent the next 2 albums after this trying to become some AC/DC tribute band.The Cult were the first ever band I saw live that I really wanted to see. I remember the day well , The Milton Keynes bowl May 29th (My birthday) 1993, Blind Melon & Soul Asylum (before either band had a hit) opened the show to total indifference , The Cult came on , played the opening bars to She Sells Sanctuary & the whole place turned into a lunatic asylum. Guns n Roses headlined that day , The Cult blew them offstage ,to me it was them that headlined that day.Getting back to the album this is the Cult during their Gothic / Psychadelic peak before the overindulgence of 2nd hand AC/DC riffs with guitarist Billy Duffy going for overload on his wah wah pedel.This to me is probably THE most underrated 80s album ever. Favourite Songs - Rain , The Phoenix , She Sells Sanctuary 58. Sly And The Family Stone - There`s A Riot Goin` On (1971) I don`t really know a lot about this album , I know that the album caused a bit of a stir when it was released , both due to it`s cover and it`s content (it`s cynical look at the world was totally at odds to the usual woodstock era hippy stuff that was going around at the time).And I also know that the band were quite possibly the first ever band to have both blacks , whites , males & females as equal members in the band.The main reason I bought this album was because of the huge influence it had on Primal Screams Screamadelica album , and it`s not difficult to spot where Bobby G got his ideas from.One thing I will say about this album , cynicalism never sounded this funky. Favourite Songs - Love n Haight , Family Affair , (You Caught Me) Smilin' 57. R.E.M. - Green (1989) "Please kill me if I ever say I like this band" Me ... circa 1992 to a friend after seeing the video to Shiny Happy People on MTV. So then , how did I go from thinking this to the present day where I own 14 REM albums? Well around that time i`d only heard 3 REM songs , Shiny Happy People , Stand & Everybody Hurts , and I hated all 3 , in fact I still hate those 3 songs now.Well when Monster came out showing a more 'rock' REM I was impressed & bought the album & loved it. So I decided maybe I should give them another chance & check out some more of their stuff. I avoided Automatic For The People & Out Of Time for some reason & decided on this album , and was shocked at just how much I loved it.Listening to it now taking their earlier indie albums into context you can really hear the progression on this album. I can`t think of too many indie bands who get better once they`ve signed to a major label , yet REM managed it.I saw them live in February this year, they only played Orange Crush off this album , I almost lost control of my bodily functions it sounded so good. Favourite Songs - Pop Song 89 ,World Leader Pretend ,Orange Crush __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

10-01-2005, 06:50 PM	#74 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	56. Iggy And The Stooges - Raw Power (1973) I`ve always felt this is probably the most appropriate album title of all time. Forget the pussified 90s remastered version, the orginal version was almost painful to listen to , and thats just how it should be.This is my favourite Stooges period , which is ironic as the band were on the verge of collapse. As much as I like the debut album & Funhouse i`ve always felt that this album was the best they recorded , this may have been down to the fact that new guitarist James Williamson co wrote most of the material with Iggy as opposed to the the Asheton brothers & Dave Alexander writing them (As on the other 2 albums).While the other 2 albums had a kind of slow grinding feel to them this was more uptempo with better songs but just as brutal.I think this is the album that proved Iggy didn`t really need The Stooges. Favourite Songs - Search & Destroy , Gimme Danger , Raw Power 55. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002) This album really warms me inside & that has nothing to do with the music at all , even though the album itself is totally bonkers and a total experience in itself. It was almost surreal seeing this band i`d loved for over a decade make it big for all the right reasons. I never expected to see The Flaming Lips appearing on mainstream chat shows & music programmes but when this came out , it happened. There they were on prime time TV shows playing songs from this wearing assorted bunny rabbit & teddy bear costumes not taking themselves seriously at all. Also I just love it that a band that have been together over 20 years like the Lips have can still be making the best music of their careers.In fact i`d go as far as saying every Flaming Lips album is better than the last , I can`t think of one single band you can say that about that have been around over 2 decades. I can`t wait to see what they come up with next & they are still the band i`d most love to see live. Favourite Songs - Fight Test , Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt 2 , Ego Trippin At The Gates Of Hell 54. Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) I`ve never been the biggest Pink Floyd fan. Don`t get me wrong I can appreciate Dark Side Of The Moon , Wish You Were Here , Animals & even Meddle is probably my favourite Waters era Floyd album (The Wall just leaves me cold , I hate it) , but for me they don`t come close to this. I think maybe it`s because Syd Barretts songs are more accessable , they almost have a childlike quality to them. To me Syd Barretts songs are a similar sort of thing to Ray Davies`s songs , as in he captures things about being British or English, only Barretts are with about a gallon of LSD added to them. I`ve always had a soft spot for twisted weirdy pop songs & Barrett was an expert at writing them (I also own all his solo stuff) this album is just full of them. Favourite Songs - Astronony Domine , Lucifer Sam, Intersellar Overdrive 53. Beck - Odelay (1996) Christ , where do you even begin with this album? When I bought this I had no idea what to expect from it.I`d been told it was a great album but when I asked what sort of thing it was I just met lots of people not really sure what to say about it.So I sat back & listened , and when the album was finished I was still none the wiser as to what on earth this album is , all I know was that I loved it & I don`t think I took it off my stereo for about the next 6 years.In fact I still listen to it once in a while , and it still never gets boring.If only he could do another album this good , although his last came close to it. Favourite Songs - Hotwax , The New Pollution , Ramshackle __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

10-07-2005, 02:31 PM	#75 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	52. Eels - Beautiful Freak (1996) I like Eels Eels are one of those bands , you can`t imagine them being somebodies favourite band of all time , yet you know when you go out & buy an album of theirs you know you`ll be getting some quality songs. I would imagine if most people were putting an Eels album up here they would probably choose Electro Shock Blues. I do like that album but for me it didn`t have the impact of this one. This is one of those albums where you could probably pick any song off it & it would make a great single. Back in 1996 right slap bang in the middle of the Britpop explosion , Eels were one of the very few American bands I had any time for. In fact i`ve always been puzzled as to why they were always more successful in the UK rather than the US.But on the other hand given that America was listening to Bush , Pearl Jam & Hootie & The Blowfish at the time I shouldn`t really be that surprised. Favourite Songs - Novocaine for the Soul , Susan's House , Your Lucky Day in Hell 51. Wire - Chairs Missing (1978) Wire are probably one of the most unsung bands of all when it comes to influence on todays music. It`s been said bands like Franz Ferdinand , Kaiser Cheifs , Bloc Party blah blah blah .... owe a huge debt to Gang Of Four , but i`ve always seen more of Wire in their music than them. Even during the whole Britpop thing they were ripped off mercilessly by Elastica , Menswear & many more here today gone tomorrow NME favoured bands. This is probably Wire at their peak , they had the urgency of their debut album Pink Flag , but their songwriting had become much much better.And if you don`t like a Wire song , it doesn`t matter anyway because usually there would be another one along in just over a minute.This album also contains Outdoor Miner , in my opinion one of the best songs ever written. That song is to me is what Teenage Kicks was to John Peel. Favourite Songs - Practice Makes Perfect , Outdoor Miner , I Am The Fly 50. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (2000) I have no idea where or when I first heard of Grandaddy , I just sort of found myself liking them , I don`t remember seeing or hearing them anywhere.It was just a feeling of sort of knowing I like them without actually hearing them. Maybe it`s because they sound like a cross between Mercury Rev & The Flaming Lips, so it was probably destined that i`d like them. Although to be honest I think Grandaddy write better songs than both those bands.I also love the way they take totally random & idiotic song themes & turn them beautiful sounding songs , for example the song Jed The Humanoid is about a forgotten alcoholic android , yet as daft as it sounds it`s a wonderful moving ballad.Odd. Favourite Songs - He's Simple He's Dumb He's the Pilot , The Crystal Lake , Hewlett's Daughter , Jed The Humanoid 49. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998) This was the first ever Massive Attack album I ever bought and my God was I impressed with it. I was never into the whole Trip Hop thing. I respected it , but it was a little lightweight for me.I like Blue Lines and could see that it was a genre inspiring album , but it was a bit light & a bit popish for my liking , and to be honest Protection never really did anything for me. But THIS album was a totally different kettle of fish , It was dark , it was brooding , it was funky. I don`t think I would ever get sick of hearing the dub bass on this album that i`ve listened to so loud it rattles your jaw. Angel for me is THE best album opener of all time. I just love the way the bass (Dub of course) starts off quite & builds & builds with the percussion rattling in the background steadily getting louder & louder before the main riff with the duel guitars just comes crashing in. I swear that bit makes me orgasm. Favourite Songs - Angel , Karma Coma , Inertia Creeps , Black Milk __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

10-07-2005, 03:53 PM	#76 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	48. The Doors - The Doors (1967) Let`s see if I can go the whole way through this without saying once that I think the singer in this band is a total & utter cu.... oops almost. You know I love a nice big organ in my music & they don`t come bigger or better than Ray Manzarek`s big organ.In fact Ray Manzarek is my hero in this band & I doubt I would like them half an much as I do if it wasn`t for his influence. Choosing my favourite Doors album is a tough one , I bought all their albums as a box set so i`ve had an equal amount of exposure to all of them. I guess this one gets the nod due to it having the most of their most well known songs on it. However if you take out 'The End' & replace it with 'When The Music`s Over' I would have probably put this album a lot lot higher. Favourite Songs - Break On Through (To The Other Side) , Soul Kitchen , The Crystal Ship , Light My Fire 47. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike (2004) I ignored this band for a while because the name racked up images of some crappy punk pop band ....what an idiot I was. One evening I was looking on the website for Later With Jools Holland & noticed that they would be playing on it.It said on the site that they sounded like a cross between Sonic Youth & The Jackson Five , that made me take note. I watched the show & it has to be said they were the best band on it , and the following day I bought the album. The Sonic Youth/Jacksons comparison was only the tip of the iceberg, there is so much going on in this record. It`s pop , it`s rock , it`s old skool hip hop & it just blends wonderfully together with it`s lo-fi fuzzy production , there are not many bands I can say this about but I am literally salivating at what their next album will bring. Favourite Songs - Panther Dash , Ladyflash , Junior Kickstart , The Power Is On 46. The White Stripes - De Stijl (2000) It was a really difficult choice as to which White Stripes album to include , this or Elephant. This one just scraped it due to my love of all things lo-fi & garagy, and I think this is probably the most bluesy album they ever made.Plus this one hasn`t been played to death on TV or radio. Oh and it was the first White Stripes album I owned. The great thing about this album is it`s rawness , It just sounds like somebody set up in a studio , knocked out a load of great tunes there & then , and then said 'yeah that`ll do' and put it out. Which is how it should be.This album to me sounds like it could have been recorded anytime between 1963 & 2000 , it`s just a timeless album. Listening to this now after hearing the incoherent mess that is Get Behind Me Satan makes me think that a back to basics album is badly needed. Favourite Songs - You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) , Apple Blossom , I'm Bound to Pack It Up , Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me? 45. Talking Heads - Fear Of Music (1979) This is probably the hardest album for me to write about. It`s just one of those albums you really have to listen to yourself to understand it.To take elements of what this record about is pointless really. It`s far greater than the sum of it`s parts. Everything is contradictory. Some of the songs almost have a disco feel to them yet to call them disco would be a huge insult. The album has a serious tone yet a lot of the lyrics are just plain nonsence. I saw David Bryne being interveiwed on this album when it was nominated on Channel 4`s top 100 greatest albums. He didn`t have a clue what the album was supposed to be about either & said that he was going for the lyrical sound rather than what the words themselves meant , using his voice as an instrument as it were, On paper this album should be a huge mess , yet in my opinion (and I guess a lot of other people too) think this is Talking Heads best album. I have absolutley no idea what the hell I am rambling about here , just listen to it ...ok? Favourite Songs - I Zimbra , Air , Cities , Life During Wartime __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

10-09-2005, 04:57 AM	#77 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	44. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Honeys Dead (1992) This band are the reason i`ve never really been that impressed by Nirvana. The Mary Chain were doing that sort of thing years before in a much more original way.And their songs were much better too. The opening salvo of Reverence & Teenage Lust in my opinion is better than anything on Nevermind. The problem with the Mary Chain was there was always something that stopped their albums being great. Psychocandy`s awful production grated on your ears after a few songs , Darklands was a bit lightweight & too jangly indie & Automatic had one of the worst examples of tinny 80s production going.Luckily this is where they finally got it right (And for the first time ever a proper drummer). I`ve never really understood why this album wasn`t bigger , in fact the reaction to it was that of total indifference.Shame really coz apart from the early singles this album contains the best songs they ever did. Favourite Songs - Reverence , Teenage Lust , Sugar Ray , Good For My Soul 43. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003) No I didn`t choose If Your Feeling Sinister ...shoot me The reason why I didn`t choose it is because before this album Belle & Sebastian were a novelty to me. They were just a little bit too twee & I found it hard to take them seriously. I couldn`t listen to more than just a couple of songs without getting bored.They were one of those bands that I could listen to an odd song every now & again but that was it. And then this album came along. This album totally changed my perception of Belle & Sebastian.After the huge borefest that was 'Storytelling' this album totally blew me away.It could be for a number of reasons but I think the main one was due to Stuart Murdoch finally becoming a proper frontman & taking more responsability , which is a good thing when you take into account he is their best songwriter. Also it could be down to the producer Trevor 'Buggles,Frankie Goes To Hollywood,Tatu' Horn`s production. But the biggest change is the tweeness has gone.We finally get to here Belle & Sebastian rock out a little , we even get hear Thin Lizzy guitars as done by B&S. So this is the most fun B&S album & it`s the album I thought 'wow there`s a great band under all the tweeness here somewhere'. And I love it to bits. Favourite Songs - Step into My Office Baby , Dear Catastrophe Waitress , I'm a Cuckoo ,Wrapped Up in Books 42. MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (1969) This album is a wonderful album , don`t get me wrong here but could you imagine how great this record would be if the album opener actually was Kick Out The Jams , instead we get the fcking awful Ramblin' Rose opening this up ....WHY????????? We`d be talking top 30 placing if it had, Forgetting the negetives this is one band I would have loved to see live, there`s just so much energy in this record.I remember the first time I heard this album & being shocked at just how aggressive & loud this album was.In fact I seem to remember thinking to myself 'They had bands this heavy in 1968????' (This was before i`d heard The Stooges) I`d say I much prefer MC5 over the Stooges , they just seemed that little bit more thought out & more ambitious musically with touches of psychadelia,blues & jazz mixed in the noise somewhere. Godfathers of Punk? ... Who the hell cares. Favourite Songs - Kick Out The Jams , Motor City Is Burning , Rocket Reducer No 62 , Starship 41. The Who - The Who Sell Out (1967)* The best album they ever did , better than Tommy (Concept albums are boring) Better than Who`s Next (You can tell a Led Zeppelin fan coz they always say this is the Who`s best album)and a lot better than everything else. Now it could be argued that this is a concept album and that I am contradicting myself here , but it`s a fun concept and it takes nothing away from the songs themselves. The songs themselves are great and stand up perfectly well on their own merits, in fact they were probably the last actual pop songs the Who ever wrote before coming this huge stadium rock monster. Of course this album just HAS to be heard for all the radio jingles. Sorry but I just couldn`t imagine the stars of today obviously taking the piss out of themselves like the Who do here. You think we`ll see Billy Corgan in a bath full of baked beans on his next album? I doubt it. Favourite Songs - Armenia City in the Sky , Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand , Tattoo , I Can See For Miles __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

10-09-2005, 05:11 AM	#79 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	Thats never stopped him using second hand Smashing Pumpkins riffs in Zwan __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.