It's ooooooooooovvveeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Honestly, there were several times during the course of this series that I thought I should just quit. Somewhere in between The Velvet Underground and Joy Division, this fun idea for a series turned into a series of unspeakable burden. But I'm glad I did it, and here's why: There are far too many great albums on this list that I never would have listened to if it weren't for the recommendation of all the readers. And for that I say "THANK YOU!"
If I had to pick a favorite album during the course of this series, it would probably be King Crimson's
In the Court of the Crimson King, which came out of nowhere and has received more listens in the last 12 months than any other album on here. It would be followed by Led Zepplin's
Houses of the Holy and Serge Gainsbourg's
Histoire de Melody Nelson. That last album I've even purchased on vinyl (recommended) here in the last few weeks.
My vote for worst album on this list unquestionably goes to The Velvet Underground's debut, which is mostly a collection of bad sounds, recorded and hyped up for no good reason. The Who's
Tommy comes in a disappointing second, followed by Joy Division's
Unknown Pleasures.
Without question, it was a long, drawn-out series, but I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope that you discovered a few new gems. I know I certainly did. If you're a first time visitor and missed out on this crazy, year-long series, be sure to check out all 29 articles below.
- Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King
- The Who: Tommy
- Nick Drake: Pink Moon
- Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited
- Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers
- Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland
- Buddy Holly: Buddy Holly
- Jethro Tull: Aqualung
- The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground and Nico
- The Doors: The Doors
- The Clash: London Calling
- The Allman Brothers: Eat a Peach
- Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
- The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- The Smiths: The Queen is Dead
- R.E.M.: Murmur
- Joni Mitchell: Blue
- Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson
- Led Zepplin: House of the Holy
- Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
- Frank Zappa: Over-Nite Sensation
- Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures
- David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
- Janis Joplin: Pearl
- The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St.
- Tom Waits: Rain Dogs
- The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
I've got a pretty cool idea for a 2010 series. More info on that later...
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The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
Originally Released: May 16, 1966
Genres: Rock, Pop
Rating: 9 out of 10 Stars
I know, I know; the idea of writing an article in a series called "29 in 2009" seems a bit silly now that it's February 2010. But duty calls, folks. Though I wasn't able to write about all of the albums in this series by December 31, 2009, I was able to listen to all of them at least once. So that's got to count for something, I assume.
Speaking of assuming, when I saw Pet Sounds would be appearing at the end of this series, I assumed I'd be listening to a collection of the band's more notable hits. Song like "Surfin' USA" and "California Girls," are what I usually associate with the band. But to my surprise, Pet Sounds is a subdued album that focuses more on soft, emotional ballads than upbeat, beach party tunes. When I first downloaded this album in December, I figured I could knock it out in a week because I would already be familiar with the majority of its songs. False.
Of course, the album's best tracks are still the ones I had heard before. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a fun lead-off track that I've been jamming to pretty consistently for the last month or so, while "God Only Knows" is surprisingly touching, even for a chronically single guy such as myself. When people say they're influenced by The Beach Boys' sound, I've never really been able to hear it. But Pet Sounds seems to be incredibly influential! I'm hearing bits of pieces of some of my favorite artists in here (and even some that I don't like...Panda Bear).
The cool thing about Pet Sounds, for me, is that every song on it sounds unique and yet they all seem to fit together. There's not a bad one on here. And that makes this whole series of mine end on an extremely positive note, which is nice.
Verdict: Classic
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The past decade has been good to us, beginning with the question that prelude's every decade: what music will define this decade? For me, the 2000s were absolutely the decade for indie rock! I'm not alone in this thought either. The genre exploded into mainstream consciousness over the course of the last 10 years, thanks in large part to the internet, iPods, and digital music in general. I probably consumed more music in a single year of this decade than I had in all my years prior to it!
But the list below isn't just a list of indie music. It is simply a list of my favorite albums, and the memories that each one of them bring to mind. I hope you find some enjoyment in my reflections on the greatest decade I've yet to live through, and I hope that this next 10 years is just as kind to us.
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Those of you keeping up with my Twitter feed (@
audiooverflow) should be aware that when I decided to compile my Top 50 Albums of the decade for Audio Overflow, I narrowed down the decades huge collection of great music to 118 album that I thought deserved to be nominated. Then came the difficult task...narrowing that list to 50. In the process, a lot of great albums that I though for sure would make it in the Top 50 got cut. But I love these albums! So in the interest of honoring properly, here are albums 70-51 in my best of the decade list. The honorable mentions, if you will.
#70. Of Montreal:
Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse (2001)
#69. System of a Down:
Toxicity (2001)
#68. Fiona Apple:
Extraordinary Machine (2005)
#67. A Perfect Circle:
Thirteenth Step (2003)
#66. LCD Soundsystem:
Sound of Silver (2007)
#65. Sufjan Stevens:
Seven Swans (2004)
#64. Fleet Foxes:
Fleet Foxes (2008)
#63. Midlake:
The Trials of Van Occupanther (2006)
#62. Tilly and the Wall:
Bottoms of Barrels (2006)
#61. Tegan and Sara:
The Con (2007)
#60. Rogue Wave:
Out of the Shadow (2003)
#59. My Morning Jacket:
Z (2005)
#58. The Flaming Lips:
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
#57. My Brightest Diamond:
A Thousand Shark's Teeth (2008)
#56. Conor Oberst:
Conor Oberst (2008)
#55. The Shins:
Wincing the Night Away (2007)
#54. Rogue Wave:
Descended Like Vultures (2005)
#53. Mates of State:
Bring it Back (2006)
#52. Jaymay:
Autumn Fallin' (2008)
#51. Bright Eyes:
Cassadaga (2007)
Just a little something to hold you over until the full list, complete with photos and commentary, is posted sometime in the next week.
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Oh sure, everyone else was posting their "Best of the '00s" list months ago. Not me, though. I like to wait things out, let things settle, and meditate on all the wonderful music that the last decade hath wrought. How long does such an endeavor last? About 20 days apparantly, because I just finished compiling the Top 50 Albums of the Last Decade!
As a teaser to the reveal of the list (which should appear as soon as I write 50 paragraphs about said albums), I've included this modified version of the Top 10 to whet your appetite. Any guesses as to what these 10 albums may be (#5 should be easy to guess)? Include your guesses in the comments, and we'll see who gets what right when the final list is revealed soon.
Until then, peace out!
--Cale
# Artist Name: "Album Name" (Year Released)
1. ___ ______ _______: "____ __" (2003)
2. ______ _______: "________" (2005)
3. ___ _____: " ______ ___ ______" (2003)
4. ___ _______: "____ ______" (2002)
5. _________: "___ _" (2000)
6. __ ________: "_______ _____ __ ___ _____" (2004)
7. ___: "_________ _ _____" (2008)
8. _____ _____: "_____ __ ____" (2007)
9. ____: "__________" (2003)
10. ___ ____ _____: "_______ ___ ____" (2005)
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Tom Waits: Rain Dogs
Originally Released: September 30, 1985
Genres: Rock, Folk, Avant Garde
Rating: 6 out of 10
Hey, the rest of the world may be a few weeks into 2010, but it's still 2009 here at Audio Overflow! Just two more albums to get through and then I can wash my hands clean of this long-winded series and maybe get a chance to post a "Best of the Decade" list or a review of a new album. But first, there's Rain Dogs.
Truth be told, I've been listening to this album since the last few weeks of 2009. It's a tough one to get through, what, with 19 tracks, all of which are teetering on the line of the "weirdest shit I've ever heard" classification. Tom Waits is a weird dude, and if this album is any indication, a pretty messed up one at that. Rain Dogs sounds like nothing else I've heard in my life; like something I would hear playing out of a New Orleans voodoo shop or soundtracking a really demented Don Bluth film. He paints a very vivid picture of desolation, despair, and filth through the tales told on this album. While impressive in that regard, musically, this album just doesn't do it for me.
Not even a little bit. Rain Dogs came off as a lesson in tedium rather than a legitimate musical expression. I'm not familiar with Wait's other music, but the album sounds more like blatant experimentation. Like I said, the album's nothing to scoff at, and I suppose it's quite impressive if taken at face value. But listening to this album was a chore. That's part of the reason that it took me so long to write this simple, short article on it.
I have nothing else to say, really. Waits is a talented guy, but Rain Dogs is just an album that I could never get into and will probably never listen to again. Bring on the Beach Boys!
Verdict: Tedious
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What's that? You say you're not following @audiooverflow on Twitter? Well here's what you missed today:
Vampire Weekend News: Listen to Contra 1 minute ago from web
New Album News - Of Montreal Progress Report on Strereogum about 4 hours ago from web
Polyvinyl Record Co. News - Headlights on Daytrotterabout 4 hours ago from web
@ Sonya Westcott Evan Farrell, and Gram LeBron for Rogue Wave. Great band btw!about 5 hours ago from Twitterrific in reply to warehouselive
See (Pretty) Girls and Lasers in the East Village tomorrow and get a free mp3 of their Refina Spektor mix. Tell em Cale sent you! :)about 5 hours ago from Twitterrific
Free Download: Growing - "Hormones" about 7 hours ago from Twitterrific
Tour Dates - Vampire Weekend Announce Tourabout 10 hours ago from web
Peaches News: NEW video for RELAX.. about 13 hours ago from web
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