| My Top 50 Albums |
[12 January 2008|10:31 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | agalloch, alcest, anathema, crowded house, dream theater, joy division, music, orphaned land, porcupine tree, pure reason revolution, the shadows, u2 | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | 'No Place Like Home' by Subterranean Masquerade | ] |
Yesterday, ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) liamtreasure challenged me top compile a list of my top fifty albums. For some insane reason, I have accepted the challenge despite the fact that I find even a top ten to be close to impossible. I already disagree with this list; I doubt I could ever make a list that I would stand behind for more than five minutes. However, I do feel that it is a very strong selection of music. The criteria is somewhat confused and I have not quite established whether this is a best or favourite fifty, but I did enforce a couple of guidelines:
1. The release must be a studio album. No EPs, singles, live albums, compilations, etc. I am permitting just one exception: The Shadows. Their best material was released in 1960-62, when the single rather than the album was dominant, so the easiest way to get their material is via compilations. As The Shadows have been so influential on my musical tastes, it would be wrong to omit them, so the compilation I own is on the list.
2. Once five Porcupine Tree and two Blackfield albums appeared in the top 25, I said "that's it, no more". This isn't a Steven Wilson And Friends list. I am fairly confident that had I kept going, every Porcupine Tree album apart from On The Sunday Of Life would have made it, and at least another album from one of his side projects would be floating around too. I otherwise felt no need to limit any band.
One of my concerns was high placings for albums that are very recent and yet to stand the test of time - however, this is a snapshot of my opinions right now, so my qualms about including releases from the last few years is thus pretty minimal. I've provided brief explanations of why I like each album or what it sounds like, but I have tried to keep it brief - more successfully in some places than others.
So here goes!
( From 50 to 41. )
( From 40 to 31. )
( From 30 to 21. )
( From 20 to 11. )
( The top 10. )
That was very hard. I'm really only confident in my top three. Regardless of the order and what I may remove in future, these are all fantastic albums that are well worth a listen and they come highly recommended from me. |
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| Behind his eyes he says "I still exist". |
[18 May 2006|10:07 pm] |
Twenty-six years ago today ...
18 May 1980, Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division, hung himself. Over the last year, I have become familiar with Joy Division's music and grown to appreciate it immensely, so today, I feel it is only appropriate to honour the memory of Ian Curtis. Joy Division was a unique band, the kind whose sound is timeless and defies categorisation. Bass-driven post-punk proto-goth-rock bleak, dark, atmospheric baritone rock, perhaps? Ian Curtis's haunting baritone vocals define the Joy Division sound and gave him a powerful sound well beyond his years (he died at age 23), and death metal musicians wish they could write lyrics as dark as Curtis's.
To mark the occasion, I made a bit of a musical compilation of songs by some of my favourite bands that I think are appropriate in one way or another. It has definitely made for powerful listening this evening and I'll share the tracklisting. I was thinking of uploading it, but then I didn't - especially because I'd have to edit Temporary Peace. So if you have the songs, enjoy; if you don't, maybe later.
'Til The Spirit, New Sensation Takes Hold: A Tribute To Ian Curtis
1. Anathema - Electricity
2. Anathema - Temporary Peace
3. Crowded House - Better Be Home Soon
4. Porcupine Tree - Collapse The Light Into Earth
5. Dream Theater - To Live Forever
6. Queen - Who Wants To Live Forever
7. Porcupine Tree - Lazarus
8. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
9. Pink Floyd - Sorrow
10. U2 - 11 O'clock Tick Tock
11. Agalloch - ...And The Great Cold Death Of The Earth
12. Joy Division - Atrocity Exhibition
13. Joy Division - She's Lost Control
14. Joy Division - Disorder
15. Joy Division - Digital
16. New Order - Dreams Never End
RIP Ian Curtis. The world of music is forever in your debt. |
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| For your further listening pleasure ... |
[25 August 2005|08:42 pm] |
Yesterday, I provided free music from Kiwi bands, and as promised, today, here's an assortment of music from the rest of the world for you to wrap your ears around. Unlike yesterday, there are no M4A files, just MP3s, so there shouldn't be any playability issues for anyone.
( Music from other parts of the world! )
Interesting to note that there's only one American band there, Dream Theater. Let me say hooray for Commonwealth bands with male lead vocalists!
As with yesterday, download, listen, enjoy, and tell me what you think! |
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sombre
relaxed