Finger Eleven - Panic Attack
Living Sacrifice - Rules of Engagement
Tegan and Sara - Closer
MIC - Julia's Prayer
Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
Silversun Pickups - Substitution
Whitechapel - The Saw is the Law
John Mayer - Clarity
The 1975 - The City
Demon Hunter - Thorns
The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
The LoveCrave - Little Suicide
Foster the People - Coming of Age
Slipknot - The Virus of Life
Chvrches - The Mother We Share
Aeon Zen - Warning
Blindside - Our Love Saves Us
Young the Giant - Mind over Matter
Weird Al - Foil
Scar Symmetry - Illuminoid Dream Sequence
The Eagles - Take it Easy
In Flames - Tilt
Lo-Fang - When We're Fire
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - We The Common
Bleachers - Wake Me
Deadsy - Seagulls
The Frozen Ocean - Ghosts
Evergrey - Fear
Zeta - Slip
REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You
RDGLDGRN - Lootin' in London
Lamb of God - Hit The Wall
Sevendust - Tits on a Boar
VNV Nation - Illusion
30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens
OneRepublic - Stop and Stare
Natalie Merchant - Carnival
Cold - Another Pill
Roxette - Listen To Your Heart
Born of Osiris - Machine
Whitechapel - Our Endless War
Anberlin - (*fin)
World Party - Ship of Fools
Winds of Plague - Say Hello to the Undertaker
Jackson Browne - Running on Empty
Periphery - Icarus Lives!
Evanescence - Imaginary
Beartooth - Beaten in Lips
Purity Ring - Crawlersout
Deathstars - Fire Galore
Ashley Cleveland and Gary Chapman - Where Do I Go?
Young the Giant - Cough Syrup
Cold - Goodbye Cruel World
Weird Al - Handy
Go West - Faithful
Fear Factory - Designing the Enemy
Impending Doom - Hellhole
Extol - Open the Gates
Fuel - Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Eric Clapton - Change the World
Crossfade - Starless
The Classic Crime - Vagabonds
Sup the Chemist - As the Sun Rises
Cold - Space Oddity
Haste the Day - White as Snow
Five Iron Frenzy - I Am Jack's Smirking Revenge
Relient K - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Meshuggah - Stengah
The Blow - True Affection
Purity Ring - Fineshrine
Incubus - Drive
Take That - Back For Good
Matchbox Twenty - Last Beautiful Girl
Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better
Coldplay - Charlie Brown
Slipknot - Metabolic
Alanis Morissette - Hands Clean
Anberlin - Haight St
Mr. Mister - Kyrie
Sevendust - See and Believe
Further Seems Forever - The Sound
Assemblage 23 - Damaged
Meg Myers - Desire
Jennifer Knapp - Whole Again
Sevendust - Failure
Coolio - Gangstas Paradise
Pink - Try
Chvrches - Gun
Story of the Year - Until The Day I Die
Lo-Fang - Light Year
From First To Last - Worlds Away
Joe Strummer - Redemption Songs
Owl City - Galaxies
Cold - The Park
Jay Z - Can I Getta?
Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All
Anberlin - Paperthin Hymn
Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis
Slipknot - Vermillion
Elton John - Your Song
Meshuggah - Bleed
Cadets - A Drop In The Ocean
Solution .45 - For Aeons Past
Arcade Fire - Afterlife
Amy Grant - Baby, Baby
Young the Giant - Crystallized
Coldplay - Fix You
Haim - The Wire
Tedashii - Dark Days, Darker Nights
Hurt - Falls Apart
Woods of Ypres - Traveling Alone
Polica - Smug
DevilDriver - End of the Line
Born of Osiris - Illusionist
Boston - I Had A Good Time
Matchbox Twenty - Disease
Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy
Brave Saint Saturn - Daylight
Demon Hunter - I Play Dead
Miike Snow - Song For No One
Eye of the Enemy - The Shift
Starflyer 59 - Good Sons
Five Iron Frenzy - Far, Far Away
Anberlin - The Promise
Lamb of God - Descending
blink-182 - Always
A Plea For Purging - Heart of a Child
Norma Jean - Wrongdoers
Dexter Freebish - Leaving Town
Jason Wade - You Belong To Me
Blindside - You Can Hide It
Maps & Atlases - Fever
The Famine - Death Threat
Slim Thug - Wood Wheel
Purity Ring - Saltkin
Chevelle - Take Out The Gunman
Destiny Potato - Take A Picture
Gordon Lightfoot - Carefree Highway
Will Hoge - Even If It Breaks Your Heart
Slipknot - (sic)
Cold - Send in the Clowns
The Airborne Toxic Event - Timeless
Zwan - Honestly
Sevendust - Walk Away
Anberlin - Impossible
Traveling Wilburys - Handle With Care
Arctic Monkeys - Love is a Laserquest
Matchbox Twenty - Mad Season
Fun. - Walking the Dog
Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
Van Morrison - Days Like This
Born of Osiris - Divergency
Korn - Spike in My Veins
In Flames - Reflect the Storm
Calvin Harris - Summer
Lamb of God - Laid to Rest
Cold - Ocean
The Vaccines - All in White
Switchfoot - When We Come Alive
Cold - Insane
Morning Parade - Alienation
Jack White - Lazaretto
Kathy Troccoli - Everything Changes
Alice in Chains - Would?
Zeta - Bind
Demon Hunter - Screams of the Undead
Sleeper Agent - Waves
Finger Eleven - Obvious Heart
Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting For You)
Cut Copy - We Are Explorers
Kelly Clarkson - People Like Us
Epidemic - Walk Away
Sleeper Agent - Be Brave
The Ataris - Boys of Summer
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Stuck in my Head - July
This is such a great song. I feel like the Gin Blossoms get overlooked when discussing the great 90's alt-rock/pop bands. Robin Wilson's vocals are unmistakeable, and the lyrical content of their songs perfectly captures the era. I heard this while my fiancee and I were driving out on vacation, and I've been jamming hard to it since.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Integral Albums for the Future Generation - Part 1
In my life, I am grateful to find kindred musical spirits. People who simply love and appreciate music. We don't have to have the same tastes, but of course that helps. Fortunately, I have a friend, Fox Sports' Rick Gethin, who I think of as not only a great friend, but a great musical kindred spirit. He shares more music than anyone else I know on social media, and recently he asked a question that got my musical juices churning. He asked for a list of "...the top 10 albums every teenager should listen to before they turn 18" So I took it upon myself to plot a list of great albums in my life.
First, and introduction. I consider my life to currently be split into three musical phases - birth to the age where I really started loving music (1985-1996), my true introduction to music (1997-2004) and everything since. Somewhere in the late 90s and early 2000's there was a dramatic shift in how music was recorded and released. The rise of the internet brought a new generation of music to the world. Hip-hop/dance music started replacing the old pop and rock stand-bys. Hair metal was long gone, but "Heavy metal" was being replaced by a genre rooted in rap-rock, known as "Nu Metal". Metal also started splitting into "core" genres. The biggest change that I personally saw was the decline of radio-friendly pop-rock (Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind etc) and the rise in dance-pop. People wanted to move rather than sing. And in the heavier areas, there became less and less of an appeal to bands like Sevendust, Disturbed, and their contemporaries. It's always been difficult to sell hard rock/metal, and these days with digital downloads replacing album sales, you're either hugely popular (Seether, Foo Fighters, Shinedown, Nickelback) or you have no chance of making it. Nobody wants to hear grunge, jazz or big band stuff on the radio anymore either. Dubstep is the new trendy style. Personally, I feel that as we've progressed into the 00's and '10's, albums have became weaker and weaker, especially with the massive amount of artists vying for smaller markets, and saddest of all, the lack of remaining notes on the scale. The majority of stations across the globe are switching to either classic rock (70s-80s) or the AC mix format (for instance, we have a local station that claims "80s, 90s and now!").
Anyways, that's how I see my splits. So let's start from the top.
Here's 10 albums from the first era- before my "musical discovery".
Boston - Boston
A staple of my childhood and one of my all-time favorite bands, Boston's first album still gets tons of airplay. If you were raised on classic rock, you'd think Boston had a score of #1 albums/hits, but they never had a number 1 song before 1986's "Amanda". 17x platinum here, though.
AC/DC - Back in Black
Anyone who knows classic music knows that Highway to Hell was Bon Scott's last album, and Back in Black was Brian Johnson's first. There was no doubt the band would persevere with their new singer after this 1980 gem. Another one of my childhood staples. It's hard to believe that the band almost broke up before releasing this album.
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Along with the Seattle grunge revolution of Pearl Jam and Nirvana came the harder sound of Alice in Chains. This is a top-to-bottom rock anthem of the 90s, going through depression, rage, solitude, and a whole realm of deep dark emotion. Great album for the suffering or the ones who wish to be kickin' some ass.
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
There's only one Beastie Boys. They will never be emulated, re-created, or touched. This is their debut record, with classics like No Sleep Til Brooklyn, (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), Paul Revere, Brass Monkey, and many more. I don't know what more I could say about the band.
The Cars - The Cars
The Cars are the undisputed kings of New Wave. Ric Ocasik may be credited as the bands official front-man and lead singer, but Benjamin Orr (who splits the singing duties) sings lead on their first big hit "Just What I Needed" as well as their first #1 hit Drive several years later. You can't go wrong with this album.
Depeche Mode - Violator
You can call them darkwave, synth pop, or alternative rock, but 1990's Violator showed that the world was ready for the sound of Depeche Mode. It's dark, but it bounces and is almost perfectly crafted.
Heart - Heart
Heart is unquestionably my favorite female-fronted rock band, and in spite of the fact that they had already sold over 10 million records before it's release, this was their biggest effort. It was propelled forward by the smash hit These Dreams. Boy, Ann Wilson is truly something else, but These Dreams was actually recorded by Nancy.
Judas Priest - British Steel
Judas Priest. Rob Halford. KK Downing and Glenn Tipton. British Steel. Need I say more? This album pumped the major heavy metallers into a more commercial spotlight, and they're still crushing it today.
The Who - Who's Next
The Who are a gigantic British force, having sold hundreds of millions of records. If you need a perfect album to introduce yourself to them, Who's Next is the one. The addition of synthesizers makes the album even more accessible than anything previous. If you're looking for a great concept album (and rock opera), the album previous to this (Tommy) is a great place to start, but Who's Next is boss for me.
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water
Why not start at the finish? It was hard for me to decide between Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, and Bridge over Troubled Water. Both are truly great albums, but this one reached #1 in 10 separate countries. The title track is a perfect synopsis of the troubled relationship the two had. Paul wrote it for Art to sing. Art didn't want to sing, and Paul later regretted letting Art sing on it. Crazy dudes, but a spectacular album.
The Eagles - The Eagles
The craziest thing about the Eagles is that they released six albums in a 7 year span, selling 6.9 bazillion copies, and then they broke up. They hated each other. 30 years later they got back together and sold a 7x platinum record. Whatever? Haha. I love the Eagles. Each of their albums is phee-nomenal, and this is the one that started it all. Take it Easy and Peaceful Easy Feeling catapulted the band into stardom, and the musical world was never the same.
Part 2 coming soon...
First, and introduction. I consider my life to currently be split into three musical phases - birth to the age where I really started loving music (1985-1996), my true introduction to music (1997-2004) and everything since. Somewhere in the late 90s and early 2000's there was a dramatic shift in how music was recorded and released. The rise of the internet brought a new generation of music to the world. Hip-hop/dance music started replacing the old pop and rock stand-bys. Hair metal was long gone, but "Heavy metal" was being replaced by a genre rooted in rap-rock, known as "Nu Metal". Metal also started splitting into "core" genres. The biggest change that I personally saw was the decline of radio-friendly pop-rock (Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind etc) and the rise in dance-pop. People wanted to move rather than sing. And in the heavier areas, there became less and less of an appeal to bands like Sevendust, Disturbed, and their contemporaries. It's always been difficult to sell hard rock/metal, and these days with digital downloads replacing album sales, you're either hugely popular (Seether, Foo Fighters, Shinedown, Nickelback) or you have no chance of making it. Nobody wants to hear grunge, jazz or big band stuff on the radio anymore either. Dubstep is the new trendy style. Personally, I feel that as we've progressed into the 00's and '10's, albums have became weaker and weaker, especially with the massive amount of artists vying for smaller markets, and saddest of all, the lack of remaining notes on the scale. The majority of stations across the globe are switching to either classic rock (70s-80s) or the AC mix format (for instance, we have a local station that claims "80s, 90s and now!").
Anyways, that's how I see my splits. So let's start from the top.
Here's 10 albums from the first era- before my "musical discovery".
Boston - Boston
A staple of my childhood and one of my all-time favorite bands, Boston's first album still gets tons of airplay. If you were raised on classic rock, you'd think Boston had a score of #1 albums/hits, but they never had a number 1 song before 1986's "Amanda". 17x platinum here, though.
AC/DC - Back in Black
Anyone who knows classic music knows that Highway to Hell was Bon Scott's last album, and Back in Black was Brian Johnson's first. There was no doubt the band would persevere with their new singer after this 1980 gem. Another one of my childhood staples. It's hard to believe that the band almost broke up before releasing this album.
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Along with the Seattle grunge revolution of Pearl Jam and Nirvana came the harder sound of Alice in Chains. This is a top-to-bottom rock anthem of the 90s, going through depression, rage, solitude, and a whole realm of deep dark emotion. Great album for the suffering or the ones who wish to be kickin' some ass.
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
There's only one Beastie Boys. They will never be emulated, re-created, or touched. This is their debut record, with classics like No Sleep Til Brooklyn, (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), Paul Revere, Brass Monkey, and many more. I don't know what more I could say about the band.
The Cars - The Cars
The Cars are the undisputed kings of New Wave. Ric Ocasik may be credited as the bands official front-man and lead singer, but Benjamin Orr (who splits the singing duties) sings lead on their first big hit "Just What I Needed" as well as their first #1 hit Drive several years later. You can't go wrong with this album.
Depeche Mode - Violator
You can call them darkwave, synth pop, or alternative rock, but 1990's Violator showed that the world was ready for the sound of Depeche Mode. It's dark, but it bounces and is almost perfectly crafted.
Heart - Heart
Heart is unquestionably my favorite female-fronted rock band, and in spite of the fact that they had already sold over 10 million records before it's release, this was their biggest effort. It was propelled forward by the smash hit These Dreams. Boy, Ann Wilson is truly something else, but These Dreams was actually recorded by Nancy.
Judas Priest - British Steel
Judas Priest. Rob Halford. KK Downing and Glenn Tipton. British Steel. Need I say more? This album pumped the major heavy metallers into a more commercial spotlight, and they're still crushing it today.
The Who - Who's Next
The Who are a gigantic British force, having sold hundreds of millions of records. If you need a perfect album to introduce yourself to them, Who's Next is the one. The addition of synthesizers makes the album even more accessible than anything previous. If you're looking for a great concept album (and rock opera), the album previous to this (Tommy) is a great place to start, but Who's Next is boss for me.
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water
Why not start at the finish? It was hard for me to decide between Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, and Bridge over Troubled Water. Both are truly great albums, but this one reached #1 in 10 separate countries. The title track is a perfect synopsis of the troubled relationship the two had. Paul wrote it for Art to sing. Art didn't want to sing, and Paul later regretted letting Art sing on it. Crazy dudes, but a spectacular album.
The Eagles - The Eagles
The craziest thing about the Eagles is that they released six albums in a 7 year span, selling 6.9 bazillion copies, and then they broke up. They hated each other. 30 years later they got back together and sold a 7x platinum record. Whatever? Haha. I love the Eagles. Each of their albums is phee-nomenal, and this is the one that started it all. Take it Easy and Peaceful Easy Feeling catapulted the band into stardom, and the musical world was never the same.
Part 2 coming soon...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)