Weird Al - Handy
Weird Al - Foil
30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens
Aeon Zen - Warning
Alanis Morissette - Hands Clean
Alestorm - Drink
Alice in Chains - Would?
Amy Grant - Baby Baby
Anberlin - Impossible
Anberlin - (*fin)
Anberlin - The Promise
Anberlin - Paperthin Hymn
Anberlin - Haight St
Arcade Fire - Afterlife
Arctic Monkeys - Love is a Laserquest
Assemblage 23 - Damaged
The Ataris - Boys of Summer
Beartooth - The Lines
Beartooth - Beaten in Lips
Beartooth - In Between
Bleachers - Wake Me
Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better
Blindside - You Can Hide It
Blindside - Our Love Saves Us
blink-182 - Always
The Blow - True Affection
Born of Osiris - Machine
Born of Osiris - Divergency
Born of Osiris - Illusionist
Boston - I Had A Good Time
Brave Saint Saturn - Daylight
Cadets - A Drop in the ocean
Calvin Harris - Summer
Chvrches - The Mother We Share
Chvrches - Gun
The Classic Crime - Vagabonds
Close Your Eyes - Frame and Glass
Cold - Send in the Clowns
Cold - Insane
Cold - Another Pill
Cold - Ocean
Cold - The Park
Coldplay - Fix You
Coldplay - Charlie Brown
Crossfade - Starless
Cut Copy - We Are Explorers
Deadsy - Seagulls
Deathstars - Fire Galore
Demon Hunter - Screams of the Undead
Demon Hunter - Thorns
Demon Hunter - I Play Dead
Destiny Potato - Take a Picture
Dexter Freebish - Leaving Town
Don Henley - The Heart of the Matter
The Eagles - Take it Easy
The Eagles - I Can't Tell You Why
Epidemic - Walk Away
Eric Clapton - Change the World
Evanescence - Imaginary
Evergrey - Fear
Extol - Open the Gates
Eye of the Enemy - The Shift
Fear Factory - Designing The Enemy
Finger Eleven - Panic Attack
Finger Eleven - Obvious Heart
Five Iron Frenzy - I Am Jack's Smirking Revenge
Five Iron Frenzy - Far Far Away
From First to Last - Worlds AWay
The Frozen Ocean - Ghosts
Fuel - Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Fun. - Walking the Dog
Further Seems Forever - The Sound
Future Islands - Season (Waiting For You)
The Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy
Go West - Faithful
Haim - The Wire
Haste the Day - White as Snow
I The Breather - Swine:Cult (ft Ricky Armellino)
I The Breather - Demon:Dreams
Impending Doom - Hellhole
In Flames - Reflect the Storm
Jack White - Lazaretto
Jackson Browne - Running on Empty
Jay-Z - Can I Getta
Jennifer Knapp - Whole Again
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Redemption Song
Kathy Troccoli - Everything Changes
Kelly Clarkson - People Like Us
Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All
Kevin Max - You
Killswitch Engage - Rose of Sharyn
Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
Korn - Spike in my Veins
Lamb of God - Laid to Rest
Lamb of God - Hit the Wall
Lamb of God - Descending
Lo-Fang - When We're Fire
Lo-Fang - Light Year
The LoveCrave - Little Suicide
Maps & Atlases - Fever
Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis
Matchbox Twenty - Mad Season
Matchbox Twenty - Last Beautiful Girl
Matchbox Twenty - Disease
Meg Myers - Desire
Meshuggah - Stengah
Meshuggah - Bleed
Miike Snow - Song for No One
Morning Parade - Alienation
Mr. Mister - Kyrie
Natalie Merchant - Carnival
Newsboys - Who?
Norma Jean - Wrongdoers
OneRepublic - Stop and Stare
Owl City - Galaxies
Periphery - Icarus Lives!
A Plea for Purging - Heart of a Child
Polica - Smug
Purity Ring - Crawlersout
Purity Ring - Fineshrine
Purity Ring - Saltkin
Rammstein - Mann Gegen Mann
RDGLDGRN - Lootin' in London
Relient K - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You
Scar Symmetry - Illuminoid Dream Sequence
Sevendust - Tits On A Board
Sevendust - Walk Away
Sevendust - Failure
Sevendust - See And Believe
Showbread - Your Owls Are Hooting
Silversun Pickups - Substitution
Sleeper Agent - Be Brave
Sleeper Agent - Waves
Slim Thug - Wood Wheel (ft PJ and Sir Dally)
Slipknot - Metabolic
Slipknot - (sic)
Slipknot - Vermillion
Slipknot - The Virus of Life
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Solution .45 - For Aeons Past
Starflyer 59 - Fun is Fun
Starflyer 59 - Good Sons
Story of the Year - Until the Day I Die
Sup the Chemist - As the Sun Rises
Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
Switchfoot - When We Come Alive
Take That - Back for Good
Tedashii - Dark Days, Darker Nights
Tegan and Sara - Closer
The Temper Trap - sweet Disposition
Theory of a Deadman - Drown
Traveling Wilburys - Handle With Care
Van Morrison - Days Like This
VNV Nation - Illusion
Voltaire - Oh My Goth!
Voltaire - Captains All
Whitechapel - The Saw is the Law
Will Hoge - Even If It Breaks Your Heart
Winds of Plague - Say Hello to the Undertaker
Woods of Ypres - Traveling Alone
World Party - Ship of Fools
Pink - Try
Young the Giant - Crystallized
Young the Giant - Cough Syrup
Zeta - Bind
Zeta - Slip
Zwan - Honestly
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Stuck In My Head: August
I remember when P!nk first came out. There were all these bubblegum acts topping the charts (Britney, Christina, Jessica Simpson, etc) and with her second album she showed that she was a crazy chick who could sell pop music, too. Fast forward a dozen years, and she's still crazy, still writing her songs, and still pretty good. A major guilty pleasure since high school. The video for this song is pretty freaking awesome, too. Artistically, it's probably one of my favorite videos of the past few years. And she still has those eyes.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Integral Albums for the Future Generation - Part 4
So much anticipate.
The first radio station that I ever truly listened to was a small-wave Christian rock station based in Columbus called "Radio U". They were (are) a listener supported station with a diverse playlist that was even more so in the late 90s. They have a nightly special called the Ten Most Wanted and used to have specialty hours including the Punk Rock Playpen, the Electric Circus, the Independent Hour, the Loud Show and Planet Hip-Hop. Needless to say, there was never a shortage of interesting things to listen to and it wasn't constant repeats like most of the other stations in the city. So I grew up listening to it, and long story short it shaped my listening tendencies for the rest of my life.
Anyways, here are the albums. I didn't stop at 10 this time.
Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
I would say this was the highest anticipated album in my lifetime. I didn't even like Anberlin when I first heard them and their lead single Change the World, but for kicks I went and downloaded their first album and a legend was born in 2003. After hearing a snippet of what this album had in store, I as obsessed. Top to bottom, one of my all-time favorite discs. No skippable tracks. Each song has found a special place in my heart for special occasions. Don't ask me for my favorite; there's no way to choose. The album starts with a scream on the title track and ends with a flourish on Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen. I don't even know what more I can say, in spite of the album being one of my all-time most loved.
Brave Saint Saturn - The Light of Things Hoped For
Speaking of albums that absolutely changed my life, holy wow. This album actually got zero press from Radio U (who didn't even touch the final* Five Iron album released the next year) so I didn't even know it was released until my best friend brought it over a year after it dropped. I had loved their first album (especially the track Space Robot 5) but this one absolutely takes all the cakes. The disc explodes right off the bat with The Sun Also Rises, showing that the band has brought a "harder" sound as opposed to their first effort. The album tells the story of the USS Gloria and their mission around the planet survey. It hits emotional highs with such blasting tracks as Enamel and I Fell Away, and shows Reese Roper's ability to catch the heartstrings with songs like Estrella and the 6 minute outro, Daylight. Hope, happiness, and solitude, all wrapped in a shimmering astro-rock package. This disc also highlights Dennis Culp's singing and songwriting abilities (especially shown in Heart Still Beats).
Circle of Dust - Disengage
Who is "Klayton" (Scott Albert), though? Industrial christian alternative metal? It almost sounds like a contradiction these days, but in the mid-to-late 90s, bands like Circle of Dust, Klank and Argyle Park made quite a splash in the scene. Klay Scott is an incredibly dark and complex man who makes incredibly dark and complex music. If you haven't heard of Circle of Dust, you may have heard of Celldweller or Angeldust, featuring the infamous Criss Angel. While CoD never reached the heights that Celldweller has, it was still an incredible project and this album bears listening to if you want some serious pulsing dark industrial beats. On a technical sense, I would say this is a 9 track album with 3 sensational instrumental pieces (Babylon, Thulcandra, Perelandra; CS Lewis much?), then a stack of remixes and re-imaginations. In the end, you get 16 blistering soundbytes that will lay your eardrums to waste. This album, specifically, made me love dark music and the industrial stylings. I still use it as a litmus test for others in the genre.
dc Talk - Supernatural
dc Talk had already established themselves as a force with 1992's Free at Last and the super-smash Jesus Freak record in 1995. It's hard to believe that Tait, tobyMac and Kevin Max were initially 3 goofy rappers when listening to this disc. Every track hits a wonderful spiritual note, but the band has a way of making the message incredibly accessible, using the same rock elements from Jesus Freak but finding a softer side in tracks like Consume Me and Into Jesus. This album helped me mature as both a Christian and a music lover, and also helped me realize how much I wanted to be a singer (hello, Kevin Max). Best tracks - Consume Me, Supernatural, My Friend (So Long).
Evanescence - Origin
I suppose this could be considered a bit of a controversial one. This album had a song (Lies) that got a little bit of play on the Radio U Underground Hour, presumably because of it's lyrical content and the fact that it features Living Sacrifice frontman Bruce Fitzhugh. Needless to say, Amy Lee Amy Lee Amy Lee. Listen to her voice. Heck, listen to David Hodges voice. This album was essentially a 3 person effort between Amy, David and (of course) Ben Moody. It features different versions of the songs Whisper and Imaginary, and a slightly different orientation of the song My Immortal. It's a super raw disc, with intriguingly produced blips, scratches and noises. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, and despite it's lack of production it still stands out as my favorite disc from the band, who are almost intolerable since Ben Moody left. There's a lot of emotion wrapped up in this piece, and I would challenge anyone who liked their first major release (Fallen) to give this one a spin.
Five Iron Frenzy - Our Newest Album Ever!
Ska? Lol. The title of this album is greatly amusing, as it is their second full-length release, but needless to say, Five Iron showed that third-wave ska was here to stay. One of the Christian "Big 3" (with the OC Supertones and the Insyderz), the production on this album was miles ahead of any of their contemporaries, easily referenced in songs like Handbook for the Sellout and Blue Comb '78. The album goes everywhere, from calling out fakers, to the afterlife, to the lulls of being a touring band, to singing about, well, Canada. It reaches an incredible high on the final track, Every New Day, which makes me see how amazing God is every time I hear it. I'm man enough to admit that I cried big-time tears when I finally got to hear the song live. I feel as though everything came together for the band in this album. They experimented with other sounds later in their career, but this album is just a straight-forward, fun album with a spiritual tinge.
Zeta - Unfinished
Yeah, you've never heard of this band. You won't find them on Wikipedia. We'll call it... ambient synth-pop. You could release this album today and people wouldn't know it was pieced together in 1997. This album is dark, yet uplifting. The synths are ultra smooth and the vocals are beautiful. There were two songs that got heavy airplay in '97 - Clear and Transcend. My favorite tracks are Bind and Slip, which almost has a trance-y feel to it. By the end of the disc, I realized that this was my introduction to electronica, and as I said before, still stands out amongst it's competition. Sometimes I wish that there were more dark, melodic synth-pop records like this one (see Assemblage 23, VNV Nation), but then I realize that would cheapen the awesomeness of this disc. My only issue is that the band was supposedly working on a new album and then absolutely fell off the map. I've recently learned that Devin Fleenor is making music these days under the name Mr Meeble, which seems to be a more mature sounding electronic outfit. Anyways, if you can find this album anywhere, I'd give it a few spins.
Pillar - Where Do We Go from Here
Needless to say, Pillar were already a force to be reckoned with by the time they released WDWGFH in 2004. Their previous effort, Fireproof, was a great commercial success, and with this released they abandoned the rap-core sound they had in favor of a harder, more driven sound. Guitarist Noah Henson showed himself as a talented songwriter, but I always found Lester Estelle's drumming on this disc to be the highlight. I was lucky enough to get this album as their acoustic release show (in Columbus Ohio, of all places) and got to see them perform the songs Bring Me Down, Simply, Frontline and Rewind. The guys were super cool and I've loved them since. This album was a powerful rock disc that distanced the band from their more commercially successful contemporaries such as P.O.D. and Thousand Foot Krutch. This album (and Fireproof) were the apex of rap-rock and hard rock for me at the end of my high school days. As far as musical talent goes, you can put this quarter next to Disturbed of Staind of this era and they hold their own. This album made giving people a Christian whooping cool, as lame as that sounds. Hahaha...
Rackets and Drapes - Trick or Treat
Another genre-bender, Rackets and Drapes have been called everything from industrial to goth to shock-rock. Lead singer Kandy Kane pulls no punches and leaves no doubt that he's here to get inside your head. A reviewer on Amazon calls it "Industrial gothic carnival metal". Amusing, but seriously, Kandy will haunt your dreams with this album. I am happy to say I have all of their released, but sad to say that Kandy has recently disappeared from the Facebook midst. He's always seemed like a really cool guy who isn't afraid to let you know what's up. Before this album was released, they put out an EP called The Sick and the Beautiful which involves a hilarious 16 minute interview with the band. Anyways, this album reaches it's height with the tracks Scary-Go-Round and Rotten Apples, plus it has a great cover of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. The band sadly only had one more release after this disc, which had a more electronic vibe to it, but this one is a great disc to reach inside and rip out your heart. And eat it. Repent!!
Relient K - The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek
Relient K hail from Canton Ohio, which was always cool for us Ohio kids. This album intriguingly went Gold in 2006 and features just as much fun punk rock and pop culture references (I'm Lion O, Maybe it's Maybeline) as their self-titled debut, but also showcases their softer and more spiritual side on the tracks For the Moments I Feel Faint and Less is More. Although the band essentially sold out and abandoned their punk attitude two albums later, they still put out 3 straight great discs, and this one captured them before they started experimenting with a more poppy sound. It also features an amusing hidden track about Matt T's love of Skittles and Combos. The band also put out a music video for Pressing On that parodies Matchbox Twenty's Mad Season in that the band is walking in slow motion through a crowded group of fans. The question that comes to mind is: would I have loved RK as much as a teenager if they weren't from Ohio?
Skillet - Hey You, I Love Your Soul
It boggles the mind that Skillet is this gigantically popular hard rock band nowadays. Their first disc was a grungy little number and their second disc (Hey You) showed them experimenting with an electronic sound that they kept for two released going forward before heading to the hard rock forum. Hey You essentially captures the sound of Skillet that the OG Skillet fans fell in love with. I always laugh at people who have never heard this album, or Alien Youth or Invincible. Listening to this album these days is hilarious. At the time, Your Love Keeps Me Alive and Locked in a Cage were mega CCM hits but they are so lame in my adult years. I just feel like if you're going to be a Skillet fan, you HAVE to hear this record first. The band died to me when they escaped their "industrial" (if you can call it that) sound, but I'll still always (hilariously) have their first four discs.
Staple - Staple
Another sentimental Ohio inclusion, Staple hail from the tiny town of Mechanicsburg. Unfortunately, their first indie release, major EP and major LP were all titled "Staple", so it could be confusing finding their early releases. Their indie debut featured the singles Good Grief and Leaving, and sounded like it was recorded in a garage. It probably was recorded in a garage. Fortunately, the Flicker debut has a more polished metalcore sound to it. It features the #1 CCM hit Dictatorship vs Democracy and tackles issues that teens and young adults face in the maturation of their faith in the face of a secular world. It's a strong album and it's a shame they broke up after releasing their second major lable release Of Truth and Reconciliation, although they had more of a post-hardcore sound in that release. This one pulses and pummels your eardrums while reaching into your heart.
Starflyer 59 - The Fashion Focus
I went through my exhausting collection of Starflyer 59 albums trying to find the "right" one for this countdown. There really isn't one. I love them all. I will gaze at my shoes all day. But Jason Martin was on top of his game in 1998-1999 when he released The Fashion Focus and Everybody Makes Mistakes, respectively. The guitars were less distorted and the songs were less droney, but the keyboards shined and slithered through you the way dream-pop should. I Drive a Lot, Fell in Love at 22, and of course A Holiday Song are the best tracks off this disc, which is a heavy 12 tracks long (the most of any SF59 release). At the same time that I was headbanging around with bands like Circle of Dust, I was chilling out with Starflyer 59. Jason has slowed down the distortion these days, but still makes beautiful music.
Switchfoot - New Way To Be Human
I have a hard time differentiating between New Way To Be Human and Learning to Breathe. LtB has a more mature sound to it while NWTBH keeps with their fun-sounding debut. Both albums are brilliant conceptually, but this one has always been my favorite between the two. The title track paints a brilliant landscape on where humanity is and where they should going, and they touch on many other social issues on songs like Something More and Company Car. Only Hope and Let That Be Enough of very pretty tracks showcasing the band's ability to keep it close to the heart. Jon Foreman is a brilliant songwriter and continues to shine on into the 2010s. Anyways, 4 years after New Way was released the band reaches major commercial success thanks to the film A Walk To Remember and being noticed by the folks over at Columbia Records. But their first 3 records will always hold a special place with me and are often re-examined in times of spiritual crisis.
The Newsboys - Take Me To Your Leader
This album is a veritable who's who of the Newsboys biggest hits. Breakfast, Reality, Take Me To Your Leader, Breathe, God is Not A Secret. Add Shine and Entertaining Angels and you've got it. I was amused to hear the band referred to as "bubblegum pop", but I'm struggling to find a better defining genre for them other than "Christian Pop". They're as poppy as it gets, and even with the success of Shine, I think the band might have crashed if not for the major success of the song Breakfast. Anyways, it's a good album but it kind of dies after track 7. Still, if you need a good introduction to the Newsboys sound pre-Peter Furler singing, then Take Me To Your Leader is your disc. Although Furler and Steve Taylor (the legend) wrote most of the lyrics, John James helmed most of the songs. James left after this album, and Peter Furler led the band to their current juggernaut status before handing the reins to dc Talk's Michael Tait.
That was exhausting. Hah. Part 5 will be about the more recent albums that I've loved.
The first radio station that I ever truly listened to was a small-wave Christian rock station based in Columbus called "Radio U". They were (are) a listener supported station with a diverse playlist that was even more so in the late 90s. They have a nightly special called the Ten Most Wanted and used to have specialty hours including the Punk Rock Playpen, the Electric Circus, the Independent Hour, the Loud Show and Planet Hip-Hop. Needless to say, there was never a shortage of interesting things to listen to and it wasn't constant repeats like most of the other stations in the city. So I grew up listening to it, and long story short it shaped my listening tendencies for the rest of my life.
Anyways, here are the albums. I didn't stop at 10 this time.
Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
I would say this was the highest anticipated album in my lifetime. I didn't even like Anberlin when I first heard them and their lead single Change the World, but for kicks I went and downloaded their first album and a legend was born in 2003. After hearing a snippet of what this album had in store, I as obsessed. Top to bottom, one of my all-time favorite discs. No skippable tracks. Each song has found a special place in my heart for special occasions. Don't ask me for my favorite; there's no way to choose. The album starts with a scream on the title track and ends with a flourish on Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen. I don't even know what more I can say, in spite of the album being one of my all-time most loved.
Brave Saint Saturn - The Light of Things Hoped For
Speaking of albums that absolutely changed my life, holy wow. This album actually got zero press from Radio U (who didn't even touch the final* Five Iron album released the next year) so I didn't even know it was released until my best friend brought it over a year after it dropped. I had loved their first album (especially the track Space Robot 5) but this one absolutely takes all the cakes. The disc explodes right off the bat with The Sun Also Rises, showing that the band has brought a "harder" sound as opposed to their first effort. The album tells the story of the USS Gloria and their mission around the planet survey. It hits emotional highs with such blasting tracks as Enamel and I Fell Away, and shows Reese Roper's ability to catch the heartstrings with songs like Estrella and the 6 minute outro, Daylight. Hope, happiness, and solitude, all wrapped in a shimmering astro-rock package. This disc also highlights Dennis Culp's singing and songwriting abilities (especially shown in Heart Still Beats).
Circle of Dust - Disengage
Who is "Klayton" (Scott Albert), though? Industrial christian alternative metal? It almost sounds like a contradiction these days, but in the mid-to-late 90s, bands like Circle of Dust, Klank and Argyle Park made quite a splash in the scene. Klay Scott is an incredibly dark and complex man who makes incredibly dark and complex music. If you haven't heard of Circle of Dust, you may have heard of Celldweller or Angeldust, featuring the infamous Criss Angel. While CoD never reached the heights that Celldweller has, it was still an incredible project and this album bears listening to if you want some serious pulsing dark industrial beats. On a technical sense, I would say this is a 9 track album with 3 sensational instrumental pieces (Babylon, Thulcandra, Perelandra; CS Lewis much?), then a stack of remixes and re-imaginations. In the end, you get 16 blistering soundbytes that will lay your eardrums to waste. This album, specifically, made me love dark music and the industrial stylings. I still use it as a litmus test for others in the genre.
dc Talk - Supernatural
dc Talk had already established themselves as a force with 1992's Free at Last and the super-smash Jesus Freak record in 1995. It's hard to believe that Tait, tobyMac and Kevin Max were initially 3 goofy rappers when listening to this disc. Every track hits a wonderful spiritual note, but the band has a way of making the message incredibly accessible, using the same rock elements from Jesus Freak but finding a softer side in tracks like Consume Me and Into Jesus. This album helped me mature as both a Christian and a music lover, and also helped me realize how much I wanted to be a singer (hello, Kevin Max). Best tracks - Consume Me, Supernatural, My Friend (So Long).
Evanescence - Origin
I suppose this could be considered a bit of a controversial one. This album had a song (Lies) that got a little bit of play on the Radio U Underground Hour, presumably because of it's lyrical content and the fact that it features Living Sacrifice frontman Bruce Fitzhugh. Needless to say, Amy Lee Amy Lee Amy Lee. Listen to her voice. Heck, listen to David Hodges voice. This album was essentially a 3 person effort between Amy, David and (of course) Ben Moody. It features different versions of the songs Whisper and Imaginary, and a slightly different orientation of the song My Immortal. It's a super raw disc, with intriguingly produced blips, scratches and noises. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, and despite it's lack of production it still stands out as my favorite disc from the band, who are almost intolerable since Ben Moody left. There's a lot of emotion wrapped up in this piece, and I would challenge anyone who liked their first major release (Fallen) to give this one a spin.
Five Iron Frenzy - Our Newest Album Ever!
Ska? Lol. The title of this album is greatly amusing, as it is their second full-length release, but needless to say, Five Iron showed that third-wave ska was here to stay. One of the Christian "Big 3" (with the OC Supertones and the Insyderz), the production on this album was miles ahead of any of their contemporaries, easily referenced in songs like Handbook for the Sellout and Blue Comb '78. The album goes everywhere, from calling out fakers, to the afterlife, to the lulls of being a touring band, to singing about, well, Canada. It reaches an incredible high on the final track, Every New Day, which makes me see how amazing God is every time I hear it. I'm man enough to admit that I cried big-time tears when I finally got to hear the song live. I feel as though everything came together for the band in this album. They experimented with other sounds later in their career, but this album is just a straight-forward, fun album with a spiritual tinge.
Zeta - Unfinished
Yeah, you've never heard of this band. You won't find them on Wikipedia. We'll call it... ambient synth-pop. You could release this album today and people wouldn't know it was pieced together in 1997. This album is dark, yet uplifting. The synths are ultra smooth and the vocals are beautiful. There were two songs that got heavy airplay in '97 - Clear and Transcend. My favorite tracks are Bind and Slip, which almost has a trance-y feel to it. By the end of the disc, I realized that this was my introduction to electronica, and as I said before, still stands out amongst it's competition. Sometimes I wish that there were more dark, melodic synth-pop records like this one (see Assemblage 23, VNV Nation), but then I realize that would cheapen the awesomeness of this disc. My only issue is that the band was supposedly working on a new album and then absolutely fell off the map. I've recently learned that Devin Fleenor is making music these days under the name Mr Meeble, which seems to be a more mature sounding electronic outfit. Anyways, if you can find this album anywhere, I'd give it a few spins.
Pillar - Where Do We Go from Here
Needless to say, Pillar were already a force to be reckoned with by the time they released WDWGFH in 2004. Their previous effort, Fireproof, was a great commercial success, and with this released they abandoned the rap-core sound they had in favor of a harder, more driven sound. Guitarist Noah Henson showed himself as a talented songwriter, but I always found Lester Estelle's drumming on this disc to be the highlight. I was lucky enough to get this album as their acoustic release show (in Columbus Ohio, of all places) and got to see them perform the songs Bring Me Down, Simply, Frontline and Rewind. The guys were super cool and I've loved them since. This album was a powerful rock disc that distanced the band from their more commercially successful contemporaries such as P.O.D. and Thousand Foot Krutch. This album (and Fireproof) were the apex of rap-rock and hard rock for me at the end of my high school days. As far as musical talent goes, you can put this quarter next to Disturbed of Staind of this era and they hold their own. This album made giving people a Christian whooping cool, as lame as that sounds. Hahaha...
Rackets and Drapes - Trick or Treat
Another genre-bender, Rackets and Drapes have been called everything from industrial to goth to shock-rock. Lead singer Kandy Kane pulls no punches and leaves no doubt that he's here to get inside your head. A reviewer on Amazon calls it "Industrial gothic carnival metal". Amusing, but seriously, Kandy will haunt your dreams with this album. I am happy to say I have all of their released, but sad to say that Kandy has recently disappeared from the Facebook midst. He's always seemed like a really cool guy who isn't afraid to let you know what's up. Before this album was released, they put out an EP called The Sick and the Beautiful which involves a hilarious 16 minute interview with the band. Anyways, this album reaches it's height with the tracks Scary-Go-Round and Rotten Apples, plus it has a great cover of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. The band sadly only had one more release after this disc, which had a more electronic vibe to it, but this one is a great disc to reach inside and rip out your heart. And eat it. Repent!!
Relient K - The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek
Relient K hail from Canton Ohio, which was always cool for us Ohio kids. This album intriguingly went Gold in 2006 and features just as much fun punk rock and pop culture references (I'm Lion O, Maybe it's Maybeline) as their self-titled debut, but also showcases their softer and more spiritual side on the tracks For the Moments I Feel Faint and Less is More. Although the band essentially sold out and abandoned their punk attitude two albums later, they still put out 3 straight great discs, and this one captured them before they started experimenting with a more poppy sound. It also features an amusing hidden track about Matt T's love of Skittles and Combos. The band also put out a music video for Pressing On that parodies Matchbox Twenty's Mad Season in that the band is walking in slow motion through a crowded group of fans. The question that comes to mind is: would I have loved RK as much as a teenager if they weren't from Ohio?
Skillet - Hey You, I Love Your Soul
It boggles the mind that Skillet is this gigantically popular hard rock band nowadays. Their first disc was a grungy little number and their second disc (Hey You) showed them experimenting with an electronic sound that they kept for two released going forward before heading to the hard rock forum. Hey You essentially captures the sound of Skillet that the OG Skillet fans fell in love with. I always laugh at people who have never heard this album, or Alien Youth or Invincible. Listening to this album these days is hilarious. At the time, Your Love Keeps Me Alive and Locked in a Cage were mega CCM hits but they are so lame in my adult years. I just feel like if you're going to be a Skillet fan, you HAVE to hear this record first. The band died to me when they escaped their "industrial" (if you can call it that) sound, but I'll still always (hilariously) have their first four discs.
Staple - Staple
Another sentimental Ohio inclusion, Staple hail from the tiny town of Mechanicsburg. Unfortunately, their first indie release, major EP and major LP were all titled "Staple", so it could be confusing finding their early releases. Their indie debut featured the singles Good Grief and Leaving, and sounded like it was recorded in a garage. It probably was recorded in a garage. Fortunately, the Flicker debut has a more polished metalcore sound to it. It features the #1 CCM hit Dictatorship vs Democracy and tackles issues that teens and young adults face in the maturation of their faith in the face of a secular world. It's a strong album and it's a shame they broke up after releasing their second major lable release Of Truth and Reconciliation, although they had more of a post-hardcore sound in that release. This one pulses and pummels your eardrums while reaching into your heart.
Starflyer 59 - The Fashion Focus
I went through my exhausting collection of Starflyer 59 albums trying to find the "right" one for this countdown. There really isn't one. I love them all. I will gaze at my shoes all day. But Jason Martin was on top of his game in 1998-1999 when he released The Fashion Focus and Everybody Makes Mistakes, respectively. The guitars were less distorted and the songs were less droney, but the keyboards shined and slithered through you the way dream-pop should. I Drive a Lot, Fell in Love at 22, and of course A Holiday Song are the best tracks off this disc, which is a heavy 12 tracks long (the most of any SF59 release). At the same time that I was headbanging around with bands like Circle of Dust, I was chilling out with Starflyer 59. Jason has slowed down the distortion these days, but still makes beautiful music.
Switchfoot - New Way To Be Human
I have a hard time differentiating between New Way To Be Human and Learning to Breathe. LtB has a more mature sound to it while NWTBH keeps with their fun-sounding debut. Both albums are brilliant conceptually, but this one has always been my favorite between the two. The title track paints a brilliant landscape on where humanity is and where they should going, and they touch on many other social issues on songs like Something More and Company Car. Only Hope and Let That Be Enough of very pretty tracks showcasing the band's ability to keep it close to the heart. Jon Foreman is a brilliant songwriter and continues to shine on into the 2010s. Anyways, 4 years after New Way was released the band reaches major commercial success thanks to the film A Walk To Remember and being noticed by the folks over at Columbia Records. But their first 3 records will always hold a special place with me and are often re-examined in times of spiritual crisis.
The Newsboys - Take Me To Your Leader
This album is a veritable who's who of the Newsboys biggest hits. Breakfast, Reality, Take Me To Your Leader, Breathe, God is Not A Secret. Add Shine and Entertaining Angels and you've got it. I was amused to hear the band referred to as "bubblegum pop", but I'm struggling to find a better defining genre for them other than "Christian Pop". They're as poppy as it gets, and even with the success of Shine, I think the band might have crashed if not for the major success of the song Breakfast. Anyways, it's a good album but it kind of dies after track 7. Still, if you need a good introduction to the Newsboys sound pre-Peter Furler singing, then Take Me To Your Leader is your disc. Although Furler and Steve Taylor (the legend) wrote most of the lyrics, John James helmed most of the songs. James left after this album, and Peter Furler led the band to their current juggernaut status before handing the reins to dc Talk's Michael Tait.
That was exhausting. Hah. Part 5 will be about the more recent albums that I've loved.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Integral Albums for the Future Generation - Part 3
Part 2 covered the albums from 1996-2004 that were of the not-so-hard variety. Let's kick it.
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
Without a doubt, one of the most influential rock outfits of the 2000s has to be Linkin Park. With a sound unlike any of the other Nu-metal acts of the period, and a seemingly perfect mix of Chester Bennington's scream/singing and Mike Shinoda explosive rapping. The album was a perfectly angsty mix of accesible alt-metal for fans of many genres. LP made their stamp on the music world in a huge way with their debut LP, and skyrocketed even further when they released a remix of the album entited Reanimation. The pop apex of the album is the piano-laden mega-hit In The End, while songs like By Myself and One Step Closer bring the edge. You can't listen to music in the 2000s without this album.
Killswitch Engage - The End of Heartache
Killswitch Engage was an established metalcore act before Howard Jones took over on vocals and Adam D switched to guitar. However, the switch brought on a beautiful sound and a perfect mix of powerful, soaring vocals and humongous guitars. Jones had a more polished clean voice over former vocalist Jesse Leach, and the lyrical content rings in perfect harmony with anyone who's ever had a heart, period. This album also made metalcore more accessible to the common fan, but the real reason I include this album is to showcase Jones' ability as a singer and songwriter, which is unfortunately lost on his next two albums with the band because, let's face it; he's a whiny baby. Anyways, if you've ever felt heartache or needed strength, this is THE album.
Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree
Meshuggah. Legends of the metal world. The pioneers of the palm-mute technique. The inventors of the djent genre. What do you do after releasing 3 consecutive huge extreme metal albums? Add an extra string to your guitars (seriously, 8?!), clean up the sound a little, and record one unbelievable 47:18 long song, broken in to 13 pieces. Groove your faces out. Rock all faces off. If you're a fan of paradoxical lyrics, then this is the album for you. There isn't a bad "track" on this album, and you'll find things here that you've never heard on previous Meshuggah albums (or anywhere else, really). What makes this album stand out is the continuity that is holds through the 47 minute journey, while portraying uniqueness throughout each track. Get some.
Nevermore - Dead Heart, in a Dead World
Speaking of 7 string guitars, welcome to the crushing world of Jeff Loomis and Nevermore. From the slamming opening track Narcosynthesis, to the blistering cover of The Sound of Silence, to the soft opening of the title track, this album kills. Warrel Dane showed me that power metal vocals can make almost anything sound amazing. Jeff Loomis took over both lead and rhythm guitars for the album and crushed all the way through. I feel as though this was the first time I truly heard an explosive power metal voice, at least one that was mixed with something other than screaming guitars. It's a beautiful thing when done right, especially when done through Dane's perspective.
Rammstein - Reise, Reise
How would you introduce a band like Rammstein to someone who had never listened to them before? A vocalist who will blow your mind? A sound that spawned a million copies? The best damn German thing you'll ever hear? I don't know. I just know that they reached their metallic apex with the album Reise, Reise. While their first two albums were more focused on the dance-metal sound, Mutter and Reise shifted to a heavier, more powerful sound without losing the heavy grinding beats. My favorite thing about the band is that they dare to write things that no other band will do. Mein Teil is a (true story) song about two guys who got together to chop off the "piece" of one, to be eaten by the other. Amerika absolutely smashes American culture perfectly while being sung mostly in English. There is also Russian singing (Moskau) and French (Amour). The sheer versatility of the band makes them worth the price of admission. Well, that and the bombastic pyrotechnic show they put on, but you can't hear that.
Sevendust - Home
If you ever wanted to be punched in the face, you ought to get this album. While their follow-up album Animosity was a bigger commercial success, Home carved out a powerful, crushing sound that has defined the band for the years that followed. Lajon Witherspoon could sing a lion to sleep, but has the rage to scare off a bear. It is a straight-up metallic assault from top to bottom. I might have liked their later albums better, but my goodness did this get me off on the right foot with the band. This album changed what I wanted my rock'n'roll to sound like. Also, Licking Cream features Skin from Skunk Anansie, who I consider to be one of the strongest female vocalists to ever grace the metal scene. It's not a complicated album, but it'll get you through your workout and then some.
Slipknot - Iowa
I don't think I ever understood rage until I heard this album. Or cussing. Hahaha. Anything that you ever need to know about hatred, complication and despair can be found in this album. A true explosion of sound, from the hate filled People = Sh*t and Left Behind, to the softer yet still destructive sounds of Gently and Skin Ticket, lead singer Corey Taylor let's you know that "...we are here to destroy you". And so they do. I think over time I've experienced every complicated emotion from every track on this album. It's not just blind rage: it has a direction that leads you down a unique path of pain. Maybe I'll wait til my kids are in their teens before letting them hear this one...? Heh.
Soulfly - Primitive
Max Cavalera is a machine. Soulfly has released 9 albums in 16 years and he's also worked on several other projects. After leaving Sepultura, Cavalera carved his own path with a rotation of musicians that blew up the metal scene with an interesting Brazilian mix of thrash metal, tribal percussion, reggae, and groovy instruments. Primitive features some heavy-hitting guest artists (including Tom Araya, Chino Moreno and Corey Taylor) to hit you with blazing thrash metal as well as the tribal elements that keep it grounded yet groovy. Max is an angry guy and he brings a special sound to his rage. The man must be brilliant because he will write about all sorts of things that make him mad. All in all, it's a groovy album that will continually bob your head and remind you why you like to punch things.
Story of the Year - Page Avenue
If the previous two albums are remnants of rage, then Page Avenue is a remnant of sadness. I never, ever enjoyed screamo vocals before I heard Dan Marsala fire through this album. Holy heartbreak. Nevermind the perfect blend of pop-punk music, just listen to the words Marsala sings. Relate to his heart. There isn't a single song on this album that wasn't perfect for my 18 year old self when it dropped. It carried me through my senior year of high school and let me shed every tear and drop of blood that I needed. If you're hurting and need to get through it with an album, this is a great album for it. Until the Day I Die was the major single, but songs like Razorblades and Burning Years also bring it right to your heart. Also, it's a tough album with driving guitars, showcased best on songs like Page Avenue and Dive Right In.
Cold - 13 Ways To Bleed Onstage/Year of the Spider
Is this cheating? This is cheating. There's no doubt in my mind that Cold is, and always will be my all-time favorite band. There's no better place to start on my love for this band than with these two albums, released 2000 and 2003. 13 Ways is an incredibly dark album that permeated a dark time in my life. You start with Just Got Wicked and you know that you're about to get blasted with some serious alternative metal. The album never ceased to grind through you, and finds ways to tug at the heartstrings of listeners with tracks like Bleed and No One. There is no doubt that Scooter Ward is a conflicted guy and it shows up in songs like It's All Good, Confession, and Anti-Love Song. But Cold didn't have a massive reach until YOTS dropped with it's mega-hit Stupid Girl. The album is once again laced with sadness (Sad Happy, Rain Song, Cure My Tragedy) and the trademark rage (Kill the Music Industry, Remedy, Change the World). I cannot tell you what makes these two albums special, except that when I bought them they were non-stop in my CD player, and that the lyrics STILL relate to my life, even in my late 20s.
Part 4 - coming next week
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
Without a doubt, one of the most influential rock outfits of the 2000s has to be Linkin Park. With a sound unlike any of the other Nu-metal acts of the period, and a seemingly perfect mix of Chester Bennington's scream/singing and Mike Shinoda explosive rapping. The album was a perfectly angsty mix of accesible alt-metal for fans of many genres. LP made their stamp on the music world in a huge way with their debut LP, and skyrocketed even further when they released a remix of the album entited Reanimation. The pop apex of the album is the piano-laden mega-hit In The End, while songs like By Myself and One Step Closer bring the edge. You can't listen to music in the 2000s without this album.
Killswitch Engage - The End of Heartache
Killswitch Engage was an established metalcore act before Howard Jones took over on vocals and Adam D switched to guitar. However, the switch brought on a beautiful sound and a perfect mix of powerful, soaring vocals and humongous guitars. Jones had a more polished clean voice over former vocalist Jesse Leach, and the lyrical content rings in perfect harmony with anyone who's ever had a heart, period. This album also made metalcore more accessible to the common fan, but the real reason I include this album is to showcase Jones' ability as a singer and songwriter, which is unfortunately lost on his next two albums with the band because, let's face it; he's a whiny baby. Anyways, if you've ever felt heartache or needed strength, this is THE album.
Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree
Meshuggah. Legends of the metal world. The pioneers of the palm-mute technique. The inventors of the djent genre. What do you do after releasing 3 consecutive huge extreme metal albums? Add an extra string to your guitars (seriously, 8?!), clean up the sound a little, and record one unbelievable 47:18 long song, broken in to 13 pieces. Groove your faces out. Rock all faces off. If you're a fan of paradoxical lyrics, then this is the album for you. There isn't a bad "track" on this album, and you'll find things here that you've never heard on previous Meshuggah albums (or anywhere else, really). What makes this album stand out is the continuity that is holds through the 47 minute journey, while portraying uniqueness throughout each track. Get some.
Nevermore - Dead Heart, in a Dead World
Speaking of 7 string guitars, welcome to the crushing world of Jeff Loomis and Nevermore. From the slamming opening track Narcosynthesis, to the blistering cover of The Sound of Silence, to the soft opening of the title track, this album kills. Warrel Dane showed me that power metal vocals can make almost anything sound amazing. Jeff Loomis took over both lead and rhythm guitars for the album and crushed all the way through. I feel as though this was the first time I truly heard an explosive power metal voice, at least one that was mixed with something other than screaming guitars. It's a beautiful thing when done right, especially when done through Dane's perspective.
Rammstein - Reise, Reise
How would you introduce a band like Rammstein to someone who had never listened to them before? A vocalist who will blow your mind? A sound that spawned a million copies? The best damn German thing you'll ever hear? I don't know. I just know that they reached their metallic apex with the album Reise, Reise. While their first two albums were more focused on the dance-metal sound, Mutter and Reise shifted to a heavier, more powerful sound without losing the heavy grinding beats. My favorite thing about the band is that they dare to write things that no other band will do. Mein Teil is a (true story) song about two guys who got together to chop off the "piece" of one, to be eaten by the other. Amerika absolutely smashes American culture perfectly while being sung mostly in English. There is also Russian singing (Moskau) and French (Amour). The sheer versatility of the band makes them worth the price of admission. Well, that and the bombastic pyrotechnic show they put on, but you can't hear that.
Sevendust - Home
If you ever wanted to be punched in the face, you ought to get this album. While their follow-up album Animosity was a bigger commercial success, Home carved out a powerful, crushing sound that has defined the band for the years that followed. Lajon Witherspoon could sing a lion to sleep, but has the rage to scare off a bear. It is a straight-up metallic assault from top to bottom. I might have liked their later albums better, but my goodness did this get me off on the right foot with the band. This album changed what I wanted my rock'n'roll to sound like. Also, Licking Cream features Skin from Skunk Anansie, who I consider to be one of the strongest female vocalists to ever grace the metal scene. It's not a complicated album, but it'll get you through your workout and then some.
Slipknot - Iowa
I don't think I ever understood rage until I heard this album. Or cussing. Hahaha. Anything that you ever need to know about hatred, complication and despair can be found in this album. A true explosion of sound, from the hate filled People = Sh*t and Left Behind, to the softer yet still destructive sounds of Gently and Skin Ticket, lead singer Corey Taylor let's you know that "...we are here to destroy you". And so they do. I think over time I've experienced every complicated emotion from every track on this album. It's not just blind rage: it has a direction that leads you down a unique path of pain. Maybe I'll wait til my kids are in their teens before letting them hear this one...? Heh.
Soulfly - Primitive
Max Cavalera is a machine. Soulfly has released 9 albums in 16 years and he's also worked on several other projects. After leaving Sepultura, Cavalera carved his own path with a rotation of musicians that blew up the metal scene with an interesting Brazilian mix of thrash metal, tribal percussion, reggae, and groovy instruments. Primitive features some heavy-hitting guest artists (including Tom Araya, Chino Moreno and Corey Taylor) to hit you with blazing thrash metal as well as the tribal elements that keep it grounded yet groovy. Max is an angry guy and he brings a special sound to his rage. The man must be brilliant because he will write about all sorts of things that make him mad. All in all, it's a groovy album that will continually bob your head and remind you why you like to punch things.
Story of the Year - Page Avenue
If the previous two albums are remnants of rage, then Page Avenue is a remnant of sadness. I never, ever enjoyed screamo vocals before I heard Dan Marsala fire through this album. Holy heartbreak. Nevermind the perfect blend of pop-punk music, just listen to the words Marsala sings. Relate to his heart. There isn't a single song on this album that wasn't perfect for my 18 year old self when it dropped. It carried me through my senior year of high school and let me shed every tear and drop of blood that I needed. If you're hurting and need to get through it with an album, this is a great album for it. Until the Day I Die was the major single, but songs like Razorblades and Burning Years also bring it right to your heart. Also, it's a tough album with driving guitars, showcased best on songs like Page Avenue and Dive Right In.
Cold - 13 Ways To Bleed Onstage/Year of the Spider
Is this cheating? This is cheating. There's no doubt in my mind that Cold is, and always will be my all-time favorite band. There's no better place to start on my love for this band than with these two albums, released 2000 and 2003. 13 Ways is an incredibly dark album that permeated a dark time in my life. You start with Just Got Wicked and you know that you're about to get blasted with some serious alternative metal. The album never ceased to grind through you, and finds ways to tug at the heartstrings of listeners with tracks like Bleed and No One. There is no doubt that Scooter Ward is a conflicted guy and it shows up in songs like It's All Good, Confession, and Anti-Love Song. But Cold didn't have a massive reach until YOTS dropped with it's mega-hit Stupid Girl. The album is once again laced with sadness (Sad Happy, Rain Song, Cure My Tragedy) and the trademark rage (Kill the Music Industry, Remedy, Change the World). I cannot tell you what makes these two albums special, except that when I bought them they were non-stop in my CD player, and that the lyrics STILL relate to my life, even in my late 20s.
Part 4 - coming next week
Friday, August 1, 2014
Integral Albums for the Future Generation - Part 2
Before 1996, I generally only listened to the music my parents played. This meant classic rock with my mother, and disco/Love Songs With Delilah with my dad. Us kids always hated when dad had control of the dial at night, because we'd be subjected to that garbage. Anyways, when we moved to Bexley (where I grew up), I got my own radio and started scanning the dial to find more. One of the first songs I remember hearing was "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba. I know, right? On a side note, that's a pretty good album as well (IMO), but it's not on this list. This list covers the years of 1996-2004. In that time-frame, I spent most of my money buying CDs and most of my time glued to my radio/Walkman or MTV/VH1. My obsession with music truly exploded from grades 7-10 when I was home-schooled and I essentially listened to the radio all day, and had access to downloading MP3s on the internet.
Part 2 covers the softer albums of that time. Not all of these albums are "soft" per se, but Part 3 will cover the heavier acts, such as Slipknot and Korn. You may notice that there are a lot of gigantic albums of my teen years missing from Parts 2 and 3, but I promise I will cover them in Part 4, which covers the Radio U albums of this era.
Andrew WK - I Get Wet
The first time I heard and saw AWK, I was a bit off-put. Dude was a nasty looking weirdo on SNL, a show that I don't even normally watch. But once I started listening to his music, I realized he was absolutely amazing. First of all, he plays a pizza-slice shaped guitar, is a tremendous pianist and drummer, and writes songs about things that the average man can relate with. He is also one of the most positive musicians I have ever seen. This album may not be easy to get in to because of his voice, but musically it is outstanding.
Deadsy - Commencement
This album got a lot of critical flack, but it is absolutely one of my all-time favorite synth-rock alt-metal industrial (whatever you want ot call it?) albums. I love Elijah Blue's voice, love the sound of the z-tar mixed with the chaotic blipping synths, and love the melancholy approach the band takes to its songs. True, the album was delayed many times for a multitude of reasons, and they eventually broke up after a second album was delayed, but this one is one that I'd want people to hear, just because like I Get Wet, it sounds like nothing else you'll hear.
Eminem - Eminem Show
The Slim Shady LP brought Eminem to the public spotlight, and The Marshall Mathers LP continued to skyrocket the controversial rapper, but The Eminem Show is where he made his true explosion. Em did most of the production on this album and showed that he can cover many different lyrical attacks, from the acerbic Cleanin' Out My Closest, to the odd-ball single Without Me, to the controversial White America, and so on. The only downside to Eminem's brilliant writing ability and flow is the fact that it spawned hundreds of terrible white rappers who want to be Em, despite claiming otherwise. But this album is as good as rap got in the 2000s.
Audioslave - Audioslave
Following the downfall of Rage Against The Machine, Tom Morello and the boys needed a singer for all their brilliant work. Enter Chris Cornell, one of the greatest vocalists of ALL TIME. Top to bottom, this is one of my all-time favorite albums. While RATM focused more on the rap-rock stylings of Zach de la Rocha and heavy-leaning political views, Audioslave brought Chris Cornell's explosive voice together with Morello's brilliant strumming. This album starts with the crunching intro of Cochise, reaches it's apex on the guitar solo of Like A Stone, and also showcases the boys ability to be mellow in I Am The Highway and The Last Remaining Light. A true super-group album, if ever there was one.
Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy up the Girl
It's hard to believe that the Goo Goo Dolls had 4 major record label albums before Dizzy. It's also hard to believe that they were on Metal Blade records. The album was propelled forward by the super-smash, #1 debuting hit Iris, but powers forward with catchy song after catchy song. Johnny Rzeznik had established himself as the main vocalist, even though Robbie Takac still showed his abilities on songs like Amigone and January Friend. This album is a late 90's alt-rock staple and it's just an easy album to pop in and chill with. Even if Iris burnt you out, there are plenty of other songs that work perfectly.
Johnny Cash - the American series.
Is this cheating? I don't think so. The first of the American Recordings with Rick Rubin dropped in 1994 and the last in 2010, but the 3 biggest of the compilation (Unchained, Solitary Man, The Man Comes Around) fall into our timeline, and all 3 are tremendous. Johnny's voice was failing him near the end, but he still sounded better than most singers do these days. His brilliant re-imaginings of classic hits span from country contemporaries (I've Been Everywhere, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Desperado) to more recent alternative hits (Personal Jesus, Rusty Cage, and the mega-hit Hurt). There is also the box set, Unearthed, featuring hits like Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Johnny was spot on, and he and Rick did amazing things in his twilight years. If you listen to no other Cash albums, I'd listen to these.
Matchbox Twenty - Mad Season
Rob Thomas and his boys had already established themselves in 1996 with the super hits 3 AM. and Push, but in 2000 they dropped an album that would cement them as pop-rock legends with Mad Season. I could go into detail why this album is essential, but what could I say? Nothing but hits? 13 songs you HAVE to hear before you die? Kyle Cook is a brilliant guitarists, as referenced in songs like Rest Stop, Crutch and Bent. Rob Thomas can sing your face off with songs like Mad Season and Angry, but also features his the ability to tear your heart out with ballads like Bed of Lies and Last Beautiful Girl. If you don't have this album, go get it. Right now. I'll wait.
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
If you've never heard Norah Jones' sweet-as-sugar, soulful voice, you are truly missing out. This is the most chilled out, bluesy-jazz-pop-soul album I've ever come across. Norah's voice will take you to places inside that you've never felt. I never truly appreciated this album (despite loving the singles) until I listened to it in a coffee shop, waiting for a ride home. It just trickles down over you and takes you to a happy place. The album placed #1 on 13 different charts and won 8 different awards. Oh, and 11 million+ in sales in the US alone. If you haven't heard it, where have you been?
Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody
oh, Vanessa. You stole my heart in 2002 and you have yet to give it back. A brilliant pianist with the ability to capture emotion on paper and in her voice, Vanessa Carlton struck gold with the smash hit 1000 Miles, but this entire album is tremendous. She may not have been as popular as Norah Jones or Michelle Branch, but it's undeniable that this was a great year for female pop vocalists. Vanessa's career took off and abruptly landed with her tumultuous relationship with Third Eye Blind vocalist Stephan Jenkins after this album, but it's still a wondeful thing to lean on and a piano standard for the 2000s.
The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse
Unless you lived under a rock in 1996-97, you knew about this album. Even if you did live under a rock, you still probably heard the mega-smash One Headlight, or one of the many singles that poured out of this album. Jakob Dylan might look just like his legendary father, but his voice and songwriting ability carved his own path. As producer T-Bone Burnett stated at the time, "I wonder how many Wallflowers fans even know who Bob Dylan is...". Anyways, this album is on this list if only for the fact that One Headlight was a life changing song for me. That doesn't discredit songs like The Difference and 6th Avenue Heartache, but it serves notice as to how great One Headlight is as a song.
Santana - Supernatural
Carlos Santana was a famous musician in the '60s and '70s, but by 1992 he had burned out and essentially fallen off the globe. 7 years without an album and only a small amount of touring, and then BANG. Supernatural. A brilliant concept of Carlos and his band rocking it out with guest singers on several of the tracks. Dave Matthews. Rob Thomas. Eric Clapton. Huge names equaled huge success. I include this album because Santana is a tremendous guitarist and this album, led by the smash single Smooth was a game-changer at the time. 9 Grammy's and millions upon millions of sales across the globe. It is one of music's greatest comeback stories and a solid album to boot. The genres are all blended together in a wonderful disc.
Part 3 will be the harder discs of this era.
Part 2 covers the softer albums of that time. Not all of these albums are "soft" per se, but Part 3 will cover the heavier acts, such as Slipknot and Korn. You may notice that there are a lot of gigantic albums of my teen years missing from Parts 2 and 3, but I promise I will cover them in Part 4, which covers the Radio U albums of this era.
Andrew WK - I Get Wet
The first time I heard and saw AWK, I was a bit off-put. Dude was a nasty looking weirdo on SNL, a show that I don't even normally watch. But once I started listening to his music, I realized he was absolutely amazing. First of all, he plays a pizza-slice shaped guitar, is a tremendous pianist and drummer, and writes songs about things that the average man can relate with. He is also one of the most positive musicians I have ever seen. This album may not be easy to get in to because of his voice, but musically it is outstanding.
Deadsy - Commencement
This album got a lot of critical flack, but it is absolutely one of my all-time favorite synth-rock alt-metal industrial (whatever you want ot call it?) albums. I love Elijah Blue's voice, love the sound of the z-tar mixed with the chaotic blipping synths, and love the melancholy approach the band takes to its songs. True, the album was delayed many times for a multitude of reasons, and they eventually broke up after a second album was delayed, but this one is one that I'd want people to hear, just because like I Get Wet, it sounds like nothing else you'll hear.
Eminem - Eminem Show
The Slim Shady LP brought Eminem to the public spotlight, and The Marshall Mathers LP continued to skyrocket the controversial rapper, but The Eminem Show is where he made his true explosion. Em did most of the production on this album and showed that he can cover many different lyrical attacks, from the acerbic Cleanin' Out My Closest, to the odd-ball single Without Me, to the controversial White America, and so on. The only downside to Eminem's brilliant writing ability and flow is the fact that it spawned hundreds of terrible white rappers who want to be Em, despite claiming otherwise. But this album is as good as rap got in the 2000s.
Audioslave - Audioslave
Following the downfall of Rage Against The Machine, Tom Morello and the boys needed a singer for all their brilliant work. Enter Chris Cornell, one of the greatest vocalists of ALL TIME. Top to bottom, this is one of my all-time favorite albums. While RATM focused more on the rap-rock stylings of Zach de la Rocha and heavy-leaning political views, Audioslave brought Chris Cornell's explosive voice together with Morello's brilliant strumming. This album starts with the crunching intro of Cochise, reaches it's apex on the guitar solo of Like A Stone, and also showcases the boys ability to be mellow in I Am The Highway and The Last Remaining Light. A true super-group album, if ever there was one.
Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy up the Girl
It's hard to believe that the Goo Goo Dolls had 4 major record label albums before Dizzy. It's also hard to believe that they were on Metal Blade records. The album was propelled forward by the super-smash, #1 debuting hit Iris, but powers forward with catchy song after catchy song. Johnny Rzeznik had established himself as the main vocalist, even though Robbie Takac still showed his abilities on songs like Amigone and January Friend. This album is a late 90's alt-rock staple and it's just an easy album to pop in and chill with. Even if Iris burnt you out, there are plenty of other songs that work perfectly.
Johnny Cash - the American series.
Is this cheating? I don't think so. The first of the American Recordings with Rick Rubin dropped in 1994 and the last in 2010, but the 3 biggest of the compilation (Unchained, Solitary Man, The Man Comes Around) fall into our timeline, and all 3 are tremendous. Johnny's voice was failing him near the end, but he still sounded better than most singers do these days. His brilliant re-imaginings of classic hits span from country contemporaries (I've Been Everywhere, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Desperado) to more recent alternative hits (Personal Jesus, Rusty Cage, and the mega-hit Hurt). There is also the box set, Unearthed, featuring hits like Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Johnny was spot on, and he and Rick did amazing things in his twilight years. If you listen to no other Cash albums, I'd listen to these.
Matchbox Twenty - Mad Season
Rob Thomas and his boys had already established themselves in 1996 with the super hits 3 AM. and Push, but in 2000 they dropped an album that would cement them as pop-rock legends with Mad Season. I could go into detail why this album is essential, but what could I say? Nothing but hits? 13 songs you HAVE to hear before you die? Kyle Cook is a brilliant guitarists, as referenced in songs like Rest Stop, Crutch and Bent. Rob Thomas can sing your face off with songs like Mad Season and Angry, but also features his the ability to tear your heart out with ballads like Bed of Lies and Last Beautiful Girl. If you don't have this album, go get it. Right now. I'll wait.
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
If you've never heard Norah Jones' sweet-as-sugar, soulful voice, you are truly missing out. This is the most chilled out, bluesy-jazz-pop-soul album I've ever come across. Norah's voice will take you to places inside that you've never felt. I never truly appreciated this album (despite loving the singles) until I listened to it in a coffee shop, waiting for a ride home. It just trickles down over you and takes you to a happy place. The album placed #1 on 13 different charts and won 8 different awards. Oh, and 11 million+ in sales in the US alone. If you haven't heard it, where have you been?
Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody
oh, Vanessa. You stole my heart in 2002 and you have yet to give it back. A brilliant pianist with the ability to capture emotion on paper and in her voice, Vanessa Carlton struck gold with the smash hit 1000 Miles, but this entire album is tremendous. She may not have been as popular as Norah Jones or Michelle Branch, but it's undeniable that this was a great year for female pop vocalists. Vanessa's career took off and abruptly landed with her tumultuous relationship with Third Eye Blind vocalist Stephan Jenkins after this album, but it's still a wondeful thing to lean on and a piano standard for the 2000s.
The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse
Unless you lived under a rock in 1996-97, you knew about this album. Even if you did live under a rock, you still probably heard the mega-smash One Headlight, or one of the many singles that poured out of this album. Jakob Dylan might look just like his legendary father, but his voice and songwriting ability carved his own path. As producer T-Bone Burnett stated at the time, "I wonder how many Wallflowers fans even know who Bob Dylan is...". Anyways, this album is on this list if only for the fact that One Headlight was a life changing song for me. That doesn't discredit songs like The Difference and 6th Avenue Heartache, but it serves notice as to how great One Headlight is as a song.
Santana - Supernatural
Carlos Santana was a famous musician in the '60s and '70s, but by 1992 he had burned out and essentially fallen off the globe. 7 years without an album and only a small amount of touring, and then BANG. Supernatural. A brilliant concept of Carlos and his band rocking it out with guest singers on several of the tracks. Dave Matthews. Rob Thomas. Eric Clapton. Huge names equaled huge success. I include this album because Santana is a tremendous guitarist and this album, led by the smash single Smooth was a game-changer at the time. 9 Grammy's and millions upon millions of sales across the globe. It is one of music's greatest comeback stories and a solid album to boot. The genres are all blended together in a wonderful disc.
Part 3 will be the harder discs of this era.
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