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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 22:13:36 GMT 1
Well hello there and welcome to my thread about albums. Later in this thread, I'll count down my top 100 favourite albums ever but first I want to make some special mentions to a few albums that just missed the cut...
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 22:18:49 GMT 1
Architecture In Helsinki "In Case We Die"
Realeased last year, this is a wonderfully manic album. This is like Avalanches meet the Go Team and it's just fabulous. The songs often chop and change as they go along and you never know what's coming next, there's even different singers on nearly all the tracks. Go on, suck it and see...
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 22:33:23 GMT 1
Joanna Newsom "Ys"
Released last week ( ), this obviously couldn't really feature but it came oh so close to doing just that. I have barely listened to anything else in the past week, it's just utterly wonderous. The album itself is just 5 tracks long and each gets better as you journey through it. It's basically one woman with a harp with the occasional burst of an orchestra and has a really magical feel to it. It's difficult to fully reference it but 'Only Skin' is nigh on 17 minutes long and would be worthy in itself of being a second half of a Kate Bush album while closer 'Cosmia' wouldn't sound out of place on Bjork's 'Vespertine'. This will undoubtedly feature next time I do one of these and who knows just how high it could end up...
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Post by Laurence on Nov 17, 2006 22:35:15 GMT 1
Is this going to be a Buntyesque obscure top 100? Seriously this should be interesting - I bought the Damien Rice one based on your last list and I'll definitely buy at least one of these that I don't know.
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Post by Laurence on Nov 17, 2006 22:36:07 GMT 1
That Joanna Newson one sounds interesting - I haven't bought a banshee album since Aerial.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 22:38:56 GMT 1
Nah, the top 100 isn't that obscure at all really, I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard of nearly all of them...
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 22:43:04 GMT 1
That Joanna Newson one sounds interesting - I haven't bought a banshee album since Aerial. BUY IT! Seriously, it may take a couple of listens but it's fantastic, it's one of those rare one off classics that will be talked about for some time and is really original... For example, these are the lyrics to 'Only Skin': And there was a booming above you That night, black airplanes flew over the sea And they were lowing and shifting like Beached whales Shelled snails As you strained and you squinted to see The retreat of their hairless and blind cavalry
You froze in your sand shoal Prayed for your poor soul Sky was a bread roll, soaking in a milk-bowl And when the bread broke, fell in bricks of wet smoke My sleeping heart woke, and my waking heart spoke
Then there was a silence you took to mean something: Mean, run, sing For alive you will evermore be And the plague of the greasy black engines a-skulkin' Has gone east While you're left to explain them to me Released from their hairless and blind cavalry
With your hands in your pockets, stubbily running To where I'm unfresh, undressed and yawning Well, what is this craziness? This crazy talking? You caught some small death when you were sleepwalking
It was a dark dream, darlin', it's over The firebreather is beneath the clover Beneath his breathing there is cold clay, forever A toothless hound-dog choking on a feather
But I took my fishingpole (fearing your fever) Down to the swimminghole, where there grows bitter herb That blooms but one day a year by the riverside - i'd bring it here: Apply it gently To the love you've lent me
While the river was twisting and braiding, the bait bobbed And the string sobbed, as it cut through the hustling breeze And I watched how the water was kneading so neatly Gone treacly Nearly slowed to a stop in this heat - frenzy coiling flush along the muscles beneath
Press on me: we are restless things Webs of seaweed are swaddling You call upon the dusk Of the musk of a squid Shot full of ink, until you sink into your crib
Rowing along, among the reeds, among the rushes I heard your song, before my heart had time to hush it! Smell of a stone fruit being cut and being opened Smell of a low and of a lazy cinder smoking
And when the fire moves away Fire moves away, son Why would you say I was the last one?
Scrape your knee; it is only skin Makes the sound of violins When you cut my hair, and leave the birds the trimmings I am the happiest woman among all women
And the shallow Water Stretches as far as I can see Knee-deep, trudging along A seagull weeps; "so long"
I'm humming a threshing song Until the night is over Hold on! Hold on! Hold your horses back from the fickle dawn
I have got some business out at the edge of town Candy weighing both of my pockets down 'Til I can hardly stay afloat, from the weight of them (and knowing how the common-folk condemn What it is I do, to you, to keep you warm Being a woman, being a woman)
But always up the mountainside you're clambering Groping blindly, hungry for anything: Picking through your pocket linings - well, what is this? Scrap of sassafras, eh sisyphus?
I see the blossoms broke and wet after the rain Little sister, he will be back again I have washed a thousand spiders down the drain Spiders ghosts hang soaked and dangelin' Silently from all the blooming cherry trees In tiny nooses, safe from everyone - nothing but a nuisance; gone now, dead and done Be a woman, be a woman!
Though we felt the spray of the waves We decided to stay till the tide rose too far We weren't afraid, cause we know what you are And you know that we know what you are
Awful atoll O, incalculable indiscreetness and sorrow! Bawl, bellow: Sibyl sea-cow, all done up in a bow
Toddle and roll; Teeth an impalpable bit of leather While yarrow, heather and hollyhock Awkwardly molt along the shore
Are you mine? My heart? Mine anymore?
Stay with me for awhile That's an awfully real gun I know life will lay you down As the lightning has lately done
Failing this, failing this, Follow me, my sweetest friend To see what you anointed in pointing your gun there
Lay it down! Nice and slow! There is nowhere to go, save up Up where the light, undiluted, is weaving in a drunk dream At the sight of my baby, out back: Back on the patio watching the bats bring night in - while, elsewhere, estuaries of wax-white Wend, endlessly, towards seashores unmapped
Last week our picture window produced a half-word Heavy and hollow, hit by a brown bird We stood and watched her gape like a rattlesnake And pant and labour over every intake
I said a sort of prayer for some sort of rare grace Then thought I ought to take her to a higher place Said: "dog nor vulture nor cat shall toy with you And though you die, bird, you will have a fine view"
Then in my hot hand She slumped her sick weight We tramped through the poison oak Heartbroke and inchoate
The dogs were snapping So you cuffed their collars While I climbed the tree-house Then how I hollered! Cause she'd lain, as still as a stone, in my palm, for a lifetime or two
Then, saw the treetops, cocked her head and up and flew (while, back in the world that moves, often According to the hoarding of these clues Dogs still run roughly around Little tufts of finch-down)
The cities we passed were a flickering wasteland But his hand in my hand made them hale and harmless While down in the lowlands the crops are all coming; We have everything Life is thundering blissful towards death In a stampede of his fumbling green gentleness
You stopped by, I was all alive In my doorway, we shucked and jived And when you wept, I was gone: See, I got gone when I got wise But I can't with certainty say we survived
Then down, and down And down, and down And down, and deeper Stoke without sound The blameless flames You endless sleeper
Through fire below, and fire above, and fire within Sleeped through the things that couldn't have been if you hadn't have been
And when the fire moves away Fire moves away, son Why would you say I was the last one?
All my bones they are gone, gone, gone Take my bones, I don't need none Cold, cold cupboard, lord, nothing to chew on! Suck all day on a cherry stone
Dig a little hole, not three inches round Spit your pit in the hole in the ground Weep upon the spot for the starving of me! Till up grow a fine young cherry tree
Well when the bough breaks, what'll you make for me? A little willow cabin to rest on your knee What'll I do with a trinket such as this? Think of your woman, who's gone to the west
But I'm starving and freezing in my measly old bed! Then i'll crawl across the salt flats to stroke your sweet head Come across the desert with no shoes on! I love you truly, or I love no-one
Fire Moves Away
Fire moves away, son Why would you say I was the last one?
Clear the room! There's a fire, a fire, a fire Get going, and I'm going to be right behind you And if the love of a woman or two, dear, Couldn't move you to such heights, then all I can do Is do, my darling, right by youIt's like a cross between Kate Bush and Lord Of The Rings!
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 22:52:58 GMT 1
Anyway... more that missed the cut: David Gray "Life In Slow Motion"
This, the most recent album by Gray, easily surpasses anything he's previously produced. The opener 'Alibi' topped my chart earlier this year and is typical of his new approach. There's not a duff track on the whole thing, from the radio friendly 'The One I Love', through the Van Morrison-esque 'Lately' to the epic Beatles tinged closer 'Disappearing World'. Highly recommended.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 23:22:40 GMT 1
Madonna "Like A Prayer"
The ultimate Madge album just misses the cut this year. The singles from it are great (Like A Prayer, Express Yourself, Cherish, Dear Jessie, Oh Father) but I've really gone off the album tracks of late - a problem common to rather a lot of Madge albums. Having said that, 'Til Death Do Us Part' is a great song hidden behind rather dated production while 'Promise To Try' is a touching song about her mum. Still, not quite good enough for the top 100 and it's also her highest placed album!
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 17, 2006 23:29:14 GMT 1
And finally... The Longpigs "The Sun Is Often Out"
This was a huge album during my sixth form years and the band deserved to have more success with it than they did. For a start, it contains 'On And On' which is beautiful and should have been a HUGE single. 'Dozen Wicked Words' is another personal fave but singles like 'On', 'She Said', 'Jesus Christ' and 'Lost Myself' also rocked my 17 year old world. Not listened to it for a couple of years now though and it hence drops to #101...
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Post by Laurence on Nov 17, 2006 23:48:22 GMT 1
Oh I'll definitely check Joanna out - great lyrics. Madonna's Like a Prayer - yes it's got excellent tracks like O Father, the title track and Promise to Try but a lot of fluff (Cherish, Dear Jessie, Keep it Together). Til Death to us Part is excellent though - hadn't remembered it in aeons
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TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,591
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Post by TheThorne on Nov 18, 2006 9:33:54 GMT 1
OOh this will be good, I would love to do this as well but im more of a singles kinda guy, i buy albums but only pluck tracks from them rarely do I listen & love them as a whole piece. Might explain why I dont really get on with the Moopy indie crowd
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 18, 2006 14:16:22 GMT 1
Argh the pressure! Before I proceed onwards and upwards, I (like Homesy) would like to point out that this is merely a personal list and I am certain that there will be many classic and great albums that will be missing but I'm not that fussed! For anyone who paid attention to my last countdown of albums, things may well have significantly changed since then - for instance even an album that was top 10 last time has completely fallen from the radar due to my tastes changing since then and me being my usual fickle self. 6 acts have at least 3 albums included and you are more than welcome to speculate whom they may be and what will make the top 10...
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 18, 2006 14:44:14 GMT 1
#100 Moby "Play"
Top 5 tracks: Porcelain, Run On, Honey, Everloving, Natural Blues
The proper countdown begins with Moby then and his massively successful 'Play' album. I remember buying this on the basis of 'Honey' when it was released and thinking it was going to be one of those special albums you could put on to amaze people that they'd never have heard of. Anyway, the same time the following year and I was very wrong as it easily surpassed one and a half million sales in the UK - that for me ruined it's appeal somewhat as it was just EVERYWHERE, completely impossible to escape from and hence this gem ends up propping up the top 100. The music itself is still good (although it's Moby at his most commercial) but I'd now say it's not quite so original and daring as it seemed at the time.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 18, 2006 16:44:48 GMT 1
#99 PJ Harvey "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea"
Top 5 tracks: We Float, Beautiful Feeling, Good Fortune, A Place Called Home, Big Exit
Congratulations to PJ on getting her first ever entry in a Dandy* top albums list, I'm sure it will have made her year. This probably isn't her most accomplished album I own but it is the one I turn to most often and I find it less harrowing to listen to - and listen to it rather a lot of late I have. The presence of Mr Yorke on it also endears it further to me. This is the one that won the Mercury prize in 2001 and I think it was deserved, she rocks out on most of the album but the choice cut for me is the epic 'We Float' as it drifts through it's 7 minutes or so. I'm still trying to really love another PJ album but it's just not happening, I think (this album aside) she's an artist to respect and admire more than actually listen to.
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Post by Maximo Mark on Nov 18, 2006 21:06:26 GMT 1
Good start In the new year I think I shall compile my top 50 albums of my lifetime. It's technically an all-time list but as I don't actually own anything made before 1989 I can be excused to not having any old albums!
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 19, 2006 15:50:17 GMT 1
You should, it would no doubt be an interesting read.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 19, 2006 16:05:31 GMT 1
#98 Royksopp "The Understanding"
Top 5 tracks: What Else Is There?, Triumphant, 49 Percent, Alpha Male, Only This Moment
Royksopp originally struck the big time with their debut 'Melody AM' (which narrowly misses out) but for me the follow up is entirely where it's at. It contains the wonderful 'What Else Is There?', a song so good that the rest of the album could be dross and it would still stand a chance of being included - luckily it's not though. The opener 'Triumphant' wouldn't really sound out of place as an opener to a DJ Shadow or even (at a push) Radiohead record as it builds and builds before breaking into the layered pop gem that is 'Only This Moment'. There really isn't a bad track among them and it also has the boast of every track sounding individual. My other favourite on here is the epic 'Alpha Male', a track you can just picture on some oh so cool car chase in a movie. Top stuff all round really.
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Post by dandyhighwayman on Nov 19, 2006 20:06:55 GMT 1
#97 Michael Jackson "Dangerous"
Top 5 tracks: Who Is It?, In The Closet, Jam, Dangerous, Keep The Faith
I think the general concensus regarding this album is that it's a load of overrated twaddle isn't it? Ah well, I do have a tendency to like such things and true to form this is my favourite Michael Jackson album. Yes it contains some dross (Heal The World, She Drives Me Wild) but on the whole it's a well produced and inventive album. 'Who Is It?' is my favourite MJ track ever made - the gorgeous female vocal opening descending into the thud of the groovy bassline and six minutes of pure heaven. There was a Brothers In Rhythm mix as the single version which is equally as good but yet completely different. The title track is wonderfully catchy and somehow, considering so many tracks were, was not released as a single while 'In The Closet' is another interesting track as the jumpy beat and spoken verses make way for a killer chorus. 'Jam' made for a successful departure from his usual style while 'Keep The Faith' progressed his more standard style from previous albums. A shame he's subsequently gone to pot but at least he gave us 'Stranger In Moscow' along the way.
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Post by Laurence on Nov 19, 2006 20:58:56 GMT 1
Royksopp one sounds interesting.
Good for Peej and Moby - don't think I'm interested at all in getting the MJ one though.
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