Wednesday, 9 September 2015

AskSE: Fifteen Albums Forever

quote [ Take 15 minutes to list 15 albums you'll never forget and will always stick with you. List why the album will stick with you, because really, who wants to just read lists. ]

It's a stupid Facebook meme that's wound up hugely popular in my social circle - and it's genuinely fascinating to see what people love and why. This isn't a "list your top fifteen", any fifteen will do - so long as they were memorable and influenced you, and yes, that includes albums that negatively influenced you as well.

Reveal
My fifteen. Not in any particular order. I don't even want to try putting it in order of favorites.



Rush - 2112

The album that cemented my love for Rush forever. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the second half, but the title track is a brilliant masterpiece. I like the dystopian sci-fi feel, and Lifeson's guitar is perfect - especially during the "Discovery" section, where he goes from untuned open chords to his typical mastery. After the failure of the previous album, this was supposed to be the one that brought Rush into line and make them start churning out hard rock singles and sucking up to the record company - and instead, they decided to give the music industry the middle finger and go out with a bang. And they established their legacy, slipped the leash of the record company forever, and locked in a career of over forty years and eighteen albums.



Slayer - Reign in Blood

Thirty-five minutes of vicious, brutal metal onslaught. It brings rage and fury, and when it's done it carries my own away, and I feel shriven, like a new man. Also, Tom Araya's delivery of brilliant lyrics is perfect.



Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

I have an ongoing argument with virtually everyone I know, whether or not this album is better than Dark Side of the Moon - and I favor, ever so slightly, this one. There's something bleak and melancholic about the whole album, a paean of loss. A slow build with "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", then two scathing indictments of the music industry ("Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar"). The title track is a quiet tone poem to loneliness and despair, and then the slow letdown of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pt. II" completes the cycle. A mirror on my own mood all too often.



30 Seconds to Mars - 30 Seconds to Mars

Space rock. And yes, it gets a lot of flak for being an "emo" album, but I like the techy, ethereal sci-fi vibe it puts off. I can put this album on repeat, fire up the original Mass Effect, and spend hours fucking around with the planetary side quests - it's a perfect fit of music and game.



Metallica - Master of Puppets

Every single song on this album is a perfect gem of thrash metal. From an ode to rage ("Battery") to despair ("Welcome Home Sanitarium") to Cthulhu Mythos ("The Thing That Should Not Be") to almost downtempo funk ("Orion"), it's brilliant and perfect in every way - and I dig on that solo in the title track.



Two Steps from Hell - Invincible

You know that uplifting music from movie trailers, the stuff that makes you feel like you could kick ass and conquer the world and live victoriously forever? Here's a whole album of that. I can't listen to it and not start putting together the most awesome epic movie in my head.



Lamb of God - Sacrament

Randy Blythe, the lead singer, was widely known as an alcoholic douche - and the rest of the band wrote an entire album calling him out on it. And to his credit, he sang every bit of it with everything he had. It's their slickest and most heavily produced album, but it's also easily their best. The standouts are "Descending", a song dedicated to losing everything to alcohol, and "Walk With Me In Hell" - in an album full of "you're an asshole and we hate you", this is the song saying "but we still love you and we're not giving up on you, no matter how dark this road becomes."



Judas Priest - Painkiller

At a time when thrash metal was dying, being eaten alive by grunge, Judas Priest released one of the thrashiest metal albums ever. It's one of those untold wonders of the musical world, and proof that Judas Priest still had it in spades, even after two previous albums of metal-lite.



Led Zeppelin - IV

Again with the arguments - everyone else likes II better - but to my mind, this was the apex of Zeppelin. The Tolkien-inspired track "Battle of Evermore" is my personal favorite, followed closely by the bluesy "When The Levee Breaks". And of course the one Zeppelin song everyone knows, "Stairway to Heaven", which rightfully deserves it's status - catch that exact moment it goes from folk ballad to rock masterpiece, when Bonham brings in the drums.



Iron Maiden - Best of the Beast

Why yes, there is a "greatest hits" album on my list. But this is one of those perfect condensations of a band's output that captures them perfectly. Even at it's darkest it's still high-tempo and powerful. Note the live version of "Fear of the Dark", and the audience singing along to a guitar part. This is the album that got me into heavy metal.



The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

This album started off as a record company asking a struggling blues band to record Antonin Dvorak's Symphony no. 9 as a demonstration album. It wound up as an orchestral rock masterpiece, a concept album of a day in the life of an average man. The album covers a lot of ground in it's playtime, bouncing for orchestral to hard rock to blues to pop to spoken-word poetry. We all know "Nights in White Satin" (although you might not know of the poem that ends it - the best part), but for me, the crowning song is "Tuesday Afternoon".



Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion (Walmart Special)

Apparently Walmart at some point commissioned a "greatest hits" version of the double album release of Use Your Illusion I & II, and I, as a young man buying his very first set of CDs (some of which were very poor choices), had no idea. Even so, it's a pretty solid selection of the albums.



Black Sabbath - Paranoid

The "Black Sabbath Sound" didn't premier until the next album, Masters of Reality, but this is Sabbath at their best. The title track is of special note - the band threw it together while driving to record the album as a filler track, and it turned out solid enough to name the album after.



Deep Purple - Machine Head

One of the early founding fathers of heavy metal. I always have to play "Space Truckin'" when I'm on a road trip, and "Highway Star" when I feel like flooring it. That super-technical guitar you hear isn't a guitar - it's Jon Lord passing a Hammond organ through a Marshal stack.



Gorillaz - Demon Days

Here's where I get a little weird - a cartoon band, blending hip-hop, rock, and pop. It's also an extended diss track aimed straight at the excesses of the modern world.

And my dishonorable mention:



Kid Rock - The History of Rock

This is the album that makes me want to build a time machine just so I can go back and bitchslap my eighteen-year-old self. There is nothing redeeming or acceptable about this album - Kid Cock rips off fucking everything, from rap to metal to country, to produce an album that can't even be so bad it's good - it just mediocre nu-metal bullshit. I consider the summer I spent listening to this album a complete waste of my life, and that even takes into consideration it was the summer I lost my virginity - thankfully not to this album.
[SFW] [ask SE] [+10 Good]
[by rndmnmbr]
<-- Entry / Comment History

lilmookieesquire said @ 6:51am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

I love me the:
Duran Duran, Thank You album
Mono, Formica
Cracker, Gentleman Blues
Morphine, Cure for the Pain
Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
Bon Dylan and ???, Nashville Country Skyline
Flume, Delux Edition
ABC, How to be a Millionare
Phsycofunkapus, Young Love


lilmookieesquire said @ 6:54am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

I love me the:
Duran Duran, Thank You album
Mono, Formica
Cracker, Gentleman Blues
Morphine, Cure for the Pain
Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
Bon Dylan and ???, Nashville Country Skyline
Flume, Delux Edition
ABC, How to be a Millionare
Phsycofunkapus, Young Love

Edit:
West Side Connection, The Chronic
Tupac, I don't remember the album
Faith No More, Epic
Metallica, Kill me All
Red Hot Chilli- Californication


lilmookieesquire said @ 7:04am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

I love me the:
Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music

Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl

Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical

Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage.

Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan

Bon Dylan and ???, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing

Flume, Delux Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years

ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen

Phsycofunkapus, Young Love

Edit:
West Side Connection, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times

Tupac, I don't remember the album
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me.

Faith No More, Epic
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later

Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!

Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appceriate them more

Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.

Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it.
Reveal

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOvHNIi2rg


lilmookieesquire said @ 7:05am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

This got long, so:
Reveal

I love me the:
Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music

Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl

Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical

Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage.

Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan

Bon Dylan and ???, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing

Flume, Delux Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years

ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen

Phsycofunkapus, Young Love

Edit:
West Side Connection, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times

Tupac, I don't remember the album
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me.

Faith No More, Epic
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later

Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!

Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appceriate them more

Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.

Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it.
Reveal

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOvHNIi2rg



lilmookieesquire said @ 7:21am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

This got long, so:
Reveal

I love me the:

Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music
Reveal
A few of the songs, like perfect day, are blockedDuran Duran - Lay Lady Lay


Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl


Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical


Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage.


Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan


Bon Dylan and ???, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing


Flume, Delux Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years


ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen


Phsycofunkapus, slut child (OH MY GOD SOMEONE UPLOADED IT!)


Edit:
West Side Connection, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times


Tupac, all eyes on me
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me.


Faith No More, the real thing
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later


Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!


Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appreciate them more


Underworld, Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.


Yutaka Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it. Great song. You can feel it. Reminds me strongly of summer and romance and being a cool dude.



lilmookieesquire said @ 7:29am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

This got long, so I hide everything. I supplied links in case any of you wanna listen to any mookie type shit:
Reveal

I love me the:

Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music. A few of the songs, like perfect day, are blocked...


Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl. She was hot and dating her would have destroyed me as a person.


Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical. I love the style and how they never got very popular. Way under rated.


Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage. This was my leather jacket and poolhall phase


Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan. I listened to it in college


Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing


Flume, Deluxe Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing and studying for Java. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years. Strongly reminds me of a cafe I love.


ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen. It's so poppy and sassy.


Phsycofunkapus, slut child (OH MY GOD SOMEONE UPLOADED IT!) I knew a super cool guy in Jr. High that was like "You might like this" because I introduced him to sonic youth.


Sonic Youth: Goo
- I wore out 2 cassettes of this. I would make mixed tapes with this and clean my room and rock the fuck out. This was my super cool stage that I am still in.

Edit:

Dr. Dre, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times. A lot of fun!


Tupac, all eyes on me
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me. Turns out that dude was SUPER nice.


Faith No More, the real thing
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later


Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!


Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appreciate them more


Underworld, Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.


Yutaka Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it. Great song. You can feel it. Reminds me strongly of summer and romance and being a cool dude.



lilmookieesquire said @ 7:34am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

This got long, so I hide everything. I supplied links in case any of you wanna listen to any mookie type shit:
Reveal

I love me the:

Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music. A few of the songs, like perfect day, are blocked...


Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl. She was hot and dating her would have destroyed me as a person.


Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical. I love the style and how they never got very popular. Way under rated.


Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage. This was my leather jacket and poolhall phase


Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan. I listened to it in college


Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing


Flume, Deluxe Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing and studying for Java. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years. Strongly reminds me of a cafe I love.


ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen. It's so poppy and sassy.


Phsycofunkapus, slut child (OH MY GOD SOMEONE UPLOADED IT!) I knew a super cool guy in Jr. High that was like "You might like this" because I introduced him to sonic youth.


Sonic Youth: Goo
- I wore out 2 cassettes of this. I would make mixed tapes with this and clean my room and rock the fuck out. This was my super cool stage that I am still in.

Edit:

Dr. Dre, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times. A lot of fun!


Tupac, all eyes on me
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me. Turns out that dude was SUPER nice.


Faith No More, the real thing
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later


Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!


Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appreciate them more


Underworld, Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.


Yutaka Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it. Great song. You can feel it. Reminds me strongly of summer and romance and being a cool dude.


GWAR, Scum Dogs of the Universe
-This was my first exposure to music that didn't have to be super-for-reals-serious (besides Spinal Tap, which I also love)


Spinal Tap, This is Spinal Tap


Mega Death, Symphony of Destruction
-Well, you take a mortal man...



lilmookieesquire said @ 7:38am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

This got long, so I hide everything. I supplied links in case any of you wanna listen to any mookie type shit:
Reveal

I love me the:

Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music. A few of the songs, like perfect day, are blocked...


Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl. She was hot and dating her would have destroyed me as a person.


Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical. I love the style and how they never got very popular. Way under rated.


Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage. This was my leather jacket and poolhall phase


Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan. I listened to it in college


Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing


Flume, Deluxe Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing and studying for Java. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years. Strongly reminds me of a cafe I love.


ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen. It's so poppy and sassy.


Phsycofunkapus, slut child (OH MY GOD SOMEONE UPLOADED IT!) I knew a super cool guy in Jr. High that was like "You might like this" because I introduced him to sonic youth.


Sonic Youth: Goo
- I wore out 2 cassettes of this. I would make mixed tapes with this and clean my room and rock the fuck out. This was my super cool stage that I am still in.

Edit:

Dr. Dre, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times. A lot of fun!


Tupac, all eyes on me
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me. Turns out that dude was SUPER nice.


Faith No More, the real thing
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later


Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!


Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appreciate them more


Underworld, Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.


Yutaka Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it. Great song. You can feel it. Reminds me strongly of summer and romance and being a cool dude.


GWAR, Scum Dogs of the Universe
-This was my first exposure to music that didn't have to be super-for-reals-serious (besides Spinal Tap, which I also love)


Spinal Tap, This is Spinal Tap


Mega Death, Symphony of Destruction
-Well, you take a mortal man...




<-- Entry / Current Comment
lilmookieesquire said @ 6:51am GMT on 9th September
Sweet thumb bro.

This got long, so I hide everything. I supplied links in case any of you wanna listen to any mookie type shit:
Reveal

I love me the:

Duran Duran, Thank You album
-great covers. Turned me onto a lot of great music. A few of the songs, like perfect day, are blocked...


Mono, Formica
-Reminds me of the massive crush I had on a super hot manic depressive girl. She was hot and dating her would have destroyed me as a person.


Cracker, Gentleman Blues
-localish, bluesy-country-rock. Very atypical. I love the style and how they never got very popular. Way under rated.


Morphine, Cure for the Pain
-acid jazz. Guy had a heart attack on stage. This was my leather jacket and poolhall phase


Elvis Costello, best ofs 2disc set
-I played the shit out of this and saw him live in Japan. I listened to it in college


Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, Nashville Country Skyline
-this album is fucking amazing


Flume, Deluxe Edition
Reminds me of rock climbing and studying for Java. It's my go-to gym music and the last album I was into in Vancouver- in my ex gf twilight years. Strongly reminds me of a cafe I love.


ABC, How to be a Millionaire
I listened to the shit out of this as a early teen. It's so poppy and sassy.


Phsycofunkapus, slut child (OH MY GOD SOMEONE UPLOADED IT!) I knew a super cool guy in Jr. High that was like "You might like this" because I introduced him to sonic youth.


Sonic Youth: Goo
- I wore out 2 cassettes of this. I would make mixed tapes with this and clean my room and rock the fuck out. This was my super cool stage that I am still in.

Edit:

Dr. Dre, The Chronic
-Japanese buddy at end of high school always listened to this and it reminds me of those times. A lot of fun!


Tupac, all eyes on me
-I had a scary Egyptian roommate in college that listened to it constantly and it grew on me. Turns out that dude was SUPER nice.


Faith No More, the real thing
-this was super cool in HS. They had a War Pigs cover that I shamelessly thought was their own don't and never realized it was a cover until many years later


Metallica, Kill em All-
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME MOOOOOOM!!!


Red Hot Chilli- Californication
-perhaps ironically I hates the RHCP until later on in college. I think they grew on me because they chilled out a bit and I started taking things less seriously to the point I could appreciate them more


Underworld, Born Slippy- reminds me of an ex. I had a loft bed and we had sexy time during this song. She was a nice girl.


Yutaka Ozaki- oh my little girl
Japanese friends used to sing this in karaoke mercilessly and I really liked it. Great song. You can feel it. Reminds me strongly of summer and romance and being a cool dude.


GWAR, Scum Dogs of the Universe
-This was my first exposure to music that didn't have to be super-for-reals-serious (besides Spinal Tap, which I also love)


Spinal Tap, This is Spinal Tap


Mega Death, Symphony of Destruction
-Well, you take a mortal man...





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