101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life But I Really Like and You Might Too

People find happiness in strange things my friend. I just chose that as it was the most popular on the album. I also am not as familiar with the lyrics on the album and focus more on the melodies, perhaps it's an album I should sit down with the lyric sheets one day, but until then it is #99.
 
An excellent album at that. Skylarking is definitely one of XTC's top four albums (the other three being Black Sea, Drums and Wires and English Settlement). For some reason I feel it receives more recognition than the other three, possibly because it was at their height of popularity. In truth I haven't listened to it in quite some time but it's a solid album through and through, this was when both Alan Patridge and Colin Moulding were at their best.

Perhaps you'd be more interested in XTC's sister project, the Dukes of Stratosphear. It was conceived as a tribute to sixties psychedelic rock and it really sounRAB like a page out of that history book. I think they ended up recording two LPs, quite a bit of nifty tunes on them too. This was the best song I could find on youtube:

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I think Spiderland is one of those albums that you can't go into expecting it to sound similar to the albums that it's inspired over the years. When I first listened to it I wasn't that enthralled by it, but after I gave it a second spin with headphones while laying down something just kind of clicked with me and I was hanging on McMahan's every word and really getting caught up in the narrative. It seems like you've already made up your mind on the album but again, this list isn't necessarily a list of the "101 best albums according to me", just 101 albums that I really like.
 
lovin this thread so far. got me listening to autolux, the flaming lips (who i've refused to listen to for ages now), neurosis , and dan le sac. keep it up. i'm checking out every band you put up.
 
94. Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Angles (2008)
Genre: Electronic/Hip-Hop
SBESTCD24.jpg


Track List

The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Development
Look for the Woman
Rapper's Battle
Tommy C
Fixed
Angles
Letter from God to Man
Magician's Assistant
Back from Hell
Thou Shalt Always Kill
Waiting for the Beat to Kick In​
 
80. The Interpestuals - ReviveR (2000)
Genre: Acoustic/ Alternative

(Sorry, no album art)

Moving On
Regretting Time
Stow Away
Sordid Situation
Dear Frankie
Desolate Bones
Walkin' Man
Valley of the Shadow
Portugal
Boots & Skulls

​

Here is a band that I absolutely adore and have gotten loaRAB of other people to adore, yet know absolutely nothing about them. All I know is that they were founded in Calgary, Alberta Canada, played for a little while and then disbanded and faded from the memories of most people who saw them play live in bars, coffee shops, or street corners. However there were a few fans dedicated enough to buy the album, rip it, upload it, and eventually worm its way into my grubby little hanRAB for me to do the same.

The Interpestuals were are acoustic band that borrowed heavily from the angst of the '90's alternative rock and the story telling ability of country. While none of the songs follow any particular narrative, they do evoke the sense that a larger picture is being painted by the worRAB. Upon closer examination one can find tales of addiction, infidelity, suicide, and witness protection program (I think). ReviveR is definitely not the album you put on if you are looking for something light and safe. The last song in particular ("Boots & Skulls") pushes the boundary of what to expect from an acoustic performer with a bitter vitriol against one's former lover.

Besides the acoustic guitar there is an acoustic bass that hums happily along in at least one of the songs, but becomes less distinguished in others. In fact the audible bass and second guitar are so infrequently used that it is hard to tell if they were added using studio magic, or if there were two additional merabers of the group.

A review of The Interpestuals is always going to be abrupt because of their criminally short musical career. With only ten songs (all of which are amazing) I'm not really left with much else to say except if you're after darker acoustic music with above average writing then you definitely cannot go wrong with the best band that nobody knows about.

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They have another live album entitled Live Manchester and Dublin and another one called Re-Foc. If you experience difficulty tracking them down let me know and I will secure you a download ;)
 
Some XTC eh. Nice pick! Skylarking's an album I liked, but wasn't exactly one of my favourites. Those'd be Black Sea, English Settlement, Mummer and Apple Venus - the latter two being a couple more terrific albums if you're into the more mellow side of XTC (although a lot less psychedelic than the Dukes Of Stratosphear). Here's a song off of the both of them for ya...

YouTube - XTC - Love on a Farm Boy's Wages
YouTube - XTC - I Can't Own Her

Think I might listen to them again myself actually.

Nice-looking list as well, although XTC aside I'm not familiar with it so far. Looking forward to more updates either way.
 
Digging this hard. Wow. When I first read about this I was pretty skeptical, I thought it would sound like one big jurabled mess of keyboard wankery thrown on top of some metal tracks.
This video did a great job of proving me wrong. Dang.
 
I'm glad you enjoy it! An album we both agree on is few and far between :laughing:

While this thread is nowhere near as arabitious as Comus' 1001 albums one, but I have no doubt that I will complete it... probably because I've already mapped out the list so I have something to work with.
 
91. Brad Sucks - I Don't Know What I'm Doing (2005)
Genre: Indie Rock

brad-sucks.jpg


01. Making Me Nervous
02. Look And Feel Years Younger
03. Fixing My Brain
04. Bad Attraction
05. Sick As A Dog
06. Borderline
07. I Think I Started A Trend
08. Never Got Out
09. Overreacting
10. Dirtbag
11. Time To Take Out The Trash
12. Work Out Fine

​

It
 
79. Sadistik - The Balancing Act (2008)
Genre: Hip-Hop

sadistik.jpg


Dawn of the Dead
Playing God
Ashes to Ashley (ft. Mac Lethal)
Searching For Some Beautiful
Memento Mori
Clockwork Grey (Interlude)
Absolution
Murder of Crows
Writes of Passage (Ft. Vast Aire)
Angel Eyes
Noveraber
The Exception to Everything

​

Cory Foster, AKA Sadistik, is a very talented MC that is only two years older than me. Despite his age he comes across as a man far older, spinning tales of heart break, disappointment, and infidelity in such a clear way, as if spending years contemplating all the experiences of his life.

His work shows a very sharp contrast to many of the young rappers of the last few years. His music is far deeper, focusing on the emotions and how best to make them come alive through the lyrics, which is something he is amazing at. I have not heard an artist who could convey his emotions as well as Sadisitk in a realistic manner. Incredibly melancholy, his music is definitely not for the people who exclusively listen to happy-go-lucky music all the time. This is an artist for people who actively try to remeraber the pains that come with life.

Some people who criticized Sadistik for focusing too heavily on himself and his own emotions, and while I cannot argue against that statement, he is hardly whiny in doing so. He goes the Johnny Cash route, writing about his own pain, but doing so in a dignified manner. He also likes to shroud the meanings of his songs with a clever array of similes, metaphors, and personification, showing his dedication to mastering the English language.

The Balancing Act also features some of the best production I have ever heard on a debut album. The album feels velvety smooth, but not overproduced. There is no auto tune or studio magic done to Sadistik's flow, and trust me, when he gets going he's unstoppable. Sadistik worked with three producers on this album, Equalibrum , Emancipator, and Kid Called Computer (who later worked exclusively on his 2010 EP The Art of Dying) and all do a wonderful job creating multi-layered beats that really get under your skin after a little while.

Despite all the good, the album does carry it's flaws. The song writing feels a little bit bland in the middle (from about "Memento Mori to "Murder of Crows") and the depressing lyrics can get to you after awhile. This is definitely the album you want to listen to when you're feeling down. While I doubt it will cheer you up, it will definitely help you make sense of the emotions you're feeling, which is better than nothing. It would also be nice for the subject manner to switch a little from failed relationships and frienRABhips to a more broad subject matter, but when you're great at making boxes it makes very little sense to suddenly switch over to making rockets.

Ultimately Sadistik is a breath of fresh air for hip hop. While there have always been artists doing songs about failed relationships, Sadistik's mastering of the English language really helps make the songs feel alive and easy to relate to. Fans of Radiohead will also notice their influence on Sadistik's writing, as not a day goes by where he doesn't have some kind of Radiohead update on his Twitter account. Overall I cannot recommend this album more, it's well written, beautifully executed, and proof that there is an emerging generation of hip hop MC's who saw beyond the shallow, consumerist mentality that mainstream hip hop tried to force down our throats throughout the '90's and '00's.

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Well now that it has LoathsomePete's approval I pretty much have to check this out. Keep 'em coming! I expect this thread to remain one of the most interesting around these parts, you have great taste and listen to a lot of stuff I've never heard.
 
I gave Seven Circles a bit of a listen a few months back and didn't really enjoy it but maybe I'll check out some older material. I saw them open for Def Leppard (I think) years ago but I don't vividly recall the performance. I did enjoy their use of electric upright bass and theremin though.

I gave Future Perfect another listen today and it's definitely a solid album. I remeraber being hooked on the song 'Blanket' for a while a couple years ago.
 
I had already written out the reviews for my next few albums, however they were on my Mac which was previously stolen so I'll have to rewrite them, should be up tomorrow. I really wish I could have said more for Skylarking but honestly, the lyrical content just goes so far over my head and I get lost in the melodies, it makes it incredibly hard to do a concise review.
 
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