The Streetwaves 55

B

Bad99

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contort yourself makes me roll around on the floor spasming, i love the line 'reduce yourself to a zero/ and you'll fall right in place.' frankie teardrop is terrifying. i need to get those last two albums. guten picks.
 
I've had that Suicide album on my HD for god knows how long. I'm not really sure when I'll get around to listening to it.

Buy ------ I don't know whether it'll make it to my top 100 or 55 in this case, but it sure is a damn fun album. I did get put off by the repetitive structure at first, but as time went, I've found that the charm was it's repetitive nature.

And as for the reviews - as long as it's personal and states your likes/dislikes, I'm fine with it :).

Looking forward to more.
 
man i love that song, and that line is great. i love the line in designed to kill, "i don't care what weapons you use, just as long as you keep me amused!" good stuff. thank you sir :)
 
Inspired by cardboard adolescent to do a list of my own. But I must warn you, I'm pretty bad at reviews.

These are going to be out of order, but each of them is highly recommended. I just can't be decisive enough to rank them accurately.

Here's one to start off:

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1. James Chance and the Contortions - Buy
An all-time favorite of mine, Buy Contortions is a wonderfully fun blend of punk, funk, and free jazz. It may be hit or miss at first, but once the more accessible tracks have drawn you in, you're bound to fall in love with the rest. The album gets off to a roaring start with the wildly danceable "Designed to Kill", which sets the mood of the album perfectly. Well, it's not really danceable, but it makes you want to try. The album's most famous track, "Contort Yourself", along with "Roving Eye", "Throw Me Away", and "Bedroom Athlete" all help to provide refuge for those lost by the more out-there numbers. But overall, the funky grooves and bass lines mixed with punk sensibility and confrontational vocals make for easily one of the most enjoyable, fresh, and undeniably cool recorRAB ever made.

As you can see, reviewing isn't my strong point. But maybe I'll get better as I go on.
 
I got Jeffrey Lee Pierce's Wildweed solo album a few months back. Really good album.
In fact it's much better than a lot of the Gun Club's later stuff.
 
Sorry guys :/

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12. Neu! - Neu!
The sound of the future comes from '72. Driving down the highway late at night listening to Hallogallo is something everyone should experience: it just feels so right, as if this was the only suitable music for the occasion. Perhaps it's not, but it's certainly the best. Give this a few listens to fully appreciate its genius.
 
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7. Can - Tago Mago
Top 5. Obviously very difficult now to understand how I ignored this for so long - I'm never not in the mood for it. It has a very organic, fluid feel - it's hard to imagine a band being able to work together in such a flawless way, but Can does it here. Some of the most influential and original stuff is created here, and it's not just innovative - it's incredibly enjoyable. I knew I wouldn't be able to do a good review, it's just too good for worRAB. Just listen.
 
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8. The Stooges - Fun House
Talk about power. You get a very good feel for Iggy's wildness here, which makes all of the stories you've heard about vomiting on the audience and welcoming thrown glass sound that much more authentic. He really was as wild as they say, and Fun House is the perfect record to prove it. The power that he is able to capture here through the music is amazing, and 'Down on the Street' has to be the coolest strutting song ever.
 
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4. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
It's not hard to see why this is a classic. A little over an hour of short, to-the-point punk rock tunes with a taste of funk. For an album of over 40 songs, there's surprisingly little filler - and an even more surprising amount of pure gold. I dismissed this album at first, but it hit me just shortly after that really hard. The instrumentation is fantastic, the production is great, and there's plenty of variety. An absolute milestone, and certainly my favorite album from 1984 (though Zen Arcade's great too).
 
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13. Arthur Russell - World of Echo
Truly otherworldly music. This does not sound like it was recorded on Earth - but at the same time, there are some things that come through as very familiar and allow this album to be at once distant and unusual and at the same time welcoming. Listen carefully.
 
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5. Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
The coolest album ever. The description is enough to back up that claim: a concept album whose plot involves Gainsbourg accidentally colliding his Rolls Royce into a beautiful young girl's bicycle, and the romance that follows. The vocals are in French, but you don't need to understand French to understand what makes this so good. This album features the perfect marriage of lush orchestral arrangements and rock and roll, brilliantly complementing the mood already created by Gainsbourg's at times spoken-word vocals. Creating an epic out of such a topic would seem impossible, but this album does just that. A true masterpiece.
 
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14. The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms
Sadly under-appreciated, Crazy Rhythms is a true modern classic. Luckily, after some time out of print, it's available again this year - years too late. Who knew geeks could rock so hard?

To me, although this album contains many gems, 'Raised Eyebrows' is the most memorable one. It's just perfect.

By the way, I must apologize for my lack of reviewing skills. I've never been good, but I haven't even tried in months. I'll get better. :beer:
 
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2. Suicide - Suicide
I hated this when I first heard it. What a long way I've come from that point. I didn't think this was even music, just constant incredibly dated synthesized drone. But without even trying, my opinion dramatically changed the first time I really listened. The genius of this album is in its monotony, which is a perfect vehicle for the nihilistic and gloomy visions of the future the music contains. Where I once thought this was far too dated to be enjoyable, I now see it as virtually timeless. Every moment of the album does what it sets out to do perfectly. Perhaps the best example of this is on the track "Frankie Teardrop", which actually managed to scare me the first time I heard it. Fantastic.
 
I was wondering when you where gonna pop back up. Great selection as always, Tago Mago is perhaps my favorite on the list so far.

Keep this list going dude, it's great so far. :thumb:
 
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