SPIN's Top 125 Albums Since 1985

So the folks over at SPIN decided to produce an off-season album list. The more lists the better, I always say. That said, this list is semi-lame. It recounts the magazine's 125 top albums from the last time the Bears last one the Super Bowl until now, which seems like a slightly arbitrary time period, but whatever. They can do what they want. We're all adults here.

The top fifteen is listed just below, and the list is in its entirety here. (To put the list in perspective, Rain Dogs and Psychocandy are two of the better albums from 1985, and Ronald Reagan was president.)

15. Husker Du--New Day Rising

Hmm. Well, I like Husker Du--but this album is not this good.

14. Beastie Boys--Paul's Boutique

It's an amazing album; I wouldn't rate it this high, but I can't argue.

13. Sonic Youth--Daydream Nation

It's a necessary inclusion, and it could certainly be higher.

12. Outkast--Stankonia

See directly above.

11. The Replacements--Tim

Not my favorite 'Mats album, but it's by no means bad.

10. Nine Inch Nails--The Downward Spiral

I don't hate NIN, but this album is definitely overrated here.

9. Pavement--Slanted and Enchanted

Not too much can be said about this. Fine choice.

8. PJ Harvey--Rid Of Me

I've never really gotten the appeal of this album.

7. Guns N' Roses--Appetite For Destruction

From a pop culture importance standpoint? Sure. From a quality music standpoint? No.

6. Public Enemy--It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

I wouldn't put it this high, but it's amazing and deserving enough.

5. Radiohead--OK Computer

This isn't surprising, but I'm still not obsessed with this album.

4. Nirvana--Nevermind

I'm fine with this pick.

3. The Smiths--The Queen Is Dead

This makes enough sense, although I'd put it a but lower.

2. Prince--Sign O The Times

I more or less agree with this.

1. U2--Achtung Baby

U2 is...bleh.

I said it was semi-lame. But it's also semi-hard to argue with. In case you're wondering, I'd probably give the #1 slot to Loveless if I had to choose.

Song of The Day #001

I want to try something new on Il Buono to help increase my post frequency and talk about more music because, well, there's a lot of music out there. So I'm gonna start a "Song of The Day" column in which I--you guessed it!--talk about a song each day. The song that is mentioned could be new or old, good or bad; it will just be a song that I have heard that day and decided to write a few sentences about. Naturally, I will forget (or choose not to) post on some days, but I'll do my darndest to actually do these posts everyday. I think it will be fun. For me at least.

Without further ado, the first ever Song of The Day is "Skunks" by Caribou (or Manitoba as he was called when this song was released). The second track on the 'Bou's 2003 work of genius Up In Flames, "Skunks" is a bouncy and thoroughly enjoyable psychedelic instrumental. The tune is built around a two-bar loop of infectious melody that is toppled with mountains of Caribou's always-excellent percussion and a constant, messy free-jazz-inspired saxophone. Some frog noises and tablas make their way into the crowded mix, and the result is a groovy and fun track that stands out on an album full of standouts.

Poll Results: Most Exciting Lolla Act

It's the first (or second) weekend in August. You're in Chicago's lovely Grant Park. It's Lollapalooza. All sorts of folks, from hipsters to frat bros to regular guys, are united by at least a passing interest in music and plenty of sweat for these three days. Now, which act do you want to see the most?

Corny narrative aside, that last sentence was the question in this past poll: which act at Lollapalooza is most exciting, intriguing, etc. I gave options of some ones I'm (at least relatively) excited to see come August. The winner? The wonderful and increasingly popular Grizzly Bear, who garnered 25 percent of the votes. Grizzly Bear is indeed a fantastic live band, and their set at Lollapalooza one or two or three years ago (bad memory) was one of the festival's highlights for me. Dirty Projectors, The xx, Lady GaGa, The Arcade Fire, Erykah Badu and Devo all tied for second with 12.5 percent of the total votes. 2ManyDJ's unfortunately failed to get a vote. Sorry 2ManyDJ's.

I'm excited to see all those bands as well--The xx less so, though. I haven't seen Dirty Projectors since Bitte Orca and I'm sure they have some bangin' new material. I haven't seen GaGa since she was in any way famous, and I know she'll at least be a spectacle. The Arcade Fire are a great live group, and I believe their new album will be out by then, so that could be fun. I've never seen Erykah Badu, and though her most recent album isn't quite its predecessor, I'm excited to see what she does. And then there's Devo: one of my favorite post-punk groups, whom I've never seen live. 2ManyDJ's should be loads of fun, too, but it's on Perry's stage, which is notorious for being full of all sorts of tools who love techno or whatever who like dancing or whatever but really just like doing ecstasy and jumping up and down--that could potentially ruin the experience. Hopefully not. Anyways, I'll see y'all in Grant Park in three, four months.

This next poll is in honor of Iceland's recent clustercuss. To make that bedraggled nation feel better, we're gonna celebrate their disproportionately great music scene. The question this week is who is your favorite Icelandic musician?

My Favorite Sonic Youth Albums and Songs

To honor some of the greatest musical geniuses in modern music (Beatles, Kraftwerk, Bowie thus far), I've put together these "Favorite Albums and Songs" list. It's all I can do to pay tribute to the prolific, classic artists that have truly inspired me/blown my mind. What these artists have in common is their ability to put out consistently innovative and brilliant music over a decently long period of time.

Sonic Youth fits the mold quite well. Since the dawn of the 1980s, the Youth (I really shouldn't call them that, should I?) have been putting out album after album after album of mind-bending rock music while inspiring tons upon tons of other, less talented people to hit their out of tune guitars with screwdrivers. The sound that Sonic Youth developed--a harmonious blend of harshness and hooks, dissonance and consonance--with their guitar-based post-punk is one of the most influential (and best) in the history of rock n' roll.

The band has released sixteen studio albums (I think--not including side projects) and several hundred songs, and few to none of those are duds. That said, some are better than others. So I'm going to rank my favorite albums of songs by this wonderful, crazy bunch of No Wavers.

Albums (Top Ten)

1. Daydream Nation

2. Sister

3. Evol

4. Murray Street

5. Goo

6. Bad Moon Rising

7. Washing Machine

8. Confusion Is Sex

9. Sonic Nurse

10. Rather Ripped

Songs (Top Thirty)

1. Teen Age Riot

2. Expressway To Yr. Skull (a.k.a. "The Crucifixion of Sean Penn" a.k.a. "Madonna, Sean and Me")

3. Silver Rocket

4. Death Valley '69 (feat. Lydia Lunch)

5. (I Got A) Catholic Block

6. Trilogy

7. Shadow Of A Doubt

8. Kool Thing

9. Cross The Breeze

10. Schizophrenia

11. Hey Joni

12. Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style

13. Superstar

14. The Diamond Sea

15. Brave Men Run (In My Family)

16. Tom Violence

17. Freezer Burn/I Wanna Be Your Dog

18. 100%

19. Sympathy For The Strawberry

20. Pacific Coast Highway

21. Pattern Recognition

22. My Friend Goo

23. Do You Believe In Rapture?

24. Bull In The Heather

25. Cotton Crown

26. Star Power

27. The Empty Page

28. Junkie's Promise

29. Disappearer

30. Touch Me I'm Sick

That's what I think. They're definitely a candidate for Joe's Favorite Band if there was such a band. Anyhow, because I like these tribute lists, I have ones planned for Miles Davis, Tom Waits, and Sly & The Family Stone. Stay tuned.

My First Album

More of Il Buono's lists have centered around albums than around songs or artists or anything else. Why is this? For one, I find it slightly easier to differentiate between great albums than it is to pick between amazing artists (too many variables) or songs (too short). Second...there isn't a second that I can think of. I just like longplayers. Anyways, I've heard and bought countless albums--from post-punk to classical, dub to twee pop--over the past few years, many of which have graced the pages of this blog. But what was the album that started this compulsive listening to and seeking out of LPs? What single disc inspired the vulnerable, eight year-old Joe to embark on a lifelong journey of album buying? Which artist showed Joe the way to the world of underground music and rock n' roll? Tell me!

Though my parents had bought me many CDs prior to "my first album" (most notably the Space Jam soundtrack and *NSYNC's landmark eponymous debut) I didn't really get my own CD--one I picked out and brought to the register--until I was eight. I remember that day like it was nine years ago, which is to say my memory's a little hazy and half this story might be made up.

Anyhow, my parents were getting me my first walkman from Best Buy. I felt cool. Really Cool. I picked out the one I wanted with some help from a Best Buy employee and headed towards checkout. But I was missing something: a new CD to inaugurate my new CD player. Prominently displayed on the new releases rack were many albums I hadn't heard of and one I had. That one? Lil Bow Wow's debut, Beware Of Dog (the edited version, of course). I had heard Lil's "Bounce With Me" on local station B96 once or twice and was thoroughly excited about seeing this album in the store. I snatched that CD like it was the last one on earth and brought it to the cashier along with my walkman. And just like that, my first real album was bought.

Now, my tastes have expanded, I'm allowed to get the non-edited versions of CDs, and I've listened to less and less Lil Bow Wow as the years have progressed. But that first experience--the act of buying a CD--is so ingrained in my psyche and my personal history. On an increasingly regular basis after that day in the year 2000, I've done the same thing; I pick out a CD I want and buy it (or download it, now) all the time (more or less). Albums as a whole are a huge part of my life and personal culture, and that all began with Beware Of Dog.

This isn't to say that album is terrible. I still nod my head to "Bounce With Me" or the Snoop-assisted "Bow Wow (That's My Name)" or even the amusing "This Playboy". (I say "amusing" because at the time of the album's release, Bow Wow was thirteen years-old. Part of what made me like him so much was his age and its proximity to my own. I felt a kinship to him as a child and also as a midwesterner. He's from Cleveland.) The music itself is very radio-ready hip-hop, full of Jermaine Dupri-produced hooks and prepubescent, nasally rapping. But for an eight year-old whose internal musical library went from 98 Degrees to *NSYNC to Space Jam and then stopped, radio-friendly hip-hop sounded pretty badass. And the fact that it was mine and I could listen to it through headphones on my CD player made it all the better.

I'd pick Andre 3000 over Lil Bow Wow nowadays, and I'd pick Lou Reed over Andre 3000 (I know they're not really comparable--I'm just making a point), but Il Buono and I are forever indebted to the feisty little MC: the man (boy) behind the first album I ever got.

Poll Results: Most Exciting Lolla Headliner

Hey, folks. The most recent poll here at Il Buono asked you which Lollapalooza headliner you are most excited for. Lollapalooza is a big, hot, smelly, crowded music festival that takes place here in Chicago each August. It's smelly, but it's also a lot of fun. Some time ago, five headliners were leaked (Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes), and those were the choices in this poll. Since the poll was released, a sixth headliner--Phoenix--has been added, and the rest of the lineup has been officially disclosed. It's a solid lineup--Dirty Projectors, Devo, Fuck Buttons, some other people. It should be fun.

Anyways, your pick for most exciting non-Phoenix headliner was, kind of surprisingly and kind of not surprisingly, Lady GaGa, who received a hefty fifty percent of the votes. While her music is hit or miss, GaGa is sure to put on an intriguing show--and one much more lavish than her set at Lolla a few years ago, where I was one of about twelve people watching her noon performance. Anyhow, The Arcade Fire came in second (I thought they would get first), The Strokes came in at third. Soundgarden and Green Day, two popular alternative bands who I'm not surprised Il Buono readers hate, each failed to garner a single vote.

Because I'm not feeling inspired and because the whole Lolla lineup is now out, I'm going to ask you which act in general you are most psyched to see at this year's festival.

Revisiting My Favorite Albums of The 1960s

Hey, it's that time of year again. Every year (starting--and probably ending--in 2010) I've kicked off Spring by revisiting my favorite albums of the decade lists. As I did before, I'll count down my favorites from the '90s then the '80s then the '70s then the '60s then, finally and counterintuitively, the '00s. Why? you ask. Because not only are my tastes constantly changing a little--I'm getting more or less mature (not sure which), more or less knowledgeable, etc.--but also I'm always hearing new (old) music.

The lists will be presented in one serving (a.k.a. post) and counted down from #90 to #1. When compared to the original lists, albums that are completely new to the lists will be listed in blue. Albums that have moved up ten or more spots will be in green, and albums that have moved down ten or more will be in red. I will choose to write blurbs about random albums that are listed in these colored fonts. The write-ups will be in grey. It will be awesome. Hopefully. It might be confusing.

I'm done with the (long) faux-nostalgic write-ups; all I'm going to say is: the '60s were the beginning--I know rock n' roll and even electronic were bubbling up in the '50s, but the '60s were the first decade in which the rock album figured prominently in culture and in which experimental music, soul, rock, pop, etc. all started to intertwine. (The first editions of the list are here, here, and here.)

Here are my 90 favorite albums of the 1960s:

90. Lothar And The Hand People--Presenting Lothar And The Hand People

89. Herbie Hancock--Fat Albert Rotunda

88. The Rolling Stones--Let It Bleed

87. Skip Spence--Oar

86. Cromagnon--Orgasm

85. Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood--Nancy & Lee

84. Serge Gainsbourg--Songs On Page One

83. The Soft Machine--The Soft Machine

82. Yusef Lateef--Eastern Sounds

81. Bobby Hutcherson--Dialogue

As is the trend with all these revisions, albums at the bottom have gotten pushed back because of new additions. Such is life.

80. Ike Turner & The Kings Of Rhythm--A Black Man's Soul

79. Bill Evans--Sunday At The Village Vanguard

78. The Beatles--With The Beatles

My penultimate Beatles album (Let It Be came into my life after), With The Beatles is another great batch of pre-writing-all-their-own-stuff Beatles songs. While it's not quite as good as most of their other efforts, it's still full of great, very fun rock n' roll.

77. Scott Walker--Scott

76. Duke Ellington--Money Jungle

75. The Beach Boys--Wild Honey

74. Silver Apples--Contact

73. The Byrds--Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

72. The Beatles--Help!

71. John Coltrane--My Favorite Things

70. Sun Ra--Heliocentric Worlds, Pt. 1

69. Johnny Cash--Live At Folsom Prison

68. The Kinks--Are The Village Green Preservation Society

67. The Beatles--Beatles For Sale

66. Frank Zappa--Hot Rats

65. John Fahey--Requia

64. Isaac Hayes--Hot Buttered Soul

63. Anthony Braxton--3 Compositions Of New Jazz

62. The Beatles--Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

61. The Sonics--Boom

60. Nico--Chelsea Girl

Who knew that girl from the VU album could make good music on her own? Well, a lot of people did. And know I do, too. Chelsea Girl is a really great rock/pop/folk album anchored by one of the best songs of all time: "These Days".

59. Leonard Cohen--Songs From A Room

58. Cecil Taylor--Unit Structures

This is another addition to my growing collection of free jazz, and it's a truly awesome album. Cecil Taylor proves himself to be one of the best pianists around with his manic, loud ivory tickling. Unit Structures is surprisingly aggressive for a jazz album, and also surprisingly good.

57. Scott Walker-- Scott 3

56. The Beatles--Please Please Me

55. The Band--The Band

54. Terry Riley--A Rainbow In Curved Air

53. Eric Dolphy--Out To Lunch

52. Creedence Clearwater Revival--Willy And The Poor Boys

Nothing against CCR, I just lost a little appreciation for Willy. It's a great album--it's just not their best. It's a little too...something. And I still need to get Green River, so I'm saving room on the list.

51. Scott Walker--Scott 2

50. The Beatles--Rubber Soul

49. Roscoe Mitchell--Sound

48. Simon & Garfunkel--Bookends

47. The Jimi Hendrix Experience--Electric Ladyland

46. Sam Cooke--Night Beat

I've always loved Sam Cooke; his voice is arguably the greatest I've ever heard. But I never knew that he had made an amazing studio album--that is, until I heard Night Beat. It's a rare album in that it's an early '60s soul album not full of filler. It's full of classic songs.

45. Peter Brotzmann--Machine Gun

44. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band--Safe As Milk

43. Bob Dylan--Highway 61 Revisited

42. King Crimson--In The Court Of The Crimson King

41. Nick Drake--Five Leaves Left

40. Miles Davis--Sketches Of Spain

39. The Mothers Of Invention--Freak Out!

38. Pink Floyd--Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

I was never too keen on Pink Floyd until I heard this one. Sure I respected them for doing whatever it was that they did. But none of the music is truly exciting to me except for that on Piper. (It might have something to do with Syd Barrett.) Nevertheless, Piper is a wild, psychedelic rock album that isn't pretentious like Floyd's later work; it's just good, weird rock n' roll.

37. The Beatles--A Hard Day's Night

36. John Coltrane--Giant Steps

35. The Zombies--Odessey and Oracle

34. Pharoah Sanders--Karma

33. The Rolling Stones--Beggars Banquet

32. White Noise--An Electric Storm

This album is certainly one of the most important in the history of electronic music due to its technological innovations, but it is also full of genuinely great (experimental) pop music. While some examples of early electronic are messy bits of sound, White Noise mixes technology with great hooks and great textures that assemble to create great actual songs.

31. Charles Mingus--The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady

30. Van Dyke Parks--Song Cycle

29. The Mothers Of Invention--We're Only In It For The Money

28. Anthony Braxton--For Alto

27. The Monks--Black Monk Time

26. Otis Redding--Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul

25. Terry Riley--In C

24. Miles Davis--In A Silent Way

23. The Sonics--Here Are The Sonics!!!

22. Can--Monster Movie

21. Bob Dylan--Blonde On Blonde

20. Scott Walker--Scott 4

19. John Fahey--The Transfiguration Of Blind Joe Death

My love for these two grew exponentially over the last few months--not that the two above albums have anything to do with each other musically or culturally. Scott 4 is without a doubt Walker's masterpiece; it's darker, stranger, richer, and better written than anything else in his '60s canon, and still better written than any of his later work. (It certainly isn't stranger than The Drift.) Transfiguration, like Scott 4, is an opus. Over the last few months, I've been listening to copious amounts of John Fahey (and followers/contemporaries of his like Leo Kottke, Peter Walker, and Jack Rose), and I like his music more and more each time I listen. I know a few of his albums now, but none are quite as amazing as Transfiguration. It's the right amount of fun and challenging, traditional and experimental.

18. John Coltrane--Ascension

17. The Beatles--Abbey Road

16. Sly & The Family Stone--Stand!

15. The Jimi Hendrix Experience--Are You Experienced?

14. The Beatles--Magical Mystery Tour

13. Leonard Cohen--Songs Of Leonard Cohen

12. Albert Ayler Trio--Spiritual Unity

11. The Velvet Underground--The Velvet Underground

10. James Brown--Live At The Apollo

9. John Coltrane--A Love Supreme

8. The Stooges--The Stooges

7. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band--Trout Mask Replica

6. The Beach Boys--Pet Sounds

5. Love--Forever Changes

4. The Beatles--The Beatles (The White Album)

3. The Velvet Underground--White Light/White Heat

2. The Beatles--Revolver

1. The Velvet Underground--The Velvet Underground & Nico

Well, there was only one small change in the top 15: switching The Stooges and A Love Supreme. So there.

That's what I think. Best of the '00s won't come out for a bit--I need more time to reflect.