Starting Points

[!!!CPAOI!!!]

I don't know dick about Sonic Youth, Joy Division, or the Cure.  I know that they have all proved to be important influences for many bands that I DO listen to, and as such I want to check them out (should have ages ago I imagine).  Anyway, I know that these acts have some diehard fans on this forum (at least Joy Division does), and I was wondering if I could get suggestions for their most accessible albums.  I think that more accesible material is a good place to start because it introduces you to a band's idiosyncracies without overwhelming you with them.  Thanks in advance.

[Rubby]

As far as the Cure goes, I would get the albums "Head in the Door" or "Disintegration". People will say pornography, which is good, but I think those two are better for an introduction.

[E. Spaceman]

I second the Disintegration. For Sonic Youth I'd say the best starting point is Sister, then Murray Street and then EVOL and Daydream Nation. The newest one is the most accessible though.
For Joy Division, Get Closer.

[kevin gee]

For Sonic Youth, I'd say there are three different eras you'd have to to see if you like them,

the albums

Sister or Daydream Nation
Dirty
One Thousand Leaves

seem to sum Sonic Youth up the best, in my opinion.

I'd just recommend getting Joy Division's singles CD, Substance, and if you like that, get the box set.

I don't listen to too much Cure but I really like Boys Don't Cry.

[Kai]

I second the Disintegration. For Sonic Youth I'd say the best starting point is Sister, then Murray Street and then EVOL and Daydream Nation. The newest one is the most accessible though.
For Joy Division, Get Closer.

I pretty much agree with everything in this post.

[TrueNeutral]

More starting points asked for:

Tom Waits
Mark Lanegan (outside of screaming trees as I already own everything I could find from them and downloaded the rest, plus I have his thingy with Isobell Campbell)

[Kai]

If you're talking about Tom Wait's experimental work, get Rain Dogs. For the lounge music era, Alice or Closing Time are both very good.

[Omnicide]

All you really need for Joy Division are Closer and Unknown Pleasures, if you dig on baritone self-pity.

As for the man Tom?

Rain Dogs- broadest spectrum of his styles.
Blue Valentines- best singer-songwriter work, plus Christmas Card From a Hooker will make you sob like a child.
Bone Machine- because it kicks 18 shades of arse.

[Kai]

Oh, man, I forgot about Blue Valentines. Definitely get that.

[ASturge]

With Sonic Youth it's best to start with the albums withs songs (Sister, Daydream Nation) , and then slowly move onto the Noise (NYC Ghosts and Flowers)

[Misereatur]

I started listening to SY from One Thousand Leaves. Still my favorite album.

[logosmonkey]

Cure Disintegration is to me their greatest achievment... but for a primer to their vast catalog I would suggest Staring at the Sea (their early hits) and Galore (their later hits post)
Joy Division, a lot of people will say Closer, it is afterall their best album.. I really like Unkown Pleasures though... but I think thats only because it was the first one I heard.
You should also check out New Order, it's Joy Division sans Ian Curtis (who offed himself)
Sonic youth, ya got me.. I don't listen to them enough to make an informed suggestion...

[Kid Modernist]

My favorite periods of Sonic Youth are the Noise and Grunge periods. Daydream Nation is their best, in my opinion, EVOL, Dirty, all the ones mentioned.

As far as Tom Waits, I like Nighthawks at the Diner. Supposedly live, but it's in the studio he set up with people.

Joy Division, get Permanent, that's a good starting place, even if Closer is their best album.

The Cure is one of my favorite bands, I would say Disintegration, Faith, and The Head on the Door are the ones to get. Disintegration is their masterpiece (imo), but Faith is a really close second.

[dancarter]

More starting points asked for:

Mark Lanegan (outside of screaming trees as I already own everything I could find from them and downloaded the rest, plus I have his thingy with Isobell Campbell)

ooo...I'd go for Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1994), mostly for the tracks "Sunrise" and "Dead on You".

The first album, The Winding Sheet (1990), has the Cobain duet, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night".  If you're a completist for that kind of thing, go there.  I don't care much for Cobain myself.

For later stuff, I'd take Here Comes that Weird Chill(2003) over Bubblegum any day.

[est]

I never get why people ask this kind of question.  I mean, why not just download a bunch of stuff by them, then go out and buy stuff if you like it?

[Bassist159]

Disentegration, hands down, is the best album choice for getting into the Cure.  While the singles collections help, I really think the Cure is something you kind of have to just get into. Can't really ease in via a best-of.

For Joy Division? A lot of people think Closer, and while I'll agree that the mood of Closer is a bit more consistant between songs, I personally feel starting with Unknown Pleasures actually works a helluva lot better for an introduction to Joy Division. The songs tend to stand a lot better on their own, in my honest opinion. Then again, I'm also of the opinion that the real crime when it comes to Joy Division is that An Ideal for Living was never released on CD, so I might be a bit biased.

[TynansAnger]

Actually, I'd say the most accessible and arguably the best Joy Division album is Substance, a collection of Joy Division singles not on their main albums released in 1988. The album sees them develop from a rather standard punk band before beginning to experiment with synthesizers and unusual rhythyms and melodies. It also contains their best song and one of the best songs of all time, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Also included are the contents of their best single, "Dead Souls" and "Atmosphere" It doesn't have the same unity as their studio, but it contains the songs where the band peaked.

For Sonic Youth I'd start with their three essential albums:  EVOL, Sister, and Daydream Nation. Of  those three, Daydream Nation is their most accessible and best, but I'd start with Sister,  as it probably combines their earlier style and their later more clearly than any of their other albums.

[Inlander]

Re: Tom Waits - why on earth has nobody mentioned Swordfishtrombones yet?

[Kai]

Because Rain Dogs is better.



Although do get Swordfishtrombones.

[The Eyeball Kid]

If you're talking about Tom Wait's experimental work, get Rain Dogs. For the lounge music era, Alice or Closing Time are both very good.

For an album that has examples of both, plus his big 'hit' (Downtown Train) and a song so beautiful it might make you cry ('Time'), get Rain Dogs

Or just get them all

[ALoveSupreme]

I thought this was a thread about the singer from Chunsa's band Starting Point... I guess the thread title is a pluralization.

[Kid Modernist]

I GOT A REQUEST.

Where's a good place to start for Phish?

What's a particularly amazing concert (That they don't cover other bands)?

What's a particularly good studio album?

[Kai]

Okay, phish played like


80,000,000 fucking shows.


just go google phish bootlegs and download one.

[tommydski]

I never get why people ask this kind of question.  I mean, why not just download a bunch of stuff by them, then go out and buy stuff if you like it?

weak boarding.

i recommend 'sister' and 'evol' because those are the best two albums in my mind. they are both accessible enough for a newbie too.

[The Hammered]

I agree with Sister or EVOL. Then if you like those, get Confusion is Sex. (Which is, in my opinion, more accessible than their later albums in its own way.)

[Kid Modernist]

Okay, phish played like


80,000,000 fucking shows.


just go google phish bootlegs and download one.

I understand, and within 80,000,000 you might think it would be hard to think of a starting point. And since people have hard times thinking of starting points, they might ask people about it on a music board, in fact, there might be a thread devoted to finding starting points. I think if I found such a place I would ask where to start on it.

[Kai]

Well, nobody really ever has enough time to listen to enough Phish bootlegs and rate them.


Just get one from like, 1993 and you're pretty good to go.

[Kid Modernist]

Thank you very much

[redphoenix11]

With Joy Division, I'd say Substance, but I really coudln't get into Joy Division until after I started listening to New Order's earlier albums.

[Soidanae]

Me, I say get Unknown Pleasures first for Joy Divison.

[!!!CPAOI!!!]

I'm going to be using this thread every time I need new starting point suggestions instead of creating a new one.  Your earlier suggestions were very helpful and I will be popping up here again.

My question this time is for a good album to start with Boris.  They're coming to a town near me on Saturday and I want to give one of their albums a listen-through before going.

[DynamiteKid]

I would agree on starting with Substance for Joy Divison. You have the punky early stuff, some latter day singles and - most importantly, I feel - you have both 'Atmosphere' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart,' which are two of most essential JD songs to begin with, really.

[amok]

Joy Division - Just get the "Heart & Soul" box set. It has every song they've ever done, including those as "Warsaw", and a live CD to boot. Considering every single Joy Division album is actually fucking essential, you might as well suck it up and get all their stuff at once.

Edit: Bloodflowers is significantly the best Cure album by far, mostly on account of the epic last track.