Fun Stuff > BAND
The one album
Christophe:
June of 44- Tropics and Meridians
This one was actually a hard one for me to decide on, since all of their albums (excepting the comparatively lacklustre Anahata) are all quality. I don't think T&M is my favorite Jo44 album (which would be Four Great Points), but this one is probably the most engaging and immediate of their albums. The balance between all-out rawk and quieter, sparkly guitar parts is more towards the former, but Lawn Bowler is seven minutes, thirty-nine seconds worth of the latter.
Elliott Smith- XO
Smith's first album on Dreamworks, it is essentially the turning point between his more lo-fi work on his first three albums and the more densely layered, produced sound on the following Figure 8. Some of the dude's best songs (Pitseleh, Waltz #1, Waltz #2) are on this album. I don't know if I still think it's his best album but by far it's probably the best introduction to his body of work.
Jawbox- For Your Own Special Sweetheart
Lots of the band's fans shitcanned this one because it was their first after jumping the good ship Dischord for the majors, but damned if they didn't turn their back on the band right when they released probably their best album (I haven't heard their last one yet). It's full of smartly-applied punk aggression tossed into the washing machine of angular guitar lines and odd time signatures and fuck, I can't even describe this one anymore. It's just so good.
Wardial3r:
Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs.
Ben Folds at his best, an album full of piano pop that hits all kinds of emotions and nails all of them. Not a single bad song.
Blink 182 - Enema Of The State
Although I personally prefer Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, this album has to be the definitive blink. The catchy choruses, the simple chords, awesome drumming, teenage angst. It shows the bands move away from their earlier potty humor, and where they will go with a more produced sound and songs that might mean something to them. Mutt and Adam's Song are both examples of this. They still haven't lost their sense of humor though, and it makes a perfect album.
Scarychips:
Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
Xiu xiu at the peak of their creativity. The albums starts with pop-oriented gems to descend into weirdness. If I'm not mistaken, it's their last "weird albums by Xiu xiu standard", La Forêt being more minimalist while The Air Force and Women as Lovers were considered poppy. If you want only one of their albums, you should buy/download Fabulous Muscles.
You Are Brahman!:
The Offspring - Americana
Perhaps it had something to do with the number of times I listened to this album in my youth, but this belongs in everyone's collection, even if you're not big into punk. I have come to appreciate the songs I used to hate (Pay The Man) as I got older.
Barenaked Ladies - Stunt
If Americana wasn't in my CD player, it was Stunt. This classic is fun, fast paced, and offers a good variety of tunes.
ImRonBurgundy?:
The Replacements- Let It Be
The apex of The Replacements' career, the point where their scrappy punk roots collided head on with Paul Westerberg's commercial aspirations, achingly melodic pop sensibilities, and burgeoning songwriting skills. Was there a better document of teenage angst in the 80's than the forlorn strains of "Sixteen Blue"? Methinks not.
Minutemen- Double Nickels On The Dime
Ambitious, sprawling, but locked into a furiously consistent groove, the band from Pedro proved definitively that they were the punk rock band of their generation, simultaneously subverting and reiterating the movement's core foundations (As the band put it, "We said to the punk kids, 'You want no rules? Well, here's what no rules sounds like!'"). Even besides that, it's a fucking barnstormer of an album.
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