Music: Last Album You Listened To And Rate It III

[Shareefruck]

Went through that Deep Cut guy's top 50 albums of the 2010s Spotify playlist and had much more success with that than TheNeedleDrop's.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but one thing that's getting frustrating about trying to get into music from the 2010s for me is that it feels like every other notable album includes a track where Kendrick Lamar's annoying sleezy-sounding vocals are randomly shoe-horned in, when I'd much rather just listen to the authentic sound of the artist instead.

Looping State of Mind by The Field - 2.5 (Good)
Got really into this. I hear Gas combined with E2-E4-era Manuel Gottsching combined with Harmonia/Neu-- consistently confident and minimal electronic. Kind of reminded me of 45:33 by LCD Soundsystem a bit, but way more interesting to me. Thought It's Up There and Looping State of Mind were the standouts.

I think the idea is that they're taking one very small sample of an existing song and turning each bit into its own track or something? I think I hear The Orb in Is This Power.

Kindred by Burial - 2.5 (Good)
I liked this way more than Untrue. It doesn't feel as... exhaustingly anguished, I guess.

From Here We Go Sublime by The Field - 1.5 (Neutral)
I never bothered with Looping State of Mind because I had always heard this first, didn't care for it, and dismissed it. Listening back to it after the fact, I'm still only moderately interested in it, although I never noticed how heavily Gas-influenced it was before. I find that a lot of the warmer tracks sound cheesy in a dated 90s kind of way to my ears. I do feel like trying Yesterday and Today now, though.

Black Origami by Jlin - 1.5 (Neutral) (could rise)
I thought the style for this was really cool and I want to hear more or see if it grows on me, but it also didn't fully come together as an album for me to a degree where I'm ready to call it good. I enjoyed the stretch between Kyanite and Hatshepsut.

The Ooze by King Krule - 1.5 (Neutral)
The smooth atmospheric style is really cool, has an immersive tone that I feel like I could really get into, but I'm not sure the material is consistently that strong. Dum Surfer is fun. Will revisit a few more times.

Replica by Oneohtrix Point Never - 1.0 (Negative)
Pretty ambivalent about this one.

Portico Quartet by Portico Quartet - 1.0 (Negative)
Found it pleasant but kind of forgettable.

Tentative Favorite 2010s Albums
1. Ravedeath 1972 by Tim Hecker - 3.0 (Very Good)
2. Exai by Autechre - 2.5 (Good)
3. Looping State of Mind by The Field - 2.5 (Good)
4. Kindred EP by Burial - 2.5 (Good)
5. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead - 2.5 (Good)
6. Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown - 2.0 (Positive) [would be a grade higher without the guest vocals]
7. Tomorrow's Harvest by Boards of Canada - 2.0 (Positive)

Also sampled a bit of NTS Sessions by Autechre thinking it might end up on that list too, but wasn't clicking with me at all.

Highlights
Kindred

It's Up There

Looping State of Mind

 

[Ceremony]

Went through that Deep Cut guy's top 50 albums of the 2010s Spotify playlist and had much more success with that than TheNeedleDrop's.

If you want to find music by looking at lists like this, have you considered looking at non-American ones? I've heard of about 10% of the stuff on those and I get the feeling that's why.

I've also never heard a song with Kendrick Lamar in it, so that's another positive.

 

[Shareefruck]

If you want to find music by looking at lists like this, have you considered looking at non-American ones? I've heard of about 10% of the stuff on those and I get the feeling that's why.

I've also never heard a song with Kendrick Lamar in it, so that's another positive.

Did you have anything in mind in particular? I've looked at English lists about non-English music (although for some reason, usually all-time instead of decade-specific), but I wouldn't know where to begin looking for general lists from non-English sources, if that's what you're talking about.

 

[Ceremony]

Did you have anything in mind in particular? I've looked at English lists about non-English music (although for some reason, usually all-time instead of decade-specific), but I wouldn't know where to begin looking for general lists from non-English sources, if that's what you're talking about.

It's not a thing I follow myself, but it seems like the lists you're looking at don't really align with the music you post about liking on here. When I said non-American I meant UK-based ones, since that and European artists seem to be more of what you listen to.

One suggestion I will make based on Autechre is Aphex Twin, who seems to be a similar style.

 

[Shareefruck]

It's not a thing I follow myself, but it seems like the lists you're looking at don't really align with the music you post about liking on here. When I said non-American I meant UK-based ones, since that and European artists seem to be more of what you listen to.

One suggestion I will make based on Autechre is Aphex Twin, who seems to be a similar style.

Oh, that's interesting. I was always under the impression that the UK and US basically revere a pretty similar set of albums. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind. For the record, I've circled the "best albums of 2010s" thing dozens of times before (with lukewarm results), I just chose these two lists on a whim this time.

Yeah, I actually got really into Aphex Twin first (I agree, very Autechre-adjacent), and then afterwards, Autechre ended up being even more up my alley. I have not found 2010s artists that have generated similar enthusiasm to their best work, though (which for me were more from the 90s-2000s).

 

[angusyoung]

Always have a difficult time assigning a numerical rating to an album...............

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

I only heard Angel Dust last year. I was very surprised how much I liked it. It kind of went in unexpected directions.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

New Manic Street Preachers album about to come out in a few hours. They're really getting old but what a band.

 

[Mikeaveli]

The Beach Boys - Feel Flows: The Sunflower and Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971

A decent enough compilation of tracks from this later Beach Boys era. It's not all time great stuff like the Smile Sessions but there are a few new mixes and versions of some of my favourite Beach Boys deep cuts so it's worth a listen if you're a fan.

 

[Shareefruck]

Expensive Shit by Fela Kuti - 4.5 (Brilliant)
I already used to love this, but then I fell off and bought the narrative that the title track was overly repetitive. Now I'm back to being blown away by it all over again. Hard to decide if this or Opposite People are my favorite, but it certainly feels like the only album of his where both tracks are equal standouts rather than somewhat lopsided.

Konigsforst by Gas - 3.5 (Great)
Grew on me a lot. Love it about as much as Pop. The only track that keeps it from being higher is the first track (Oktember A) which is good but feels a little out of place to me.

Virgins by Tim Hecker - 3.5 (Great)
Grew on me a lot. I like it a lot more than Harmony in Ultraviolet. Love the more minimalist Steve Reich angle. The only relatively weak track is Incense At Abu Ghraib, which is super short, and Live Room feels like a standout to me.

Halica: Bliss Out v.11 by Sweet Trip - 2.0 (Positive)
Incredibly pleasant/soothing to listen to, doesn't feel super structured, and the bookend tracks sound way better than the stuff in the middle to me. Didn't care much for Traces, Pulses, or Follow Me, which all kind of felt like the same type of unsatisfying progression over and over again to my ears.

You Will Never Know Why by Sweet Trip - 2.0 (Positive)
More structured and cohesive, virtually every track is a solidly crafted pop song, but it kind of takes the vibe that I disliked most from Velocity Design Comfort and makes an entire album out of it-- Cloying and annoyingly saccharine at times. Really liked the track, Acting (minus maybe the vocal part)-- reminded me a lot of a Stereolab track.

Let it Be (2021 Remix) by The Beatles - 1.0 or 1.5 (Negative/Neutral)
I've been thrilled by the Giles Martin Remixes up to this point, but I found this one pretty underwhelming. A so-so album to begin with, and the improvements weren't significant enough to make me feel much differently about it, unlike the previous releases. I could be wrong, but it sounded like it didn't even remove Spector's awful wall of sound. Still can't wait for him to circle back and fix Rubber Soul/Revolver. I find this to be the rare "lesser than the sum of its parts" album, because so many of the tracks are individually strong, but as an album, eggghhhhhh......

Highlights:

 

[Saturated Fats]

Virgins is a fantastic album, and probably his best. As with most of Tim's stuff, it feels different on repeat listens. The foreboding, almost-disturbing atmosphere he cobbles together is masterful.

 

[Shareefruck]

Virgins is a fantastic album, and probably his best. As with most of Tim's stuff, it feels different on repeat listens. The foreboding, almost-disturbing atmosphere he cobbles together is masterful.

Yeah, I'm going back and forth on whether or not I like it more than Ravedeath 1972-- both among my favorite albums of the 2010s. Maybe, though.

 

[Ouroboros]

Konigsforst by Gas - 3.5 (Great)
Grew on me a lot. Love it about as much as Pop. The only track that keeps it from being higher is the first track (Oktember A) which is good but feels a little out of place to me.

Might be worth looking into downloading a rip of the original vinyl version of Königsforst then, as it doesn't have Oktember A on it at all. It's actually quite a different album in that format - the A1 and D1 tracks didn't appear at all on the CD and many of the other tracks are altered to a significant extent.

That's pretty common throughout all of Voigt's work, actually. Pop is the only album of his that is identical on LP and CD, but even that showed up with some alterations in the recent box set that was released on his own label.

 

[Shareefruck]

Might be worth looking into downloading a rip of the original vinyl version of Königsforst then, as it doesn't have Oktember A on it at all. It's actually quite a different album in that format - the A1 and D1 tracks didn't appear at all on the CD and many of the other tracks are altered to a significant extent.

That's pretty common throughout all of Voigt's work, actually. Pop is the only album of his that is identical on LP and CD, but even that showed up with some alterations in the recent box set that was released on his own label.

Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, that's a trend that I absolutely hate with music and is one of my biggest pet peeves in general (not that familiar with differences in Voigt's stuff though). CD versions trying to add something that ends up weakening the experience, while becoming treated like the defacto version just because of the more modern format, leaving the better way to experience the thing that much harder to access (not saying that's necessarily the case here).

 

[Ouroboros]

Thanks for the heads up. Yeah, that's a trend that I absolutely hate with music and is one of my biggest pet peeves in general (not that familiar with differences in Voigt's stuff though). CD versions trying to add something that ends up weakening the experience, while becoming treated like the defacto version just because of the more modern format, leaving the better way to experience the thing that much harder to access (not saying that's necessarily the case here).

I totally agree. It really bothers me when an album is re-released and all of a sudden there's like an earlier EP tacked on to the end of the original tracks - it's very jarring and often detracts from the original experience. I guess it made more sense in the pre-digital age when it was more difficult to acquire certain releases/tracks, but it's totally unnecessary now.

Most people consider the original LP version of Königsforst to be the definitive version, but you'll never lay hands on an actual physical LP copy of it unless you're willing to pay a huge price; it regularly sells for upwards of 150 CAD. Checking out the release on discogs it shows that yet another version was released in 2020 with all 8 tracks [the 6 on the CD plus the 2 vinyl exclusives] so add yet another version into the mix, I guess.

This seems to be pretty standard procedure in the ambient/minimal techno world. Tracks are constantly being edited and altered and released in different formats. Makes it difficult to keep things straight.

 

[Shareefruck]

Don't know how much of this is recency bias and hype, but these two skyrocketed to the top of my favorites for the time being.

Konigsforst (vinyl order) by Gas - 4.5 (Brilliant)
Pain in the ass to assemble from Youtube videos, but worth it. The track left off of the Vinyl was the weak link for me, and the two missing from the CD version are perfect, IMO.

Virgins by Tim Hecker - 4.0 (Flawless)
Feels a bit like a modern (in my opinion enhanced) Music For 18 Musicians to me.

Favorite Albums
1. Lick My Decals Off by Captain Beefheart
2. Tago Mago by Can
3. White Light White Heat by The Velvet Underground
4. Here Come the Warm Jets by Brian Eno
5. Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt
6. The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground
7. Future Days by Can
8. Possible Musics by Jon Hassell
9. Closer by Joy Division
10. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
11. The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
12. Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk
13. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
14. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
15. Interstellar Space by John Coltrane
16. Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Live 1966 by Bob Dylan
17. The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings by Bill Evans Trio
18. B*tches Brew by Miles Davis
19. Konigsforst by Gas
20. Ambient 4: On Land by Brian Eno
21. Faust IV by Faust
22. Selected Ambient Works Vol. II by Aphex Twin
23. The Disintegration Loops by William Basinski
24. Confield by Autechre
25. Mm.. Food by MF Doom
26. Another Green World by Brian Eno
27. Virgins by Tim Hecker
28. Point of Departure by Andrew Hill
29. Untilted by Autechre
30. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown by Augustus Pablo
31. Outside the Dream Syndicate by Tony Conrad & Faust
32. Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy by Brian Eno
33. Expensive Sh*t by Fela Kuti
34. Return of the Durutti Column by The Durutti Column
35. Ege Bamyasi by Can
36. Opposite People by Fela Kuti
37. Marquee Moon by Television
38. Pop by Gas
39. 98.12.28 Live by Fishmans
40. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
41. The Real McCoy by McCoy Tyner
42. Neu!75 by Neu!
43. Loop Finding Jazz Records by Jan Jelinek
44. Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) by Captain Beefheart
45. Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel by Miles Davis Quintet
46. Atlantis by Sun Ra
47. Plastic Ono Band by John Lennon
48. Neu! by Neu!
49. In Rainbows by Radiohead
50. Analord 10 by Aphex Twin

(weirdly didn't feel like squeezing at least one Beatles album in there, which I don't think has happened in quite a while. Those eventual anniversary remixes of Revolver/Rubber Soul can't come soon enough)

 

[Thucydides]

I don’t know how , but until this afternoon I’ve never listened to The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers album.

front to back it is a masterpiece.

Moonlight Mile is an amazing closing track to a perfect album.

10/10

 

[Mikeaveli]

West Coast Gangsta Rap (mostly N.W.A.-adjacent)

9/10:
Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
Dr. Dre - The Chronic

8/10:
Ice Cube - Kill At Will
Ice Cube - Death Certificate
Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Food

7/10:
Eazy-E - It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa
Warren G - Regulate... G Funk Era
Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It
Ice Cube - The Predator
DJ Quik - Safe + Sound

6/10:
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A. - 100 Miles and Runnin'
N.W.A. - Efil4zaggin

5/10:
Compton's Most Wanted - Music to Driveby

3/10:
N.W.A. - N.W.A. and the Posse

2/10:
Eazy-E - 5150 Home 4 Tha Sick

Essential Tracks (best in bold):
Ice Cube - Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside) - Remix
Ice Cube - Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here - Remix
Ice Cube - No Vaseline
Ice Cube - The N**** Ya Love To Hate
Ice Cube - I Wanna Kill Sam
Ice Cube - The Bomb
Ice Cube - When Will They Shoot?
Snoop Doggy Dogg - G-Funk (Intro)
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Gin and Juice
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggy Dogg World
Warren G - This D.J.
Tha Dogg Pound - Smooth
Eazy-E - Real Muthaphuckkin G's
Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It
Eazy-E - No More ?s
Dr. Dre - f*** Wit Dre Day
Dr. Dre - Let Me Ride
Dr. Dre - Deeez Nuuuts
Dr. Dre - Bitches Ain't Shit
DJ Quik - Dollaz + Sense
N.W.A. - Gangsta Gangsta
N.W.A. - Real N***** Don't Die
N.W.A. - A Bitch Iz A Bitch

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Ice Cube - Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here

Hell of a title, hell of a title. I laughed.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

(weirdly didn't feel like squeezing at least one Beatles album in there, which I don't think has happened in quite a while. Those eventual anniversary remixes of Revolver/Rubber Soul can't come soon enough)

Not to light a match (not with you, but this board) but the more time passes, the less I find myself interested in The Beatles. I like them fine but besides a few standout tracks, I never think about listening to them anymore. Even the tracks I like best, there's more and more I like better.

 

[Shareefruck]

Not to light a match (not with you, but this board) but the more time passes, the less I find myself interested in The Beatles. I like them fine but besides a few standout tracks, I never think about listening to them anymore. Even the tracks I like best, there's more and more I like better.

I wouldn't go that far myself, but I think the thing for me is that the albums are so spread between the four members that, while that makes for some charming variety, I end up having a compromised opinion of every album. If there hypothetically existed a Lennon-Harrison-dominated Beatles album without any Ringo track or jaunty/light McCartney melody, it would probably still be way up there for me. Lennon Beatles tracks are still probably my favorite strictly poppy sound, and an album full of dreamy songs like Nowhere Man and I'm Only Sleeping would really hit the spot for me.

 

[Shareefruck]

Listened to these because I can't get enough of Disintegration Loops. I just find the sound straight up really satisfying/perfect regardless of premise/impressiveness/repetitiveness (the inspiration fitting it well is just a bonus).

Everywhere at the End of Time by The Caretaker - 2.5 (Good)
I found the reception to this album more intriguing than the album itself. The idea of pretentiousness seems odd to me, because the way it's used and the way I want to use it is different. People tend to call things pretentious when they're indecipherable, abstract, inaccessible, and have unclear/potentially trivial meaning-- I don't find these negative-- these things rarely feel like they're even feigning meaning/importance much in the first place, to me. Personally, I feel more compelled to use the word pretentious to describe things that seem emotionally manipulative, heavy-handed/melodramatic, faux-sentimental, and sappy/cringe-y-- Forrest Gump, for example.

I'd say the concept of the album leans latter while the music leans former. Some people find the concept brilliant but the execution pretentious because it's long, boring, lazy (?), or doesn't convey the concept well, some think both are brilliant or both are pretentious. I think I fall into the camp where I find the concept maybe a little "pretentious" in how sappy/on-the-nose it comes across but the execution pretty great and fully realized-- Unlike with Disintegration Loops, I like the album more the less I consider what it's about-- The album sounds really cool and the effect is really effective, but if I frame it as a dementia thing, it instead feels like this cheesy, reductive, heavy-handed flashback sequence of someone's life nostalgically flashing before their eyes before they die while sentimental ballroom music swells in a TV show or something. Maybe that's unfair (I do think the subject can be powerful to explore in general), but that's been my experience with it. I think I actually like the album more if I pretend that the theme is more general and non-specific... like "impending loss" or something.

Thankfully, I don't have to care about the context (as any more than just fun-fact inspiration rather than how you're supposed to listen to it) and can just treat it as music that's pretty neat, satisfying, and works really well (the originals are greatly enhanced by the effects, IMO). I think I liked the middle stages the most (3-4?).

An Empty Bliss Beyond This World by The Caretaker - 1.5 (Neutral)
Same deal but less effective-- almost feels a bit rushed, especially the payoff. Also, was Bioshock influenced by this or the other way around?-- feels like a very similar vibe to me.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Elbow - Flying Dream 1 (2021) - 3/5

This certainly is a subdued mature and calm listen but really lacking in standouts as Elbow head to their twilight. Just an easy forgettable listen (after several listens I should add).

 

[Thucydides]

10/10

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The Unseen by Quasimoto (Madlib) (2000) - Like a really high-concept, more artistically refined/skillful version of what brought Eminem popularity but which I've always disliked vocally. Didn't love it. It is fun and it has its moments, but it felt overwrought, too long for what it was doing and I started getting lost, but not in a good way. Way too busy but I respect the aesthetic/attempt. Can't deny that he's a really skillful producer. The album has an instrumental piece probably would have been a more satisfying listen. I just can't stand that sort of narration that his voice/writing/lyrics contain. I find it very grating. Apparently he took shrooms for a month while making the album. It shows.

Top 10 hip-hop/rap albums of all time:

1. Mm..Food by MF Doom (2004)
2. Super Tight...by UGK (1994)
3. Illmatic by Nas (1994)
4. The Ecstatic by Mos Def (2009)
5. Take Me to Your Leader by King Geedorah (2003)
6. Madvillainy by Madvillain (2004)
7. Dwight Spitz by Count Bass D (2002)
8. Landscape by Nawhij (2020)
9. Bandana by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib (2019)
10. Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City by Kendrick Lamar (2012)

Honorable Mentions: Operation: Doomsday by MF Doom (includes two of the greatest tracks within the genre in Doomsday and Red and Gold), Ready to Die by Biggie Smalls, Chicken Talk by Gucci Mane (includes one of the greatest tracks of all-time within the genre in Swing My Door)

Honorable Mentions are essentially albums that would have easily made the list and knocked off the last two if the gaps between their peaks and the rest weren't so wide. For example, I think Swing My Door by Gucci Mane has the most stylish opening line on a song I've ever heard along with Madvillain's Accordion:

'I'm a gold mouth dog
Definition of the south'