The saving grace of these lists is when they introduce you to new albums you overlooked, but what really kills all of them from the get-go is the insistence of ranking them. I get the appeal from a publisher's perspective - people are more likely to read and talk about things like this when they're ranked, albeit in a negative way but if you want hits and traffic, there's nothing mby belfast
I went through Prince's post-Emancipation albums after he died since I had ignored almost all of them, and I think there were four albums that surprisingly worked as genuinely good albums. From the remaining dozen plus, there were three, maybe four additional albums worth of excellent music that I'd go back to. This never would've happened, but if that had been his only known outpuby belfast
I agree, Folklore and Evermore were surprisingly her two best albums. Pretty remarkable that would happen so late in someone's career, but then again she started as a teenager and just hit 30 when those two came out. (For comparison, Springsteen was the same age when he was making The River.) Before the horrendous turn he took, Kanye West was similarly prolific and he liked to say he wasby belfast
I've always liked Rumours but man did I get a lot of shit for that. The low point was getting mocked by a guy who got a lot of shit for owning that first Rod Stewart box set, Storyteller. (Stewart's first four albums, best Faces material and earliest Jeff Beck Group collaborations are still among the best rock of its time, so I didn't do that to him.) I was feeling kind of smug andby belfast
I was playing Done by the Forces of Nature over the weekend - what an album. Can't wait to see them live!by belfast
That's awesome - I have nearly all of those already, though I paid much more for them! It's funny how the economics have reversed for vinyl and CD's - I think 15 years ago, cheap and used vinyl opened up a pathway to explore new music, but the market value for vinyl has gone through the roof while CD's have become an amazing bargain, including those lavish box sets I used toby belfast
Apologies, I came across a likely correction needed for Echo & the Bunnymen's entry: Concisely recapitulating the band’s first five years, Songs to Learn & Sing is a welcome retrospective: nine essential items, a fine new tune (“Bring on the Dancing Horses”) and “The Puppet,” Echo’s third single (from 1980), which had not been on any previous US release. The CD and cassette have fby belfast
The Roots are touring this summer and depending on where you are, they'll probably two opening acts. Here in NYC, it'll be Digable Planets and the Jungle Brothers on Friday, August 23 in Central Park. I've never seen ANY of them live, so will probably catch the Central Park show. Arrested Development will be opening at other shows.by belfast
Oh man, all I did was take a few photos, but had I known, I would've been more than happy to record it - I was pretty close to the stage and my phone had plenty of free memory. FWIW, I think this is partly a thing with NYC film crowds, but MoMA screenings typically have some really fussy and cantankerous jerks who raise a stink about anything, so having Conheim make that request would actby belfast
And is Dylan referring to him in the intro to BIOGRAPH's "Isis?" 14 years too late on this, but yes, Dylan was dedicating it to Cohen (if he was still there). I never got to see Cohen's shows - I was actually planning to go with an employer who was a lifelong fan, but neither of us realized he had been ill and he passed away weeks later. Fortunately that London show fromby belfast
Bobby's brother. Inspired by the film Rebel Without a Cause, he convinced Bobby to record "I Fought the Law" from In Style with the Crickets, and later came up with the bottle-tapping rhythm and bass line for "Let Her Dance."by belfast
I didn't realize Electrical Audio had an online shop where you could buy equipment and merch, but they do and from what I can tell from their social media posts, it's been a much appreciated source of revenue for them. Albini famously would go into debt to keep EA afloat, even going deep into debt to keep the staff employed during COVID lockdown, and now that he's gone, some are coby belfast
I absolutely love the Beat - pains me that Dave is basically the only original member still touring while half of the original band has now passed.by belfast
Cohen's entry needs one correction. The paragraph on Death of a Ladies’ Man says: some worthy songs are there to be heard beneath the rubble: “True Love Leaves No Traces” and “I Can’t Forget.” "I Can't Forget" is actually the name of a song from I'm Your Man. I'm guessing it's supposed to be "Memories," not "I Can't Forget"? (Alby belfast
FWIW, the guy who wrote that Medium article is a notorious internet troll who was convicted of terrorist activities. This actually came up when Albini was making pro-trans statements and left my head spinning then, but IIRC he did apologize for it and discussed it as part of his regrettable “edgelordism” of that time. What he wrote was terrible, no denying that, but (like the “diary” extractsby belfast
For those who haven’t seen this, how Steve Albini spends Christmas:by belfast
This was a complete gut punch, I just played his stuff all day. When I was still in Chicago, I lived within walking distance of Electrical Audio, and even though I never had a reason to go in, much less record anything there, I loved the idea that it was around. I've read enough to know the antagonistic relationship he had with so many back in the day, but I didn't really know who heby belfast
I didn't get into ELO until I got that two-disc Strange Magic set from the mid-'90s, which used most of Ira's liner notes from the Afterglow box set. A pretty good listen, I think something like 3/4 of it consisted of their hit singles and I enjoy almost every one of them now. You can tell right away that Tandy's contributions were invaluable.by belfast
I didn't know the Cars were that old until Ric died and I saw his age. It's funny how even when the greatest and most visible rock n' roll artists were usually teenagers or barely in their 20's (Buddy Holly/The Crickets for example) you still had Chuck Berry who was close to 30 when he had his first major hit. I think the Clash were a bit older than their punk contemporaries tby belfast
Greg Norton just posted about this on Instagram less than hour ago with a photo of Irving Plaza - I guess he’s playing there tonight!by belfast
Since Outstanding Achievement in The Field of Excellence seems to be the pathway for induction for people who should've been in decades ago, I wish they'd pump up those numbers and start inducting acts that have been wrongfully overlooked at even the nomination stage. I don't want to wait for Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, Sonic Youth, etc. to rack up multiple nominations when they cby belfast
Another worthy of induction could be Lonnie Donegan. I actually don't listen to his music, but there's no doubt he inspired so many in the UK to go into pop music (including rock n' roll), so much that his impact may be highly undervalued (not to mention immense).by belfast
Announced on his Facebook page. After high school, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles, where he wrote "The Hippy Hippy Shake." That led to his signing with Del Fi Records, the same label that had signed Ritchie Valens. Del Fi then released Romero's definitive recording of his song, though the Beatles did a great rendition that was preserved by the BBC. Romero was later the first Latino tby belfast
Kind of a depressing analysis. I'd induct most of those people and you're basically saying the majority of them will never get the honor that's been bestowed to Jimmy Buffett and Foreigner. To be fair, I think Buffett and Lou Gramm should be honored for their charitable work, and in the grand scheme of things that's a legacy on par with making a great record. Maybe the HOFby belfast
FWIW, the Vulture article I linked to above notes: As one of urges us to remember about the Rock Hall: “They don’t have rules. There are no rules. They make up their own rules.”by belfast
Inductees are: Mary J. Blige Cher Foreigner Peter Frampton Kool & the Gang Dave Matthews Band Ozzy Osbourne A Tribe Called Quest And some wild committee picks... For "Musical Excellence": Jimmy Buffett (!) MC5 (of course they had to wait until Kramer died) Dionne Warwick Norman Whitfield For "Musical Influence": Alexis Korner John Mayall Big Mamby belfast
I haven't followed his whole career (close to everything I've heard is from his first ten years of recording) but I'm definitely a fan and got to know him through rock critics who have championed him. Don McLeese and the late Jimmy Guterman especially thought the world of him.by belfast
FWIW, I just found this month-old article where they interview two anonymous voters.by belfast
With the Clash debut, I don't really have a straight answer as to which version is THE one. I'm tempted to say it depends on one's listening habits. I pretty much listen to their entire catalog regularly (with the exception of the misbegotten Cut the Crap which does at least have a great single), so I strongly prefer the original UK album. The US version feels very much like a compby belfast
Did the U.S. CD of Pure Mania use the U.S. LP mix? FWIW, I don't think the CD has ever been remastered in the U.S., so there should only be one CD version here.by belfast