Desert Island Music Album Draft 2013 - draft complete
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with the ninth pick in the thirteenth round of the 2013 Desert Island Music Draft, i select...
Blue Sky Black Death - Noir (04/26/11):
01 Our Hearts of Ruin
02 Sleeping Children are Still Flying
03 And Stars, Ringed
04 To the Ends of the Earth
05 Farewell to the Former World
06 Falling Short
07 Gold in Gold Out
08 Where Do We Go
09 In the Quiet Absence of God
10 Where the Sun Beats
11 Starry
12 Fire for Light
13 Swords from Driftwood
14 Sky with Hand
Genre: instrumental hip hop, electronica, downtempo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noir_(BSBD_album)
a great many of my picks have been atmospheric in nature. they've been mood music, the kind of songs more often tailored to tone and feeling rather than catchiness. Noir is no different. it is a beautiful piece of electronic music, built upon beats that are distinctly hip hop in nature, but bereft of traditional vocals and awash with the kind of keyboards and synthesizers that invoke the IDM of past, and the EDM of now... think Boards of Canada after the first time they listened to DJ Shadow, and you'd probably end up in the neighborhood of Blue Sky Black Death...
there's no major narrative arc to accompany this selection, as i wanted to pick an album that i had first streamed online not too long ago, completely devoid of context. a great many of my favorite albums have no story attached. they're simply discoveries that anybody could happen upon via the kind of accessibility that the internet has afforded us in our current culutral landscape. i found Noir through a sea of mouse clicks, and i was in love at first listen. record stores, crate digging, influence, conversation: these were the terms under which i first encountered my obsession with music. those early experiences were important to me, and i look back at them fondly. but i am not an old soul trapped in a young man's body. i am as overjoyed by the boundlessness of the internet as the next music nerd, clicking through the links to find a place for my ears to rest, if only for an hour at a time...
Blue Sky Black Death - Noir (04/26/11):
01 Our Hearts of Ruin
02 Sleeping Children are Still Flying
03 And Stars, Ringed
04 To the Ends of the Earth
05 Farewell to the Former World
06 Falling Short
07 Gold in Gold Out
08 Where Do We Go
09 In the Quiet Absence of God
10 Where the Sun Beats
11 Starry
12 Fire for Light
13 Swords from Driftwood
14 Sky with Hand
Genre: instrumental hip hop, electronica, downtempo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noir_(BSBD_album)
a great many of my picks have been atmospheric in nature. they've been mood music, the kind of songs more often tailored to tone and feeling rather than catchiness. Noir is no different. it is a beautiful piece of electronic music, built upon beats that are distinctly hip hop in nature, but bereft of traditional vocals and awash with the kind of keyboards and synthesizers that invoke the IDM of past, and the EDM of now... think Boards of Canada after the first time they listened to DJ Shadow, and you'd probably end up in the neighborhood of Blue Sky Black Death...
there's no major narrative arc to accompany this selection, as i wanted to pick an album that i had first streamed online not too long ago, completely devoid of context. a great many of my favorite albums have no story attached. they're simply discoveries that anybody could happen upon via the kind of accessibility that the internet has afforded us in our current culutral landscape. i found Noir through a sea of mouse clicks, and i was in love at first listen. record stores, crate digging, influence, conversation: these were the terms under which i first encountered my obsession with music. those early experiences were important to me, and i look back at them fondly. but i am not an old soul trapped in a young man's body. i am as overjoyed by the boundlessness of the internet as the next music nerd, clicking through the links to find a place for my ears to rest, if only for an hour at a time...
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Methinks Padrino and I would end up fighting over the radio 
So in exactly the same genre, EXACTLY, my next pick is:
Heartbeat City - The Cars - 1984
These New Wave synth rockers were ultimate masters of the pop hook, but don't seem to do very well in these drafts, so I figured I could let them linger until the later rounds. They were a huge band stateside in the late 70s/early 80s and cranked out literally dozens of catchy hits (their Best of Albums are literally 20 deep with familiar tunes) over about a decade's time. Not really sure why their penetration was limited overseas as they were at the heart of the New Wave movement and had a euro sound. There are actually at least 3 albums of theirs that I could take to my island, but I'm going to intentionally take a different one than I did in the last draft, and go for their big 80s album Heartbeat City. "Magic" is my favorite song on this one, "Drive" was the big international hit, but I'm going to post one of the most famous videos of the early MTV era with "You Might Think". Ironically this album was both the peak for The Cars popularity, and set the stage for their downfall, in large part because of the videos which helped make them famous. The Cars used a dual vocalist structure, with bassist Benjamin Orr as the primary vocalist and song writer, and tall gawky rhythm guitarist Rik Ocasik as the second. But it was Ocasik's distinctive look which became instantly associated with the band when his songs were attached to their videos, and it helped created a schism in the group that tore them up a few years later.
P.S. Believe it or not Ocasik went on to marry the hotty model from this video (Paulina Porizkova). It pays to play an instrument, no matter how strange looking you are.
Also
Magic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJFmXYWIvw
Drive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxmCYAI-528
So in exactly the same genre, EXACTLY, my next pick is:
Heartbeat City - The Cars - 1984
These New Wave synth rockers were ultimate masters of the pop hook, but don't seem to do very well in these drafts, so I figured I could let them linger until the later rounds. They were a huge band stateside in the late 70s/early 80s and cranked out literally dozens of catchy hits (their Best of Albums are literally 20 deep with familiar tunes) over about a decade's time. Not really sure why their penetration was limited overseas as they were at the heart of the New Wave movement and had a euro sound. There are actually at least 3 albums of theirs that I could take to my island, but I'm going to intentionally take a different one than I did in the last draft, and go for their big 80s album Heartbeat City. "Magic" is my favorite song on this one, "Drive" was the big international hit, but I'm going to post one of the most famous videos of the early MTV era with "You Might Think". Ironically this album was both the peak for The Cars popularity, and set the stage for their downfall, in large part because of the videos which helped make them famous. The Cars used a dual vocalist structure, with bassist Benjamin Orr as the primary vocalist and song writer, and tall gawky rhythm guitarist Rik Ocasik as the second. But it was Ocasik's distinctive look which became instantly associated with the band when his songs were attached to their videos, and it helped created a schism in the group that tore them up a few years later.
P.S. Believe it or not Ocasik went on to marry the hotty model from this video (Paulina Porizkova). It pays to play an instrument, no matter how strange looking you are.
Also
Magic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJFmXYWIvw
Drive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxmCYAI-528
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Methinks Padrino and I would end up fighting over the radio
So in exactly the same genre, EXACTLY, my next pick is:
Heartbeat City - the Cars - 1984
So in exactly the same genre, EXACTLY, my next pick is:
Heartbeat City - the Cars - 1984
With the two hundred third pick, Mr. Slim Citrus selects:
Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
One of the seminal rap albums of my generation, another release which helped introduced me to the music of the seventies which I love so much. It was Dre's solo debut, released after his departure from N.W.A., Dre went right after his ex-group mate, Eazy-E. It's widely recognized as a classic, and credited by many for introducing the world to "G-Funk," a subgenre of gangsta rap. The album didn't really get any airplay in the town I went to high school in, so the first time I had much opportunity to hear it was when I got to college, and I was captivated. There's even a track or two on the album in which Dre flexes his social commentary muscles a little; it's more than a little sad that recent events cause such tracks to continue to be relevant in 2013, but that line of conversation is inappropriate for this message board, so I'll decline to elaborate.
Commercially, the album was very successful: it peaked at Number Three on the Billboard Top 200, and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for two Grammys, and won one, for Let Me Ride (cite: Wikipedia).
Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
One of the seminal rap albums of my generation, another release which helped introduced me to the music of the seventies which I love so much. It was Dre's solo debut, released after his departure from N.W.A., Dre went right after his ex-group mate, Eazy-E. It's widely recognized as a classic, and credited by many for introducing the world to "G-Funk," a subgenre of gangsta rap. The album didn't really get any airplay in the town I went to high school in, so the first time I had much opportunity to hear it was when I got to college, and I was captivated. There's even a track or two on the album in which Dre flexes his social commentary muscles a little; it's more than a little sad that recent events cause such tracks to continue to be relevant in 2013, but that line of conversation is inappropriate for this message board, so I'll decline to elaborate.
Commercially, the album was very successful: it peaked at Number Three on the Billboard Top 200, and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for two Grammys, and won one, for Let Me Ride (cite: Wikipedia).
Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand (1994)
wiki
A boatload of very short (almost sketches of) ultra catchy pop songs with no production whatsoever. Bob Pollard (vocalist) said that they wanted to sound like a Beatles bootleg, which is the best possible way to describe early GBV sound and this album in particular.
Nothing special or groundbreaking here but for some reason these songs really hit my chords and never fail to move or lift me.
wiki
A boatload of very short (almost sketches of) ultra catchy pop songs with no production whatsoever. Bob Pollard (vocalist) said that they wanted to sound like a Beatles bootleg, which is the best possible way to describe early GBV sound and this album in particular.
Nothing special or groundbreaking here but for some reason these songs really hit my chords and never fail to move or lift me.
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Remain Seated Please.
Permanecer Sentados Por Favor.
Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt (1995)
If you had told me in 1995 that one day I would eagerly add Tragic Kingdom to my music collection AND Gwen Stefani would be an enduring sex symbol nearly 20 years later, my head might have exploded. At the time, I thought Stefani was just some weird punker girl. She dressed weird, she sang weird and the fans of No Doubt, and specifically Stefani, were pretty weird themselves.
Needless to say, I've come around.
The number of monster singles that became fairly ubiquitous in the mid-to-late 90s from Tragic Kingdom (Just a Girl, Spiderwebs, Don't Speak, Excuse Me Mr., Sunday Morning) make it look a bit like a greatest hits album. It's easy to see how the "weird punker girl" morphed into a pop icon later in her career.
But even discounting the hits, there's nothing on the album I would necessarily consider as filler. Two more songs were released as singles that either didn't do well (Happy Now?) or inexplicably, was only released in Denmark (Hey You) that I still really enjoy. Another I "thought" was one of their hit singles (End it On This) because for some reason I heard it everywhere at the time. And the rest range from uplifting, ska punk/reggae fun (Different People, Sixteen, World Go 'Round) to rather ominous and soulful (The Climb).
My clear cut favorite though is the title track that closes the album: an eerie, metaphorical and sarcastic swipe at Disneyland. I'm certain had this been released as a single in '95, I would have come around much earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragic_Kingdom
Permanecer Sentados Por Favor.
Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt (1995)
If you had told me in 1995 that one day I would eagerly add Tragic Kingdom to my music collection AND Gwen Stefani would be an enduring sex symbol nearly 20 years later, my head might have exploded. At the time, I thought Stefani was just some weird punker girl. She dressed weird, she sang weird and the fans of No Doubt, and specifically Stefani, were pretty weird themselves.
Needless to say, I've come around.
The number of monster singles that became fairly ubiquitous in the mid-to-late 90s from Tragic Kingdom (Just a Girl, Spiderwebs, Don't Speak, Excuse Me Mr., Sunday Morning) make it look a bit like a greatest hits album. It's easy to see how the "weird punker girl" morphed into a pop icon later in her career.
But even discounting the hits, there's nothing on the album I would necessarily consider as filler. Two more songs were released as singles that either didn't do well (Happy Now?) or inexplicably, was only released in Denmark (Hey You) that I still really enjoy. Another I "thought" was one of their hit singles (End it On This) because for some reason I heard it everywhere at the time. And the rest range from uplifting, ska punk/reggae fun (Different People, Sixteen, World Go 'Round) to rather ominous and soulful (The Climb).
My clear cut favorite though is the title track that closes the album: an eerie, metaphorical and sarcastic swipe at Disneyland. I'm certain had this been released as a single in '95, I would have come around much earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragic_Kingdom
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August and Everything After - Counting Crows (1993) (wiki link)
August and Everything After is one of the few albums that I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard it - sitting on the floor in the dorm room of a girl who would go on to become one of my closest lifelong friends. The funny thing is, I didn't think much of it the first time I heard it, but over the course of a year or two I heard it again and again, and it grew on me. It's good music, no doubt, it's got magical little pieces of poetry in the lyrics ("In the middle of the night there's an old man threading his toes through a bucket of rain/Hey mister, you don't want to walk on water, you're only going to walk all over me") but I think that my favorite part of this album is that it soaks into me like an old friendship. My old college friends have all scattered with the winds, but I can put this album on and bring them all back to me for an hour. Oh, Adam Duritz has a whiny singing voice? I don't care. This album comes with me.
(Link to Round Here)
(link to Raining In Baltimore)
August and Everything After is one of the few albums that I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard it - sitting on the floor in the dorm room of a girl who would go on to become one of my closest lifelong friends. The funny thing is, I didn't think much of it the first time I heard it, but over the course of a year or two I heard it again and again, and it grew on me. It's good music, no doubt, it's got magical little pieces of poetry in the lyrics ("In the middle of the night there's an old man threading his toes through a bucket of rain/Hey mister, you don't want to walk on water, you're only going to walk all over me") but I think that my favorite part of this album is that it soaks into me like an old friendship. My old college friends have all scattered with the winds, but I can put this album on and bring them all back to me for an hour. Oh, Adam Duritz has a whiny singing voice? I don't care. This album comes with me.
(Link to Round Here)
(link to Raining In Baltimore)
Wait, back up: Gwen Stefani is an enduring what? I mean, she doesn't have the sort of physique that I'm attracted to, but I can admit that she is, objectively, an attractive woman, by most reasonable standards. But, an enduring sex symbol? Totally not feeling it.
Good call on Tragic Kingdom, though: I had it pretty high on my "maybe" list.
Good call on Tragic Kingdom, though: I had it pretty high on my "maybe" list.
Tragic Kingdom is one I was sad to miss last time and one I would have taken in early rounds had I not limited myself to albums ignored last time. Glad someone took it, though. That album has aged particularly well.
Anywho, pick coming...
Oh, and unlike Slim, I'm definitely feeling it on the Stefani subject. I much preferred the vaguely retro rocker/rockabilly chick style she had for so long to her current pop/glam look, but she's still one of my favorites.
Anywho, pick coming...
Oh, and unlike Slim, I'm definitely feeling it on the Stefani subject. I much preferred the vaguely retro rocker/rockabilly chick style she had for so long to her current pop/glam look, but she's still one of my favorites.
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Okay, just about to head out but didn't want to leave the board hanging, so making this one short and sweet. My next pick is:
Crazy Rhythms -- The Feelies (1980) http://www.allmusic.com/album/crazy-rhythms-mw0000189951
Particularly good post-punk new wave from one of the most influential bands you've probably never heard of. The title track is good, as is opener "The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness," but I'm especially fond of their cover of the Beatles' "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)." Also, again to whatever degree it matters, I will specify that I'm taking the original release version. There was a later reissue with an added cover (of the Stones' "Paint It, Black"), but the change in voice and style between when the original album was recorded and when the bonus track was recorded make the otherwise good cover stick out like a sore thumb. Not needed.
"The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-oH3z-Mzc0
"Crazy Rhythms": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05GTWKu4uU8
"Loveless Love": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hre4V52H1qs
full album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI9Z4hb8fbc
Crazy Rhythms -- The Feelies (1980) http://www.allmusic.com/album/crazy-rhythms-mw0000189951
Particularly good post-punk new wave from one of the most influential bands you've probably never heard of. The title track is good, as is opener "The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness," but I'm especially fond of their cover of the Beatles' "Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)." Also, again to whatever degree it matters, I will specify that I'm taking the original release version. There was a later reissue with an added cover (of the Stones' "Paint It, Black"), but the change in voice and style between when the original album was recorded and when the bonus track was recorded make the otherwise good cover stick out like a sore thumb. Not needed.
"The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-oH3z-Mzc0
"Crazy Rhythms": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05GTWKu4uU8
"Loveless Love": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hre4V52H1qs
full album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI9Z4hb8fbc
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With the two hundred third pick, Mr. Slim Citrus selects:
Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
One of the seminal rap albums of my generation, another release which helped introduced me to the music of the seventies which I love so much. It was Dre's solo debut, released after his departure from N.W.A., Dre went right after his ex-group mate, Eazy-E. It's widely recognized as a classic, and credited by many for introducing the world to "G-Funk," a subgenre of gangsta rap. The album didn't really get any airplay in the town I went to high school in, so the first time I had much opportunity to hear it was when I got to college, and I was captivated. There's even a track or two on the album in which Dre flexes his social commentary muscles a little; it's more than a little sad that recent events cause such tracks to continue to be relevant in 2013, but that line of conversation is inappropriate for this message board, so I'll decline to elaborate.
Commercially, the album was very successful: it peaked at Number Three on the Billboard Top 200, and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for two Grammys, and won one, for Let Me Ride (cite: Wikipedia).
Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
One of the seminal rap albums of my generation, another release which helped introduced me to the music of the seventies which I love so much. It was Dre's solo debut, released after his departure from N.W.A., Dre went right after his ex-group mate, Eazy-E. It's widely recognized as a classic, and credited by many for introducing the world to "G-Funk," a subgenre of gangsta rap. The album didn't really get any airplay in the town I went to high school in, so the first time I had much opportunity to hear it was when I got to college, and I was captivated. There's even a track or two on the album in which Dre flexes his social commentary muscles a little; it's more than a little sad that recent events cause such tracks to continue to be relevant in 2013, but that line of conversation is inappropriate for this message board, so I'll decline to elaborate.
Commercially, the album was very successful: it peaked at Number Three on the Billboard Top 200, and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. It was nominated for two Grammys, and won one, for Let Me Ride (cite: Wikipedia).
ok after some careful shuffling I have finally made a decision.
With the Final Selection of the 13th Round my next pic is:
All Eyez on Me- 2Pac-1996
wiki
Guess Since Slim decided to STEAL Dr. Dre right from under my nose I have decided to go with one of my other favorite Rap albums of all time. I think this pick shows I have a very VAST musical taste. I love every song on this album. I am sure I got many looks driving my 1968 Cougar with this album playing loudly. I always thought I was so cool back then. LOL. Some of my favorites on the album are "Cant C me" "picture me rollin" "life goes on" and "California Love". My entire playlist is about memories and having this album on my island will bring back plenty of fond ones.
With the Final Selection of the 13th Round my next pic is:
All Eyez on Me- 2Pac-1996
wiki
Guess Since Slim decided to STEAL Dr. Dre right from under my nose I have decided to go with one of my other favorite Rap albums of all time. I think this pick shows I have a very VAST musical taste. I love every song on this album. I am sure I got many looks driving my 1968 Cougar with this album playing loudly. I always thought I was so cool back then. LOL. Some of my favorites on the album are "Cant C me" "picture me rollin" "life goes on" and "California Love". My entire playlist is about memories and having this album on my island will bring back plenty of fond ones.
With the first selection of the 14th Round my Next Pick is:
Korn-Follow the Leader-1998
wiki
I was so excited when this album was released. As I loved the previous album I just knew this one was also going to be great. "Freak on a Leash" is one of my favorite songs of all time. Some of my other favorites on the album are "got the life", "all in the family", "Pretty" and "Children of the Korn" featuring Ice Cube.
This album will definitely be played at loud volumes on my island. Hopefully there will be some monkeys or something that I can start a mosh pit with!
Korn-Follow the Leader-1998
wiki
I was so excited when this album was released. As I loved the previous album I just knew this one was also going to be great. "Freak on a Leash" is one of my favorite songs of all time. Some of my other favorites on the album are "got the life", "all in the family", "Pretty" and "Children of the Korn" featuring Ice Cube.
This album will definitely be played at loud volumes on my island. Hopefully there will be some monkeys or something that I can start a mosh pit with!
As I have now, for at least the third time in this draft, completely switched my pick mid- write up, I have a couple of requests. Firstly, is there any chance we could extend this thing a few more rounds? I've still got too much left I want. And secondly, if not, is there any chance people could start taking things on my list? Please? It would be sad to see some of this stuff go, but it'd sure help make my decisions easier. Kthxbye. And now, after much deliberation and inner turmoil, with the second pick of the 14th round I'm taking:
Chris Isaak -- Chris Isaak (1986) http://www.allmusic.com/album/chris-isaak-mw0000194233
No, this isn't the album with that song on it. That's a later album. And it's a good one. But this is the album where I first learned that Chris Isaak was someone other than a vaguely famous Stockton native who I didn't much know or care about. My dad had this album and as a wee young child, I loved it. I practically stole my dad's album and made it my own. Then I dubbed it onto a cassette so I could listen to it on my walkman and on car trips. I knew every word and loved every sound. Many years later, I still do. The Orbison-esque crooning, the surf guitar, and the rockabilly costumes have made him occasionally easy to dismiss as pastiche. And it's a pretty fair criticism. But who cares? The Orbison comparisons exist largely because Isaak can sing his patoot off. And James Wilsey's surf-ish guitar sounds damned amazing.
"Lover's Game": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuhnRCzzrvI
"You Owe Me Some Kind of Love": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcebVaeotw
"Cryin'": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDRXs0vOrqg
Chris Isaak -- Chris Isaak (1986) http://www.allmusic.com/album/chris-isaak-mw0000194233
No, this isn't the album with that song on it. That's a later album. And it's a good one. But this is the album where I first learned that Chris Isaak was someone other than a vaguely famous Stockton native who I didn't much know or care about. My dad had this album and as a wee young child, I loved it. I practically stole my dad's album and made it my own. Then I dubbed it onto a cassette so I could listen to it on my walkman and on car trips. I knew every word and loved every sound. Many years later, I still do. The Orbison-esque crooning, the surf guitar, and the rockabilly costumes have made him occasionally easy to dismiss as pastiche. And it's a pretty fair criticism. But who cares? The Orbison comparisons exist largely because Isaak can sing his patoot off. And James Wilsey's surf-ish guitar sounds damned amazing.
"Lover's Game": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuhnRCzzrvI
"You Owe Me Some Kind of Love": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcebVaeotw
"Cryin'": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDRXs0vOrqg
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Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (2002) (wiki link)
Yeah, I know. Weird title. Yoshimi is an album filled with the sort of psychedelic electronica that just grabs your attention and doesn't let go. I remember hearing the title track and just immediately going to buy this new album from a band who at the time I didn't realize had even released anything since their one radio hit in the early '90s. Yoshimi is often thought of as a concept album, but apart from a few of the opening songs dealing with robots it doesn't actually have a unified conceptual theme, though it does have a unified musical style which helps to perpetuate that perception. So far my island doesn't really have anything that approaches electronica (I'm both intrigued but kinda picky about the genre) so here I'm filling that void while also getting my dose of gigantic evil Japanese robots. Win-win.
(link to Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1, the easy hook on the album)
(Link to Fight Test)
(Link to Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell)
Yeah, I know. Weird title. Yoshimi is an album filled with the sort of psychedelic electronica that just grabs your attention and doesn't let go. I remember hearing the title track and just immediately going to buy this new album from a band who at the time I didn't realize had even released anything since their one radio hit in the early '90s. Yoshimi is often thought of as a concept album, but apart from a few of the opening songs dealing with robots it doesn't actually have a unified conceptual theme, though it does have a unified musical style which helps to perpetuate that perception. So far my island doesn't really have anything that approaches electronica (I'm both intrigued but kinda picky about the genre) so here I'm filling that void while also getting my dose of gigantic evil Japanese robots. Win-win.
(link to Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1, the easy hook on the album)
(Link to Fight Test)
(Link to Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell)
If we were to restart the draft, my next pick would easily be among my top five. There are some very good reasons I'm only now taking it here in round 14 though, chief among them being that prior to the draft, I had no idea I would become a Fiona Apple fan.
When the Pawn ... - Fiona Apple (1999)
I freely admit it. I'm a bandwagoner, a newbie, a wannabe poser arriving painfully late to the party. Whatever, call me all the names you want, as long as I still get to join the club. Fiona Apple is amazing and I would have never learned that had I not entered this draft and actually bothered to listen to the songs Gadget posted when she picked The Idler Wheel. I could not believe every song I played, one after the other, I liked better than the one before it. By the time I'd finished the whole album, I was hooked.
Of course, I knew of Fiona Apple in the 90s, which is to say I knew her name and recognized "Fast as You Can" and a few other singles. But in my ignorance, really expected her to be just another soulful, alternative act the decade pumped out like a factory.
But she has a unique intensity and edge, particularly here on When the Pawn, that truly shocked me. Certainly, the poetic complexity of her lyrics and range of emotions she brings add exponentially to that. And of course she is also gloriously gifted at softer, soul-filled songs when she chooses. But I focus on the "intensity" because that's what sealed my newfound fandom and really comes to light during her live performances.
Here she is performing "Limp" on Letterman to promote the release of When the Pawn in '00. The audio is bad, the setting is kind of cheesy and there are points when the backing band starts to compete with her vocals. Yet, through all that, she still utterly kills it. And this is just the one live performance I could actually post. She brings it every time and no two performances are the same. It is absolutely awe-inspiring.
Notice her pained facial expressions, thousand yard stare at the end and spastic, slightly terrifying dance moves throughout. A lot of musicians will do things on stage during live performances that seem thoroughly unnatural to me, but are somehow expected as proof that the act is rocking. Nothing she does seems forced. I totally buy that she is just that into the music and the moment. Somehow, she manages to bottle that intensity into When the Pawn as well.
I'm new to the fandom and am likely compensating for missing out nearly two decades, but I'm decidedly glad and grateful this draft finally, formally introduced me to Fiona Apple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Pawn...
When the Pawn ... - Fiona Apple (1999)
I freely admit it. I'm a bandwagoner, a newbie, a wannabe poser arriving painfully late to the party. Whatever, call me all the names you want, as long as I still get to join the club. Fiona Apple is amazing and I would have never learned that had I not entered this draft and actually bothered to listen to the songs Gadget posted when she picked The Idler Wheel. I could not believe every song I played, one after the other, I liked better than the one before it. By the time I'd finished the whole album, I was hooked.
Of course, I knew of Fiona Apple in the 90s, which is to say I knew her name and recognized "Fast as You Can" and a few other singles. But in my ignorance, really expected her to be just another soulful, alternative act the decade pumped out like a factory.
But she has a unique intensity and edge, particularly here on When the Pawn, that truly shocked me. Certainly, the poetic complexity of her lyrics and range of emotions she brings add exponentially to that. And of course she is also gloriously gifted at softer, soul-filled songs when she chooses. But I focus on the "intensity" because that's what sealed my newfound fandom and really comes to light during her live performances.
Here she is performing "Limp" on Letterman to promote the release of When the Pawn in '00. The audio is bad, the setting is kind of cheesy and there are points when the backing band starts to compete with her vocals. Yet, through all that, she still utterly kills it. And this is just the one live performance I could actually post. She brings it every time and no two performances are the same. It is absolutely awe-inspiring.
Notice her pained facial expressions, thousand yard stare at the end and spastic, slightly terrifying dance moves throughout. A lot of musicians will do things on stage during live performances that seem thoroughly unnatural to me, but are somehow expected as proof that the act is rocking. Nothing she does seems forced. I totally buy that she is just that into the music and the moment. Somehow, she manages to bottle that intensity into When the Pawn as well.
I'm new to the fandom and am likely compensating for missing out nearly two decades, but I'm decidedly glad and grateful this draft finally, formally introduced me to Fiona Apple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Pawn...
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We now have a list of Albums by Drafter:
http://www.kingsfans.com/forums/sho...t-2013-RD-14?p=1001779&viewfull=1#post1001779
http://www.kingsfans.com/forums/sho...t-2013-RD-14?p=1001779&viewfull=1#post1001779
With the two hundred fourteenth pick, Mr. Slim Citrus selects:
Soundgarden, Superunknown (1994)
I've worked out that I have room on my island for one more rock album, and since Löwenherz got me for Tragic Kingdom (and yes, I know it's a little bit of a stretch to refer to TK as a "rock" album; back up off me), I'm going with the next man up. I'd first become aware of this album because of Black Hole Sun, and had a chance to hear it at a listening station at Tower Records. The grunge subgenre isn't really my bag, so I was surprised by how solid I thought the album was, all the way through; it's been holding down the rock portion of my CD collection since the mid-nineties.
The album enjoyed tremendous success, commercially, peaking at Number One on the Billboard 200, and was certified 5x Platinum. It spawned five Top 20 singles (although my personal favorite, Limo Wreck, is not among them), including the chart-topping Black Hole Sun, and went 2-for-4 at the 1995 Grammys, including Best Hard Rock Performance, for Black Hole Sun (cite: Wikipedia).
Soundgarden, Superunknown (1994)
I've worked out that I have room on my island for one more rock album, and since Löwenherz got me for Tragic Kingdom (and yes, I know it's a little bit of a stretch to refer to TK as a "rock" album; back up off me), I'm going with the next man up. I'd first become aware of this album because of Black Hole Sun, and had a chance to hear it at a listening station at Tower Records. The grunge subgenre isn't really my bag, so I was surprised by how solid I thought the album was, all the way through; it's been holding down the rock portion of my CD collection since the mid-nineties.
The album enjoyed tremendous success, commercially, peaking at Number One on the Billboard 200, and was certified 5x Platinum. It spawned five Top 20 singles (although my personal favorite, Limo Wreck, is not among them), including the chart-topping Black Hole Sun, and went 2-for-4 at the 1995 Grammys, including Best Hard Rock Performance, for Black Hole Sun (cite: Wikipedia).
- Status