Desert Island Music Draft Thread *** draft is over ***

[Warhawk]

erasure - wild! (1989)

Ha!

Erasure is the group I was talking about:

I am still trying to fit in probably my favorite band of all in some ways, but am trying to figure out the best way to do so.....

As I really like their singles and remixes more than the regular CDs. Slim already told me no on the option to pick CD singles, but they have lots of albums and I was going to pick one in the next round.

My favorite song of theirs is probably Oh L'Amour (Matt Derey Mix). My favoite songs off Wild! are the following single remixes: Star (Interstellar Mix) and Drama (Act II). I just make a mix CD of their single remixes and rock on down the road.

Wild! is a good album, and probably one of my top 3 of theirs. Nice choice.

 

[D-Mass]

Next pick:

Van Halen - 1984 (um...1984)

This is another album that I didn't intend to pick here, but it was still available and I thought I should snatch it up. In 1984 this album was second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller and it was David Lee Roth's last album with the band. "Panama" is one of my favorite songs of all time, and the album featured other big hits..."Jump," "I'll Wait," and "Hot For Teacher." I'm not a HUGE fan of Van Halen, but I love this album and it is one of the best from Roth's era...I'm definitely NOT a fan of "Van Haggar."...bleh...

 

[D-Mass]

By the way, GREAT pick GGG...I love that album.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I may be stepping out of the seventies for a little while after this; I haven't decided:

Parliament - Mothership Connection - 1976

I feel that this album defined a style, and laid the groundwork for "P-funk," which would go on to inspire the "G-funk" era of the early nineties. An album of listenable tracks that included three hits: P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up), Mothership Connection (Star Child) and Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker).

 

[Bricklayer]

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts -- I Love Rock N' Roll (1981)

Joan Jett was a badass back in the day. In an era when men claiming to be rock and rollers were stuffing their packages into spandex stirrup pants and heading off to the salon for a perm, Jett was the original riot grrl throwing down a double shot of Jack Daniels before staggering up on stage to belt out a tune. You give me a cage match between Joan Jett and Kip Winger, and I am taking the chick every time (and after she was done with Winger she would have kicked my *** for calling her a chick). And while I pondered taking her first album, which truly had a punkish feel -- full of good songs fighting their way through crappy production and a shaky backup band -- it was this much more professional album that sold 10 million copies and made her world famous and a name that still has meaning to this day. And I'm getting all sorts of bang for my buck here again -- the title track of course is one of the most famous anthems ever belted out. But there is also personal fave power ballad Crimson and Clover and an entire album really designed as an homage to rock and roll. There are punk tracks, 50's inspired tracks, great covers of Louie Louie and Summertime Blues (as well as one of Little Drummer Boy, a song which my dad always loved for some reason), all belted out in a ballsy rasp. Its great fun.

 

[Spike]

I know this might be an unknown for some of you, but for those into prog rock (Kansas, Yes, etc.), this is one of the best ones out there:

Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ended up being received very well by critics and the press. It was the most publicized of Dream Theater's albums since Awake, debuting on the Billboard charts at #46[1] and the Billboard Internet charts at #1.[15] Throughout the next year and a half they toured the world once more, with an expanded live show including a select few special "album cover" gigs (see Cover songs section, below), in which they played Metallica's Master of Puppets and Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast in their entirety.

 

[Kingzrool]

Time to get this one out of the way, just in case.

Boogie Down Productions - By all Means Necessary - 1988

This is basically the first politically conscious hiphop album. KRS-ONE is credited with originating both gangster rap and politically conscious hiphop. You can pretty much determine the legitamacy of a hiphop artist by whether they have this album or not. Each song sets a style that artists use to this day. When I first heard this record, I was in shock. I taped over whatever I had on my person. "My Philosophy" is still the best rap song ever recorded. The original T-Cha, KRS-ONE, sets out to "educate" the hiphop youth culture, with "Jimmy", a plead to the youth to use condoms, "Stop The Violence", a truly original theme in the culture, and "Illegal Business", a story about life in the hood "Illegal business controls America". I think that this album shaped hiphop more than any other rap album ever made.

From WIKI:

By All Means Necessary is the second album from hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, released May 10, 1988, on Jive Records. After the murder of DJ/Producer Scott La Rock in 1987, MC KRS-One moved away from the violence that dominated their debut Criminal Minded and began to write socially conscious songs, while using the moniker "The Teacher". As of September 25, 1989, the album has been certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.[3] The album cover with KRS-One and the title reference Malcolm X.
Many themes, which surface a minimalist production accompanied by hard-hitting drum beats, cover social issues that include government and police corruption, safe sex, government involvement in the drug trade, and violence in the hip hop community. The album is widely seen as one of, if not, the first politically conscious efforts in hip-hop. Allmusic.com described the album as "a landmark of political rap" and Rolling Stone praised its social commentary.[4] Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone wrote that "Over irresistible beats provided by his BDP cohorts, KRS delivers the word on the drug trade, AIDS and violence – three forces that threaten to destroy minority communities".[5] In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time. [6]

Sorry if it is too much, but the lyrics from the last song, done in a spoken word format, outline KRS-ONE's goals with this album:

When some get together and think of rap, they tend to think of violence
But when they are challenged on some rock group, the result is always silence
Even before the rock and roll era, violence played a big part in music
It's all according to your meaning of violence and how or in which way you use it
No, it's not violent to show in movies the destruction of the human body
But yes, of course it's violent to protect yourself at a party
And, oh no, it's not violent when under the christmas tree is a look-alike gun
But, yes, of course it's violent to have an album like KRS-One
By all means necessary, it's time to end the hypocrisy
What I call violence, I can't do , but your kind of violence is stopping me
By all means necessary, the rap audience must grow up
The same type of fightin' we do, they do except we've got nothing to blow up
It doesn`t matter if you win or lose, it's only how good you play the game
This is the oldest sneak attack, because it takes away our senses to gain
If all I do is play the game then I am just mediocre
We strive to be the best we can be, not to just get over
Some people say that life on a whole is serious and nothing is funny
That's only if you base your life around competition and money
Yeah, I'm making some money, he's making some money, but none of these things are necessities
What I find to be a necessity is controlling a positive destiny
With this, money, fame, glory and credit will come in time
The people down with me know this every minute they hear me sayin rhymes
I got some friends, I got some allies like Stet, and Big Daddy Kane
They know that by all means necessary that peace is the name of this game
Whether peace by war, or peace by peace, the reality of peace is scary
But we must get there, one way or another, by all means necessary.

 

[Kingzrool]

And for the first pick of the 13th round......

Erikah Badu - Worldwide Underground - 2003

Erikah is a must have and for me this is her grooviest/funkiest album.

1. "World Keeps Turnin' (Intro)" – 1:39
2. "Bump It" – 8:49
3. "Back in the Day (Puff)" – 4:46
4. "I Want You" – 10:53
5. "Woo" – 3:14
6. "The Grind" – 2:49
7. "Danger" – 5:49
8. "Think Twice" – 3:02
9. "Love of My Life Worldwide (featuring Queen Latifah, Bahamadia & Angie Stone)" – 5:26
10. "World Keeps Turnin' (Outro)" – 4:01

Good stuff.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Good call on Worldwide Underground; wasn't on my draft board, but a good album nonetheless.

 

[Spike]

One of the better stories told through music. If you have not heard this album start to finish, I highly recommend it.

Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime (1988)

Operation: Mindcrime is Queensrÿche's third full-length album, which was released on May 3, 1988. It is a concept album about a man becoming disillusioned with American society, and joining in a conspiratorial plot to assassinate its corrupt leaders, with spoken dialogue between songs that advances the story and ties the songs together. The album is generally considered to be the first, and still one of the most important and popular, progressive metal recordings. In January 1989, it ranked #34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time".

 

[GoGoGadget]

Good call on Worldwide Underground; wasn't on my draft board, but a good album nonetheless.

Agreed. My Erykah pick (which is still available, for the record) got knocked into the alternate section of my list and likely won't be making it to my island, but I absolutely adore her.

 

[Bricklayer]

Well, couple of things dangling and dangling out there, and I will feel kinda stupid for not nabbing them if somebody does in the 25 picks between this and my next pick, but screw it -- had this pairing tagged since the very early part of the draft as two I wanted to take on back to back picks (as the first might put people in mind of the second), so here we go:

Pat Benatar -- Crimes of Passion (1980)

Pat Benatar was a wonder back in the early 80s. She might not have been as hardcore as my last pick (Joan Jett), but in the space of 7 years she cranked out 9 Top 5 and 19 Top 40 hits and was just constantly on the charts -- you'd probably be hard pressed to find a 6 month period during those years where she didn't have a hit somewhere in the top 40 and on the radio. And she could sing. I mean really sing -- she was a trained opera singer before making the crossover into rock star, and was almost unique amongst rock singers in pretty much being able to go up and hit any note she needed to at any time. Her overall success was huge -- 6 platinum albums, 4 four more gold albums, 4 straight Grammys, and according to Billboard still the most successful female rock vocalist of all time -- but she is another one of those artists that I think is a classic Greatest Hits type purchase. Album after album after album with 2,3,4 great songs, but without that one great all time signature album. But Crimes of Passion is the closest one to that level I think, and features two of my all time favorites of hers in Hit Me With Your Best Shot and Hell is For Children, as well as Treat Me Right, Wuthering Heights, Prisoner of Love etc.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Writeup to follow a little later:

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis - 1970

 

[D-Mass]

My next pick:

The Samples - The Last Drag (1993)

I rarely venture away from the mainstream, but in college I was exposed to a lot of things I wouldn't normally listen to. This is one of those bands I discovered in my freshman year of college, and to this day I find myself listening to this album a lot. I love it from beginning to end. It's tough to classify their music, but wikipedia puts it this way: "The music has been described as 'reggae influenced rock/pop' and a cross between The Police and the Grateful Dead." They used to open for bands like The Allman Brothers, Blues Traveler, and I remember a concert they did in Santa Barbara with Phish on the bill. Interestingly, The Samples had a few future successful bands open for them: Dave Matthews, Lisa Loeb, and Hootie and the Blowfish. Anyway, Last Drag is a great mellow record and I listen to it whenever I want to remember the good ol' college days.

 

[GoGoGadget]

My next pick is one that I originally had much higher on my list, and expected to have taken from me on countless occasions, but I kept moving it farther and farther down because no one was getting anywhere close to anything that sounded like it.

Portishead -- Dummy (1994) -- And, perhaps the reason that no one was picking anything that sounded like Portishead is because there really isn't anything that sounds like Portishead. The band is usually lumped in with "trip hop," but was much more accessible than other members of the genre and were largely responsible for making the style mainstream (well... as mainstream as it ever got) here in the states. I was definitely one of those caught in that first wave of Portishead fans -- I heard "Sour Times" and "Glory Box" when I was still in high school and was instantly hooked. The lavish production, laid back beats, jazzy sound, and Beth Gibbons' haunting vocals are still every bit as fresh and exciting to me as they ever were, and this album alone was responsible for a huge amount of musical experimentation and discovery in my late teens. An absolute must for my island.

 

[atxrocker]

Portishead -- Dummy (1994)

when you said you were going "obscure" i thought the rest of my picks were safe from you. i had this portishead album going in the 14th round.

good pick.

 

[Jerryaki]

outkast - speakerboxx/the love below (2003)
(i think this qualifies as one album, it won the award for album of the year)

from wiki:
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a double album by the hip hop group OutKast, released on September 23, 2003 on LaFace Records. The release includes a solo album from both of the group's members. Speakerboxxx has Big Boi performing tracks more representative of the older OutKast style, while The Love Below, the solo project of André 3000, is performed in a more funk-based style. André primarily sings rather than rapping on The Love Below, marking a significant departure from his past work by OutKast. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards of 2004.

 

[Warhawk]

It's funny - after Jerryaki chose Wild!, he and I shared some PM's about erasure and I told him that they are who I was referring to with this quote:

I am still trying to fit in probably my favorite band of all in some ways, but am trying to figure out the best way to do so.....

I have always liked erasure and was going to pick them this round, but wasn't sure about the album. I can't not have them on the island somehow.

I really prefer the singles/remixes and not the albums per se. I can't choose a greatest hits album. A single would just get one or two songs. And no albums have any/many of the remixes I like.

Like I said, I like a lot of their songs, so picking an album here is difficult. I'd say for an album, The Innocents and Chorus are *probably* my two favorites, but ironically none of my very favorite songs or remixes come from those, and even those choices are iffy. Chorus (Pure Trance Mix by Youth), Love to Hate You (LFO Modulated Filter Mix), Phantom Bride, Chains of Love, and A Little Respect (Remixed by Mark Saunders) are my favorites from these two albums.

My favorite song from erasure would probably be Oh L'Amour (Matt Derey Mix), but I can't include any album with it included as they don't meet contest requirements. Even the youtube version has the first part of the song cut off.

In the end, I decided to go with:

erasure - The Innocents (1988)

In addition to being their "breakout" album in the US, this one came out when I was in high school and has a lot of memories for me. It was the album that introduced me to erasure, and I have more erasure CDs and singles than any other artist - probably more than any other two or three put together. I bought a LOT of their import singles when I could find them in Tower Records....

From wiki:

Erasure is an English synth pop duo formed by keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell in 1985. It was the third group that Vince Clarke co-formed (Depeche Mode and Yazoo being the first two). Erasure released twenty-four consecutive Top 20 hits in the United Kingdom and sold 25 million albums worldwide.

The third album, The Innocents, was released in 1988. Preceded by the Top 10 single "Ship of Fools", the album hit number one in the UK on its initial release and returned to popularity a year later, eventually going triple platinum. It also turned platinum in the U.S., generating two Top 20 hits in "Chains of Love" and "A Little Respect".

The Innocents was the first of five consecutive number one albums for Erasure in the UK - an achievement unmatched by any of their contemporaries.[citation needed] Wild! in 1989 and Chorus in 1991 both contained four Top 20 singles.

It remains the only number one album to return to the top spot in the UK a year after its initial release.

 

[Prophetess]

Cause & Effect - Cause & Effect

Beautifully harmonic. I like track 1 & 8 best.

1. The Echoing Green (4:12)
2. Another Minute (3:35) (Vocals - Amy Struck)
3. Something New (4:41)
4. What Do You See (4:15)
5. Farewell To Arms (3:56)
6. You Think You Know Her (5:44)
7. New World (4:45)
8. Nothing Comes To Mind (4:49)
9. The Beginning Of The End (4:37)
10. What Do You See (Arabian House Mix) (8:04)

Cause & Effect is an American electronica/synthpop band. Cause & Effect were formed in Sacramento, California consisting of founding members vocalist/guitarist Rob Rowe and keyboardist Sean Rowley. They originally released their debut in 1990 as a self-titled album on minor label Exile Records.

 

[Warhawk]

Cause & Effect - Cause & Effect

Beautifully harmonic. I like track 1 & 8 best.

1. The Echoing Green (4:12)
2. Another Minute (3:35) (Vocals - Amy Struck)
3. Something New (4:41)
4. What Do You See (4:15)
5. Farewell To Arms (3:56)
6. You Think You Know Her (5:44)
7. New World (4:45)
8. Nothing Comes To Mind (4:49)
9. The Beginning Of The End (4:37)
10. What Do You See (Arabian House Mix) (8:04)

Cause & Effect is an American electronica/synthpop band. Cause & Effect were formed in Sacramento, California consisting of founding members vocalist/guitarist Rob Rowe and keyboardist Sean Rowley. They originally released their debut in 1990 as a self-titled album on minor label Exile Records.

Oooh - good choice. I was trying to see if I could fit their other album in my list (Trip). I liked it a bit better.

Interesting - I didn't know they had a self-titled CD with essentially the same songs as their "Another Minute" CD.....

 

[Prophetess]

Oooh - good choice. I was trying to see if I could fit their other album in my list (Trip). I liked it a bit better.
Interesting - I didn't know they had a self-titled CD with essentially the same songs as their "Another Minute" CD.....

Another Minute was the rereleased version of Cause & Effect.

I liked them better when Sean Rowley was alive.

I have Trip also but like this album much better.

 

[C Diddy]

This is my favorite band right now.

Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You - 2004

This band has a ton of energy. Considered Hardcore Emo/Screamo, these guys belt out their introspective and relationship issues over swirling and complex guitar riffs, loud but not too loud vocals, the occasional melodic verse, and some high intensity screaming. Ten out of the twelve tracks on this disc I have rated as 4 star or better in my media player and they get heavy rotation on my favorites playlist.

 

[Bricklayer]

Man, what is with the synthpop avalanche.

Ugh.


Please keep it coming though, at least through my next pick.

 

[C Diddy]

Man, what is with the synthpop avalanche.

Ugh.


Please keep it coming though, at least through my next pick.

Well, I broke the streak. I cant imagine you have any hardcore/emo on your list though, so I'm guessing we won't be crossing each other's paths the rest of the way.

 

[tradepeja]

There definitely won't be any emo coming out of my list. So rest assured.

 

[Bricklayer]

Well, I broke the streak. I cant imagine you have any hardcore/emo on your list though, so I'm guessing we won't be crossing each other's paths the rest of the way.

Not as safe of an assumption as you think it is.

 

[C Diddy]

Not as safe of an assumption as you think it is.

Interesting. There is a whole lot of Emo out there. I'm curious if my next couple picks are on your board.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Sorry, out of town today... my next pick
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Have a Ball (1997)

Hey - check out this song list:

"Danny's Song"
"Leaving on a Jet Plane"
"Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
"One Tin Soldier"
"Uptown Girl"
"I Am a Rock"
"Sweet Caroline"
"Seasons in the Sun"
"Fire and Rain"
"Nobody Does It Better"
"Mandy"
"Rocket Man"

Who wouldn't want all those on their island... covered pop-punk style???

This was the Gimme's first full album, and I still think it offers the best selection of songs despite the fact that they've released 5 more albums full of punked up covers.

 

[tradepeja]

Alright, well my last pick was just the beginning of my favorite current artists. Here's another, and theres a few more to come.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment - 2005

Easily the best punk band around right now. And this is easily their best album. Their most recent was good, but not as jam-packed with awesome hooks and riffs and solos and what Rolling Stone called "art-punk gems." When this album came out I listened to it almost non-stop on my brand new iPod (now scratched-the-hell-up-iPod), every song is recommendable. I especially like "Na Na Na NaNa" (which is almost as good of a rendition the Celtic's fans today...actually this is a completely different song from "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" not a cover), "What Did I Ever Give You," "Oh My God," and "I Predict a Riot."

Really a diamond in the rough of all the garbage newage punk, pop/punk, indie crap out there.

 

[Bricklayer]

Sorry, out of town today... my next pick
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Have a Ball (1997)

Hey - check out this song list:

Who wouldn't want all those on their island... covered pop-punk style???

This was the Gimme's first full album, and I still think it offers the best selection of songs despite the fact that they've released 5 more albums full of punked up covers.

Not that I in any way wish to deprive you of the Gimme Gimmes or am/was any threat to take them (they were amusing though when your pick sent me over to ITunes to check them out -- basically a college cover band made good, and seem to have covered every major song of the last 50 years), but doesn't that violate the rule against cover albums? Or were some of those originals? Or was/am I misremembering the rule?