| Author | Message | ||
     skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 800 Registered: 10-2008 |
look away now geoff, you'll have a fit when you see the number 1. mind you, i just about had one when i saw the number 2 - i never cared much for it anyway, but now i've heard it 673 times i cant stand it!! http://pitchfork.com/ | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2456 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm amused by the fact that the only song in that top 20 list which I've got and possibly the only one I've actually heard is the Belle & Sebastian one. I suppose some of the others must have been heard and ignored on nearby radios or shopping mall soundtracks. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 1044 Registered: 08-2004 |
I couldn't face looking at anything but the top 20. How is it done? Is it just 1 song per band/artist? Common People is far from Pulp's best song let alone 2nd overall for the decade. | ||
| Shane Greentree Member Username: Realinspectorshane Post Number: 46 Registered: 03-2007 |
1 song per band. I find the list has Pitchfork's usual interesting tension between being indier-than-thou and 'ironically' celebrating the mainstream. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2457 Registered: 03-2005 |
On the 150-101 list I also have one song, the Magnetic Fields one. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2458 Registered: 03-2005 |
On the 100-51 list I also have one song, the Liz Phair one. I've maybe played that album twice. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2459 Registered: 03-2005 |
According to my geeky database for such things I have 316 albums from 1990-1999. That's certainly not a huge number but it's not skimpy. Jeff hates the decade but I don't and am still happily discovering some wonderful things from that period. However, it's safe to say that I am not in the Pitchfork audience. They seem to be the successor to Rolling Stone; I seldom bought any of their picks either. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 1923 Registered: 01-2005 |
90% of grunge aside, I think that there were some damn fine albums released in the 1990-94 period. I'll have to say though that quality-wise, things were kind of skinny mid-decade. Neutral Milk Hotel - "In The Aeroplane, Over The Sea" is a must have for those that don't own it. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 705 Registered: 05-2005 |
I'm just about to look, but seriously, I really thought the 90's was the worst decade for music...apart from Ride and Radiohead and a couple of others. Then again, I guess most decades are like that 9except the 60's. SO much shit on the radio AND in Indie world with Grunge etc. I'd imagine Pitchfork will have the top song by someone playing their teeth with hammers JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN! | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 706 Registered: 05-2005 |
I just looked. I expected to know a lot less of it. Guess I'll have to be an individual with my own tastes. I WAS close with the top song! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 3645 Registered: 05-2005 |
Geoff, you really need to listen to that number 1, even if you think you hate everything by them. It's an amazing, melodic pop song that really owes more to the 70s than the 90s. Honestly. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1500 Registered: 08-2006 |
Agreed, Padraig. For what it's worth. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 1929 Registered: 01-2005 |
And the #7, Holland 1945, by Neutral Milk Hotel from their album "In The Aeroplane, Over The Sea", is another amazing song not to be missed. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 804 Registered: 10-2008 |
padraig, much as i love pavement, and gold soundz, if that is the best song of the 90's we're in trouble. thing is, i cant think what would be my favourite song of the 90's, i'll need to think about that one. for me it just shows that the 90's (and the latter half of the 80's) were poor decades in comparison to the 60's and 70's. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 805 Registered: 10-2008 |
and my choice for no1 song of the 90's would be french disko by stereolab | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 707 Registered: 05-2005 |
O.K. Padraig, I'll give it a shot. I agree with you Kevin about the 90's and latter 80's. It's almost as if the 90's started in about 1988. You wouldn't be surprised to learn that I have only become aware of Neutral Milk Hotel about 1 day before I saw the Pitchfork article! I was looking for some psychedelic stuff on Amazon and their name kept coming up. Worth pursuing? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 808 Registered: 10-2008 |
from what i know about your tastes geoff i would be wary of recommending neutral milk hotel to you. i think they were ok, a bit eccentric for my tastes though. heres what allmusic say about them http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql =11:hiftxq9hld6e i saw them live once, about 10/15 years ago. they were supporting grandaddy, or sparklehorse or american music club, cant remember exactly who. it was a tiny venue and i just remember about 10 musicians packed on a small stage, with instruments like trombones, bassoons and double bass taking up most of the room - it was almost comical. that and the fact they all seemed to have fuzzy beards and wore woolen jumpers and polo necks - like a bunch of hippy fishermen!! | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2044 Registered: 10-2004 |
My favorite 90s song might possibly be Ping Pong by Stereolab. Or maybe Archway People by Saint Etienne. Or Nomads by the High Llamas. Yeah, the 90s was a pretty dreadful decade. I mean, obviously quite a few phenomenal albums were released then, but the quantity of good music overall was significantly lower than the 3 previous decades. And I don't understand why Pitchfork included "I Wanna Be Adored" on their list when it was clearly released in the 80s and they even admit as much in their little blurb about the song. I mean, it's an amazing song, but why include a late 80s song on a 90s list? | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2045 Registered: 10-2004 |
Just finished looking over their entire list, and I think it's safe to say that Pitchfork's staff and I were listening to very different things in the 90s. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 709 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah, I thought it was just plain dumb to include I wanna be adored since it came out in 1989. Great song. I saw Ups and Downs do a better version once - amazing. I think one garage band I was in did it. I know what you mean Jeff. I find that, despite trying to keep up with at least the popular currently hip underground stuff, Pitchfork can always seem to RAVE about something that you've never even seen mentioned anywhere else! Most of the 90's I was listening to Ride, lot of Byrds, Church and Beatles Anthology stuff! Not much else stuck. Beck came in towards the end but he's really only got 2 great albums in the 90's (Mutations and Odelay). Thanks for the up on Neutral Milk Hotel Kevin. Sounds like I should investigate. Now what Fall album do you think I'd like the most? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 809 Registered: 10-2008 |
geoff, for fall albums i would recommend extricate, and the infotainment scan. the 90's wasnt the best decade for fall albums but these two albums stand up. extricate includes the wonderful single telephone thing and is worth it for that alone. infotainment scan has some weird covers, sister sledge's lost in music, and lee perry's why are people grudgeful. this album is my favourite fall album of that decade. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2463 Registered: 03-2005 |
Extricate is my favorite Fall LP from the 90s. The wierd cover on it is an old Searchers single from their failed (later 60s) years, "Popcorn Double Feature." Amusing choice. But, Geoff, if you haven't gotten ANY Fall, I recommend "Bend Sinister." It's the most psychedelic and also--I think--the most album-like. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2046 Registered: 10-2004 |
For a slightly different perspective on 90s Fall, I prefer Shift Work and Cerebral Caustic. Side 1 of the latter is a scorcher. But overall, 90s Fall wasn't so great. 80s (and late 70s) Fall is infinitely better. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 1932 Registered: 01-2005 |
I've got the double disc reissue of The Fall "Hex Enduction Hour" and I highly recommend it if you want to explore an earlier Fall album. I only have four other Fall albums though, and they are all from the Brix Smith era, "The Wonderfull and Frightening World of", "This Nation's Saving Grace", "The Frenz Experiment" and "I am Kurious Oranj" . I would like to get "Perverted by Language" as well as "Bend Sinister" and "Extricate" (the first post Brix era album) that Randy mentioned. Randy, I missed getting "Bend Sinster". I am kurous oranj that you would pick that over the other Brix era albums, especially "The Frenz Experiment" or "This Nation's Saving Grace". Mind you I'm hardly a Fall expert. A number of my Robyn Hitchcock buds like the Fall album "Live at The Witch Trials" as well, do you have the 2004 remastered double disc extra tracks edition? Geoff, If you don't like The Decemberists, you might not like Neutral Milk Hotel. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 811 Registered: 10-2008 |
hex enduction hour is my favourite fall album. bend sinister and this nations.... are much of a muchness quality wise - both are killers in the fall's 80's output. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 812 Registered: 10-2008 |
as a companion piece here is pitchfork's top 10 of the 1990's. i have(or have had)them all, but if this is the top 10 for an entire decade then it shows how crap a period for albums it was. albeit this is only pitchfork's slant on the decade http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-list s/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/10/ | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2465 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jeff, I need to pull out Cerebral Caustic again as it's been quite a while since I heard it. My chief memory of it is that I felt they were just making records by the numbers at that point. Even the return of Brix didn't seem to rescue them. But maybe I'll hear it differently now. I've always enjoyed about two-thirds of "Shift Work" which ends up being kind of typical for early/mid 90s Fall for me. Michael, I do NOT have the expanded "Witch Trials." Quite honestly I didn't know there was such a thing. I was never too keen on that record though I do have the original CD issue of it. It's with "Grotesque" that I really started liking their LPs. BUT, I don't have "Hex Induction" either. Instead I have the odd comp releases from the early CD days, "Palace of Swords Reversed"--which I love to death--and "Hip Priest & Kamerads" both of which (I think; really the Fall's early releases are super confusing to me!) are not original albums. Isn't "Hex Induction" scattered across some of those? I chose "Bend Sinister" specifically for Geoff. I'm sure that I'm massively biased by the fact that it was the first Fall album I got, back when it was new. For me all of the Brix era records represent the peak of Fall as a pop band and you can pull so many brilliant offerings from any of them but only "Bend Sinister" IMO has the cohesive feel of an actual album. I always think of it as the Fall's "Secondhand Daylight." It's dark and brooding and seems to have a consistent vision. I also perceive it to come as close to psychedelia as the Fall ever came. The others are more typically Fall anti-albums. Geoff sent me some Icicle Works tracks and I should just return the favor and send him some samples. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2047 Registered: 10-2004 |
I agree with Randy that Bend Sinister is a fabulous Fall album. It ranks among my personal top 3 Fall albums. Hex Induction Hour is classic Scanlon-Burns-Hanley-Riley-early 80s era Fall. It's a must-have, although I don't listen to it as much as I used to. Randy, you're right, Palace of Swords and Hip Priest are both comps (and they're both quite good, too). Hip Priest features a lot of Hex (although some of the tracks are live and not original versions) and Room to Live. Room to Live was a weaker album, and all of its good tracks are on Hip Priest. For me the Fall's peak was the Brix years from Wonderful & Frightening World through Bend Sinister. All three of the albums from that period, as well as all of the singles and b-sides, were excellent. I also quite like Perverted By Language, which doesn't seem to get mentioned as much as Grotesque or Hex. It was the first Brix album, although her involvement seems to be minimal, apart from vocals on some tracks, like Hotel Bloedel. *That* was one of my first Fall albums, so I'm probably biased by that, but I still think it's a phenomenal album. And lastly, as for Cerebral Caustic - it's got nothing on their 80s albums, but I always felt like it had a renewed spark or energy that the preceding albums lacked. Like, the Fall kind of went into autopilot in the early 90s and Brix's return kind of briefly jolted them out of it. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 710 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jeez I've done it again! Thanks for all the info on the Fall. I remember hearing the single off Hex Enduction Hour in it's day and have always thought I'd get around to it one day. The first version I heard of "Victoria" was by the Fall and that led me onto the Kinks in a big way. How many bloody albums do they have???? Michael, I'm into the Decemberists and saw them live earlier this year. Hugh has, again, sent me half an album's worth(!) of NMH (many thanks Hugh)but I probably won't get to it for a few days. Since I'm learning Japanese at the moment: Kampai (Cheers) one and all! | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 322 Registered: 02-2007 |
My fav songs from decade. Well today its Waltz #2 - Elliot Smith from (XO) Red Right Hand - Nick Cave (Let Love In) Not Dark Yet - Dylan (Tijme Out of Mind) 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins (Infinite Sadness etc) Beneath the Southern Cross - Patti Smith (Gone Again) Ghost of Tom Joad - Springsteen Mellow Doubt - Teenage Fanclub (Grand Prix) Mingus Eyes - Richard Thompson (Mirror Blue) Primrose Hill - Louden Wainwright (Little Ship) Get Behind the Mule - Tom Waits (Mule Variations) How to Fight Lonliness - Wilco (Summerteeth) Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams Your Dictionary - XTC (Apple Venus 1) Prime of Life - Neil Young (Sleeps with Angels) Atlanta Lie Low - Robert (Calling from Country Phone) Stones For You - Grant (Watershed) | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 817 Registered: 10-2008 |
i notice this is about to get the deluxe treatment http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/16244877 /The-Wonderful-And-Frightening-World-Of- /Product.html | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2468 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kevin, this new release of Wonderful and Frightening World reminds me that I've actually never heard most of the proper Fall albums from that period in their original form. I bought everything on CD. The Beggars Banquet version of Wonderful & Frightening World has 16 tracks, culminating with one of my favorite songs for driving to, "No Bulbs." | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 930 Registered: 10-2008 |
the pitchfork voting process explained http://www.thirteen.org/riffcity/on-pitc hforks-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s/ |