Some reading material for those of us smart enough to stay inside.
Top 10 lists are hard as fuck. They always feel so etched in stone for some stupid reason, even though it's just a blog that no one reads. Putting them in some sort of order always drives me mad too. These are the albums that would almost feel like someone is mentioning a family member when the album title gets brought up. Records you've listened to countless times. Whether it's the musicality on them, the production, the lyrics, the general uniqueness, or all of the above! There are hundreds of albums and artists that are nowhere to be found on here, which I'll save for a more extensive collection.
1. Autolux: Future Perfect
This one has always been at my number one spot. I can't say it always will. In fact, I hope to find something that makes this album seem less cool because I'm getting sick of always blabbing about it. It's just a perfect album from start to finish. It's the perfect blend of noisy, unique music in the format of pop music. So much force, so much music from this shy little trio. It's tough to decide if I like the demo of this album more than the proper release or not.
2. Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile
A close second. I know I'm not alone on this, but this album feels like a best friend to me. This album must have been a fucking nightmare to mix. Hundreds of layers that come in and out of each song so organically, so tastefully. It's a consistent reference point when I take a stab at layering my own material. I remember listening to it on my shitty stereo as a kid and thinking.. "Where are all of those other sounds coming from? I only have two speakers." At no point does the record feel bloated or over produced to me. Even as a double disc album, time seems to fly by when I sit down with it. I've also never heard an album come so close to explaining almost word for word my own struggles and triumphs. It's also one of the most intriguing writing processes to me. I've tried to find every interview, photo, and liner note I can to understand where each instrument and photo came from on here. Hearing "Deviations" - which was an instrumental, uncut version of this same album released a few years ago made the 1999 release almost feel like a different album entirely.
3. David Bowie - Outside
Finding the right Bowie record for here wasn't as hard as I thought. This album is the best example/reason David Bowie is such a massive inspiration for me. A lot of people hail the real early albums like Ziggy and Aladdin, but stuff never resonated very much with me. It was a self admitted attempt at a more musical theater type genre. The mid to late 70's had some crucial releases, the 80's were pure trash, the 90's had the most inventive music, and the last few records were fucking masterpieces. Outside though to me was very much a stand alone album compared to all the others. Here's an artist who could easily get away with a "top hits" type tour and he's out playing these long, drawn out and slow, abstract songs to a silent audience. It's brilliant. Taking chances, challenging yourself and audience. There's apparently a whole 2-3 hours of unreleased material from these sessions that I would love to get my hands on.
4. Sonic Youth - Evol
Picking the right Sonic Youth album was a little bit more difficult. This was a band that I honestly did not grow up listening to, or really knowing much about. It wasn't until the last 10 years or so that it kind of all hit me at once and I wondered why I wasn't listening sooner. Evol's production took already pretty dismal, tense songs and somehow seemed to sharpen their edges. The use of reverb and space on all the tracks made it seem so much more emotional to me. Not in a sad way, just in a very frantic, painful way.
5. Iggy Pop - The Idiot
A vital time for both Iggy and Bowie in their European adventures. Heavily inspired by bands like Kraftwerk and Neu!, they took the electronic web surrounding those styles and put more human/funk elements into the drums. This album has inspired far more records you listen to than you know. As obviously important at The Stooges were, I feel this album has left a heavier mark by a landslide.
6. Tool - Lateralus
This album seems to get better and better in time. It's been gushed about before in here by me a few times, but it really just boils down to a really well written and arranged album. It's by far my favorite drum production. A consistent reference point for how kick drums and snares react to clean guitars especially. It's hard for me to put something as important to me as production aside, but I think even if there was some shitty phone recording of this album, it would still easily make my top 10.
7. Lightning Bolt - Wonderful Rainbow
Here's a perfect example of something that completely fucking blew me away when I heard it. I had never in my life heard something as assaulting yet enjoyable as these lunatics. It was the perfect inspiration for a drum and bass duo I was playing in at the time too. Seeing these guys live is a real treat. They do the best they can to play in the middle of the room, avoiding stages to have the crowd surround them while they play. All their albums are magical, but this one is my favorite.
8. Stars of the Lid - The Sleepy Sounds of
The order of these isn't super important, but this one would be closer to the top if it was that serious. Stars of the Lid saved my life. It's like a mental reset every single time I hear their music. This was their sixth release and as hard as it may be to pick a favorite, this would be one of them for sure. It's one of those albums for me that makes it impossible to listen to just one track. I have to play the whole album if I even get a taste. Do your brain a favor and listen to anything by these guys right away.
9. Isis - Celestial
If you can't tell by all my other picks, I'm not a big metal guy. This was a band that was introduced to me around 2011 or so, when this blog was starting actually. It was one of the few bands we all agreed on almost all of their music for different reasons. The first thing that stood out to me was the drums. They sounded like shit, but the grooves were so solid that I didn't seem to mind. It was progressive rock, with a ton of anger behind it. It was a tough pick between this and The Red Sea. Both albums seem to pick up so clearly on the many emotions and thoughts seemingly going through each members minds while writing this. It was so refreshing to me hearing something so pissed be so smart.
10. The Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Last but probably not least, these guys! This was an album that immediately seemed too catchy for me. Although it was a good thing! One of those "why didn't I think of that?" type moments throughout. We all know most of their hits, but this album has been in my rotation of music for years now. Every track is so clean, so crisp. It's hard to tell which parts are the focal points because it's just mixed so well. Adding Adrian Belew to this album is honestly what sold me. That beast could play on a fucking Wiggles record and it would make my top 10. Outstanding album!
Ok, well I'm going to TRY not to re-read this too many times because I'm already considering doing a top 15, or 20 and editing everything I've already typed.
- Novak
