Recommending CDs to Dave (Part II)

This is the second half of my CD Recommendations to Dave- the first half is here– Dave eventually relented, as he couldn’t procure & listen to these fast enough.

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radiohead- the bends
fishbone- reality of my surroundings
phoenix- it’s never been like that
white stripes- white blood cells
MIA- Arular
x============================
radiohead- amnesiac
blur-blur
u2-joshua tree
toad the wet sprocket- dulcinea
quasi- featuring “birds”
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massive attack- mezzanine
neil young-harvest
tortoise- tnt
shins- oh inverted world
james brown- 20 all time greats
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prefuse 73- vocal studies
decemberists- castaways & cutouts
dave matthews band- under the table
rjd2- dead ringer
neko case- blacklisted
x=============================
plus minus- long playing debut
spoon- kill the moonlight
ini- center of attention
q tip-kamaal the abstract
dismemberment plan- emergency & i
x=============================
black rebel motorcycle club- brmc
tribe- midnight marauders
miles davis- kind of blue
john coltrane- love supreme
dj shadow-entroducing
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john coltrane- giant steps
weezer-weezer
beck-odelay
beastie boys- check your head
elliott smith- xo
x=============================
shudder to think- pony express record
house of pain- same as it ever was
public enemy- fear of a black planet
soul coughing- ruby vroom
sonic youth-dirty
x==============================
REM-automatic for the people
john coltrane- a love supreme
rain parade- emergency third rail
hold steady- boys and girls in america
trentemoller- last resort
x===============================
alan braxe and friends-the upper cuts
arthur russell-calling out of context
lindstrom- it’s a feedelity affair
peter bjorn & john- writer’s block
ella fitzgerald & louis armstrong- the best of ella and louie
================================
Hot Chip- The Warning
Midlake- Van Occupanther

And that was where we ended.

Recommending CDs to Dave (Part I)

Some months ago, a friend asked me for CD recommendations, and somehow, it escalated into a challenge for me to recommend 5 CDs each day for a month.  Here is the first half of that month’s recommendations:

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walkmen-bows & arrows
broken social scene- you forgot it in people
la’s-la’s
jeff buckley- grace
stone roses- stone roses
x======================
bjork- post
fila brazlia- brazilification
roots- game theory
arcade fire- funeral
smiths- singles
x=======================
tribe- low end theory
beach boys- pet sounds
liz phair-exile in guyville
my bloody valentine- loveless
portishead- dummy
x=======================
dj andy smith- the document
van halen- van halen
mos def- black on both sides
massive attack- blue lines
bach- goldberg variations
bonus- girl talk- night ripper
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matthew sweet- girlfriend
chem bros- dig your own hole
hold steady- separation sunday
smashing pumpkins- gish
dusty springfield- dusty in memphis
x========================
singles soundtrack
24 hour party people soundtrack
lost in translation soundtrack
high fidelity soundtrack
selmasongs: dancer in the dark soundtrack
x=========================
black crowes- amorica
public enemy- it takes a nation
pearl jam- ten
jayhawks- hollywood town hall
cake- fashion nugget
x==========================
jayhawks- tomorrow the green grass
big star- #1 record/radio city
jimmy cliff- the harder they come soundtrack
byrds- sweetheart of the rodeo
led zeppelin- complete discrography
x==========================
pink floyd- animals
radiohead- ok computer
avalanches- since i left you
basement jaxx- kish kash
wilco- yankee hotel foxtrot
x==========================
basement jaxx- rooty
interpol- turn on the bright lights
pixies- best of
junior boys- last exit
wu tang- 36 chambers
x==========================
grievous angel tribute to gram parsons
notwist- neon golden
sigur ros- agaetis byrjun
juana molina- segundo
justin timberlake- justified
x===========================
primal scream-screamadelica
cat power-moon pix
slint-spiderland
richard x- x factor
beta band- 3 EPs
x===========================
royksopp- melody AM
madvillain- madvillainy
jay z- blueprint
sonic youth- goo
sufjan stevens- greetings from michigan
x===========================
portishead-portishead
spoon- girls can tell
pavement-slanted & enchanted
radiohead- kid a
goldfrapp- felt mountain

Cajun Dance Party, Colourful Life

Just surfing Stereogum the other day, saw that their ‘Heavy Rotation’ included Cajun Dance Party. Intrigued, I picked up a copy.

I’m not sure I agree with the sentiment- while I did hear influences, it was that of early Robert Smith, and the Arctic Monkeys. I’m amazed they are only teenagers- their sound seems almost fully-formed, and I would like to continue hearing what they release- but I wouldn’t term it ‘particularly impressive‘.

Good, not great.

The Jayhawks, Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass

Jayhawks.
I’m not sure why some people sleep on this- it seems there was a time when everything George Drakakoulis (I’m sure I just butchered his name) produced sounded great. Two bands that immediately come to mind are the Jayhawks and Black Crowes… and I’m sure I’m missing out on a ton of other stuff he touched.
Back to the Jayhawks- while they didn’t put the ‘twang’ in No Depression music, I think you should include at least two of their albums (Tomorrow the Green Grass and Hollywood Town Hall) in any alt-country-rock Top 10 all time albums list. I’m not sure who or what else would make that list- Ryan Adams solo/band, Wilco/Son Volt/Uncle Tupelo, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead & American Beauty, Lucinda’s Car Wheels, Neko Case’s Blacklisted? Just some things off the top of my head, and I would also probably include the Gram Parsons tribute from a few years ago- that album didn’t get enough credit for great songs being rediscovered by great artists.

Jayhawks, sorry. Back to you.
At its core, the best Jayhawks albums boiled down to Gary Louris and Mark Olson each writing different types of songs, then coming together to sing wonderful melodies and harmonies over them. Gary is always noted as being the more ‘rock’, while Mark written as the more ‘country/folk’ one.
There aren’t enough harmonies in rock- the Black Crowes recently lamented this on a taped special for Warpaint- and I agree.
I find it difficult to separate Hollywood and Tomorrow, both are stocked with great songs from beginning to end- most people remember either Waiting for the Sun or Blue, but each song is worth hearing.
Once Mark left the band, the Jayhawks weren’t the same- the Sound of Lies is a good album, but it just wasn’t the same. (the closest the Jayhawks came after that was their alternate version of Tampa to Tulsa, from the 2nd cd of Rainy Day Music).
I was fortunate enough to see Gary and Mark on their recent ‘reunion’ tour- those voices never sounded better together.

A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders

By now, most people canonize the Low End Theory, and that’s fine with me. I would respectfully disagree, as Marauders is easily the best of ATCQ’s catalog. While both are classic, not to be missed, wonderful albums from beginning to end, I rate Midnight Marauders an A to Low End’s B+.
This is not a paean to Award Tour- a great song, certainly- but the whole album, even the stupid voiceover skits, is awesome. Here’s how to collect/listen to Tribe:

• Midnight Marauders, Low End Theory (required)
• First two songs from Beats, Rhymes and Life
• Qtip’s unreleased Kamaal the Abstract, Tribe’s first album (Peoples Instinctive Travels)
• Tribe Vibes (series of bootlegs compiling hard to find songs, guest appearances, etc)

You can skip Qtip’s Amplify album, as well as the more recent Tribe stuff…..

Heatmiser, Mic City Sons

I was never too interested in listening to “Elliott Smith’s band before he was Elliott Smith” (with all apologies to those hailing from Quasi and No. 2). One day, I came across the album, and decided to finally give a listen.
On first listen, good stuff- not a full classic-type album, but definitely worth adding & rating to your collection. If I had to choose a way to listen/learn/love Elliott, here’s how I would proceed:

• XO (the casual fan can stop here- if you don’t love this album, don’t bother continuing- something is wrong with you)
• Good Will Hunting soundtrack or Figure 8 (GWH helps to summarize his early work, while Figure 8 was good in showing Elliott’s love of the Beatles, imo)
• Mic City Sons, Recent 2cd of unfinished work
• self titled
• Etcetera (not to say his other work is weak, it just doesn’t resonate for me as much)