*Your favourite record and what it means to you!

[bertifrew]

I love music.
Different peices of music mean different things to me, some happy some not so happy.
my favourate album at the moment is the new chillies one. "by the way".......melodic and funky at the same time.......
i wait however with baited breath for the new pearl jam cd to come my way next week.......

 

[umeboshi]

Very difficult to choose (and some great choices, Songs In the Key *is* amazing), but one that's meant alot to me on and off over the years, and I'm currently obsessing over is:

Patti Smith - Horses

I don't know where to begin with this. As soon as I hear the first few heavy chords of 'Gloria',I get shivers down my spine. I love Patti's gravelly voice, and the opener of 'Jesus died for somebody's sins.... but not mine' just transports me.

She takes rock 'n roll, gospel, folk, punk, mixes in touches of ska and New Orleans jazz and mixes them up into something that always sounds elemental...The slow building energy in tracks like Land, dragging out the build-up until you can hardly bear it, before exploding.

"Car stopped in a clearing,
Ribbon of life, it was nearing.
I saw the boy break out of his skin.
My heart turned over and I crawled in."(Break It Up)

I guess the overriding thing I get from this record is a feeling of empowerment Of someone taking charge of their anger, passion, commitment and making something incredibly powerful and beautiful from it. I love the androgyny that this record is soaked in, as well as the fact that it pulls this off while also being a scream of righteous feminist anger. 'Horses' is the sound of a woman allowing herself the anger and power that women are so often denied, and harnessing it for creativity in a way that was and is 10-a-penny for male musos but is bloody hard to succeed at as a woman. And was as sexy as fuck.

Then there's Robert Mapplethorpe cover (I love the fact that they were lovers when they made this image, now there's some pillow talk I'd like to have heard) is just stunning.

Phew. That was fun.

(Oh, and I saw her a couple of months ago and she was amazing. *swoon* And did I say was sexy as fuck? D'oh me. )

 

[sound]

love forever changes

LOVE FOREVER CHANGES

Here's some facts you probably don't agree with: Love were the most astonishing band ever and Forever Changes the best album ever. Well here's how I see it anyway...........

Well they didn't even look like a band at all. Just the disperate bunch of late sixties, west coast smack heads, hippies and hot dog stand robbers they were. Age 14 and i'm staring into their album covers and looking at another world, albeit a world I longed to be part of. But by God they sounded good. Put The Byrds, Hendrix and Bacharach in a large pot and melt them down with about 10 tonnes of acid and you're getting near. You've probably heard Alone Again Or on Radio 2. You probably think its a nice catchy throw away pop song. It is, but there's more. A lot more.

Forever Changes is their most ambitious and most accomplished album. On one level its easy listening. On another it contains the cleverest lyrics and most affecting melodies ever commited to vinyl. On yet another its a complete soundtrack to the experience of drug taking. And on a last awesome level it is nothing short of the sound of a man losing his mind, engaging in a last fatal dialogue with his own consciousness. Forever Changes was OUR album. Me and my bunch of mates. No-one else in our town listened to this and if we had found someone who did, we would have become friends straight away. Simple as that.

We loved it so much we actually had tracks each. I'm a bit ashamed at the age of 36 to be admitting this now, but there you go. And these tracks WERE US. I think we meant they encapsulated the spirit of each of us. Oh I don't know what we meant but shit we meant it. My track was called The Daily Planet and it starts with some infectious chords, goes into what appears to be a straightword melody and then goes all wonky in a good way. There are no weak tracks on this album and it does things I simply have never heard before or since. On Maybe The People Could Be The Times, Arthur Lee emits the last word of each verse and then begins the next one with it. It sounds fussy, over-clever but its not and I've run out of room...............

 

[Ice]

I tend to have a few different albums that i listen to. Each seem to have their own purpose. Music is such a way to come close to something in your own way as the effect can be that of such positive mood or helpful depression (yikes).

Right now I have the Pete Yorn CD flowing. I see him as an incredible artist as he mixes all types of emotions and seems to be in touch with so much of the joy and pain that everday life can bring. I particularly like tracks 6,9,14. Of course, i like the whole Cd but those are my favorites. 14 is incredible as he sounds very much like radiohead. It almost hurts to listen to it sometimes because it feels so right. I guess that is why music can be so moving.
I also enjoy a group called OAR. Of a revolution. They are incredible and if you can get your hands on it, i would highly reccomend them. They are kind of a mix of John Mayer/Dave Mathews (horns and such) with a great home sound. Anyways,, there is my two cents..

 

[bertifrew]

the jam in the city

In 1983 i left school at the age of 16. Musicaly the 1980s were not all that good, especialy after '82. I had been listening to the chart music of the time desparetly trying to find something that excited me. i had a vague memory of punk in the seventies and i decided that i would try to find something that would maybe be a 'modern' equivelant-i was unsuccessful-. While at a party during the christmas period of 1982 i was thumbing through the records in the hosts collection when i came across a jam record. The jam to me at this time was the bitterest pill and the beat surrender. The records cover was stark tyled walls and grafitti,not much like the almost soul or r&b image of the jam at the end of their exsistance in '82.
To a corous of much shouting and general verbal abuse, i changed the record from the mushy early eighties pop shite to the opening punky electric guitar of paul weller, closely folloewd by the base of bruce foxton. I was transfixed and promptly bought a copy for myself. I played that album to death for months to come and it was closely followed by sound affects and dig the new breed.
I will forever remember the songs on that album and how through listening to the jam i eventualy moved toward the who, zeppelin, hendrix ect.
Even today in the city holds a special place in my heart. I credit it with opening my mind to guitar music in general. It was the start of a musical adventure that has taken me from germany to reading to scone castle(thats in fife) to the barralands(thats in glasgow).

 

[Dubversion]

Here's some facts you probably don't agree with: Love were the most astonishing band ever and Forever Changes the best album ever.

i think you might be right, sound..

or a contender, anyway..

 

[dark_mavis]

So few words, so many albums. This isn't my favourite album of all time, or even my second favourite, mainly because words can't describe what Deserters Songs by Mercury Rev and The Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy do for me. Anyway, my choice is In/Casino/Out by At The Drive-In. I bought this album I suppose about a year after hearing Relationship of Command. Now loud post-punks stuff really isn't meant to be emotional. It wasn't designed to be. This album does it.

Theres a point where the sound of a raging guitar played over a thumping bass and a singer screaming which hits perfection, and this album hits it more often that any album I've ever heard. I think that point can only really be reached by absolute love by a band for the music it is playing. From the moment where Cedric's vocals come storming in to that moment where the guitars stop and the rhythem section has a field day this album is a true work of love.

There's only one way to listen to it, with a friend, playing air guitar and screaming at the top of your voice. Drinking beers. Smiling. Shouting. It is the only album I've ever heard which can explode. From beautiful silence to the most angry frustrated piece of music you've ever heard. It's like music which wants to jump out of your stereo.

And there's Napoleon Solo. My Number One favourite song of all time. Anger, sadness, hurt. Everything. "This is for ever." Words can't describe how the lyrics are thrown at you. How the drums guide you through. How the guitars thrash. This song is everything every song should be. Who says punk shouldn't be able to make you cry?

Oh, and they have huuuuge afros. What more reasons do you need?

 

[indielad]

My Favourite Album

The Libertines - Up The Bracket

I bought the album a copule of months ago after hearing a couple of the songs on the evening session. I had heard that the album was quite good so I went along and bought it. When I got home and banged it on the hi-fi I was amazed the pure confusion and emotion put into every song just blew me away. The album seems to have all the qualities you can dream of while what makes it perfect is its inperfection. I dont think it has been off my cd player for more than a day since I bought it. I cant wait for the next one.

I recomend it to anyone into alt music. It is amazing!!!

 

[indielad]

My Favourite Album

The Libertines - Up The Bracket

I bought the album a copule of months ago after hearing a couple of the songs on the evening session. I had heard that the album was quite good so I went along and bought it. When I got home and banged it on the hi-fi I was amazed the pure confusion and emotion put into every song just blew me away. The album seems to have all the qualities you can dream of while what makes it perfect is its inperfection. I dont think it has been off my cd player for more than a day since I bought it. I cant wait for the next one.

I recomend it to anyone into alt music. It is amazing!!!

 

[g force]

Mate I have but three words for you (no, not "no fucking way")

These Animal Men

I rest my case

Oh, and before anyone says, what's you favourite album then, there's no point in my saying Forever Changes is one of them as it's already been explained why it's such a classic. My reasons for loving it are much the same.

 

[IAmEvilHomer]

'Grand Prix' by Teenage Fanclub

Spent the summer after finishing school riding around in a crap fiesta with a mate listening to this on a crappy stereo in the back seat. It just seemed to really strike a chord with the feeling of that summer, being out of school and wondering at what lay ahead.

We ended up driving through a riot in Belfast too, but even that didn't spoil the mood of the album.

 

[Yeshua]

The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld

What makes a record, or any work of art really great is whether or not it transports you to another place, either in a place your life could have taken you but didn't, or in a place where you were once a long time ago.

posted by Idris2002

...and this album fits that definition perfectly!


I have listened to this album at least once a week for the last 11 years. It never gets boring!

From the fantastic Little Fluffy Clouds and comedy Flash Gordon samples through the floating Spanish Castles in Space to the dub of Perpetual Dawn.
"Once there was a young man....rough round the edges but with stars in his eyes"
..and the samples of Minnie Ripperton's 'Loving you' at the end still leave me speechless.
A beautiful, touching record that you know a lot of love went into.

This album works on it's own but is fantastic with a bit of psychadelic assistance.

Ahhh, those sunny afternoons in the early 90's driving to the beach with this on the car stereo.

 

[Dubversion]

and there i was expecting you to post Kenny Loggin's Greatest Hits...

 

[Yeshua]

Nah, that's no.2

Imagine jumping out of bed in the morning to a radio alarm that plays Footloose!

Now that would be class!

 

[Streathamite]

OK, now please remember I am quite old, in tha

 

[Bomber]

Bob Marley & the Wailers ~ Live ~

I mean come on !! I am 45 years old for heavens sake I've forgotten more music than I care to remember { Does that make sense ?} and to write something like this without honorary mentions for "Exile on Main Street / Whats goin on / There's a riot goin on etc etc. is damn near impossible , however one track , the first one I always think of when fantasising about being on desert island discs is 'No Woman no cry' . It makes me tingle every time I hear it and although it talks of being in a yard in Trenchtown its subject matter can so easily be transposed to fit wherever you want it to. I find it totally uplifting ....... but wait Bob Marley Live is an album chock full of pearls of musical and lyrical wisdom ... "The one good thing about music, is when it hits you feel no pain " ....... the number of times I have punched the air to that line !!
' Get up stand up' is a protest song that tells you straight what you should do sang by someone who did just that. This album came at a time when music was in the doldrums and so many of us needed something fresh and daring. I recall the minor rumpus I caused when I presented it at the college radio for playing at lunchtime .... "Reggae ??" they screamed !! That is until Eric Claptons inferior version of "I shot the Sheriff" started to get airplay and ears started to turn ........ if you have never heard it then find it .. beg , steal or borrow ...... still blows my socks off to this day !!

 

[sponge]

Red hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

- fucking masterpiece. John Frusciante's guitar playing is amazing. Sir Psycho Sexy is amazing ... its about a million times better than their new piece of shite "by the way" .... awful!!!

 

[gusto]

Nitzerebb - That Total Age

Long ago when Def Leppard and N.W.A. were my mainstays, a friend of mine invited me to go see this band called Depeche Mode. Once the opening band came on and started in with 'Alarm,' it was over for the leppard.

now, 12 years later, i still bust out That Total Age at full volume at least once every other day. That album started me on the path of questioning radio music and actually preferring music that has some substance.

Definitely a must have.

 

[5T3R30TYP3]

CapDown + King Prawn

CapDown (short for capitalist downfall) have had a massive impact on my life, the same can be said for King Prawn. These two bands instantly made their way into my good books with songs about peace and unity, legalizing the herb, civil disobedience, positivity, globalisation, police brutality, overconsumption, pollution, racism, and so many other things. songs like 'unite to progress', 'civil disobedients', 'dealer fever', 'racist copper', 'poison in the air', 'dole drums', 'american funded genocide', 'ska wars'... the list goes on and on. To pick a favourite would be stupid. i would highly recommend them - king prawn are found at http://www.kingprawn.co.uk and capdown can be found at http://www.householdnamerecords.co.uk (which is where i found the link to this site). capdown play punk and hard-edged ska tunes (not like the ska-punk stuff you see on mtv) and get a bit reggaed-up at times, and king prawn play reggaed-up punky ska... it's hard to describe their styles but even if you dont like ska or punk or reggae, i would still recommend checking them out just for the lyrical content and stuff. ok bedtime for me i am far too stoned and tired for this. bye bye now.

 

[Gumbert]

For me it has to be Kraftwerk I was brought up on Frank Zappa, Beefheart, Sonny Terry, Screamin Jay Hawkins but when mi dad brought in Trans Europe Express in ‘77’ my mind went to another level. Bang went all the guitar sounds and showroom dummies was the thing to be into (and we break the glass), and I was only eight. You just can’t beat Endless Endless for the sheer musical poetry. It’s a track that just washes over me. Like hearing the orb, beyond the ultraworld or KLF’s chill out first time but this is a class above and well ahead of its time.

Getting in to mi teens Kraftwerk were still the main geezers then Planet Rock came along and Bambaatta said he was into Kraftwerk and the whole electro thang harked back to these German pioneers…Much respect for Hashim, Nucleus etc and the other massive one at the time Malcolm X : No sell out produced by Keith Leblanc who then hooked up with Sherwood and brought out THE MIGHTY TACKHEAD and ‘I discovered drugs’. Leaving the International in Manchester with tinitus for a week, luved ‘em. Then House arrived and I went a little crazy at the Blackburn Warehouse daze and haven’t stopped But I’ve always played Trans Europe Express to come down what a record…

Rendezvous on the Champ elle’se
leave Paris in the morning
By TEE

In Vienna we sit
In a late night Café
Straight connection TEE

Station to station
And to Dusseldorf city
Meet Iggy pop and David Bowie

Beees fuckin Knees…..TEE

 

[LEN]

Originally posted by Gumbert


Station to station
And to Dusseldorf city
Meet Iggy pop and David Bowie

Beees fuckin Knees…..TEE

Nice one,Gumbert! Reading your message,I saw the cassette of Trans-Europe Express sitting on the floor in my living room (probably been sitting there unnoticed for months) & I've just stuck it on - forgot how good it is.Cheers for the Tackhead link too - been looking for on-U Sound info for a while... ...(sings)even the greatest stars...

 

[Feelgood]

The Cranberries: Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We

I think that the reason music is as popular as it is, is because certain songs remind people of poignant moments of their life, and this is certainly true of this album. Whenever i'm feeling pissed off or upset with the world i just press play and i am transported into a world where i feel nothing but tranquility and warmth.

 

[Dubversion]

when im feeling pissed off and desperate, i just put on a cranberries tape and then i just get transported into a fantasy land where dolores o'riordan is tied to a railway track and the 8.15 from Stockport is just seconds away..

 

[rosie]

FLESH by David Gray

i think this is the album that has most impressed me and affected me. i love writing (if i could do it well)! and this album has some of the best lyrics i personally have heard in years. lyrics mean a lot to me for a song to have quality and you dont get much higher quality than when you listen to this, IMHO. hes got really clear and poignant messages and expressed so eloquently and simply i just get totally stunned by it every time!

absolutely beautiful, nice lazy acoustics and all very genuine-sounding. i think the fact this was made before he was famous also adds to its appeal. i can never listen to this album without going through each and every song with admiration.

mmmmmm!

 

[ViolentPanda]

JOY DIVISION - Unknown Pleasures.

I know They had a reputation for being "depressing", but the combination of the heavily reverbed drums, Peter Hook's attacking bass, and Barney Summers' sparse guitar, along with with Ian Curtis' deep and slow voice, like he's surfacing from an opium haze, delivering those desolate lyrics, has just kept me listening to it since I first bought it 24 yrs ago.

When I listen to this album I "see" images in my head that have the same sort of beauty as a pre-raphaelite painting (if that makes any sense). Unattainable beauty.

 

[chegrimandi]

favourite record

Generation Terrorist - Manic Street Preachers

awakened a lot of thoughts in me head about the way the world was run and for who's benefit.....and for that I will always be thankful....shame they sold out...though I hope there isn't an enduring lesson in there somewhere

 

[chazegee]

Here goes, Guns and Roses, Appetite for Destruction, I'm a brave man.
First heard it 13 years ago when I was 13. Most of the stuff I listened two then I couldnt enjoy now save for a seriously ironic grin on my face. This bastard however (I'm taking my jacket off now,) even this morning i was to be seen cock rocking to it wearing just my shreddies. From the opening police sirens of welcome to the jungle (Moving to Brixton has made this even more poignant,) to the closing sex drenched punk of Rocket queen. There is hardly a dull moment.
As in all the class acts, an album that can be enjoyed on many levels. The raw energy and attitude has imho yet to be suppased, yet is underpinned by incredibly developed orchestration which would put any of the Motown greats to shame. Any rock'n'roll band is hugely dependant on the Chemistry of the axe man and singer, when i saw them live, I nearly Shat! One word for you people, "Soulgasm" Axl, the vocal theatrics of Meatloaf, but somehow....good! Slash, not even featured in the Top 10 guitarists program! I want blood. For fucks sake, the album even has a classic ballad, Sweet chid'o'mine.....ok I'ts basic stuff, but rael passionate. And all of this, succeding in coming out of the void that was the 80's......Brilliant.

 

[flypanam]

when i was younger there was a certain 'yoof' movement which exploded out of the north of England. It praised getting wasted and wearing stupid clothes. Living in a small town in rural Ireland it caught on really well. I was down at the local disco, fantasing over some of the girls in my class, and there were the 'Hairyies' the metal fans, and the 'Baggies' every where, it was arse and it didn't feel right.

i hate metal esp thrash, and i hated baggy even more. On a foray into Dundalk i bought The Stone Roses album, and i couldn't believe people liked this stuff. it said nothing to me and really lacked a emotional commitment.

Anyway, a cousin of mine was over from london and he said that he was buying all his old Punk records on CD and he brought his favorite record over. The Gang of Fours 'entertainment' the cover just stood out the red background, cowboy robbing an indian, the anti fat white capitalist pig inside cover. it rock my world.

Then he put it the CD player and 'ether' came on the short sharp chords played at an amazing speed, the spat out lyrics, the bass and drums struggling to keep up amd not explode. I got the tingle. 'i found that essence rare' is the best example of a political song ever, you can have the anger, and the expressions but more importatntly you need the tune. They had it all.

The rest of the record flew by in what seemed like 10 minutes. all anger and outrage, yet really hopeful, something that thrash ofr baggy could never give cos escapism was all they offered.

i still get that tingle when i play entertainment, i still have not got bored of it, hearing the first couple of bars is not good for my blood pressure, it still makes me angry, and most importantly of all makes me feel that things can be beautiful if an effort is made.

 

[intox]

Tool - Aenima

means everything to me..listen to it and you'll see why!

 

[calum]

infected by the the

it's easy to look back at the my teen years with a certain embarrassment at their naive excesses, of style, sentiment and spots. but what catches me is how one or two things really stand up today as well as they did then.

which is not to say the the's infected album doesn't sound dated. it's rooted in anti-thatcherite rage and the electronica production values of that era. and yet it's laced with a self doubt and loathing that resonates still on a personal level and that the politics of that era find unnerving familiarity with these war mongering times.

i'm not sure which side of it i prefer more, the personal or political. but then neither ultimately has to dominate the other and neither does on the album. what really elevates it for me though, is that it can do self loathing and righteous without descending into noise. it's not afraid to be loud, but controls its howls to make some seriously good songs. that it can be articulate and no less emotional and immediate for that is no mean achievement.

i'm genuinely not sure where to classify them, not that they really need categorised. it's post punk, but still poppy, but kind of electro. and yet none of those really come close.

and i love the fact that it many ways it is a concept album. it's a rail against a time and a place and a self and shows how these things are not in isolation of each other. that the problems that infect society, infect the soul.

coloured blue in every sense throughout with fantastic artwork from his brother andy johnson, i find myself surprised to still love with the teenage passion i had 12 years ago.