Album Recommendations

Album Recommendations:

Arcade Fire: Funeral-- When I first heard the single Neighborhood #1 I worried that this might be one of those albums that had a brilliant track or two, but ultimately fell flat. I'm happy to say that it finds its way into my CD player several times a month. It has an everything-but-the -kitchen-sink approach to it and I think it's inventive melodicism is one of its strongest traits. I often think of the Talking Heads when I listen to this album, not because of the percussion, but something in the vocal delivery reminds me of David Byrne. This is an album you can go back to again and again.

Belle and Sebastian: Tigermilk-- Their first album, and for me, still their best. I like assorted tracks from their other, later albums, but there's a wistful tone to Tigermilk that holds my interest more than the albums that followed. I can listen to Black Sabbath and Belle and Sebastian within seconds of each other and not have anything bad happen to my brain. Not all people are wired the way I am though, and this is a group that many people just can't get into. I think people like that probably kill small rodents and probably have personal hygiene problems, but hey, this is America, you can have poor taste if you want to.

Big Star: #1 Record/Radio City-- This is one of those albums that, if you stop after only a listen or two, you'll find yourself asking what's the big deal. If on the other hand you put it on repeat and listen to it all morning, you suddenly find that you can't get songs like September Gurls and Thirteen out of your head. Alex Chilton is the angsty teenager incarnate. His songs are exactly about every great or horrible day you had when you were in high school. You could do a lot worse in the way of having a soundtrack to your life.

Buckley, Jeff: Grace-- When this album was initially released I remember reading the Spin magazine review that gave it a six out of ten. Rolling Stone gave it a solid three stars. Now you routinely see this album listed near the top of the decade's best albums and many young artists say the album was hugely influential to them. The album cannot be separated from the tragedy of Buckley's drowning, and he, like so many artists who die to young, would have been thrilling to follow over the course of a long career. Some critics quibble about some of the more theatrical qualities of Buckley's song choices, but I love that element of this album, the way it swells with emotion and uses silence as well as the dynamic rush of Buckley's singing to move listeners. A treasure of an album.


World Party: Goodbye Jumbo-- If Karl Wallinger had maintained the level of quality he produced with Goodbye Jumbo I don't know how he could have avoided worldwide fame. This album track for track ranks with any masterpiece by any band. It wears its influences on its album sleeve: you hear Prince, the Beatles and the Who, but the way Wallinger nods at his musical loves, it never veers into mockery or cliche'. The other thing I love about this album is how seamlessly it moves from beautiful ballads to upbeat numbers that make you want to dance your ass off. I'm not particularly good at dancing my ass off, so I remain seated and just sort of percolate.