Okay, I will readily admit that 1996-8 was a bad period for me musically. I was a little out of touch with releases in those years, but I did my best to pick out ten that I thought most here would give the nod to. Anyway, plenty of good albums here, and as with all latter years of the poll, plenty more omissions:
# Chico Science & Nacao Zumbi * Afrociberdelia (Chaos)
# Dirty Three * Horse Stories (Touch & Go)
# Labradford (Kranky)
# Gallon Drunk * In The Long Still Night (City Slang UK)
# Sheila Chandra * ABoneCroneDrone (Real World)
# Walt Mink * El Producto (Atlantic)
# Cujo * Adventures In Foam (Shadow)
# Jeremy Enigk * Return of the Frog Queen (Sub Pop)
# Sleater-Kinney * Call The Doctor (Chainsaw)
# Eels * Beautiful Freak (Dreamworks)
# Disco Inferno * Technicolour (Go Ahead)
# Tricky * Pre-Millenium Tension (Island)
# Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds * Murder Ballads (Mute)
# The Wedding Present * Saturnalia (RCA)
# Patti Smith * Gone Again (Arista)
# Orphaned Land * El Nora Alila (Holy Records)
# Neurosis * Through Silver In Blood (Relapse)
# Social Distortion * White Light, White Heat White Trash (Epic)
# Einsturzende Neubauten * Ende Neu (Nothing)
# Nearly God (Island)
# Paul Schutze & Phantom City * Site Anubis (Big Cat)
# Afghan Whigs * Black Love (Elektra)
# Screaming Trees * Dust (Epic)
# Soundgarden * Down On The Upside (A&M)
# Girls Against Boys * House of GSVB (Touch & Go)
# Gastr Del Sol * Upgrade & Afterlife (Drag City)
# Directions In Music (Thrill Jockey)
# Super Furry Animals * Fuzzy Logic (Creation)
# The Walkabouts * Devil's Road (Virgin)
# Barry Adamson * Oedipus Schmoedipus (Mute)
# Ui * Sidelong (Luna Moth/Southern)
# Transglobal Underground * Psychic Karaoke (Nation/MCA)
# Various * Axiom Dub: Mysteries of Creation (Axiom)
# HIM * Egg (Southern)
# Cul De Sac * China Gate (Thirsty Ear)
# Musicians of the Nile * Charcoal Gypsies (Real World)
# Los Lobos * Colossal Head (WB)
# Jessamine * The Long Arm Of Coincidence (Kranky)
# Future Sound Of London * Dead Cities (Astralwerks)
# Lamb (Mercury)
# Ride * Tarantula (Sire)
# Firewater * Get Off The Cross (Jetset)
# Cibo Matto * Viva! La Woman (WB)
# Richard Davies * There's Never Been A Crowd Like This (Flydaddy)
# Scorn * Logghi Barogghi (Earache)
# The Raincoats * Looking In The Shadows (Geffen)
# Trans Am (Thrill Jockey)
# Arto Lindsay * O Corpo Sutil (Bar None)
# Mark Stewart * Control Data (Mute)
# Unwound * Repetition (Kill Rock Stars)
# Palace * Arise Therefore (Drag City)
# Howie B * Music For Babies (Island)
# Bardo Pond * Amanita (Matador)
# Bowery Electric * Beat (Kranky)
# Long Fin Killie * Valentino (Too Pure)
# Trenchmouth * The Broadcasting System (Skene!)
# Bikini Kill * Reject All American (Kill Rock Stars)
# The Grifters * Ain't My Lookout (Sub Pop)
# Roy Montgomery * Temple IV (Kranky)
# DJ Spooky * Songs Of A Dead Dreamer (Asphodel)
# John Zorn * Bar Kokhba (Tzadik)
# Squarepusher * Feed Me Weird Things (Rephlex)
# Plug * Drum 'n' Bass For Papa (Plant)
# Omni Trio * Haunted Science (sm:)e)
# Tool * Aenima (Volcano)
# Polly Jean Harvey & John Parish * Dance Hall At Louse Point (Island)
# The American Analog Set * The Fun Of Watching Fireworks (Emperor Jones/Trance)
# Godflesh * Songs Of Love And Hate (Earache)
# Versus * Secret Swingers (Teen Beat/Caroline)
# R.E.M. * New Adventures In Hi-Fi (WB)
# Outkast * ATLiens (LaFace)
# Gaunt * Kryptonite (Thrill Jockey)
# Opeth * Morningrise (Century Media)
# Underworld * Second Toughest In The Infants (TVT/Wax Trax)
# Run On * Start Packing (Matador)
# Prince Paul * Psychoanalysis (What Is It?) (Wordsound/Tommy Boy)
# Wilco * Being There (Reprise)
# Joe Henry * Trampoline (Mammoth)
# Deus * In A Bar, Under the Sea (Island)
# Dead Can Dance * Spiritchaser (4AD)
# Jale * So Wound (Sub Pop)
# The Orb * Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty (Deviant)
# King Sunny Ade * E Dide Get Up (Mesa)
# Rachid Taha * Ole Ole (Island)
# Butter 08 (Grand Royal)
# Maria McKee * Life Is Sweet (Geffen)
# Tiger * We Are Puppets (Trade2/Island)
# Fuxa * Very Well Organized (Che)
# Fuxa * 3 Field Rotation (Che)
# Cafe Tacuba * Avalanches De Exitos (WEA)
# Various * Offbeat: A Red Hot Sound Trip (TVT)
# Prong * Rude Awakening (Epic)
# Neneh Cherry * Man (Virgin)
# Bedhead * Beheaded (Trance Syndicate)
# Jason Falkner * Present Author Unknown (Elektra)
# The Delta 72 * The R&B of Membership (Touch & Go)
# Jack * Pioneer Soundtracks (Too Pure)
# Home * Elf: Gulf Bore Waltz (Jetset)
# Ghostface Killah * Ironman (Sire)
# Various * Metalheadz: Platinum Breakz (ffrr)
# Moonshake * Dirty And Divine (C/Z)
# Six Finger Satellite * Paranormalized (Sub Pop)
# Jeru the Damaja * Wrath Of The Math (Payday)
# Gorky's Zygotic Mynci * Introducing... (Mercury)
# Dissection * Storm Of The Light's Bane (NBA)
# Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook * Night Song (Real World)
# Morcheeba * Who Can You Trust? (Discovery/WB)
# Everything But The Girl * Walking Wounded (Atlantic)
# Aphex Twin * Richard D. James Album (Sire)
# Come * Near Life Experience (Matador)
# Telstar Ponies * Voices From The New Music (Fire)
# Ruby * Salt peter (Creation/Work)
# De La Soul * Stakes Is High (Tommy Boy)
# Rome (Touch & Go)
# Whore: Various Artists Play Wire (WMO)
# The Roots * Illadelph Halflife (DGC)
# Bjork * Telegram (Island)
# Low * The Curtain Hits The Cast (Vernon Yard)
# Silkworm * Firewater (Matador)
# Orbital * In Sides (ffrr)
# Amp * Sirenes (Petrol)
# The Melvins * Stag (Atlantic)
# Moby * Animal Rights (Elektra)
# Dubadelic * 2000: A Bass Odyssey (WordSound)
# Mag Nog (Kranky)
# Musica Transonic * A Pilgrim's Solace (PSF)
# DJ Vadim * USSR Repertoire: The Theory Of Verticality (Ninja Tune)
# Imperial Teen * Seasick (Slash)
# Alex Reece * So Far (Island)
# Motorhead * Overnight Sensation (CMC)
# Team Dresch * Captain, My Captain (Kill Rock Stars)
# Oumou Sangare * Worotan (World Circuit)
# Guided By Voices * Under The Bushes Under The Stars (Matador)
# Yungchen Lhamo * Tibet Tibet (Real World)
# The Spinanes * Strand (Sub Pop)
# Sloan * One Chord To Another (murderrecords)
# Bim Sherman * Miracle (Mantra/On-U Sound)
# Ani Difranco * Dilate (Righteous Babe)
# Seefeel * Ch-Vox (Rough Trade/Goahead)
# Cat Power * What Would the Community Think (Matador)
# Teen Angels * Daddy (Sub Pop)
# The Church * Magician Among the Spirits (Griffin)
# Fu Manchu * In Search Of... (Mammoth)
# Nevermore * The Politics Of Ecstasy (Century Media)
# Rainer Maria (Polyvinyl)
# Scissor Girls * We People Space With Phantoms (Atavistic)
# Seely * Julie Only (Too Pure)
# Fugees * The Score (Ruffhouse)
# The Hang Ups * So We Go (Restless)
# A Tribe Called Quest * Beats, Rhymes & Life (Jive)
# Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello * Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick)
# Ween * 12 Golden Country Greats (WB)
# Butthole Surfers * Electriclarryland (Capitol)
# Derek Bailey * Guitar, Drums 'N' Bass (Avant)
# Cannibal Corpse * Vile (Metal Blade)
# David Toop * Pink Noir (Virgin)
# The Jesus Lizard * Shot (Capitol)
# The Boo Radleys * C'mon Kids (Creation/Mercury)
# Suede * Coming Up (Columbia)
# Neutral Milk Hotel * On Avery Island (Merge)
# Various * Saturday Morning Cartoon's Greatest Hits (MCA)
# Basehead * Faith (Imago)
# Jamiroquai * Travelling Without Moving (Work)
# Luscious Jackson * Fever In Fever Out (Grand Royal)
# Iced Earth * The Dark Saga (Century Media)
# Plexi (Sub Pop)
# Crucial Conflict * The Final Tic (Pallas)
# Catatonia * Way Beyond Blue (Blanco Y Negro)
# The Spiny Anteaters * Crescent (Kranky)
# Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 * I Hope It Lands (Communion)
# Arcwelder * Entropy (Touch & Go)
# Polvo * Exploded Drawing (Merge)
# Railroad Jerk * The Third Rail (Matador)
# Bad Religion * Gray Race (Atlantic)
# June Of 44 * Tropics and Meridians (Quarterstick)
# Earth * Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons (Sub Pop)
# Posies * Amazing Disgrace (DGC)
# Deadbolt * Tijuana Hit Squad (Headhunter/Cargo)
Beck - Odelay
Quote:
Odelay fuses the disparate strands of Beck's music -- folk, country, hip-hop, rock & roll, blues, jazz, easy listening, rap, pop -- into one dense sonic collage. Songs frequently morph from one genre to another, seemingly unrelated genre -- bursts of noise give way to country songs with hip-hop beats, easy listening melodies transform into a weird fusion of pop, jazz, and cinematic strings; it's genre-defying music that refuses to see boundaries.
DJ Shadow - EndtroducingQuote:
As a suburban Californian kid, DJ Shadow tended to treat hip-hop as a musical innovation, not as an explicit social protest, which goes a long way toward explaining why his debut album Endtroducing... sounded like nothing else at the time of its release. Using hip-hop, not only its rhythms but its cut-and-paste techniques, as a foundation, Shadow created a deep, endlessly intriguing world on Endtroducing, one where there are no musical genres, only shifting sonic textures and styles. Shadow created the entire album from samples, almost all pulled from obscure, forgotten vinyl, and the effect is that of a hazy, half-familiar dream -- parts of the record sound familiar, yet it's clear that it only suggests music you've heard before, and that the multi-layered samples and genres create something new. And that's one of the keys to the success of Endtroducing -- it's innovative, but it builds on a solid historical foundation, giving it a rich, multi-faceted sound. It's not only a major breakthrough for hip-hop and electronica, but for pop music.
Weezer - PinkertonQuote:
Loosely structured as a concept album based on Madame Butterfly, each song works as an individual entity, driven by powerful, melodic hooks, a self-deprecating sense of humor ("Pink Triangle" is about a crush on a lesbian), and a touching vulnerability ("Across the Sea," "Why Bother?"). Weezer can still turn out catchy, offbeat singles -- "The Good Life" has a chorus that is more memorable than "Buddy Holly," "El Scorcho" twists Pavement's junk-culture references in on itself, "Falling for You" is the most propulsive thing they've yet recorded -- but the band's endearing geekiness isn't as cutesy as before, which means the album wasn't as successful on the charts. But it's the better album, full of crunching power pop with a surprisingly strong emotional undercurrent that becomes all the more resonant with each play.
Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never DieQuote:
Tortoise's production expertise hit an early peak with Millions Now Living Will Never Die, a work that not only references studio-centric forms like dub and electronica, but actively welds them to the group's aesthetic of sturdily constructed indie rock. The centerpiece is the 21-minute opener "Djed," a multi-part track which brought Tortoise's already impressive compositional abilities to a grand scale. It's almost a history of influences in miniature, first referencing tape music and dub for several minutes, then moving on to Krautrock with a chugging section incorporating wheezing organ and understated guitar chords. Halfway through, the band takes on minimalism with repeating figures of organ and vibes, then return to the green fields of their debut with a final few minutes of moody indie rock (though even this is spiced with a scratchy rhythm and various noise effects). With "Djed," Tortoise made experimental rock do double duty as evocative, beautiful music. The other songs on Millions Now Living are hardly afterthoughts, though; highlights "Glass Museum" and "The Taut and Tame" display the band quickly growing out of the angular indie rock ghetto with exquisite music, constructed with more thought and played with more emotion, than any of their peers.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Now I Got WorryQuote:
Where Orange had some awkward attempts at funk, Now I Got Worry is a raw bloozy workout, full of harsh guitars and barked vocals. The sound of the Blues Explosion is so fiery and alive that it overshadows Spencer's habit for campy posturing, and that's what keeps Now I Got Worry afloat. Once it's finished, it becomes hard not to second-guess Spencer's intentions, but the album is the closest the Blues Explosion have come to capturing their wild, intense live show on record.
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato KetchupQuote:
The group certainly hasn't backed away from pop melodies on Emperor Tomato Ketchup, but just as their hooks are becoming catchier, they bring in more avant-garde and experimental influences, as well. Consequently, the album is Stereolab's most complex, multi-layered record. It lacks the raw, amateurish textures of their early singles, but the music is far more ambitious, melding electronic drones and singsong melodies with string sections, slight hip-hop and dub influences, and scores of interweaving counter melodies. Even when Stereolab appears to be creating a one-chord trance, there is a lot going on beneath the surface. Furthermore, the group's love for easy listening and pop melodies means that the music never feels cold or inaccessible. In fact, pop singles like "Cybele's Reverie" and "The Noise of Carpet" help ease listeners into the group's more experimental tendencies. Because of all its textures, Emperor Tomato Ketchup isn't as immediately accessible as Mars Audiac Quintet, but it is a rich, rewarding listen.
Wilco - Being ThereQuote:
While Wilco's debut, A.M., spread its wings in an expectedly country-rock fashion, their sophomore effort, Being There, is the group's great leap forward, a masterful, wildly eclectic collection shot through with ambitions and ideas. Although a few songs remain rooted in their signature sound, here Jeff Tweedy and band are as fascinated by their music's possibilities as its origins, and they push the songs which make up this sprawling two-disc set down consistently surprising paths and byways. For starters, the opening "Misunderstood" is majestic psychedelia, built on studio trickery and string flourishes, while "I Got You (At the End of the Century)" is virtual power pop, right down to the handclaps. The lovely "Someone Else's Song" borrows heavily from the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," while the R&B-influenced boogie of "Monday" wouldn't sound at all out of place on Exile on Main Street; and on and on. The remarkable thing is how fresh all of these seeming clichés sound when reimagined with so much love and conviction; even the most traditional songs take unexpected twists and turns, never once sinking into mere imitation.
The Wrens - SecaucusQuote:
Secaucus drops the attemptedly-dreamy haze that marked Silver in favor of a direct but slightly slanted rock sound that tends to work far better -- the album might be fairly straightforward, but compared to earlier Wrens' work, an Archers of Loaf reference seems almost appropriate, and hints of this fuzzy slant make the rock on Secaucus far more idiosyncratic than anything else the Wrens have done. More importantly, the band's songwriting is slightly more confident and of a generally higher quality -- the album provides more interesting turns and switches in its first ten minutes than the whole of Silver did.
Dr. Octagon - Dr. OctagonecologystQuote:
It's hard to exaggerate the role that Kool Keith's debut solo album as Dr. Octagon played in revitalizing underground hip-hop. It certainly didn't bring the scene back to life single-handedly, but it attracted more attention than any non-mainstream rap album in quite a while, thanks to its inventive production and Keith's bizarre, free-associative rhymes. Dr. Octagonecologyst represented the first truly new, genuine alternative to commercial hip-hop since the Native Tongues' heyday. It appealed strongly to alternative audiences who'd grown up with rap music, but simply hadn't related to it since the rise of gangsta. Moreover, it predated seminal releases by Company Flow, Black Star, and the Jurassic 5, helping those groups get the attention they deserved, and reinvented Keith as a leader of the new subterranean movement. As if that weren't enough, the album launched the career of Dan the Automator, one of the new underground's brightest producers, and shed some light on the burgeoning turntablist revival via the scratching fireworks of DJ Q-Bert. The Automator's futuristic, horror-soundtrack production seemed to bridge the gap between hip-hop and the more electronic-oriented trip-hop (which has since narrowed even more), and it's creepily effective support for Keith's crazed alter ego. Dr. Octagon is an incompetent, time-traveling, possibly extraterrestrial surgeon who pretends to be a female gynecologist and molests his patients and nurses. The concept makes for some undeniably juvenile (and, arguably, hilarious) moments, but the real focus is Keith's astounding wordplay; it often seems based on sound alone, not literal meaning, and even his skit dialogue is full of non sequiturs.
