Okay - which black people do I hate
this year?
Omissions:
Bjork * Post (Elektra)
Asian Dub Foundation * Facts And Fictions (Nation)
Dirty Three (Touch & Go)
Labradford * A Stable Reference (Kranky)
Cornelius * 69/96 (Trattoria)
Chico Science & Nacao Zumbi * De Lama Ao Caos (Chaos)
Oval * 94 Diskont (Mille Plateaux)
Meshuggah * Destroy Erase Improve (Nuclear Blast)
Fugazi * Red Medicine (Dischord)
Natacha Atlas * Diaspora (Mantra/Beggars Banquet)
Swervedriver * Ejector Seat Reservation (Creation)
Techno Animal * Re-Entry (Virgin)
Cornershop * Woman's Gotta Have It (Luaka Bop/WB)
Yo La Tengo * Electr-O-Pura (Matador)
Spiritualized * Pure Phase (Dedicated/Arista)
Pram * Sargasso Sea (Too Pure)
Mouse On Mars * Iaora Tahiti (Too Pure)
Mercury Rev * See You On The Other Side (Work)
Flying Saucer Attack * Further (Drag City)
No Doubt * The Beacon Street Collection (Sea Creature)
Helium * The Dirt of Luck (Matador)
Rocket From the Crypt * Hot Charity (Swami)
Rocket From the Crypt * The State of Art Is On Fire (Sympathy)
Foetus * Gash (Columbia)
Goodie Mob * Soul Food (WB)
The Genius/GZA * Liquid Swords (Geffen)
Transglobal Underground * International Times (Nation/Epic)
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs * Rey Azucar (Sony Discos)
Various * The Soul of Black Peru (Luaka Bop)
Team Dresch * Personal Best (Chainsaw/Candy Ass)
Massive Attack v. Mad Professor * No Protection (Circa)
18th Dye * Tribute To A Bus (Matador)
Paul Schutze * Apart (Virgin)
Flying Saucer Attack * Chorus (Drag City)
Main * Hertz (Beggars Banquet)
Ui * Unlike: Remixes Volume 1 (Lunamoth)
Ui * The 2-Sided EP/Sharpie (Southern)
Sparklehorse * Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (Capitol)
Boss Hog (Geffen)
Sunny Day Real Estate * The Pink Album (Sub Pop)
Elastica (Geffen)
The Magnetic Fields * Get Lost (Merge)
D'Angelo * Brown Sugar (EMI)
Tortoise * Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters (Thrill Jockey)
Electric Company * A Pert Cyclic Omen (Warner)
God * Appeal To Human Greed EP (Big Cat)
Low * Long Division (Vernon Yard)
Goldie * Timeless (ffrr)
David Toop * Screen Ceremonies (Wire Editions)
DJ Krush * Krush (Shadow)
Wilco * A.M. (Reprise/WB)
The Sea And Cake * Nassau (Thrill Jockey)
Buffalo Tom * Sleepy Eyed (EastWest/Beggars Banquet)
The Jayhawks * Tomorrow The Green Grass (American)
Various * Macro Dub Infection (Virgin)
Autechre * Tri Repetae (Warp)
Seam * Am I Driving You Crazy? (Touch & Go)
At The Gates * Slaughter Of The Soul (Earache)
The Roots * Do You Want More?!!!??! (DGC)
Organized Konfusion * Stress: The Extinction Agenda (Hollywood Basic)
DJ Krush * Meiso (Mo Wax)
Mr. Bungle * Disco Volante (WB)
No Doubt * Tragic Kingdom (Interscope)
Blur * The Great Escape (Virgin)
Apache Indian * Make Way for the Indian (Island)
Raekwon * Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (Loud)
In Flames * Jester Race (Nuclear Blast)
Redman * Dare Iz A Darkside (Def Jam)
Teenage Fanclub * Grand Prix (DGC)
Peter Murphy * Cascade (Beggars Banquet)
Fushitsusha * The Caution Appears (Les Disques Du Soleil)
Scott Walker * Tilt (Fontana)
Blind Guardian * Imaginations from the Other Side (EMI)
Red Red Meat * Bunny Gets Paid (Sub Pop)
Opeth * Orchid (Century Media)
Today Is The Day * Supernova (Amphetamine Reptile)
Immortal * Battles In The North (Osmose)
Mick Harvey * Intoxicated Man (Mute)
Scorn * Ellipsis (Earache)
The 6ths (Magnetic Fields) * Wasps' Nests (London)
Rachel's * Handwriting (Quarterstick)
Unwound * The Future of What (Kill Rock Stars)
Fun-Da-Mental * Seize The Time (Beggars Banquet)
Telstar Ponies * In The Space Of A Few Minutes (Fire)
Rancid * And Out Come The Wolves (Epitaph)
Loop Guru * Amrita (World Domination)
Ride * Live Light (Mutiny)
Spain * The Blue Moods of Spain (Restless)
Lambchop * How I Quit Smoking (Merge)
Movietone (Planet)
Sufi * Life's Rising (Virgin)
Money Mark * Mark's Keyboard Repair (Mo Wax)
Hepcat * Out of Nowhere (Moon Records)
Gaunt * I Can See Your Mom From Here (Thrill Jockey)
Jonathon Richman * You Must Ask The Heart (Rounder)
Third Rail * South Delta Space Age (Antilles)
Pavement * Wowie Zowie (Matador)
Palace Music * Viva Last Blues (Drag City)
Polvo * This Eclipse EP (Merge)
The Sea And Cake * The Biz (Thrill Jockey)
Seefeel * Succour (Warp)
Clutch (East West)
Microstoria * Init Ding (Mille Plateaux/Thrill Jockey)
U.S. Maple * Long Hair In Three Stages (Skin Graft)
Six Finger Satellite * Severe Exposure (Sub Pop)
Stereolab * Refried Ectoplasm: Switched On Vol. 2 (Too Pure)
Smog * Wild Love (Drag City)
Long Fin Killie * Houdini (Too Pure)
Harmony Rockets * Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel Void (Excelsior/Big Cat)
Bowery Electric (Kranky)
Moby * Everything is Wrong (Sire)
A Guy Called Gerald * Black Secret Technology (Juice Box)
5ive Style (Sub Pop)
Scud Mountain Boys * Massachusetts (Sub Pop)
Crescent * Now (Planet)
Luna * Penthouse (Elektra)
Cesaria Evora (Nonesuch)
Sonic Youth * Washing Machine (Geffen)
Medicine * Her Highness (WB)
The Young Gods * Only Heaven (Interscope)
Magic Hour * Will They Turn You On Or Will They Turn On You (Che/Twisted Village)
Aphex Twin * I Care Because You Do (Sire)
Cul De Sac * I Don't Want to Go To Bed (Cargo/Flying Nun)
Yoko Ono/IMA * Rising (Capitol)
Omni Trio * The Deepest Cut/Music for the Next Millenium (Smile)
Freakwater * Old Paint (Thrill Jockey)
Sally Timms * To The Land Of Milk And Honey (Feel Good All Over)
The Bottlerockets * The Brooklyn Side (ESD)
Cibo Matto * The Birthday Cake EP (El Diablo)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Experimental Remixes EP (Matador)
Waco Bros. * To The Last Dead Cowboy (Bloodshot)
Apache Indian * Make Way for the Indian (Mango)
Suede * Dog Man Star (Columbia)
Bolt Thrower * For Victory (Earache)
Run On * On/Off EP (Matador)
Buddy Miller * Your Love And Other Lies (Hightone)
The Black Dog * Spanners (East-West)
Chemical Brothers * Exit Planet Dust (Geffen)
Monster Magnet * Dopes To Infinity (A&M)
Ol' Dirty Bastard * Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (Elektra)
Dog Faced Hermans * Bump and Swing (Alternative Tentacles)
Don Caballero 2 (Touch & Go)
Motorhead * Sacrifice (CMC)
Scorn * Gyral (Scorn)
Guru * Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality (Chrysalis)
Royal Trux * Thank You (Geffen)
The For Carnation * Fight Songs EP (Matador)
Prodigy * Music For the Jilted Generation (Mute)
Hedfunk (Shadow)
Gaunt * Yeah, Me Too (Amphetamine Reptile)
Vanessa Daou * Zipless (Krasnow/MCA)
Tindersticks (London)
Sixteen Horsepower * Sackcloth 'n' Ashes (A&M)
Stars Of The Lid * Music For Nitrous Oxide (Sedimental)
Space Needle * Voyager (Zero Hour)
Fear Factory * Demanufacture (Roadrunner)
June of 44 * Engine Takes To Water (Quarterstick)
Home * IX (Relativity)
L.L. Cool J. * Mr. Smith (Def Jam)
Roy Montgomery * Scenes From The South Island (Drunken Fish)
Rocket From the Crypt * Scream, Dracula Scream! (Interscope)
Earth * Phase 3: Thrones And Dominions (Sub Pop)
Minxus * Pabulum (Too Pure)
This Living Hand * Consolation Prise (e pluribus unum)
Bardo Pond * Big Laughing Jym (Compulsiv)
Cypress Hill * Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom (Ruffhouse)
9 Lazy 9 * The Herb (Shadow)
The Pretenders * Isle Of View (WB)
Gastr Del Sol * The Harp Factory On Lake Street (Table Of the Elements)
Mojave 3 * Ask Me Tomorrow (4AD)
Ani DiFranco * Not A Pretty Girl (Righteous Babe)
Meat Puppets * No Joke! (London)
Gene * Olympian (Polydor)
Menswear * Nuisance (London)
Home * IX (Relativity)
Death * Symbolic (Roadrunner)
Chokebore * Anything Near Water (Amphetamine Reptile)
Doldrums * The Secret Life Of Machines (VHF)
Jonathan Richman * You Must Ask the Heart (Rounder)
Witch Hazel * Landlocked (Flydaddy)
Das EFX * Hold It Down (EastWest)
M People * Bizarre Fruit (Epic)
The Pharcyde * LabCabInCalifornia (WB)
These Are Alphabetical Because I Have Not Yet Heard Them
Bardo Pond * Bufolarius (Drunken Fish)
Beatnik Filmstars * Astronaut House (La-Di-Da America)
Neal Casal * Fade Away Diamond Time (Glitterhouse)
Children Of Dub * The Silent Pool (Magick Eye)
D-Knowledge * All That and a Bag of words (Qwest)
Duce Duce * A Sip of the Duce (Delicoius)
Fat Joe * Jealous One's Envy (Relativity)
Funkdoobiest * Brothas Doobie (Immortal)
Future Sound Of London * ISDN (Astralwerks)
Hurricane * The Hurra (Capitol)
Kam * Made in America (East-West)
KRS-One (Jive)
Masta Ace Incorporated * Sittin' On Chrome (Delicious)
MC Breed * Big Baller (Wrap)
Naughty by Nature * Poverty's Paradise (Tommy Boy)
PM Dawn * Jesus Wept (Polygram)
RBX * The RBX-Files (Premeditated)
Saturnine * Wreck At Pillar Point (Dirt)
SF Seals * Truth Walks in Sleepy Shadows (Matador)
Slipstream (Che/Carrot Top)
Slowdive * Pygmalion (4AD)
Spectrum * Highs, Lows and Heavenly Blows (Silvertone)
Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments * Bait And Switch (Onion)
Whale * We Care (Virgin)
Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes
Quote:
It's surprising what a difference it makes when a musician knows someone will actually be hearing his work. After 1994's charmingly sloppy Bee Thousand gained Guided By Voices a nationwide cult following (instead of the local cult following they were accustomed to), 1995's Alien Lanes found Robert Pollard and his partners in hard pop cleaning up their act a bit. For the most part, Alien Lanes isn't radically different from Bee Thousand — it was primarily recorded on a four-track cassette machine (and sounds like it), and Guided By Voices was still a garage band with more in the way of inspiration than chops. But the musicians have put a bit more care and focus into their performance on this set; the playing is tighter and sharper, and the band plays toward their strengths, pushing their occasional sloppiness into a harder, more rock-oriented direction. And if Pollard and Tobin Sprout were still obsessed with tiny fragments of pop song wonderment, they also rounded up a more consistent collection of them; there aren't quite as many obvious masterpieces as on Bee Thousand, but also fewer obvious mistakes, and the sequencing gives the album a more consistent flow than before. Pollard also made genuine inroads into more lyrically cognizant material (though don't fret, "Auditorium" and "Blimps Go 90" are as cryptic as ever), and "Watch Me Jumpstart," "Striped White Jets," and "Motor Away" are simply superb pop/rock songs. (Sprout also gets a few shining moments on "A Good Flying Bird" and "Straw Dogs.") Both Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes sound like they were made by a band of inspired amateurs with great ideas; the difference is that Alien Lanes suggests that Guided By Voices wanted to prove that they could turn pro some day.
Tricky - MaxinquayeQuote:
Tricky's debut, Maxinquaye, is an album of stunning sustained vision and imagination, a record that sounds like it has no precedent as it boldly predicts a new future. Of course, neither sentiment is true. Much of the music on Maxinquaye has its roots in the trip-hop pioneered by Massive Attack, which once featured Tricky, and after the success of this record, trip-hop became fashionable, turning into safe, comfortable music to be played at upscale dinner parties thrown by hip twenty and thirtysomethings. Both of these sentiments are true, yet Maxinquaye still manages to retain its power; years later, it can still sound haunting, disturbing, and surprising after countless spins. It's an album that exists outside of time and outside of trends, a record whose clanking rhythms, tape haze, murmured vocals, shards of noise, reversed gender roles, alt-rock asides, and soul samplings create a ghostly netherworld fused with seductive menace and paranoia. It also shimmers with mystery, coming not just from Tricky — whose voice isn't even heard until the second song on the record — but his vocalist, Martine, whose smoky singing lures listeners into the unrelenting darkness of the record. Once they're there, Maxinquaye offers untold treasures. There is the sheer pleasure of coasting by on the sound of the record, how it makes greater use of noise and experimental music than anything since the Bomb Squad and Public Enemy. Then, there's the tip of the hat to PE with a surreal cover of "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," sung by Martine and never sounding like a postmodernist in-joke. Other references and samples register subconsciously — while Isaac Hayes' "Ike's Rap II" flows through "Hell Is Around the Corner" and the Smashing Pumpkins are even referenced in the title of "Pumpkin," Shakespeare's Sisters and the Chantels slip by, while Michael Jackson's "Bad" thrillingly bleeds into "Expressway to Your Heart" on "Brand New You're Retro." Lyrics flow in and out of consciousness, with lingering, whispered promises suddenly undercut by veiled threats and bursts of violence. Then, there's how music that initially may seem like mood pieces slowly reveal their ingenious structure and arrangement and register as full-blown songs, or how the alternately languid and chaotic rhythms finally compliment each other, turning this into a bracing sonic adventure that gains richness and resonance with each listen. After all, there's so much going on here — within the production, the songs, the words — it remains fascinating even after all of its many paths have been explored (which certainly can't be said of the trip-hop that followed, including records by Tricky). And that air of mystery that can be impenetrable upon the first listen certainly is something that keeps Maxinquaye tantalizing after it's become familiar, particularly because, like all good mysteries, there's no getting to the bottom of it, no matter how hard you try.
Radiohead - The BendsQuote:
Pablo Honey in no way was adequate preparation for its epic, sprawling follow-up, The Bends. Building from the sweeping, three-guitar attack that punctuated the best moments of Pablo Honey, Radiohead create a grand and forceful sound that nevertheless resonates with anguish and despair — it's cerebral anthemic rock. Occasionally, the album displays its influences, whether it's U2, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., or the Pixies, but Radiohead turn clichés inside out, making each song sound bracingly fresh. Thom Yorke's tortured lyrics give the album a melancholy undercurrent, as does the surging, textured music. But what makes The Bends so remarkable is that it marries such ambitious, and often challenging, instrumental soundscapes to songs that are at their cores hauntingly melodic and accessible. It makes the record compelling upon first listen, but it reveals new details with each listen, and soon it becomes apparent that with The Bends, Radiohead have reinvented anthemic rock.
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?Quote:
If Definitely Maybe was an unintentional concept album about wanting to be a rock & roll star, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is what happens after the dreams come true. Oasis turns in a relatively introspective second record, filled with big, gorgeous ballads instead of ripping rockers. Unlike Definitely Maybe, the production on Morning Glory is varied enough to handle the range in emotions; instead of drowning everything with amplifiers turned up to 12, there are strings, keyboards, and harmonicas. This expanded production helps give Noel Gallagher's sweeping melodies an emotional resonance that he occasionally can't convey lyrically. However, that is far from a fatal flaw; Gallagher's lyrics work best in fragments, where the images catch in your mind and grow, thanks to the music. Gallagher may be guilty of some borrowing, or even plagiarism, but he uses the familiar riffs as building blocks. This is where his genius lies: He's a thief and doesn't have many original thoughts, but as a pop/rock melodicist he's pretty much without peer. Likewise, as musicians, Oasis are hardly innovators, yet they have a majestic grandeur in their sound that makes ballads like "Wonderwall" or rockers like "Some Might Say" positively transcendent. Alan White does add authority to the rhythm section, but the most noticeable change is in Liam Gallagher. His voice sneered throughout Definitely Maybe, but on Morning Glory his singing has become more textured and skillful. He gives the lyric in the raging title track a hint of regret, is sympathetic on "Wonderwall," defiant on "Some Might Say," and humorous on "She's Electric," a bawdy rewrite of "Digsy's Diner." It might not have the immediate impact of Definitely Maybe, but Morning Glory is just as exciting and compulsively listenable.
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My LoveQuote:
Following the tour for Rid of Me, Polly Harvey parted ways with Robert Ellis and Stephen Vaughn, leaving her free to expand her music from the bluesy punk that dominated PJ Harvey's first two albums. It also left her free to experiment with her style of songwriting. Where Dry and Rid of Me seemed brutally honest, To Bring You My Love feels theatrical, with each song representing a grand gesture. Relying heavily on religious metaphors and imagery borrowed from the blues, Harvey has written a set of songs that are lyrically reminiscent of Nick Cave's and Tom Waits' literary excursions into the gothic American heartland. Since she was a product of post-punk, she's nowhere near as literally bluesy as Cave or Waits, preferring to embellish her songs with shards of avant guitar, eerie keyboards, and a dense, detailed production. It's a far cry from the primitive guitars of her first two albums, but Harvey pulls it off with style, since her songwriting is tighter and more melodic than before; the menacing "Down by the Water" has genuine hooks, as does the psycho stomp of "Meet Ze Monsta," the wailing "Long Snake Moan," and the stately "C'Mon Billy." The clear production by Harvey, Flood, and John Parish makes these growths evident, which in turn makes To Bring You My Love her most accessible album, even if the album lacks the indelible force of its predecessors.
Pavement - Wowee ZoweeQuote:
With its vast array of musical styles, Wowee Zowee isn't as accessible as Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain or as immediate as the bracing, noisy pop of Slanted & Enchanted. Pavement never abandon their warped pop aesthetic, they simply expand it, incorporating elements of folk-rock, English music hall, soul, jazz, country, as well as adding asides to such contemporaries as Suede ("We Dance"), Ween ("Brinx Job"), and Stereolab ("Half a Canyon"). Alternating between majestic epics like "Grounded" and ragged narratives like "Rattled by the Rush" and "Father to a Sister of Thought," to song fragments like "Brinx Job" and the punkish "Serpentine Pad," the record might seem disjointed at first. After repeated listens, the songs play off each other, creating a dense collage of '90s rock & roll that recasts the past and present into one rich, kaleidoscopic, and blissfully cryptic world view.
Son Volt - TraceQuote:
Jay Farrar always provided the darkest, grittiest moments in Uncle Tupelo, so it comes as no surprise that Son Volt is a rawer record than A.M., the first album by Wilco, a band led by his former partner Jeff Tweedy. Throughout Son Volt's debut, Trace, the group reworks classic honky tonk and rock & roll, adding a desperate, determined edge to their performances. Even when they rock out, there is a palpable sense of melancholy to Farrar's voice, which lends a poignancy to the music. Trace isn't a great step forward from Tupelo's last album, the lovely Anodyne, but it is a fine continuation of the ideas Farrar has pursued over the course of his career.
The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste MetallicQuote:
The same extraordinary madness that infected the best work of Brian Wilson rears its head on the shimmering and melodic Clouds Taste Metallic, a masterful collection which completes the Flaming Lips' odyssey into the pop stratosphere. The Pet Sounds comparisons are obvious — two of the highlights are titled "This Here Giraffe" and "Christmas at the Zoo" — yet not unfair; like Brian Wilson, Wayne Coyne has refined his unique vision into something both highly personal and powerfully universal. Similarly, while Coyne's lyrics remain as acid-damaged and inscrutable as ever, his densely constructed songs convey emotional complexities far beyond the scope of their head-case titles ("Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus With Needles," "Guy Who Got a Headache and Accidentally Saves the World"); galvanized by equal parts newfound maturity and childlike wonderment, Clouds Taste Metallic is both the Flaming Lips' most intricate and most irresistible work.
Pulp - Different ClassQuote:
After years of obscurity, Pulp shot to stardom in Britain with 1994's His 'n' Hers. By the time Different Class was released at the end of October 1995, the band, particularly lead singer Jarvis Cocker, were genuine British superstars, with two number two singles and a triumphant last-minute performance at Glastonbury under their belts, as well as one tabloid scandal. On the heels of such excitement, anticipation for Different Class ran high, and not only does it deliver, it blows away all their previous albums, including the fine His 'n' Hers. Pulp don't stray from their signature formula at all — it's still grandly theatrical, synth-spiked pop with new wave and disco flourishes, but they have mastered it here. Not only are the melodies and hooks significantly catchier and more immediate, the music explores more territory. From the faux-show tune romp of the anthemic opener "Mis-Shapes" and the glitzy, gaudy stomp of "Disco 2000" (complete with a nicked riff from Laura Branigan's "Gloria") to the aching ballad "Underwear" and the startling sexual menace of "I Spy," Pulp construct a diverse, appealing album around the same basic sound. Similarly, Jarvis Cocker's lyrics take two themes, sex and social class, and explore a number of different avenues in bitingly clever ways. As well as perfectly capturing the behavior of his characters, Cocker grasps the nuances of language, creating a dense portrait of suburban and working-class life. All of his sex songs are compassionate, while the subtle satire of "Sorted for E's & Wizz" is affectionate, but the best moment on the album is the hit single "Common People," about a rich girl who gets off by slumming with the lower class. Coming from Cocker, who made secondhand clothes and music glamorous, the song is undeniably affecting and exciting, much like Different Class itself.
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