Who knows

Most of you have heard and made up your mind about NMH, so my first thought is already going to be cast aside. Hell, and a LOT of other albums for that matter, this year seems to be right in the wheelhouse of a lot of us here.

So, now, to come up with some other stuff that you should hear from '98.


This is what I think of that the first real statement that Tom Zé made following his re-discovery by David Byrne in the early 90's. It's supposedly a concept album about how our imperfections make us human. But, I don't speak Portugese, so I have to talk about it on a strictly musical level. It's insane. Found sounds, guest vocalists, strange melodies and incredible hooks. It sounds, at first like it's thrown together, but upon a closer listen, there is a method to the madness, and it's an engrossing listen. My love for Tom Zé is well-known around these parts, but along with his Estuando trilogy, this is what I consider to be one of his 5 or so essential albums (taken from a long career).

And, an underrated one from a band that was already overlooked:

The Boo Radley's swan song was not as overtly adventurous as some of their earlier albums, but that does not mean that the songs weren't just as great. More straightforward BritPop, for sure, but damn hell does Martin Carr have a way of writing a great melody. And Sice was just the man to bring those melodies to life. The Boos had their fans and something in me tells me that they are all the happier for knowing the band's music. Great, great band that is sorely missed.

Surprised that I'm the only one posting in here so far.

Anyway, here is another album that was on Luaka Bop -- the self-titled debut from Bogota, Columbia's Bloque.

It has all the surface trappings of being something groundbreaking, but really the hodgepodge, throw-it-all-in-a-blender approach had been done before, of course. That doesn't mean that this isn't a good album. It's actually really enjoyable for fans of this kind of thing; very well done. A little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of traditional Columbian music, a little bit of rock... there you go! A lot of fun. Well-worth tracking down.
I picked it up for a buck soon after it came out and it looks like it can be had for a penny from Amazon.

Here's the opening track:

I like this year a lot. I think '97-'99 were really strong years on the whole. Mainstream rock was taking a nosedive, and some of my least favorite songs of all time were getting heavy radio play starting this year (Santana/Rob Thomas - "Smooth", Lenny Kravitz - "Fly Away", several others). Aside from that, though, there were some great things going on.

On my RYM, I've got four 5-star albums from this year, and I still haven't finished cataloging my whole collection yet so there might be something missing.

Here are a couple of those:


Boredoms - Super æ

This is my favorite Boredoms record and just an all-time favorite, period. I think it's probably the best update of what Can was doing at their peak (as well as Neu!, early Kraftwerk, and to some extent Faust) that anyone has yet made. It takes the Boredoms' early spazz and unpredictability and infuses it with Krautrock's psychedelic pulse. It's the perfect middle ground between the Boredoms' early sound and their overly jam-band-ish current one. It's not an easy listen, I suppose, as some people will find it too repetitive and/or too goofy and cartoonish at times. I love it, though. Pretty much one of the gold standards of weird, experimental rock.




Autechre - s/t (LP5)

And speaking of gold standards, this is the best Autechre album and one of the best two or three records from the whole IDM thing. This is where they really stepped up their sound into something almost mind-bogglingly intricate and complex. And they also let things get almost sentimental at times, with a few tracks showing hints of warmth and actual melody. If I'm trying to explain to someone why electronic music from the past decade has mostly left me unsatisfied and unexcited, I could point to this album as a big reason why. Hardly anything comes close to it.

Flavor Channel - Plexicom

The only full-length release from one of my favorite Chicago bands of the 1990's.
Live, these guys could tear it up. They would stop on a dime and shift from punk riffing to a stride piano solo and follow that up with a skronking free jazz sax solo. The singer loved to put on his best Roy Orbison (cum Morrissey) more than every now and then, and there was always an element of surf in the guitar playing.
That said, this record was (and remains) a bit disappointing to somebody like me who knew what these guys were capable of. Despite the fact that they reined it in too much on herell, there are still a bunch of great tunes on here.
The opening track, "Nonchalant," has a great riff and wonderful pop sensibility and is probably the best song on the album; helped, no doubt, by the great piano break in the middle. "Ride Your Bike" was always a live favorite, and "Little Thing" is pretty much a pure 1950's pop ballad.
There are flashes here and there, and while I do recommend checking this one out, I suspect that it may have more for me than it does for somebody who doesn't really know the band. Still, check it out if you find it on the cheap. I miss this band.

Less than a buck on Amazon.
It's worth this much, for sure.

I suspect there are some outliers, but I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with anything for 1998.



and

Freaking perfect power pop that somehow avoids the cliché.

Not a ton of great albums in 98'.

But some notables and a couple of masterpieces

Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over The Sea
Lucinda Williams-Car Wheels On Gravel Road

And..

Jets To Brazil-Orange Rhyming Dictionary
Opeth-My Arms Your Hears
Rocket From The Crypt-RFTC
Sunny Day Real Estate-How It Feels To Be Something On

Plus the consensus albums

Air - moon safari
Refused - the shape of punk
massive attack - mezzanine
spoon - a serie of sneaks
Unkle - psyence fiction


overlooked

Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals

Dudes...



also;
New Bomb Turks - At Rope's End
Nashville Pussy - Let Them Eat Pussy
Gaunt - Bricks and Blackouts
Rancid - Life Won't Wait

and sweet fuck...

File that Massive Attack album under the "masterpieces" heading.

Absolutely on those Outkast and Massive Attack records. Best by both artists.

(Aquemini is another one of those four 5-star albums from this year that I mentioned above.)

Car Wheels.. and The Shape of Punk To Come are two of my favorites of the past 20 years.

There's also this:

whos gonna post kid rock

Agreed. A particularly bad year for pop music too with Celine Dion dominating the year and the first salvos of Britney Spears and boy bands.

Pretty sure I was neck deep in Bob Dylan, Elephant 6 stuff, and college radio stuff around this time.

I'll check but anything I could come up with will most likely be something everyone here has heard.

I mean, if anyone hasn't heard Mermaid Avenue by now then I don't know what to tell you.

God damn it. My post disappeared into thin air. I had posted:

Manu Chao - Clandestino
Mark Lanegan - Scraps at Midnight
Richard Davies - Telegraph
Nick Lowe - Dig My Mood

Complete with descriptions, album covers, videos and links for dl's. I'm not spending another 15 minutes doing it again so search for them if you're interested.

Yeah, like a lot of the stuff already mentioned. I'll toss one out that's more under the radar that I really dig:


Lili Boniche & Bill Laswell: Boniche Dub

Taking as its source the album Alger, Alger by Arab-Occidental-Jewish singer-guitarist Lili Boniche (discovered playing in a Paris café at age 78), Boniche Dub is producer Bill Laswell's ambient pastiche of pan-Andalusian-Algerian textures and beats. Excellent if you have a need for something spacey and bass heavy. Particularly good for late night listening.

Also...


ISAN: Beautronics

First full length by one of my favorite electronic bands. Mellow, warm, inviting analog sounds all over this and subsequent releases. This release has a bit of that glitchy sound similar to the first couple of Mum albums as well, which were left behind on subsequent releases.

I wouldn't rule it out.

We've already had Marylin Manson and Lo Fidelity Allstars.

A very good year. Spoon and Rancid were two of my faves. Also:



The Backyard Babies play punk informed by '70s hard rock (as opposed to '70s metal), which means for all their posturing and sartorial overkill they still value momentum and melody as much as volume and aggression. You can hear them reaching for the same sleazoid dance party as the New York Dolls, although this seven day weekend comes with a mean streak a mile wide. Good stuff.



After the egghead directions suggested by the preceding Devotion + Doubt it was almost a relief when Richard Buckner followed it up with what he referred to as his "new wave album". Fans of New Order would rightfully balk at that description, but Since was inarguably Buckner's most accessible listen. The more straightforward guitar parts and more aggressive melodies magnificently camouflaged Buckner's now elliptical, fragmentary lyrics. In other words, you may never know what "Jewelbomb" is about but that won't stop you from singing along to it.



This Pittsburgh band sounds like the mutant offspring of the Replacements and Gram Parsons after being soundly gang-buggered by rabid Lynyrd Skynyrd fans. They lurch from straight country to shit-kicking rock & roll, dip into gospel and folk and celtic, and still have room for some funky horn-driven r&b rave-ups. AND it's all done on the cheap. Five-inch-platter proof that miracles do happen.


Other great albums that I don't have reviews for:

Will also give a quick shout to The Miseducation of Lauren Hill, Kruder & Dorfmeister's K&D Sessions, and Beck's Mutations.

There's great stuff to be found every year. '98 is pretty strong if you ask me.

Two we all know and love (right?)





Very solid album from Lisa Marr. Much better than the previous (cub) album, and much better than the solo album/Beards project that would come out a few years later.



In my top 5 of all time. He's been discussed before. Hopefully you've not been sleeping on it. If you need an up, let me know.



IMO the best late 90s "big beat" techno album. so fucking phat.

Leon Russell - Legend in My Time: Hank Wilson's Back

Third Volume of classic country covers by Leon Russell and Friends under the Hank Wilson persona.



Catchy Psychedelic Pop RIYL: Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians



Richard X. Heyman - Cornerstone

Good Byrdsian Power Pop/Jangle Pop

Not my links

Part 1 -
Part 2 -

That was the first Plastikman thing I ever bought or heard, and I don't know what happened to it. I think my copy got damaged or something.

Anyway, seeing as how I kinda like some of his stuff from around that time (Consumed and the "Sickness" single), I'd be kinda interested in hearing that again to see what I think of it now.

(Not dropping a hint for an upload or a link or anything. I'm sure I can find it if I really want to. Just saying.)