Subject URL: Top 10 reflection

My Top 10 albums project began a while ago now. The aim was to have a list of albums I concidered almost perfect. Albums I loved. Albums that having previously loved and recently returned to and STILL loved. I've accepted albums that are a bit less than perfect, with one or two not-so-hot songs with otherwise perfect gems, but I think I've stuck to my guns.

For those lazy arsed bastards who can't even click on a link, here is my Top 10 as stands :

'Eternal Nightcap', The Whitlams
'Cowboys From Hell', Pantera
'Metropolis Pt.2 (Scenes From A Memory)', Dream Theater
'Edges Of Twilight', The Tea Party
'10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1', Midnight Oil
'Angel Dust', Faith No More
'Disco Volante', Mr. Bungle
'Little Earthquakes', Tori Amos
'AEnima', Tool
'Automatic For The People', R.E.M.

On reflection I'm happy with this list, although I the time has come that when I find another album I may have to drop something from the list, although I'm definitely not beyond having 11 albums on my Top 10 list. The page specifically says "I use the number 10 loosely".

So what would I drop? Most likely would be 'Cowboys From Hell' although a relisten would be required. I remember a time I decided, just using my memory, that Nirvana's 'Incesticide' was a shit album and I was going to sell it... but I gave it one last listen, and it's now one of my favourite albums of theirs.

But looking at the list, it's so predictable, but maybe that's because I know myself so well? Am I really such a mid 90's "alternative" fan with a smatering of desperate "hold on to my metal roots but Metallica arn't quite good enough"?

And having put Automatic For The People in, Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream" is looking pretty good. If I'd heard that today and not six (?) years ago would it be in there now?

The year 2001 is a strange time to be listening to this album for the first time. A couple of my friends have similar stories of how they first heard this album in highschool and that it has stuck with them as 'bloody amazing' ever since, one going on to buy every other R.E.M. album and then some.

I on the other hand never heard this album at the time. I remember 'Everybody Hurts' and 'Man on The Moon' but nothing else. I've only just got into R.E.M. via their new album 'Reveal'. Not because I never liked their other albums, but because I never got around to listening to them.

When getting into a band that everyone says you have to, it's important to hit with the right album. I could have been thrown this album but there would have been the risk I'd have liked only the familar songs, disliked the unfamiliar and left it there...

So after enjoying Reveal I went out and finally bought 'Automatic For The People'. And funnilly enough, I love it.

I understand why it's so strange to hear this album now. Hearing it brought me back to the early 90s. It drips with early 90s sound. Times when I loved The Smashing Pumpkins and acoustic pop, good melody and simple nonsense lyrics. I know if I'd heard this album around the same time I heard Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream" I'd have loved it. Why didn't I? It seems such a shame I missed this album first time around.

I love the lyrics, I love Michael's confident but not always perfect singing style. I love they way it all sounds like a well recorded demo, played almost live, with all the mistakes left in (hear first few plucks in 'Everybody Hurts'). I even like 'Ignoreland', supposedly R.E.M.'s worst song.

In fact, I can't find a thing wrong with it. It may be that I'm just on the 'found a new band/cd' high and it all just sounds great, and soon I'll get over it but I'm not sure that matters right now, for the moment this albums rules and as such it hits my Top 10, and that, as long time readers will know, is a rare feat.

And it's definitely worth noting my Top 10 albums of all time list has finially hit 10...

Subject URL: Sonic Animation new album

From sonic's official site :
Alright.. long time no letting you know what's going on! Well the new album is just about complete and it's coming up a treat!

sonicanimation put on a great live show and I've already heard rumours of a tour at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.

Subject URL: Online music growth

Worth mentioning is the growth of MP3.com.au recently. We've seen in the last three months a 50% jump in impressions, 200% jump in unique users and about a 40% jump in the number of tracks/artists added each month.

Why? We suspect the increased exposure of MP3, the wetting of the appetite with Napster, then removing Napster from the picture. A lot more people want MP3 and they're looking harder for it. When I started here less than a year ago Napster was only a baby...

Subject URL: Gogs

Hey cool, the Complete Gogs collection came out in Aus R4 DVD. Yay.