The 90s Album Draft Voting Thread

[bojendyk]

Please vote for your five favorite lists here.

[sch2383]

Please vote for your five favorite lists here.
What are the rules, same as the current music? (Top 3 and none can be yourself)

[bojendyk]

What are the rules, same as the current music? (Top 3 and none can be yourself)

Oops, yes, top 3 with yourself excluded. I assume there will be no objections to this.

[kopiteinkc]

Can we get the bigboard updated first for easy reference

Also, I am not sure everyone has made all 10 picks have they? Michael K springs to mind.

[sch2383]

Here is a quick cut and paste with the 10th round picks added. I really don't know about Michael K, I guess we'll just have to go with what is there.

bojendyk
Nirvana- Nevermind
Jawbox- For Your Own Special Sweetheart
Tad- Salt Lick
Fugazi- In on the Killtaker
Spill- Perfect From Now On
Melvins- Bullhead
Bikini Kill- The Singles
Sleater-Kinney The Hot Rock
The Halo Benders God Don't Make No Junk
The Fastbacks Answer the Phone, Dummy

Karl K
Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
The Pixies- Bossanova
The Breeders-Last Splash
Tom Waits- Bone Machine
Gin Blossoms- New Miserable Experience
The Dismemberment Plan-Emergency & I
The Afghan Whigs- 1965
Ween- The Mollusk
The Posies-Frosting on the Beater
The Divine Comedy - Casanova

SirManchester
Ten - Pearl Jam
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
Dirt - Alice in Chains
Superunknown - Soundgarden
MTV Unplugged - Nirvana
Angel Dust - Faith No More
Purple - Stone Temple Pilots
Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age
Welcome to Sky Valley - Kyuss
Against the Grain - Bad Religion

Dr. Know
Radiohead - Ok Computer
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
Fugazi - Repeater
Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand
Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Tricky - Maxinquaye
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages
Slint - Spiderland
Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante

sch2383
The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin
Lucinda Williams- Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
Silver Jews - American Water
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Weezer - Pinkerton
Wilco - Summerteeth
Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
Tom Waits - Mule Variations
Steve Earle - I Feel Alright

Toon³
Beck- Odelay
Blur- Parklife
Massive Attack - Blue Lines
Pulp - Different Class
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
The Prodigy - Fat of the Land
Supergrass - I Should Coco
Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Paul Weller - Wild Wood
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – Homebase

Quango
Entroducing... ~ DJ Shadow
Enter the 36 Chambers ~ Wu Tang Clan
Dig Me Out ~ Sleater-Kinney
Time Out of Mind ~ Bob Dylan
Violator ~ Depeche Mode
Broken ~ Nine Inch Nails
Badmotorfinger ~ Soundgarden
Dots and Loops ~ Stereolab
Fashion Nugget ~ Cake
Vitalogy ~ Pearl Jam

ForeverRed
U2 - Achtung Baby
Air- Moon Safari
Oasis-(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Rage Against The Machine-self titled
Moby - Play
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Californication
Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare
2pac - All Eyez On Me
Alice in Chains - Facelift

taosjohn
Lyle Lovett-- The Road to Ensenada
Counting Crows- This Desert LIfe
John Hiatt-- Stolen Moments
Buddy Guy- Damn Right I've Got the Blues
Sting- Ten Summoner's Tales
Richard Thompson- Mock Tudor
Joshua Redman - Wish
Ray Wylie Hubbard-- "Loco Gringo's Lament
Willie and Lobo-- "Fandango Nights
Elaine Summers-- "Transplanting"

Panfilo
Cafe Tacuba- RE
Oasis- Definately Maybe
Manu Chao- Clandestino
The Fugees- The Score
Caifanes- El Nervio del Volcan
Tool- Ænima
Caetano Veloso- Livro
Mudhoney- Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
Bjork- Homogenic
Vicente Fernandez- Entre El Amor y Yo

kopiteinkc
Matthew Sweet-Girlfriend
REM-Automatic for the People
Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dreams
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
Midnight Oil - Earth and Sun and Moon
Beth Orton - Central Reservation
The LA's -- The LA's
World Party - Goodbye Jumbo
Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
Dead Can Dance - Into the Labyrinth

nancyb
Fountains of Wayne - Self titled
Luna - Penthouse
Neko Case - The Virginian
Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg and Wilco
The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing it, So Why Can't We?
Old 97's - Too Far to Care
Cornershop - When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Bonnie Raitt - Luck of the Draw
The Aqua Velvets – Surfmania
The Animaniacs - Yakko's World

Uppa 90
Radiohead - The Bends
Chemical Bros - Dig Your Own Hole
Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony - E 1999 Eternal
The Smashing Pumpkins -Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Metallica - Metallica
Garth Brooks - No Fences
Sublime - Sublime
Green Day - Dookie
Leonard Cohen - The Future
Nirvana - In Utero (1993)

GringoTex
Wilco-Being There
Public Enemy- Fear of a Black Planet
K.McCarty - Dead Dog's Eyeball: Songs of Daniel Johnston
Cafe Tacuba- Reves/Yo Soy
Shakira - Donde estan los ladrones?
Hank III- Risin' Outlaw
Storyville- Piece of Your Soul
Julieta Venegas- Aqui
Jane's Addiction- Ritual e lo Habitual
Henry Rollins - The Boxed Life

Michael K.
Jeff Buckley- Grace
Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion I & II
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
The Magnetic Fields- 69 Love Songs
Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die

JeremyEritrea
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Weezer - Weezer
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Sonic Youth - Goo
Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords
Fatboy Slim - You've Come a Long Way, Baby
Plastilina Mosh - Aquamosh
Filter - Short Bus
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombation In 12 Bursts

The Double
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One
Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
Massive attack - Mezzanine
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
Los Lobos - Kiko
Nas - Illmatic
Sloan - Twice Removed
Outkast - Aquemini

[bojendyk]

Some comments on the lists themselves, while I have a free moment.

Karl A very good list. While I slightly prefer Tromple le Monde and Pod, Bossanova and Last Splash, respectively, are good picks, as are the Dismemberment Plan (a critic's favorite), Tom Waits, and Posies records. Record that doesn't belong: Gin Blossoms. Same goes for the Rembrants on the long list Karl posted at the end. If Bossanova is a big, juicy beefsteak tomato (a good thing), then New Miserable Experience is Wonder Bread.

Sir Manchester made sure to bring the rock. Angel Dust? Good record. Superunknown? It ain't Louder than Love (which I truly wanted to pick but which came out at the end of 1989), but it's still awfully great. Not everything on the list appeals to me, and I would have taken In Utero before Unplugged, but the list has muscle where others have flab.

Dr. Know's list includes a huge, healthy selection of very well-regarded records (Radiohead, Guided by Voices, Fugazi, Beastie Boys, and Pavement). Buena Vista Social Club bores the crap out of me, but hey, what do I know about anything? Besides, Dr. Know had one of the draft's greatest steals with Slint toward the end.

sch2383 A mixed bag, but I write that only because some of the bands aren't my cup of tea. For example, Belle and Sebastian, who make me want to hammer nails into my own ears. However, Mule Variations--which I consider Waits's best record from the 90s--was an excellent pick, as was the Lucinda Williams record. This is probably a good list, but it ain't all for me.

Toon<3>. Except for Blur, it ain't my thang. And I seriously hate the Prodigy.

Quango. Not my thang either, save for Dig Me Out, which I really should have taken earlier. Really, nobody was going to steal the Jawbox or Tad records from me, regardless of how great they are. I should have been patient. Oh, wait, Vitalogy was a good pick as well.

ForeverRed. I love ya', mate, but your list puts me to sleep. Different strokes, different folks, yadda yadda yadda.

taosjohn. Same thing, but . . . Counting Crows? Sting? A record based on the Canterbury Tales . . . Why did you do it, Sting? Why did you do it? :(

Panfilo. Love the Mudhoney record (of course). I'm not familiar with more than half the bands on this list. It's probably great.

kopiteinkc. This list starts kind of bland but gets stronger as it progresses, starting with the awesome PJ Harvey record.

nancyb. Except for the Bonnie Raitt record (I don't care for her), I like this list quite a bit, at least with regard to the stuff I know. That Billy Bragg/Wilco record is every bit the equal of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Uppa 90 I was about to write, "Meh. Not my thing." But then, I glanced at the updated big board and was reminded that you have In Utero! Salut, In Utero!

GringoTex I don't know everything on this list, but it has lots of quality. I'm still a little surprised that he didn't open with a different Wilco record. The Rollins pick at the end was as surprising as nancyb's closing pick, and it was just as inspired.

JeremyEritrea The dance-y stuff drives me up the wall, but I like quite a few of the other picks, especially Sonic Youth's unfairly maligned (by some) Goo.

The Double Some great stuff here, starting right from the opening salvo. I hate Liz Phair, but it still amazes me that Exile didn't go sooner. The Pavement record should have been picked in the first round.

[bojendyk]

My vote:

1. Karl
2. Dr. Know
3. sch2383

[kopiteinkc]

My vote

1. JeremyEritrea
2. NancyB
3. SirManchester

[taosjohn]

My vote:

1. Karl
2. Dr. Know
3. sch2383

Amazingly close given everything--

1. sch2383
2. kopteinkc
3. Nancyb

But I had to come upwith a tiebreaker when 2, 3, and Karl finished in a three way tie by my attempt at a subjective objective scoring system... I decided that his was the least listenable for me, scoring more on cachet and less on pleasure than the other two...

[JeremyEritrea]

My vote:

1. Quango
2. Uppa 90
3. Panfilo

[sch2383]

1. Karl K
2. The Double
3. Dr. Know

[bojendyk]

Clearly, you people have failed to recognize the genius of Tad.

[Karl K]

Some comments on the lists themselves, while I have a free moment.

Karl A very good list. While I slightly prefer Tromple le Monde and Pod, Bossanova and Last Splash, respectively, are good picks, as are the Dismemberment Plan (a critic's favorite), Tom Waits, and Posies records. Record that doesn't belong: Gin Blossoms. Same goes for the Rembrants on the long list Karl posted at the end. If Bossanova is a big, juicy beefsteak tomato (a good thing), then New Miserable Experience is Wonder Bread.

Thanks.

I understand why you say what you say about New Miserable Experience, but for me, it was a record that captures a certain time in the 90s while still holding up today.

And it does rock. A song like "Hold Me Down" has a propulsive power to it. It compares musically quite favorably to a song like "Dream All Day."

[Uppa 90]

my vote:

1. JeremyEritrea
2. Quango
3. Forever Red

[nancyb]

Is it legit to abstain? Seriously, I don't know enough to vote. And thanks for the votes, you guys. I'm surprised I got any.

[Karl K]

OK, here we go.

Bo -- Well, no surprises here of course. There are really three paths you can take in a draft like this: (1) PIck records that you think are important as artistic/cultural efforts and have a range that reflect the decade; (2) Pick records (and a musical style) you like;(3) pick records where you have a personal attachment. It seems to me you should mix the three, with 1 taking predominance. With Bo's list, basically only one record fulfilled #1 -- and that is Nevermind. SK and the Fugazi choice are good records. Bo's clearly a #2 guy more than anything.

Sir Manchester -- As Bo pointed out, this is quite a muscular list. Some great records here, but too much of a kind for my taste.

Dr. Know -- Some excellent choices-- Slanted, Repeater, and Bee Thousand are absolutely essential records. Serious props for those. But then we have some peripheral selections.

Sch2383 -- Consistent high quality. I know Lucinda Williams is a critical fave, and I give her props for an uncompromising artistic nature, but her voice is just not that great. In the long run, I think Neko Case will be a more significant artist.

Toon -- Another list with high quality choices. Odelay, Park Life, I Should Coco are all great. Props too for picking Paul Weller. But Fresh Prince? Doesn't do it for me at all.

Quango -- I haven't been paying much attention to this list, but now that I look at it in toto, I am impressed. All you needed it seems to me is one strong pop record, and you would have touched on all the musical approaches of the decade. Time Out of My Mind is up there with the great Dylan records, and the great records of the decade.

Forever Red -- The most "mainstream" of all the lists. And that includes 2pac who, despite the dissing he got in this draft, is an artist you have to account for.

Taos John -- Like me, I think you're an old guy. However, I try not to draft like one.

Panfilo -- This wins the award for the most unique list. Or the most provinical. Then again, if I need a go-to guy for obscure/lesser known Latin-Hispanic music, I know who to turn to. For this alone, the draft was worth it. (Wait....didn't I write the same thing about Swedish music in the Current Music Draft? )

kopiteinkc -- an excellent list. As we discussed, Trailer Park is my favorite Beth Orton record, but these are the two you should own. A great mix of important cultural artifacts and musical variety.

nancyb -- A list that clearly followed paths 2 and 3. Reading this list, a friend would know exactly what to buy you for a present. (Hint: Lucinda Williams, if you don't already own some. And Beth Orton.). And what not to. (Whatever you do, stay away from Jesus Lizard).

Uppa 90 -- The best Radiohead record (not of this decade, but any). The best Pumpkins record. One of the best two Nirvana records. We got some range,too. But then, we have.....Garth Brooks! Hoo boy. Everyone has a secret vice...but sometimes we show judgment and just don't tell anybody.

Gringo Tex -- Wilco: excellent. Public Enemy: essential. After that? Well, as it would be easy to buy a present for nancyb, for you...well, there is no advice I could give.

Michael K -- Incomplete.

Jeremy -- I know we've squabbled. But I have one thing to say about your list: tremendous. Powerfully reflective of the entire decade.

The Double -- I don't thing we've squabbled. But I have one thing to say about your list: also tremendous.

[GringoTex]

I've only heard maybe 10% of the albums drafted. There are several lists (Karl's for example) where I haven't heard a single pick. During the first half of the 90s the only music I heard was in live music venues in Austin. The second half of the 90s I lived in Central America. I''ll do much better in the 80s album draft.

With that:

1. Panfilo
2. Jimmy Eretea
3. TheDouble

[sch2383]

Sch2383 -- Consistent high quality. I know Lucinda Williams is a critical fave, and I give her props for an uncompromising artistic nature, but her voice is just not that great. In the long run, I think Neko Case will be a more significant artist.

That would not be shocking. Williams released Car Wheels in her late 40s and Neko is currently in her mid-30s. But to be fair, they are coming from totally different ends of the spectrum. Williams has a bit more of a romantic in her it seems, or at least a traditional sense where she writes songs about her man leaving. Neko writes songs about chopping up her man and throwing him in the furnace.

[Karl K]

My ballot.

1. JeremyEritrea
2. The Double
3. Sch2383

Jeremy and The Double in my view did the best job of selecting a list that covers the range of music in the decade with high quality selections. They are in my view tied for 1st.

Sch2383 is the drafter on this draft, and on the Current Music draft, whose tastes and inclinations virtually mirror mine.

High Honorable Mentions: Toon, kopiteinkc (tied for the 3rd), Quango, Dr. Know.

[bojendyk]

OK, here we go.

Bo -- Well, no surprises here of course. There are really three paths you can take in a draft like this: (1) PIck records that you think are important as artistic/cultural efforts and have a range that reflect the decade; (2) Pick records (and a musical style) you like;(3) pick records where you have a personal attachment. It seems to me you should mix the three, with 1 taking predominance. With Bo's list, basically only one record fulfilled #1 -- and that is Nevermind. SK and the Fugazi choice are good records. Bo's clearly a #2 guy more than anything.

Fair enough. More than anything, I just wanted to have fun with making an all-Washington list. However, I would argue that the Melvins and Bikini Kill records fit in criterion #1. Well, okay, maybe not Bikini Kill (I suppose the revolution never really did succeed). But every heavier band out there right now should be writing royalty checks to the Melvins. They may be the single band from the NW whose level influence never ebbed or faltered, although the band itself remains a cult phenomenon.