1) ForeverRed 2) voyager 3) sch2383 4) Ismitje 5) SirManchester 6) taosjohn 7) frasermc 8) Iceblink 9) JeremyEritrea 10) Panfilo 11) Toon³ 12) Dr. Know 13) GringoTex 14) Matt in the Hat 15) Claymore 16) kopiteinkc 17) argentine soccer fan 18) StiltonFC 18 is already pushing it Next person who wants to join has to get a consensus from the whole group.
What if I want two picks in each round - can I be 19th as well as 4th? Tough to narrow it for the first pick, and I'm not sure anyone would swoop for rounds yet, but I really must go with the album that contains Ismitje and Mrs. Ismitje's song: Title track, Strength: [youtube]21-VQmVgaRU[/youtube] The "pensive" track, refelcting back on youth (more beauty in this world, I swear I'll never see), Spirit of '76 (4:44 version instead of 7:16 version): [youtube]9Sz5Znk1Rfw[/youtube] The Live Earth-ready song, more than 20 years before Live Earth, Absolute Reality: [youtube]hRlqOGGHVQk[/youtube] And a live version from a free concert at UCLA in 1986, the Ismitje Song, Walk Forever By My Side: [youtube]_rzP7FBS2Ts[/youtube] I wish that the terrific Knife Edge was available somewhere, but I can't find anything beyond a horrible segment taken on someone's cell phone at a recent live performance).
Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses Typical first round pick but it's one of my favorites. It never lost its appeal and still sounds as fresh and cool today as I'm sure it did back then. This is cool. Sweet Child O' Mine. (Live in 88) [youtube]Ieouur9v8hk&mode=related&search=[/youtube] Nightrain (Live in 88) [youtube]VtyqIRMJLCs[/youtube] Mr.Brownstone (Live in 88) [youtube]c9O82ydYL_c[/youtube] Think About you (Live in 86) [youtube]yYrkygeWEeE[/youtube]
I just played all those youtube Alarm clips. Is it just me, or do they really suck? I fully concede the possibility that I may have zero taste in music.
Well, I did find it an unlikely first choice. Its the post-70's side of the '80's, not the post-60's side or the pre-90's side anyway...
Wow, quite the slam on Ismitje to start. "I don't like it at all" or "Not my kind of music" is one thing (a personal preference) - "they really suck" comes across as a judgement statement on me as well (though likely unintentionally). But oh, well. For me, a favorite album is as much about time and place as quality of music. And for me, the times and places the album evokes make this the easy first choice. I wasn't a music snob at age 17, I was a high school senior. And I am quite certain that all of my picks will reflect that. Whay shouldn't they?
Bruce Springsteen-- "The River" *(October 1980) This was, IIRC, the first fully digital recording; its predecessor had been criticised for the rawness of its production. If I had to criticize it I might say its a little too clean... The best album from a major band finally in a complete and practiced lineup; Little Steven, Max Weinberg, and Roy Bittan fit his music much better than their predecessors. The keyboards were no longer fumbling with jazz, folk and funk conciousnesses but just operating at the top of a rock and roll idiom, which in turn put things on Van Zandt and Clemons' best sides and got the whole thing going straight ahead. Its four songs in before it lets you catch your breath. Its a double album and I can't find anything on it I'd edit out. Its a really honky album; yet it has a soul to it along with the motor oil-- "Drive All Night" for example. It has a greater simplicity of lyric than his early work, without losing the poetic in the process. And in the end its only rock'n'roll. "I'm driving a stolen car Down on Eldridge Avenue Each night I wait to get caught But I never do." "Well Papa go to bed now, its getting late Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now." Its one of my ten favorite albums ever...
I honestly don't think the whole album is good. I tell ya though. You need to give the title track a listen on some good headphones instead of on youtube. The part when he sings, "... I can depeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeend onnnnn oh whoa oh whoaohhhhohhhwhoa!" with the drumming seriously used to give me goosebumps. Try downloading it from somewhere and listening to it on something where you can really hear it. The rest of the album didn't really impress me though... even in the 80s.
I was going through my old CD's, and I cannot believe how many are from the 80's. It makes sense, those were great times for me, before life forced me to settle down a bit. So many great memories, I really don't know how I am going to be able to reduce my list to ten choices. I guess I'll be doing a lot of listening to old songs the next few days, in order to narrow down my list. This will be fun.
frasermc is up, then Iceblink, then me. Starting tomorrow morning I'm going to be away for Labor Day weekend, and will have limited internet access until Tuesday, so I'll post my pick tonight at the latest.
Snarky comment time. U2 The Joshua Tree. This record reminds me a great deal of high school. Unfortunately, it reminds me of the part of high school in which I wrote bad poetry. The most overrated record by the most overrated band on the planet. +2 points for the so-so "Bullet in the Blue Sky" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." -5 points for the cringe-inducing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." -10 points for ripping off Rolf the Dog's superior "Hope That Something Better Comes Along" (opening line: "Can't live with 'em / Can't live without 'em") from The Muppet Movie in "With or Without You." Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine. It's too bad that Trent Reznor didn't get fat, because I would have loved to have read snarky comments about his comeback involving the PVC clothing he wears. (Examples: "Trent Reznor, who looked like a teddy bear stuffed in a sausage casing, then took the stage"; "Reznor, who looked like a jellied ham wrapped in an uninflated balloon, then took the stage.") Overall, this ain't my thing, but I always liked the bass line to "Head Like a Hole." Pixies Doolittle. Probably my favorite record ever. Excellent choice. The Alarm Strength (or whatever it's called). The first really 80s-sounding, gated snare, mullet, rolled-up-blazer-sleeve choice of the draft. I think it's horrible, but if it recalls great memories, then who am I to judge? Guns n' Roses Appetite for Destruction. "Sweet Child O' Mine" (why the "O," Axl?) and "Paradise City" suck my sweaty balls on a hot day. The rest of this record is pretty damn solid and has dated quite well. Bruce Springsteen The River. I'm not familiar with the entire record, but the title track is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. Good choice--and bonus points for being a less obvious choice than his other 80s records.