Yes, I did top 30 EPs and only top 25 LPs, but that's because EPs are shorter... or something like that. Here are the rest of my best LPs ever and its a bit of a wild ride. Opening with the remix compilation from Third Eye Foundation, when I bought this I didn't recognize any of the artists names. The music is so wonderfully strange, and not at all danceable electronica, well except for the last track I suppose. Matt Elliott's style is in full effect here, showing how diverse and broad his range is. Coming from appearances with bands like Flying Saucer Attack, Amp, and Hood, his solo project TEF was just mind-blowing and unexpected. Then his solo work under his own name is sublime, dark acoustic songs. Next up is Kid606 and the album that captured my attention the most when I first heard it, "Down With The Scene." His other work at this time (Don't Sweat the Technics, and GQ on the EQ++) are a bit inconsistent, but have their great moments, its Down with the Scene that has the best album feel to it, and plenty of variety in his styles in anarcho-punk take on electronic music. I always loved his puns as track titles. The bonus track on this album (is it really a bonus if its on every edition?) is a welcomed glitchy Ragga/Drum N Bass workout from Hrvatski.
Then we come to Skinny Puppy, and I had a lot of internal conflict choosing between "Ain't It Dead Yet" and "Last Rights." The live album won out because it was one of my first cassettes I'd bought from them, and their live presence and reworking of tracks is incredible. Seeing them perform live twice has been on my top concerts ever list as they never disappoint. I'm sad I missed their farewell tour this year. I kept the industrial vibe going strong by selecting In Slaughter Natives for the next track. I came across them via the "Absolute Supper" compilation, which will be featured in the upcoming Top Compilations mix. This is some powerful industrial neo-classical stuff here and the whole album has this sinister and evil vibe to it. Their performance on the Mort Aux Vaches series is worth checking out. Still in the industrial vein, Scorn makes their second appearance on my top lists, this time its the album "Evanescence." I first bought the "Silver Rain Fell" single because of the Meat Beat Manifesto remix on the B-Side, and realized how incredible this project of ex-Napalm Death members was. This album and it's sister remix album "Ellipsis" represent a perfect moment in time where magic happened. The samples they used are diverse, everything from The Residents, Zoviet France, The Human League, Spacement 3, Barry Adamson, Onyx, Monte Cazazza, Urban Dance Squad, to the Incredible Bongo Band. Nothing else quite like this album, in its blend of illbient, dark ambient and industrial music. What industrial section of a "best of" mix would be complete without Cabaret Voltaire? Sure, this might not be on anyone else's top list, but for me this was one of my introduction points and the one I listened to the most. I know, its a compilation and not an official album. The tracks are great representations of their early years, and covers both the raw noisy stuff, the electro funk, and hints at the more subdued electronica that was to come later.
Not too much of a shift with moving to the second album from the Talking Heads. Of course I knew all their hits from growing up with MTV, but this album was quite a surprise when I bought it from one of those dollar-a-CD clubs back in the 90s. Quirky, funky pop music that was undeniably catchy. "Psycho Killer" might be my favorite track, but this is my favorite album start to finish. Sonic Youth and Daydream Nation, what can I say... was my favorite of theirs as a teen (Evol and Sister are tied for second place). I used to listen to this cassette on road trips, and one time my Mom asked what I had on my walkman. So I handed her the tape and the whole family listened to this album as we drove across Missouri. That was one of the last times I was asked to share what was in my walkman. Then we get to Aesop Rock, and his album "The Impossible Kid" is near perfect start to finish. I rarely skip any track when I put it on. He has certainly earned his place in hip hop royalty for having the largest vocabulary of any currently recorded MC.
Tortoise is another band I came to via Brainwashed.com. Their unique blend of post-rock and jazz was a welcomed freshness to my collection when I found them. This CD has the the epic Djed, which I left off because of its length, and the rest of the album ebbs and flows with such dynamic range and energy. The list of members are a who's who of the Chicago area post-rock community and near every side project and solo effort is worth looking into. Kid Koala came to me from some punk friends, and they were right to show appreciation, he is a great turntablist and has some excellent choices of samples and source material. "Scratchcratchratchatch" is a joy, start to finish and I've even got my kids to appreciate it, through the "Dinner with Yoda" and "Tricks N Treats" tracks. As for Spiritualized, I knew it was one of the guy's from Spacemen 3, and I had seen them open for Siouxsie and the Banshees on their Pure Phase tour. Not what I expected opening for a Queen, so it took a year or two before I picked up this album. Glad I did, the opening track is one of my all time favorites, with the layers upon layers of vocals. The rest of the album is an epic rock display, and when I saw them again in 2004 I was an avid fan and thoroughly enjoyed every second of that show.
It took me a while to give Zola Jesus a try. I'd seen her albums on several websites with glowing reviews, and I guess I assumed it was more pop and not likely my style. I don't know why, but one day I just bought Taiga and Versions on vinyl and immersed myself in her glorious voice for a few days. Needless to say I was wrong on my initial assumptions and glad I gave her a chance. Such a powerful voice and songwriting, now I'm happy to share her music with anyone I can. Next I took it back to the mid 90's and some straight forward electronic music with the compilation "Delusions of Grandeur." Yes a compilation, but most of the album are Hardkiss aliases, so that's why I lumped in here instead of my top compilation mix. It was the Rabbit in the Moon tracks and remixes that jumped out the most here. That Tori Amos sample is fantastic and really adds to the climax. I loved seeing RITM at a rave where they put on a fantastic performance with professional dancers and yes, the guy in the bunny suit.
Lastly, the undeniable creativity and humor of Vicki Bennett aka People Like Us. I saw an advertisement saying she worked the merch counter at the Coil Presents Time Machines concert. Since I loved anything and everything related to Coil, I bought her most recent album, the 2CD version of "Hate People Like Us" which has an elite roster of bonkers remix artists. The ridiculous samples and splicing make for quite a humorous listen. There was a time all her work was available for free at Ubuweb; even so, I've bought several of the CDs and a couple on vinyl because they are fun additions to my library. I chose this one because Negativland did such a good job and turned some short samples into quite a nice full song, retaining much of the humor of the source material. Then I added one more Kid606 track to close this out, hey its less than 15 seconds and is an awesome closer.
00:00 Tarwater - To Describe You (3rd Eye Foundation Remix) (I PooPoo on your Juju)
04:41 Kid606 - Buffalo606 - The Morning After (Down With The Scene)
07:57 Skinny Puppy - Addiction (Ain't It Dead Yet)
14:01 In Slaughter Natives - To Mega Therion (Enter Now The World)
18:28 Scorn - Silver Rain Fell (Evanescence)
25:50 Cabaret Voltaire - Sluggin Fer Jesus (Part One) (Eight Crepuscule Tracks)
30:49 Talking Heads - With Our Love (More Songs About Buildings and Food)
34:12 Sonic Youth - Teen Age Riot (Daydream Nation)
40:56 Aesop Rock - Rings (The Impossible Kid)
44:41 Tortoise - Glass Museum (Millions Now Living Will Never Die)
49:57 Kid Koala - Emperors Crash Course In Cantonese (Scratchcratchratchatch)
54:00 Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space)
57:37 Zola Jesus - Dangerous Days (Taiga)
62:00 Rabbit in the Moon - Out of Body Experience (Burning Spear) (Delusions of Grandeur)
70:49 People Like Us - What's Music? (Negativland) (Hate People Like Us)
76:13 Kid606 - Punkshit (Down With The Scene)
photo credit: n/a
