883. Post Orgasmic Chill

Post Orgasmic Chill
Skunk Anansie
1999

Tracks
1. Charlie Big Potato
2. On My Hotel TV
3. We Don't Need Who You Think You Are
4. Tracey's Flaw
5. Skank Heads
6. Lately
7. Secretly
8. Good Things Don't Always Come To You
9. Cheap Honesty
10. You'll Follow Me Down
11. And This Is Nothing That I Thought I Had
12. I'm Not Afraid

And...we're back. After the brief respite, brought to you by XTC, we return to our not so sacred duty of listening to metal or electronic albums.

This album distinguishes itself slightly by featuring a black woman, which is extremely rare in the metal genre. But I don't like the genre no matter who is screaming, I mean singing, the lyrics I've never heard of this band before, so I would imagine that most people have forgotten about this album by now.

Not very memorable and completely skippable.

RATING: 2/5

636. The Real Thing

The Real Thing
Faith No More
1989

Tracks
1. From Out Of Nowhere
2. Epic
3. Falling To Pieces
4. Surprise You're Dead
5. Zombie Eaters
6. Real Thing
7. Underwater Love
8. Morning After
9. Woodpecker From Mars
10. War Pigs
11. Edge Of The World

Welcome to 1989! This should be a wonderful year, because it's the year my brother and Taylor Swift were born (two equally important personages). Unfortunately, I have a feeling Queen Latifah might have other plans. But let's not worry about that quite yet.

So this album really came out of nowhere, pun always intended. I had never heard of this band, but I was immediately struck by the lead vocalist's voice. Mike Patton's voice had a unique sound; he could be very one sexy moment and then threatening the next. Because of this, I liked their version of War Pigs better than the original. 

I would have never come across this if it wasn't for the List. Thank you, Powers That Be. 

RATING: 4/5

634. Nothing's Shocking

Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
1988

Tracks
1. Up the Beach
2. Ocean Size
3. Had a Dad
4. Ted, Just Admit It...
5. Standing in the Shower...Thinking
6. Summertime Rolls
7. Mountain Song
8. Idiots Rule
9. Jane Says
10. Thank You Boys
11. Pigs in Zen

Jane's Addiction isn't the first band on this List to equate shock value with quality music. Actually, it's a pretty minor offender compared to some of the more egregious examples on the List, but take a look at that album cover. Cue well-practiced eye roll sequence.

As I have said many times before, I am not a metal fan. You would think the late 80s would then be my safe space, but I guess not. Thankfully, this was more "alternative metal" so I was able to enjoy it more. Many of the songs had an unexpected softness to them that I appreciated. I particularly liked "Jane Says."

Predictably, this band fell to drugs and in-fighting, which is a shame. Only one more album for 1988!

RATING: 3/5

616. Vivid

Vivid
Living Colour
1988

Tracks
1. Cult Of Personality
2. I Want To Know
3. Middle Man
4. Desperate People
5. Open Letter (To A Landlord)
6. Funny Vibe
7. Memories Can't Wait
8. Broken Hearts
9. Glamour Boys
10. What's Your Favorite Color?
11. Which Way To America


The List will include any album where two unlike genres are fused together, even if the result is some kind of Fly/Jeff Goldblum-esque hybrid that should be euthanized immediately. In this instance, Living Colour is attempting to breed metal and funk. 

The outcome in this case is actually pretty good. For me this was the perfect amount of metal, and it didn't overwhelm the music with its harshness. Not every track was particularly memorable, but there were some bangers sprinkled in, with my favorites being Open Letter (To A Landlord) and I Want To Know. 

So maybe not an album I would want to revisit again and again, but it could have been a whole lot worse. Also cool to see an African American rock band thrown in on a List heavily dominated by white people. 

RATING: 3/5