996. Who Killed...The Zutons?

Who Killed...The Zutons?
The Zutons
2004

Tracks
1. Zuton Fever
2. Pressure Point
3. You Will You Won't
4. Confusion
5. Havana Gang Brawl
6. Railroad
7. Long Time Coming
8. Nightmare Part II
9. Not A Lot To Do
10. Remember Me
11. Dirty Dancehall
12. Moons And Horror Shows

Here we have a band try to imitate The Coral, which is actually perfect for me, because I quite like The Coral.

Of course, that means this album doesn't win many points in the originality department. But they do produce some catchy songs and it's pretty entertaining to listen to throughout.

Only five more albums to go...I would be even more excited right now if a cat wasn't currently digging her claws into my legs, but such is the price of love.

RATING: 2/5

985. Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
2004

Tracks
1. Jacqueline
2. Tell Her Tonight
3. Take Me Out
4. The Dark Of The Matinée
5. Auf Achse
6. Cheating On You
7. This Fire
8. Darts Of Pleasure
9. Michael
10. Come On Home
11. 40'

Franz Ferdinand brings us an intensely danceable album here. Typically, I am wary of dance music, as it doesn't always have that much substance. Thankfully, that was not the case here.

Ferdinand provides funny music that is intended to make you want to get up and move. I've been really impressed with the debut albums lately. How are artists able to perfect their sound right out of the gate? It's really incredible.

Just a fun album and one I will be revisiting soon.

RATING: 4/5

982. Funeral

Funeral
Arcade Fire
2004

Tracks
1. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
2. Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)
3. Une Année Sans Lumiere
4. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
5. Neighborhood #4 (Kettles)
6. Crown Of Love
7. Wake Up
8. Haiti
9. Rebellion (Lies)
10. In The Backseat

I don't mean to jinx us, but I think the last twenty or so albums on this List are going to be really good. We got Nick Cave coming up, more Rufus Wainwright, the White Stripes, and Kings of Leon. I have high hopes that the List is going to end on a high note.

This was an excellent album that's brilliance sinks in immediately, although I wasn't entirely sure why. I just knew instantly I was listening to something special. It was fascinating trying to puzzle out the lyrics, and the melodies were really beautiful.

So a thoughtful album that is over much too soon. 

RATING: 5/5

969. So Much for the City

So Much for the City
The Thrills
2003

Tracks
1. Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)
2. Big Sur
3. Don't Steal Our Sun
4. Deckchairs And Cigarettes
5. One Horse Town
6. Old Friends, New Lovers
7. Say It Ain't So
8. Hollywood Kids
9. Just Travelling Through
10. Your Love Is Like Las Vegas
11. 'Til The Tide Creeps In/Plans

As I mentioned in the previous post, we've had a lot of fun noise rock lately from fairly obscure bands and it's been a blast. 

I especially enjoyed this album since it was focused on the sunshine-y, California aesthetic. It's not shallow exactly, but it does romanticize the state. Where I am there is nothing but grey skies. 

Much like the other noise rock bands we've had lately, they are not doing anything particularly new, but they still created an entertaining album.

RATING: 4/5

964. Feast of Wire

Feast of Wire
Calexico
2003

Tracks
1. Sunken Waltz
2. Quattro (World Drifts In)
3. Stucco
4. Black Heart
5. Pepito
6. Not Even Stevie Nicks
7. Close Behind
8. Woven Birds
9. The Book And The Canal
10. Attack El Robot! Attack!
11. Across The Wire (Widescreen)
12. Dub Latina
13. Guero Canelo
14. Whipping The Horses Eye
15. Crumble
16. No Doze

I had a hard time classifying this album. Technically, this album could fall into the category of world music, indie rock, pop, folk, country, jazz, or trip hop. I guess we will just call it "varied."

This makes for a somewhat scattered album, but it the end it really worked. I enjoyed the exploration of the different genres, and it was always exciting to see what the next track would hold.

Inevitably, there were some slower moments where I didn't enjoy the style they were trying on. But overall, it was very fun, and props to them for doing something different.

RATING: 4/5

953. The Last Broadcast

The Last Broadcast
The Doves
2002

Tracks
1. Intro
2. There Goes The Fear
3. M62 Song
4. Where We’re Calling From
5. New York
6. Satellites
7. Friday’s Dust
8. Pounding
9. Last Broadcast
10. The Sulphur Man
11. Caught By The River

I feel like there is a very generic "early 2000 rock" sound that is used by U2, Coldplay, and now The Doves, to fill stadiums. It's not a terrible thing, but it's not the most interesting music either.

This makes for a pretty solid collection of songs that don't really lag, but don't really do anything new. Actually, I think I enjoyed this more than U2 or Coldplay, just because it wasn't tinged with self-righteousness. 

So a good, but not very memorable, album.

RATING: 3/5

950. The Coral

The Coral
The Coral
2002

Tracks
1. Spanish Main
2. I Remember When
3. Shadows Fall
4. Dreaming of You
5. Simon Diamond
6. Goodbye
7. Waiting for the Heartaches
8. Skeleton Key
9. Wild Fire
10. Bad Man
11. Calendars and Clocks

950! This is the last milestone I will reach before I am finished with this project. I'm really excited for it to be over, but I know I will miss it when I'm done.

I had only heard the occasional Coral track in movies and television shows, so I was pleased to finally experience an entire album of their work. They have an interesting blend of influences that range from psychedelica to folk rock. My favorite track was "Dreaming of You" but there isn't a bad song on the album. 

They just have a really fresh sound that serves as a nice change of pace from what I've been listening to lately. Highly recommended.

RATING: 5/5

947. Sunshine Hit Me

Sunshine Hit Me
The Bees
2002

Tracks
1. Punchbag
2. Angryman
3. No Trophy
4. Binnel Bay
5. Sunshine
6. A Minha Menina
7. This Town
8. Sweet Like A Champion
9. Lying In The Snow
10. Zia
11. Sky Holds The Sun

This was a very summery album to listen to considering my current environment, but 2020 is all about pretending to be somewhere you are not. 

So we get another fun indie album, which I always seem to like, even if some are less memorable than others. This one is probably on the more forgettable side, but it still provided some quality songs. 

They also sound like The Coral, which we will be hearing from soon. 

RATING: 4/5

935. Is This It

Is This It
The Strokes
2001

Tracks
1. Is This It
2. The Modern Age
3. Soma
4. Barely Legal
5. Someday
6. Alone, Together
7. Last Nite
8. Hard To Explain
9. New York City Cops
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take It Or Leave It

An argument could be made that Strokes fans are fairly insufferable, but the album is still good anyway. The Strokes bring the sounds of the Stooges and Television into the 21st century. Some might say that makes them derivative, but I felt like they updated the style enough to keep themselves relevant.

It's a very enjoyable album filled with catchy songs. I feel like the dark predictions other List followers have made about the early 2000s are appearing unfounded. Yes, there's the occasional Eminem and Destiny's Child album, but there have also been some great discoveries as well. I wasn't paying much attention to the music scene at the time, being six years old, so I missed a lot of this.

Great album from a great band.

RATING: 5/5

930. Bright Flight

Bright Flight
Silver Jews
2001

Tracks
1. Slow Education
2. Room Games And Diamond Rain
3. Time Will Break The World
4. I Remember Me
5. Horseleg Swastikas
6. Transylvania Blues
7. Let's Not And Say We Did
8. Tennessee
9. Friday Night Fever
10. Death Of An Heir Of Sorrows

We have another really delightful album, brought to us by Silver Jews. I love this indie folk genre this List has been into lately. It's definitely a nice reprieve from the onslaught of electronica. 

This is a short album that is over before you know it, but definitely leaves an impression. The lyrics were funny and clever, and the songs were fairly catchy. I guess this was a mixture of country/folk but it also had some lo-fi elements as well.

Overall, a really fun album and so far 2001 hasn't been so bad.

RATING: 4/5

917. Parachutes

Parachutes
Coldplay
2000

Tracks
1. Don't Panic
2. Shiver
3. Spies
4. Sparks
5. Yellow
6. Trouble
7. Parachutes
8. High Speed
9. We Never Change
10. Everything's Not Lost (Includes Hidden Track 'Life Is For Living')

So Coldplay is mildly annoying, and are only marginally less self righteous than U2. I just get the sense the main singer is kind of a douchebag, without having a solid basis for that assumption. Their songs just seem like they are written to get women into bed. Which I know is probably why most songs are written, but they are usually less obvious about it.

That being said, I did enjoy this album. It had some really nice hooks and catchy songs. The lyrics were a bit eyeroll worthy at times (ahem "Yellow"). But overall the quality was impressive. I particularly enjoyed "Shiver," which is probably the most recognizable song from the album.

So a good album from an irritating band.

RATING: 4/5

914. The Hour of the Bewilderbeast

The Hour of the Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
2000

Tracks
1. The Shining
2. Everybody's Stalking
3. Bewilderbeast 1
4. Fall In A River
5. Camping Next To Water
6. Stone On The Water
7. Another Pearl
8. Body Rap
9. Once Around The Block
10. This Song
11. Bewilderbeast 2
12. Magic In The Air
13. Cause A Rockslide
14. Pissing In The Wind
15. Blistered Heart
16. Disillusion
17. Say It Again
18. Epitaph

Wow, this album really came as a surprise. I had never heard of Badly Drawn Boy before, but based on the album title, I thought this was going to be some angry metal album. Happily, that was not the case.

Instead, I was treated to a beautiful folk rock album that manages to move effortlessly through a variety of styles. As soon as I heard "The Shining" I knew I was listening to something special. 

It's interesting listening to this after Figure 8. They had much of the same vibe, but I think I liked this better. I felt like the arrangements were a bit more complex. Badly Drawn Boy proves there's more to Manchester's music scene than derivative britpop.

RATING: 5/5

903. Lost Souls

Lost Souls
The Doves
2000

Tracks
1. Firesuite
2. Here It Comes
3. Break Me Gently
4. Sea Song
5. Rise
6. Lost Souls
7. Melody Calls
8. Catch The Sun
9. Man Who Told Everything
10. Cedar Room
11. Reprise
12. House

Nearly every album that comes out of Manchester seems to be an imitation of Oasis, but this actually bucks the trend. It's not the most memorable album, but it still was a nice change of pace.

I think they managed to move away from the typical britpop sound by incorporating more rock elements. They were more reminiscent of the Foo Fighters, for example, than Suede. It didn't blow me away, but I enjoyed it.

And there are worse ways to usher in the 2000s.

RATING: 3/5

850. When I Was Born for the 7th Time

When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Cornershop
1997

Tracks
1. Sleep On The Left Side
2. Brimful Of Asha
3. Butter The Soul
4. Chocolat
5. We're In Your Corner
6. Funky Days Are Back Again
7. What Is Happening?
8. When The Light Appears Boy
9. Coming Up
10. Good Shit
11. Good To Be On The Road Back Home Again
12. It's Indian Tobacco My Friend
13. Candyman
14. State Troopers
15. Norwegian Wood

850! I've been unsure if I can reach my insane goal of finishing the List in 2020, but it looks like I'm on track. This was a good album to celebrate the milestone with. You have to love an album with a Norwegian Wood cover.

Okay, so there is a little too much electronica for my taste. But thankfully, they were able to make up for it in other ways. I thought they had a clever take on "Norwegian Wood" and there was enough variation in the songs to keep me interested for the entirety of the album's runtime. 

Accessible yet uncompromising. 

RATING: 3/5

842. Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point
Primal Scream
1997

Tracks
1. Burning Wheel
2. Get Duffy
3. Kowalski
4. Star
5. If They Move, Kill 'Em
6. Out of the Void
7. Stuka
8. Medication
9. Motorhead
10. Trainspotting
11. Long Life

I remember being mildly surprised that I enjoyed the previous Primal Scream album on the List, Screamadelica, based on the name alone. 

It still didn't blow me away by any means, some of the lyrics are pretty inane. Maybe I liked it because I go in with such low expectations. Still I did think the instrumentals sounded very fresh, despite the retro vibes of the album. 

I wouldn't label this one essential listening, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again.

RATING: 3/5

837. Blur

Blur
Blur
1997

Tracks
1. Beetlebum
2. Song 2
3. Country Sad Ballad Man
4. MOR
5. On Your Own
6. Theme From Retro
7. You're So Great
8. Death Of A Party
9. Chinese Bombs
10. I'm Just A Killer For Your Love
11. Look Inside America
12. Strange News From Another Star
13. Movin' On
14. Essex Dogs

Noel Gallagher has been coming for my girl Taylor Swift hard lately in an attempt to be relevant again. So now I am determined to take Blur's side in this Oasis vs. Blur feud that nobody cares about anymore. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my casual acquaintance.

I liked this album, but I didn't love it. Blur is moving away from their Britpop sound and the results are a little cluttered. I appreciate that they are innovating their music (which Oasis never did), but it did lack focus.

At the same time, there were some really enjoyable songs, particularly the first two tracks of the album. Oh, and welcome to 1997!

RATING: 4/5

760. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Pavement
1994

Tracks

1. Silence Kid
2. Elevate Me Later
3. Stop Breathin
4. Cut Your Hair
5. Newark Wilder
6. Unfair
7. Gold Soundz
8. 5-4 = Unity
9. Range Life
10. Heaven Is A Truck
11. Hit the Plane Down
12. Fillmore Jive

I forgot to mention last post we are officially in 1994, and I have to say that 1993 was an exceptional year. Also, pay no attention if the spacing of this post is weird. Blogger is testing my Friday morning patience, trying to get me to snap. We'll see about that!

We had a previous Pavement album on the List that was pretty great, Slanted and Enchanted. Pavement managed to make another amazing album that sounds different from its predecessor. I love it when artists grow and evolve, rather than produce the same sound again and again. 

So a fantastic album from a fantastic band.

RATING: 4/5

758. Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby

Venus Luxure No.1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
1993

Tracks
1. In Like Flynn
2. Go Be Delighted
3. Rockets Are Red
4. Satin Down
5. Let Me Come Back
6. Learned It
7. Get Down
8. Bullet Proof Cupid
9. Seven Seas
10. Billy's One Stop
11. Bug House

I don't have a lot of time today, so I'll just pop in here quickly to say that this entry was pretty good. I always appreciate a shout out to Errol Flynn, so the first track endeared me to the album.

Actually the first few tracks were probably the best; it was mostly downhill from there. It was still pretty good post punk music, but nothing really stood out.

Sorry for the terseness but there is work to be done, and someone has to go and complain about it.

RATING: 3/5

753. Bubble and Scrape

Bubble and Scrape
Sebadoh
1993

Tracks
1. Soul And Fire
2. Two Years Two Days
3. Telecosmic Alchemy
4. Fantastic Disaster
5. Happily Divided
6. Sister
7. Cliche
8. Sacred Attention
9. Elixir Is Zog
10. Emma Get Wild
11. Sixteen
12. Homemade
13. Forced Love
14. No Way Out
15. Bouquet For A Siren
16. Think (Let Tomorrow Be)
17. Flood

I was wondering why this album sounded so disjointed. Then I read that different members of the band created different tracks, which explained a lot. I am not sure who was responsible for what song, but the result wasn't cohesive.

That being said, a few of the songs were okay, but didn't leave much of an impression. I had never heard of them before, and if somebody did mention them, I would probably miss it because I don't know how to pronounce the name of the band. Then once I realized my mistake, I would probably be too embarrassed to correct it and just go along with it as they told about this new band I have to listen to. 

In conclusion, not an essential album.

RATING: 3/5

745. Rid of Me

Rid of Me
PJ Harvey
1993

Tracks
1. Rid Of Me
2. Missed
3. Legs
4. Rub 'Till It Bleeds
5. Hook
6. Man-Size [Sextet]
7. Highway '61 Revisited
8. 50 Ft Queenie
9. Yuri-G
10. Man-Size
11. Dry
12. Me-Jane
13. Snake
14. Ecstasy

I like PJ Harvey quite a bit, but I wish she would settle on a volume. And that's the only gripe I can come up with for this album.

I really like how she seems to restrain herself, emotionally and vocally, and then lets it all out in energetic musical bursts. I also love any song that mixes anger and female sexuality. The lyrics are sexy, clever, and never dull.

PJ Harvey is just so cool, probably too cool for me, and I just really adore her music. I don't think we are hearing from her again on this List, which is a shame.

RATING: 4/5