My Little Corner Of The World – Volume 34

by Jacob on October 6th, 2009

Manic Street Preachers – Generation Terrorists (1992)
Manic Street Preachers are currently involved in their first tour of the U.S. in ten years and after seeing them the other night, I have been listening to little else since. This audacious debut album from the Welsh legends had everything. Full of attitude, rebellion, politics, and intellectual thought, Richey Edwards’ lyrics were sung with great conviction by James Dean Bradfield while the cacophony of glam’d up punk and metal led to a riotous affair. ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ is a timeless effort that still sounds amazing while ‘You Love Us’ is everything rock ‘n’ roll is meant to be. There’s even a duet with notorious underage porn star Traci Lords on ‘Little Baby Nothing’ and an early warning sign from the late Edwards on ‘Spectators Of Suicide’. As rock debuts go, Generation Terrorists is up there with some of the very best. – Matthew James

Massive Attack – Mezzanine (1998)
Whether you’ve heard of the band Massive Attack or not, chances are they’re a part of your Monday nights (or at least those of someone you know). Although the album was nominated for a Mercury Award and briefly had a hit single on the UK charts, the band seemed to have faded into obscurity in recent years. Enter popular television show House, whose theme song is a heavily edited version of the most popular single from this album – ‘Teardrop’. But these trip-hop pioneers have more than just a theme song up there sleeves; Mezzanine is chock full of smoky, atmospheric cuts that almost give the listener a contact high. For example, ‘Angel’ is nothing short of hypnotic and trance-inducing, and the aforementioned ‘Teardrop’ shows off one of the best beats ever created, supporting Elizabeth Frazer’s (of Cocteau Twins) wonderful voice. All around, Mezzanine is much more than an album – it’s a full-blown experience. Oh, and next time you watch House, I dare you to avoid the urge to listen to this album instead. – John Spencer

Bedouin Soundclash – Street Gospels (2007)
Possibly my most played album of all time, this Canadian trio really put it all together on their third full-length, combining elements of punk, reggae, and rock to create something quite special in the process. Jay Malinowski’s signature lightly-wavering, drifting vocals complement the meandering lyrical content, as he truly finds himself while wandering down St. Andrews, reminiscing on his past while gazing ahead at an uncertain future. “Speak the truth and speak ‘ever, cause it what it will/For he who hides the wrong he did, did the wrong thing still”. The honesty in Street Gospels will break your heart as much as it will heighten your spirits. – Rick Southwick

They Might Be Giants – Flood (1990)
TMBG have been around in various forms since 1982 and since I’m going to see them with a friend this week, I figured that I should actually listen to an album as opposed to the handful of songs that I was familiar with. The fact that they are playing Flood in its entirety made it easy for me to pick a starting point. It also helps that the album is fantastic. TMBG are known for their goofy themes, genre explorations, and incredibly infectious pop tunes, and almost every track on this album qualifies. Whether it’s the well-known ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ or their cover of ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ or equally fun cuts like ‘Your Racist Friend’ and ‘Whistling In The Dark’, it simply isn’t possible to listen to this record through and not have one song stuck in your head. – Paul Bulow

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)
“You’ll go to college and start listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and The Shins and become a lesbian”
- Seth Rogen’s famous line from Pineapple Express.

I can’t vouch for the last two parts of that statement but the first part is, thankfully, true. I know post-rock has the reputation for being a “snobbish” genre but nothing should stop you from listening to beautiful music. Lift Your Skinny Fists… is a great place to start your Godspeed You! Black Emperor experience because of its accessibility and optimism. As with any Godspeed album, it works better as a whole because tracks like ‘Static’ and ‘Storm’ flow beautifully together. However, I’ll make a deal with you. Take twenty-two minutes and thirty-two seconds out of your day and give ‘Storm’ a listen. If you aren’t inspired to continue listening to the rest of Godspeed’s catalogue, then there is something seriously wrong with you. – Joe Mateo

The Durutti Column – LC (1981)
Those instances when art strikes us as both familiar and foreign are among the most befuddling, rewarding listens one will ever savor. Those lines you swear you’d heard as a child, those melodies you’re convinced to have hummed for eons, the unfettered warmth of nostalgia coupled with the thrill of prospect. Manchester outfit The Durutti Column weaves textures of this sort, blending various swatches that had not been paired previously while ensuring to keep comfort above design on the list of priorities for its garments. Vini Reilly doesn’t so much straddle stylistic lines as he does bounce off them in a hall of mirrors, emitting lustrous sparks that deflect and reflect until songs come to a gradual, hushed close. On his second album LC, he teams up with drummer Bruce Mitchell to form a stunning genre quandary –it’s too resplendent to constitute post-punk, it’s more of a distant uncle than sibling to proto-post-rock, and while it is ethereal as well as accessible, it can’t be dream pop. It isn’t clear why not though. Reilly also earns his reputation as one of Britain’s most singular guitarists here as the tones produced are as twinkly as they are tense, first acknowledging the bumps in the road to then point toward greener pastures fading in the sunset. Arriving there before dark may not be particularly plausible, but the scenic ride alone is worth the trip. – Vinh Cao