The Bobcats have finished our second record "Bobcats Are Back!". For those of you who are not in the know about the Bobcats, it's the school band for Beebe (which is one of the schools I work at a few days a week for students with special needs). You can check out the artwork below which was made by one of the students:
We made a pretty rad music video for the title track using a green screen (or the green wall in the music therapy room) where students picked what they want behind them for it and such. The CD also has some songs from our Bobcats the Musical which we had a few weeks ago. The musical was inspired by Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and is about the changes they wanted to see.
For confidentiality reasons I'm not able to post the music video or songs on here - but if you're a staff at Beebe and want a copy let me know and I can get on to you!
July 26th - Mike Simonelli, the Killa B’s Acoustic Re-imagining Series, & More TBA - RI House Show - contact for details
August 1st-August 3rd: Newport Jazz Festival - John Zorn, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Dave Holland, Robert Glasper, Brian Blade, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bobby Mcferrin, Vijay Iyer... August 5th - Borris (Paradise Rock Club)
August 9th - Mike Simonelli - Family Friendly Acoustic RI show - contact for details
August 19th - Arcade Fire (Xfinity Center)
-I will actually be away for this show, so I have two tickets for this show that I’m looking to part with. I got pre-sale tickets, so they are front section - pretty close.
-I've only heard one of their songs (which wasn't even finished yet) since they've become Coaches - but it was super rad. I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to keep secret...but from what I heard it's much more electric and a lot noisier and gnarlier - but still is in the same spirit as their previous folky stuff. Can not wait to hear more from them.
-A hip-hop duo based in Rhode Island composed of two of the greatest dudes of all time and former band-mates from back in the day. The rhymes are on point, and truly funny (kind of reminiscent of MF Doom) and the beats get pretty epic and bring quite a party (with samples ranging from Cream's "White Room" to Sigur Ros's "Saeglopur")
A Rhode Island based duo (Derek Delahunt and Ben Taylor) which mixes folk and electronic music. If I'm not mistaken this will be their second show - and from the sounds of their album "Parade" which they put out last year, it should be rad.
Seeing Mogwai a couple weekends ago had me
fearing that post-rock may have kicked the bucket - that even the cinematic post-rock giants like Mogwai were simply
kicking a dead horse with nothing left to say. Seeing Swans last Saturday completely erased that
fear and made me realize, post-rock just smells a little funny…and that a new
renaissance of Post-Rock is happening.
So for those of you asking, "What is post-rock?" - The genre's name was coined by Simon Reynolds in his review of Talk Talk's album from 1990 “Laughing Stock”. He
further expanded on the term later saying it’s basically "using rock
instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and
textures rather than riffs and chords”
and also talked about the relationship "between the real time,
hands-on playing and the use of digital effects”.The genre also uses rhythms,
harmonies, melodies, and chord progressions that are not usually found in rock
tradition and is primarily
instrumental music. The genre started in 1990, with Slint’s “Spiderland” and then Talk Talk’s “Laughing Stock” being the first albums in this genre. The peak of the genre was from the late
90s to the early 2000s, and as the 2000s continued landmark albums in this
genre came along less and less frequently.
One of the Post-Rock giants is the Scottish
band, Mogwai.If you've never heard Mogwai the tracks "Mogwai Fear Satan" and "Like Herod" from their 1997 album "Young Team" are great places to start. The fist time I saw
Mogwai in 2009 was one of the most unique concert experiences of my life.
They played in a relatively smaller theater for nearly 3 hours from all
over their catalogue and it was the loudest show (in decibels) I had ever seen.
The level of volume they played at was so important to this show as it
added a somatic experience to the concert. I felt every chord vibrate
inside my body at a different rate. And despite not being on any drugs,
this multi-sensory experience from such brutally loud (but minimalist) music
caused a synesthesia in which when I closed my eyed vivid and beautiful visuals
were being triggered more intensely than I had ever seen. And some of my
friends who were at the show shared a similar experience - it was the kind of
thing that was hard to put words to as it was so unlike any other show I had
been to.The show made me realized
why Mogwai and the style of post-rock that they helped popularize was a thing –
that had the ability to create a epic, cathartic, psychedelic experience to
folks who allowed themselves to surrender to it - and that’s what this stuff is
really all about.
However, the last couple times they were
supposed to play in Boston they had to cancel the show for heath related
problems and such. So obviously when the show came up last weekend I was
ecstatic. I got in the front row once again and was prepared for a similar
experience.Unfortunately, the
experience was very far from my expectations. They played about a
third as long (only a little over an hour), a third of the volume as when I saw
them in 2009, and primarily only from their most recent releases (which are
considerably less interesting than their earlier work).Their new album is especially boring as fuck (with
the exception of the track Remurdered - where everything they are going for
actually works) and is easily the worst album they have ever put out.
I walked away
extremely disappointed (having looked forward to seeing them again for half a
decade) as well with the fear that post-rock was truly dead – or at least this
more cinematic branch of it (which would be excluding the more groovy jazz
influenced branch of post-rock which was pioneered by bands like Tortoise - which never really got the mainstream exposure like the other school of post-rock has). In regards to the
giants in the cinematic branch of the genre - Sigur Ros’s last great album was in 2005,
Mogwai’s last great album was 2006, Explosions in the Sky’s last great album
was 2003…and EITS were a huge disappointment live as well when I saw them last
year compared to when I had seem them in years before that.
It has been kind of heartbreaking seeing these
great bands release painfully mediocre records for some time now and to see the
genre become watered down, cheesier, and more commercialized.With the success of bands like
Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Ros – there have been a great deal of bands
making similar sounding music that lacks the musical depth of the music they
are inspired by.
On the ride home from the Mogwai show as I was
thinking about this, I had to remind
myself that on the contrary - in the past couple of years many of the pioneers
of post-rock had come back after a hiatus of over a decade: Godspeed You! Black
Emperor, Swans, and Slint (the latter is the band that released what is widely considered the
first post-rock album).
Slint I had the pleasure of seeing on April 29th
at the Paradise and then got to see the documentary about them the following
night called “Breadcrumb Trail” which I can’t recommend seeing enough.They’ve got a pretty rad story – check
out the trailer here.
Their 1990 album Spiderland is easily one of the
greatest post-rock albums of all time and is probably my favorite album of the 90s. I’ve
got my fingers crossed that there will be new material coming from them at some
point in the near future.From
some of the things mentioned in the documentary it sounds relatively
promising.
Swans are a band I was recently turned on to,
who was a great influence on Godspeed.They started in the post-punk New York “No Wave” scene, then in the
later 90s started making music that was more cinematic and more in the
post-rock vein, and then also went on a ten year hiatus (where the leader of
the band Michael Gira had a folk project called “Angels of Light”) until 2010 -
and Swans are now releasing what some consider the greatest music of their
career. And last Saturday night they totally blew my mind.
They tried out some new material, which Michael
Gira said was like “trying to have sex with six condoms on” - but hearing a
band that is over thirty years into their career and at that level explore new
territory live was truly amazing. They also played “A Little God in My
Hands”, “Apostate” (the second part of this song which starts at 13:20 is an excellent place to start if you'd like to check out what Swans sound like nowadays) and “Bring the Sun”. The grooves were hypnotic and it was some of the heaviest music I've ever heard.
If you want, check out them playing “Apostate”
slowed down 800% (thanks to Kyle Boston who filmed this and slowed it down):
(the last 30 seconds of this is pretty darn rad)
It was moments like this where you could see
Gira become hypnotized and lost in the sound – and they took me there as well,
and again - that’s what this music is all about. And in a way it’s still derived from punk-rock – at times as
a front-man his presence brought to mind folks like Ian Curtis (or even Iggy
Pop before that).And at times
it’s brutal, intense and scary…but beyond this there’s a hypnotizing,
psychedelic, meditative force. And
Swans’ sound today is one that I believe is already starting a new rebirth of Post-Rock.A sound that is once
again derived from the punk-music that it was originally born from.A sound that is perhaps to some extent a reaction
against the commercial watered down version of the genre that has become
more popular in recent years.
If punk’s attitude can be summed up as with
“fuck you”, and the existential anxiety ridden post-punk’s attitude can
generally be summed up with “I’m fucked”…well, this new breed of post-rock’s attitude might
be something along the lines of “fuck off, get free” (as the title of the new
Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra record states). It’s psychedelic, it’s spiritual, and it’s heavy as fuck...
Every so often an album comes along that you can’t take your mind off of no matter how hard you try and makes it difficult to listen to anything else. As I’ve gotten older this has happened less and less frequently (party because of how much more music I’ve heard and party for being overwhelmed by the realization of how much more music out in the world to listen to), but last week while driving up to New York I heard Sun Kil Moon’s new album “Benji” and after listening to it basically on repeat since, I've realized I have never heard an album quite like this before.
Initially I was pretty shocked at how lyrically it is incredibly dark, but how simultaneously it has a certain humor about itself. And despite this strange emotional juxtaposition - it also seemed incredibly honest. It has a trailer-trash poetry vibe that first reminded me Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse), which makes sense since they are friends - but has more of a rapped flow (such as on "Richard Ramirez Died Today of Natural Causes"), is darker..and even more embracing of trailer-trash culture (for lack of a better term). In not only a humorous way, but embracing it with his full heart authentically. Whether it’s frying frog legs, serving KFC at funerals, or burning trash...I mean…there’s two songs that are dedicated to his relatives who burned to death in freak aerosol can explosion/trash-fire accidents that are both emotive and beautiful (“Carissa" and “Truck Driver”).
And after listening to it more and more - the thing that I dig most about this album lyrically is how literal all of it is. The lyrics are very verbose and stream of consciousness, but all are very much events that happened or his feelings about these events. And there are a lot of references that are initially kind of shocking hearing in song (such as the multiple times Panera Bread is mentioned and a wide variety of music references), as well as how straightforward and openly he addresses and sings about people on this album, such as the tracks about his parents “I Can’t Live Without My Mother’s Love” and “I Love My Dad”. And when he sings about tragic events that happen on this album, such as the shootings in Newtown, it’s done not only in a way that pays respects to those effected - but effectively uses these tragic events to paint a bigger picture. And this is what to me is most impressive and emotive about his writing - is he’s able to say something so poignant and make the listener feel something so transcendental while all the while avoiding being metaphorical or abstract in what he’s singing about.
Let me briefly talk about an anecdote involving my dad and brother to further expand upon this point: So my dad digs really sad songs. The ones he’s often most drawn to are the ones full of melancholy, death, and tragedy. For example one of his favorite songs of recent artists is “John Wayne Gacy Jr” by Sufjan Stevens. We give him a lot of shit about it - in a joking and loving way of course. But anyway, to get to the point - my dad once proposed a song idea of his to me and my brother about someone who worked in the twin towers. The song was written from the perspective of someone in the tower after it had been hit, addressing his wife who he felt he never truly let know how much he cared for her. He wanted to write the words and me to write the music. While I didn’t want to discourage my dad’s attempt at this creative idea and trying to see what he was trying to tap into with it, my brother quickly responded “You can’t do that!!!!”, since my dad wasn’t there at the tragedy. My dad argued he would be using the event and people’s ties to it to say something about something bigger with the song. After hearing out both sides of the argument, I had to agree with my brother as this song idea seemed to aim at moving the listener’s hearts more with the connection to this tragedy than their connection with the music itself. We then joked about this and the idea of an album where every song was about a different tragedy.
And anyway - after hearing this album I’ve realized that this album is basically the real deal of what my dad was sort of aiming for and what we were later joking about in a lot of ways (and avoids just using these events to tug at the strings in people's hearts). I mean, he mentions the San Ysidro McDonald’s Massacre, the terrorist attacks in Oslo, Norway, the shooting at the Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, the shootings at the Clackamas Town Center in Clackamas Oregon, and the shooting in Newtown - all just in the song “Pray for Newtown”. And a ton of this record really does focuses on death - not just the death of those in these tragedies, but the the death of relatives and friends and animals...and I can’t exactly describe how - but there is a sense of humor in this darkness that works and still pays tribute and is extremely moving. Where one could either laugh or cry to the same song, and either reaction would be totally reasonable.
And musically, I dig every choice that was made - which is something that is rather rare for me with artists in this genre (modern-folk, indie-rock and such) and if went into my thoughts on it musically god only knows how long this post would be…
My set is basically going to rewind to the day of my birth and then shit's going to get pretty weird and existential...Here's a teaser for a taste of what you can expect:
No Cover
BYOB
Adress: 166 Waterman St, Providence, Rhode Island 02906 Facebook Event Page
These are what I consider the 250 greatest albums (or recordings in some cases for such as some classical compositions) that have been created since around 1900. There are obviously many recordings I wished to put on here but could not fit, and some recordings that I recognize as historically important but did not include as they do not resonate with me. I did not include an honorable mentions list as it would have been at least another 250 albums long...
To help preserve a timeline that describes evolution of many different genres the recordings are listed by the year it was first written, released, or recorded (rather than just the year that recording was released - as this is sometimes far later than it was originally written, such as with many classical recordings which was recorded hundreds of years after it was initially composed)
PRE-1950
1888 -Gymnopédies (Erik Satie)
Satie, a French composer and pianist, referred to himself as a "phonometrograph" or "phonometrician" (meaning "someone who measures and writes down) sounds") preferring this designation to that of "musician,". These short, atmospheric pieces are regarded as the precursors to modern ambient music.
1896- Thus Spake Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)
Classical - German (Post-Romantic)
1899 - Transfigured Night(Arnold Schoenberg)
Classical - Austria
(I know "Pierrot Lunaire" is the obvious Schoenberg pick and probably the most important work of his, but I prefer his earlier stuff and feel like if you're new to Schoenberg and Second Viennese School composers that this is a better place to start anyway...as that stuff takes hot minute for your ear to get accustomed to).
1904 - String Quartet in F (Maurice Ravel)
Classical - French
1905- La Mer (Claude Debussy)
Classical - France
1909 - 9th Symphony (Gustav Mahler)
Classical - Austria
1912- Piano Works (Leos Janaceck)
Classical - Czech
1913The Rite of Spring (Igor Stravinsky)
Classical - Russia
A ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky, choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. In 1973, Leonard Bernstein said of one passage, "That page is sixty years old, but it's never been topped for sophisticated handling of primitive rhythms...it's also got the best dissonances anyone ever thought up, and the best asymmetries and polytonalities and polyrhythms and whatever else you care to name."
this is the prelude which ends with chorus singing the Epiphany hymn Watchman ("Watchman, tell us of the night"), which is basically Ive's asking the listener "what is the meaning of life". In the three movements following this he gives three different answers: the existential, the religious, and the mystical.
1931- Boulez Conducts Varese (Edgar Varese)
Classical - French
1937 - King of the Delta Blues Singers (Robert Johnson)
Blues - American
1954 - Prepared Piano (John Cage)
Classical -America
1954 -A Night at Birdland (Art Blakey)
Jazz - America
1956 - Saxophone Colossus (Sonny Rollins)
Jazz - America
1956 - Elvis Presley (Elvis Presley)
Rock - America
1957 - Brilliant Corners (Thelonius Monk)
Jazz - America
1957 - Blue TrainJohn Coltrane
Jazz - America
1957 - ‘Round About Midnight Miles Davis
Jazz - America
1958 - The Music of Harry Partch (Harry Partch)
Classical -America
1958 -Live at the Pershin (Amahd Jamal)
Jazz - America
1958 - Drums of Passion (Baba Olatunji)
World - Nigeria
1959 - Kind of Blue (Miles Davis)
Jazz - America Linear notes:
"There is a Japanese visual art in which the artist is forced to be spontaneous. He must paint on a thin stretched parchment with a special brush and black water paint in such a way that an unnatural or interrupted stroke will destroy the line or break through the parchment. Erasures or changes are impossible. These artists must practice a particular discipline, that of allowing the idea to express itself in communication with their hands in such a direct way that deliberation cannot interfere.
The resulting pictures lack the complex composition and textures of ordinary painting, but it is said that those who see well find something captured that escapes explanation.
This conviction that direct deed is the most meaningful reflections, I believe, has prompted the evolution of the extremely severe and unique disciplines of the jazz or improvising musician.
Group improvisation is a further challenge. Aside from the weighty technical problem of collective coherent thinking, there is the very human, even social need for sympathy from all members to bend for the common result. This most difficult problem, I think, is beautifully met and solved on this recording.
As the painter needs his framework of parchment, the improvising musical group needs its framework in time,. Miles Davis presents here frameworks which are exquisite in their simplicity and yet contain all that is necessary to stimulate performance with sure reference to the primary conception.
Miles conceived these settings only hours before the recording dates and arrived with sketches which indicated to the group what was to be played. Therefore, you will hear something close to pure spontaneity in these performances. The group had never played these pieces prior to the recordings and I think without exception the first complete performance of each was a "take."
-Bill Evans
1959 -Mingus Ah Um (Charles Mingus)
Jazz - America
1959 - Shape of Jazz to Come (Ornette Coleman)
Jazz - America
1959 - Time Out (Dave Brubeck)
Jazz -America
THE 60s
1960 - Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (Krzysztof Penderecki)
Classical -Poland
...seriously one of the most (if not the single most) terrifying piece of music I have ever heard in my entire life
(Penderecki's notation)
1960 - Giant Steps (John Coltrane)
Jazz -America
1960The Incredible Guitar of Wes Mont Gomery(Wes Mont Gomery)
Jazz -America
1961 Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Bill Evans)
Jazz - America
1963 - Live at Carnegie Hall (Pete Seeger)
Folk -America
1963 The Freewheelin (Bob Dylan)
Folk - America
1963 The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady (Charles Mingus)
Jazz -America
1963 Live at the Apollo (James Brown)
R&B - America
1963 - Live at the Harlem Square Club (Sam Cooke)
R&B - America
1964 In C (Terry Riley)
Classical - America
Performing Directions
All performers play from the same page of 53 melodic patterns played in sequence.
Any number of any kind of instruments can play. A group of about 35 is desired if
possible but smaller or larger groups will work. If vocalist(s) join in they can use any
vowel and consonant sounds they like.
Patterns are to be played consecutively with each performer having the freedom to
determine how many times he or she will repeat each pattern before moving on to
the next. There is no fixed rule as to the number of repetitions a pattern may have,
however, since performances normally average between 45 minutes and an hour and
a half, it can be assumed that one would repeat each pattern from somewhere
between 45 seconds and a minute and a half or longer.
It is very important that performers listen very carefully to one another and this
means occasionally to drop out and listen. As an ensemble, it is very desirable to
play very softly as well as very loudly and to try to diminuendo and crescendo
together.
Each pattern can be played in unison or canonically in any alignment with itself or
with its neighboring patterns. One of the joys of IN C is the interaction of the
players in polyrhythmic combinations that spontaneously arise between patterns.
Some quite fantastic shapes will arise and disintegrate as the group moves through
the piece when it is properly played.
It is important not to hurry from pattern to pattern but to stay on a pattern long
enough to interlock with other patterns being played. As the performance
progresses, performers should stay within 2 or 3 patterns of each other. It is
important not to race too far ahead or to lag too far behind.
The ensemble can be aided by the means of an eighth note pulse played on the high
c’s of the piano or on a mallet instrument. It is also possible to use improvised
percussion in strict rhythm (drum set, cymbals, bells, etc.), if it is carefully done and
doesn’t overpower the ensemble. All performers must play strictly in rhythm and it
is essential that everyone play each pattern carefully. It is advised to rehearse
patterns in unison before attempting to play the piece, to determine that everyone is
playing correctly.
The tempo is left to the discretion of the performers, obviously not too slow, but
not faster than performers can comfortably play.
It is important to think of patterns periodically so that when you are resting you are
conscious of the larger periodic composite accents that are sounding, and when you
re-enter you are aware of what effect your entrance will have on the music’s flow.
The group should aim to merge into a unison at least once or twice during the
performance. At the same time, if the players seem to be consistently too much in
the same alignment of a pattern, they should try shifting their alignment by an
eighth note or quarter note with what’s going on in the rest of the ensemble.
It is OK to transpose patterns by an octave, especially to transpose up. Transposing
down by octaves works best on the patterns containing notes of long durations.
Augmentation of rhythmic values can also be effective.
If for some reason a pattern can’t be played, the performer should omit it and go
on.
Instruments can be amplified if desired. Electronic keyboards are welcome also.
IN C is ended in this way: when each performer arrives at figure #53, he or she
stays on it until the entire ensemble has arrived there. The group then makes a large
crescendo and diminuendo a few times and each player drops out as he or she
wishes.
1964 - Out to Lunch (Eric Dolphy)
Jazz -America
1965 - Bringing it All Back Home (Bob Dylan)
Folk - America
The first half shows the birth of Dylan's electric period which he continued to develop on "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde on Blonde". The later half is the most perfect side of a record he ever recorded.
1965Speak No Evil (Wayne Shorter)
Jazz -America
1965 - Maiden Voyage (Herbie Hancock)
Jazz - America
1966 - Aux Aeterna (György Ligeti)
Classical -Hungary
1966 - Revolver (The Beatles)
Rock - English
1966 - Pet Sounds (The Beach Boys)
Rock - America
1966 - Music for the Morning of the World (Various Artists)
World - Indonesia
1967 - Early Works (Steve Reich)
Classical -America
1967 - Miles Smiles (Miles Davis)
Jazz - America
1967Forever Changes (Love)
Rock - America
1967 - The Doors (The Doors)
Rock - America
1967 - Velvet Underground and Nico (Velvet Underground)
Rock - America
1967 -Are You Experienced? (Jimi Hendrix)
Rock -America
1967 - Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles)
Rock -English
1967 - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Pink Floyd)
Rock - English
The only Pink Floyd record made under Syd Barrett's leadership, and my personal favorite Pink Floyd album. It was recorded in an extremely short period of time and consists of both lengthy improvisations and shorter pop songs that Barrett wrote. Barrett's use of LSD escalated during these sessions and he was pretty much an acid casualty afterwards, but still continued to make some amazing recordings (such as his debut solo album, "The Madcap Laughs")
1968 - Song Cycle (Van Dyke Parks)
Experimental -America
1968 - Astral Weeks (Van Morrison)
Folk - Irish
1968 Now He Sings Now He Sobs (Chick Corea)
Jazz - America
1968 - Os Mutantes (Os Mutantes)
Rock - Brazil
1969 -Sinfonia (Luciano Berio)
Classical -Italian
1969 - Hot Rats (Frank Zappa)
Fusion - America
1969 - In a Silent Way (Miles Davis)
Fusion - America
1969 - A Love Supreme (John Coltrane)
Jazz -America
Liner Notes:
"DEAR LISTENER: ALL PRAISE BE TO GOD TO WHOM ALL PRAISE IS DUE. Let us pursue Him in the righteous path. Yes it is true; "seek and ye shall find." Only through Him can we know the most wondrous bequeathal.
During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. I feel this has been granted through His grace. ALL PRAISE TO GOD.
As time and events moved on, a period of irresolution did prevail. I entered into a phase which was contradictory to the pledge and away from the esteemed path; but thankfully, now and again through the unerring and merciful hand of God, I do perceive and have been duly re-informed of His OMNIPOTENCE, and of our need for, and dependence on Him. At this time I would like to tell you that NO MATTER WHAT ... IT IS WITH GOD. HE IS GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL. HIS WAY IS IN LOVE, THROUGH WHICH WE ALL ARE. IT IS TRULY – A LOVE SUPREME – .
This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say "THANK YOU GOD" through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues. May He help and strengthen all men in every good endeavor.
The music herein is presented in four parts. The first is entitled "ACKNOWLEDGEMENT", the second, "RESOLUTION", the third, "PURSUANCE", and the fourth and last part is a musical narration of the theme, "A LOVE SUPREME" which is written in the context; it is entitled "PSALM".
In closing, I would like to thank the musicians who have contributed their much appreciated talents to the making of this album and all previous engagements.
To Elvin, James and McCoy, I would like to thank you for that which you give each time you perform on your instruments. Also, to Archie Shepp (tenor saxist) and to Art Davis (bassist) who both recorded on a track that regrettably will not be released at this time; my deepest appreciation for your work in music past and present. In the near future,
I hope that we will be able to further the work that was started here.
Thanks to producer Bob Thiele; to recording engineer, Rudy Van Gelder; and the staff of ABC-Paramount records. Our appreciation and thanks to all people of good will and good works the world over, for in the bank of life is not good that investment which surely pays the highest and most cherished dividends.
May we never forget that in the sunshine of our lives, through the storm and after the rain – it is all with God – in all ways and forever.
ALL PRAISE TO GOD.
With love to all, I thank you,"
--John Coltrane
1969 - In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson)
Progressive Rock - English
The first progressive rock album, and quite possibly the best.
1969 -Stand (Sly & the Family Stone)
R&B - America
1969 -At the Woodstock Festival (Ravi Shankar)
World - India
THE 70s:
1970 -Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
Metal - English
On Friday the 13th of Februray Black Sabbath gave birth to Metal with their debut album. In September of the same year they perfected it with Parinoid.
1970 -Fun House (The Stooges)
Punk - America
1970 - Band of Gypsies (Jimi Hendrix)
RockAmerica 1970 -After the Gold Rush (Neil Young)
Folk -Canada
1970 - Bitch’s Brew (Miles Davis) Fussion - America
1971 - Live Evil (Miles Davis)
Fusion - America
1971 - Inner Mounting Flame (The Mahavishnu Orchestra)
Fusion - America
1971 -Tago Mago (Can)
Krautrock - Germany
1971 - There's a Riot Goin On (Sly & the Family Stone)
R&B - America
Sly's response to Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On".
1971 - Magot Brain (Funkadelic)
R&B - America
1971 -IV (Led Zeppelin)
Rock - English
1972 - Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Folk - English
1972 - Europe 72 (Grateful Dead)
Jam Band - America
1972 - Ege Bamyasi (Can)
Krautrock -Germany
1972 - Faust So Far (Faust)
Krautrock - Germany
1972 - Close to the Edge (Yes)
Progressive Rock - English
1972 - Exille on Main St. (Rolling Stones)
Rock -English
1972 - Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie)
Rock - English
1973 -IV (Faust)
KrautrockGermany
1973 -The Payback (James Brown)
R&B - America
1973 - Innervissions (Stevie Wonder)
R&B -America
1973 -Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
Rock -English
1974 - Music in 12 Parts (Phillip Glass)
Classical - America
Probably the most hypnotic music I've ever heard. Over 3 hours and 6 discs long - when taken listened to in one sitting, it's quite an unique and indescribable experience.
Herbie may be more recognized for his work later on in the decade, but none have the psychedelic intensity and primitive groove of this recording. All the Mwandishi band recordings show an evolution to this sound, which would be a huge influence on many genres to come.
1974 - You (Gong)
Progressive Rock -France
1974 - Natty Dread (Bob Marley)
Reggae - Jamaica
1974 - On the Beach (Neil Young)
Rock - Canada
1975 - Blood on the Tracks (Bob Dylan)
Folk - America
1975 - Mothership Connection (Parliament)
Funk - America
1975 - Stolen Moments (Oliver Nelson)
Jazz - America
1976 -Einstein on the Beach (Phillip Glass)
Classical - America
By far the coolest opera written in the 20th century that I've heard. Surrealist, absurdist, minimalist, psychedelic and hypnotic.
1976 - Super Ape (Lee Scratch Perry & the Upsetters)
Dub - Jamaica
The greatest dub album ever.
1976 - Black Market (Weather Report)
Fusion -America
1976 -Bright Size Life (Pat Metheny)
Jazz - America
1992 - Selected Ambient Works (Aphex Twin)
Electronic - English
1992 - Bizarre Ride 2 the Pharcyde (The Pharcyde)
Hip-Hop - America
1992 -Slanted & Enchanted (Pavement)
Rock -America
1993 - Untitled II (Orbital)
Electronic - English
1993 - Siamese Dream (Smashing Pumpkins)
Grunge - America
1993 -Midnight Marauders (A Tribe Called Quest)
Hip-Hop -America
1993 - Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers (Wu-Tang Clan)
Hip-Hop -America
It took me a little bit to get past how ghetto the Wu are since most of what I listen to is pretty far from...but both this and GZA's solo debut "Liquid Swords" both are strong competitors for the greatest hip-hop album of all time. It's kind of traditional in some ways - evolving from rap-battle stuff, where the violence is metaphorical for the MC's lyrical abilities and rooted in mathematics (similar to older guys like Rakim). But then it's more out there in other ways, such as the beats with samples ranging from jazz to kung-fu flicks and horror soundtracks.
1993 -The Tau of Mad Phat Young (Steve Coleman & the Five Elements)
Jazz -America
1994 - Illmatic (Nas)
Hip-Hop -America
1994 - Dummy (Portishead)
Trip-Hop - English
1995 - Tri Repeate (Autechre)
Electronic - English
1995 - Iaora Tahiti (Mouse on Mars)
Electronic - Germany
1995 - Liquid Swords (GZA)
Hip-Hop - America
1995 -A Live One (Phish)
Jam-Band -America
1995 - Red Medicine (Fugazi)
Post-Hardcore -America
1996 -Odelay (Beck)
Alternative -America
1996 - Soundtrack for the BlindSwans
ExperimentalAmerica
1996 - Entroducing (DJ Shadow)
Hip-Hop -America
1996 - Emperor Tomato Katchup (Stereolab)
Post-Rock - French
1997 - OK Computer (Radiohead)
Alternative - English
1997 - Asyla (Thomas Ades)
Classical -English
1997 - Richard D James Album (Aphex Twin)
Electronic - English
1997 - Homogenic (Bjork)
Electronic - Iceland
1997 -Perfect from Now On (Built to Spill)
Indie Rock - America
1997 -I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (Yo La Tengo)
Indie Rock -America
1998 - Music Has Rotten One Note (Squarepusher)
Electronic - America
1998 -LP 5 (Autechre)
Electronic - English
1998 - Music has the Right to Children (Boards of Canada)
Electronic -Scottish
1998 - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel)
Indie Rock - America
1998 - A Go Go (John Scofield)
Jazz -America
1999 - I See a Darkness (Bonnie Prince Billy)
Folk - America
1999 - The Soft Bulletin (The Flaming Lips)
Indie Rock - America
1999 - The Fragile (Nine Inch Nails)
Industrial Rock - America
A more difficult and bleaker record than it's predecessor "The Downward Spiral", but in my opinoin - this album is Trent Reznor's best.
1999Agentis BanjurusSigur Ros
Post-RockIceland
THE 2000s
2000 - Kid A (Radiohead)
Alternative - English
2000 - Since I left You (The Avalanches)
Electronic - Australia
2000 - Supreme Clientele (Ghostface Killah)
Hip-Hop - America
2000 - The Moon & Antarctica (Modest Mouse)
Indie Rock -America
2000 - Alasnoaxis (Jim Black)
Jazz - America
2000 -Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (Godspeed You! Black Emperor)
Post-RockCanada
2001 - Go Plastic (Squarepusher)
Electronic - English
2001 - The Next Step (Kurt Rosenwinkel)
Jazz - America
2001 - Bill Frissell with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones (Bill Frissell)
Jazz - America
2001 - Standards (Tortoise
Post-RockAmerica
2001 - Lateralus (Tool)
Rock - America
2002 - The Light that Fills this World (John Luther Adams)
Classical - America
2002 - The Disintegration Loops (William Basinski)
Experimental - America
The first one is really the only one you need to hear. But if you dig that one definitely worth digging into the other loops as well.
2002 - Madvillany (Madvillan)
Hip-Hop - America
2002 - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Wilco)
Indie-Rock - America
2002 - You Forgot it in People (Broken Social Scene)
Indie-Rock - Canada
2002 -Largo (Brad Mehldau)
Jazz - America
2002 -& Yet & Yet (Do Make Say Think)
Post-Rock -Canada
2003 - The Lemon of Pink (The Books)
Folk-tronica - America
2003 - These are the Vistas (The Bad Plus)
Jazz -America
2003 - Extended Plays Live at Birdland (The Dave Holland Quintet)
Jazz -English
2004 - I, Claudia (The Claudia Quintet)
Jazz - America
2005 - The Ghetty Adress - Dirty Projectors
Indie-Rock -America
2005 - Frances the Mute (The Mars Volta)
Progressive-Rock - America
A crazy mind-fuck of a concept album. Very much a revival of the 70s progressive rock era, doused in psychedelia, and psychological drama. Lyrically the album tells a story that is allegorical, multi-layered, and contains quite a twist in the title track which doesn't apear on the album (which is considered the decoder track - reavealing the twist, adding a whole new layer to the story)
2006 - Ys (Joanna Newsom)
Folk - America
2006 - Donuts (J-Dilla)
Hip-Hop -America
2006 - Yellow House (Grizzly Bear)
Indie-Rock - America
2007 - Untrue Web (Burial)
Dubstep - English
2007 -Boxer (The National)
Indie-Rock - America
2007 - Follow the Red Line (Chris Potter)
Jazz - America
2007 -Mirrored (Battles)
Math-Rock - America
2008 - Mothertounge (Nico Muhly)
Classical - America
2008 - Los Angeles (Flying Lotus)
Electronic - America
2009 - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Animal Collective)
Electronic - America
2009Kamal the Abstract Q-Tip
Hip-HopAmerica
2010-2013
2010 - 2X5 (Steve Reich)
Classical - America
2010 - I See the Sign (Sam Amidon)
Folk - America
2010 - One Armed Bandit (Jaga Jazzist)
Jazz - Norwegian
2010 - I Speak Fula (Bassekou Kouyaté & Ngoni Ba)
World -Mali
2011 - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Colin Stetson)
Classical - America
2011 -Black Up (Shabazz Palaces)
Hip-Hop - America
2012 - Good Kid Mad City (Kendrick Lamar)
Hip-Hop - America
2012 - The Money Store (Death Grips)
Hip-Hop -America
2012 - Accelerando (Vijay Iyer)
Jazz - America
2012 - Numerology (David Gilmore)
Jazz -America
2012 - Nik Bartsch Ronin Live (Nik Bartsch Ronin)
Jazz -Swiss
2013 - Without a Net (Wayne Shorter Quartet)
Jazz - America
2013 - Virgins (Tim Heckler)
Experimental - America
