MOT'S PERSONAL COLLECTION
this is a chronicle of every album i own physically, whether that be by means of tape, CD, or *shudder* vinyl. while they might not all be winners, each one has a story to tell and i appreciate them all the same. (important note, this section isn't entirely complete yet, since i've got a lot of CDs to go through.)
John Henry
Artist: They Might Be Giants
Year: 1994
Genre: Alt Rock, Jazz
fav track: No One Knows My Plan
TMBG is my favorite band of all time, hands down. they're fun, they're creative, they're weird, and they embody everything i love about the art of music. John Henry is probably their most normal album, but it's so jam-packed with jazzy bangers that i really don't mind. it was their first album as a full group, as opposed to a duo, and they use that new man-power to its fullest extent. the horns are in full force here, and it's their only album that completely leans into jazz as a genre, and it's awesome. some standout tracks are No One Knows My Plan, A Self Called Nowhere, I Should Be Allowed To Think and Thermostat. if you're big on jazz and wanna hear TMBG's funky and unique take on it, i can't recommend John Henry enough, and it's earned its place as my favorite album of all time.
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Apollo 18
Artist: They Might Be Giants
Year: 1992
Genre: Alt Rock
fav track: See the Constellation
one of TMBG's most critically acclaimed albums, Apollo 18 deserves its praise. it was the last album they did as a duo, and was immediately succeeded by John Henry, which i just talked about. the album is a great sampler of the duo in their early days, with catchy rock tunes like See the Constellation, weird and funny tracks like Spider, and the creative masterpiece that is Fingertips. if you ask me, Fingertips is the centerpiece of Apollo 18. it's a collection of 21 tracks, ranging from five to thirty seconds in length, all with a single idea that they execute perfectly and then immediately move on. it's great, and it's the epitome of the creativity TMBG always employs.
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Visions
Artist: Red Vox
Year: 2022
Genre: Rock
fav track: The Temple
red vox's latest and greatest, Visions is part of a double release, and i'll be talking about each in their own entries here. of the two, Visions is more down to earth in its compositions, and i think it's Red Vox at its objective peak. i still think i like WCGW more for sentimental reasons, but i can't deny the fact that VAA is excellent all the way through. i can't think of a single song i don't like on the album, and some of my favorites are The Temple for its dire tone, Choking on the Spite for how, well... spiteful it sounds, Elessar for the quiet, pondering atmosphere, and Winning the Most for its exceedingly catchy guitar lead. whenever vinny hears his music on stream, he's always so self conscious and hypercritical. and while i do totally understand that feeling, (i HATE hearing people read my writing aloud, it drives me nuts) i think he should be a little less hard on himself, because every album Red Vox has put out has been magnificent in their own ways. (one day i'll get around to talking about Kerosene...)
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High Society
Artist: Enon
Year: 2002
Genre: Indie Rock, Art Pop
fav track: Native Numb
Enon is one of my favorite bands of all time, that's no secret, and High Society is the perfect sampler of what they're all about. they hit you with their weird synths and rockin' guitars, then get you with Toko Yasuda's unique vocals to bring it all together. and even when Yasuda isn't the one singing, John Schmersal knows how to make a vocal performance that would be boring by anyone else and make it his own. Native Numb is the perfect example of this, with the robotic filter on Schmersal's backing track, while the leading vocals are soft and controlled. and not to mention Matt Schulz's harsh drum beats that really pull the whole song together. High Society has so many tracks like this, and they're all fuckin awesome.
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Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds
Enon
Year: 2007
Genre: Noise Rock, Art Pop
fav track: Those Who Don't Blink
as i said in the High Society entry, Enon is a recent love of mine. GGCC was their last album, released in 2007, and it really does feel like a full realization of their musical stylings. you open with an intense track right off the bat with Mirror on You, which immediately goes into Colette, a bass-heavy track lead by Toko Yasuda's unique vocal sound. the whole album is hit after hit after hit, it never stops being good. if im being honest with myself, the best track is Paperweights, but i just can't help but put Those Who Don't Blink as my favorite. it's fast, non-stop noise rock action with that track, and i love Yasuda's vocals there. if you like High Society but want even more action, GGCC is exactly that and so much more.
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Dig Your Own Hole
Artist: The Chemical Brothers
Year: 1997
Genre: Electronic
fav track: Get Up On It Like This
the Chemical Brothers are one of the most prolific electronic artists of all time, and they have a lot of phenomenal albums to choose to be a favorite. so why did i choose Dig Your Own Hole? well, DYOH is a "all killer, no filler" kind of album. i don't skip a single song here, because they're all awesome. they just keep the bangers coming, and nowhere is that more apparent than with Get Up On It Like This. it's full of punchy drums, hits, scratches and slices, and all comes together to be one of if not my absolute favorite electronic tracks ever. and near the end they wind down into a more psychedelic style, which works astonishingly well. try listening to The Private Psychedelic Reel on a nighttime car ride home, it's an unforgettable experience.
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Naked
Artist: Talking Heads
Year: 1988
Genre: New Wave
fav track: Sax & Violins
let it be known, talking heads is one of my favorite bands of all time. i love a lot of their music, i think my dad put it best when he said "it sounds like a bunch of people who don't know how to play their instruments all that well, but are just making music for the love of it" and that's kind of what i like about them. now that i've said that, i should let you know that i don't really like Naked all that much. this was a pick from a thrift store on a roadtrip, and i bought it because "oooh i love talking heads!" and it didn't go much deeper than that. actually, there is one song on the album that i really like, and that's Sax & Violins. back when i first found TH, that was one of the songs i really latched onto. it's got this ethereal atmosphere to it, and always reminded me of this one song from Yume Nikki, of all things. and it isn't even on this version of the album!! Sax & Violins was only on the 2005 rerelease of Naked, and the version i got was the original 1988 CD. damn, dude. actually wait, there is one other one i like, Nothing but Flowers. other than that, this was kind of a dud album for me, not to mention it was the last album before TH broke up, which is pretty sad.
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Smack Bunny Baby
Artist: Brainiac
Year: 1993
Genre: Noise Rock, Grunge
fav track: I Could Own You
Brainiac is such a cool ass band man. i found them through their association with Enon, and while they're almost entirely different beasts, Brainiac still kicks ass. the filters they use lead to some of the most violent and painful sounding vocals ive ever heard, and that just makes me love them even more. it sounds like the vocalist is struggling to even speak at times, which is definitely on purpose and it fucking rocks. Smack Bunny Baby is the most aggressive you can get, and that's why i love it.
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Everything to Everyone
Artist: Barenaked Ladies
Year: 2003
Genre: Alt Rock, Country
fav track: Testing 1, 2, 3
Barenaked Ladies is most well known for a lot of things. doing the theme song for the Big Bang Theory (which is a banger) being the geniuses behind One Week, creating Pinch Me, aka the best song about depression. but one album i feel gets completely overlooked all the time is Everything to Everyone, which is a damn shame. it's filled top to bottom with INSANELY catchy bangers, has those classic BnL fast rhymes, and pretty much every track is some sort of commentary on capitalism. and i know, you're probably groaning at that listing of Country in the genre section. but believe me when i say, i do NOT like country. i'm surrounded by it and constantly have to hear it, so i am not biased towards it at all when i say that BnL does it right. it doesn't get boring, and it's all in the vocal performances. please, i implore you, just give E2E a shot, it's amazing.
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Maroon
Barenaked Ladies
Year: 2000
Genre: Alt Rock
fav track: Falling For The First Time
the only other BnL album i have, Maroon is the origin of one of their most popular songs, Pinch Me. and while Pinch Me is phenomenal and one of the best songs about depression (in my opinion) i think far too many people overlook the rest of the album, and that's a damn shame. BnL's balance of fast rhymes, upbeat tunes and more down to earth tracks is really good here, at least in the first 2/3rds or so. Too Little Too Late, Never Do Anything, The Humor of the Situation and Go Home are all super fun and catchy, Sell Sell Sell almost feels like an Everything to Everyone track with its critiques of capitalism, and i kinda really like the atmosphere Conventioneers has. yeah, an atmospheric BnL song, super weird and out of left field but that's what i like about it. everything after track 8, however, just feels a little whatever to me. Baby Seat is alright, i recall liking Off The Hook, and i can't even remember what Helicopters or Tonight Is The Night I Fall Asleep At The Wheel sound like. even so, it's absolutely worth it to check out Maroon, if only for that first 2/3rds.
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Decksanddrumsandrockandroll
Artist: Propellerheads
Year: 1998
Genre: Big Beat, Electronic
fav track: Bang On!
being the only album English electronic duo Propellerheads ever made, Decksanddrumsandrockandroll has big shoes to fill. i mean, how do you make just one album and then end up in every piece of media there was at the time? ill tell you how, you make one of the best damn electronic albums of all time. Decks is full of back to back insanely good bangers, while still mixing in lots of other flavors, such as hip-hop, big beat and spyjazz. especially that last one, so much so that they've made several songs that are homages to James Bond, and even made it into a 007 movie at one point. im telling you, they were everywhere. my favorite track on the album is Bang On! which was featured in Wipeout 64, and go listen to it and TELL me it's not the most banger electronic track you've ever heard in your life. that's right, you can't. Decks is awesome, and an essential listening experience if you're wanting to get into electronic.
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Fashion Nugget
Cake
Year: 1996
Genre: Funk-Rock
fav track: Daria
everyone knows Cake for The Distance, it's a great song and deserves to be loved as much as it does. but there's always more to a band than just one song, and i wanted to take a look at what else they had under their belt. so where else to start but the album The Distance is from? and man, what an album. Cake really has their own flavor (ha) that no one else can get, and i honestly had a hard time deciding on what to put in the Genre category for this album. it's definitely got aspects of funk, but it's also some form of rock too. and it also dips its toes into country at times? it's a hard thing to quantify. well no matter the genre, Cake is the kind of band that isn't afraid to come up with some truly bold lyrics. (see Race Car Ya-Yas, Nugget and Italian Leather Sofa) they also just snuck an awesome cover of I Will Survive into this album for some reason, and while it's super unexpected, it also goes insanely hard. go check out this album if you like unique vocal performances, funky bass and lots of trumpet, it'll totally be up your alley.
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Beauty and the Beat
The Go-Gos
Year: 1981
Genre: Power Pop
fav track: Skidmarks on my Heart
i tend to categorize the Go-Gos in my head under the same category i put bands like Plumtree, Tiger Trap and Gaze in. they're upbeat, all girls, and have tons of banger tracks. what sets them apart from those bands for me, however, is that The Go-Gos were the first to actually do music of this kind. as such, they have a more distinct 80's flair that the later 90's bands don't really have. i really like the harmonized vocals on tracks like Skidmarks on my Heart, it's super fun and almost makes me think of the vocal harmonies Queen is well known for. the album also just sort of... sounds more 80's, i can't describe it. that could just be because i have the album on cassette and listen to it that way for the most part, i dunno. either way, if you like the other pop bands that i've recommended like Plumtree or Tiger Trap, i think you'll really dig the Go-Gos and their debut album, it's awesome.
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Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Underworld
Year: 1994
Genre: Acid house, techno
fav track: Dark & Long
another pick from my thrift store of choice, i'd definitely heard of Underworld before picking this up, but the only song i'd heard by them was Push Upstairs. but hey, i love that song, so i was willing to give their other stuff a shot. and man, i'm glad i did. the best way i can describe Dubnobass (shortened for convenience) is rain techno. it's so gloomy and atmospheric, i just imagine gray city streets stretching on forever, the only thing to keep you company being the pulsating beats Underworld provides. the city imagery could probably come from the second track on the album, Mmm... Skyscraper I Love You, which clocks in at a colossal 13 minutes and 11 seconds. any which way, Dubnobass is an excellent listen on a rainy day, and i'm glad i picked it out of the record bins.
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Fat Beets
Artist: nonlinear
Year: 2001
Genre: Jazz
fav track: Bachelor Pad
Fat Beets is one of my favorite thrift store finds i've ever come across, it's completely homemade and super jank, but also full of back to back jazz hits. i'll be honest, going into this one i fully expected it to be one of three things. hardcore electronic, country bumpkin, or metal as fuck, and it was none of those. its all jazz, and is coated in this weird static on all the tracks, but it's kind of a cool effect.
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Import This.
Artist: Dr's of Rhythm
Year: Unknown
Genre: Electronic
fav track: Trouble Jazz
the docs are in the house, and are prescribing us with cuts, scratches, breaks and beats. Import This is awesome and extremely underrated, i was not expecting it to be as good as it was. it's got tons of unique vocal samples, which is pretty much my favorite thing any electronic artist can do. and it only gets better in the sequel album!
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...and Import That.
Artist: Dr's of Rhythm
Year: Unknown
Genre: Electronic
fav track: Beatbox Rocker
take everything i said in the description for Import This, and apply it here. favorite tracks have got to be Beatbox Rocker and Don't Stop The Beat + Numbers. the latter has these super cool robotic voices that are by far my favorite part of the song.
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The Chase...For The Perfect Acid Jazz Mix
100% Melted Wax
Year: Unknown
Genre: Acid Jazz
fav track: Big City Lover
this one's weird, don't get me wrong the track lineup here is phenomenal, it's just that... i don't actually know the names of all the tracks. there was no documentation included in the case, there's no tracklist anywhere, hell, the CD is just straight up a blank verbatim CD-R. this is COMPLETELY homemade, but that's kinda what i like about it. hell, the tracks arent even separated on the disk, it's all one big track. makes playing this in my car a bitch. but every song here is awesome, so i don't really mind.
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Aural Sects
Red Distribution
Year: 1998
Genre: Electronic, Dance
fav track: Billie Club
now this one rocks. this is a sampler of tracks put together by Red Distribution, a record label that does a lot of electronic stuff. and their selections here are awesome, props to them for picking Ken Ishii. Junkie XL's Billy Club has to be my favorite track though, it's got those punchy drums that i love so much. one of my favorite parts of the album, though, is that the inside of the paper sleeve it comes in has these little blurbs for each song, and its as if a radio DJ is hyping up each track as it's about to play. its a really cool touch, and i had to include it in my upload of the album online.
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MOT'S MISC RECS
while i don't own these physically, all of the albums in this section down here are still personal favorites of mine that i want to talk about and recommend all the same.
What Could Go Wrong
Artist: Red Vox
Year: 2016
Genre: Rock
fav track: Telephone
a lot of people overlook What Could Go Wrong in favor of Red Vox's newer albums, and i get that. WCGW is definitely different from what Red Vox is going for now, which is more of a psych rock sorta thing, while WCGW is moreso pure, distilled rock. but that's kinda what i like about it. don't get me wrong, i think RV's newer stuff is incredible, Visions and Afterthoughts isn't on this page yet simply because i don't know if im ready to talk about it yet. but i think the simplicity of WCGW is what makes it one of my favorites of all time. VAA might be objectively better, but i think i like WCGW more, if that makes sense. it has so many tracks that feel... homey, i guess? they feel like they were just made between a couple of friends, which is pretty much what they were. and even if it is mostly just pure rock, you can still sorta feel that psych rock starting to bloom in tracks like Hazy. also, In A Dream is probably my favorite song of all time. so take that as you will.
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Metal Blue America
Ken Ishii
Year: 1998
Genre: Electronic, Big Beat
fav track: Metal Blue America
i first found Ken Ishii through his album Jelly Tones, which leans heavily into a more droning, atmospheric vibe, and i liked it quite a bit. so picture me a couple months later going through his discography, picking out Metal Blue America, and being blasted with a bombastic opening track that's just full on Big Beat. certainly a tone change, but definitely not for the worse. MBA is full of tracks that are gonna get you pumped up and make you wanna move. Actio Surrealismo sounds straight out of the N64 era and would be perfectly at home in a game like 1080 Snowboarding or Beetle Adventure Racing, which is the highest compliment i can give a song, trust me. MBA rocks, and is a wicked underrated album. if you need more action-packed electronic in your life, there's nowhere better to look.
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Eat Your Dreams
Artist: Nelward
Year: 2020
Genre: Indie, Alt
fav track: Eat Your Dreams
im sad i dont really have any other place to talk about nelward on this page since im doing it by albums, but even so, nelward is actually one of my favorite music artists ever. found him through the mother 4 soundtrack, and his music has always spoke to me in its uniqueness and signature style. do yourself a favor and go listen to not only this whole album, but also listen to all of his singles. my personal recommendations are Raspberry Pie, Ghost, Run-Around, realife, and the 20XX EP. all of his music rocks though, and you really can't go wrong with any of it.
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Believo!
Artist: Enon
Year: 2000
Genre: Rock, Electronica
fav track: For The Sum Of It
ignore the false info on the spotify listing, Believo was released in 2000, not 2007. they're thinking of the rerelease. being Enon's first album, this feels way different than stuff like High Society or Grass Geysers. this predates Toko Yasuda joining the band, so unlike every subsequent album all of the lyrics are done by Schmersal. it changes the atmosphere of the album a lot, and i think it adds a ton to its identity. on top of that, Believo leans more into the electronica aspects of Enon, and i think that makes it stand out a ton. tracks like Rubber Car, Believo! (the song) and Biofeedback are the best examples of this, using staticky, distorted sounds that sound more like broken machinery than instruments. don't get it twisted though, Enon's more traditional flavors are absolutely present here as well, with tracks like Conjugate the Verbs, Come Into, and World in a Jar showing that off with flying colors. these tracks feel a lot more melancholy and sensitive than their later work, the only thing that really comes close to this in tone is Candy from Hocus Pocus. there's also a handful of tracks that fully lean into a more gloomy, forboding attitude, such as Cruel, Matters Gray, and Elected. these are genuinely kind of uncomfortable to listen to, especially Elected, but that's kind of what i love about them. by far my favorite track on the album, however, is For The Sum Of It. the fast rhymes, the frantic drums, the humming synth, the distorted horns midway through... it's so completely different from anything else they'd ever done, and despite the chaotic nature of the track, it still manages to be very catchy and listenable. Believo is a really interesting piece of Enon's discography, it was done before they'd fully established their sound and it stands out a ton because of that.
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Loops of Fury
Artist: The Chemical Brothers
Year: 1996
Genre: Electronic
fav track: (The Best Part Of) Breaking Up
despite being a four track EP, Loops of Fury has weaseled its way into my regular rotation of music, and i don't see it leaving anytime soon. i mean, come on, it has an extended and expanded version of my favorite track from my favorite Chem Bros album (Get Up On It Like This) of COURSE i'm gonna love it. what's interesting is that, despite only being an EP, the eponymous track made its way onto the Wipeout 2097 soundtrack, and is where most people heard the song first. Loops of Fury is a great track, i love its use of distorted guitars as a lead. i put (The Best Part Of) Breaking Up as my favorite track here, for its intense record scratches, electronic cuts, and breakbeat battle near the end. track three is an earlier, extended version of Get Up On It Like This, and it's killer. i always felt the DYOH version of the song was a little short, so it's nice to see it get to stretch its legs here, as it works extremely well in this format. the final track is a remix of Chemical Beats by David Clarke, a song off of Exit Planet Dust, the brothers' first album. definitely one of the most standout tracks from said album, and i think the remix absolutely does it justice. if you ever skimmed over Loops of Fury due to its EP status, you're doing yourself a huge disservice, it's excellent.
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Tiger Trap
Artist: Tiger Trap
Year: 1993
Genre: Indie Pop Rock
fav track: Chester
Tiger Trap is a recent love of mine, and despite their EXTREMELY shortlived presence (only making one album, doing one live show and then leaving the scene) their singular album is easily one of my favorites ever. they were started by indie pop legend Rose Melberg and are one of many small bands she was a part of. ive mentioned my love of plumtree before, and Tiger Trap feels like if Plumtree leaned a little more into the indie pop sound. Tiger Trap knows how to have fun, but also has a softer, sentimental side that really speaks to me. their sound gives me real "im out driving on a summer day without a care in the world" vibes, so if that sounds like your thing, i can't recommend them enough.
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Gizmodgery
Artist: Self
Year: 2000
Genre: Alternative Rock
fav track: Ordinaire
Self is a band i still have yet to really delve into, but the one album i have heard by them is certainly a good first impression. Gizmodgery is what happens when you give a late 90's/early 2000's rock band a kid's toybox and tell them to go ham. there's a lot of just completely out-there ideas and sounds that you ain't gonna hear anywhere else, while still having that insanely catchy 2000's rock sound. if you want something new you've never heard before, absolutely check out Gizmodgery, it's one of a kind.
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Shake The Pounce
Artist: Gaze
Year: 1999
Genre: Indie Pop
fav track: The Snake Song
Gaze is one of many, MANY bands started and spearheaded by indie pop legend Rose Melberg, and just like her other projects, it was short lived, yet produced many insanely catchy tunes that wash over you like a warm ray of sunshine. Melberg was also one of the founding members of Tiger Trap, another band on this page i've gone on record saying that im a big fan of. if you like Tiger Trap but want something entirely focused on being soft and smooth, Shake The Pounce is precisely that.
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Milkman
Artist: Deerhoof
Year: 2004
Genre: Art Pop, Avant-Garde
fav track: Song of Sorn
my friend Cate showed this one to me, and it's absolutely one of the best discoveries i've found all year. Milkman is filled top to bottom with weird, bizarre, and different sounds you're not gonna get anywhere else. it really pushes the boundaries of traditional "music," and steps into the territory of abstract soundscapes, while still having some really catchy tunes peek through every so often. if you want to hear something completely new, give Milkman a shot, it's gonna be a totally unique experience.
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Head Hunters
Artist: Herbie Hancock
Year: 1973
Genre: Jazz, Funk
fav track: Chameleon
this is the oldest album on this page, but it's a damn good one. Head Hunters is jazz-funk incarnate, and despite it only having four tracks, it makes the most of its runtime by making each one of those tracks a totally unique listening experience. the opening track, Chameleon, has a whopping 14 minute runtime, and it uses every single second of that to make some of the most funky jazz you'll ever hear.
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Long Tall Weekend
Artist: They Might Be Giants
Year: 1999
Genre: Alt Rock
fav track: Reprehensible
Long Tall Weekend feels like a strange sidequest in the lineup of TMBG's albums, but it's that exact attribute that makes me love it so much. its range in sounds, genres, moods, atmospheres, and subject matter, and all of it absolutely rocks. the giants always have something cool and unique cooking, and LTW is no exception.
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Beats & Breaks From The Flower Patch
Artist: Kitty Craft
Year: 1998
Genre: Indie Rock, Hip-Hop, Electronic
fav track: Mama's Lamp - American Mix
Kitty Craft is a recent discovery for me, and her work really does sound ahead of its time. this is where that whole trend of "Lo-fi" started, and while more modern artists just sort of slap a record crackle filter over their music and call it a day, Kitty Craft knows how to do it right. BnBftFP has that sort of homemade sound to it that i cant get enough of, and really sounds like it was made in someone's bedroom just using what they have, and ends up bleeding more into Hip-Hop and Electronic than just using warbly pianos for every song. it has a lot more of its own identity than most of the "Lo-fi" music produced now. though maybe that's just me being a bitter old lady. please, check out Kitty Craft, her work is really good.
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Viva! La Woman
Artist: Cibo Matto
Year: 1996
Genre: Trip-Hop
fav track: Le Pain Perdu
Cibo Matto is truly somethin' else. i first found them through the Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack, and they have a style like no other. Trip-Hop is the only way i can describe Viva! La Woman, it's so trippy and full of weird and wild sounds, mixing in organs, bongos, deep, droning synths, full on big-band style samples, and the vocals are the cherry on top. i think heavily accented english singing is so much more interesting than just fluent american singing, and Cibo Matto is the perfect example of that. check out VLW if you havent already, its an unforgettable listening experience.
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Butter
Artist: Butter 08
Year: 1999
Genre: Punk Rock, Funk, Lounge
fav track: Shut Up
i know, it sounds really weird saying this is a mix of Punk Rock and Lounge of all things, but when you listen to Butter you'll understand. formed by members of a couple of other bands to record exactly one album and then dip, Butter 08 was a lot of things. they had both members of Cibo Matto, percussionist Rick Lee (who was with Enon for the first couple of years of the band) and were produced by Beastie Boys record label Grand Royal, and it all mashes together into one weird album that picks up new ideas just as quickly as it drops them. you'll be listening to a song that sounds fit for an elevator, only for it to fade out and immediately pick up into a punk rock track with fast, yelly vocals and heavy use of an organ, which then leads into a slow burn rock song with a guitar riff sample being used as the driving rhythm track. Butter 08 is insane, and thats exactly why i love it so much.
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Mass Teen Fainting
Artist: Plumtree
Year: 1995
Genre: Indie Rock
fav track: Only In The Movies
Plumtree's music is light, bubbly, but still heavily rock focused and has a big emphasis on fun. their first album, Mass Teen Fainting, is full of fast paced, upbeat tracks, with a softer side showing near the end with tracks like Only in the Movies, Aquarius and Good Time to Tell Me. MTF is an album i find myself always returning to no matter what, and i hope it becomes a similar deal for you too.
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Speaking in Tongues
Artist: Talking Heads
Year: 1983
Genre: New Wave, Funk
fav track: Swamp
Talking Heads is a band i really really love, and Speaking in Tongues is almost certainly my favorite album of theirs. a landmark in New Wave with hints of Funk and Soul, speaking in tongues is packed top to bottom with groovy beats and rhythms, with David Byrne's haphazard and unconventional vocals being the cherry on top. if you want something very indicative of the 80s new wave movement, there's no better example than SIT.
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Hello Nasty
Artist: Beastie Boys
Year: 1998
Genre: Hip Hop, Rap
fav track: Putting Shame In Your Game
coming fresh off of Ill Communication, Beastie Boys were going into the late 90's with something new and fresh. Hello Nasty feels completely different from any album they did before or after, and while the main focus is still definitely Hip-Hop, it sneaks in some more laid back tracks such as Picture This and Song for the Man. and man, the atmosphere in tracks like Putting Shame In Your Game and Sneakin' Out The Hospital is straight up nasty, but in a way that makes them a ton of fun to listen to still. and then they just sort of sneak in some really soft tracks like I Don't Know and Instant Death, and you kinda forget Beastie Boys is even a Hip-Hop group for those tracks. Hello Nasty is super unique, and if you're a Beasties fan who hasn't heard it yet, you're doing yourself a huge disfavor.
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Predicts the Future
Artist: Plumtree
Year: 1997
Genre: Pop Rock
fav track: The Game's Over
between all of Plumtree's albums, i think the title of my favorite has to go to Predicts the Future, though it's a CLOSE race. for a long time my favorite was Mass Teen Fainting, but PTF has taken over in recent times. i think each track stands out just a liiiiittle more here, and it's got all the same qualities that MTF had that i really loved. a super fun and upbeat atmosphere, tons of bangers (Hang Up Baby, The Game's Over, Why Won't You Stop, Scott Pilgrim) and also a softer side when it needs to. if you liked Mass Teen Fainting and want more, Predicts the Future is the perfect followup and has even more to offer.
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