Album of the week

If we can't get this sorted out, we're going to end up in a total brawl over the translation.

Mark Cruz15 said:If we don't get this sorted out, we’re going to end up tearing each other apart over who's in charge.

I hit the boxing gym three times a week, so I'm pretty sure my opinion carries at least twice the weight of yours. 😁

Just gave my vote to Boards of Canada, so hopefully that settles the debate... assuming anyone else hasn't already checked out and left us hanging.

To be perfectly honest, I actually know next to nothing about the artist or this specific album...
A quick glance at Discogs tells me it falls under the IDM umbrella—which, truth be told, I didn't even realize was a thing until I hit the wiki. But hey, if this is a logical evolution from that late 80s house and acid-house vibe leading into the whole rave craze, it might just be right up my alley.

Work’s been killing me this week, so I haven't even had a chance to dive into that Nine Inch Nails album like I wanted to... I'll have to make up for it later, I guess. 😁 I'm still actually stuck on Depeche Mode from last week, so thanks, Gerald Jackson48!

For the new one, I was torn between Boards of Canada and Keith Jarrett's 'Changeless' (mostly because it's my year and for some reason I've never actually sat down to listen to it properly, even though I love it and play it all the time). But last night, I went with 'Music Has the Right to Children.' I think there's just more hype around it, and honestly, I feel like we could all use those clean frequencies right about now. 🙂

I can always listen to Waits... but it's a bit too hot right now for music that feels that warm (that first album is pretty sentimental and cozy), though I suppose it has its charms for a summer evening.
🙂

Music Has the Right to Children 👋 Exactly, Gerald Jackson48, whenever you're ready... 🙂

Honestly, I didn't see Boards of Canada taking the top spot given how much heavy competition there was this time around. Still, the album is incredibly layered. It’s easily one of the strongest releases in the entire Warp catalog, and honestly, one of the best in IDM overall. It’s actually pretty refreshing to step away from the standard drum patterns, guitars, and vocal arrangements for a bit.

Anyway, I'll start a new thread once I wrap up work, probably later tonight.

Gerald Jackson48 said:Hmm, I honestly didn't see Boards of Canada taking the top spot given how heavy the competition was this time around. Regardless, the album is incredibly layered; it’s easily one of the most powerful releases in the entire Warp catalog and within the IDM genre itself, so it feels pretty right to step away from the standard drum, guitar, and vocal arrangements for a bit.

Anyway, I'll get this thread started once I wrap up work, probably later tonight...

The field was just too stacked—I mean, both Cave and Waits are legends, but the Boards are on another level entirely. I haven't checked out the rest of the list yet. By the way, if that specific sound appeals to you, you should definitely give my recommendation a listen. Right now, Dan Snaith is my absolute favorite in electronic music, and he's only released two albums under this alter ego...

It's Thursday, so let's get this moving... last week we kicked things off with electronica without much fuss, but for the next round, I was thinking maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to expand the scope and shake things up a bit. I mean, let's break through those language barriers—the English-speaking ones—and by extension, the geographic and cultural ones too. Usually, these threads just end up covering stuff from Europe, Australia, and the US (and yeah, Canada). So, the genres will probably naturally broaden out as well... exploring some more mainstream styles or even world music seems pretty interesting to me...

My new suggestion is inspired by those four previous themes about happiness, satisfaction, luck, and misfortune. Plus, I recently watched a film by Wim Wenders. It’s summer, temperatures are climbing, viruses are everywhere, and honestly, it isn't that easy to just hop on a plane. So, I'm suggesting we stretch our ears toward the South and Latin America, specifically with Buena Vista Social Club. This is an album most of us probably know well; it came out over two decades ago, achieved cult status, went global, and hit insane sales numbers... it's performed by an ensemble of musicians from Havana. They mix all sorts of genres, from "Cuban folk" to jazz, Latin rhythms, dance beats, blues, and whatever else. And Ry Cooder, a long-time collaborator of Wenders, had his hands in that creative mix too.

'Buena Vista Social Club' (1997)

The local indie theater puts it this way:

"In 1996, Ry Cooder—one of the most versatile and fascinating musicians working today—brought together some of the biggest names in the history of Cuban music in Havana to record the Buena Vista Social Club CD. The album won a Grammy and became one of the best-selling albums ever. Upon his return, he reached out to his friend, director Wim Wenders, to share his impressions of Cuba. Two years later, Wenders headed to Havana to document Cooder's new collaboration with his friends, these top-tier Cuban musicians..."

+
It's one perfect pick for when you want to just lounge around while mixing up a Cuba Libre with plenty of ice.

P.S.
Maybe we shouldn't skip Europe entirely; there are so many under-explored areas there, like Scandinavia, Russia... the North America.
Or perhaps Africa and India... I also remembered this really cool collaboration between Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and Indian musicians,
again, all because of a Paul Thomas Anderson film. It's a pretty neat blend of electronica and traditional music:
Junun

Marcel Cellier presents: The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices (Volume 1) (1975)

I think it’s worth jumping in on that previous suggestion. Back then, that specific record was a massive influence on so many artists over at the 4AD label, which eventually picked it up for a reissue in 1986.

It was actually a bit of a surprise when the Group known as Clan of Xymox joined the 4AD roster in the mid-80s.
Their second release with the label—Medusa (1986)—is widely viewed as the absolute peak of their early era. To this day, plenty of people still consider it their definitive masterpiece.



Clan of Xymox - Medusa (LP) (1986)

Metallica - And Justice for All (1988)

I didn't think we'd already have four suggestions sitting here by Thursday morning! But hey, here's one more from me and then we can jump straight into the poll 😁

NoMeansNo - Wrong (1989)

>

NoMeansNo are such unique American punks, and Wrong is easily one of their most essential albums. They aren't just loud, though—their technical skill is actually through the roof. It’s this wild mix of everything: noise, blues rock, and pure punk rock. Seriously, please give that rhythmic intro a listen... >>>

Alright, here's a new poll

Everything is great, but NoMeansNo gets my vote here; honestly, that record is an absolute classic and sits right at the top of my all-time favorites.

Regarding breaking down those language barriers, I was actually planning on suggesting TBF - Ping this week as a prime example of healthy artistic vibes, but clearly, I missed the boat before the 7 o'clock cutoff. 👍

Jason Mendoza said:Everything looks great, but NoMeansNo gets my vote. It’s such a classic and honestly one of my all-time favorite albums...

Regarding breaking through those language barriers, I was actually thinking about suggesting TBF - Ping this week—you know, that healthy kind of art—but clearly, I missed the boat before the 7th... 👍

We can definitely put it on the list for next week. There's tons of interest, and we don't want the poll to get too crowded. If we pile them up too fast, things just get buried, and I really think every single suggestion deserves some love...

It doesn't really matter; if I can get the suggestion in on time, I will, but if not, then I owe nobody anything.👍

I honestly can't decide if I'm feeling more Buena Vista Social Club or Ksimočan today. 🙄

I’ll be honest, at first I didn't think The Beatles stood a prayer against this field of competitors... but man, was I wrong. It turned out to be a total nail-biter.
What a shame.

Eh, whatever. We're still just sitting here waiting for the weekend warrior to make the call. 🙂

Lisa Davis46 said:Well, we're taking it slow. Still waiting on Gerald Jackson48 to make the final call. 🙂

Heh... I honestly can't believe it. First off, someone else from this forum is actually still awake—that's usually my exclusive territory. And second, someone might actually sit around waiting until 6:40 AM just to call a game? It’s almost like they think it’s a matter of life and death... 🤣