Blog

IZIA, Wu-Tang Clan, Suprême NTM, Assassin, Nirvana, IAM, Bob Marley & The Wailers, La Spirale, Django Reinhardt, Squarepusher, The Prodigy, Necro, Ill Bill, Cypress Hill, Craig Armstrong, Heather Nova, La Coka Nostra, Scala & Kolacny Brothers, Keny Arkana, Bérurier Noir, Birdy Nam Nam, System of a Down, dead prez, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, Alpha & Omega, House of Pain, Seth Gueko, Aphex Twin, Profecy, DJ Krush, Prefuse 73, R.A. the Rugged Man, Rage Against the Machine, Laurent Garnier, Dead Can Dance, Kool Keith, High Tone, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Erik Truffaz, Portishead, Wax Poetic, Johnny Cash, Foreign Beggars, Lady Sovereign, Sinéad O'Connor, Vitalic, Radikal Dub Kolektiv, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jan Garbarek, Svinkels, Love Spirals Downwards, KRS-One, Dave Clarke, DJ Cam, The Doors, Clint Mansell, Lisa Gerrard, Fat Jon, Les Gourmets, The Beatles, Johannes Heil, KoЯn, Sleater-Kinney, Wax Tailor, B-Real, J Dilla, Filastine, Two Fingers, Asian Dub Foundation, Eminem, Jefferson Airplane, Autumn's Grey Solace, Gym Class Heroes, Shpongle, Herbie Hancock, Radiohead, Rockin' Squat, Mike Patton, Björk, Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Waldeck, Millencolin, Massive Attack, This Ascension, Lordz of Brooklyn, Ensemble Badila, Snoop Dogg, The Problemaddicts, Dub Syndicate, Groundation, Wolf Myer Orchestra, Beth Orton, Oh No, Edward "Kid" Ory, The Offspring, Venetian Snares, Alexander Kowalski, Rageous Gratoons, Noir Désir, Ben Harper, Nas, Ideal J, Verbose, Micropoint, The Black Seeds, Metallica, General Elektriks, Buraka Som Sistema, The Chemical Brothers, Thom Yorke, Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke, Ayọ, EZ3kiel, Amon Tobin, Mano Negra, King of Conspiracy, Bob Marley, Moondog, 25G, Jimi Hendrix, Bauchklang, Moderat, Sigur Rós, DJ Muggs & Planet Asia, Louis Armstrong, Son Doobie, Tryo, Kronos Quartet, Iration Steppas, Looptroop, Mysa, Nine Inch Nails, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Olympic Gramofon, Leftfield, Fairy, Joy Division, 2Pac, Peace Orchestra, Eek-A-Mouse, Snowgoons, Heiko Laux, The Temptations, Le Trio Joubran, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Guru, Flunk, Earl Hines, Erykah Badu, Burning Spear, Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Oi Va Voi, 80kidz, Infected Mushroom, Animal Collective, The Quantic Soul Orchestra, NOMAK, Year of No Light, Horace Andy, The Cinematic Orchestra, Red Snapper, Nneka, Leila, NOFX, Lucky Thompson, Cal Tjader, Le Klub des 7, Jeff Buckley, Manu Chao, Wagon Christ, Drummers of the Societe Absolument Guinin, Barney Wilen, Ol' Dirty Bastard, UNKLE, Erik Truffaz & Sly Johnson, The Blue Stars, Underworld, Shurik'N, Arsonists, Madeleine Peyroux, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Nostalgia 77, Terry Callier, Medine, Fingathing, Big Daddy Kane, Macka B, Keith Jarrett Trio, Iration Steppas Meet D. Rootical, De La Soul, Chali 2na, Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters, John Coltrane, DJ Food, Sergent Garcia, Rockamovya, Antonio Vivaldi, Notorious B.I.G., Sidney Bechet et Claude Luter, Tracy Chapman, Angélique Kidjo, EPMD, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, St. Germain, Daft Punk, Fat Freddy's Drop, Fatboy Slim, Johnny Clarke, RJD2, René Thomas, Soul Assassins, Deftones, Kaophonic Tribu, Linkin Park, The Skatalites, Muse, Belleruche, Sunflower Caravan, Les Reines Prochaines, DJ Shadow, Mass Hysteria, múm, Кочани Оркестар, Israel Vibration, Jurassic 5, Gelka, Lionel Hampton, Lost in Hildurness, Hilight Tribe, Shadow Dancer, Elek Bacsik, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Tânia Ârab, Troublemakers, William Orbit, Plastikman, The Specials, CunninLynguists, dead prez & DJ Green Lantern, Mansfield.TYA, Thievery Corporation, Raphael Saadiq, Smooth, Kery James, DJ Muggs vs. GZA/Genius, Love Is Colder Than Death, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, YAS, Chet Baker, Pendulum, Claude Bolling, Hubert Rostaing, Georges Brassens, Refractory, Scarface, Bill Coleman, Funkdoobiest, Telefon Tel Aviv, Lightning Bolt, Morcheeba, DJ Mitsu The Beats, Tricky, Hafdís Huld, Sidsel Endresen & Christian Wallumrød & Helge Sten, Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, Akhenaton, Alif Tree, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Maurice Meunier, TAT, Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald, Stéphane Grappelli, Black Uhuru, Kid Loco, Common, Ellen Allien, Roots Manuva, Joris Voorn, Method Man, Jah'licious, Hux Flux, Toots Thielemans, Blockhead, Rokia Traoré, Max Romeo, Cœur de Pirate, Method Man & Redman, RND, Volta & FX909, Venetian Snares & Speedranch, The Rolling Stones, BHASS Project, Orchestre National de Jazz, Pink Floyd, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Michel Legrand, Sayag Jazz Machine, Emilie Simon, Late Night Fruit, Buddy Banks, Pan•American, Booba, DJ Muggs vs. Planet Asia, The Kumba Mela Experiment, Jeff Mills, Ulytau, ZAMAN 8 & Hafez Modir, Ematom, Harmonic 313, Freestylers, The Gladiators, Control Machete, The Bush Chemists, Twista, Orange Street, The Roots, Michael Jackson, Los Hermanos, Dub Incorporation, RZA, The Ananda Shankar Experience and State of Bengal, Da Taz, Thelonious Monk, Limp Bizkit, Mr. Oizo, 雅-miyavi-, Ella Fitzgerald, Sex Pistols, AC/DC, Minty Fresh Beats, Gus Gus, Gideon, Themselves, Parabellum, K2R Riddim, Easy Star All-Stars, Rhythm & Sound, The Toraia Orchestra Of Algiers, Lee "Scratch" Perry & King Tubby, Keziah Jones, Ataraxia, TTC, Immortal Technique, Coldcut, A Tribe Called Quest, Lali Puna, Rhoda Scott & Kenny Clarke, Iron Maiden, Dizzy Gillespie, Pierre Michelot, Umek, Miles Davis, Gang Starr, DJ Muggs, Orbital, OutKast, Anthony Rother, Donald Byrd Quintet, Diego, Igorrr, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, Dream Theater, Anoushka Shankar, Sonny Criss, The Smashing Pumpkins, K's Choice, Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor, The Herbaliser, Blakroc, Lenny Kravitz, Cujo, Cosma, Killarmy, Big Punisher, Jamiroquai, Charles Mingus, Missak, Burial, Bernard Peiffer and his Saint-Germain-des-Prés Orchestra, Albert Nicholas, Édith Piaf, Mix Master Mike, Maceo Parker, Rae & Christian, Steel Pulse, Hocus Pocus, Opeth, Dee Nasty, Tom Waits, DJ Fresh, Manu le Malin, Khoiba, Animaltek, Peter Tosh, Steppenwolf, Alter Ego, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Boards of Canada, Red Hot Chili Peppers9, Bernard Zacharias et ses solistes, Ill Bill & Necro, Sublime, Crystal Distortion, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, GZA/Genius, Salmonella Dub, Harold Nicholas et son Orchestre, Grems, Missy Elliott, Sammy Price & Lucky Thompson, The Herbaliser Band, Ghostface Killah, Cranes, Slaine, Necro & Ill Bill, Lars Klein, Outlines, Saïan Supa Crew, John Dahlbäck, Junior Murvin, Delinquent Habits, Dubians, Arom & Gourmets Beatclub, Afu-Ra, Slide Hampton, Agoria, 2Pac & The Outlawz, Archive, The Alchemist, Somogo, Toots and The Maytals, Philip Glass, Ray Charles, Sia, Marcel et son Orchestre, Trust, Aretha Franklin, Sinsemilia, Public Enemy, Buck Clayton, James Brown, Zenzile & High Tone, The Streets, Adam F, Oscar Peterson, The Abyssinians, Improvisators Dub, Yuksek, Alanis Morissette, Alici, Cake, Up, Bustle and Out, Art Blakey, Scan X, DMX, Etikal Lab, Lady B, Keith Jarrett, David Carretta, Cocteau Twins, Lhasa de Sela, Jacques Brel, Charlie Singleton, Dimitri from Paris, Bonobo, Emmanuel Top, CéU, Kosheen, Jungle Brothers, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Nada Surf, Cercle Rouge, Monolake, Marilyn Manson, Rachid Taha, Alain Goraguer, Dub Pistols, Jimmy Archey, Pat Metheny, Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, Jimmy Riley, Wailing Souls, Taigaz, Air, Triston Palmer, Donald Byrd, Promoe, Ice Cube, Gang Gang Dance, Barbara Morgenstern, Technasia, Dubmood, Josh Wink, Eddy Louiss, Africa Combo & Bugge Wesseltoft.

To be updated as new additions arrive...

Andrew Lloyd Webber - "Jesus Christ Superstar", 1970
The Beatles - "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", 1967
Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell", reissue
Black Sabbath - "Mob Rules", 1981
Black Sabbath - "Paranoid", 1970
Miles Davis - "On the Corner", 1972
The Doors - "The Doors", 1967
The Doors - "L.A. Woman", 1971
The Doors - "Waiting for the Sun", 1968
Emperor - "In the Nightside Eclipse", reissue
Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Max Roach - "The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever", Rec. 1955, Released 1973
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "F#A#∞", original limited edition (1 of 500), 1997
Iron And Wine - "The Creek Drank the Cradle", 2002
Iron And Wine - "The Shepherd's Dog", 2007
Judas Priest - "Screaming for Vengeance", 1982
Yngwie Malmsteen - "Trilogy", 1986
Bob Marley And The Wailers - "Burnin'", 1973 (Listed simply as "The Wailers")
Bob Marley And The Wailers - "Exodus", 1977
Pat Metheny - "New Chautauqua", 1979
Motorhead - "No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith" (Live in London), 2001 reissue on clear vinyl
Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon", 1973
Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here", 1975
Queen - "A Night At the Opera", 1975
Rush - "A Farewell to Kings", 1977
Rush - "All the World's a Stage" (Live from Massey Hall, Toronto), 1976
Rush - "Moving Pictures", 1981
Santana - "Abraxas", 1970
Paul Simon - "Paul Simon", 1972
The Who - "Live at Leeds", 1980 reissue
The Who - "Tommy", 1969

So it's the time of the year, when everyone is opening their christmas calendars. I decided to make a playlist which contains songs titled with only the number for each day 'til christmas eve. So on the 1st day I have a song called One, on 2nd day it's song titled Two and so on.

And to make things little more interesting I compiled this playlist using Spotify's search bar and adding songs from artists I have never heard before. Well, actually, I tried to find familiar artists, but because of the limitations to the song titles it was quite hard, so I had to pick up some totally unknown and some artists which I know only by name, but haven't heard any of their songs before.

I'll keep updating this journal each day as days go by and try to write some thoughts about each song. Remember that all these songs are available on Spotify, so if you like you can go and take a listen by yourself.

Okay, so the countdown to christmas starts and here are the songs for each day:

1.12. Korn - One (originally performed by Metallica), from the album Take a Look in the Mirror
Recorded live during MTV ICON: Metallica show, KoRn plays this Metallica classic. Pretty faithful to the original one, only shortened down to MTV standards. KoRn used/uses to play a bit of this during their own live shows.

2.12. Ill Niño - Two, from the album Confession
The first song on my "calendar" that I'm not familiar with. Strong nu-metal presence at the beginning, as yesterday I listened Korn and now this, hehe.
Pretty groovy and melodic song, not bad at all. I might take a closer look at this album later.

3.12. Massive Attack - Three, from the album Protection
Another unheard song. And well, to be honest I haven't missed much. Music is pretty atmospheric, but the female vocals are quite annoying. Artists like Tori Amos or even Björk could have made a song like this with better results. Judging by this song and some other singles I have heard from Massive Attack before, I won't be taking a closer look at them anywhere in the near future.

4.12. Miles Davis - Four, from the album Four
Jazz is one of the few genres that is kinda grey area to me. I appreciate the musicianship and skills of the jazz-musicians, but most of it is just a background "noise" for me. Elevator music. So was this Miles Davis song. When it comes to jazz, I prefer Richard Cheese, hehe.

Four down, more to come...

1 The Microphones 1,383
2 Animal Collective 1,332
3 Radiohead 1,322
4 Neil Young 1,009
5 Thanksgiving 902
6 Mount Eerie 817
7 Do Make Say Think 812
8 Boards of Canada 742
9 Elliott Smith 722
10 The Books 698
11 The Beatles 669
12 Tom Waits 656
13 Cat Stevens 628
14 Built to Spill 623
15 WHY? 553
16 Joanna Newsom 531
17 of Montreal 509
18 Aphex Twin 479
19 Pavement 448
20 Caribou 434
21 Adrian Orange & Her Band 410
22 Talk Talk 404
23 The American Analog Set 391
24 The Velvet Underground 387
25 Guided by Voices 385
26 Modest Mouse 377
27 Mississippi John Hurt 376
28 The Olivia Tremor Control 363
28 The Fun Years 363
30 Björk 362
30 Polmo Polpo 362
32 Songs: Ohia 357
33 Grizzly Bear 355
34 Miles Davis 353
35 Brian Eno 343
35 Nick Drake 343
37 Frank Zappa 333
38 Jeremy Enigk 331
39 Sunny Day Real Estate 325
40 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 323
40 Pixies 323
42 Leonard Cohen 322
42 Sonic Youth 322
44 Broken Social Scene 321
45 José González 321
46 Tortoise 319
47 Wilco 317
48 Grateful Dead 314
48 Silver Jews 314
50 The Tallest Man on Earth 310

My top 10 albums of each decade since the 1960s.

1960s

1. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
2. Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates of Dawn
3. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
4. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
5. 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
6. The Stooges - The Stooges
7. James Brown - Live at the Apollo
8. Love - Forever Changes
9. Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
10. The United States of America - The United States of America

1970s

1. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
2. David Bowie - Low
3. Gang of Four - Entertainment!
4. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
5. The Clash - London Calling
6. Television - Marquee Moon
7. Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets
8. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
9. Pink Floyd - Animals
10. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express

1980s

1. Talking Heads - Remain in Light
2. Joy Division - Closer
3. Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
4. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
5. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
6. Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
7. Paul Simon - Graceland
8. Operation Ivy - Energy
9. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
10. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

1990s

1. Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand
2. Jawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
3. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
4. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
5. Green Day - Dookie
6. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
7. Dr. Dre - The Chronic
8. Radiohead - OK Computer
9. At the Drive-In - Acrobatic Tenement
10. Reatards - Teenage Hate

2000s

1. M.I.A. - Kala
2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
3. Radiohead - Kid A
4. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions
5. Portishead - Third
6. OutKast - Stankonia
7. At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
8. Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World
9. Arcade Fire - Funeral
10. The Ergs! - Dorkrockcorkrod

In my opinion, these are the fifty best albums of all-time. I will address a few issues before you feel the need to leave posts about them.

1. Yes, this list will dominated by The Beatles (as well as other English rock bands).
2. Also, I am aware of the relatively limited number of genres which will be present.
3. If you are going to criticize my list, I have just one request: Name some albums to which I should listen. I'd love to hear your favorite albums, so I can listen to them, too. I want to listen to as many good albums as possible. Thank you.

With that being said, these are - in descending order - the 50 best albums in music history.

50. Blood Sugar Sex Magik - Red Hot Chili Peppers
49. The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
48. Urban Hymns - The Verve
47. Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols
46. LET IT BLEED - The Rolling Stones
45. Surrealistic Pillow - Jefferson Airplane
44. Please Please Me - The Beatles
43. Parklife - Blur
42. Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division
41. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan
40. Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones
39. Face To Face - The Kinks
38. All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
37. The Doors - The Doors
36. Nevermind - Nirvana
35. Electric Ladyland - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
34. Forever Changes - Love
33. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
32. Different Class - Pulp
31. Disraeli Gears - Cream
30. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin
29. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
28. The Bends - Radiohead
27. Are You Experienced
26. BEGGARS BANQUET - The Rolling Stones
25. The Joshua Tree - U2
24. Beatles for Sale - The Beatles
23. The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths
22. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Oasis
21. Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan
20. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
19. Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
18. The Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
17. Definitely Maybe - Oasis
16. Abbey Road - The Beatles
15. Something Else By The Kinks - The Kinks
14. Imagine - John Lennon
13. Exile on Main Street - The Rolling Stones
12. The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground
11. Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
10. London Calling - The Clash
9. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
8. The Beatles - The Beatles
7. OK Computer - Radiohead
6. A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
5. Blonde on Blonde - Bob Dylan
4. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
3. Revolver - The Beatles
2. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
1. Rubber Soul - The Beatles