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From the last 10 minutes

Absolute banger. Flows so nicely. Mark Bolan sounds so smooth. Beautiful instrumentation. Unbelievable album!

Elephant Mountain album cover
Elephant Mountain The Youngbloods

kinda just generic 60s California folk rock. minus some excursions into jammy muzak, which I didn't really like. probably the album with the smallest impact on me of this list so far. deserves to be one of the 1001? no

Rattus Norvegicus album cover
Rattus Norvegicus The Stranglers

middle of the road album - it didn't spark an immense amount of joy but it didn't feel like a slog either.

L.A. Woman album cover
L.A. Woman The Doors

Certainly went heavier on the dirty blues rock here, which is a shame for me because my favorite part of this band is the organ. Oddly don't sound as tight here as they do on the earlier records, which can benefit the blues but seems to be a mixed bag. L.A. Woman manages to be interesting despite itself, so that was kind of nice. Ultimately, I find Jim Morrison tedious and this is doing little to disabuse me of that. No offense to the rest of these guys, but I'm not feelin' it.

Violator album cover
Violator Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode - Violator Eg har nok oftare strekt meg mot 80-talsplatene, men “Violator” er jo ei veldig mektig plate den óg. Den kjennes meir reinskåren og minimalistisk (og kjennes kanskje derfor meir “tidlaus” for mange?) enn “Music for the Masses” og “Black Celebration”, men har same gjennomgåande kjensle: popmusikk som er både melankolsk og fengande. Og ja, denne døra har stått på vidt gap sidan 1990, men fytti grisen for ein bra låt “Enjoy the Silence” er. 8/10

Whatever album cover
Whatever Aimee Mann

Not really sure why this is on this list. The album isn't bad or anything, but there are so many other 90s alt rock ladies who were more influential and do many other albums that were more interesting. Low 3, I got bored.

Bummed album cover
Bummed Happy Mondays

Everything I love about them can be heard starting to emerge on this album

Oxygène album cover
Oxygène Jean-Michel Jarre

Interesting but didn't grab me as much as I wanted. Sounds very of it's time and probably a bit lost on me having heard modern electronic music.

Sex Packets album cover
Sex Packets Digital Underground

It’s early hip hop so I can tolerate it more than later hip hop… but it’s not something I enjoy

Heroes album cover
Heroes David Bowie

The man carves his through Disco, Soul, Rock and Punk to deliver his own take. He stands out for a reason

Pearl album cover
Pearl Janis Joplin

I mean, Janis Joplin is a legend, but sometimes even a legend is a bit much for a Tuesday morning.

Top This Month

Most liked reviews from the last 30 days
Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

AHHHH MY SOUL HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED BACK ONTO THE MAIN LIST AHHHH And of course the first fucking thing I generate after the new book edition comes out is the SEVENTH Rolling Stones entry released in the year of our lord 2023 (their TWENTY-THIRD studio album) featuring 80 year old Mick Jagger. I've spent 668 days on the user list. It's not all sunshine and rainbow over there, but the user base has nicely covered almost all the big misses from the original list by this point - Weezer's "Blue Album", Pink Floyd's "Animals", Massive Attack's "Mezzanine", Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Neutral Milk Hotel, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, This Heat, the soundtrack to 2004 video game Katamari Damacy (very important) etc etc.... ....And of course the first thing Robert Dimery does when it's time to update his list for the first time in five years is to add another album by these rotting fucking geriatrics half a century past their prime. Actual music review: It's exactly what you'd expect a 60s band to release in the modern day. I don't know what's up with it, but it seems like this is exactly the sound every single "way past their prime" band grey goo's themselves into. The musical equivalent of an overfitted neural network. The Stones will probably release one more album in a year or two and it will sound exactly like this one again. Maybe that one will be "the last one" so it will be a slightly bolder footnote in musical history. Couldn't ask for a more poetic and fitting start to this return. Is Elvis Costello still releasing music as well?

Día album cover
Día Ela Minus

Shout out to Mr Dimery. He doesn't care about what you, or I, or common opinion thinks. If he likes an album, he will put it in. ​So, I have the luxury of reviewing an album that was added only yesterday. My review will, by default, briefly appear closer to your eyes before descending down the rankings—which is a fitting analogy for this album. ​So why has he picked it to be added to the 2026 edition? Do the kids love it? No, barely 2 million streams for the lead single. Do critics love it? No. This is an album that appeared in a few publications’ mid-year best album lists before mostly descending down the rankings into irrelevance by the time of publication of the more important end-of-year lists. Is it challenging? Not really. Is it unique? Not really. Socially relevant? Also no. It's an album that, without Mr Dimery's intervention, would have disappeared, covered under the mountains of other releases that define the streaming-pile album environment of modern music services. ​This is an album that is fine (although a lot of you will hate it). It's beat-driven, well structured, with angular vocals filtered through a foreign vocal charm that adds mystique, but it is generally unremarkable. It heavily recalls The Knife (a better candidate for this list) and relies on a hard-leaning electro sound that I'm sure will sound great in a modern playlist alongside artists like Slayyyter or Heartworms (not a misspelling of Hookworms, which has just been deleted)—two better albums ( not hookworms another odd pick that was pleasant but unremarkable). ​Fair play, Mr Dimery, it's a pick you like, and it takes courage not to bow to internet publications and their consensus lists, but to stick to your own opinion. ​It's a 3 for me. ​Being the first review published, I get to play a game and make a prediction for what you lot will score it. I'll go for 2.7.

Hit Me Hard And Soft album cover
Hit Me Hard And Soft Billie Eilish

Excellent album. Probably the best album added to the revised addition. Hit me hard and soft is the perfect way to describe this record also. Billie and Finneas wrote every tune on this bad mofo, take a lesson future and current pop stars.

Brat album cover
Brat Charli xcx

Every 8 years there’s a massive hit act that makes people tell you, “Oh, no, this is actually REALLY good, this has a lot more vitamins and fibre than you would expect!” and so you give it a try and it always turns out it’s just another Nutrigrain bar

American Idiot album cover
American Idiot Green Day

If Kenny G. had a mohawk, he wouldn't be punk If Yanni had dumb tattoos, he wouldn't be punk If Garth Brooks pierced his nose, he wouldn't be punk If Liberace sounded like the Green Day, he wouldn't be punk

Supernova album cover
Supernova Nova Twins

These all sound like entrance themes for wrestlers that get zero pop

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

Great that these lads are still going but god this is awful

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

some wrinkled crypt keeper looking 80-year-old man singing about how he wants to be the only man for some girl... What the fuck is wrong with you, 1001 guy? Do you not have any sense of anything when it comes to music? who the fuck put you in charge?

Wuthering Heights album cover
Wuthering Heights Charli xcx

My first album back in the game after the release of the revised book, and it's a banger. This is exactly how an alt pop album should be, 12 tracks at 34 minutes, get in, kick ass, get out, and keep it just weird enough to pique my interest. Plus, I needed some British flavor after all the Canadian albums from the user submitted list.

And now we encounter the issue with book revisions. In a vacuum, this would be a good choice for the book. There is a severe lack of metal on the list. Especially from female singers. And this record is kinda good. In a vacuum, I'd give this a 4. But problems start to sleep in. 1. This record came out THIS YEAR. It was added to the book the year it was released. There is NO record where that is acceptable. It's just too soon and therefore has a high likelihood of being removed in the next edition as it's impossible to tell what albums will age well THE YEAR THEY COME OUT. 2. Every new record added. I think 13 of them. Took out another. And we can see both lists. Is this better than the Mars Volta? Both records are different from the norm of their respective eras. But is it better?! I wouldn't say so. And so now this can't be judged in a vacuum. Fair or not. As I write this, I'm still on my first listen for the day. I don't know yet what I will rate this. But every day for the next 13 days... I will have an issue.

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

Not bad! This band's got a real future ahead of them!

Blue Rev album cover
Blue Rev Alvvays

However bad the other new albums added are - this album makes it worth it

Jesus, I think I've done it. I think this is album 1089 and I am done (until I start the user list tomorrow). It's actually been longer because I reviewed over 200 albums before I started a group, which meant I had to do those all again! Nearly five years, it's been a journey... Many thanks to the members of my group (especially Dave L., Peter P., Alan L. and Glen S.) who have staggered alongside me through this winter death march. A really special call out to Peter P., who really instilled a broad and unprejudiced love of music in me. He was my boss at the record store for about two years, but has been my friend for forty years. He introduced me to so many artists and records that I love. We DJ together. He encouraged me to take a more autobiographical approach to reviewing. Thanks Peter, I love you, man. Thanks to any critic who ever inspired me, especially Jessica Hopper, Bill Wyman (not the Rolling Stone), Amanda Petrusich, Simon Reynolds, Charles Shaar Murray, Robert Christgau, Elizabeth Nelson, Hanif Abdurraqib, and a plethora of others, all worth reading. But not Greil Marcus; fuck that guy. Many thanks to anyone who ever threw one of my reviews a thumbs up, I appreciate it. And a thousand thanks to Alexander for setting up this project and his technical support along the way. This project has been exciting and infuriating and exhausting, but I have appreciated the structure to my listening, and the opportunity to reflect on my musical tastes, history and the friends who helped form my tastes. In the words of the great Liverpudlian band: "All these places had their moments With lovers and friends, I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life, I've loved them all" And here we have Buck Owens as my final album, which is as good a place to finish as any. This project has given me an appreciation of classic country, and this piece of Bakersfield honky-tonk is a simple pleasure. I love a tight album that doesn't outstay its welcome, and this album is _tight_. I'm listening to the version with a couple of bonus tracks (including 'Act Naturally', love it) and it still only runs 32 minutes. There is not a wasted note on this album. The band is energetic and efficient, with special props to the wonderful Telecaster work of Don Rich. Could you argue that some of the songs border on being novelty tunes? Possibly, but they are fun and catchy and rollick along, so I don't care. I've spun this through three times in a row, and I am whistling along. I was going to give this a three, but I am really digging it. Call it 3.5 stars, rounding up!

Blue Lines album cover
Blue Lines Massive Attack

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Wuthering Heights album cover
Wuthering Heights Charli xcx

If you are wondering why an album from 2026 us on the list… It’s worse than it looks. Not only are albums added to the list that are less than a year old… Previous albums are removed! Which means you may have heard an album “before you die” unnecessarily. What will St. Peter have to say to you then? But, it gets worse still…. The albums that are removed, this time around for example, are all from 2001-2020, which divides into two more bad things. One, that the entire list is not analyzed with each edit (even though we’ve all had very mediocre to terrible albums from those earlier 40+ years, not to mention albums left off that shoulda been). And, Two, that this particular album from 2026 that you now “must hear before you die” could be (and probably will be) removed over the next few years. The person who runs this site is a saint. But the editor of the 1001 list is destroying his own credibility. Meanwhile, we now have 1100+ albums to work through due to all the different editions. Mr. Dimery should use all our reviews, and mine in particular 😀, to do an actual one-time edit of the list that makes sense.

Garbage album cover
Garbage Garbage

Garbage in name, Garbage in nature. DO NOT LISTEN

Just put Evanescence on here and call it a day. This just doesn't seem like anything better than came out in the early 2000's and sounds similar.

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

This is ridiculous. With all the respect I have for TRS, the inclusion of this record in the latest batch is preposterous

Garbage album cover
Garbage Garbage

Rainwater filters through trash and creates leachate, a toxic liquid filled with heavy metals, chemicals, and microplastics that can seep into soil and groundwater. Leachate is essentially garbage juice.

You Are The Morning is the debut album of jasmine.4.t. It is an album full of country and folk based indie rock with strong ties to the Boygenius members (Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers). The album contains strong songwriting, but the vocals are nasal and boring after a while. I've seen them perform at the Best Kept Secret festival where this vocal issue was not so annoying. All in all it's a good, but not a great album. Of course it has a significant meaning in the trans community, but that is not a reason to act like it's an essential album to listen to before you die. Speaking of the Boygenius members, would their album or one of Phoebe Bridgers' not been a better submission to the list?

Día album cover
Día Ela Minus

After the first song I thought "this is what LCD Sound system might sound like were James Murphy a bisexual millenial." By the last song I'd realised that "this is actually what Björk would sound like were she a bisexual zoomer."

i'm not sure what demon possessed them to include this instead of something less obscure and more mediocre in the latest book but I'm glad they did

Día album cover
Día Ela Minus

An album that came out last year listed here as influential? Whoever compiled this list has confused ‘influential’ with ‘ i liked it’.

Blunderbuss album cover
Blunderbuss Jack White

Music to listen to while your wife is fucking her boyfriend

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

I’m a Rolling Stones fan, so I enjoyed this. It’s a good album, but nowhere near their prime and not exactly breaking new ground. Unlike Blackstar or You Want It Darker, it doesn’t feel like a late-career statement that adds something significant to their legacy. Enjoyable, but not sure it deserves a place on this list.

Wuthering Heights album cover
Wuthering Heights Charli xcx

The more recent an album is, the harder it is to meaningfully assess whether it realistically has a place on the 'must hear' list. And this album is less than a year old. Don't get it twisted; I like Charlie XCX. I think she is one of the most dynamic and interesting pop stars working today, and this is an interesting and compelling piece of work. But it suffers from the problem that the movie of Emerald Fennel's "Wuthering Heights had; more style than substance. It is a big swing for the creative fences that became a pretty hot topic of discussion for a little while but doesn't really have long-term cultural impact. Even a year on, it has been overtaken by Carlie XCX's latest creative outputs. I would argue that this album has a far better hit-to-miss ratio than the movie, so let me say the things I like about it: - it's smart without being overworked. There is an idea here and I like that she has something different to say without going crazily concept album. - that she, she didn't forget that this is a pop album, and that means tunes and beats. Not as many bangers as Brat, but an acceptable level given the high concept. - it's short. I wish more pop artists would release 34-minute albums full of 3-4 minute songs. - those string arrangements are fantastic. Creepy, gothic, evocative - I like the sound design, which is tastefully weird, even though I wish critics would stop describing anything with use of destructive filters as "industrial". It's not. That's just what pop sound design is like these days. It's a good, smart pop album which makes sense in Charlie XCX's growing body of varied and interesting work. Will it be remembered as the highpoint of her career a decade from now? Is is a classic for the ages that will still be in 1001 Albums a decade from now? I suspect not on either count. But I enjoyed listening to it. 3.5 stars, rounding up.

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

The retirement age in the UK is around 67, just saying.

Is it necessary for this album to be over 2 hours long? Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine? No, but I do it anyway because its sterile and I like the taste

Supernova album cover
Supernova Nova Twins

I can say with utmost certainly, whichever editor of the book submitted Supernova has teenage girls in his house. I'm sure dude randomly finds fake eyelashes in the sink, in the dishwasher, in the couch, in the dogs fur, everywhere but the trash. He probably took a browbeating that sounded like Veruca Salt saying, "Daddy, I want a Nova Twins album! I want you to get me a Nova Twins album right away!" "Daddy, get me one of those silver outfits!" So, like a real father, he caved to the whims of his children and championed for the inclusion of their favorite album. While everyone else is bashing him and falling out like they're at revival for including this slice of pop dreck that will surely be cut from the next book revision, I stand at attention and salute you Sir! Your kids are only young once and they will love you forever for adding this.

Pleasant but dull. How this rates a spot on the list, I will never understand. The most interesting moments are when members of Boy Genius guest, which immediately makes me wonder why Boy Genius or members thereof -- Phoebe Bridgers especially -- aren't on the list. Their albums are better and more prominent. What on earth is Dimery thinking? At least it didn't drag on too long...

Hit Me Hard And Soft album cover
Hit Me Hard And Soft Billie Eilish

LETS GOOOO! I’ve loved this album since it came out; thank the Lord it made the list. Just a perfect pop record in every way I could think of. Dancy, dramatic, emotional, and cute, all together mixed so well. And the production is just *chefs kiss* (the transition from Bittersuite into Blue is one of my favorite musical moments of the last few years god it’s so good). 10/10

Bloodline album cover
Bloodline Mon Rovîa

gentle, mild, light, inoffensive, insubstantial - if Babybel Cheese made an album, it would sound like this. a breathy, fey, waste of time, and a senseless addition to a list which still excludes Eric Dolphy, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey (and many other great musicians)

Call me a conspiracy nut, but this album would have a higher rating if the artist wasn’t trans. People claim that they don’t care, but can’t handle being exposed to them. That’s my little rant. Anyways, I really liked this album. I enjoyed it when it first came out and I enjoyed it now. Not all bangers, but none of the songs are terrible. Several certified bops, in my opinion, give this album a good bit of range, but it could use a tad more to really get it to where I feel like it could be. Looking forward to their next release. Great suggestion. 4/5

Wuthering Heights album cover
Wuthering Heights Charli xcx

This is a simple protest vote. It is ludicrous for albums in the current year to be put on this list. More ludicrous still is the fact that you have removed more recent albums (in the last 5 years) as you add new ones. If you were removing questionable albums from the 70s, for example, it would make much more sense. When the bulk of the removals come from your own recent additions, it makes your judgement questionable Sorry, Charli! The one star rating is for the list managers, not you.

One of my learning from this project has been that I don't mind a bit of outlaw country. I think Merle Haggard really hit his straps a few albums after this (and we miss the chance to grapple with Merle's complicated politics). But this is a pretty tight album.

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

Believe it or not, we don’t need to place every Rolling Stones album on here. I don’t think this should qualify for a top 1001 album, not even because I think it’s not good, that’s not the point. But to flood the list with an entire discography of an artist I feel like is just a waste and there are potentially other artists getting snubbed because The Rolling Stones released a 26th album.

Hit Me Hard And Soft album cover
Hit Me Hard And Soft Billie Eilish

Excellent album. Billie should be on this list and I am pleased that this one made the edition.

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

This is a Rolling Stones record. There are many like it, but this one came out in 2023.

Hackney Diamonds album cover
Hackney Diamonds The Rolling Stones

What the hell are we doing? What’s going on? Why is this here? Are we for real? Are we dumb? What the fuck? I am in disbelief. I thought this was one of the user submissions. I make that mistake sometimes. Disregard the fact that there are hundreds of other albums that would be better suited for this list. The Rolling Stones themselves have albums that should be on this list that aren’t. This isn’t even their best album in the last two they’ve released. Production is sloppy, lyrics and songwriting feel half assed, vocals and instrumentation are as expected from the octogenarians. They provided nothing new or worth listening to except “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven”. That song ain’t bad. Also worth noting that “Dreamy Skies” sounds like something off of Some Girls, so it’s alright. Otherwise, take everything back to the drawing board and start over. Waste of my damn time. Rethink your choices for the love of all that is holy. I’d give this a firm five out of ten. 2/5

Melodrama album cover
Melodrama Lorde

Like most late-twenties white women, I was obsessed with this album as a teen and it still hits so, so, so hard nearly a decade later. Praise the Lorde!

Supernova album cover
Supernova Nova Twins

I'll admit that I'm a little skeptical that this needed to make the list, but I did really enjoy it. At this point I'm skeptical of almost any artist that is British and was previously unknown to me, which I recognize is a little rude, but also, the list editor has made enough transgressions that I stand by it.

Led Zeppelin IV album cover
Led Zeppelin IV Led Zeppelin

Absolutely nothing revelatory to add here that hasn't already been said ad nauseum for 50+ years, so I'm just going to give this one the 5/5 (factored down from a 25/5) that it deserves and move on.

Be album cover
Be Common

When I got bored of trying to stay with the words, my mind drifted to the music. That's when I realised I was putting more effort into listening to this album than the artist did making it.

I never really understood this album. Too artsy, too intellectual. It wasn’t until their 1980 album Duke that the group really hit their stride. Peter Gabriel had already left by then to start a lame solo career and Phil Collins’ influence became more apparent. The Invisible Touch is of course their undisputed masterpiece, an epic meditation on intangibility. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument.

Most Popular Reviews

All-time most liked
Be album cover
Be Common

I can’t believe the top review for this record (as of Dec 2023) is from someone trying to use their PhD in Mathematics as justification for not liking hip-hop. Weak.

Dec 3 2023, Author
Be album cover
Be Common

I really don't get rap, and I am completely aware of why. I'm a STEM guy, specifically a Ph.D. student in mathematics. Although my verbal intelligence is quite high, it's still about a standard deviation below my quantitative intelligence. Therefore, it should not be too surprising that I prefer melodies to lyricism, and that a genre based on the latter doesn't wow me. I know I'm pretty far out of step with public opinion on this one, but that can easily be attributed to the fact that hipsters with humanities degrees (i.e. extremely verbal-dominant people) are considered the ultimate arbiters of taste for some reason. (Side note: this also explains why prog rock is seen as being for losers.) Best song: Be (Intro), which had a decent instrumental part at the beginning. Everything else just sort of ran together.

Jul 22 2021, Author
Kollaps album cover
Kollaps Einstürzende Neubauten

Oh fuck yeah, now we're talking. Wait no, I swear I'm not being pretentious. This is the lowest rated album on this site because I guess mostly people aren't very fond of German people smashing metal plates together - who would have guessed. But halle-fucking-lujah, this is something this list needs more of. Albums that make you go "well, that was an experience and now I'm a changed man". Nobody is lying on their deathbed wishing they heard more crappy 80s post-punk or late 60s psychedelic rock. THIS is what we all deserve to be listening to as we embrace eternal oblivion. I'm giving this a high rating not only because I genuinely really love it, but also to help Kid Rock move to his rightful place as the actual worst album on this list. Together we can make a difference. Save the turtles.

May 1 2023, Author
Rust Never Sleeps album cover
Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Back when I was in college I used to go to a bar and listen to Neil tunes and do magic tricks for women. There was a bartender there, he was the best. I loved that guy. Some of the best years of my life.

Jun 6 2024, Author
Scum album cover
Scum Napalm Death

Brings back vivid memories of when me and my mate Ray went on a trip to Dresden. We met this rotund goth in a bar, head to toe with tattoos and piercings, real filth and after a while took her into the disabled bogs for a spit roast. We were both pumping away in her with Napalm Death on in the background and her wailing "MEIN GOTT" at the top of her lungs. I remember spaffing all over her back just as Siege of Power kicked in. As i shoot over her, she takes Ray's cock out of her gob and says "do you want fries with that?" in a faux American accent. Anyway, we go outside and there's this gammy little geezer in a wheelchair sitting there furious, giving me daggers, because he's had to wait so long, so I lean into him and I go "I hope you have as much fun in there as we just did you little cunt".

Jul 22 2021, Author
Be album cover
Be Common

Rap isn't my preferred genre of music. But I'm a shitty mathematician so I enjoyed this.

Apr 3 2024, Author
Rust Never Sleeps album cover
Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Back when I was in college, there was this dude who would come into the bar I worked at on a Friday night and play fucking 10 Neil Young songs in a row. He would also hit on girls by doing magic tricks. I remember how angry I got every time he made me listen to an hour of Neil Young because I was just trying to have a good time, and he fucking made me listen to this sad, soppy fuck who writes nothing but songs that sound indistinguishable from each other and never seemed to enjoy a happy moment in his entire like. Fuck that guy, and fuck Neil Young. 2/5

Jul 22 2021, Author
Shalimar album cover
Shalimar Rahul Dev Burman

Shit like this on the list is both refreshing and infuriating. Refreshing because it is good, fun, interesting, and also not something I would regularly be exposed to! It's why I started this project and keeps me coming back. It's infuriating because the fact that it is included here means that Robert Dimery, the original author of the 1001 albums list is aware that music like this exists. He's clearly aware that there is an entire world of music out there. SO WHY HAVE I LISTENED TO 200 80s BRITISH NEW WAVE ALBUMS AND 200 SCOTTISH ROCK ALBUMS FROM THE 90S??!!?

May 27 2022, Author
Kollaps album cover
Kollaps Einstürzende Neubauten

Around 1990-91, I was a volunteer at 2SER student radio. Mostly, I did technical work helping my mate, Tim, who hosted 'Monday Night Football', a music program that ran from 1-3am on Thursday nights. Panelling, editing, that kind of thing. In 1991, Einsturzende Neubauten were touring Australia and there was an offer to do a radio interview with 2SER. I could actually pronounce “Einsturzende Neubauten” and knew a little bit about the band, so it was decided that I would do the interview. Interviewing was not really my thing, but it came with perks; tickets to their show at the Phoenician Club and a copy of the Strategies Against Architecture LP, so I said OK. I knew the legendary Blixa Bargeld has a reputation for not suffering fools, so I tried to prep questions that were interesting. So, on the day of the show the plan was to go down to the club after soundcheck and interview Blixa. It was a bit intimidating. I mean, EN were one of the world’s most dangerous bands and Blixa also played in the Bad Seeds, which made him an underground legend. Tim and I were in the equipment room gathering up a portapack and mics and whatever else we needed, when someone comes running in the room whispering “There’s a vampire in the lobby, and he’s looking for you!” And sure enough, there in the lobby, stands Blixa in full stage outfit, pale as death, six foot six in Cuban heels and his hair teased up and 100lbs wringing wet. He has a bottle of schnapps and a filthy look in his eye. He’s staring death at everyone. And then I hear my name called. Standing next to this imperious vision in black is a smiling Japanese man in bright green overalls with a flower appliqued on the front. His voice is oddly familiar; it is Rick Tanaka, former presenter of 'The Nippy Rock Shop', an experimental collage-style radio show from Triple J in the 80s. I was a fan. Turns out, he is the road manager for this EN tour, and he is asking for me. He hands me his business card: Rick Tanaka, Private Guy. We hurriedly shuffle Rick and Blixa into a meeting room and turn on the recorder, and I attempt an interview. It did not go well. Blixa did not want to be there, was much smarter than me, and was not very patient with my attempts at questions that were more engaging than the usual stereotypical “who gets to go to the junk yard to get scrap metal for your stage show?” Eventually, Blixa just started ignoring me and chatted to Rick. Tim and I kept the tape rolling for their conversation, and afterwards edited it up into something resembling proper radio. And then they left. Tim and I packed up and then walked down the road to the Phoenician Club. En route, we bumped into the Beasts of Bourbon, who were playing support. Tex and Kim were intensely focused and wouldn't say hello, but we chatted to Spencer for a bit. They clearly knew what was coming and were determined to put on a good show. They were the best I ever saw them play that night; tight, ferocious and angry, showcasing material from their Low Road album, that was not yet released. And then on came Einsturzende Neubauten. It was possibly the most intense, frightening show I ever seen. I confess I was a little freaked out by my encounter with Blixa and not really prepared for the experience of an EN show. By the end of their set, I was pressed up against a wall with my fists clenched and my eyes shut. The sound from the stage was so brutal and overwhelming. I can’t recall much of what went on, except for a bit with shopping carts with contact mikes crashing into each other repeatedly. It was really loud. I know I left the venue about 11.30pm. At 2am, I turned up at my girlfriend’s house, tapping on her window. I assume I spent the intervening hours walking the streets in a daze, but not really sure of what I did in that time. She yelled at me for a good 15 minutes for waking her up, but I was unable to put a sentence together, let alone explain what had just happened to me. It was a heavy, really heavy, performance. Ok, so given that background of my relationship with EN, what do I think about this album? I have listened to it once or twice before. EN is really influential on me. I love noisy things, really noisy things. I played in industrial bands through most of the 1990s. And this is like the ur-text for much of what industrial music became. It still sounds frightening and surprising now. That said, this is a massively difficult listening experience. I am reminded of Brian Eno talking about Steve Reich (I think), and how hearing one of his early tape pieces was massively influential, but he never listened to it again. Early EN (and this album in particular) is like that for me. It opened up a world of possibilities to explore, but I don’t need (or probably even want) to listen to it much. I certainly was much more enamored of their early 1990s material, which contains actual songs, rather than just this scary barrage of crashing rhythms and screaming. Kollaps is an important record for me, but I would not recommend it.

Oct 25 2022, Author
Melodrama album cover
Melodrama Lorde

Sorry Boomers/Gen X, I was like 20 when this came out so it's one of the best things to ever happen to me. Sorry it's not King Crimson or whatever.

Nov 29 2021, Author
Rust Never Sleeps album cover
Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Back in the day we girls always went to a bar to dance. Most of the nights just when the evening started to be great this nerdy guy put coins in the jukebox to play at least 5 Neil Young songs in a row. After he spoilt the mood he even tried to hit on us with tricks as "he was a magician". We considered him "Helpless". The only reason we kept returning to this bar was the fact the barman also disliked the guy and told us the drinks were free as long as we kept on rebuffing the guy. Ever since I get thirsty when I listen to a Neil Young song.

Feb 4 2023, Author

The beauty of music is that it is subjective. It’s typically great for a certain group of people, though it’s never right for everyone. Some for the masses, some more niche, but it all has its place. Meanwhile, with lists like this, there’s always artists or records that anyone would have put on in place of what actually made it. Personally, I would have included Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, Live’s Throwing Copper, Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice, or John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album on a list of must hear records. Others would put totally different albums on and that's awesome. What someone likes vs. dislikes is truly subjective. Again, that's the beauty. With that said, this album objectively sucks. I mean truly horrible. Something had to be the lowest rated album on the list, and this was a place well earned. There is nothing redeemable about this record. To quote my wife, “they should have stopped at 1,000.”

Sep 21 2025, Author
Be album cover
Be Common

I am definitely not the target demographic for this album, but I still thought it was very good. There's a lot of skill and artistry put into these tracks, so much so that it is almost invisible. 4 stars for me, plus an extra star just to spite the mathematics PHD guy.

Apr 10 2024, Author

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