that one song that prevents an album from being perfect

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Here're some album killers that come to mind:

"Ignoreland" on Automatic For the People - REM
"Lonesome Cowboy Bill" on Loaded - The Velvet Underground
"Got to Know the Woman" on Sunflower - The Beach Boys
"Beside You" on Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
"Nashville Skyline Rag" on Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan
"Oh Daddy" on Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
"Butcher's Tale" on Odessey and Oracle - The Zombies

― may pang (maypang), Friday, 5 December 2003 18:38 (twenty-one years ago)

"Down By the Seaside," Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti
"Fitter, Happier," Radiohead, OK Computer

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Friday, 5 December 2003 18:46 (twenty-one years ago)

STUDENT DEMONSTRATION TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(also, I think we might have done this before... to find it just search the archives for "student demonstration time"!!)

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Friday, 5 December 2003 18:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Speakerboxx: Not even an entire song - Jay-Z's vocals on "Flip Flop Rock".

The Love Below: "Love In War".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:08 (twenty-one years ago)

But honestly Nick, you misspelt "Speakerboxxx"

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:09 (twenty-one years ago)

"Who Got the Funk?" on Original Pirate Material - The Streets

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

"This Is The One" from 'The Stone Roses' is just awful and has no hooks. It's just ascending and triumphant for no good reason. Maybe if it was the last song it would be tolerable.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

"Flip Flop Rock" is one of the few Jay-Z vocals I love!

"Talula" on Tori Amos, Boys For Pele (and when BT remixed it for single release it was really good, grrr - he put a proper beat in not that half-assed thing in Tori's original)

― The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

And for me, all of the John Head songs on the shack albums are the low points of the otherwise great albums.

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

"Oh Daddy" and "Down By the Seaside" are great! And "Ignoreland" has achieved personal daily-affirmation status as my very favorite lyric of all time,("I am very frustrated by this/ so fuck you, man")

― dave q, Friday, 5 December 2003 19:18 (twenty-one years ago)

The loser track on OK Computer isn't "Fitter Happier," it's "Electioneering."

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

on the 4000 great psychedelic rock albums i own it's the obligatory tin pan alley/zoot suit/flapper/roaring twenties/kazoo/rudy vallee megaphone number.this is also sometimes replaced by a faux hillbilly number. i can either blame the beatles or the movie bonnie and clyde. i choose to blame the beatles AND bonnie and clyde. and ian whitcomb. and winchester cathedral. and kaiser bill's batman. and lonnie donegan. and the broadway musical hello dolly.

― scott seward, Friday, 5 December 2003 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

and david rose. and the supercamp album on tower records.

― scott seward, Friday, 5 December 2003 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

wu tang - tears from 36th chambers

― fdsfjk, Friday, 5 December 2003 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

so scott you're not a big fan of Dan Hicks?

― dave q, Friday, 5 December 2003 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

The loser track on OK Computer isn't "Fitter Happier," it's "Electioneering."

Ha. "Electioneering" is far and away my favorite track on that album.

Nevermind the slings and arrows: "Of Course" is the song that prevents Ritual De Lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction from being a masterpiece.

The first Stooges album is massive apart from "We Will Fall".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:29 (twenty-one years ago)

What the fuck ever! "Electioneering" is climactic! WTF with everyone hating on that song? It's so friggin' gnarly!

x-post Alex I kiss you!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I blame John Cale (and hash) for "We Will Fall." Good for nothing artfag.

― may pang (maypang), Friday, 5 December 2003 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

so scott you're not a big fan of Dan Hicks?

i DO like dan hicks. he had great tunes. no, it's okay if you are a fake cowboy or jug-related. i just can't tell you how many heavy acid dreamers would besmirch their otherwise wonderful albums with some sort of buzz-killing vododeodo inanity.wot were they thinking!!!??? oh wait, they were out of their minds on drugs. still, that just makes it harder to explain.

― scott seward, Friday, 5 December 2003 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

that drony shit at the end of "the beginning stages of the polyphonic spree." i like it, but it should've been released separately. i'd like for that album (really more an EP without the last track) to end with a bang.

― Felcher (Felcher), Friday, 5 December 2003 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

"Day" on Katatonia's "Brave Murder Day". A perfect album otherwise, but this goth-lite crap really shouldn't have passed the quality filters.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 5 December 2003 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

i agree. it sticks out like a sore thumb. hell, it would stick out like a sore thumb on any of their other albums too.

― scott seward, Friday, 5 December 2003 20:42 (twenty-one years ago)

The shit song on Rumours is certainly "Songbird" isn't it? God McVie can be life-negatingly shitty.

― Clarke B., Friday, 5 December 2003 20:50 (twenty-one years ago)

See also: "Sugar Daddy" from the s/t; "Think About Me" from Tusk. She has some of their greatest tunes, that's undeniable -- but her worst is their worst, unquestionably. And her worst is just such absolute dross.

― Clarke B., Friday, 5 December 2003 20:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the stripped down sound of Songbird. It makes for a nice little breather. But yeah, I guess it's a bit on the schmaltzy side.

― may pang (maypang), Friday, 5 December 2003 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

"Mad Hatter" on Aural Sculpture by the Stranglers.

― sucka (sucka), Friday, 5 December 2003 21:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I despise "Poor Boy" from Nick Drake's Bryter Layter. My thought process on first listen: "Ho-hum. This seems surprisingly unremarkable.. OH GOD WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE BACKUP SINGERS DOING"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 5 December 2003 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahaha...

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 5 December 2003 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Porcupine Tree always has one sub-Elton John track that disrupts the meandering psychedilia and/or catchy rockers of the rest of their albums.

― James Slone (Freon Trotsky), Friday, 5 December 2003 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

"Beside You"? It's great!

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Friday, 5 December 2003 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I should point out that I like the song "Electioneering" quite a bit. It just should have been a B-side or something, because it's a speed-bump; it derails the mood of the whole rest of the album.

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Friday, 5 December 2003 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

"Cherry Oh Baby" destroyed 'Black and Blue' and took at least ten relevance-years off them

― dave q, Friday, 5 December 2003 22:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The loser track on OK Computer isn't "Fitter Happier," it's "Electioneering."

One day I joked that one day this'd be our favorite track.

Ha. "Electioneering" is far and away my favorite track on that album.

And then it happened. You're both right!

[disappears in puff of logic]

― brian nemtusak (sanlazaro), Friday, 5 December 2003 22:28 (twenty-one years ago)

'Lucky' on Deftones - Deftones
'Table Top Joe' on Alice - Tom Waits
'Heavy Metal Machine' on Machina - Smashing Pumpkins

Wow, I can't believe how alt-rock I just went.

― Stupid (Stupid), Friday, 5 December 2003 23:22 (twenty-one years ago)

'Wait' on Rubber Soul

― pete s, Friday, 5 December 2003 23:26 (twenty-one years ago)

"Lounge Act"
"Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out"

― dave q, Friday, 5 December 2003 23:27 (twenty-one years ago)

"Love Theme From Kiss"

― dave q, Friday, 5 December 2003 23:29 (twenty-one years ago)

For many years i would have said 'You can't always get what you want', i HATED it, but i'm coming round to it grudgingly...

― pete s, Friday, 5 December 2003 23:31 (twenty-one years ago)

"spare parts"

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 5 December 2003 23:32 (twenty-one years ago)

"Since I Held You" ('Candy-O)
"I'm in Touch With Your World' (The Cars)
"Don't Tell Me No" ('Panorama')
"The Call of Ktulu" ('Ride the Lightning')

― dave q, Friday, 5 December 2003 23:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Ktulu > Trapped Under Ice

― Leee Trevino (Leee), Saturday, 6 December 2003 00:01 (twenty-one years ago)

'Trapped' has that cool thing at the beginning where he does really-fast hammer-ons while depressing the whammy bar and slowly releasing the wah pedal tho! Actually it might be at the beginning of the first solo

― dave q, Saturday, 6 December 2003 00:04 (twenty-one years ago)

"Hit the Plane Down" on Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

― Alex Pittman (Alex Pittman), Saturday, 6 December 2003 00:21 (twenty-one years ago)

"Mamacita" on Aquemini

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 6 December 2003 00:25 (twenty-one years ago)

"And This Day" on Hex Enduction Hour

― dlp9001, Saturday, 6 December 2003 00:54 (twenty-one years ago)

damn, I kinda like "Cherry Oh Baby." Though I'll agree most white rocker attempts to appropriate riddim around this period were pretty dire. Clapton, I'm looking at you.
Anyway, there's much worse on Black and Blue, imo the worst thing they did pre- Dirty Work.

― Will (will), Saturday, 6 December 2003 01:07 (twenty-one years ago)

"The 1930s Rust" (Gary Numan - 'I, Assassin')
"Ghosts" (Japan - 'Tin Drum') - The rest of the songs have such wonderfully dense arrangements, and this one is all sparse and it just kills the mood when I'm trying to play along on my fretless.

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Saturday, 6 December 2003 01:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I never understood the anti-"Butcher's Tale" consenus? Do people really not like it or do they feel it's out of place on the album?

― Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Saturday, 6 December 2003 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Ktulu > Trapped Under Ice

GAH! I LOVE "Trapped Under Ice"!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 6 December 2003 01:36 (twenty-one years ago)

"No You Don't" off of NIN's The Fragile. The album isn't perfect by any means, but I still like it quite a bit. That song though is a bit cheesy and knocked the album down a little.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 6 December 2003 01:48 (twenty-one years ago)

"Buttons and zips" from elbow's "cast of thousands" be gone!

― jed (jed_e_3), Saturday, 6 December 2003 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Cookie's Sweat-Soaked and Satisfied is a really tuneful and entertaining album of barroom rock (AC/DC meets Old 97's, with a raspy chick singer). I get a kick out of the whole record, except the first track "Mr. President" is the single worst song I've ever heard in my life.

― Unum, Saturday, 6 December 2003 03:04 (twenty-one years ago)

"she's so fine" on axis: bold as love.
"little miss strange" on electric ladyland.

also agree on "hit the plane down" - spiral stairs is the noel redding of pavement.

"returning the screw" on in on the kill taker. sometimes i'm feeling it, but usually i'm not.

― Dr. Annabel Lies (Michael Kelly), Saturday, 6 December 2003 03:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Four Tet
"No More Mosquitos" on Pause

― tipustiger, Saturday, 6 December 2003 03:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Ben Folds' "The Luckiest" is the missed PAT at the end of the nice touchdown drive that is "Rockin' The Suburbs." Fortunately, it's the last track, so I can usually avoid listening to it.

― John Fredland (jfredland), Saturday, 6 December 2003 04:12 (twenty-one years ago)

"Not Me" is a dollop of poo on the otherwise stunning tapestery of delicate beauty that is It'll End in Tears by This Mortal Coil.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 6 December 2003 04:18 (twenty-one years ago)

>"Ghosts" (Japan - 'Tin Drum') - The rest of the songs have such wonderfully dense arrangements, and this one is all sparse and it just kills the mood when I'm trying to play along on my fretless.

Mick Karn would appreciate that comment very much, .... as blasphemous as it is.

― bahtology, Saturday, 6 December 2003 04:23 (twenty-one years ago)

lots of zappa's albums would've been perfect but for a real stinker or two:

"fifty-fifty" on overnite sensation -- it's supposed to be making fun of early-seventies shouters like daltrey, page, that black oak arkansas guy, etc., but it's still annoying.
"wild love" on sheik yerbouti -- totally pointless, but thankfully it's the next-to-last song.
"jumbo go away" on you are what you is -- kinda catchy musically, but lyrically one of FZ's most irredeemably nasty songs (and that's saying a lot)

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 6 December 2003 05:01 (twenty-one years ago)

"plant," not "page." FWIW.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 6 December 2003 05:01 (twenty-one years ago)

oh yeah, the ok computer track i still can't stand is "karma police." it sounds like a fucking jeff lynne-era tom petty song.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 6 December 2003 05:03 (twenty-one years ago)

you are so *totally* wrong.
it's not ok computer, ok computer alright.

it is amnesiac and the track is called "pulk/pull revolving doors"

they shouldn't have tried to mess with electronica - might sound progressive to people who never listened to electronic music before, you know, theese folks following the equation guitar=real, computer=fake... but it annoys me anytime i put that album on. and it has SO bright moments, and, obviously its dark/mediocre sides, too.
sorry for grammar/vocabulary, am not native speaker, i guess you already noticed.

― Simone DeVerstärker, Sunday, 7 December 2003 01:12 (twenty-one years ago)

"naminote" from "sakura" - by susuma yokota

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Sunday, 7 December 2003 01:20 (twenty-one years ago)

"Ladies of the Road" from King Crimson's Islands.

― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 7 December 2003 04:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I second "Electioneering".

Some others:

Surf's Up: Student Demonstration Time
A Night At The Opera: I'm In Love With My Car
Revolver: Yellow Submarine
The Great Escape: Globe Alone
Parklife: Bank Holiday
Abbey Road: Come Together (Both "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Octopus' Garden" are both kind of fun in all their tweeness. That overrated and repetitive bluesy crap song is not)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 7 December 2003 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

on the 4000 great psychedelic rock albums i own it's the obligatory tin pan alley/zoot suit/flapper/roaring twenties/kazoo/rudy vallee megaphone number

You are soooo wrong. Those are all among the highlights of the album.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 7 December 2003 22:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmm. Yeah, and:

Bookends: Voices Of Old People
Making Movies: Les Boys

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 7 December 2003 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Btw. whoever speaks negatively of the beautiful "Ghosts" (one of the highlights of the "new pop" era IMO) deserves a nightly visit from all of them :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 7 December 2003 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

GAH! I LOVE "Trapped Under Ice"!

OK ok, I should say then, Ktulu > Trapped Under Ice* > Escape

*which has the unfortune of being the song after Faid 2 Blakk

― Leee Trevino (Leee), Sunday, 7 December 2003 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

RE Come Together - first time i've ever seen 'bluesy' used as a derogatory term.

'Mean Mr Mustard' my friend

― pete s, Sunday, 7 December 2003 23:24 (twenty-one years ago)

thug's mansion - Nas: 'God's Son'

― paulhw (paulhw), Monday, 8 December 2003 01:51 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

Dog Catcher - Goatsnake 'Volume 1'
Here Comes Your Man - Pixies 'Dolittle'

― recovering optimist (Royal Bed Bouncer), Friday, 16 September 2005 06:49 (twenty years ago)

Village Green Preservation Society - "Phenomenal Cat"

― A|ex P@reene (Pareene), Friday, 16 September 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

Party for your Right to Fight - Nation of Millions

― PappaWheelie B.C., Friday, 16 September 2005 14:32 (twenty years ago)

"Nashville Skyline Rag" on Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan

so so not true. the bad track on this album is Girl From North Country. He did it was better on Freewheelin, and it's gross to hear him and johnny cash fighting for attention.

"Old King" or whatever it's called on Neil Young's Harvest Moon.

Abbey Road: Not come together, but She's So Heavey is awful. that's some repetitive bluesy crap.

― AaronK (AaronK), Friday, 16 September 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

OK ok, I should say then, Ktulu > Trapped Under Ice* > Escape

Escape is fun if you picture a young burnout mustachioed James Hetfield driving real fast in a slezy 70's van, pissed at the world. At least that's how I always picture it.

also agree on "hit the plane down" - spiral stairs is the noel redding of pavement.

Spiral Stairs wrote two of my most favorite and least favorite Pavement songs - "Kennel District" and "Date With Ikea" are both great, but "Hit The Plane Down" just makes me mad, and "Western Homes" similary fucks up Wowee Zowee for me.

― joygoat (joygoat), Friday, 16 September 2005 15:32 (twenty years ago)

Buju Banton - "It's All Over" from 'Til Shiloh

The less melodic earlier Buju snuck onto the impossibly soulful Buju's record.

― Confounded (Confounded), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:10 (twenty years ago)

Heh heh...I love how in this thread (and similar ones), my FAVOURITE songs keep getting cited!

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 16 September 2005 16:17 (twenty years ago)

Examples?

― Confounded (Confounded), Friday, 16 September 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

Beta Band: Monolith from The Three EPs

― zeus, Friday, 16 September 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

Fine Time - Technique - New Order

― biz, Friday, 16 September 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

The Clash - Wrong 'Em Boyo from London Calling

― a picture of a fat girl hugging Rick Perry, awesome (Matt Chesnut), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:07 (twenty years ago)

You're kidding.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

Fine Time - Technique - New Order

MADNESS

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:10 (twenty years ago)

Oh Comely - In the Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

― Schade (Schade), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:11 (twenty years ago)

What's that 15 minute snoozefest that infests Husker Du's Zen Arcade? Dreams Reoccurring? Reoccurring Dreams? I generally like things like that, songs that are long and usually derided as self-indulgent but that one just leaves me cold. It doesn't really ruin the LP for me as it takes up all of side 4 so I almost never hear it.

― Joel (aquabahn), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

"The Baby Song" and the slide whistle it rode in on ruins whatever Husker album it's on- Flip Your Wig?

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

You're kidding.

Nah, man! I haven't always disliked it, either, but the last time I put on that album I was kind of repelled by "Wrong Em."

― a picture of a fat girl hugging Rick Perry, awesome (Matt Chesnut), Friday, 16 September 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

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