Mediocre albums by favorite bands

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I've been pulling out mediocre/bad albums by favorite artists:

Belly - King
Strangelove - Strangelove
Catherine Wheel - Wishville
Nick Cave - Nocturama
Creatures - Hai
Jazz Butcher - Rotten Soul

I'm not debating the worth of these, I'm wondering what to do with them. Rip and sell? File away as a represenative failure from a favorite band? Stick them in a box in the attic? I'm likely to never listen to these again, though there's usually a few tracks worth keeping, nor is it likely I'll decide these are good in the future.

What's your strategy?

― Mr. Odd, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 14:13 (eighteen years ago)

I'm enough of a collector geek that I keep the collection intact. It's not like a shop is going to give me much for "Rockbird" by Debbie Harry or "Interior Design" by Sparks anyway. Occasionally throwing one or two in the CD shuffle is a good way to reacquaint myself with them. I just did that with some Magnapop over the weekend, and found myself pleasantly surprised when those tracks would pop up.

― Dan Peterson, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 15:26 (eighteen years ago)

Sonic Youth- NYC Ghosts & Flowers
Pavement- Brighten the Corners

there's more, but it's lunch time!

― edde, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 15:49 (eighteen years ago)

i've always liked nyc ghosts and flowers, but nobody else seems to.

neil young has a gang of them. actually mediocre would be a kind designation to some of them.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 15:58 (eighteen years ago)

You have to keep 'em. They always end up being my favourites anyway.

― Dr.C, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 16:00 (eighteen years ago)

You guys aren't good for my obsessive-compulsive disorder. I've already got 4000 CDs and I'm trying to rationalize paring things down! With some bands I have the courage to say goodbye (like that Belly album though I'll keep the singles) but with others I just have to hold on to the physical copy (I've got a thing about that, too).

― Mr. Odd, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 16:16 (eighteen years ago)

Planet Waves: Bob Dylan

If you were to chart all bob's albums, that would probably be in the dead center in terms of quality. Nowhere near the highs of Blood on the Tracks, Highway 61 or Love and Theft, but also nowhere near the lows of Down In The Groove, Saved & Knocked Out Loaded.

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 17:44 (eighteen years ago)

Klaatu - Endangered Species

― Tim Ellison, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 17:49 (eighteen years ago)

Tool - 10,000 Days
Cave In - Antenna
Klute - Emperors New Clothes
Outkast - Idlewild

there's more but these four are bumming me out enuff

― The Macallan 18 Year, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 18:08 (eighteen years ago)

Genesis: "Abacab", "Invisible Touch" and "We Can't Dance"
Depeche Mode. "Songs Of Faith And Devotion"
XTC": "Go 2" and "The Big Express"
The Beatles: Really nothing other than several mediocre solo albums from all four
Split Enz/Crowded House: "Time/Tide"
Beach Boys: Everything since the mid 70s other than "....Love You"

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 20:18 (eighteen years ago)

you ought to keep the Nick Cave and Catherine Wheel albums -- at least 3-4 good songs apiece on each of those my friend...you'd be better off choosing entire ARTISTS to banish from your 4000+ collection, and the answer is NOT Cave or Catherine Wheel, i assure you

― stephen, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 20:29 (eighteen years ago)

you ought to keep the Nick Cave and Catherine Wheel albums -- at least 3-4 good songs apiece on each of those my friend

Nocturama has two good songs that I can recall, "Bring It On" and "Babe I'm On Fire", and maybe one more that's up-tempo with the rest being dirgy. I'm just not sure that makes it worth keeping.

Wishville is even worse, with "Sparks Are Gonna Fly" being solid but the rest is so uninspired. I do have the edition with the bonus live disc so maybe that'll save it for now.

But, yeah, somehow I have *two* Voltaire CDs, those'll get ditched. I've sold over a thousand items over the years and I've only bought back a couple (and can't find the Goblin Mix CD - my only major sell-pile mistake!).

There are some artists whose missteps I actually enjoy, like Lloyd Cole's _Bad Vibes_.

― Mr. Odd, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 22:14 (eighteen years ago)

Rip 'em and ditch 'em, but I'm not a completist.

― I eat cannibals, Thursday, 10 May 2007 00:58 (eighteen years ago)

XTC: Mummer, Wasp Star
Beach Boys: 15 Big Ones, L.A. (Light Album)
Can: Landed, Saw Delight, Can
Miles Davis: Miles in the Sky, Quiet Nights
ABBA: Voulez Vous
Boredoms: Seadrum/House of Sun, Super Roots 9 :(
Magma: Merci
Stereolab: Dots & Loops, tho actually it seems there's a very fine line between a mediocre Stereolab record and a good one
Free Design: There is A Song

― Dominique, Thursday, 10 May 2007 16:06 (eighteen years ago)

Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66 - Crystal Illusions.
Jonathan Richman - Jonathan Richman

― everything, Thursday, 10 May 2007 16:27 (eighteen years ago)

Faust: Rien

― Tom D., Thursday, 10 May 2007 16:28 (eighteen years ago)

Stereolab: Dots & Loops

Yes, that's on my list too! It's just so unengaging. I jumped ship after that point, though I have everything until then.

― Mr. Odd, Thursday, 10 May 2007 17:07 (eighteen years ago)

a lot of you guys are listing terrible albums instead of mediocre ones

i'll go with 'ancient melodies of the future', 'soft parade', 'like gods of the sun', 'damnation', 'summer sun', 'a.m'

― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 10 May 2007 17:17 (eighteen years ago)

Pixies - Bossanova
New Modest Mouse sadly

― mayhaps, Thursday, 10 May 2007 21:42 (eighteen years ago)

a lot of you guys are listing terrible albums instead of mediocre ones

If your favourite artist releases a terrible album, you'll usually view it as mediocre or better.

― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 10 May 2007 22:01 (eighteen years ago)

If your favourite artist releases a terrible album, you'll usually view it as mediocre or better.

OTM, as the kids around here says. I mean, _The Big Express_ is my favorite XTC album and one of Geir's mediocre ones. Tom-A-to, tom-AH-to.

― Mr. Odd, Thursday, 10 May 2007 23:07 (eighteen years ago)

Harry Nilsson - Knnillssonn

― chaki, Friday, 11 May 2007 01:29 (eighteen years ago)

Bohannon- Bohannon

i might keep it because i like the cover so much. but then again, some disco completist might be achin.

― the table is the table, Friday, 11 May 2007 03:04 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, the 'favourite bands' think does change the context, yes

the doors are nowhere near one of my favourite bands. misinterpreted this thread a bit when i stumbled home at 3am last night.

― Charlie Howard, Friday, 11 May 2007 08:09 (eighteen years ago)

I think it might be interesting to do a "Favorite Album by a Mediocre Band" thread. You know, bands that have an unmistakable air of mediocrity about them, but they've got this one album which is actually pretty good.

― o. nate, Friday, 11 May 2007 14:43 (eighteen years ago)

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