The 23rd P&J Albums Poll!

I just wanted to comment before Alfred.

Aw I did too!

It's really tough between Tricky, Raekwon, Goldie, Chemical Brothers and TLC. I want zero votes for Moby.

Macro Dub Infection on down were part of the short-lived Compilations category.

Sez Bob:

Both coups have their connection to the post-rock fiddle-faddle you may have read about, as do several of the weaker finishers on our new compilations list (all but the winner, that means). These were somewhat more grooveless than the dance- and perhaps "world"-friendly finds I'd envisioned, although the category's instigator, Junior Poobah Ann Powers, harbored no such illusions--or desires. As Erik Davis's sane if overly visionary counterview emphasizes, dub is the most crucial source of the hipster vogue for slow, exotic instrumentals, and also the most unimpeachable. Hence the real numbers for Macro Dub Infection in an otherwise inconclusive competition that I expect to heat up next year, and hence my critical insecurities, for despite Bruce Sterling, Augustus Pablo, and my friend Greil, I've been not getting dub for over a decade, always with the uneasy sense that I'm missing something. But never forget the hipsters' fatal attraction to fusion, movie music, and the tragically neglected legacy of Holger Czukay--the real-life consequences and/or correlatives of the silly loungecore bubble. Also note that Ennio Morricone did better with reissue voters than Can, all of whose albums were rereleased by Mute for a grand total of four mentions--and that just as I prefer Sufis when it comes to trance, I prefer Pygmies when it comes to jungle. Heart of the Forest, the real thing--dig those crazy water drums.

No more EP lists from here on out, btw. Inevitable, but I still say...Boo!

I got the Can reissues mentioned above in 1995 and have listened to them steadily ever since. Along with the reissues of electric Miles Davis 1970-75, these the most influential, prescient and enjoyable albums to resurface on CD, ever. Music Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving.

there are a few good albums on that list but 1995 was such a crazy year for me I can't even think abt em

Maxinquaye

But my favorite record of this year is Whale: We Care, the Love Boat episode of Maxinquaye with guest star Tricky Quaye.

A lot of up and down here. The top four is strong. But it starts sinking fast before picking up again with Raekwon. Far too many albums riding on singles: Osborne, Pumpkins, Farris (I think), Morissette, TLC, etc.

Timeless is not. Never understood the Bjork although I cooled up to her later.

Adored the Rancid (even sexy Tim Armstrong's vocals), Moby (even the gutwrenching final track), Chem Bros. Prefer Electr-O-Pura to the next one (even though Ira Kaplan gave me THE worst interview ever at the time. Total beeyatch - tried to shrug off that he top tened Culture Club's "Time" at one point). And yeah, PJ.

Thought it was stolen from me but now that I think of it, I may have gotten rid of it: Macro Dub Infection--Volume 1. Loved the Tricky (right? a remix, no?) and 4 Hero (right?) tracks. Even the Tortoise.

Maxinquaye, no contest, and while I like Raekwon, Peej, Bjork, and Elastica very much, this is Dullsville.

Also:

Damn you, Eric and Kevin.

I love Mellon Collie, To Bring You My Love, and Brown Sugar, but Maxinquaye is still the clear winner. Post, Exit Planet Dust, Timeless and even Foo Fighters aren't bad.

Electr-O-Pura, but I know and like most of the records on the list (it was the last year I could spend most of my income on music). I suppose the other highlights for me are Moby, Geraldine Fibbers, Dwight Yoakum, and Tricky. The Emmylou Harris record is great, as is the Foo Fighters. Uncle Tupelo were my favorite band of the early 90s, so when they broke up and then each guy released his own records, I was maximally excited about it. Son Volt's Trace was the most disappointing record I'd ever heard, then, and singlehandedly is responsible for my leaving alt.country completely behind (I guess moving out of Texas helped too). The Wilco record isn't much better. But I will still swear by Anodyne (and did on another poll thread).

Electr-O-Pura

But my favorite record of this year is Whale: We Care

KJB OTM...

the Love Boat episode of Maxinquaye with guest star Tricky Quaye.

okay that aint right

LOL. It was meant as a compliment.

It's a very silly record, no? Or dead serious in its silliness. I mean, their most heartfelt song was called "I'm Cold."

Post over Raekwon, TLC (which is held up by its singles, but no worse for it. Having four of the best songs ever made on your album is a damn good way to make sure it will be decent), Biggie, & ODB. There are about five albums here that I would really love to hear. I'm still not over the shock of seeing people taking PM Dawn seriously.

It's really between Peej, Tricky and my favorite Pavement album for me. I'll go with Maxinquaye, I guess, cause that was the one that really...uh...changed the way I looked (and listened to, natch) at certain records / artists--kinda like It Takes a Nation of Millions had eight years before it.

Also love the James Carter, Prince and Notorious B.I.G. records, among others that have already been mentioned.

And I may well have voted for Luna's Penthouse had that been an option.

Overall, not a very good year methinks.

Shit, I totally missed Wowee Zowee and the last excellent to great Prince album.

electr-oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-pura!

I'm still not over the shock of seeing people taking PM Dawn seriously.

I'll admit that Prince Be was starting to get sleepy by this point. But still some ace tracks on this one. Still better than G-funk snoozerellas by my ears.

Not to reopen that can of worms, but before these polls I hadn't realized that PM Dawn were well-respected in some quarters. It's rather amusing to me. I'm conjecturing right now, but do they hit the twee button? Is that the appeal?

We're all closet New Agers at heart.

cuban linx

but do they hit the twee button?

Twee? When I think of twee, I think of The Yummy Fur or The Field Mice. PM Dawn is gorgeous pop similar to, oh, The Beach Boys, say.

I hate the Beach Boys, too, though I can see how the appeal would be similar.

Since I know somebody is going to ask how I can hate the Beach Boys, I might as well preempt and say that I find the production obnoxiously chintzy and the type of clear, "angelic" voices they have are the most hellish thing imaginable to me.

PM Dawn have always reminded me of the early '80s "new romantic" bands, actually. But, you know, PM were much much better. Submit to the gorgeousness of their sound, The Rev, SUBMIT!!!

And there you hit upon yet something else I have no use for.

D'Angelo's Brown Sugar by a gazillion miles.

MIA: The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?; The Cardigans, Life. I liked those and Cuban Linx and TLC that year.

Damn, this was a great year for comps and reissues. Excursions in Ambience 4 happens to be one of my all-time fave comps so it's getting my vote, not least because almost none of the other things I was listening to in 1995 made the list (Pulp, Autechre, Spiritualized).

Voted for Rancid, which was easy. One of my favorite '90s albums, by one of my favorite '90s bands.

I like a few others, too, though what I'm really curious about are James Carter and all those crazy dance compilations -- none of which I've ever heard, I don't think. Should probably go back and listen to Tricky, Goldie, and the Chemical Brothers (among others) someday, too.

Maxinquaye without a second thought

I can't be the only one who likes ODB?

Ready to Die, no contest. I like Maxinquaye, but have never understood why it's so venerated. I'd rather listen to Mezzanine any day of the week, and on some days I like Pre-Millennium Tension better ("Christiansands" being one of my favorite late-night videos).

Good year. The only ones I really still listen to are Pavement and Sonic Youth, though I like the Tricky, Bjork, Yo La Tengo, Elastica, Jayhawks, Goldie, and Ben Folds Five all reasonably well, too. I love PJ Harvey, but I've always thought To Bring You My Love was overrated. Of course, the first PJ Harvey album I heard was 4-Track Demos, so maybe I missed the overdriven rawness. "Down by the Water" and "C'mon Billy" were pretty good, though.

I'm realizing, looking at this list, that 1995 was perhaps the year I really became a music geek. Part of it's that I turned 16 and thus had disposable income to buy records. Also, I began subscriptions to Option and SPIN to supplement my Rolling Stone subscription and started listening regularly to Sound Opinions, the radio talk show with Jim DeRogatis and Bill Wyman. I received The SPIN Alternative Record Guide for Christmas, published in time to list the 10s they gave to PJ Harvey and Moby that year.

Really surprised at the omission of the Flaming Lips' Clouds Taste Metallic. I remember buying that after reading so many positive reviews of it.

MIA: The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

I appreciate your hometown boosterism, Pete. :)

but before these polls I hadn't realized that PM Dawn were well-respected in some quarters

I didn't, either, before reading Pazz and Jop results on Christgau's site a few years ago. However, it was a happy discovery, since 13-year-old me loved them and didn't know anyone else who gave a damn, save for my best friend in 8th grade.

voted cuban linx but sent an apologetic fruit basket to wowee zowee.

also love a ton of this shit, gbv, biggie, geraldine fibbers, pj harvey etc etc

xp: I had the same experience w/ "Come On & Ride It".

I don't count Ready to Die as a '94 album, but, hey...

I have to wonder how an album that came out in the previous September and already boasted of at least one t40 hit before the year started snuck in.

63 of its 144 votes came from 1994 carryover votes.

*whoops, meant to say "as a '95 album" -- which is to say I agree with The Reverend.

(xxpost)

Not to be all pedantic and shit, but jaymc meant 5 of its 12 votes ( = 63 out of 144 points). Had Ready to Die actually received 144 votes, it would have run away with the damn poll!

Weird, I totally thought I corrected myself a second later, but it appears ILX ate my post.

Jaymc OTM about Clouds Taste Metallic, my other fave record from this year. Funny that I forgot this came out in 1995. Not surprising, though -- I spent the year buying a house, moving from Chicago to Madison, and getting ready for my daughter who was born in late October. So I didn't really listen to a lot of new music.

WAIT WTF WHERE IS LIQUID SWORDS

One Wu too many for the voters maybe? It's my personal fave of the three '95 Wu-related solo releases, fwiw.

Same here. The ODB doesn't even really need to be here.

Wrecking Ball is one of my favorite records.

But then again, "Champagne Supernova" is my favorite karaoke song.

Tricky no contest, though if Luna had been on there I'd have voted for that. Not that this is precisely reflective of what I was listening to in '95; I was tempted to vote for Moby, and after seeing that "I hope Moby gets zero votes" post really wish I had.

I still love that Moby record.

though if Luna had been on there I'd have voted for that.

-- Matos W.K., Monday, September 17, 2007 10:31 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Great call on Luna, that's a fantastic album of theirs!

In fact, looking at Christgau's essay he pretty much says as much:

"I can forgive going gaga over catchy trifles like Matthew Sweet or Garbage or the noble Foo Fighters--I did it with Luna myself, only I did it because Penthouse is beautiful (only you know whose ear beauty is in)."

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

And there you hit upon yet something else I have no use for.

That "yet" makes me fear for your sanity, Rev.

So you have no use for new romanticism. Hate The Beach Boys. Don't like (maybe even hate) PM Dawn. Don't get Chic. What DO you like besides hip-hop?

Signed,

A concerned citizen

at the time i loved moby, pavement, gbv, the 6ths, tlc and maybe odb, and i could've voted for any of them. i had flings with neil young, oasis, the chems and that prince album. and that one really long song on that sonic youth album.

is it really possible that neither radiohead (the bends) nor the beatles (anthology 1) could crack pazz & job that year?

i voted for tlc because of all of those, it's the one i most feel like putting on right now.

So, can somebody please give a brief, one-sentence-each description of what each of these are (or at least what particular subgenres they each compile)?

Thanks!

Macro Dub Infection--Volume 1 (Caroline)
Excursions in Ambience: The 4th Frontier (Astralwerks)
The Real Trip: Further Self-Evident Truths (Rising High)
The Rebirth of Cool Volume 3 (4th & B'way)
The Secret Museum of Mankind Vol. 1 (Yazoo)
Give 'Em Enough Dope Vol. 2 (C&S)
Headz (Mo' Wax import)
Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru (Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.)
Planet Squeezbox (Ellipsis Arts . . .)

Actually, I've The Secret Museum of Mankind Vol. 1, come to think of it. So never mind that one.

A bunch of other albums I like from 1995:

Monster Magnet – Dopes To Infinity (A&M)
Lordz Of Brooklyn – All In The Family (American/Venture)
Mo-Do - Was Ist Das? (ZYX)
Ted Nugent – Spirit Of The Wild (Atlantic)
The Gathering – Mandylion (Century Media)
Natacha Atlas – Diaspora (Beggars Banquet)
Everclear – Sparkle And Fade (Capitol/Tim Kerr)
Los Del Mar – Macarena (Lime/Quality Canada)
Moonspell – Wolfheart (Century Media)
Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It (PMP/Rush Associated)
Heroes Del Silencio – El Dorado (EMI-Odeon Spain)
FSK – The Sound Of Music (Flying Fish)
Desorden Publico – Canto Poular De La Vida Y Muerte (Sony Discos)
Cornershop – Woman’s Gotta Have It (Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.)
Aterciopelados – El Dorado (BMG U.S. Latin)
Ajax – Aphrodite (Zoo EP)
Moonshake – Eva Luna (Matador/Atlantic)
Fey – Fey (Sony Mexico)
Junior Brown – Junior High (MCG/Curb EP)
Apache Indian – Make Way For The Indian (Mango)
Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses (Capitol)
Local H- Ham Fisted (Island)

(All from N or earlier in the alphabet, fwiw. No doubt a bunch of O's through Z's, plus compilations, are just as deserving to have a place on that list.)

Macro Dub Infection--Volume 1 (Caroline) - Post-rock. Very extreme in terms of sparseness of sound IIRC. Great Tortoise track (why did they suck so bad after this?), Laika, extremely attenuated Tricky remix, etc.

The Rebirth of Cool Volume 3 (4th & B'way) - Trip-hop and acid jazz.

Give 'Em Enough Dope Vol. 2 (C&S) - More trip-hop. More acid jazz.

Headz (Mo' Wax import) - DJ Shadow's label. So...more trip-hop, vaguely more sampladelic.

I seriously doubt you'd dig any of the above.

This, though:

Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru (Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.) - More folkish and gentle than the Luaka norm. But consistently pleasant.

Never heard the others.

(Apparently I am the only one who likes ODB.)

No. I love that record.

That "yet" makes me fear for your sanity, Rev.

So you have no use for new romanticism. Hate The Beach Boys. Don't like (maybe even hate) PM Dawn. Don't get Chic. What DO you like besides hip-hop?

Signed,

A concerned citizen

-- Kevin John Bozelka, Monday, September 17, 2007 5:20 PM (Monday, September 17, 2007 5:20 PM) Bookmark Link

Bjork!

More seriously, because I am OCD about this shit, I can tell you that of the last 100 albums I have listened to, 65 of them are things other than American hiphop and 98 of them are not by Dr. Dre.

Got to get that Moonshake out again.

I'll definitely have to catch up on Luna, Matos. And I did like the Tricky then, never heard the Moby (and Alien Lanes only later). It's just that nothing hit me harder than D'Angelo and Jim Ruiz that year, two beautiful albums stranded in time (and, apparently, place). Great year for singles, I'm betting: The summer of "This Is How We Do It" and "Connection," Rancid's ska connecting to "Jump Around" and Jim Ruiz's "My Bloody Yugo."

'95 was, for me, the popular pinnacle of the 9:30 Club/Danceteria/First Avenue (and MTV, though not radio) idea of mixing all genres on the dance floor, and I know the Tricky album was kind of a rallying point for a lot of people who thought they should all mix on CD, too.

Danceteria 1995 (probably my last time there, since I was 24) had the "Natural Born Killaz" video on the big screen.

I dunno about 95, but MTV was very good in 96 (and maybe for a short time thereafter). Going straight from "No Diggity" to No Doubt are a winner.

I thought 1995 was a pretty exciting year. The Wire was actually covering some fun music like Tricky. Everyone was rediscovering dub due to nice Blood & Fire reissues, lots of creativity with production and electronic music. As usual P&J dropped the ball on 18 of my top 24:

Asian Dub Foundation * Facts And Fictions (Nation)
Dirty Three (Touch & Go)
Labradford * A Stable Reference (Kranky)
The Young Gods * Only Heaven (Interscope)
Cornelius * 69/96 (Trattoria)
Chico Science & Nação Zumbí * De Lama Ao Caos (Chaos)
Oval * 94 Diskont (Mille Plateaux)
Meshuggah * Destroy Erase Improve (Nuclear Blast)
Fugazi * Red Medicine (Dischord)
Natacha Atlas * Diaspora (Mantra/Beggars Banquet)
Swervedriver * Ejector Seat Reservation (Creation)
Techno Animal * Re-Entry (Virgin)
Cornershop * Woman's Gotta Have It (Luaka Bop/WB)
Spiritualized * Pure Phase (Dedicated/Arista)
Pram * Sargasso Sea (Too Pure)
Mouse On Mars * Iaora Tahiti (Too Pure)
Mercury Rev * See You On The Other Side (Work)
Flying Saucer Attack * Further (Drag City)

I voted ODB too . . .

My favorite albums from 1995: Oval "Discont" and John Wall "Alterstill". Scott Walker's "Tilt" comes close. "Penthouse" is also a great album. There is a lot on the P&J list that I like as well, including PJ Harvey, Tricky, D'Angelo, Bjork, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth. Can't decide which of these to vote for. This is the first of these P&J lists I've seen that I've liked.

I think it's going to be another 20 years before I can evaluate that Moby album with any objectivity.

So you have no use for new romanticism. Hate The Beach Boys. Don't like (maybe even hate) PM Dawn. Don't get Chic. What DO you like besides hip-hop?

Rodney actually has pretty decent taste, Kevin (in spite of his obvious blind spots). Check out this thread for proof:

Whatcha listening to?

Chico Science & Nação Zumbí * De Lama Ao Caos (Chaos)

Yeah, good point. And great album.

A few more:

Rednex -- Sex & Violins (Battery)
Selena -- Dreaming Of You (EMI)
Supergrass -- I Should Coco (Capitol)
(Various) -- Playa Dance '95 Compilation (EMI Latin)

Lots and lots of good greatest hits and reissue albums, too, but I won't start in on those.

I can tell you that of the last 100 albums I have listened to, 65 of them are things other than American hiphop and 98 of them are not by Dr. Dre.

You mean they're non-American hip-hop then?

J/k.

More trip-hop.

Now that I look at all that, I'm mildly stunned that so much trip-hop made it to the comps list when there were tons of great house comps/mixes floating around the time, esp. that three-disc Sasha/Digweed Renaissance mix capturing trance right before it turned into the worst dance subgenre ever (unless acid jazz counts).

I suspect a heterosexual conspiracy.

Mo-Do - Was Ist Das? (ZYX)

Oh gawd! I have a bunch of his (his, right?) 12"s. Very silly stuff. I could never spin it because it was too fast and, gee, damn near happy hardcore-esque IIRC. Loved it, though.

Ajax – Aphrodite (Zoo EP)

I vaguely remember this. What does it sound like?

Ready to Die, easy

You mean they're non-American hip-hop then?

J/k.

Well about 5-8 from that category. but it gets very gray. I mean, is M.I.A. hiphop? Are Fulanito? Dizzee Rascal and Mala Rodriguez certainly qualify, but what about Calle 13 and Tego Calderon? Are they hiphop or are they cordoned off into some reggaeton ghetto?

Oh and for the record, I have nothing against Chic whatsoever. They are a group that I wanted to be into and tried to get into them, but it just wasn't to be.

Macro Dub Infection--Volume 1 (Caroline) - Post-rock.

WAAHT, you're telling me Scorn, Bandulu, the Disciples, and Mad Professor are post-rock? It's a collection of dub, plus a bunch of artists (only a few of whom would classify as post-rock) trying to sound dubby or being captured in their dubbier moments. I still like this comp a lot, the second one stuck to more "textbook" dub styles without as much of the weirder ambient and techno stuff. I don't like it nearly as much.

Excursions in Ambience: The 4th Frontier (Astralwerks)

Very "Thursday Afternoon"-ish for the most part, lots of drone-y mood pieces, but they're all good ones.

As I mentioned above, my copy was stolen over a decade ago. So a lot of this is coming from memory. If you'd like to YSI me a copy so as to correct my transgression, I'm all fingers (and eventually ears).

In an event, the compilation was released not to rake in cash from dubnauts who own the Blood & Fire catalogue but rather because post-rock (or electronica or whatever) was hot at the time (maybe someone at Astralwerks or wherever would know how much cash was raked in). It's the reason why we're even talking about compilations in this particular P&J poll.

Here's the track listing:

A1 Disciples, The (2) The Struggle Of life
A2 Spring Heel Jack Double Edge Dub
A3 2 Badcard Sergio Mendez Part 1
Producer - Adrian Sherwood
A4 Automaton Astral Altar Dub
Producer - Bill Laswell
B1 Bedouin Ascent Broadway Boogie Woogie
B2 Rootsman, The Wadada (Sema Mix)
B3 Coil The Hills Are Alive
B4 Omni Trio The Half Cut
C1 Laika If You Miss (Laika Virgin Mix)
C2 New Kingdom Crush Your Enemies (Panama Connection Dub Mix)
Producer - Lumberjacks
C3 Tortoise Goriri
C4 Skull vs. Ice Operation Mind Control
Producer - Underdog
D1 Bud Alzir Morocco
D2 Extremadura Beta, Seekers Of Smooth Things
D3 4 Hero The Paranormal In 4 Forms
D4 Golden Palominos, The This Is How It Feels (Dub)
Producer - Anton Fier
E1 Mad Professor Ragga Doll
E2 Wagon Christ Phora Ride
E3 Scorn The End (Remix)
E4 Tricky Ambient Pumpkin
Producer - Mark Saunders
F1 Iration Steppas Iration Steppas vs Dennis Rootical
Producer - Dennis Rootical , Mark Iration
F2 Bandulu Come Forward
F3 Earthling Nothingness

Of these (at least):

Spring Heel Jack
Coil
Omni Trio
Laika
New Kingdom
Tortoise
4 Hero
Golden Palominos
Wagon Christ
Tricky

They may not be post-rock. But I'd NEVER call them dub (even though, yes, I know that their tracks/remixes here are dubby).

IIRC, that 4 Hero track was simply jaw-dropping.

And at the end of the day, I seriously doubt Xhuhk would dig it.

"If it sounds futuristic and groundbreaking in 1995 and doesn't in 2007, it's the artist's fault how?"

By going for thin gimmicks over depth? Or are you trying to argue that ultimately, the music isn't the musician's responsibility?

Or is this just another hackneyed and knee-jerk foaming over "dated"?

I'm not the one mixing my metaphors.

half the time, "depth" = "thin gimmicks" + 20 years anyway

NOTE HYPERBOLE BEFORE POUNCING, obv.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

"half the time, "depth" = "thin gimmicks" + 20 years anyway"

Yep, and that's when it's genius (which the artist is responsible for).

I salute xhukx for voting properly.

Gawd, I LOATHE that Pumpkins album beyond the singles. Or do I mean single?

Btw, what determines the order of the albums receiving zero votes?

I had to vote with my heart, but I'm really glad Rancid didn't wind up with NO votes.

NED RIGGED THIS POLL

Julie Christie, the rumors are true!

Fugazi * Red Medicine (Dischord)

Mistakenly thought this was '96, and yeah, it shoulda been up there. Maybe not Fugazi's peak but Guy's peak.

I would have voted for Rancid too. I really don't get the appeal of Maxinquaye.

Others missing:

Ruins - Hyderomastgroningem
Mermen - Glorious Lethal Euphoria
Harry Partch - 17 Lyrics of Li Po (Tzadik)

Ugh. I really don't like either Maxinquaye or Mellon Collie. And that's not one of Pavement's best. Rap vote split?

Jawbreaker's "Dear You" came out in '95, that album was pretty solid.
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s22197.jpg

Btw, what determines the order of the albums receiving zero votes?

Ah yes, one of those great ILX mysteries far beyond the mere mortal ken of ordinary posters.

Keith only knows for sure(I assume).