What is the WORST #5 Pazz & Jop Album?

a lot of these are great

I never liked Michelle Shocked, tho

also having a hard time imagining that Sun City album is any good

Sun City album is great; two versions of "Sun City"; Peter Gabriel's wordless vocals on "No More Apartheid"; multiple rappers plus Gil Scott-Heron and Peter Wolf on "Let Me See Your ID"; one of Bono's last great vocals on "Silver & Gold"; and Miles reuniting with Herbie, Tony, and Ron on "The Struggle Continues," the best thing Miles did in the 80s.

Yeah...yeah, I think I'll take that over Contra.

Green Day has to be a contender.

"times up" is a great album, wtf

of those i've heard (probably 1/2 to 2/3) i'm torn btw the Police and Elliott Smith, both of whom i dislike immensely -- will vote later on

Sun City album is great; two versions of "Sun City"

see it is very difficult for me to take the rest of your post seriously given this opening

also Whiney OTM re: Time's Up

Most of these aren't terrible. The two worst ones to my ears are John Hiatt are It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.

see it is very difficult for me to take the rest of your post seriously given this opening

Heh...dunno what to tell you, I never understood the "Sun City" hate.

Mirrorball is the Dockers khakis of Neil Young albums.

Lots of "We Are The World" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Sun City" fans here.

I ain't gonna say Sun City; out of the ones I've heard (I've missed 6 from the past decade, and Rickie Lee Jones) it's the Stones.

Having now studied the entire list, it's amazing how it goes from "whoa, this one's pretty great" to "uh this one's not so good"

I'm happy with most of these - voting Tina Turner.

Voted Arcade Fire.

Though to be honest, the last one I like enough to currently own is Neneh Cherry. Could have voted for any number of others since then.

Voted Arcade Fire. such a pointless band.

PM Dawn a close second tho

I'm in the minority that thinks PM Dawn's second album >>>> their first.

I just can't understand Sleeps With Angels.

That Living Colour album is pretty good; American Idiot on the other hand...

I just can't understand Sleeps With Angels.

It's a not-overtly-horrible Neil Young album. Critics love those.

I'm in the minority that thinks PM Dawn's second album >>>> their first.

I like their 3rd >>> their 2nd >>>> debut.

i also like the bliss album better than the debut

Contra

voted for American Idiot

I find it interesting that Neil Young would finish #5 with Tonight's the Night, a generally agreed-upon landmark, and then 20 years later also finish #5 with (to me, and probably to most Neil fans) two okay middling LPs. That says something about something. (Sorry to be so specific.)

Competition was way stiffer in '75 (Horses, Born To Run, Basement Tapes) than in '94 (Live Through This, Monster, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain).

voted vampire weekend, could've been radiohead. wtf were green day doing so high in p&j, though. there are some great albums in this list though!

1989 Neneh Cherry: Raw Like Sushi
1999 Tom Waits: Mule Variations
2002 Sleater-Kinney: One Beat
2003 Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell
2005 Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine
2008 Erykah Badu: New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War

"Raising Hell" FTW!

I'll probably be the only one who votes Check Yr Head but the Beasties jumped shark when they picked up instruments and began er jamming. also realized I hate their voices.

Mirror Ball - Neil Young with Pearl Jam - is even more boring and bereft of memorable melodies than you'd expect. paint-drying dull.

Sleeps With Angels is Young's last end-to-end excellent album, and easily available at a used record store near you.

Competition was way stiffer in '75 (Horses, Born To Run, Basement Tapes) than in '94 (Live Through This, Monster, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain).

There's that, but it's also the nature of how certain established artists (Dylan, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Prince...the list is long) were always treated by Pazz & Jop. Basically, at a certain point in their careers, anything they put out made Top 10. Depending upon the artist, how long that window was open varied. Obviously, it hasn't been true of Elvis Costello or Prince for ages; it's probably still true of Dylan. I think Sleeps with Angels is pretty good; I wouldn't say it's end-to-end excellent, not in the way that something like Everybody Knows or Zuma (#12...vote-splitting with TTN) is. Sleeps with Angels and Mirror Ball also seemed to benefit from their connection to the Nirvana story.

Who are Dirty Projectors and Kate & Anna McGarrigle?

lex likes sleater-kinney?? lol

Green Day 2.0

The Lou Reed and Los Lobos are sub-par. But I'm going to vote for the McGarrigle sisters album. Lots of crit kisses but I found it unlistenable.

Michelle Shocked was awful the one time I saw her, but since I haven't heard the records I won't vote for her.

Occasionally I'll try an indie album b/c it gets a bunch of hype, and sometimes I'll love it (Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend recently) but more often I don't---I tried the Dirty Projectors album on such a whim & so I feel pretty ok voting for it here.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Most of the ones here I know I like...I think Mule Variations is one of Waits' dullest albums, voted that.

lex likes sleater-kinney?? lol

― thank you ilxor for starting this much needed thread (ilxor), Saturday, March 12, 2011 10:26 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark

lex hates boys and guitars, has no problem with girls and guitars iirc

i hate lots of girls and guitars but also love some

if singer-songwriters like l.cohen, t.waits count, i do like some boys w/guitars

lex likes sleater-kinney?? Tom Waits ??? lol

There are a lot of great albums here (those PM Dawn and Arcade Fire albums are great, btw). Voted Radiohead, just because.

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