2006年 Jul 2日 Sunday, 6:30

It's so rare, in the world we live in, to come across an album where the whole thing is pretty much gold. Very rarely do I grab an album and like every song on it. Usually I'll only rip half the CD to my computer, just 'cause I really don't wanna hear the songs that I'm more or less ambivilant towards. But every so often, you'll come across an album that is good, all the way through. And it doesn't have to be stellar. As long as every song on it is 'good', at the least, the entire album skyrockets into a place that most musicians can only ever dream of attaining.

Was talking about this with a friend today, and we agreed that although it's all well and good when an album kinda hooks you all the way through, it's much better when it kinda worms it's way under your skin. My big one right now is A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. At first, one or two songs were good… then another one caught on, as I got tired of the original track I liked. Then slowly, more and more of the album got to me, until I love the whole thing passiontely. I started with Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off, a very cathy peice of work with a good bassline that reminds me a lot of Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades… only without the whole whiny emo thing. Then I Write Sins Not Tragedies got in there, simply because I love the course, and I began to realize that the band had zero regard for rhyme scheme… which, in my opinion, makes them infinately cooler. Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks followed, because of the lyrical line "Prescribe pills to offset the shakes / to offset the pills", which is a pretty good look at how my best friends history with anti-psychosis medication has gone for the last 7 years. Eventually, the whole album has become favourites, making it a keeper for eternity.

Other "Perfect" albums:
Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
(I know it doesn't sound like all their old stuff… but it feels a lot more solid, overall. More… feel to it. And Before I Forget is a masterpeice. The first album would be on here if it weren't for Scissors, which I can't stand.)

The Golden Age of Grotesque
(This one had me from the first listen. The only other album he's done that I can stand to listen the whole thing is the Greatest Hits. I just thought this album was perfect… especially Para-noir.)

Horrorscope
(My brother's fault, but a great album overall. It's just a good, bubblegum rock album. Bouncy without being too punk, intelligent without being whiny. On The Roof Again and Amphetamines really stood out here.)

Europop
(I know. Gag me. But I was a big Eurodance fan when this came out, and I honestly liked the album, no matter how bad it is, and I still like it. Living In A Bubble was the theme song for my town for a while there.)

Faithlift
(Canadian folk-rock band. Have everything they've done, but this album really stood out. From first to last song, everything on it oozed quality. God's Apprentice was the killer track here… beautiful song, great hook, disturbing subject matter. A song you love until you listen to the lyrics, and then you love it more.)

Thirteenth Step
(Maybe this one is my roommate's fault. She played this album non-stop for almost two months, and if she hadn't, I don't think I would've recognized how good it is. Pet and The Outsider are the two hookers from this one… Blue as well, but I have to say, I like the Blue (Bird Shake Mix) from the aMOTION bonus disc better.)

The Sickness
Believe
Ten Thousand Fists
(These guys get nothing but thumbs up from me. They write their own music, Draiman knows how to scream, and he has a nice singing voice, too. He can write, perform, and he's hot. Whatev. They have yet to produce a song I don't like.)

Sinner
(This one came to me at the beginning of my rock phase, and I was going through a rough point. The entire album hit me, particularily Tear Away.)

Meteora
(I thought this album was far more well-constructed than their first attempt. And I even liked Reanimation. Meteora just did everything right, with songs like Don't Stay, Hit The Floor, and Nobody's Listening being focal points.)

Animosity
(The band claims this is their worst album… and I disagree. They found a perfect mesh of melody and yelling in this album, giving the whole thing a very heartfelt feel. Too many good songs to name, but Crucified and Dead Set were with me for a long time.)

Affirmation
(And we hit pop territory. Like it or not, I live Darren Hayes. I think he's crazy talented, and I'm filled with envy for his voice. I thought this album was just beautiful, in that it encompassed a plethora of musical styles, from disco to soft rock balleds, from pop to acoustic crying-songs.Lover After Me, Two Beds And A Coffee Machine, and Gunning Down Romance have all been known to make me cry.)

Exodus
(Shoot me. I know. But I love Utada Hikaru, and for some reason, this album, though the second-biggest peice of fluff I've ever heard, still appeals to me. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't have total command of the english language, but she's still writing her own music. Hotel Lobby and Tippy Toe got to me on this one.)

love.angel.music.baby
The biggest peice of fluff I've ever heard… and for some reason, I cannot eradicate the bubblegum lyrics and driving basslines from my mind. There are songs on this album I should hate on principal, but for some reason I still like them. The Real Thing and Crash both evoke fond memories of my ex, and Danger Zone has this whole 80's power-rock thing to it that I just adore, for some reason.)

Collision Course
(This one took me by surpise, I'll admit. I mean, I like Linkin Park… and I like Jay-Z… and I like remixes… but the quality of this production left me gobsmacked. Jigga What/Faint and Numb/Encore were just *intense*, and the final track, Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer just rocked the house. Beautiful.)

Forever Your Girl
(I deserve to be shot for this one… but another album from my childhood that I can simply find no flaw in, despite the incredibly bubblegum early-90's NewKids feel of the whole thing. I think she's talented. Shoot me. Cold-Hearted Snake is a *must* listen.)

Contact
(This is one that people love until I tell them it's dark secret… do you wanna know it? Fine. They're a Christian band. It's all about God, but it's really subtle which is good. It also has some of the best hooks I've heard on an album, with a *stellar* vocalist, and the confidance to play around with English to make things rhyme. Lift Me Up, Tonight, and Light are all very catchy and uplifting, while Do What You Say, while directed at Christians, is just a good track for anyone to listen to.)

All of Schwarz Stein's albums.
(Japanese darkwave/industrial/dark techno/visual kei band. Great songs, great lyrics, super-catchy. Current may be one of the greatest driving songs ever.)

And ANYTHING by Gackt
(The man's a musical genius. No if's, and's, or but's.)

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I think that's it… long-ass list. But it gives an idea of who I am, musically, I think. And it shows me what all I have. Hmm…