Welcome to Part 16 of the Noughtie series. This is the eighth Mixtape, celebrating the year of 2007 in rock and metal. 2007 marked a turn in music officially in my eyes. Emo music was really at the centre of everything, and finding good bands was starting to get difficult. The last three years of the decade were the worst three, in my opinion, but there was still some good stuff coming out. As usual, here's the rules of the Mixtape.
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!
So what songs do I like from 2007? Let's find out shall we!
What were your favourite songs of 2007? Do you agree with my assessment that the decade took a turn for the worse this year? Add any comments below. I'll be back on Monday for possibly my favourite part of the series, counting down my favourite 20 music videos of the decade. Have a good day.
Here we are, Part 2 of My Favourite Albums listing. This will be the top 10 albums, in my opinion. This of course is only one album per artist so theoretically it isn't argueably my favourite 10. But let's not get into that. Let's look at these 10 brilliant albums!
10. "Lungs" by Florence and the Machine
Released: 3/7/09
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "I'm Not Calling You Liar", "Kiss With a Fist", "Girl With One Eye"
Lungs caught me by surprise. I didn't like the sound much of Florence when she appeared out of nowhere in 2008. But my fiancee did, and asked for her album in December 2009. After a few listens I started to tolerate it and when I started paying proper attention to it I loved it. This is a brilliant album, Florence is an extremely talented woman with a beautiful voice. I can't wait to hear more of her stuff in the future.
9. "Straight Outta Lynwood" by Weird Al Yankovic
Released: 26/9/06
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Trapped in the Drive-Thru", "Polkarama!", "Confessions Part III"
I intentionally discluded mention of "White and Nerdy" in the stand-out tracks because it's not the best song on this album. This album really caught me by surprise when I actually reviewed it back in 2006. I reviewed it as part of my "fanzine" when I was trying to make a bit of a name for myself. The review is lost unfortunately. But yeah, this album is great, it's the best album Weird Al has done and I'd thoroughly recommend you get it if you like his stuff. He does parodies of songs by Usher (Confessions Part III), Green Day (Canadian Idiot) and the best one, R-Kelly (Trapped in the Drive-Thru), an epic 11 minute parody of his experience to and from a drive-thru which is just hilarious.
8. "The Royal Society" by The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Released: 25/10/04
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Puppy Dog Snails", "Mister Mental", "Freud's Black Muck"
Although opinions tend to differ about what the best is, this is my favourite TEMBLD album. I think it contains enough of the hard edge from the first but adds maturity and melody to that rash sound. The Royal Society is a great album, one that probably won't be listened to as much as it should, as this band isn't as popular as they should be. But that's an arguement for a previous day...
"Puppy Dog Snails" is probably my favourite song on the album it just sounds great and it's a bit odd too, which is a bonus. The main single was "Mister Mental" which was featured in the "Shaun of the Dead" film.
7. "Here We Stand" by The Fratellis
Released: 6/6/08
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Babydoll", "Jesus Stole My Baby", "Tell Me a Lie"
It was hard choosing which of the two equally great Fratellis albums to put here, but I've gone with the second. The differences between the two is similar to above, apart from that The Fratellis don't do heavy songs, but did very catchy upbeat songs. This album has more melody, it has better lyrics and a general softer sound. It didn't quite have the same effect the first did, the first I loved straight away, this one disappointed me at first but the more I listened to more I appreciated it. It's a great album by yet another underrated band.
I was so excited for this album when it was announced that SOAD would be releasing a new album. I'd really enjoyed Toxicity and Steal This Album! and wanted more. So that's what I got. And man, I was blown away by this. This album is so fucking listenable as a metal fan. It's shorter than their previous albums but it's definitely my favourite. Some of the songs are just so great to listen to, like "Cigaro" which has to have one of the best intro lines into a song "My cock is much bigger than yours". "Radio/Video" shows the band can mix their style with that of others, with a form of African beat being used near the end of the song. It's just a brilliant album, my favourite by the band, it's just a shame that "Hypnotize", the sister album, was shocking in comparison.
5. "Black Holes and Revelations" by Muse
Released: 11/7/06
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Supermassive Black Hole", "Knights of Cydonia", "A Soldier’s Poem"
I reviewed this album back in 2007, the link is above. It is my favourite Muse album, although at the time of reviewing it I didn't think it would be. It just sounds like a proper album, some of their previous work felt like a collection of songs sometimes, but this really was wrapped up properly. From "Take a Bow" to "Knights of Cydonia", you could tell that track listing was very important on the agenda in the Muse offices. And it makes such a big difference. That being said, songs like "Assassin" just sound fantastic, and the singles were of great quality too. It's just a magnificent album.
4. "Year Zero" by Nine Inch Nails
Released: 17/4/07
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: "The Great Destroyer", "Capital G", "Vessel"
Man, if presentation was anything to go by, this would be #1 easily. But this is just about the album, not the Alternative Reality Game that the album was promoted with. So I shall just talk about the album itself. Which isn't a problem might I add! This album kicks so much ass, it's my second favourite NIN album, which is a feat in itself, as my favourite and Trent's most well received album, "The Downward Spiral" was released 13 years before it. This is probably Trent's biggest experiment with electronic equipment and it really pays off, some of the noise in this album is just mouth watering, he puts so many hardcore dance artists to shame really. Just listen to "The Great Destroyer" if you don't believe me. This concept album, along with the game attached to it is just a masterpiece really, it's truly a work of art.
It's a classic. It is. It's just a classic album. I use the term rarely, because it's not fair to disrespect artists who truly are legendary. Rammstein aren't a classic band, but this is a masterpiece of an album. Rammstein haven't before, or since, even come close to touching this album. They set their bar huge when releasing this album. This album from start to finish is just a work of art, it's a classic metal album. It's one of the finest metal albums you will ever hear. From "Mein Herz Brennt" to "Nebel", the album is almost flawless with a mixture of their general industrial sound mixed in with Till's very good vocals on the slower songs like "Mutter" and "Spielhur". I can't describe how great this album is. As I said, it is truly, a classic metal album, one that should be in everyone's collection.
2. "Amethyst Rock Star" by Saul Williams
Released: 8/5/01
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Our Father", "Om Nia American", "Penny for a Thought"
I can't really call this a classic, not many people have heard of Saul Williams. This is actually Saul's least popular release as well, with his second and third albums getting so much more exposure than this ever did. But I still think this is his best, it's poetically/lyrically his finest work, with his philosophical and personal work being stored on this album. The other two albums are more critical about politics and the state of music today. But this album has just some of the most fine words spoken mid-song I've ever heard. It's not even that the music is of bad quality, although musically the other two are probably better. I just love this album so much, I could listen to it on repeat if prompted. It's just a fantastic piece of work, one that will probably not get any attention I believe it deserves.
1. "Rated R" by The Queens of the Stone Age
Released: 6/6/00
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Tension Head", "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", "Quick and to the Pointless"
So here we are at #1, Rated R. Is this a classic? Well, TQotSA aren't really everyone's cuppa tea, although they do have a good reputation. So some would say, others wouldn't. I think it's their finest work, although it was faced difficult competition with "Songs for the Deaf", another album I'd rate ****3/4.
Rated R is a great hard rock album. It's a brilliant record, and it just blows me away whenever I hear it. When Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri made music together, bliss occured. They haven't been the same band since Nick got kicked out. He really brought out the fire in Josh's belly, for good or for bad. It doesn't matter who sung on the songs, the songs, every one of them, were brilliant. Nick's heavy metal songs were fantastic and all three singers could sing well, gorgeously actually (Nick sung "Leg of Lamb", can you believe he also sung "Tension Head"? Amazing. Josh sung "Better Living Through Chemistry" and Mark Lanegan sung "In the Fade") and it was a mixture of rock and metal, a fine line that TQotSA always work between, that makes this album so impressive. It's what I consider the best album of the decade, and as close to a 5 star album the decade has produced.
So there's the end of my listing. I hope you enjoyed it, some of these albums should take to your fancy if you like rock or metal. If you like any of these artists and have contemplated getting their stuff, seriously, get these albums, they're all great.
Oh yeah, no Marilyn Manson? The Golden Age of Grotesque was close to hitting the Top 20, but in honesty, he hasn't produced any mind blowing albums in the past 13 years. There's glimpses but not enough.
I'm going to be away for this weekend. So there's going to be a short break from me. I'll be back on Monday with another Mixtape, we're getting close to the finale now. Take care.
Here we are, Part 15 of the Noughtie series. This is the beginning of the bigger listings, more important listings. I said the last two are the biggest, but there's a big five and a massive two in that five in honesty. This will be in two parts, and I'll post this today and tomorrow.
Here are in my opinion, the best twenty albums of the decade. It's a biased listing, so naturally the artists that you have seen a lot of in these Mixtapes and listings will be featured. I mean they are my favourite artists for a reason. There's only one rule here, and that is a one album per artist cap. So as great as all of Muse's albums were, only one is allowed on this list, the same applies to all the artists.
It was between "Meds" and "Sleeping With Ghosts" for me, although I'm sure traditional Placebo fans would disagree entirely. I think they're both brilliant albums but this one just pips it for me. Placebo are one of those very good artists that just aren't great, that's my humble opinion anyway, sorry for insulting any Placebo fans out there. But they're a consistent band who make consistently good music. My favourite track on the album is "Space Monkey" I don't know why, I just think it sounds really cool.
19. "The Marshall Mathers LP" by Eminem
Released: 23/5/00
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: "Kim", "Marshall Mathers" "The Way I Am"
This is definitely Eminem's best album, he really hit home with this. There was a lot of pressure on the guy, at the time he was quite new to the whole mainstream success thing and everyone wanted to know how he could follow up his previous album. Well he delivered very well with this. It's got arguably his most controversial song to date on here with "Kim", if you like it or not, it's a powerful message to his off and on wife and makes very hard hearing. I do love that song however, but can thoroughly understand why some people hate it. This album had some very good non-singled tracks on it, another good one is "Marshall Mathers" where he once again explains that he's just like everybody else and doesn't see himself as anything special. This is a fantastic rap album and if you have been thinking of what Eminem album to start with, get this one.
18. "Tenacious D" by Tenacious D
Released: 25/9/01
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: "Double Team", "Lee", "Tribute"
Tenacious D's debut album will probably not be beat by the duo, it was a gathering of their musical and comedic talents from the past merged into album form. The songs were short and funny, and their skits were hilarious. My favourite skit is probably "Inward Singing" but they're all good. This album is full of silly fun and it's quite hard to describe it in a short paragraph, other than if you've heard Jack Black and Kyle Gass' band in the past and like it, you'll like their albums. Great stuff.
17. "When Pure is Defiled" by Jerk
Released: 18/4/03
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Wrong", "I Hate People Like That", "My Friends All Lie"
I've mentioned this band a few times now, this is their first and only album and it's very good if you like industrial metal, Manson and NIN influenced style. It's a very similar sound to that of Marilyn Manson and they may be ripping him off slightly, but it's very good. It's one of the heaviest albums in my collection and it's good to play loud if you're in the mood. Their album tracks are very good, probably my favourite being "Wrong", and "My Friends All Lie". This is despite their lyrics being a bit petty and immature.
16. "if" by Mindless Self Indulgence
Released: 28/4/08
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Get It Up", "On It", "Mastermind"
It was difficult choosing an MSI album because they're all **** or ****1/4 stars in honesty but I've gone with this one. The reason being it's their most mature album. That being said this is a very immature band, but that's not insulting, they produce great music with silly lyrics intentionally, or at least that's the impression I get. I've said it before, but Mindless Self Indulgence are like no other band around today they have a very unique sound and make music in their own way. I have a lot of time for this band. The only snag is why the fuck Lyn-Z won't divorce her husband and take an interest in me. WHY!?!!
Ima Robot haven't really been talked about much on this site. They've appeared on the 2003 Mixtape with "Dynomite" but that's it. Let's clear something up. Ima Robot's self titled debut album, is a brilliant piece of work. It's catchy, it's punky, it sounds a treat. But... that was it. Ima Robot released a second album three years later. I downloaded it with excitement and it was a major bomb for me. It was just lifeless it felt. All the spunk, all the imagination from the first album just disappeared. I mean, they still have a decent fan base so I'm probably in the minority really. But their first album was just a firecracker, but it seems like they want to go into a different direction for their music. Each to their own I suppose.
14. "Drink Me" by QueenAdreena
Released: 24/6/02
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "A Bed of Roses", "Pretty Like Drugs", "Under a Floorboard World"
QueenAdreena are a bit of an enigma in honesty, they're another one of those bands that have a relatively unique sound. KatieJane Garside's vocals can't be replicated, put it that way. This album, like a lot of KatieJane's songs, are full of emotions, from angry to sadness, she can probably do the whole spectrum. The music is noisy, or timid, or it can blend the two in the same song. It's just a brilliant album, I thoroughly enjoy listening to it.
13. "Death by Sexy" by The Eagles of Death Metal
Released: 11/4/06
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Solid Gold", "Don't Speak (I Came to Make a Bang)", "Chase the Devil"
This album is great, it's definitely EoDM's best. The first was okay, but it felt uneventful really, and the third hasn't been able to captivate on this beast of an album. I haven't chosen any of the singles as a stand out track, I mean they do stand out but I really enjoy those three tracks there more than their singles. You may have heard "Don't Speak" before, if you paid attention to any Nike adverts a good two or three years ago. It's a brilliant advert, it's below if you haven't. Anyway, this album is full of great tracks and Jesse Hughes' vocals are great.
12. "An Education in Rebellion" by The Union Underground
Released: 18/7/00
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Turn Me On Mr. Deadman" "South Texas Deathride", "Killing the Fly"
It's such a shame this band disbanded after one full album. But I've talked about that a few times already, there's no need to do it again. An Education in Rebellion was one of the best debut albums I've ever heard, and it still rocks hard today, I listened to it about a week ago. Man, this band had so much talent, it was a such a good band, the only thing I dislike really are the many references to drug use, but then again it's the norm nowadays, unfortunately. I really think you should give this band a go if you like the metal bands of the early Noughties, I think they were the best of the influx around then.
11. "Hot Action Cop" by Hot Action Cop
Released: 4/3/03
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Doom Boom", "Fever for the Flava", "In a Little While"
Hot Action Cop's debut funk/rap/rock album is a real treat. It's got a great sound, mixing so many different genres, if I were to put it to two band influences it'd be "Red Hot Chili Peppers" and "The Bloodhound Gang". Their lyrics are very dirty minded yet quite funny, they're very similar to Bloodhound Gang actually the more I think about it. Yet, they can do nice songs when they want to, a great example is "In a Little While" which is a really nice way to end a hard rock album. It's a very good album and one of my favourites of the decade.
Here we are, Part 14 of the Noughtie series. This is the seventh Mixtape, celebrating the year of 2006 in rock and metal. When I looked back on the year 2006 I wasn't really that excited about covering it. But, when I made this mixtape, and listened to it back, I really enjoyed it. It was a sleeper year, but it's not like there wasn't good songs coming out, there was.
Also, another interesting thing. Back in the year 2007, I actually made a "Best of 2006" mixtape to celebrate the previous year. I can't find that mixtape at the moment, but it's actually much different to this mixtape. I'll highlight the tracks I think were included, but I can't be sure. Anyway, the rules of the mixtape.
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!
Green Text = Songs that were in my original 2006 Mixtape I made back in 2007.
* = I preferred "Turn Into" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs back in my original 2006 mixtape. I've changed it to "Gold Lion" in this one.
Yes, so as I said, the songs have changed, that's for a few reasons. The first is that I didn't know some of these songs came out that year, for instance "Vicinity of Obscenity" by System of a Down. At the time I never knew it was released as a single. Other songs were discovered at later dates, or just plain forgotten about when I made the original mixtape. Remember I've made a huge amount of research into this Noughtie series, so my resources are vast this time.
Anyway, what were your favourite songs of 2006? You can comment below if you want to put in your two shillings. I shall be back on Wednesday for one of the biggest listings of the series, my Top 20 favourite albums. I'll see you then.
Welcome to Part 13 of the Noughtie series. In this listing I'm going to talk about artists that I believe are underrated. Now underrated can mean that they are quite popular but I feel they deserve even more recognition, or it may mean artists that just aren't popular that I believe deserve more success than artists that have fame. It's a biased list again, so you may or may not agree with this list, that's cool. Let's go.
10. Weird Al Yankovic
Weird Al has been taking the piss out of music artists since the early eighties, if not earlier. Yet this decade, he's argueably produced his two strongest albums to date with "Poodle Hat" and "Straight Outta Lynwood". This is my opinion, but I feel previously, Weird Al produced funny parodies of popular songs yet his albums lacked cutting edge. It felt that his albums were just backup tracks to support those parody singles. The last two albums however have got some fantastic tracks on there, like "Genius in France" and "Hardware Store" from "Poodle Hat", and "I'll Sue Ya" and "Pancreas" from "Straight Outta Lynwood". I intentionally avoided direct parodies when choosing those songs because I really want to emphasise, this guy doesn't have to use peoples songs directly anymore to make good music. There was a petition that got rejected to get Weird Al into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame a few years back. It's a shame, because he is an underrated, well respected comedy musician. Just ask nearly everyone he does parodys of.
9. Mindless Self Indulgence
Oh Lyn-Z, Lyn-Z, why do you have to marry such an idiot in Gerard Way? You should be one of my many wives. It's only fair that someone as awesome as me, should get someone as awesome a guitarist and sexy as yourself. Sigh...
Oh yeah, Mindless Self Indulgence have finally had the breakout they deserve in recent years. Before then they were making music that was pretty damn original and innovative, yet they weren't getting the fans and interest. All that changed in 2005 when they released "Shut Me Up" and shot up the ranks of popular metal bands. But... they deserve more. They deserve to be higher. Seriously, this band is fucking fantastic. This band produces music like I've never heard before. They mix so many genres and have made a very unique sound. If you can find a band similar to this, seriously, let me know. I can't think of any.
8. Kill Kenada
Kill Kenada are probably a band you've not heard of. If there's one band on this list you haven't heard, it's this one, that's for sure. I've put two of their songs in my Mixtapes, in 2004 and 2003. If you haven't heard these songs, give them a listen. They have been inspired by the hard rock/alternative sound of bands like The Pixies, Sonic Youth and The Fall. They sound like noise, but it's a good noise, at least I think. The thing I love most about this band is the fact that they have a habit of completely changing the sound of the track in an instant. Take "Red and Black" for instance. In this song I'd say there's probably three parts of the song, all with a different sound. It's a very unique and interesting way of writing music and I like it.
7. Jerk
Jerk are an Australian band that have since disbanded. They were featured in my "Where Are They Now?" listing. They only did the one album, which was very good actually. My ex girlfriend got me into them, chances are you haven't heard of them as they barely scraped the UK in popularity. God knows how she knew of them. Anyway, they were a decent little industrial band, very easily influenced by Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails. Their first and only album was of decent quality and I listen to it once in a while still. If you like industrial bands, I'd recommend you give these a listen.
6. The Union Underground
This band unfortunately don't exist anymore, and like Jerk, they have been featured on my "Where Are They Now?" listing. The Union Underground were part of the new surge of metal bands to come out in the late nineties and early noughties, similar to Drowning Pool and Disturbed, amongst others. However in my humble opinion, they were the best. They were better than those bands, and were actually quite successful. Yet while the other bands moved on, The Union Underground decided to call it quits. The Union Underground are a footnote in history now. It's a real shame. Their first and only album is still in my collection, it's still an album I'm extremely fond of. Seriously, if you like Disturbed, Drowning Pool and similar bands, give these guys a listen. They're a better band, at least I think so.
5. Hot Action Cop
I made this listing before I heard their recent EP, which by the way, is actually not that good. That being said, their early stuff is brilliant. Their only album, which is self titled, is a brilliant piece of work. Their first EP is very good too. If you've heard this band chances are you've heard "Fever for the Flava", which is a brilliant song. If not, then I'd compare this band to a mixture of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and some softer Nu-Metal bands. They rap to funk rock, basically. But the thing that stands out about this band is their very dirty lyrics. Yes they're dirty lyrics, but they're very funny too. They make very funny and catchy songs. I'd really recommend you give them a listen, and start with "Fever for the Flava".
4. QueenAdreena Man, this band is underrated. That being said, they're one of those bands that don't seem to plug their own greatness enough. KatieJane Garside is one of the best female vocalists in recent memory. That being said, she's not really your standard singer, she uses her emotions very strongly, often screams down the microphone in anger. But she's more than capable of singing the most beautiful lullabys. It's hard to describe QueenAdreenas sound, an attempt would be a mixture of RiotGrrl Punk with Metal genred instruments. If you want to make a start on listening to their stuff I'd start with "Pretty Like Drugs", arguably their most popular song.
3. The Fratellis Yes, that band again. But why not? They are underrated, I think so anyway. In terms of saying something I've not said before... I'm starting to run out of reasons, it's hard when they've only released two very very solid albums. Quite simply, this band isn't deserving of a one hit wonder in "Chelsea Dagger", they deserve much more success. They're better than a lot of the crappy indie bands around at the moment. If you want an example of a very catchy non-single track by the band, I'd recommend you listen to something like "Creepin' Up the Backstairs". That's proof that this band has talent. You know what fuck this, you can listen to the song here:
2. Saul Williams I've mentioned this artist once before, that was in my overall favourite artists. Saul Williams isn't your everyday rapper, that's why he doesn't appear on these frustrating Sky TV channels. He's a relatively unknown, yet highly reputable poet, that incorporates hip hop, industrial metal and electronic music. If you like any of those genres, please, give him a listen. He's seriously underrated and deserves a larger audience. As a starting point, I'd listen to "Grippo", it's one of his catchier songs. Here's a link:
1. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster Yup, I'm sure the people who know me very well saw this coming. But if you don't know me well, and have not heard of this band, please, get their stuff. Do you like psychobilly, rockabilly, gothabilly music? Do you like the underground punk bands of the late eighties? Give them a go. This band has so much talent, they're my favourite British band of the decade. They have made three very solid albums (one has been reviewed by me here) but just can't get themselves higher up the music food chain. A good start in terms of getting into this band is by starting with their second single, "Celebrate Your Mother":
You may not agree with all these, that's fine. What artists do you feel did a decent shift for music in the Noughties that haven't had their rightful pat on the back? Comment below if you want to add to the list. I'll be back on Monday with the best of 2006, it was a decent year actually. Take care.
