Favorite Albums: 116 - 115

Only 6 more "Best Of" or "Singles collections" or whatever left, and luckily they are more spread out, not bunched together. Here's the first.
116. In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. (1988 - 2003) by R.E.M. (2003)

This is not a comprehensive Best Of, for the record. It only covers the years the band was signed to Warner Bros. Records, and it was released as the last album of their contract just so they could get out of the contract. In fact, it isn't even comprehensive of their time with Warner Bros. "Drive," "Shiny Happy People" and "Bang and Blame" are just three of the 17 singles not included in this collection, and yet there are three new songs. So right from the start it's incomplete. The bonus edition of the CD includes 15 tracks made up of b-sides and live tracks, plus songs like "Fretless" (which Bill Berry admits in the liner notes should have been included on Out Of Time, but for whatever reason wasn't) and "It's a Free World Baby" that were album outtakes appearing on an R.E.M. album for the first time. And yet, even this disc feels incomplete because there are some b-sides that are missing that are really good, such as the band's covers of "Tom's Diner" "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" "Love Is All Around" and "Dark Globe," plus a few of their instrumentals. And yet, even with all these omissions, it's still a decent album. Ideal? Absolutely not. But decent.
5 Best Songs:
5. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
4. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite"
3. "At My Most Beautiful"
2. "The Great Beyond"
1. "Bad Day"

(I suggest hunting down the official videos for "At My Most Beautiful" and "Bad Day" because they are pretty amusing.)

"At My Most Beautiful"


"The Great Beyond"


"Bad Day"


115. Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes (2005)

I know Elephant is most people's choice for best White Stripes album, and if not that then White Blood Cells, but for me Get Behind Me Satan is the shit. I love that every song has its own feel and personality, and the fact that it sounds like a jumbled mess is actually appealing. "Blue Orchid" kicks things off with a bang, and is actually pretty misleading as an intro to the album, as nothing else on the album is as heavy, really. There are points here and there, but nothing consistent. "The Nurse" follows, with a nice simple tune played on the marimbas and some random drum and guitar outbursts throughout. "My Doorbell" is without a doubt the most "pop" White Stripes song to date.
Sorry... I'm just not that into this today. Too much crap going on around the house. Next post will be better, I promise.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Wild Orchid"
4. "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)"
3. "Little Ghost"
2. "My Doorbell"
1. "The Nurse"

"Little Ghost"


"My Doorbell"


"The Nurse"