Favorite Albums: 66 - 65

66. God Shuffled His Feet by Crash Test Dummies (1993)

So, usually one of the sites I use for reference gets into a ton of detail about pretty much every album. The entire review from this album reads:

Thanks to Jerry Harrison's remarkably clear and focused production, Crash Test Dummies' second album became a surprise hit. Apart from the relatively concise pop smarts of the singles "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and "Afternoons and Coffeespoons," God Shuffled His Feet isn't all that different from the band's first album.

That's it? Really? How is it not different from The Ghosts That Haunt Me? What a lazy ass reviewer. How about mentioning that many people hadn't even heard the first album, but because of the success of this one, the first one got pretty popular, too, and "Superman's Song" became a hit over two years after it was originally released? Grrr. Lazy.
So. Anyway. This album kicks off with the title track, a pretty amusing song about the conversations at a picnic between God and some of the first people he made. Best line? "If your eye got poked out in this life, would it be waiting up in heaven with your wife?" Ha. "Afternoons and Coffeespoons" is next, a pretty decent song that became a minor hit after "MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM" but before "Superman's Song". "MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM" is next, easily the most popular Crash Test Dummies single ever. I'm sure you've heard it. "In the Days Of the Caveman" is next, a pretty dull song, really, basically about what separates humans from animals, with a bunch of camping analogies. Blah. "Swimming In Your Ocean" is pretty funny, all sorts of sexual innuendo. Good tune. "Here I Stand Before Me" Is decent, nothing great. It's basically about the human body and how it works, and... Yeah, I'm bored too. "I Think I'll Disappear now" is great, to me. It's not really the best song on the album, but it's one of my favorites, for some reason. Hard to explain. "How Does a Duck Know?" is awesome. Absolutely love this song. "When I Go Out With Artists" is pretty crappy, on the other hand. Worst song on the album. "The Psychic" is a very pretty song, great harmonies and a nice simple melody. Good tune. "Two Knights and Maidens" is another pretty song, telling the story of two knights (shocking!) who want to get it on with some maidens (shocking!) but the maidens, well, have other plans, which include drugs and tigers. Nifty stuff. The final song is an untitled minute and a half instrumental that is extremely pretty and would have been great as a full song, especially keeping it an instrumental. Good stuff. I know I'll get made fun of for liking this album, and honestly I don't care. I dig it. It's pretty good, with only two songs that I don't care for. Worth a listen, yes?
5 Best Songs:
5. "God Shuffled His Feet"


4. "MMM, MMM, MMM, MMM" (This one's kind of loud)


3. "Swimming In Your Ocean"


2. "I Think I'll Disappear Now"


1. "How Does a Duck Know?"


65. International Superhits! by Green Day (2001)

I have seriously tired of the greatest hits and singles collections, so this is going to be pretty quick. (There are only a couple more left, including each of the next two albums, but after that I think there's only one more. Sure hope so, anyway. Okay, I was wrong, just went through and counted, and there are 8 more, ten if you count the next two. Sheesh. What was I thinking?) So, this one contains everything pre-American Idiot. There really aren't any weak songs out of the 21 here, but there are some definite strong points. "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" is obviously a great song, as are "Longview", "She", and "When I Come Around". "Minority" is one of the better Green Day singles, a somewhat underrated song. The other main highlights include "Geek Stink Breath", "Nice Guys Finish Last", "Warning", and "Redundant", as well as the rockabilly tinged "Hitchin' a Ride". For me, though, the best part of the album is the one-two punch of "Brain Stew" and "Jaded". Love the slow methodical "Brain Stew" followed by the absolute chaos of "Jaded. Great stuff. I know I am being super weak on this album, and it deserves more attention than I am giving it, but I've just had an absolute shit day, and kind of just want to get it over with. Step one? finishing this so I can go read and go to bed. Anyway, there are quite a few songs on this album that I didn't even mention, but I can confidently say it is well worth checking out. Good album.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Warning"


4. "Hitchin' a Ride"


3. "Minority"


2. "She"


1. "Brain Stew/Jaded" (I know, they are two songs, but they go together pretty well and are usually even played together on the radio.)

Favorite Albums: 82 - 81

Sorry, I started this yesterday, but the baby didn't sleep long, and once he woke up I had a lot of rushing around to do because we had like 3 different places to go last night, and I had to get all his junk together and get him to the sitters. But that's not what you're here for, so I'll shut up.

82. Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven by Love and Rockets (1985)

Apparently, 1985 was a decent year for music. This is the third album out of the last five that came out that year. Anyway... This was the debut album by Love and Rockets, which was comprised of 3 of the 4 members of Bauhaus. (Everyone except Peter Murphy.) Also, it would appear that the cassette version I have is some sort of bastardized version, because there is one song missing (their cover of "Ball Of Confusion" that kicked ass), one added, and the rest of the tracks are in a different order than any list I could find on any site. Curious. It starts off with "God and Mr. Smith", a mostly instrumental song which has elements from many of the other songs on the album. On every site I've seen this album on, this is the last track, yet on mine it's the first. Weird. "A Private Future" is next, a mostly mellow song that sounds somewhat like "Slice Of Life" by Bauhaus. Very good tune. "Dog-End Of a Day Gone By" is a great song, another one that should have been on my favorite songs list. I guess I should have done this one first, then the songs, eh? "The Game" is a nifty song, kind of sounds... well... I can't really describe it, so I'll steal a line from one of the web sites I use: chilling nursery rhyme pendulum. Sounds about right. "If There's a Heaven Above" is also pretty bad ass, listed as the opening song on every site I looked at. "Inside the Outside" is a pretty chaotic song, almost, but not quite, out of place with the mellowness of most of the rest of the album. This is the one that replaced "Ball Of Confusion" on the copy I have. "Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven" seeps sexuality, with the pulsing beats and moaning guitars. Stellar. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" is phenomenal, just an outstanding song. I can listen to it repeatedly for hours and not get sick of it. The final song (on my weird version, anyway) is the instrumental "Saudade". Absolutely beautiful song. In all, I would absolutely recommend this album to anyone. It has no weak spots, in my opinion, just very solid from start to finish. Love it.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven"


4. "The Game"


3. "Saudade"


2. "Dog-End Of a Day Gone By"


1. "Haunted When the Minutes Drag"


81. Dookie by Green Day (1994)

Contrary to popular belief, this is actually Green Day's third album. It's just the first one that was worth a damn. "Burnout" starts the album off with a bang, a very solid opening track. (P.S. - I think that's going to be my next list - favorite album opening songs.) "Having a Blast" is a very underrated song, I think. It never gets any mention for being how good it actually is. "Chump" is decent, but kind of just feels like filler. "Longview" is the first of the five singles from this album to appear, and is really the weakest of the five. Never really been a fan of this song. "Welcome To Paradise" on the other hand is a pretty good song. Not outstanding, really, but good. "Pulling Teeth" sounds like a Beatles song, really. Just heavier. But the music and harmonies are very Beatles inspired. "Basket Case" rules, flat out. Just a killer tune. "She" is a great song, one I never get tired of. "Sassafras Roots" keeps the streak of awesome songs going, a song that really should have been a single. "When I Come Around" is the last of the singles, and actually the most musically solid of the five. Almost great, but not quite. "Coming Clean" is the first of three straight songs under two minutes. Not really anything else notable about it. "Emenius Sleepus"? Same thing. Nothing special. "In the End" breaks the crap streak, luckily. Pretty decent tune. The final song is the hidden track "F.O.D.", aka "The Bert and Ernie Song". ("I was alone. I was all by myself.") Such a frigging great song. Love it. This was just a bad ass album, as a whole. It has some weak points, but when all together, it's really good. You own it, don't lie. And if you don't, you at least used to.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Pulling Teeth"


4. "Having a Blast"


3. "Basket Case"


2. "She"


1. "Sassafras Roots"

Favorite Albums: 122 - 121

This is late, I know, and I apologize. Been having major problems with the computer, plus Holley's been sick so I've been on Sebastian duty, plus the basement had butt loads of water in it Saturday night through Monday morning. So... I may not be as into this one as usual. Sorry in advance.

122. American Idiot by Green Day (2004)

In one article on one website, in the review for this album, Green Day is compared (favorably, I might add) to each of the following bands for one reason or another: The Who, Husker Du, Queen, Meat Loaf, The Clash and "all the anti-Reagan American hardcore bands of the '80s." Well then. Obviously, everyone knows this album by now, whether you like it or not. This was such a monumental album in Green Day's career, pretty much forcing people to suddenly take them seriously. I am really not going to get into the story of the album, or how it's all anti-Bush and all that. That info's readily available all over the place. While I do think this was a pretty kick ass album, I personally don't think it's their best. But hey, what do I know? It is a good album to listen to when I'm painting though. For some reason it just puts me in that "zone" where I can just paint for hours. So that's something, right?
5 Best Songs:
5. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
4. "Letter Bomb"
3. "Jesus Of Suburbia"
2. "Holiday"
1. "Are We the Waiting"

"Jesus Of Suburbia"


"Holiday"


"Are We the Waiting"


121. Tapestry by Carole King (1971)

Although King wrote or co-wrote everything on this album, several of the songs were already hits for other groups or singers. She finally started singing her own songs, and this album became one of the biggest selling albums of all time. The songs that had already been hits for other people include "You've Got a Friend," "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" The latter song, especially, takes on a whole new life under King's arrangement and performance, going from somewhat up tempo to very slow and sad. "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" both shine, but the best new song here by far is "So Far Away," one of the sappiest songs ever, but painfully sincere in its sappiness. Definitely a must have album.
5 Best Songs:
5. "You've Got a Friend"
4. "I Feel the Earth Move"
3. "It's Too Late"
2. "So Far Away"
1. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"

"It's Too Late"


"So Far Away"


"Will You Love Me Tomorrow"