a day late, the weekly top ten has arrived. hundreds of trips to record stores since graduation have led to this brilliant — and obvious — idea. it’s not like “records so bad they’re good!” but it’s not a shopping list, either. it’s just things i find and listen to that others normally don’t care much for. that might be the worst opening paragraph ever penned by an honors english student.
THE TOP TEN UNDERRATED ALBUMS
10) depeche mode – black celebration – it’s nowhere near as good as violator but we’re talking about underrated albums so this is a diamond in the rough. “world full of nothing” and one of the best DM songs ever, “stripped” grace this album. thank god they had the presence of mind to step away from the whole a broken frame, some great reward, underground european dance hall shit.
9) smashing pumpkins – adore – everyone used to say to me, when i walked through the halls of middle school and high school in my smashing pumpkins concert t-shirts, “they peaked man, they can’t rock anymore!” but this is actually not true. adore is the only album i can still listen to without consciously recognizing when billy’s god complex takes each song totally over the top into rock cliche. maybe i’m just old and jaded and admire the fact that they could make some soothing nighttime music as opposed to trite alternative rock.
8) blur – 13 – when i was in high school i listened to this album every night before bed, from the middle of my sophomore year until graduation. it was mostly because i had weird OCD issues, but also because it was a great album. aside from the obvious “coffee and tv,” there’s a plethora of other great songs (“tender,” “no distance left to run,” “mellow song”) that set this far apart from their other albums. early on they were a sort of cheesy britpop band (which i enjoyed when i was 14), then they broke out with a vastly different self-titled album. the shift they made with 13 is an oft-overlooked, great effort.
7) fugazi – end hits – i’ve read in a few places that end hits contains some of the worst material fugazi ever recorded. i’ve read in other places that watching tv makes your mind rot and masturbation makes you go blind. i’ve read in even more places stories about middle schoolers having sex parties and kids buying drugs cut with strychnine, but where’s the hard evidence? it’s all hearsay and i refuse to believe any of it. mostly the one about fugazi.
6) labradford – labradford – before there was mi media naranja there was a self titled album that includes some stellar songs and :gasp: syncopation! that is, once you get through the opening “phantom channel crossing.” it’s still largely repetition-based ambiance, but, because mi media naranja and fixed::constant are also so stagnant and the presence of vocals is marginal, i actually enjoy listening to this one a bit more, if not solely for the vocal-heavy “midrange,” which i think is one of the group’s best compositions. or maybe i’m totally wrong.
5) pavement – terror twilight – again, this is the album all my pavement fan friends enjoy the least, and yet it’s one of my favorites. i guess maybe it was such a huge departure for them that it’s hard to wrap your head around it. at least, that’s what i sometimes say when i’m listening to it and people are being all, “dude that’s their worst album.” yeah well, whatever man. it is not weird and warped, nor lazy nor artsy… these are just good, concise, well-written songs and i believe it to be one of their most consistent records. between “spit on a stranger,” “you are a light,” “cream of gold,” “the hexx…” the listy list goes ony on! (i’m getting tired of this)
4) shellac – terraform – “didn’t we deserve a look at the way you really are” is a staggering work of epic proportions and everyone gets in a big huff because it’s two notes for nine minutes. puh-lease! have you even heard each one teach one by oneida? that song is one note and twice as long! “this is a picture” is a perfect follow up to the lengthy first track, and “canada” is one of the band’s best songs ever. do lyrics get any better than, “We oughta name a song after you / Call it Canada / Imagine a country so blue / Backwards it’s adanaC”
3) mogwai – come on die young – on a slightly related note, the press seems to think this album is entirely boring. i think it contains two of the best mogwai song ever recorded, “christmas steps,” and “ex-cowboy.” so if that is indeed the case, how on earth can it be bad? it’s certainly better than happy songs for happy people. if you want a boring mogwai album, look no further then their “acclaimed” young team. that album proceeds as follows: one riff for 3 minutes, then the same riff distorted at a slightly quicker tempo, return to the original riff. i know i just said shellac did basically the same thing, but this is my list so i’ll thank you kindly not to say another word. in conclusion, come on die young (or cody to its friends) is the shit so… … so… dammit, what’s the rest of that quote from that kirsten dunst movie about cheerleaders?
2) gram parsons – grievous angel – gram loved his drugs and it’s very evident from listening to this record. in fact, he died of a heroin overdose before it’s release date! kind of makes “in my darkest hour” a spooky choice for the album’s closing track, eh? a lot of people like g.p. more. if you want you can probably find a cheap copy of g.p./grievous angel compiled together on CD, but grievous angel has “$1000 wedding” and a stunning rendition of “love hurts” that would make roy orbison roll over in his grave. in a good way. is roy orbison dead?
1) donovan – donovan’s greatest hits – it’s hard to envision a compilation of donovan’s that doesn’t contain “atlantis,” but i think it was recorded after this album was released. still, you can find this pretty much anywhere for $1.99. for such a small fee you get melodic gems like “season of the witch,” “epistle to drippy” or “wear your love like heaven.” sure “colours” is a re-recorded version, and “mellow yellow” is awful, but it’s donovan, what did you expect? look, all i’m saying is, if you’re going to get high and spin some records with friends, and this record isn’t within reach, you might as well not even throw a party.
