#271-275

     Here's another 5 that thrive (I read it as I wrote it, I'll never write it again, promise)! The equally lovely Mo and Kaley were with me when ranking these next albums. I'll also throw on 2 comments regarding my list of albums NOT making the cut and another review from Matt.

275. Coast To Coast Motel - G.Love and Special Sauce (1995)
      If you haven't heard G. Love and his band, they began as the perfect marriage of blues and hip hop in 1993, an era in music that officially kicked off non-hip hop bands somehow incorporating a hip hop influence into as many recordings as they could. This was the band's second album and leans more toward modern blues than their first. Later, G.Love would incorporate several different styles and genres of music into any given album, but I believe this to be his down-and-dirtiest. Check Kiss And Tell, Soda Pop and Small Fish for some early G.Love greatness. You'll get more of him, with and without Special Sauce, later.

274. Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends - Coldplay (2008)
     I hate Coldplay. I hated them before this album, when I would only admit to close friends I liked 2 of their songs, and I hate them now that they've put out a great album that I don't want to love, but do. They always sounded like Radiohead-lite to me, and now I've heard many bands that remind me of poor man's Coldplay. I just can't help it, every time I hear Strawberry Swing I tear up a bit because it reminds me of my girls. It's only a small tear. I can't help that I like to blast Yes and Lost in the convertible with the top down. I still turn it way down at stoplights. Great album. Damn Coldplay.

273. Live 5 - Phish (2001)
     Now, I know I've stated this in my first post, but it's just a reminder of what's to come: I was a diehard Phishhead. As a result, no other band has more albums on my list. Not the Beatles. Not the Stones. Not Dylan. The selection of Phish albums are not as high up in the ranks as those artists for the most part, but Phish outnumbers all here. Still reading? Good. Then check out this show from 2000 when the band was still smokin' live. Alpine Valley in Wisconsin is the venue, the location the band would usually play after they left my favorite venue of Deer Creek in Indiana. Possum and Run Like An Antelope (my personal fave Phish jam, but more on that later) are excellent examples of one of the greatest live bands in history.

272. We The People - Groove Collective (1996)
     Another hybrid by-product of hip hop eating into other genres in the 90s was the acid jazz. Whereas trip hop came to be associated with a DJ emulating jazz and psychedelica, acid jazz was the reverse. We The People, this band's second album, best demonstrates what the original line-up's creed always was: to compete directly with a DJ by playing the same range of music that said DJ is capable of playing, but by doing so with live music. That's pretty close to a direct quote, actually, taken from the band's first album, which we'll see later. Listen to the jazzed up, funked out soul of Groove Collective's only true album hit, Lift Off. If you can find this album, that is.


271. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008)
     This album was considered great before it was even released as the band enjoyed an enormous critical media build-up prior to the debut album dropping. I believe it was worth it. Rolling Stone and Spin both have the album near the top 50 released during that decade. This is an album that would still be on this list 10 years from now because the tunes are that great: simple, optimistic and danceable without being 'dance' music. Wearing many influences on their sleeves, most notably Paul Simon and The Police, the only disappointment with the African/Calypso infected album is that the band hasn't been able to match it's creative melodies and excellent hooks on another album. A-Punk is my daughter Mona's fave. I also love Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa and Bryn, but really, not too many weaker songs on this one. A very fun album.

     Okay, here's a couple comments from the Peanut gallery. The first comes to us from Melissa...
I'm ashamed to admit I haven't even heard of some of these albums although I'd also admit that I stopped listening to new music right about the time I graduated from college. But I am inspired to at least check out some of them. I am hard pressed right now to think of 25 albums I like all the way through (and not just a couple of songs). I will defend Pearl Jam's Yield though (this would definitely be on my top 25). I don't know if you do this, but I associate albums and songs with certain memories. The year that this came out, 1998, is the first year I saw Pearl Jam live so I am probably a little biased. Every song on here from beginning to end is great, including "Lowlight" which is my second favorite Pearl Jam song of all time. This whole album was, to me, just a completely different sound for them and I loved it! I know this album didn't get a lot of attention (well, lots more than No Code anyway) but I'd venture to say it's my favorite album of theirs.

     Thanks, Melissa, and I really hope you find some albums on here you really enjoy. Well, I hope you enjoy ALL of the albums on my list, but that may be asking a bit much. And of course I understand your love of Yield. It really did almost make the cut. Of course, as you pointed out, one of the best things about music is that one song/album can mean so many different things to different people. No 2 people would have the same list of favorite albums, but I love debating choices and exclusions from this list, and I especially love hearing about a certain song/album's importance in someone else's life. It makes that music better for me, because I know how much it means to a friend. It gives it a new perspective.

     Here's a quick comment from Kelly...
Hey Jason - I'm reading here in NY. You got me interested with the Astral Weeks question (probably my fave album of all time, but whatever). I don't know half of the stuff you're writing about, but it's still interesting reading - and I'm sure will be interesting listening too, once I get around to checking it out. But mostly I'm writing now to support your exclusion of Jeff Buckley. I. Do not. Get. It. With him. At all. Have tried; can't stand it. That's it for now. xx 

     If you actually read the first post on this blog, you read about my love of theatre spawning from my pursuit of a lovely young lady. Hi, Kelly! Excellent to hear from you! Yeah, I'm sorry about Astral Weeks. Do you have any albums or bands that you actually wished you loved, it just doesn't click for you, regardless of multiple listenings and passionate, half-drunken debate? Astral Weeks and Bruce are those albums and musicians for me. And, don't get me wrong, I do like some Jeff Buckley stuff, just no full album. Thanks, Kell. I hope you'll chime in more as we move down the stretch.

     Finally, here's another review from Matt. I've been hearing a couple people are messaging me more reviews on facebook. I anxiously await. I've only got a few more from Matt!
Lady GaGa-'The Fame Monster': The debut album from Lady GaGa went 8 times platinum and had 7 #1 singles. She's the highest selling digital artist and Youtube artist ever! Now I don't normally care about these figures because usually the general population has low standards. But, this time they finally got it right. Granted only because of good marketing, but it worked. She's a mix of Freddie Mercury, Alice Cooper with yes a tad Madonna. GaGa wrote or produced every track on this album. Its obviously a pop album at heart. But, has hints of classic rock anthems and even a little r&b track or two. With piercing vocals and unforgettable melodies its the best pop album by anyone in the last decade. The only downfall is its over played singles from our awesome radio stations! :) 'The Fame' 'Beautiful, Dirty, Rich' and 'Speachless' are great non released singles from this album. Whether you love or hate her no one can deny she's got natural talent and your talking about her! So her marketing plan is working! 

     I'll try to get the next 5 up over the next 2 days. We'll be through the bottom 50 before you know it! As always, looking for album-related stories, reviews, death threats about rankings, any feedback or comments you'd like to share are greatly appreciated. Go check out something you haven't heard!