1691 replies to this topic

[Bleep Blop]

next page please There we go.

[UselessRocker]

Write shit like this and you become legend:

Don't fly Mr. Bluebrid I'm just walkin down the road
early morning sunshine tells me all I need to know

Absolutely amazing.

I don't like an Allman Brothers tune unless it kicks, man.

[Paul]

Park That Car
Drop That Phone
Sleep On The Floor
Dream About Me

#140.




Broken Social Scene (338 Points, 7 Votes)

Years Active: 1999-present

All Music Biography: Broken Social Scene materialized in 1999 when K.C. Accidental's Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, formerly of By Divine Right, bonded their friendship into a band. They spent the next few years honing an atmospheric rock sound in their native Toronto and the dynamic was great. Feel Good Lost marked their debut album in 2001 and introduced a revolving cast of Canadian indie musicians. Drew's fellow mate from Do Make Say Think, Charles Spearin, was added to the band, as well as Evan Cranley (Stars), James Shaw, and Emily Haines (Metric). By the time their guitar-fueled sophomore effort, You Forgot It in People, was released in fall 2002, Broken Social Scene had become an 11-piece collective. Jason Collett, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff and Leslie Feist fulfilled the band's bombastic, orchestrated sound and critics loved it. You Forgot It In People was a buzz among indie cohorts and plans for a stateside release on Arts & Crafts was slated for the following summer. A surprise, however, coincided those plans in spring 2003 when Broken Social Scene won a Juno for "Alternative Album of the Year" for You Forgot It In People. In order to maintain praise from critics, the band issued their first ever b-siders & rarities collection, Bee Hives, in spring 2004. For the band's 2005 self-titled studio album, Broken Social Scene once again joined producer David Newfeld. Additional contributions by select members of Stars, Metric, Do Make Say Think, Raising the Fawn, the Dears and others contributed to the ambitious sounds of Broken Social Scene. A joint North American tour with Feist followed its release.

All Music Album Pick: You Forgot It In People

SOMBies Say:

"i think broken social scene might be the one band that most sombies can agree on..." - simakos

"Amazing band." - Nick

"This band is actually something very special." - Yancy

"Even I acknowledge that this band are something special." - Mitchell

Ranked Highest By: Culle (#5)

[Saskadelphia]

I had these guys pegged for the top 50...

[Pavement Ist Rad]

I love so much of what Broken Social Scene has done throughout this decade, but hearing the You Forgot It In People songs for the first time and seeing the original cover art (first as GDB's avatar in 2003) really blew my mind. "Almost Crimes" and "KC Accidental" convinced me that indie rock could save everybody's lives.

It's the same visceral punch I get during the first few minutes of Source Tags & Codes and I can't remember really feeling it since "The Rat" was the talk of the fucking town.

[Paul]

I was going to use an Oliveri-era picture, but the X-Mas sweaters are too good to pass up.



Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy And Alcohol


C-C-C-C-C-Cocaine

#139.




Queens of the Stone Age (340 Points, 8 Votes)

Years Active: 1997-present

All Music Biography: Formed from the ashes of stoner rock icons Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age reunited the group's singer/guitarist Josh Homme, drummer Alfredo Hernandez, and bassist Nick Oliveri along with new guitarist/keyboardist Dave Catching. The project's origins date back to Homme, who in the wake of Kyuss' 1995 demise relocated to Seattle to tour with the Screaming Trees; he soon began working with a revolving lineup of musicians including the Trees' Van Conner, Soundgarden's Matt Cameron, and Dinosaur Jr.'s Mike Johnson, recording a series of 7"s originally issued under the name Gamma Ray. After rechristening the group Queens of the Stone Age, Homme recruited Hernandez to begin work on their self-titled debut LP, issued in late 1998 on Loosegroove; after the album was completed, Oliveri left the Dwarves to rejoin his former bandmates, with the subsequent addition of Catching rounding out the roster. In addition to extensive touring, Homme put together a series of albums for the indie label Man's Ruin; the various volumes of the Desert Sessions feature Homme's collaborations with a loose-knit, revolving-door lineup of likeminded musicians, some from bands like Soundgarden, Fu Manchu, and Monster Magnet.

In mid-2000, Queens of the Stone Age issued their sophomore album, R (as in the movie rating; some promo copies were distributed with the original title, II), before appearing on that year's Ozzfest tour. By that point, drummer Hernandez had been replaced by a tag-team combo of Gene Troutman and Nicky Lucero. The group built a healthy buzz courtesy of accolades from such renowned publications as Rolling Stone, and due to good old-fashioned touring. 2001 saw the group perform at the massive Rock in Rio festival (after which Oliveri was arrested by the Brazilian police for performing nude) and a spot on the year's Ozzfest. The same year, Homme and Oliveri put together yet another volume of the Desert Sessions series, while QOTSA assembled a third studio album.

Ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl was very vocal in the press about his admiration of the Queens, which led to an invitation for him to join the group for the third album's recording and, subsequently, supporting tour. Surprisingly, Grohl accepted, putting the Foo Fighters on hold (despite having a new album completed and ready to go). One of the year's most eagerly anticipated hard rock albums, Songs for the Deaf was issued in August 2002 and was preceded by a tour that saw Oliveri and Homme joined by Grohl on drums, ex-Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan, and A Perfect Circle guitarist/keyboardist Troy Van Leeuwen. As if their schedules weren't busy enough between QOTSA and their other projects, Oliveri and Homme signed on to pen the musical score to the movie The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (with backing by Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk), and formed a new project, Headband, with ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez and Amen frontman Casey Chaos. Homme also hooked up with old friend Jesse Hughes for Eagles of Death Metal, which issued the Peace Love Death Metal LP in 2004. (Homme played drums.)

When QOTSA reconvened for the March 2005 LP Lullabies to Paralyze, the lineup featured Homme, Joey Castillo, Alain Johannes, Van Leeuwan, and Lanegan. The Over the Years and Through the Woods CD/DVD appeared in November that same year. It featured live material from the band's tour for Lullabies, but also included rare and archival Queens footage. In 2007, the band (Lanegan at this point was only a guest) released the excellent Era Vulgaris, which also included contributions from the Strokes' Julian Casablancas, among others.

All Music Album Pick: R

SOMBies Say:

"I love Rated R, I think it's one of the best albums of the 00's but after a few listens Era Vulgaris might top it. 'Turning on the Screw' is probably the best song of their career and the final 2 songs 'River in the Road' and 'Run Pig Run' are brilliantly demented psychedelic marches." - Gluehead

"the staccatto riffing gets monotonous after awhile (they aren't going to top No One Knows, so give it a rest)" - ParticleHustler

"It's always interesting having a discussion of QOTSA as there never seems to be a consensus as to what their best album is." - dvdv

Ranked Highest By: Hewletts Daughter (#7)

[Saskadelphia]

Has Era Vulgaris ever held up well over the past year. Finally seeing QOTSA live for the first time made me a fan again.

[Paul]

I love so much of what Broken Social Scene has done throughout this decade, but hearing the You Forgot It In People songs for the first time and seeing the original cover art (first as GDB's avatar in 2003) really blew my mind. "Almost Crimes" and "KC Accidental" convinced me that indie rock could save everybody's lives.

YFIIP blows my mind every time I listen to it. Somehow I forget how awesome and powerful it is when I'm not listening to it, even though I've seen them live three times now and that is pretty much all I talk about if someone asks me what shows I've been to.

I think I bought that album having only heard a couple songs from the S/T one, but reading this on the sticker on the package convinced me that I needed to have this album:

You Forgot It In People is a pop record designed to remind us that music still has room to be recreated. If flows like a compilation of sounds for the wounded. The last record was constructed for lover's in bathrooms...this is for the one's who leave their homes looking for hope.

Those last words are how I'm trying to live my life.

[Bleep Blop]

Has Era Vulgaris ever held up well over the past year. Finally seeing QOTSA live for the first time made me a fan again.

I haven't bothered with their last couple of albums-- is this actually worth a listen?

[Paul]

I Was Waiting For It To Hit Me

#138.




Orbital (340 Points, 4 Votes, 1 #1 Vote)

Years Active: 1989-2004

All Music Biography: Orbital became one of the biggest names in techno during the mid-'90s by solving the irreconcilable differences previously inherent in the genre: to stay true to the dance underground and, at the same time, force entry into the rock arena, where an album functions as an artistic statement -- not a collection of singles -- and a band's prowess is demonstrated by the actual performance of live music. Though Phil and Paul Hartnoll first charted with a single, the 1990 British Top 20 hit "Chime," the duo later became known for critically praised albums. The LPs sold well with rock fans as well as electronic listeners, thanks to Orbital's busy tour schedule, which included headlining positions at such varied spots as the Glastonbury Festival, the Royal Albert Hall, and Tribal Gathering.

The brothers Hartnoll -- Phil (born January 9, 1964) and Paul (born May 19, 1968) -- grew up in Dartford, Kent, listening to early-'80s punk and electro. During the mid-'80s, Phil worked as a bricklayer while Paul played with a local band called Noddy & the Satellites. They began recording together in 1987 with a four-track, keyboards, and a drum machine, and sent their first composition, "Chime" (recorded and mastered onto a cassette tape for a total production cost of £2.50), into Jazzy M's pioneering house mix show Jackin' Zone. By 1989, "Chime" was released as a single, the first on Jazzy M's label, Oh-Zone Records. The following year, ffrr Records re-released the single and signed a contract with the duo -- christened Orbital in honor of the M25, the circular London expressway which speeded thousands of club kids to the hinterlands for raves during the blissed-out Summer of Love. "Chime" hit number 17 on the British charts in March 1990 and led to an appearance on the TV chart show Top of the Pops, where the Hartnolls stared at the audience from behind their synth banks. "Omen" barely missed the Top 40 in September, but "Satan" made number 31 early in 1991, with a sample lifted from the Butthole Surfers.

Orbital's untitled first LP, released in September 1991, consisted of all-new material -- that is, if live versions of "Chime" and the fourth single "Midnight" are considered new works. Unlike the Hartnolls' later albums, though, the debut was more of a collection of songs than a true full-length work, its cut-and-paste attitude typical of many techno LPs of the time. During 1992, Orbital continued their chart success with two EPs. The Mutations remix work -- with contributions from Meat Beat Manifesto, Moby, and Joey Beltram -- hit number 24 in February. Orbital returned Meat Beat's favor later that year by remixing "Edge of No Control," and later reworked songs by Queen Latifah, the Shamen, and EMF as well. The second EP, Radiccio, reached the Top 40 in September. It marked the Hartnolls' debut for Internal Records in England, though ffrr retained control of the duo's American contract, beginning with a U.S. release of the debut album in 1992.

The duo entered 1993 ready to free techno from its club restraints, beginning in June with a second LP. Also untitled, but nicknamed the "brown" album as an alternative to the "green" debut, it unified the disjointed feel of its predecessor and hit number 28 on the British charts. The Hartnolls continued the electronic revolution that fall during their first American tour. Phil and Paul had first played live at a pub in Kent in 1989 -- before the release of "Chime" -- and had continued to make concert performance a cornerstone of their appeal during 1991-1993, though the U.S. had remained unaware of the fact. On a tour with Moby and Aphex Twin, Orbital proved to Americans that techno shows could actually be diverting for the undrugged multitudes. With no reliance on DATs (the savior of most live techno acts), Phil and Paul allowed an element of improvisation into the previously sterile field, making their live shows actually sound live. The concerts were just as entertaining to watch as well, with the Hartnolls' constant presence behind the banks -- a pair of flashlights attached to each head, bobbing in time to the music -- underscoring the impressive light shows and visuals. The early 1994 release of the Peel Sessions EP, recorded live at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios, cemented onto wax what concertgoers already knew. That summer proved to be the pinnacle of Orbital's performance ascent; an appearance at Woodstock 2 and a headlining spot at the Glastonbury Festival (both to rave reviews) confirmed the duo's status as one of the premier live acts in the field of popular music, period.

The U.S.-only Diversions EP -- released in March 1994 as a supplement to the second LP -- selected tracks from both the Peel Sessions and the album's single, "Lush." Following in August 1994, Snivilisation became Orbital's first named LP. The duo had not left political/social comment completely behind on the previous album -- "Halcyon + On + On" was in fact a response to the drug used for seven years by the Hartnolls' own mother -- but Snivilisation pushed Orbital into the much more active world of political protest. It focused on the Criminal Justice Bill of 1994, which gave police greater legal action both to break up raves and prosecute the promoters and participants. The wide variety of styles signalled that this was Orbital's most accomplished work. Snivilisation also became the duo's biggest hit, reaching number four in Great Britain's album charts.

During 1995, the brothers concerned themselves with touring, headlining the Glastonbury Festival in addition to the dance extravaganza Tribal Gathering. In May 1996, Orbital set out on quite a different tour altogether; the duo played untraditional, seated venues -- including the prestigious Royal Albert Hall -- and appeared on-stage earlier in the night, much like typical rock bands. Two months later, Phil and Paul released "The Box," a 28-minute single of orchestral proportions. It screamed of prog rock excess -- especially the inclusion of synth harpsichords -- and appeared to be the first misstep in a very studied career. The resulting In Sides, however, became their most acclaimed album, with many excellent reviews in publications that had never covered electronic music. It was over three years before the release of Orbital's next album, 1999's Middle of Nowhere. An aggressive, experimental album titled The Altogether emerged in 2001, and one year later Orbital celebrated over a decade together with the release of the retrospective Work 1989-2002. With the release of 2004's Blue Album, however, the Hartnolls announced that they were disbanding Orbital. After the split, Paul began recording music under his own name, including material for the Wipeout Pure PSP game and a solo album (The Ideal Condition), while Phil formed another duo, Long Range, with Nick Smith.

All Music Album Pick: Orbital 2

SOMBies Say:

"In Sides and Snivlization are by far their best albums, btx. 'Are We Here?' is probably my 3rd fav song of theirs." - The Good Dr Bill

"50 cent likes orbital." - john the cool kid

"Just listened to the 'Halcycon + On + On' for the FIRST time. How could this beauty have escaped me for so long? I'm in love." - Some Girl

Ranked Highest By: Bruegel (#1)

[Saskadelphia]

Has Era Vulgaris ever held up well over the past year. Finally seeing QOTSA live for the first time made me a fan again.

I haven't bothered with their last couple of albums-- is this actually worth a listen?

I erroneously wrote it off when it first leaked, but through last winter it grew on me in a huge way.

[Paul]

It's Before My Time But I've Been Told

#137.




Steve Earle (341 Points, 6 Votes)

Years Active: 1983-present

All Music Biography: In the strictest sense, Steve Earle isn't a country artist, he's a roots rocker. Earle emerged in the mid-'80s, after Bruce Springsteen had popularized populist rock & roll and Dwight Yoakam had kick-started the neo-traditionalist movement in country music. At first, Earle appeared to be more toward the rock side than country. He played stripped-down neo-rockabilly that occasionally verged on outlaw country. His unwillingness to conform to the rules of Nashville or to rock & roll meant that he never broke through into the mainstream. Instead, he cultivated a dedicated cult following, drawing from both the country and rock audiences. Toward the early '90s, his career was thrown off track by personal problems and substance abuse, but in the mid-'90s he re-emerged stronger and healthier, producing two of his most critically acclaimed albums ever.

Born in Fort Monroe, VA, but raised near San Antonio, TX, Earle is the son of an air-traffic controller. At the age of 11, he received his first guitar and, by the time he was 13, had become proficient enough to win a talent contest at his school. Though he showed a talent for music, he was a wild child, often getting in trouble with local authorities. Furthermore, his rebellious, long-haired appearance and anti-Vietnam War stance was scorned by local country fans. After completing the eighth grade, Earle dropped out school and, at the age of 16, left home with his uncle Nick Fain, and began traveling across the state. Eventually, he settled in Houston at the age of 18, where he married his first wife, Sandie, and began working odd jobs. While he was in Houston, he met singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, who would become Earle's foremost role model and inspiration. A year later, Earle moved to Nashville.

While he was in Nashville, Earle worked blue-collar jobs during the day; during the night, he wrote songs and played bass in Guy Clark's backing band, appearing on a cut on Clark's 1975 album Old No. 1. Steve stayed in Nashville for several years, making connections within the industry and eventually landing a job as a staff writer for the publisher Sunbury Dunbar. After staying in Nashville for a few years, he grew tired of the city and returned back to Texas. There he assembled a backing band called the Dukes and began playing local clubs. A year later, he returned to Nashville, where he married his second wife, Cynthia. The marriage was short-lived and he quickly married Carol, who gave birth to Earle's first child, a son named Justin Townes Earle. Carol helped straighten Earle out, at least temporarily; for a while, he cut back on substances and concentrated on music.

Publishers Roy Dea and Pat Clark signed Earle as a songwriter in the early '80s. Dea and Clark brought "When You Fall in Love" to Johnny Lee, who took the song to number 14 on the country charts in 1982; shortly before the success of "When You Fall in Love," Carl Perkins cut Steve's "Mustang Wine," and Zella Lehr recorded two of his songs. With his reputation as a songwriter growing, Earle wanted to become a recording artist in his own right. Dea and Clark had recently formed an independent record label called LSI and the pair signed Earle.

Earle's first release was an EP called Pink & Black in 1982. The record featured a formative version of the Dukes and earned good reviews. One writer, John Lomax, sent the EP to Epic Records, which was impressed enough by the record to sign Earle in 1983. Shortly, before the signing of the contract, Lomax became Earle's manager. Although the prospect of being signed to a major label seemed promising, relationships between Epic and Earle quickly soured. After releasing the Pink & Black track "Nothin' But You" as a single, Epic sat on the song, refusing to promote the record; instead, they concentrated on their new signing. Earle entered the studio and cut an album of neo-rockabilly songs that the label was reluctant to send to radio and, therefore, they refused to release the record. Epic suggested Earle re-enter the studio with a new, more commercially oriented producer, Emory Gordy, Jr. The pair cut four more songs which were released as two singles, but the records failed.

With his recording career going nowhere, Earle lost his publishing contract with Dea and Carter. He moved over to Silverline Goldline, where he met Tony Brown, a producer at MCA Records. At the end of 1984, Epic dropped Earle from their roster. In early 1985, Brown persuaded MCA to sign Earle, and Lomax was fired as his manager. In 1986, Earle's debut album, Guitar Town, was released. Upon its appearance, Earle was grouped into the new traditionalist movement begun by Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis, but he also gained the attention of rock critics and fans who saw similarities between Earle's populist sentiments and the heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. Guitar Town became a hit, with its title track becoming a Top Ten single in the summer of 1986 and "Goodbye's All We've Got Left" reaching the Top Ten in early 1987. Following the album's success, Epic quickly assembled a compilation of previously unreleased Earle tracks, entitling it Early Tracks and releasing it in early 1987. Later that year, he released his second album, Exit 0, which bore a shared credit for his backing band the Dukes, which signalled the more rock-oriented direction on the album. Like the debut, Exit 0 was critically acclaimed and sold well, even if it didn't match the levels of the debut.

Though his career was taking off, Earle's personal life was becoming a wreck. He had divorced his third wife, married a fourth named Lou, whom he quickly divorced, and then he married a sixth wife named Teresa Ensenat, who worked for MCA. He was also delving deeper and deeper into drug and alcohol abuse. With his third album, 1988's Copperhead Road, Earle's rock & roll flirtations came to the forefront and country radio responded in kind; none of the songs from the album charted or received much airplay. However, album rock radio embraced him, sending the album's title track into the album rock Top Ten, which helped make the album his highest charting effort, peaking at number 56. Not only had Copperhead Road been accepted by AOR, but it established him as a star in Europe; the duet with the Irish punk-folk group the Pogues on Copperhead Road signalled he had an affection for the area. In the late '80s, Earle frequently toured England and Europe and even produced the alternative rock band the Bible.

Earle's acceptance by the rock community didn't please the country establishment in Nashville. Although it seemed for a time that Earle wouldn't need Nashville anymore, his newfound success quickly began to collapse. Uni, a division of MCA Records, had released Copperhead Road instead of MCA proper, and just before the album went gold, Uni went bankrupt, taking Copperhead Road along with it. Meanwhile, Earle's addictions and fondness for breaking rules began spinning out of control. On New Years' Eve, he was arrested in Dallas for assaulting a security guard at his own concert; he was charged with aggravated assault, fined 500 dollars, and given a year's unsupervised probation. Sandie, his first wife, sued for more alimony and he was served with a paternity suit by a woman in Tennessee. The title of his 1990 album, The Hard Way, reflected his problems, as did the record's tough, dark sound. Though the record was critically acclaimed and spawned a minor AOR hit with "The Other Kind," it received no support from the country market and quickly fell off the charts.

The commercial failure of The Hard Way was just the beginning of a round of serious setbacks for Earle. Later in 1990, he recorded an album of material that MCA refused to release. Instead, the label decided to release the live album Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator in 1991. At the end of the year, MCA decided not to renew Earle's record contract. For the next several years, Earle was severely addicted to cocaine and heroin and had several run-ins with the law. In 1994, he was arrested in Nashville for possession of heroin and was sentenced to a year in jail. He served in a rehab center instead of jail. This time, the treatment worked.

Late in 1994, he was released from the rehab center and he began working again. In 1995, he signed to Winter Harvest and released the acoustic Train a Comin', his first studio album in five years. Train a Comin' received terrific reviews and strong sales, despite Earle's claim that the label botched the album's song sequence. The attention led to a new record contract with Warner Bros., who released I Feel Alright in early 1996, again to strong reviews and respectable sales. Earle had returned from the brink and re-established himself as a vital artist. In the process, he won back the country audience he had abandoned in the late '80s. The Mountain, a bluegrass record cut with the Del McCoury Band, followed in 1999, and a year later Earle returned with Transcendental Blues.

While Earle had long displayed a strong political streak (particularly in his opposition to the death penalty), his leftist views took center stage on his 2002 album Jerusalem. Written and recorded in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Jerusalem dealt openly with Earle's divided feelings about America's "war on terror" and the West's ignorance of the Islamic faith, and included a song about John Walker Lindh, a young American who was discovered to be fighting with Taliban forces, called "John Walker's Blues." Earle's refusal to condemn Lindh in his lyrics quickly made the song (and the album) a political hot potato, but Earle embraced the controversy and became a frequent guest on news and editorial broadcasts, defending his work and clarifying his views on terrorism, patriotism, and the role of popular artists in a time of crisis. Earle's tour in support of Jerusalem was documented in the 2003 concert film and live album Just an American Boy, and in the summer of 2004, as the American occupation of Iraq dragged on and an upcoming presidential election loomed in the minds of many, Earle released The Revolution Starts...Now, an album of songs informed by the war in Iraq and the abuses of the George W. Bush administration. Live at Montreux, recorded at a 2005 show, was released in 2006, followed by Washington Square Serenade in 2007.

All Music Album Picks: Guitar Town, Train a Comin'

SOMBies Say:

"There's no question I Feel Alright and El Corazon are very good records. But every release since those two has been the exact same kind of thing and tracklisting, but with the songs getting worse each release. " - Montana

"Old Steve Earle has some undeniably great songs, but I don't like the full albums.

His last few have been pretty much perfect tho. Love every song." - theremin

Ranked Highest By: elcorazon (#3)

[theremin]

wow, Montana and I disagree about something.

[Paul]

Watch That Ring Roll Down The Hall As Darkness Falls

#136.




The Mekons (342 Points, 4 Votes, 1 #1 Vote)

Years Active: 1977-present

All Music Biography: More than any band that came out of late-'70s England, the Mekons (the name taken from the popular sci-fi comic Dan Dare) have perhaps the most devoted fans of any band even remotely connected to punk rock. And why not? Over the course of several decades, this band, with an ever-shifting lineup (only Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh remain from the original lineup), produced some of the best rock & roll on the planet, be it amateurish rock-noise, cool synth-driven pop, guitar rave-ups, or postmodern country & western, the Mekons have done it all and done it with style, grace, and a ribald sense of humor.

Emerging from the same Leeds University "scene" that begot Gang of Four, the Mekons weren't as overtly political as their Marxist-inspired brethren, but their punk rock pedigree and unsubtle anti-Thatcher and -Reaganisms did set them apart from the post-punk world's innumerable careerists and posers. Their early recordings were exceedingly lo-fi affairs that valued emotion and energy over anything that remotely resembled musical proficiency. Songs like "Never Been in a Riot" and "32 Weeks" sound as if the band entered the studio, arbitrarily decided who was going to play what, and started the tapes rolling. It was fun, challenging, and anarchic -- principles to which the band clung, musical genre notwithstanding, ever since their inception.

From the time of their debut album, The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, the Mekons had turned into a slightly more accomplished post-punk band that, like their pals in Gang of Four, wielded trebly guitars and shouted vocals over semi-funky rhythms tracks. The songs lacked focus, but this was a bizarre record that, for all of its oddly ingratiating music, offered little insight as to whom was making it. This remained true for a couple of years or so as the band (basically Langford, Greenhalgh, Kevin Lycett, and whomever else they could rope into a session) made one exciting, enigmatic, and extremely difficult-to-find record after another.

In 1985, after it seemed the earth had swallowed them whole, the Mekons released the startling Fear and Whiskey, a ragged country album influenced by the ghosts of Hank Williams and Gram Parsons that was unlike anything they'd ever recorded. Thus began the second coming of the Mekons, who finally began to reach an underground/alternative rock audience that had missed them the first time around. Soon they began touring more frequently, putting on clamorous, exciting shows. Talented new members jumped on board, like violinist Suzie Honeyman and singer Sally Timms, and even former Pretty Thing Dick Taylor was a Mekon for a while; records started coming out with more frequency and, despite considerable trouble from major labels that sent them back to the indies, could be found in nearly any record store. From Fear and Whiskey through subsequent records including The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll, Curse of the Mekons, Retreat from Memphis, and Natural, they continually reinvented themselves: sodden country band, wise-ass folk-rock band, cranked-up guitar band, trouble-making punk band. Whatever the scenario, what has remained consistent throughout the Mekons' existence has been great, great music.

All Music Album Pick: The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll

SOMBies Say:

"The Mekons Rock 'n Roll - Wow, what an album. Every track rules." - ignatz mouse

Ranked Highest By: Save it for yr iVillage blog(#1)

[Simakos]

I had these guys pegged for the top 50...

yeah, i thought they would be higher too. come to think of it, i can't even remember where i put them on my list... maybe i forgot them.

[spiritofeden]

Has Era Vulgaris ever held up well over the past year. Finally seeing QOTSA live for the first time made me a fan again.

I haven't bothered with their last couple of albums-- is this actually worth a listen?

I erroneously wrote it off when it first leaked, but through last winter it grew on me in a huge way.

it deffinitly beats the piss out of Lullabies to Paralyze. i think i actually prefer it to Songs for the Deaf actually.

[Bleep Blop]

Has Era Vulgaris ever held up well over the past year. Finally seeing QOTSA live for the first time made me a fan again.

I haven't bothered with their last couple of albums-- is this actually worth a listen?

I erroneously wrote it off when it first leaked, but through last winter it grew on me in a huge way.

it deffinitly beats the piss out of Lullabies to Paralyze. i think i actually prefer it to Songs for the Deaf actually.

I just kinda miss the Rated R vibe these guys used to have. I wasn't really too big of a SFTD fan-- it definitely has some key QOTSA songs, but it just gets to be too much to handle. I think I'll have to at least check out Eros, but I miss when these used to smoke more weed/do less coke.

[spiritofeden]

Has Era Vulgaris ever held up well over the past year. Finally seeing QOTSA live for the first time made me a fan again.

I haven't bothered with their last couple of albums-- is this actually worth a listen?

I erroneously wrote it off when it first leaked, but through last winter it grew on me in a huge way.

it deffinitly beats the piss out of Lullabies to Paralyze. i think i actually prefer it to Songs for the Deaf actually.

I just kinda miss the Rated R vibe these guys used to have. I wasn't really too big of a SFTD fan-- it definitely has some key QOTSA songs, but it just gets to be too much to handle. I think I'll have to at least check out Eros, but I miss when these used to smoke more weed/do less coke.

yeah I hear ya on SFTD. I find about half 3/4 through the album i loose interest.

[undo]

"In Sides and Snivlization are by far their best albums, btx. 'Are We Here?' is probably my 3rd fav song of theirs." - The Good Dr Bill

This kid didn't even vote for them.

[RabbiSchmoiley]

I had these guys pegged for the top 50...

yeah, i thought they would be higher too. come to think of it, i can't even remember where i put them on my list... maybe i forgot them.

Honestly, I can't remember if I voted for them, either... kind of a shocker to see them this low.