*** Post-1979 Album Draft - Commentary Thread ***

[DMT]

I think that one's actually pretty easy to explain, too. White people like the rap music sound, but, for obvious cultural reasons, often don't connect with the lyrical themes and delivery. So, with The Beastie Boys, they get the best of both worlds - enjoyable rap beats and production, plus they get to hear a trio of talented comedians talking about stuff they're more comfortable and familiar with.

What are the obvious cultural reasons other than race?

[ManCalledFoot]

I thought about Wild Planet, didn't pull the trigger. That (along with another LP I might take) was definitely the party record in the dorm in late 1980. And don't sleep on "Dirty Back Road' either, one of their best.

[Erik]

Since Rascal Flatts was brought up, let me say this:

My wife has dragged me to see them twice, and they can PLAY. Especially when they do a stripped-down mini-set with just the three main guys and the drummer -- some of those arrangements in that setting actually swing. The bassist/keyboardist is particularly talented.

Their songs suck donkey balls, of course.

[Erik]

So fucking tragic about Morphine. They were destined for more great things.

One of my friends played in a band with Morphine's sax player in the '80s.

[BuckyBuckner]

eldiablo, you keep taking albums I most definitely would have taken. First Op Ivy and now the Descendents. Milo Goes to College is the blueprint to all punk that came after it.

[senorsheep]

What are the obvious cultural reasons other than race?

Crushing poverty and its fallout, which disproportionately affects black people, who are disproportionately impoverished. You wanted an explanation for why some white people like The Beasties, but don't like black rappers. Here's mine: I think in most cases, it has to do with discomfort with the subject matter and the coarse delivery used by political/ cultural black rappers, vs. the color of their skin, which too often seems to be the easy default explanation.

[Stephen]

Heh. Garth's bizarre grab for crossover success is one of the strangest stories in modern country music.



Yeah, if you don't know the story, that's Garth. Google it - I still don't understand exactly what happened there...

They were going to make a movie about this Chris Gaines character and it didn't pan out.

I cannot confirm or deny but I may own that CD. :-/

[Erik]

Milo Goes to College is the blueprint to all punk that came after it.

As with Double Nickels, Milo is a record I figured would have been taken far, far earlier than it was, given its influence and following.

[BuckyBuckner]

As with Double Nickels, Milo is a record I figured would have been taken far, far earlier than it was, given its influence and following.

If I were in the draft it would have been a top 2 or 3 rounder. I was really busy at work and just didn't have the time. But I made a list of about 50 albums to pick from. I'm thinking about posting a list when you guys are done.

[DMT]

If I were in the draft it would have been a top 2 or 3 rounder. I was really busy at work and just didn't have the time. But I made a list of about 50 albums to pick from. I'm thinking about posting a list when you guys are done.

You definitely should.

[swampdragon]

If I were in the draft it would have been a top 2 or 3 rounder. I was really busy at work and just didn't have the time. But I made a list of about 50 albums to pick from. I'm thinking about posting a list when you guys are done.

sounds good - just make sure they are a full album of music - we are being pretty careful about finding albums that stand up start to finish

[johnnya24]

Haha ... Just seen a concert add for The Beat on my way home ... With a really nice ska style graphic. Now I have to go.

[senorsheep]

Very shocked that it took this long for another Pearl Jam record to go. I had one of their records ranked almost as highly as Ten, which I took in the first round. Ten is their best, but it's not 15 rounds better than all of their work (any of their pre-Binaural albums, really).

Ten is the standout classic, the rest are all of roughly equal quality. If I was going to take a Pearl Jam record after Ten went off the board, I'd probably let the others thin out the herd, then take whatever was left in the end game. Of course, I already have the best kind of Pearl Jam record - the one where Eddie Cheddar only sings half a song and then disappears before he gets too annoying.

Grace is a cult record in the US. "Last Goodbye" and the title track got some "modern rock" airplay and the record did well with critics, but wasn't a massive hit during Buckley's lifetime. Its stature has grown in the intervening years. I didn't own it in full until a deluxe edition came out in the mid-2000s and more of my friends were talking it up. I was heavily into hard rock and grunge in the early and mid 90s, and Grace wasn't that, so it just wasn't in my wheelhouse at the time; but now it is.

Yeah, this critical reception for this record has been weird in the U.S. When it first came out - crickets. I listened to it, meh, tossed it in the collection for future listening. A few years later, every music hipster was creaming their pants over it. So I gave it a fresh listen, meh again, sold it. Critics worship it as an underground classic to this day. I'll probably give it one more try before I die.

On a related note, I could have sworn that I had the same experience with My Bloody Valentine, but it must have been a false memory, because when I listened to it this time, I was all over it, and can't imagine why I wouldn't have been all over it when it first came out.

[Controller Jacobs]

sent a pick to swampdragon

[Erik]

I'm thinking about posting a list when you guys are done.

Please do!