A La La La

Three Hundred Ten

Artist - The Police
Album - Reggatta de Blanc
Released - 1979
Label - A&M
Genre - New Wave/Post Punk

Tracks:
Side One
Message in a Bottle
Reggatta de Blanc
It's Alright For You
Bring on the Night
Deathwish
Side Two
Walking on the Moon
On Any Other Day
The Bed's Too Big Without You
Contact
Does Everyone Stare
No Time This Time

Enjoy!

Heads are Talkin'

Two Hundred Eighty-One

Artist - Talking Heads
Album - Fear of Music
Released - 1979
Label - Sire
Genre - New Wave/Post Punk/Art Punk

Tracks:
Side 1
I Zimbra
Mind
Paper
Cities
Life During Wartime
Memories Can't Wait
Side 2
Air
Heaven
Animals
Electric Guitar
Drugs

By the name of the tracks alone, one can't help but to listen to it.  Another reason, Brian Eno and David Byrne.  The fantastic mastermind of so much, Talking Heads Fear of Music is interesting to say the least.  The third studio album is filled with eclectic sounds and it definitely has your dose of post punk, new wave mixed right into this.  

Enjoy!

Talking Sense

Two Hundred Two

Artist - Talking Heads
Album - Stop Making Sense
Released - 1984
Label - Sire/EMI
Genre - Post-Punk/New Wave

Tracks:
Side One
Psycho Killer
Swamp
Slippery People
Burning Down the House
Girlfriend is Better
Side Two
Once in a Lifetime
What a Day That Was
Life During Wartime
Take Me To the River

A live album from the Talking Head's motion picture Stop Making Sense, this soundtrack highlights the great tracks by the band.  David Byrne at his most cutest, if that is a good way to put it.  Byrne's intention was not to make a traditional soundtrack, but to have a separate experience.

Why "Stop Making Sense"?

Why a movie? Why tour?

Why do the musicians come out gradually?

What will the next band do?

Where do the odd movements come from?

Are live concerts better or worse than records?

Why no "special effects" in the movie?

Why a booklet? Why a big suit?

Why was a digital system used for the sound?

I find it fascinating when bands put together documentaries when they go on tour, to specifically give us, the fans, a dose of what it's like on the road for them and to also give us a perspective on the inner workings of what goes on when a band goes on the road.  Listening to this record, Psycho Killer and Burning Down the House are two of my favorites, because I feel like it best forms Byrne's vocal range.  Questions left unanswered, some left to get the mind thinking of future directions.

Enjoy!

Once in a While

One Hundred Fortieth

Artist - Devo
Album - Are We Not Men?
Released - 1978
Label - Warner Bros.
Genre - Post-Punk, New Wave

Tracks:
Uncontrollable Urge
Praying Hands
Space Junk
Mongoloid
Jocko Homo
Too Much Paranoias
Gut Feeling
Come Back Jonee
Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin')
Shrivel-Up

I have to admit, this album is such a fun album.  I vividly remember SXSW 2009, I was at Austin Music Hall seeing Datarock perform and Devo was next.  All the Devo-heads were out and about, wearing their Devo headgear and prepping for the show.  As a matter of fact, here is a photo:

Anyway, back to the album.  As of late, with all my ESPN watching, Uncontrollable Urge has been getting a lot of play, so in honor of all things wonderful in the world of sports, this pick deserves some playtime today.  Are We Not Men? is Devo's debut album.  A few talented artists of this time took interest in what Devo had to offer and I believe that is what made them the interesting group that they are.  

Enjoy!

Exciting and Productive

My day starts at 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays.  Why, do you ask, would I get up at that hour?  Well, when I wake up that early on a Saturday, it gives me a whole full day to do things.  Sundays are my sleep in days.  That being said, I walked into End of Ear Records and found this magnificent, yet satisfying circular piece of plastic which I am making my one hundred sixth pick.

Artist - Gang of Four

Album - Entertainment!

Released - 1979

Label - EMI

Genre - Post-Punk

Tracks:

Side One

Ether

Natural's not in it

Not great men

Damaged goods

Return the gift

Guns before butter

Side Two

I Found That Essence Rare

Glass

Contract

At home he's a tourist

5.45

Anthrax

Ok, I love this album.  I love I Found That Essence Rare!!  I don't know what else to say other than this album is fantastic.  My roommate Kevin told me, as I was putting this record on, that in high school he read an interview with the Minutemen and the interviewer asked them what were some of their influences.  He told me that they said Gang of Four were.  Then the record came on and after listening to it, I can see a resemblance.  Such a wonderful, influential band.

Enjoy!

Can't Get Enough

Yes, almost back to back, but not quite.  Ninety-Ninth:

Artist - Joy Division
Album - Closer
Released - 1980
Label - Factory
Genre - Post-Punk


Tracks:
Atrocity Exhibition
Isolation
Passover
Colony
A Means to an End
Heart and Soul
Twenty Four Hours
The Eternal
Decades

The second and final studio album by Joy Division, Closer marks a more dramatic event since being released.  Just two months prior, Ian Curtis, the lead singer, committed suicide.  Seeing as I just played another Joy Division record just a few days ago, it's obvious that I cannot get enough.  It's something about Ian Curtis' voice that I like or maybe it's the sound of each song that puts me in a certain mood.  I can tell you this though, this album has a bit of a darker tone that the previous.  Some might say it was purposefully done that way because they knew what was to come.  In a sense that I could kind of believe that, I would still think that making music or putting something into perspective could change ones decision about life and death, but then again you have the ones so far in they can't find a way out.

Behind it All

A lot of things erie about this record but alas I will play and enjoy the sound.  Here's my ninety-sixth pick.

Artist - Joy Division
Album - Unknown Pleasures
Released - 1979
Label - Factory
Genre - Post-Punk


Tracks:
Outside
Disorder
Days of the Lords
Candidate
Insight
New Dawn Fades
Inside
She's Lost Control
Shadowplay
Wilderness
Interzone
I Remember Nothing

The debut album by Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures is one of those records you don't get tired of listening to.  It almost takes you to another place, mentally. The cover depicts 100 consecutive pulses from the pulsar CO 1919, just in case you wanted to know.  The raw sound of this album intensifies with each track and It's kind of hard to describe such an amazing record in so many words.  She's Lost Control and Disorder are definitely my top songs on this record, but in the end, each song on this record is amazing.  Give it a listen.  I don't know what else I can write other than you will not be sorry.

Enjoy!

Exactly What I Was Thinking

To say it's been a long long long long time since I've listened to my eighty-second pick is an understatement.  But much to my surprise, in the illustrious collection of vinyl records that is at my disposal, here's to you.

Artist - Minutemen
Album - Double Nickels on the Dime
Released - 1984
Label - SST
Genre - Alternative Rock/Hardcore Punk/Post-Punk


Tracks:
Side D
Anxious Mo-Fo
Theatre is the Life of You
Viet Nam
Cohesion
It's Expected I'm Gone
#1 Hit Song
Two Beads at the End
Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want The Truth?
Don't Look Now
Shit From an Old Notebook
Mature Without Man
One Reporter's Opinion
Side Mike
Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing
Maybe Partying WIll Help
Toadies
Retreat
The Big Foist
God Bows to Math
Corona
The Glory of Man
Take 5, D.
My Heart and the Real World
History Lesson - Part Two
Side George
You Need the Glory
The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts
Mr. Robot's Holy Orders
West Germany
The Politics of Time
Themselves
Please Don't Be Gentle With Me
Nothing Indeed
No Exchange
There Ain't Shit on T.V. Tonight
This Ain't No Picnic
Spillage
Side Chaff
Untitled Song for Latin America
Jesus and Tequila
June 16th
Storm in my House
Martin's Story
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Doctor Wu
Little Man with a Gun in his Hand
The World According to Nouns
Love Dance

An extensive record from the alternative punk trio Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime is their third album.  From San Pedro, California, most might be familiar with their infamous song Corona that was used - and is probably still used - for the show Jackass on MTV.  But regardless, this album came out in 1984, waaaaaay before Jackass was even a show.  I believe popular shows that have pretty amazing intro songs tend to make a bands fan base a little bit more, hyped.  But this is a really great record, so go out, play it on your record player and if you don't have it, go buy it -- NOW!!  You won't be sorry.

Enjoy!

Untitled

To be untitled holds a special meaning in it's own right.  There could be so many interpretations to what the untitled title stands for, but I guess that is something to figure out for yourself.  For my seventy-fifth pick, I bring to you what defines untitled for me.

Artist - Interpol
Album - Turn on the Bright Lights
Released - 2002
Label - Matador
Genre - Post Punk


Tracks:
Side One
Untitled
Obstacle 1
NYC
PDA
Say Hello to the Angels
Hands Away
Side Two
Obstacle 2
Stella Was a Driver and She Was Always Down
Roland
The New
Lief Erikson

The debut album by post-rock New Yorkers Interpol, Turn on the Bright Lights is definitely the better album of the bunch.  Although I like Antics, this one is the better of the two.  In consideration to this record, all the tracks are all very good, but the best songs are Untitled, PDA, Say Hello to the Angels and Obstacle 2.  Something about the way it sounds, being compared to Joy Division and Radiohead, but I think I lean more towards Joy Division with the sound of Paul Banks' voice and the raw sound of the music.

Enjoy!

Someone call...

My fifty-fifth pick:

Artist - The Police
Album - Outlandos d' Amour
Released - 1978
Label - A&M
Genre - Rock, New Wave, post-punk, reggae


Tracks:
Side One
Next To You
So Lonely
Roxanne
Hole in my Life
Peanuts
Side Two
Can't Stand Losing You
Truth Hits Everybody
Born in the 50's
Be My Girl - Sally
Masoko Tanga

The debut album by the Police, Outlandos d'Amour is a mix of new wave and reggae, that would almost have to be a first for an artist.  On top of that, you have the unique sound of Sting's voice, which makes it that much more unusual.  I do enjoy the reggae roots being incorporated into each song and the sound, which would ultimately follow them onto future recordings.  Roxanne is one of my favorite songs on this record and even though it's about a prostitute at the red-light district (so they say), something about Sting's voice that emphasizes each word in the song with the feeling of longing.  I don't know if that sounds weird, but Sting's voice is definitely mesmerizing.

On that note, I will be on vacation for the next 10 days, so my posts might not be too interesting, but for the most part, I will post a vinyl record and visit some great record shops while in South Florida.

Enjoy!

One Way or Another

In all things magnificent and good, a woman with such power has topped the list of greatness.  My thirty-fifth pick is one that has, in no time, became an icon in the music scene.

Artist - Blondie
Album - Parallel
Released - 1978
Label - Chrysallis
Genre - New Wave, Post Punk


Tracks:
Side One
Hanging On The Telephone
One Way Or Another
Picture This
Fade Away And Radiate
I Know But I Don't Know
Side Two
11:59
Will Anything Happen?
Sunday Girl
Heart of Glass
I'm Gonna Love You Too
Just Go Away

By some horrible way, my record is warped (booooo), but luckily I am playing it on my iTunes as I write this review.  I need to make a note to get another copy of Parallel Lines by Blondie the next time I go out and get some records.  This is definitely a MUST HAVE in your collection.  As the album is playing, it just reminds me how many hits are on this record. One Way Or Another and Heart of Glass have to be the main ones, but all in all, my favorite is 11:59.  You can definitely hear the New Wave, which I think is great because it could also be a record to dance to, if you want to dance like they did in the late 70's, early 80's.  I have to admit, I am one that dances no matter what and if I feel like a song make me want to move, then I will move, no matter how horrible I look.  I think I just stopped caring about what others thought of me and started living life for me.  Oops, I'm rambling.  Okay, back on the record, this album is by far one of the best albums by a female fronted band.  This is the third album by Blondie.

Enjoy!