Thread: T. Moon's 1,000 recordings to hear before you die

24. Animals, "The House of the Rising Sun" (Rock, 1964) C+

Tom Moon suggests we listen to this single and skip the album. OK, Tom.

Killer cut. Recording quality is lame.

25. Aphex Twin, Selected Ambient Works 1985-1992 (Electronica, 85-92) B

Like lots of people involved in electronic dance music, Richard D. James—operating under the nom de pop Aphex Twin—learned how to use synthesizers and beat boxes (and even sandpaper on a turntable instead of a vinyl record) to make powerful, transformative music. He created some notable stuff in the early '90s, earning a reputation (and significant cash) as a remixer with a knack for scrumptious, detailed tracks. Meanwhile his heart was elsewhere. For his own amusement, he began exploring less frenetic pulses that pull apart the building blocks of electronica. With this measured, understated music—collected on the homemade Selected Ambient Works 85–92—James became the patriarch of ambient techno.

If you haven't heard it, put in on during your next long workout session and you'll make a new friend.

26. Fiona Apple, When the Pawn... (Rock, 1999) B-

I listened to Tidal (her debut) when it came out, it was heavy rotation material, but after a while it seemed kind of stale. I skipped over this at the time, only now am I discovering it. It's leaps and bounds more sonic-lush than Tidal.

[Asked about the transformation between Tidal and When the Pawn...]Apple herself explained at the time that she was just curious about songs and structures. "I didn't want to be trapped by a style. . . . The whole idea about music is to develop your own instincts, which is hard when the culture is telling you to sound a certain way and think a certain way." At least partial credit goes to Jon Brion, who produced When the Pawn. . . . He surrounds Apple's impetuous poutage with oompah beats and carnival horns, stomping-feet Broadway bluster, and bits of funk. Brion created some funhouse orchestrations that are the musical equivalent of the sad clown's painted smile. They cast Apple's personal torments in upbeat, surprisingly accessible settings.

Strong recording.

27. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible (Rock, 2007) C

I love Funeral, Arcade Fire's first full-length, but this one didn't do much for me at the time of release. In fact, I listened a few times, decided it was overproduced and bland, and never listened again. The whole "indie band goes mainstream" type effect. I know that sounds snobby, but sometimes it's true--the idiosyncratic features are sanded down for wider consumption.

Well, over the last week I've listened again and my impression of it has been rehabilitated. It's actually a pretty decent recording and I brushed it off too quickly.

This track provides a microcosm of my feeling about the album.

28. Martha Argerich, Prokofiev 3d Piano Concerto / Ravel Piano Concerto (Classical, 1967) B-

My favorite instrument is the piano. One of my favorite musical templates is the piano concerto. I made a point of becoming familiar with 50-100 of the more well-known P-cons beginning in 2009, around the time I began my full scale assault learning to play the damned thing. The Prokofiev #3 is a great recording to include in a list like this, not because it's the best, but because it offers something unlike most piano concertos.

Prokofiev himself is worth biographical reference. He could not contain his ideas within the square structure of conventional music of the time, and had to invent his own stylings.

As a member of the Saint Petersburg music scene, Prokofiev developed a reputation as a musical rebel, while getting praise for his original compositions, which he performed himself on the piano.[35][36] In 1909, he graduated from his class in composition with unimpressive marks. . .

He composed his first two piano concertos around then, the latter of which caused a scandal at its premiere (23 August 1913, Pavlovsk). According to one account, the audience left the hall with exclamations of "'To hell with this futuristic music! The cats on the roof make better music!'", but the modernists were in rapture.

Prokofiev isn't an easy listen, in general. Here is a short piece for solo piano for you to gauge his style.



Here's the thing though--Prokofiev's 3d piano concerto (notice how I'm leaving Ravel's out of the discussion? It's fine, interesting) is actually pretty accessible. It makes me think, this is what punk or thrash would sound like as a piano concerto. I mean, it kind of kicks ass. Argerich, the fiery Argentinian, is a great choice to demonstrate its power because she likes to kick ass, too.



Skip to 0:30 and give it to the 7 minute mark before you abandon the project.

29. Louis Armstrong, The Complete Hot 5's and Hot 7's (Jazz, 20's) C

This is a lot of material - 4 CDs. I've gone through it once and have formed an initial opinion--I like it a lot--but to give it a proper grade would take more time. Recording quality is always an issue, but it doesn't harm this instrumentation and genre as much as, say, Ammon's boogie woogie piano joints. This Louis Armstrong guy is pretty freaking good, and these recordings are dope as hell.

I can't go higher than a C right now because of unfamiliarity and recording quality. Still, that is a great recording with some great accompanying musicians. For those that haven't tried Louis (outside of What a Wonderful World), check this out.

Never seen this before. Except on my uploads.

Originally Posted by Hawgdriver

Never seen this before. Except on my uploads.

You just hit the end of the internets.

Originally Posted by Hawgdriver

319. Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac / Buckingham Nicks (Rock, 1975) A-

I had to jump ahead. No, I didn't, but I did. The actual book is here, on my desk. I flipped it open and read, and I had to listen to some stuff. It lead to this album. This is not some special favorite, but this is enough of a great album that I had to give something a high grade to show that I'm not some hardass that only gives out C's and D's and an occasional B.

The album cover disturbs me. Font, composition, subjects.

I believe the "White Album" was on the Billboard (top 100) charts for nearly 5 years. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 over a year after entering the chart, spent 37 weeks within the top 10, and more than fifteen months within the top 40.

Also, I think their Rumors followup album spent 52 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts. They were an amazing band.

Originally Posted by Canmore

Wish I had an answer for you and a number of our other posters. I love it. Still I'm biased. I played it through college. It is...freedom...to explore and navigate uncharted waters.

How much have you listened to and what artists?

Jazz is like Baseball to me. I enjoy it, but only when I am there watching it live. Jazz clubs are a great place to just take in music but for whatever reason I can never just pop in some jazz on my headphones and feel the same way about it.

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

I believe the "White Album" was on the Billboard (top 100) charts for nearly 5 years. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 over a year after entering the chart, spent 37 weeks within the top 10, and more than fifteen months within the top 40.

Also, I think their Rumors followup album spent 52 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts. They were an amazing band.

I was surprised Moon used Fleetwood Mac instead of Rumors.

Originally Posted by Hawgdriver

I was surprised Moon used Fleetwood Mac instead of Rumors.

Maybe it appears later in the list? Or, have you looked at all of them already?

Originally Posted by BroncoJoe

Maybe it appears later in the list? Or, have you looked at all of them already?

No, it's alpha by artist, so it would have been with the other fleetwood mac recordings (Then Play On is another one on the list). Maybe Rumors is just too obviously good that everyone has heard it.

30. Arrested Development, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of . . ., (Hip-hop, 1992) D

I love hip-hop. This isn't some excursion outside my comfort zone. I never listened to this when it came out. I was more into Public Enemy and Ice Cube.

So I throw this on, and I'm hit by dope beats. This has potential, I think. But it kinda stays there... Great beats, good album.

Life-Affirming Alternative Rap

The title refers to the amount of time it took the idealistic Atlanta hip-hop group Arrested Development to find a record label willing to issue this, its first effort. That there were few executives who believed in the group's life-affirming, socially aware messages is dismaying, especially considering this hit their desks before gangsta rap broke big.

I'd start with this one if you haven't heard them.

31. Art Ensemble of Chicago, Urban Bushman (Jazz, 1982) C

This is crazy. But I think I like it. Or I might. This one is a ways from the center of my comfort zone.

This is avant-garde jazz. This is not Fourplay.

In some ways, I feel I should give this an F. Why? The Marty McFly playing Van Halen effect. But something compelling resides within these brothers' sketchwork. I'm going with C for now.

This surreal but not quite grand processional, part of a tune called "Sun Precondition Two/Theme for Sco," reflects the special genius of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the five-piece group responsible for some of the most vividly imagined free jazz of the 1970s and '80s. Rather than attempt linear narratives, the members of the Ensemble go after sprawling scenes—that march is one of several wide-angle, highly visual portrayals on this two-disc live set, which was recorded in Munich in 1980. Others include a percussion exchange with tuned woodblocks, "Bush Magic," that sounds like it's happening in an African village square. Then comes an opposite extreme, "Urban Magic," during which solo passages are punctuated by (what else?) whistles and sirens.