Musical Madness: A Favorites Albums List

Favorite Albums in Some Order (list artists only once, no soundtracks or bests of allowed)

1. Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd (70s, prog rock)
2. Blood On The Tracks, Bob Dylan (70s, folk rock)
3. Unknown Pleasures, Joy Division (70s, post punk)
4. Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin (70s, metal/hard rock)
5. In Utero, Nirvana (90s, grunge)
6. Straight Out of Compton, NWA (80s, rap)
7. At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash (60s, country)
8. War, U2 (80s, alternative rock)
9. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Modest Mouse (2000s, alternative rock)
10. Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones (70s, hard rock)
11. Making Movies, Dire Straits (80s, country rock)
12. Parachutes, Coldplay (2000s, alternative rock)
13. Born To Die, Lana Del Rey (2000s, pop rock)
14. We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, Death Cab For Cutie (2000s, alternative rock)
15. In Rainbows, Radiohead (2000s, alternative rock)
16. My Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kayne West (2000s, rap)
17. Loveless, My Bloody Valentine (90s, alternative rock)
18. Autoamerican, Blondie (80s, pop rock)
19. Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (60s, psychedelic rock)
20. The Woods, Sleater-Kinney (2000s, alternative rock)
21. Axis: Bold As Love, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (60s, psychedelic rock)
22. Hunky Dory, David Bowie (70s, glam rock)
23. Invisible Touch, Genesis (80s, alternative rock)
24. Murmur, R.E.M. (80s, alternative rock)
25. Turn On the Bright Lights, Interpol (2000s, alternative rock)
26. Ghost in the Machine, The Police (80s, pop rock)
27. Saturdays=Youth, M83 (2000s, electronica)
28. Excitable Boy, Warren Zevon (70s, pop rock)
29. Damn The Torpedoes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (70s, hard rock)
30. No More Stories Are Told Today, I’m Sorry They Washed Away // No More Stories, The World Is Grey, I’m Tired, Let’s Wash Away, Mew (2000s, pop electronica rock)
31. Who’s Next, The Who (70s, hard rock)
32. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, Oasis (90s, alternative rock)
33. In Pieces, Garth Brooks (90s, country)
34. Rumors, Fleetwood Mac (70s, pop rock)
35. The Chronic, Dr. Dre (90s, rap)
36. Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen (80s, folk rock)
37. License to Ill, The Beastie Boys (80s, rap rock)
38. The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine (90s, rap rock)
39. Pure Heroine, Lorde (2000s, pop)
40. This Time, Dwight Yoakam (90s, country)
41. More Songs About Buildings and Food, The Talking Heads (70s, pop rock)
42. The Surbubs, Arcade Fire (2000s, alternative rock)
43. Sandinista, The Clash (70s, punk)
44. Moving Pictures, Rush (80s, prog rock)
45. Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne (2000s, pop rock)
46. The Hurting, Tears For Fear (80s, New Wave)
47. Magic Potion, The Black Keys (2000s, blues rock)
48. The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, Ben Folds Five (2000s, pop rock)
49. Plastic Beach, Gorillaz (2000s, rap rock)
50. Sports, Huey Lewis and the News (80s, pop rock)
51. Sam’s Town, The Killers (2000s, alternative rock)
52. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, Sex Pistols (70s, punk)
53. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips (2000s, electronica rock)
54. Zuma, Neil Young and Crazy Horse (70s, folk rock)
55. Thriller, Michael Jackson (80s, pop rock)
56. Violator, Depeche Mode (80s, alternative rock)
57. Omni, Minus The Bear (2000s, alternative rock)
58. Chutes Too Narrow, The Shins (2000s, pop rock)
59. Shields, Grizzly Bear (2000s, alternative rock)
60. Kind of Blue, Miles Davis (50s, jazz)
61. Daydream Nation, Sonic Youth (80s, alternative rock)
62. Armchair Apocrypha, Andrew Bird (2000s, folk rock)
63. Loaded, The Velvet Underground (70s, hard rock)
64. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Smashing Pumpkins (90s, alternative rock)
65. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco (2000s, folk rock)
66. Secret Diary, College (2000s, electronica)
67. Boxer, The National (2000s, pop rock)
68. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel (90s, pop rock)
69. Oracular Spectacular, MGMT (2000s, electronica rock)
70. Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem (2000s, electronica rock)
71. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, Devo (70s, post punk)
72. Power, Corruption & Lies, New Order (80s, New Wave)
73. 4 X 4=12, deadmau5 (2000s, electronica)
74. Discovery, Daft Punk (2000s, electronica)
75. Moondance, Van Morrison (70s, rock)
76. 18, Moby (2000s, electronica)
77. Toys in the Attic, Aerosmith (70s, hard rock)
78. Manners, Passion Pit (2000s, electronica pop)
79. Blink-182, Blink-182 (2000s, alternative rock)
80. Under The Iron Sea, Keane (2000s, rock)
81. Dead Can Dance, Dead Can Dance (80s, post punk)
82. Paranoid, Black Sabbath (70s, heavy metal)
83. Night Moves, Bob Seager and the Silver Bullet Band (70s, hard rock)
84. For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver (2000s, folk)
85. Fragile, Yes (70s, prog rock)
86. Dizzy Up The Girl, Goo Goo Dolls (90s, alternative rock)
87. Broken Bells, Broken Bells (2000s, electronica pop rock)
88. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend (2000s, alternative rock)
89. Give Up, The Postal Service (2000s, electronica rock pop)
90. Odelay, Beck (90s, alternative rock)
91. Songs For the Deaf, Queens of the Stone Age (2000s, heavy metal)
92. Illinois, Surjan Stevens (2000s, pop folk)
93. A Blessing and a Curse, Drive By Truckers (2000s, country rock)
94. Kill ‘Em All, Metallica (80s, heavy metal)
95. Days of Future Passed, The Moody Blues (60s, psychedelic rock)
96. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes (2000s, folk)
97. Z, My Morning Jacket (2000s, alternative rock)
98. To Bring You My Love, PJ Harvey (90s, alternative rock)
99. You Forgot It in People, Broken Social Scene (2000s, alternative rock)
100. Transference, Spoon (2000s, alternative rock

Favorite Bands

All Time Favorite Bands (Currently):

1. Led Zeppelin-Favorite Song: Over The Hills and Far Away

2. Joy Division-Favorite Song: Transmission

3. The Clash-Favorite Song: Police On My Back

4. U2-Favorite Song: Surrender

5. Creedence Clearwater Revival-Favorite Song: Ramble Tamble

6. Genesis-Favorite Song: In Too Deep

7. The Beatles-Favorite Song: Strawberry Fields Forever

8. Radiohead-Favorite Song: Jigsaw Falling Into Place

9. Blondie-Favorite Song: Live It Up

10. The Rolling Stones-Favorite Song: Gimme Shelter

The Foreigner (1978, Amos Poe)

Hey look its Deborah Harry. Cool.

The Foreigner (1978) is an underground movie, at times punk driven even, and I watched it thanks to well….TCM’s Underground theater that airs on Saturday’s now. The copy was grainy, the audio scratchy, and yet I couldn’t stop watching despite not really knowing what the plot exactly was. The main character, a French agent named Max, is stationed in New York City but he has little information about his mission or why he’s there. I loved the opening credits, set to a rather cool sounding score: Max in the cab, looking quietly out the window as the taxi drives on through a tunnel into the New York City streets.

I was reminded of Michael Mann and Taxi Driver, however really this film is more Repo Man (1984) in terms of being about the punk scene and punks in general. Max wanders aimlessly through New York, getting in and out of trouble; there is a rather shocking scene where he is stabbed and assaulted by some toughs in a random dive which features…a punk band. Having Harry pop up in a back alley smoking is an amusing moment, as this film was made just as Blondie was beginning to achieve stardom, but it also speaks to this movie’s odd moments.

However later on it appears this is as much about racial intolerance and fear of “The Other” as it is a spy thriller movie. Max proves unable to save others, and by the middle to later part of the film he is chased by the very tough youths that gave him trouble earlier. Desperate to gain further meaning and understanding, he achieves neither and chases it in strong drink and strange women. I love how the film ends, with a stark viewing of the Statue of Liberty. Apparently in this film the immigrant is not received warmly, but is rather cast out and abused, beaten and in the end, destroyed.

Sure this is a really low budget film and the acting is not the greatest, but I was captivated throughout and I really would like to see this again. Unfortunately I had to delete it from my parents’ DVR (I no longer live there but I still use it heh) and according to an online search this is sadly not a better copy of this film. Too bad, as it should be seen by more and it reminded me of another equally underrated cult classic, the 1962 film Blast of Silence, which I own on Criterion.

Party Music Playlist 2013

Current edition (always a work in progress):

1. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)-Michael Jackson, Thriller

2. Party-The D4, 6Twenty

3. Under Your Spell-Desire, Drive (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

4. Punky Reggae Party-Bob Marley & The Wailers, Gold [Disc 2]

5. Absinthe Party At The Fly Honey Warehouse-Minus The Bear, Highly Refined Pirates

6. The Reeling-Passion Pit, Manners

7. Janice’s Party-Fountains Of Wayne, Out of State Plates

8. Live It Up-Blondie, Autoamerican [Bonus Tracks]

9. California Love-2Pac and Dr. Dre, All Eyez on Me

10. Tell Her Tonight-Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand (Special Edition)

11. Judy Is A Punk-The Ramones, Greatest Hits

12. In The Waiting Line-Zero 7, Garden State Soundtrack

13. Cold.1-Kanye West & DJ Khaled, Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer [Explicit Version]

14. Float On-Modest Mouse, Good News For People Who Like Bad News

15. After Party-The Lonely Island Feat. Santigold, Turtleneck and Chain

16. Jigsaw Falling Into Place-Radiohead, In Rainbows

17. Melt With You, Modern English-MTV: New Wave

18. Burning Down The House-Talking Heads, Sand In The Vasoline

19. Shout-Ronald Isley-Rudolph Isley-O’Kelly Isley, National Lampoon’s Animal House

20. Everlong-Foo Fighters, The Colour And The Shape

Total Length: 20 songs, 1 hour 17 minutes 33 seconds, 354.9 MB