Before You Die II

This has been really hard. I find doing Top Ten's one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life ever.

It doesn't matter what its a list about you WILL get to number 8 and you WILL have 4 things that HAVE to be in the list. Nothing else can be dropped, you have to work out 2 from the 4, and you have got to work out what goes in and what does not.

I will admit right now that on one of these I have broken a Top Ten Album rule.


But I don't care, I followed all the rest...........and this was really hard.




Portishead, Dummy


Very creepy, chill out music. I will refrain from naming this "stoner music", but thats what it is. Its really good. The reason that Dummy makes it in and the first album "Portishead" isn't here is simple, on the first album (which is golden) there are a few stand out tracks that are brilliant. Whereas Dummy has at least 8-10 tracks (on a 10 track album) which could easily be the best song on the album. You just plain can't decide. The album got a real bad press when it came out, that it sounded "just like the first album". Yes it does. But thats Portisheads sound, its what they do and no-one else can match it.



Ray Lamontagne, Trouble



I went to see Garden State. It cheered me up. Its a great film by a great diretor/writer/actor Zach Braff. I was looking through his blog and every now and then it would have "Track of the week", one week it was Trouble. So I got my hands on this track and listened to it, then listened to it again. I listened to the song 3 times before I just ordered the CD. It turned up and I always listen to it. Honestly there isn't a week goes by where there isn't a Ray track (at least) on the ol' pod. Another story is, I was drunk and thought that my friends may also enjoy this album. So I bought them each a copy of it. But that one makes me out to be a generous drunk. And I don't like that kind of thing. Its not really my normal type of music, but it is brilliant.



OST, I Am Sam


Yes this is the rule breaker. A sound track in a list of best albums. Well, its kinda not a soundtrack cause they are all Beatles songs, but then it really breaks rules by being a over album. I was walking round HMV (CD/DVD store) and was listening to the music they were playing while looking for something to get to watch that night. "Holy crip, thats Eddie Vedder, but this is no song I know", so I went to the counter and they told me that they were playing the I Am Sam soundtrack. I walked out of there with the soundtrack and the DVD. Love the film adore the music. Its one of those wierd albums that you can use for anything. Singing along, chilling out to, unwinding, cheering up, getting sad to or just plain background noise. Its just great.


Muse, Absolution


I am a big fan of Muse. I love the varience you get on each album, plus Piano Riffs! *does metal hand thing* yes they rock. I have chosen the third album to go into the List. So, the first album is really good, but is kind of a diamond in the rough. Its everything that Muse do but its kinda not complete. Its like they put down all the songs that defined them as a band at that time. "We are Muse, and we go from plain rocking out, to chilling out, to rocking out with piano's", but because they were just some small band from Cornwall, not much time was put into it. Don't get me wrong its great and really enjoyable, but the production of the album could have been better. The 2nd album (Oigin o Symmetry) is great, its mainly rock and kicks ass. Absolution saw Muse go back to mixing things up and showing the complete range of their music talent that made them stand out from all the Nu-Metal shite that was going around. The variance o music styles will keep you on your toes if nothing else.



Weezer, The Blue Album.



The first three albums from Weezer will just plain knock you off your seat. The Green Album is the most up-beat album and would even cheer up Radiohead, and thats saying something. Tha album always reminds me of summer. Pinkerton doesn't remind me of anything its simpley really good. But out of the 3 its the Blue Album thats the best. I recently went to the Col's house, where we ended up getting drunk *odd that* and singing/shouting along to this album. Nothing to do wih this list. Well its kind of why it got here, its a great album, and i'm not he only one that thinks so. This album is guaranteed to rock your socks of with in 15 seconds of preesing play.





Done, also in case anyone is interested, albums that didn't make it:-

David Bowie, Best Of

Nine Inch Nails, Downward Spiral or maybe The Fragile

Incubus, Make Yourself

Glassjaw, Worship and Tribute

At The Drive In, Relationship Of Command

Ben Harper, *couldn't choose*

Faith No More, Angel Dust

Jon Brion, J'adore Huckabees (OST)

The Pixies, Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim

Massive Attack, Mezzanine






Not easy. Bit I am happy with the 10 I have chosen, and hopefully its made you think about getting one of them, all really good and well worth your time.



I wish you luck in your new music quest.