The Ten Most Influential Albums of All Time

The Velvet Underground & Nico
Self-titled (1967)

Heroin (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Art Rock
David Bowie
Arcade Fire

Bob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Like a Rolling Stone (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Let's just say,
Bob invented modern music

The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Fixing a Hole (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Pop Music
Psychadelic Rock
Possibilities are endless

Beach Boys
Pet Sounds (1966)

God Only Knows (mp3)

without this there would be no:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Kraftwerk
Trans-Europe Express (1977)

Trans-Europe Express (mp3)

without this there would be no:
House
Trance
Techno

The Smiths
Self-titled (1984)

This Charming Man (mp3)

without this there would be no:
The Queen Is Dead
Belle and Sebastian
& Indie music would be very different

N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton (1988)

Express Yourself (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Rap

Pink Floyd
Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

Bike (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Reason to eat magic-mushrooms
Roger Waters on lead vocals
Dark Side of the Moon

Black Sabbath
Self-titled (1970)

Behind The Wall of Sleep (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Death Metal
Metallica
Iron Maiden

The Clash
London Calling (1979)

Spanish Bombs (mp3)

without this there would be no:
Versatile Punk Rock
Fun

The Great Arcade Fire

Funeral shook the hearts of millions (including David Bowie, who would hand the album out to his friends) while arguably becoming the album of the decade. The reason being is because it's so perfectly aligned, it's like a painting of death drawn by the hand of God. While their sophomore effort Neon Bible is praising and appraising God, and drawn by the hand of man. This being visibly so in that somehow Neon Bible's errors add up to something even more rare than what we perceive as perfection.

Neon Bible also happens to be my album of the year, to date.

Well, before all the hype and fame and even before their hard to swallow but still very exciting EP, there was a demo entitled 2001.

Here is that demo.

MP3'S

Winter For A Year

My Mind Is A Freeway

Accidents

Goodnight Boy

Asleep At The Wheel

In The Attic

Can't Let Go Of You

You Tried To Turn Away My Fears

Instrumental

The Great Arcade Fire


A Special Thanks To :

Captain's Dead

The Long Winters

It's 4/20 and we all know what that means...
So I have a few tracks for you, and to start it off is The Long Winters attempt at "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple along with some other tracks by John Roderick and his boys.

MP3'S

Smoke On The Water

Pushover

The Commander Thinks Aloud

Blue Diamonds

Dntel

In 2001 when Jimmy Tamborello released Life is Full of Possibilities, the lo-fi indie rock masterpiece, there was a new genre of music being created, it wasn't just electronica or pop or folk anymore, it was more. His collaboration with DCFC's Ben Gibbard started The Postal Service, which broke open like an egg and poured out onto weary hearts and set the tone for "popular" indie-tronica. In the five years it has taken Jimmy to put together his follow-up, other than Postal Service, he has also been included in the band Figurines and he also has the James Figurine moniker for his more techno focused pop songs.

Dumb Luck, the follow-up to the phenomenal Possibilities is more aware of itself as it shape-shifts through genres, but keeps the basis the same. A steady wave of resilience from the collaborators (which include: Bright Eyes, Grizzly Bear, Lali Puna, Jenny Lewis, Mystic Chords of Memory, etc.) is what keeps the music grounded, but it's Jimmy's defining song structure that lets us swim freely through each track. The collaborations make Dumb Luck a versatile album, but it's Jimmy Tamborello that makes it a Dntel album.

MP3'S

Dumb Luck

To A Fault (ft. Grizzly Bear)

Rock The Boat (ft. Mia Doi Todd)

Natural Resources (ft. Fog)

Breakfast In Bed (ft. Bright Eyes)

Paper Airplanes

The Fences (mp3) is more timid than taunt for an indie song that has been released in the last few years, this being released late 2004 on the album Boyhood. It sounds very mature and has a natural feel, and in turn, very open for the first listen, and each listen that follows.

Paper Airplanes take you under their wary wing, and they help you feel a little more assured. Expect a follow-up to their debut (hopefully) in 2007.

Track of the Week

Pop Levi - Skip Ghetto

Hot Chip

Hey, it's Friday the 13th!

MP3'S

Hot Chip - Bad Luck