Match 1.1
Winner: Who's Next - The Who
Defeated: English Settlement - XTC
Favorite Song: Runaways https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gQo_lXw2zg
Best Lyric:
"Her little tune is such a happy song
Her son is innocent, he can't do wrong
'Cause dad's a judge and knows exactly what the job of judging's all about
And all the while Graham slept on
Dreaming of a world where he could do just what he wanted to"
- No Thugs in Our House
Why this album?
Well we're certainly not starting off with an easy one. English Settlement has more great songs on it then some artists write in their career. It plays like a greatest hits album, especially at the start where the first 5 songs could all easily be singles. The tunes are instantly likable with catchy melodies and a very upbeat sound. Worth noting that this is an album that came out in the early eighties but sounds about 10-20 years ahead of that time. I like how there's some 80's music technologies mixed in but it's very subtle and not overdone as many artists of that decade tended to do. Guitars, drums, bass and vocals, effects only when appropriate.
With the way the songs sound you'd expect the lyrics would be a little simple because the songs would be good even if he was just saying nonsense. But of course that's not the case and the songs on this album hold many interesting themes such as feminism, gun control and the cost of progress. English Settlement is a fantastic example of lyrics being the icing on the cake. It would be a great album even if he was just saying goofy nonsensical things but the deeper meanings push it to fantastic.
Why did it lose?
Who's Next is tough to beat and just has a little more magic to it.
Match 1.2
Winner: Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
Defeated: Pinkerton - Weezer
Favorite Song: El Scorcho https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJghf2OcW1s
Best Lyric:
"I asked you to go to the Green Day concert. You said you never heard of them. How cool is that?!"
- El Scorcho
Why this album?
My friend Nate Yeske got married back in 2012 and part of his reception included roughly 6-8 guys awkwardly shuffling around on the dancefloor while El Scorcho played. This was because it played every week multiple times a week whenever hearts or poker was played in my basement. The album is really that good it can be played practically on repeat and not get tiresome. It's great piece of garage rock that doesn't try to be anything more than it is and that's why it's great. It's one of the most sincere albums around. Rivers Cuomo puts everything out there for the listener to take in. There is little in the way of complex metaphors or such, just pure and simple emotion.
It's strange to think about the fact that Weezer put out 2 amazing albums at the start of their career and haven't come close to them since. I have to wonder what exactly what was lost along the way. If I had to make a stab I would say it's more that Weezer never gained anything. The new tunes are either poor replications of their early work or hollow good times songs. It's like they're stuck in perpetual emotional puberty and it's just not that much fun to follow a character that never matures.
Why did it lose?
Astral Weeks is a bit more musical. Also Falling For You is totally skippable.
Match 1.3
Winner: Odelay - Beck
Defeated: Joshua Tree - U2
Favorite Song: With or Without You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSdTa9kaiQ (Jesus, I may have to revise that if I keep watching this music video)
Best Lyric: "I'm hangin' on
You're all that's left to hold on to"
-Red Hill Mining Town
Why this album?
Poor U2 got a bad rap during our generation. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb came out during out in 2004 and was purely awful. On top of that Vertigo received extensive radio play and every time Bono counted "1, 2, 3, 14!" every high school spanish 101 student got to take the Mickey out of him. Long before that record was released U2 put out the classic Joshua Tree and much of our generation will dismiss it out of hand and have every right to do so.
They will however be missing out on an album that is very solid. One of the best qualities of Joshua Tree is that it's good from start to finish. The lyrics can be a little preachy at times notch but there's good imagery and messages. I especially like the flirtations with religious themes.
Why did it lose?
I'm happy to defend U2, but not that much.
Match 1.4
Winner: By The Way - RHCP
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins
Favorite Song: 1979 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aeETEoNfOg
Best Lyrics: "DESPITE ALL MY RAGE I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A CAGE"
-Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Why this album?
And we're ending on another tough choice. The pumpkins wrote an album here that doesn't slow down and is good through and through. That said I always felt this was an album best listened to in chunks. If I ever try to through the whole damn thing at once it ends up as background music as I pay attention to whatever else I'm doing. Doing that is doing the album a disservice as there are tracks throughout the record that demand to be savored. Just listening to the album for this post I rediscovered Galapagos and I've probably played it more than 5 times a days for the past week.
Why did it lose?
"Anybody that comes back with a double album, to me, needs to pry themselves out of their own asshole. This is not the '70s, okay? Go and ask Billy Corgan about a double album. Who has the fucking time, in 2013, to sit through 45 minutes of a single album? How arrogant are these people to think that you've got an hour and a half to listen to a fucking record?"
- Noel Gallagher
"Out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins
Nature kids, they don't have no function
I don't understand what they mean
And I could really give a fuck"
-Pavement
Well this has been way more difficult than I remember. I forgot how much this is like picking between children. Definitely requires more time than doing individual songs as well. That said I'm going to try and continue having an update once a week.
Updated bracket: http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=451599&tclass=Best%20Albums%20Ever%3F
