Tim’s 2002

Albums

1. Please Consider Our Time (Shy Child) – astonishing electro-krautrock debut by this dynamic live drums/keytar duo.
2. Title TK (The Breeders) – stunning comeback album from the awesome Deal sisters. every track is a winner from the rocking ‘Son Of Three’ to the heartbreaking ‘Off You’. And who knew Kim was an awesome drummer? Great sounding album despite Steve Albini.
3. Steal This Album! (System Of A Down) – the ethic is incredible – the metal is awesome. Tight, humourous, live studio performances – an amazing album by one of the best metal bands of all time.
4. No! (They Might Be Giants) – Even TMBG fans were surprised by ‘No!’, the band’s first children’s album. It’s undeniably brilliant.
5. Reveille (Deerhoof) – this is their best album – ‘Holy Night Fever‘ is amazing, but its ‘This Magnificent Bird Will Rise‘ that got me hooked on Deerhoof.
6. Space Metal (Star One) – ha ha ha! Amazing.
7. Plastic Fang (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) – solid Explosion album – highlight is ‘Over and Over‘.
8. I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (My Chemical Romance) – shame these guys were so ‘Hot Topic’ their debut album has an rare classic punk ethic, awesome 2-guitar riffing and soloing. I’m also a big fan of extremely long titles.
9. Finally We Are One (Múm) – I had the privilege to play a show with these Icelandic pixies during this period – it was an extraordinary experience. I wish Gyða and Kristín had continued to sing together – beautiful girls and beautiful vocals!
10. Drink Me (Queen Adreena) – damaged suicide-blonde noiseniks making appropriate noises.

Songs

1. Slip Away (David Bowie) – there’s a couple of tracks from Bowie’s later career that are worth listening to – this one is amazing. Visconti returns to produce and Bowie rises to the occasion – it could easily have been on Hunky Dory.
2. You Held The World In Your Arms (Idlewild) – Smiths-esque single by this awesome Scottish 5-piece.
3. Envy (Ash) – in 2002, I heard this track blasting in a club in Norway, its one of the best pieces of rock production I’ve ever heard and I use it constantly as a reference track. Ash were a Nirvana-influence Irish 3-piece, but added guitarist Charlotte Hatherley in 1998. Her backing vocals and guitar chops make this song, as well as the video (!)
4. There Goes The Fear (Doves) – beloved indie anthem by this British band.
5. Wake Up (Towa Tei) – insane Jap-electro-pop from Dee-Lite’s Towa Tei. The album ‘Sweet Robots Against the Machine is solid too.
6. Spelad glädje (Bob Hund) – B-side of the ‘Düsseldorf 3:53 + c:a 11 min från Koppom okt. -94’ EP. Proper Swedish madness. The other B-side ‘Hörlurar‘ is equally brilliant.
7. Outtatheway (The Vines) – This Australian 3-piece seemed to be a pretty standard Nirvana-influenced punk 3-piece, but lead singer/guitarist Craig Nicholls turns out to be one of the greatest rock n roll nutjobs of all time. He became increasingly disruptive and eventually the other original members left. Turns out Nicholls has Asperger’s syndrome and lives the life of a technophobic recluse. He gave some very disturbing interviews in these early years and trashed the stage on Letterman. Great song though!
8. Ahoy There (Mr. Scruff) – charming and addictive track from the excellent ‘Trouser Jazz’ album.
9. Losing My Edge (LCD Soundsystem) – the sort of meta post-modernism that I thought would usher in a new age of music. Boy was I wrong.
10. Do You Realize? (The Flaming Lips) – I find them hit-and-miss, but this is surely one of the most lovely and profound songs ever written.

Tim’s B-List

1. Becker & Stuhlen ‘Mellotron’ – This is a track from a rare library album of vintage synthesizers. Sublime and trippy.
2. Butthole Surfers  ‘Chewin George Lucas’ Chocolate’ & ‘Goofy’s Concern’ – expert punk nihilsim.
3. The Books ‘The Lemon Of Pink’ – schizophrenic sample-magic. Also notable: ‘A Cold Freezin’ Night’ (amazing video!
4. The Beastie Boys ‘Oh Word!’ – So many amazing tracks from the Beasties – I love MCA’s sections. Always sing this when I’m in NY.
5. Biffy Clyro ‘Questions And Answers’ – Scottish. These boy keep you waiting and then drop the magic – check the BVs at 2:14 then the harmony – oh yes! All this and an album cover by Milo Manara.
6. Beck ‘Beercan’ – I shortlisted a bunch of Beck – mostly from Stereopathetic Soulmanure, but nothing can beat his rhymes on Beercan. Zeitgeist 1994.
7. Blind Mr Jones ‘Mesa’ – Sweet shoegaze from a relatively unappreciated album of great songs.
8. Big Star ‘Blue Moon (demo)’ – Again – so many to choose from, but this demo has been breaking my heart of late.
9. Busta Rhymes (feat. Mysikal) ‘Iz They Wildin Wid Us?’ – A rare hip-hop post from me – Busta Rhymes production is insane and this song is hilarious. Be sure to listen until Busta’s section 1:39 – 2:13.
10. The Byrds ‘Draft Morning’ – So many Byrds tracks could’ve made this list, but this won out over ‘What’s Happening?’
11. Boards Of Canada ‘ROYGBIV’ – This song blows my mind every time – delicately poised between whimsical, fun and utterly devastating.
12. Billy Bragg ‘A New England’ – Just great.
13. The Breeders ‘Off You’ – Kelley Deal brings it home [swoon].
14. Blur ‘This Is A Low’ – Check this live video. Graham Coxon is high in my pantheon of guitar gods.
15. Bob Hund ‘100 år’ – 100 år är ingenting för mig.
16. The Bonzo Dog Band ‘Quiet Talks and Summer Walks (Unpeeled Version)’ – A relatively straight and beautiful song from the original Novelty Band, inspirations to Monty Python. Neil Innes on vocals and the inimitable Vivian Stanshall on recorder. For contrast check out ‘The Intro And The Outro’ and ‘Big Shot’.
17. The Beach Boys ‘Little Bird’ – Just one of my favourite songs of all time, courtesy of Dennis.
18. Bee Gees ‘Wind Of Change’ – I watched a documentary recently that made me despise The Bee Gees – this song makes me forget my hatred.
19. Björk ‘Army Of Me (Suckerpunch Remix)‘ – Björk is 100% brilliant, and 90% unlistenable. This is part of the 10%. Particularly loved this remix from the ‘Suckerpunch’ movie.
20. Bad News ‘Warriors Of Ghengis Khan’ – The first Bad News TV show was shot before Spinal Tap – both are brilliant but very different parodies of Heavy Metal. Produced (and played in places) by Brian May the eponymous first album is a staple of 1980s British humor. Highly influenced by ‘The Troggs Tapes’ and 100% profane. Very funny, very metal.

Tim’s Top 10 Guitar Solos

As Bob inferred in his list, this was much harder than I expected, and it made me really think about what ‘guitar solos’ mean to me. It seems that my criteria are: emotional impact, melodic innovation and service to the song – i.e. I like solos that get my heart pumping, are as memorable as the vocal melody and are essential to the song’s structure. The best solos are undoubtedly performed by Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, but they rarely meet my criteria. Here goes…

1. Love Of My Life (Queen) [2:18-3:04] My only dinosaur of rock solo. Love him or loathe him, Brian May’s subtlety is matched only by his grandiosity! This solo has the whole spectrum. Perhaps Freddie’s most earnest (pre-AIDS) songwriting, a love song for his wife, to whom he was properly devoted (in every way except sexually!) May’s solo morphs like a specter out of Freddie’s vocal, incredibly expressive and throaty. Unique sound, makes me cry every single time. 😦
2. Freak Scene (Dinosaur Jr.) [0:31-1:02], [1:43-2:24] I love totally discordant solos too, and after a lot of shortlisting, this one was my favourite. Love J. Mascis for not being afraid to put massive solos in punk songs.
3. Paranoid Android (Radiohead) [2:59-3:33] This one definitely checks all three boxes for me  – by the time you get to 3 minutes you’re desperate for the tension to be released and Johnny Greenwood brings it with one of the weirdest melodic solos of all time. The solo is a little later in the Jools Holland video.
4. Run Overdrive (Civil Civic) [whole song/album] Civil Civic’s debut album is instrumental, and kinda has guitar solos all the time like a surf-band. Typically I wouldn’t consider this sort of thing a ‘solo’ but the guitar work is so amazing I couldn’t omit it. The album is superb but you gotta check out some live videos.
5. Förträngda Problem (Bob Hund) [1:33-2:00] Bob Hund always have brilliant and weird solos, often discordant, sometimes emotive but always innovative. This one’s just unexpected and brilliant. (solo is 1:50 in the youtube video)
6. Neat Neat Neat (The Damned) [0:05-0:15] Brian James searing solo on this song represents classic Rock ‘n’ Roll from Chuck Berry onwards. Its one of the fastest, nastiest and sexiest solos ever.
7. Susanne (Weezer) [1:51-2:14] Rivers Cumo’s solos on the first 2 Weezer albums are all insanely good, but this one is my favourite. Its such a melodic (and harmonic!) song, it seems impossible for a guitar solo to take the melody somewhere new – but Cuomo manages it.  ♥
8. I Am The Resurrection (The Stone Roses) [3:47-4:25] I’ve ranted about it before, but it had to be on my list. Horrible song – amazing jam at the end.
9. No One Like You (Scorpions) [2:52-3:26] This one represents the best classic metal solo, and again I had to do a lot of shortlisting. Metal solos don’t really do it for me emotionally, but I had to include one, and this is the best one. Its also my ringtone for when my wife calls me.
10. Love’s Sweet Exile (Manic Street Preachers) [1:42-2:22] I’m not a huge fan of the Manics, but I loved this early single from them. It represents cock rock solos on my list, definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. Its got all the cliches, and it’s twice as long as it should be! Love it!
11. Stockholm Syndrome (Muse) [3:17-3:56] I couldn’t do a top ten solo list without including something from Matt Bellamy. Though totally insane and rather repetitive, he consistently blows my mind with his guitar-work. One of the most innovative guitarists in rock. I love his ethic of keeping overdubs to a minimum – there’s typically only one guitar on a Muse song! 

I know what you’re thinking… but this one goes up to 11.

Tim’s Leaps

Sorry I’m late to the party – just got back in the country! I must admit that I found the ‘Leap’ concept pretty tricky – all the important leaps are the really obvious ones, but after reading all the posted lists I’m feeling inspired and excited to check out some of these seminal albums.

Leap Albums:

1. Screamadelica (Primal Scream) – With the chance intervention of newbie remix DJ Andy Wetherall, Primal Scream transformed themselves from  arch black-leather rockers to eclectic psychedelic house gurus. Anyone who took drugs in the UK in the 90s has a very special relationship with this album.
2. Fantasma (Cornelius) – This was the breakthrough album for Jap Pop in the UK. The production, humor, minimalism, choppy editing and sampling was unlike anything I’d ever heard. Keigo Oyomada made art-rock fun again – very very cool music. 
3. Ace Of Spades (Motorhead) – lumped in with the ‘New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ Motorhead’s 4th album is unparalleled in rock music. While there are plenty of albums that influenced the later thrash scene, Motorhead were the first to play so unrelentingly fast! 
4. Kings Of The Wild Frontier (Adam & The Ants) – Early Adam Ant material is dark and edgy art-punk, inaccessible to most – but manager Malcolm McLaren’s bizarre additions of Burundi drumming, Vivienne Westwood pirate costumes and Native American yodelling transformed Adam into the biggest star of British pop in the 1980s. Yet for all its pop filliness, this is a brilliant and weird album with some of the most incredible vocals I’ve ever heard.
5. Debut (Björk) – the Sugarcubes were interesting, then this album came out and everyone realised that in fact it was just Björk that was interesting; actually she was fascinating, confusing and mesmerizing! 
6. Omslag: Martin Kamm (Bob Hund) – Bob Hund are the best-known and most beloved band in Sweden (after ABBA of course!) Their second album ‘Omlsag: Martin Kamm’ put them on the map with its quirky pop hooks amid the signature madness. The album actually has no title, ‘Omlsag: Martin Kamm’ translates as ‘Graphic Design: Martin Kamm’ and the inside-out white card CD sleeve features a black and white portrait of the eponymous designer. 
7. Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (The Byrds) – an obvious choice, but I couldn’t omit it – I’m always stunned to think that Roger McGuinn was set on making an instrumental Moog album at this point in The Byrds career, but was open-minded enough to let Gram Parsons join the band and create the first country-rock album. Its a shame the record company insisted on McGuinn replacing many of Parsons’ vocals (his demo versions are my favourite), but its still an incredible album. A massive leap for one band, and an even bigger leap for country music.
8. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Pavement) –  in the wake of Nirvana, there were suddenly a lot of very contrived and over-produced bands in the charts. Steven Malkmus’ sardonic and effortless lyrics on the singles ‘Cut Your Hair’, ‘Gold Soundz’ and ‘Rangelife’ ushered in something new that became known as ‘Slacker’, though the likes of Beck and Eels never came close to Pavement’s irreverent and strung-out sound. 
9. Reveille (Deerhoof) –  When I first heard it, Deerhoof’s 4th album was the most modern and alien thing I’d ever heard. A decade later it still is.
10. Too Rye Aye (Dexy’s Midnight Runners) – considered a one-hit-wonder in the US, Dexy’s are actually a pretty well respected band in the UK. Their switch to violins and banjos was a huge shift from the band’s former incarnation as a working-man’s Northern Soul band (check out ‘Geno‘.) 

 

Leap Tracks

1. I Feel Love (Donna Summer) – after feeling rather disappointed with Daft Punk’s new album, I put on some Giorgio Moroder and felt much better. ‘I Feel Love’ was the track that took electronic music onto the dancefloor – it’s every bit as futuristic and exciting today as in 1977!
2. The Electrician (The Walker Brothers) – Scott Walker’s strange career has peaked and trough-ed between pop, easy listening and disquieting avant-garde. Perhaps the most unexpected point in his career was a contractual reunion with the other Walker Brothers for the 1978 album Nite Flights, the highlight of which is Scott Walker’s ‘The Electrician’. 
3. Fool’s Gold 9:53 (Stone Roses) – the Manchester indie scene in the late 80s rather clumsily merged funk, hip-hop and psychedelic guitar-pop – the Stone Roses’ Fools Gold took it one step further – 10 minutes of grooves and hooks done in inimitable style. The Roses never did any advertising or interviews during their early career which made this 12″ single extremely mysterious and compelling. 
4. Painbirds (Sparklehorse) – ‘Good Morning Spider’ should have been on my album list, but its represented here by its devastating second track. Mark Linkous’ writing and production style were revolutionary. 15 years later I’m still hearing the Sparklehorse sound on new indie releases. A massive leap for music production, and a brilliant song to boot.
5. Doctor Who (Delia Derbyshire) – the original theme from the BBC TV series is one of the most important pieces of early electronic music, and the masterwork of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. I won’t go into the incredible way in which this piece was composed and recorded, but I highly recommend that you watch this brilliant documentary about Delia and her counterparts at the BBC in the early 60s! 
6. Stone Cold Crazy (BBC Session version) (Queen) – often credited as the first ‘thrash’ song, Stone Cold Crazy established Queen as a very serious and heavy band.
7. Anarchy In The UK (Sex Pistols) – its hard to say that the song was a leap for the band, as they recorded so little, but this was a huge leap from the US punk scene that spawned it. “I only like the Pistols – everything else is boring”.
8. Blue Monday (New Order) – Until Blue Monday, New Order were still recognizable as Joy Division – the transition was slow and uneasy – but this song marked Bernard Sumner’s triumphant grasp of pop music, production and songcraft. 
9. Freakscene (Dinosaur Jr.) – it was very hard not to put Nirvana on this list – their innovations are countless and brilliant, but including them would mean including The Pixies, Husker Du, Mudhoney, Butthole Surfers et al. For me, Freakscene is the song that eclipses the proto-grunge scene – snarly and devil-may-care, dirty, funny, profane and just plain cool.
10. Somethin’ Else (Eddie Cochran) – Eddie was in danger of becoming a bit more of a pop star than a rocker but this song, and particularly its production cements his legend as one of the great rockers. The riff at the start of Somethin’ Else is among the heaviest in rock.