Flight Of The Conchords – Flight Of The Conchords (2008)

Flight of the Conchords is the debut full-length studio recorded album by New Zealand folk parody duo Flight of the Conchords, released 21 April 2008 by Sub Pop.[2] Two songs, «Business Time» and «The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)», have been released as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band.

Talking Heads – Remain in Light (1980)

Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American New Wave band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in the Bahamas and the United States between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet’s long-time collaborator Brian Eno. The album peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 in the US and at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart. Two singles were released from Remain in Light: «Once in a Lifetime» and «Houses in Motion» as well as promotional single «Crosseyed and Painless». The record was certified Gold in the US and in Canada during the 1980s.

The members of Talking Heads wanted to make an album that dispelled notions of frontman and chief lyricist David Byrne leading a back-up band. They decided to experiment with African polyrhythms and, with Eno, recorded the instrumental tracks as a series of samples and loops, a novel idea at the time. Additional musicians were frequently used throughout the studio sessions. The lyric writing process slowed Remain in Light’s progress, but was concluded after Byrne drew inspiration from academic literature on Africa. The artwork was crafted with the help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s computers and designing company M&Co.. Following the album’s completion, Talking Heads expanded to nine members for promotional concerts.

Remain in Light was widely acclaimed by critics. Praise centred on its cohesive merging of disparate genres and sonic experimentation. The record has featured in several publications’ lists of the best albums of the 1980s and the best albums of all time. It is often considered Talking Heads’ magnum opus. In 2006, it was remastered and reissued with the addition of four unfinished outtakes.

Muddy Waters – Folk Singer (1964)

Folk Singer is the fourth album by Muddy Waters, released April 1964 on Chess Records. The album features Waters on acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. The record is Waters’ only all-acoustic album. Numerous reissues of Folk Singer include bonus tracks from two subsequent sessions in April 1964 and October 1964.

Despite not charting in any country, Folk Singer received critical acclaim; most reviewers praised its high-quality sound, especially on remastered versions, as well as the instrumentation. In 2003, the album was ranked number 280 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Primus – Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991)

Sailing the Seas of Cheese is the second studio album and major-label debut by Primus, released on May 14, 1991. It spawned three singles: «Jerry Was a Race Car Driver», «Tommy the Cat», and «Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers». «Jerry Was a Race Car Driver» appeared in both the video games Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Rock Band 3, while «American Life» appears in Tony Hawk’s Project 8.

The album contains several samples from other media:

«Jerry Was a Race Car Driver» contains a sample from the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in which the character Chop Top exclaims «Dog will hunt!»
«Los Bastardos» contains samples from the BBC television series The Young Ones including Vyvyan shouting, «Shut up, you bastards!» as well as Rick saying, «You just called me a bastard, didn’t you?» and «Mike, you bastard!»

Sailing the Seas of Cheese reached Gold status March 1993. It was certified platinum in December 2001.
The album will be reissued in 5.1 surround sound in the fall of 2012.

Hatfield and the North – Hatfield and the North (1973)

Dette er debutskiva til Hatfield and the North (kalt opp etter et veiskilt), et band med et ganske unikt musikalsk uttrykk. Oddmund og andre som har hørt Caravan kjenner kanskje igjen Richard Sinclair på vokal og bassgitar. Richard hadde lyst til å utforske andre musikalske uttrykk og forlot Caravan og dannet etterhvert Hatfield sammen med et knippe andre likesinnede musikere. Mange føler at Hatfield and the North er bandet som best personifiserer en slags Canterbury musikkstil selv om jeg personlig ikke er glad i å kalle Canterbury for en sjanger.

De fleste fans av bandet foretrekker andreskiva, The Rotters’ Club, men når man regner med bonussporene som typisk følger med på nyutgivelser av debuten synes jeg den blir et ørlite hakk finere. Min digitale kopi har tre slike bonusspor, men skiva på Spotify har bare to. Dermed har jeg lagt opp det ekstra bonussporet på webspacet mitt for de som vil høre. Bonussporene «Let’s Eat (Real Soon)» og «Fitter Stoke Has a Bath» er A og B-sides fra bandets ene singel som kom ut før debutskiva. Det tredje bonussporet som ikke er på Spotify, «Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut Incorporating Oh What A Lonely Lifetime» (første sangtittel inspirert av Monty Python), er to sanger i ett spor som i sin tid dukket opp på et Virgin sampler album, dvs. en samleskive som showcaser div. talent signert til Virgin. Ulikt mye typisk bonusmateriale (som ofte er låter som var for «dårlige» til å bli med på studioalbumets første utgivelse) er alle disse fine sanger på høyde med det beste fra debutskiva. Dermed er de verdt å få med seg og hvis man vil høre materialet kronologisk kan man forsåvidt begynne med bonussporene og så gå over på debutskiva etterpå.

Bandet er, foruten noen unntak, ikke veldig sang-orienterte. Sporene fra debutskiva glir sømløst over i hverandre så da kan det være lurt å passe på at shuffle er av og heller høre de delene av skiva som henger sammen i rekkefølge.

Selv om albumet ikke er veldig vanskelig mistenker jeg at den nok blir en utfordring for noen, men det er jo også litt av moroa. Forhåpentligvis faller den i smak hos noen. 🙂

Muse – HAARP (2008)

HAARP is a live album and video by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and 1 April 2008 in the United States. The CD documents the band’s performance at London’s Wembley Stadium on 16 June 2007, while the DVD contains 20 tracks from the performance on 17 June. The total number of audiences watching the band’s shows on 16 and 17 June 2007 was 180,000 (150,000 seated and 30,000 standing). It was named the 40th greatest live album of all time by NME in 2010.

D.A.F. – Alles Ist Gut (1981)

Alles ist gut is the third album by the electropunk/NDW band D.A.F. from Düsseldorf, Germany. It was released in 1981 and was the band’s first album on the British Virgin label. The album Alles ist gut received the German «Schallplattenpreis» award by the «Deutsche Phono-Akademie», an association of the German recording industry.

Clawfinger – Use Your Brain (1995)

Use Your Brain is Clawfinger’s second album.

Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine (1992)

Rage Against the Machine is the debut studio album by the American rock band Rage Against the Machine. The album was released on November 10, 1992. It went to #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and #45 on the Billboard 200 chart. «Know Your Enemy» features Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan on «additional vocals», and also features Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins on trashcan percussion. Keenan has been known on occasion to appear onstage with the band to perform the song.