The Flaming Lips-The Soft Bulletin (1999)

Wayne's World Masterpiece Pt. I.

Rating: 10.0/10.0



✔Race For The Prize (Remix)
✔A Spoonful Weighs A Ton
✔The Spark That Bled
✔The Spiderbite Song
✔Buggin' (Remix)
✔What Is The Light?
✔The Observer
✔Waitin' For A Superman
✔Suddenly Everything Has Changed
✔The Gash
✔Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
✔Sleeping On The Roof
✔Race For The Prize
✔Waitin' For A Superman (Remix)

Wow. The Flaming Lips major breakthrough proved to be an album that changed the way I listened to music. While not as good as they're next album (Yoshimi), Soft Bulletin beats most bands best albums. "Race For The Prize", in two different versions, is probably the best song on here. The string line grabs you in and gets you. "Spoonful" is a song with wonderful vocals. This album is full of guitar that "Shimmers". Its on "The Spark That Bled", "Feeling Yourself Disinigrate", and the fantastic "Waitin For A Superman". The Instrumentals ("The Observer", "Sleeping On The Roof") are quite amazing. Lots of strings, electronic beats, and great guitar are what this album's about. Listen to it in 5.1 Surround to get the full effect of the album.

Top 3:
-Race For The Prize
-Waitin' For A Superman
-Feeling Yourself Disinigrate

Kanye West-Graduation (September 11th, 2007)

Further Solidifying Himself as the Best There is.

Afterimage Rating: 10.0/10.0



✔Good Morning (Intro)
✔Champion
✔Stronger (Ft. Daft Punk)
✔I Wonder
✔Good Life (Ft. T-Pain)
✔Can't Tell Me Nothing
✔Barry Bonds (Ft. Lil Wayne)
✔Drunk And Hot Girls (Ft. Mos Def)
✔Flashing Lights (Ft. Dwele)
✔Everything I Am
✔The Glory
✔The Homecoming (Ft. Chris Martin)
✔Big Brother

Bonus Tracks:

✔Bittersweet Poetry (Ft. John Mayer)
✔CRS (Ft. Thom Yorke, Lupe Fiasco, and Pharrell Williams)

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Kanye West, once known only as the best producer in Hip-Hop, is now the best in the business all together. "Stronger" is a current #1 hit, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was quite big, and now the album has dropped. When Late Registration dropped in 2005, most of us went nuts and gave it great reviews (like myself). This album has that same hype. "Good Morning" is the best opening Kanye has had yet, after having Deray introduce us for the last 2 albums, Kanye kicks us in himself. Champion is a short, dancy, groovy, song sampling a soul singer and is full of synths with a great chorus. The Aforementioned "Stronger", which samples Daft Punk, is one of the best singles of 2007, and shows what Rap should really be one day. "I Wonder" is a brilliant, dreamy track, with piano (!) and dancy synths. I've kinda hated T-Pain in the past, but he shines on "Good Life", which is supposed to be the 3rd single from the album. "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is a song with amazing rhymes, and some great samples. "Barry Bonds" is the only song to feature a guest rap on the album, from Lil Wayne, who is killer. The hook and lyrics are madness, perfect for a single. German 70's art rockers Can are sampled on "Drunk And Hot Girls", which guests Mos Def. "Flashing Lights" Is Gold. The strings, synths, and vocals are amazing and so perfect. "Everything I Am" is Kanye backed with a piano, and is quite good. "The Glory" is genius lyrics, with great sampled backing vocals. "The Homecoming" is a song we've been waiting to hear, and it lived up to its hype. Great hook and Piano by Chris Martin, fantastic tribute to Chicago. "Big Brother" is Kanye's Ultimate tribute to Jay-Z, full of guitar and amazing rhymes.

The Bonus tracks are of note. "Bittersweet Poetry", with John Mayer has a great hook and music. "CRS" (or "Us Placers") is pure genius. It is the definition of a perfect Rap song, with a great sample (Thom Yorke's "The Eraser") and great rhymes.

Overall, no other rapper could do this. Nobody could choose these great samples, layer strings on synths, and sample songs from bands like Can. Kanye is the best in the world, and he looks to dominate it.

TOP 3 (Extremely Hard):
-Flashing Lights (Ft. Dwele)
-The Homecoming (Ft. Chris Martin)
-Big Brother

Go Buy September 11th.

List: Best Canadian Bands (And Their Best Albums)

Each band has their 3 best albums listed.

1. Rush
-Moving Pictures
-Permanent Waves
-Grace Under Pressure

2. Arcade Fire
-Funeral
-Arcade Fire EP
-Neon Bible

3. Bryan Adams
-Reckless
-18 til I die
-Waking Up the Neighbors

4. Barenaked Ladies
-Barenaked Ladies Are Men
-Barenaked Ladies Are Me
-Stunt

5. Wolf Parade
-Apologies to the Queen Mary
(No other albums)

A bit subjective..........

Thom Yorke-The Eraser (2006)

Afterimage Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭



http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8CF05MYL

✔The Eraser
✔Analyze
✔The Clock
✔Black Swan
✔Skip Divided
✔Atoms For Peace
✔And It Rained All Night
✔Harrowdown Hill
✔Cymbal Rush

Thom Yorke is a disturbing man. You ask anyone, no one will tell you otherwise (including himself). But he is a genius, singing and controlling alot of the music and ideas of Radiohead. But here, he doesn't have to listen to anyone else. He is himself, with the assistance of longtime RH producer Nigel Godrich. At only 9 songs, The Eraser is what was thought to be a surprise project bridging the gap between Hail To The Thief and RH's 7th LP. However, this made out to be one of the best of 2006. "The Eraser" is the only song to contain anything from another member of Radiohead, and that is the piano chords that open the album. The song is great otherwise, with beats and electronics (what this album is made for) and Yorke made a great chorus middle. "Analyze" is probably the most electronic thing on here, with Yorke going ahead and singing vocals right as the song starts. "It gets you down" in a great way, with more piano chords in the background. "The Clock" had some RH sounding beats and loops, but yet unlike RH, was very beat driven. "Black Swan" is "fucked up" according to Yorke, but to most of us it is pretty cool. It contains guitar, a true rarity on this album. "Skip Divided" low rumbles by Yorke which may cause you to turn your Stereos up, but his backing vocalists and bongo beats/electronics are way louder than he is. "Atoms For Peace" is where Yorke allows his vocals to take over. A simple bass line and electronics sets the background. "And It Rained All Night" is full of clicking drumsticks, Ambience, and bass. Great lyrics and vocals from Yorke. "Harrowdown Hill" may be the shining moment of the album, with an odd bassline contributing to an Ambience and Yorke's great vocals and lyrics. "Cymbal Rush" may fool you with the title, but its full of odd sounding loops below beats and Ambience, with Yorke's eerie vocals and then a drum kit with cymbals later on in the song, with piano. It is great ending to the album.

Yorke can make great music without the rest of the band, and he really shows it here.

Top 3:
-Harrowdown Hill
-The Eraser
-Analyze

Gorillaz-Demon Days (2005)

Afterimage Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭



Intro
✔Last Living Souls
✔Kids With Guns
✔O Green World
✔Dirty Harry
✔Feel Good Inc.
✔El Manana
✔Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
✔November Has Come
✔All Alone
✔White Light
✔DARE
✔Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey's Head
✔Don't Get Lost in Heaven
✔Demon Days


No matter what damn project Damon Albarn finds, its going to sound great. The Gorillaz, an animated band made by Albarn, happen to have great music, produced by one of the best producers in the world today, Danger Mouse. "Last Living Souls" had great vocals and synths (what this album is full of). "Kids With Guns" was some slow, funk number, with 2D (I think) singing his higher pitched vocals with someone else rapping. "O Green World" is a bunch of distortion and synths with 2D's voice. "Dirty Harry" has a choir singing the song, with some more funky noise and synths in the background (and a neat rap section at the end by Bootie Brown). If you haven't heard "Feel Good Inc.", you've been living under a fucking rock for about two years. The song is fantastic, with a funky bass line at the beginning, a nice guitar chorus, a rap by De La Soul (who is great), and repeats the process. "El Manana" is a nice song, with simple acoustic guitar, synths, and a great vocal from 2D, Albarn, etc. "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead" has a catchy synth, crashing cymbals, and an interesting vocal. "November Has Come" is rapping, synths, and a chorus vocal from 2D. "All Alone" seems freaky at first, but then it breaks into a huge rap section. "White Light" is fast paced drumming matched with distorted vocals. "Dare" is a showcase for "Noodle" and with some catchy dance lines and a guest appearance by Shaun Ryder. "Fire Coming Out Of A Monkey's Head" has Dennis Hopper narrating and 2D singing in the middle parts. "Don't Get Lost In Heaven" is just choir with a cool slide guitar. "Demon Days" has an uplifting choir and some cool drumming.

A very moody, electronica/hip-hop album with ambient, spacy synths and its very bouncy. Download it and then go buy.

Top 3:
-El Manana
-Feel Good Inc.
-Dirty Harry
-The Whole Album

Radiohead-Amnesiac (2001)

Afterimage Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭



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✔Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
✔Pyramid Song
✔Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
✔You And Whose Army?
✔I Might Be Wrong
✔Knives Out
✔Morning Bell (Amnesiac)
✔Dollars & Cents
Hunting Bears
✔Like Spinning Plates
✔Life In A Glasshouse

Never to be called Kid B, Amnesiac is a great album on its own. "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box" is a cool song with a steel drum and Yorke telling us to get off his case. "Pyramid Song" is one of my all-time favorites. It's simply Yorke singing and playing piano, with Strings and moderate srums in the background. The lyrics are stunning. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is very electronic and is very odd sounding with alot of loops in the background, and morphed vocals. "You And Whose Army?" is really cool, and it starts slow at the beginning, then it picks up into a loud section with a choir, organ and crashing drum from Phil Selway. "I Might Be Wrong" is the most guitar-based song on here, with its very bouncy-blues riff and an interesting bassline from Colin Greenwood. "Knives Out" is very jazzy percussion and guitar from Selway, Johhny Greenwood, and Ed O' Brien. "Morning Bell (Amnesiac)" is different than the one on Kid A, and has a very basic background and Yorke's vocals with some small acoustics."Dollars and Cents" has a cool guitar riff and neat vocals by Yorke, and is very minimal."Hunting Bears" is a short guitar instrumental. "Like Spinning Plates" is a very electronic-vocal only song that is great. "Life In A Glasshouse" is a very jazzy way to end the album, especially with all the percussion and brass.

Amnesiac is pretty cool. Get it especially for Pyramid Song.

Top 3:
-Pyramid Song
-You And Whose Army?
-I Might Be Wrong

Radiohead-Kid A (2000)

Afterimage Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

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✔Everything In Its Right Place
✔Kid A
✔The National Anthem
✔How To Dissapear Completely
✔Treefingers
✔Optimistic
✔In Limbo
✔Idiotque
✔Morning Bell
✔Motion Picture Soundtrack

After OK Computer said that Radiohead was one of the best bands of our time, they told us in a great fashion that they can change, and still sound fucking brilliant. Kid A's 10 tracks can nearly match OK Computer's 12, but they are two kinds of albums. "Everything In Its Right Place" could have been just Thom Yorke and a synth, but the Johnny and Colin Greenwood took over with some samplers and made it interesting, but looping Yorke's minimal lyrics. "Everything.." is right at the top of Radiohead's catalog. "Kid A" is very electronic, and can at times give me the creeps, but its great. "The National Anthem" is fronted by a powerful bass (played by Yorke) and has numerous background samples, guitars, and a jazz band. "How To Disapear Completely" is the "Exit Music (For A Film)" of Kid A. It sounds very depressing, and the title of the song comes from advice Michael Stipe gave Yorke when Yorke was fighting depression. "Treefingers" is absolute beauty. Its really an Ed O' Brian guitar solo chopped up and made ambient. This is the ambient center piece of the album, and it's fantastic. "Optimistic" is the rocker, and shows some awesome lyrics (If you try the best you can/The best you can is good enough, This one dropped a payload/Fodder for the animals/Living on an animal farm) and an amazing guitar riff. "In Limbo" is more electronics, with some genius, nonsense lyrics. "Idiotque" is largely apocalyptic, very dancy, and full of electronics. Yorke's singing is fantastic, and its a big fan favorite. "Morning Bell" is Phil Selway's big moment on a Radiohead album, and he sounds great. This song is really cool on Amnesiac and live as well. "Motion Picture Soundtrack" is a great ending to the album, but it ends after 3 minutes, and there is a long silence and a short instrumental after the 7 minute song.

Kid A is freaky. It's an in the dark, in your bedroom by yourself with a good stereo album. But it is one of the true great albums, and is something I will be listening to for a long time. I hope you will too.

Top 3 (Very Hard):
-Everything In Its Right Place
-Idiotque
-Optimistic