Scott Weiland: Yeah, that's right, Scott Weiland.

When Scott Weiland's solo album came out, it floored me. It was quite a departure to his normal work with Stone Temple Pilots. Less grungy guitars and alternative rock sensibilities, he introduced me to the notion of heavily layered music, electronic components, random breakdowns, and through these made the idea of "unaccessible music" accessible to me. While the release was a commercial flop (it didn't even break the top 40 here in America), I owe so much to the release as an eye opening experience that there really were other styles of music out there that weren't on the radio. I still go back to the album every few months and the songs still hold up. They're not late '90s dated like the rest of STP's catalog (or any other band from that era really). Do yourself a favor and seek out the album, you can probably find it for a few bucks at a used CD shop.

Oh, and the best part of the album....someone being credited with playing the "Godzilla guitar."

Scott Weiland - Desperation #5 (from "12 Bar Blues")

Scott Weiland - Divider (from "12 Bar Blues")

Tiny pop with TinyFolk

Tinyfolk is a lo-fi pop band from Illinois that I discovered through a friend. They make simple, generally bare songs that are pleasing to listen to and fun to sing along with. My friend said she can play them for her niece while she is falling asleep, although they surely don’t act as background music to me.

While they have released five ‘official’ records, they have a slew of EPs to enjoy as well. Best of all, Tinyfolk have all of these records available on their Last.fm page for free, so you can stream/download them to your ipod and see for yourself.

(“Antelopes” from Jack’s Broth)


(“If I was a Person” from Sic Semper Equis)

The Bird and The Bee: Don't worry, it's not an awkward childhood conversation.

Los Angeles' The Bird and the Bee are an electro-pop collaboration between Inara George and Greg Kurstin who, for some reason, can be found on noted jazz label Blue Note Records. Understated music and hooks meld wonderfully with Inara's semi-dry, laconic singing voice, creating songs that get stuck in your head for days, and that's exactly where you'll want them. With a couple of LPs and a handful of EPs out, it's good to see what started out as a simple side project blossom into something a bit more permanent.

The Bird and the Bee - Polite Dance Song (from "Ray Guns are Not Just the Future")

The Bird and the Bee - My Fair Lady (from "The Bird and the Bee")

Early Emocore from Sleepytime Trio

The New Centrist has been covering the metal and hardcore side of the music spectrum around these parts lately, so I thought it was high time I posted some hardcore from a band that made a profound impact on me and the punk scene in the greater Bay Area in the late 90s/early 2000s. Sleepytime Trio came to fruition in the Virginian DC suburbs, and as far as I know, never toured the West Coast. While they weren’t the first band to play the variety of hardcore they would gain notoriety for, their records made an indispensable impact on a slew of bands on the West Coast. The Substandard Records label, which played a pretty influential role in the Bay Area during this time, released a number of great records that would borrow significantly from Sleepytime Trio’s sound.

The Trio reunited in 2007 for a short tour, and Lovitt Records continues to sell a compilation CD of their entire early catalog. You can also download some of the tracks off the record here.

("Jesus Extract" from Memory-Minus)


("Rock Candy" from Memory-Minus)

Ai Aso - Goodness from Japan

Ai Aso is a singer and musician from Japan, who has released a half dozen records on the excellent Pedal Records label, and is best known stateside for appearing on Michio Kurihara's solo CD's. A good number of her songs feature effortless guitar lines mixed with her airy and emotive vocals. She gets a hand form members of The Stars and Boris, creating acid tinged folk with a pinch of psychedelic thrown in for good measure.

As far as I can tell all of her records have only been released in Japan, and since she has played a limited number of shows in the U.S., may be a bit hard to find in American record shops. Bibabidi has some of her mp3s to download.

(“うめるもの”from Umerumono)


(“ランド” from あいだ)

Beyond Possession: Is Beyond Possession LP (1986)

Beyond Possession hailed from the Great White North (Calgary) and are one of the best hardcore thrash bands of all time. Punks seem to like their EP "Skater's Life" and metalheads prefer this LP. Whatever. They are both awesome. I have never seen a band play this fast and this good in my life. Not DRI, not the Accused, no one. They truly took that thrash shit to the next level.

The line-up on this album was Ron Hadley on vocals, Ken Wall on guitar, Jaime Kenney on bass and Phil Pobran on drums. There was a CD reissue of the album and some earlier material called "Repossessed, 1985-1989". It is out of print and incredibly difficult to find but you can read the liner notes here.

Download.

Track list

1.	Never Nothing New	00:42
2.	Life Force	03:22
3.	Dying Fast	02:03
4.	Living to Tell You About It	02:08
5.	Last Will and Testament	01:37
6.	You're So Important	02:02
7.	Final Daze	03:45
8.	Why? It's Youth	01:24
9.	Beyond Possession	01:42
10.	Creeping Eruption	02:16
11.	Hard Times	01:15
12.	Attitude Problem	02:08
13.	Depression	01:40
14.	Cinderella Syndrome	01:37
15.	I'll Never Rest in Peace	03:19

Life Force

Dying Fast

Final Daze

Attitude Problem

Cirith Ungol: King of the Dead (1984)

Cirith Ungol. For true nerds, the name conjures up images of elves and dwarves and all the mythical creatures of Middle Earth. But this is a metal band whose roots are in Ventura, CA. Some disliked the singers voice (too screechy) or the content of the lyrics (too corny) but for all true metalheads who lived in Ventura County and the central coast back in the early 1980s, they were mandatory listening.

I liked that Cirith was not similar to other Southern California rock bands like Van Halen or hairmetal groups like Ratt and Motley Crue. Instead, they had a distinct dark and gloomy sound, influenced more by NWOBHM and Black Sabbath than the local scene.

In addition to their music, another reason I was attracted to their albums was the artwork by fantasy artist Michael Whelan who designed the paperback covers for Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone series (DAW paperbacks). What can I say? I was into that sort of crap back then…

Their first album, “Frost and Fire,” is good, especially considering it was pressed in 1981 (!) I was listening to a lot more punk than metal by the time this one was released in 1984 but I think it is even better. Great music to listen to on a gray, rainy, winter day. So what if they sing about swords and sorcery, atom smashers, and black machines? You know you like it.

The lineup on this album is Jerry Fogle on guitar, Tim Baker on vocals, Michael "Flint" Vujea on bass, and Robert Garven on drums. Fire up a bowl and rock out.

Download here.

Song List:

1. Atom Smasher
2. Black Machine
3. Master of the Pit
4. King of the Dead
5. Death of the Sun
6. Finger of Scorn
7. Toccata in D Minor
8. Cirith Ungol

Atom Smasher

Black Machine

Cirith Ungol

Psychedelic Folk from Hako Yamasaki

Hako Yamasaki didn’t have a lasting commercial career in Japan, but she did leave behind some of the best forlorn and depressing pop songs from the Japan’s 1970s music scene. Hako had one of those haunting, lingering voices that works its way into the musical arrangements of her songs.

I am a little surprised that the New-Weird America crowd has not picked up on her psychedelic tinged tunes the way they have other artists from the same period. I have no doubt that she had an influence on the Japanese scene that would develop decades later (I first learned of her existence from a record store clerk in Tokyo, who was kind enough to show me some unsung Japanese artists), and hopefully a rediscovering of her music will take place.

You can download her entire record from The Flying Teapot, a very nice music blog that generally covers Japan. Thankfully, the record was re-released on CD but like most imports, it fetches a rather high price. Good luck finding the original vinyl.
Shiroi Hana (from "Tsunawatari")


Himawari (from "Tsunawatari")

Splashdown: Redshift EP

Splashdown took elements of pop, rock, electronica and fused them with Middle East influences to create something quite enjoyable to the ears. Lead singer Melissa Kaplan's voice seems larger than life, soaring above and through the multilayered music in such a beautiful way. They didn't release much music while they were a band, however, they've since oked the sharing of their catalog (along with previously unreleased albums too!) You can find those here.

This little entry is going to be about their Redshift EP. Probably my favorite or their albums, it's starts off with such a high with "A Charming Spell," giving the listener a perfect intro to the band. Rumbling electronic elements break open leading to your first taste of Kaplan's amazing voice. There's not much of the Middle East flavor in "A Charming Spell," but that influence becomes a lot more evident on "The Archer." "Mayan Pilot" is a funky short groove that sometimes I really dig and sometimes I just don't feel, but it's the EPs shortest track so I can't really complain. "Waterbead" is the most 'Eastern' track, more subdued and tranquil than the other songs with trip hop beats coming and going throughout to lift the energy of the song when needed. And it ends with "Ironspy," by far my favorite Splashdown track, and lucky for me it's on a few of their releases!

Splashdown - A Charming Spell (from "Redshift EP")

Splashdown - Ironspy (from "Redshift EP")

Weekly Recap

I was out of town for a few days spending time in beautiful Malta, and wasn't able to get the weekly recap up. So here it is.

1. An ode to Jack Rose.
2. Another Rose piece, focusing on Six Organs of Admittance.
3. Alt-Country from Heather Waters.
4. Post-Rock from San Diego's Dreaming of Tanks.
5. Electronic jams from Down Review.
6. Sparklehorse and Fennesz do the "In the Fishtank" series.
7. Awesome metal from Tank.
8. Minimal music from Steve Reich.
9. Hanukkah tunes from the Sounds of Raj, Yehuda Ovadya Ftyad & the Ha'Yonah Ensemble, and John Zorn's Masada project.

Masada: Avant klezmer for the Chanukah season.

I suppose it's my turn for my Festival of Lights music recommendation. And so I bring you John Zorn's Masada project. John Zorn is a man of many talents, many bands, and many styles. He's a composer, saxophonist, producer, and more. From traditional styles to hyper-avant noise games, he really is one of those musicians who seems to like and play it all. With Masada (and his record label Tzadik), he helped start a movement called Radical Jewish Culture, with it's core idea to bring Jewish culture and music into the 21st century. Highly prolific and highly entertaining, the music of Masada is engaging, engrossing, and entertaining; with touches of traditional klezmer music interwoven in a strong jazz core.

Masada - Beeroth (from "Live in Sevilla 2000")

Jewish Sacred Songs from Iraq

In honor of the start Hanukkah, I am posting some tunes recorded by Yehuda Ovadya Ftyad & the Ha'Yonah Ensemble known as the “Jewish Sacred Songs from Iraq.” I posted a song to my political blog sometime last year, but the entire record is worth a extended listens, even outside of the holiday season. You can buy the disc from the Olam Qatan bookstore in Jerusalem. The first track I have posted down bellow is a killer jam, and requires your immediate attention. Here is the CD’s notes:

“A concert album recorded in January 2004 at Bar-Ilan University, Yonat Rehokim (literally "The Dove of Distances") is a high-concept composition that explores longing in the hearts of Iraqi Jewish poets through chanting and slow, ethnic groove-based jamming.

The rhythmic drone of 11 men slowly playing old-time Middle Eastern instruments provides structure to the skilled Mizrahi hazanut of Yehuda Ovadya Ftaya.
Especially noteworthy are the wind sounds of David Menahem, the low-end plucking of Naor Karmi, the hand percussion of Yair Harel and Assaf Zamir, and the overall hum of the string section.

Ben-Gurion University's Prof. Haviva Pedaya is credited with having overseen the "concept, research, and musical arrangements," but Pedaya is also the spiritual center and frontwoman for the ensemble. Her compilation of rabbinical poetry written in Muslim lands throughout the centuries is painstakingly sensitive to the original beauty of the language, to an extent that in concert, all lyrics are projected on a screen above the ensemble.

The authenticity and breathtaking beauty of this recording are undeniable, and the mesmerizing atmospheric soundscapes of The Ha'yonah Ensemble have tremendous power to transport the listener.”

yonat rechokim

yirad libi

yedidi ha'shahacta

Sounds of Raj: Joy of Life

This goes out to my peoples on Hanukkah.

The cover says:

“Sounds of Raj”

“Joy of Life”

“Classical authentic ethnic tunes”

Special thanks to the Contentious Centrist for translating the Hebrew on the cover. I had no idea what the name of this band was.

Sounds of Raj are Indian Jews in Israel who play some serious Judaic music with classical Indian vocalization and instruments like the tabla and harmonium. I had the chance to listen these guys jam at the Indian synagogue in Yeroham with about twenty friends and colleagues.

Yeroham is a “development town” in the Negev desert which is not nearly as sexy as Tel Aviv or devout as Jerusalem. It’s basically a place in the middle of nowhere in the minds of many Israelis. I really like the people I met there. Good folks.

Song 6

Song 4

Song 2

Steve Reich: Founding father of minimalist music.

Steve Reich been around for a long time, and in the time, he's released a lot of material. As a composer, he helped lay the foundation for minimalist music...taking short loops and slowly modifying and altering the way the sound as they repeat over and over, creating longer pieces composed of just a few bars of actual music stitched together, layered over each other, and subtly manipulated. By using this seemingly simple technique, he's created varied compositions that range from highly intense and emotionally charged to more subdued and calming. The two samples below show the stylistic diversity just mentioned, "Third Movement Part One" from "The Desert Music" has a more traditional classical music style while "Different Trains: America - Before the War" from "Different Trains + Electric Counterpoint" has an energy that drives the composition forward and creates a wonderful sense of tension.

Steve Reich - Third Movement Part One (from "The Desert Music")

Steve Reich - Different Trains: America - Before the War (from "Different Trains + Electric Counterpoint")

Tank: Filth Hounds of Hades LP (1982)

Tank are one of those New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands that did not receive as much attention in the U.S. as groups like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. I'm not sure if that's because their albums were imports and cost a good deal more than domestic imprints or what.

I remember going to Rockpile Records in Goleta with my brother every few weeks to dig through their bins of imports to see what rarities we could find. We would also hit up the long haired dude who worked there (I think he was the owner) for his suggestions. I can't recall his name after all these years.

After discovering Tank, I played the shit out of this album pretty much every day when I was in seventh and eighth grade and it still rocks just as hard all these years later. Motorhead's guitarist, Fast Eddie Clark, produced the LP. So if you like Motorhead, you will like this.

Download here.



The lineup on this album is Algy Ward on bass and vocals, Peter James Brabbs on guitar, and Mark Arthur Brabbs on drums. Ward also played bass on the Damned's "Machine Gun Etiquette" (1979). This is the classic configuration and the only one that matters to me. The 12" single with "Don't Walk Away" and "Hammer On" released in 1981 is excellent. Anything released after this album (1982) is not nearly as interesting or as good.

Song List:

1. "Shellshock" – 3:10
2. "Struck by Lightning" – 3:10
3. "Run Like Hell" – 3:40
4. "Blood, Guts, and Beer" – 3:42
5. "That What Dreams Are Made Of" – 5:32
6. "Turn Your Head Around" – 3:25
7. "Heavy Artillery" – 3:28
8. "Who Needs Love Songs" – 3:06
9. "Filth Hounds of Hades" – 3:56
10. "(He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper" – 5:17

Tank: Run Like Hell

Tank: Turn Your Head Around

BONUS: Tank: Don't Walk Away (from 12" EP)

Sparklehorse + Fennesz: In the Fishtank 15

I'm a huge fan of both Sparklehorse and Fennesz individually, so what could bring more joy to my little heart than hearing that they participated in Konkurrent's ongoing "In the Fishtank" series/experiment! If you're familiar with both artists, you pretty much get what you expect, slow, effects laden guitars and vocals from Mark Linkous with slow, effects laden electronic soundscapes from Christian Fennesz. The songs go back and forth from being more Fennesz like to more Sparklehorse like (the last two songs are titled "Mark's Guitar Piece" and "Christian's Guitar Piece"), but that's fine by me. The little touches each one puts on the other's music is quite enjoyable to the ears.

Sparklehorse + Fennesz - If My Heart (from "In the Fishtank 15")

Sparklehorse + Fennesz - Shai Halud (from "In the Fishtank 15")

Down Review: It's like being wrapped in warm, electronic blanket.

How do you make music together without ever meeting or even speaking together? I'm not sure, but for Down Review, it doesn't seem to matter. Copious layers of soothing electronic elements blip, bloop, and glitch their way to an EP of mellow chilled out music. While I don't think their style or approach is anything ground breaking, it's still an almost perfect example of how to create an intelligent EP showcasing what can be done with a minimalist approach to the electronica genre. You can download their EP (in lossless format too!) for 4 bucks here, well worth it in my opinion.

Down Review - Archive (from "From Here, For Anyone" EP)

Dreaming of Tanks: When you dream, dream of destruction.

Dreaming of Tanks is a San Diego band that has released one album many years ago (you can email them from their website to see if you can snag a copy, not sure if it'll work, but what do you have to lose!?), played a handful of shows in the mid 2000s, disappeared for 2 years, came back for a couple shows, and now....who knows? It's a shame too, because they're really, really good. A touch of post-hardcore swirled with some interesting guitar and bass work (think late era Fugazi), Dreaming of Tanks is a band that could have been bigger if things fell their way. But I'll take a few great songs from an amazing band over nothing any day of the week.

Dreaming of Tanks - We Saw (from "Abacus")

Quality Country from Heather Waters

Here is one of many alt-country singer/songwriter types that doesn’t get the attention deserved. You know Country radio is in a bad state when a singer like Heather Waters is too “out there” to get any significant rotation.

Waters tried to make it in Nashville for a few years before coming out to Los Angeles to record her “Shadow of You” record in 2004, which picked her up some decent press in the independent music world. She released “Propeller” in 2008, and continues to hit the road, playing accessible country music even scensters can enjoy.

Turn (from “Shadow of You”)

Six Organs of Admittance: In memory of Jack Rose.

I'm straying from what I was going to post this morning to someone who can and will carry on the legacy of Mr. Rose's avant-acoustic-psychedelia. I first witnessed Ben Chasny (the brains behind Six Organs of Admittance) wail like none other in a tiny house show in Santa Cruz playing with Comets on Fire. The entire band played like men possessed for 2 hours, hitting the small crowd with wave after wave of intense freaked out blues-tinged psych-rock. To this day it's one of the best concerts I've ever attended.

If Comets on Fire is a way for Ben Chasny to get out his aggression and rage, Six Organs of Admittance is a way for him to reflect and look inward. Pensive acoustic dirges are the norm, from short little interludes to half an hour opuses, Chasny's acoustic guitar and occasionally haunting vocals leave the listener in a state of peace and calm. I encourage you to seek out any and all albums by this prolific artist.

Six Organs of Admittance - Saint Cloud (from "School for Flowers")

Six Organs of Admittance - The Ballad of Charley Harper (from "Luminous Night")

Jack Rose - RIP

Avant Ghetto has brought to my attention that Jack Rose has died of a heart attack. Jack started out in a drone band called Pelt back in the 90s, but had developed a sizable reputation for his ragtime-meets-psychedelic solo records. Three Lobed Recordings released a bulk of his recordings, like Rose’s excellent Black Dirt Sessions. Arthur magazine has some good videos of Rose live.


Here are two great tracks from Jack. The first is from the Black Dirt Sessions, the second from his Red Horse, White Mule record.

Dusty Grass


Dark was the night, Cold was the ground

Weekly Recap

Another good week for tunes here at Some Lost, Some Found. Our traffic has been picking up significantly over the last couple of days, so people seem to be digging what we are doing around these parts.

If you have released some music, or know of some tunes that you think should get some more attention, feel free to email us a link to their location or post it in the comments section bellow a post.

Here is what we covered this week.

1. The new EP from the Sad Bastard Book Club.
2. The good 'Let it Be' by the Replacements.
3. Touch and Go's All the Saints.
4. Pop music from His and Her Vanities.
5. New Wave from Glasgow's The Blue Nile.
6. Classic splatter-rock from the Accused.
7. Dance-punk from the New Young Pony Club.
8. Skate-punk from Arizona's JFA.

JFA: Untitled LP (1984)

JFA (Jody Foster’s Army) are classic skate punk from Arizona, land of mammoth full pipes and endless ditches. This LP was mandatory listening for skate punks back in the day and still takes me back to 10^th grade when the ramp scene was really happening in S.B.“The Day Walt Disney Died” is one of my favorite punk tunes. So grab your board and drop in, dude.

Download the album here.

The Band:
Brian Brannon, vocals
Don Redondo, guitar
Michael Cornelius, bass
Mike "Bam Bam" Sversvold, drums

Song List:

1. Deltitnu
2. Tentpeg
3. Aba
4. It's Not Right
5. The Day Walt Disney Died
6. Standin' On The Verge
7. I Love Broads
8. Ramp Song
9. Pipetruck
10. Zimbobway
11. Untitled

[This pic was taken some time after the "Untitled" LP was released]

JFA: Deltitnu/Tentpeg

JFA: The Day Walt Disney Died

JFA: Ramp Song

New Young Pony Club: Dance punk that gets stuck right in your head.

England's New Young Pony Club is simply a joy to the ears and feet. Infectious beats with a multitude of layers, it's hard not to get caught up with different aspects of each song every time you listen to them. The lyrics aren't Shakespearean by any means, but when you have music that's this fun to listen to, do you want something to make you think or something to make you smile even more? For me...I'd take the latter any day of the week. It seems they have a new album in the works, which is nice since they've only put out one LP and that was 2 years ago.

NYPC - The Bomb (from "Fantastic Playroom")

NYPC - The Get Go (from "Fantastic Playroom")

The Accüsed: More Fun Than an Open Casket Funeral LP (1987)

[Front cover by S. Clay Wilson]


[Back cover]

The Accüsed--Blaine Cook on vocals, Tommy Niemeyer on guitar, Alex "Maggot Brain" Sibbald on bass and Dana Collins on drums-- are seriously out there on some other shit. Described as thrash, crossover, slasher-punk, horror-core, and a variety of other terms by the uninitiated, they call their music "splatter-rock". Screeching vocals, chugging guitar, rumbling bass and pounding drums, what else do you want?. Don't fight it. Just sit back, listen and enjoy.

Better known for their mascot, Martha Splatterhead (think of a more brutal and female version of Iron Maiden's Eddie), the artwork on this album is by S. Clay Wilson who did the illustrations for the "Checkered Demon" comics (seen in lower-right corner of the front cover).

I had the opportunity to see these guys in 1989 (1990?) at the Hollywood Palladium with headliners Excel (from Venice, CA) and a local Santa Barbara speed-metal band called Kronix who opened up. It was an awesome show. I'm still searching for live footage. If you have any, please make a comment.

Download the whole album here.

Song List:

1.	Halo of Flies (The Deadly Blessing)	03:11
2.	W.C.A.L.T. (We Can All Live Together)	01:47
3.	Rape (Not a Love Song)	04:03
4.	Lifeless Zone	02:50
5.	Scotty	02:49
6.	Devil Woman	04:28
7.	Bethany Home (A Place to Die)	03:18
8.	Mechanized Death (I Love to Drive)	01:21
9.	S.H.C.	00:51
10.	Judgement Day	02:24
11.	Take No Prisoners (No One Left Alive)	03:11
12.	Splatter Rock	03:23
13.	Septi-Child	01:42
14.	I'll Be Glad When You're Dead	01:49

!!!TURN IT UP!!!

Accüsed: Halo of Flies (The Deadly Blessing)

Accüsed: W.C.A.L.T. (We Can All Live Together)

Accüsed: Bethany Home (A Place to Die)

Tinseltown in the Rain

Initially recorded to demonstrate the capabilities of Linn Electronics high end equipment, Glasgow’s The Blue Nile’s “A Walk Across the Rooftops” become a bit of a critic's hit back in 1984, and showcases some of the best 80s New Wave. Unfortunately, the record didn't sell as well as many of its contemporaries. The band would go on to record a few more records, but nothing topped the quality and ingenuity of this piece. It would be copied over and over again throughout the decade by less capable bands, but it continues to stand out as one of the better New Wave recordings released.

Tinseltown in the Rain

His and Her Vanities: So what if they're from WI, it's good music.

Ok, so maybe His and Her Vanities aren't the most prolific artists, they've had 3 albums in the past 8 years or so and have been around for even longer, but they make catchy crunchy pop music laced with elements of the NYC garage band scene from so many moons ago and Talking Headsesque New Wave style (especially on their earlier stuff). It's hard not to get excited hearing something so refreshingly...well...retro (is early to mid 2000s retro already?) in a non-ironic way. You can get their album direct from their label here.

His and Her Vanities - Agenda (from "The Mighty Lunge")

His and Her Vanities - Fragments (from "The Mighty Lunge")

All the Saints: Deep Southern boys making deep psychedelic music.

There are a few labels that just know music, and Touch andGo is one of those labels. For the last 30 years they've been a tour de force in the indie world. I bring you one of their newer acts today in All the Saints. Hailing from Alabama and Mississippi, and currently operating out of Georgia, this 3 piece group eschews traditional Southern values (in my stereotypical reading of the South at least) to churn out heavy, fuzzed-out, psychedelic laced hard rock that doesn't veer too far off the edge. While I feel the quieter numbers (like the slow building "Outs") tend to get out classed by the faster and heavier songs, I think that's more a testament to the power the band can possess and not a knock on their prowess to craft mellower jams.

All the Saints - Farmecia (from "Fire on Corridor X)

All the Saints - Papering Fix (from "Fire on Corridor X)

Let It Be: The finest album by The . . . . Replacements!?!?!

Starting their career as a tiny little garage punk band from Minneapolis, The Replacments became one of the defining bands of the 1980s (for those that kept it left of the dial). Their early albums were filled with fast songs with sloppy lyrics and silly jokes, but occasionally had a touch of brilliance sprinkled in (Hootenanny's "Willpower" for instance). They got into the loud fast music because they thought there were no rules and they could do what they wanted, but as front man Paul Westerberg put it:

"[T]here were rules and you couldn't do that, and you had to be fast, and you had to wear black, and you couldn't wear a plaid shirt with flares."

So in order to play the way they wanted to, Paul Westerberg and Co showed us that nothing is sacred in rock and roll by titling their final pre-major label release "Let It Be." Sure, there are still some silly songs on it, "Gary's got a Boner" is never going to pass for high brow song writing, but the heartbreak and abject loneliness of being a teenage boy has never been better captured than in "Sixteen Blue." "Answering Machine" works great as either an anthem about the pain of long distance relationships or trying to get someone back who's unwilling to take your calls. From top to bottom, there is no dip in power, energy, or emotion. It's just one of those albums that really is an all-time classic.

The Replacements - Androgynous (From "Let It Be")

The Replacements - Sixteen Blue (From "Let It Be")