Terrific list! I'd argue that almost every one of these albums are essential listening from start to finish!
One that I would have to add from '97: "Whatever And Ever Amen" by Ben Folds Five. I fell hard for "Brick" when it was in heavy radio rotation, but then I got the album and loved every second of it.
A fantastic list of albums from a great year for music! That Radiohead album was one of my top albums of 1997. I’d have to add a +1 to Matt’s nod to Ben Folds Five. Here are some of my other favorites from that year:
Ohhhh wow I actually can't believe I left off Mezzanine. It's in my top 10 albums ever! I feel like a goober but man is that a fantastic album. And Cake, Marcy Playground... What a year 1997 was!
Much of Nick Cave’s music is very different. The Boatman’s Call is one of his gentlest. And I’ve not gotten around to hearing a lot of his more recent stuff… but a couple of other ‘90s albums to give you a sense of his sound: Murder Ballads, released just a year before Boatman. And Henry’s Dream from 1992. Just be aware that Murder Ballads is as dark and violent as any thing that I’ve ever heard. It is incredible in a way, but not something I can put on over and over.
I have similar feelings on Radiohead, actually. But the 2007 album In Rainbows is wonderful. It’s probably the only album in their post- OK Computer discography that I absolutely love.
Terrific list! I'd argue that almost every one of these albums are essential listening from start to finish!
One that I would have to add from '97: "Whatever And Ever Amen" by Ben Folds Five. I fell hard for "Brick" when it was in heavy radio rotation, but then I got the album and loved every second of it.
Ohhh wow I can't believe I missed Ben Folds Five! I had that one on the old iPod at some point!
A fantastic list of albums from a great year for music! That Radiohead album was one of my top albums of 1997. I’d have to add a +1 to Matt’s nod to Ben Folds Five. Here are some of my other favorites from that year:
CAKE - Fashion Nugget
Holly McNarland - Stuff
Ivy - Apartment Life
Marcy Playground - s/t
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
Sneaker Pimps - Becoming X
Stereolab - Dots and Loops
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Ohhhh wow I actually can't believe I left off Mezzanine. It's in my top 10 albums ever! I feel like a goober but man is that a fantastic album. And Cake, Marcy Playground... What a year 1997 was!
It really was a great year wasn’t it?!?
I'm off the hook! Mezzanine was 1998! Man I was scared for a minute lol
Much of Nick Cave’s music is very different. The Boatman’s Call is one of his gentlest. And I’ve not gotten around to hearing a lot of his more recent stuff… but a couple of other ‘90s albums to give you a sense of his sound: Murder Ballads, released just a year before Boatman. And Henry’s Dream from 1992. Just be aware that Murder Ballads is as dark and violent as any thing that I’ve ever heard. It is incredible in a way, but not something I can put on over and over.
I have similar feelings on Radiohead, actually. But the 2007 album In Rainbows is wonderful. It’s probably the only album in their post- OK Computer discography that I absolutely love.
I’m enjoying your posts!
I definitely think I need to go deeper on Nick Cave's back catalog to understand his later albums better.
Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying! I have fun writing these and can only hope people have fun reading them as well!