Eighties Redux

And here's the eighties. Only two new albums, in three years, but a shuffle in ordering.

1.       Back in Black, AC/DC (1980).

2.      Appetite for Destruction, Guns N Roses (1987).

3.      Stop Making Sense, The Talking Heads (1984).

4.      Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen (1984).

5.      The Joshua Tree, U2 (1987).

6.      Graceland, Paul Simon (1986).

7.      Avalon, Roxy Music (1982).

8.      The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses (1989).

9.      Purple Rain, Prince (1984).

10.  Shoot Out the Lights, Richard and Linda Thompson (1982).

11.  Codona 3, Codona (1982).

12.  My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, David Byrne and Brian Eno (1981).

13.   The Queen is Dead, The Smiths (1986).

14.  Doolittle, The Pixies (1989).

15.  The Traveling Willburys Vol. One, The Traveling Willburys (1988).

16.   Sign O the Times, Prince (1987).

17.   Master of Puppets, Metallica (1986).

18.   Paul's Boutique, Beastie Boys (1989).

19.   Let It Be, The Replacements (1984).

20.  Ghost in the Machine, The Police (1981).

21.  Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman (1988).

22.  Double Nickels on the Dime, The Minutemen (1984).

23.  War, U2 (1983).

24.  Paid in Full, Eric B. and Rakim (1984).

25.  It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy (1988).

Runners up:

26.  Thriller, Michael Jackson (1982).

27.  Murmur, R.E.M. (1983).

28.  Night and Day, Joe Jackson (1982).

29.  Psychocandy, The Jesus and Mary Chain (1985).

30.  Like a Prayer, Madonna (1989).

31.   Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A. (1988).

32.  Synchronicity, The Police (1983).

33.  Imperial Bedroom, Elvis Costello (1982).

34.  Raising Hell, Run DMC (1986).

35.  Pretenders, Pretenders (1980).

36.  3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul (1989).

37. Document, R.E.M. (1987).

Nineties Redux

Scientific, numerically-accurate update from three years ago.

1. Illmatic, Nas (1994).

2. Global Underground 013: Ibiza, Sasha (1999).

3. A Meeting by the River, Ry Cooder and V.M. Bhatt (1993).

4. Play, Moby (1999).

5. The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest (1991).

6. Endtroducing....., DJ Shadow (1996).

7. Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (1995).

8. Ronroco, Gustavo Santaolalla (1998).

9. Grace, Jeff Buckley (1994).

10. The Next Hundred Years, Ted Hawkins (1994).

11. When the Pawn…, Fiona Apple (1999).

12. I See a Darkness, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (1999).

13. MTV Unplugged in New York, Nirvana (1994).

14. Livro, Caetano Veloso (1997).

15. Ray of Light, Madonna (1998).

16. Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Stereolab (1996).

17. DecksandDrumsandRockandRoll, Propellerheads (1998).

18. 69 Love Songs, The Magnetic Fields (1999).

19. OK Computer, Radiohead (1997).

20. Automatic for the People, R.E.M. (1992).

21. Beyond Skin, Nitin Sawheny (1999).

22. Mezzanine, Massive Attack (1998).

23. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, Sinead O'Connor (1990).

24. Beyond the Mind’s Eye, Jan Hammer (1992).

25. Damn Right I've Got the Blues, Buddy Guy (1991).

Runners-up:

26. The Buena Vista Social Club, The Buena Vista Social Club (1997).

27. Blue Lines, Massive Attack (1991).

28. Ritual de lo Habitual, Jane's Addiction (1990).

29. The Bends, Radiohead (1995).

30. Live Through This, Hole (1994).

31. I’ve Got That Old Feeling, Alison Krauss (1990).

32. Out of Time, R.E.M. (1991).

33. The Velvet Rope, Janet Jackson (1997).

34. Dummy, Portishead (1994).

35. Mutations, Beck (1998).

36. My Life, Mary J. Blige (1994).

37. All Night Long, Junior Kimbrough (1992).

38. Homogenic, Bjork (1997).
39. The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, Frank Zappa (1991).

40. Achtung Baby, U2 (1991).

41. Nevermind, Nirvana (1991).

42. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill (1998).
43. Gate to the Mind’s Eye, Thomas Dolby (1994).

44. The Mind’s Eye, James Reynolds (1990).

45. Anodyne, Uncle Tupleo (1993).

46. The Downward Spiral, Nine Inch Nails (1994).

47. Loveless, My Bloody Valentine (1991).

48. Tranceport, Paul Oakenfold (1998).

49. The Score, The Fugees (1996).

50. Bee Thousand, Guided by Voices (1994).

51. Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair (1993).

52. Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan (1997).
53. Ten, Pearl Jam (1991).

54. Ready to Die, Notorious B.I.G. (1994).

55. All Eyez On Me, 2Pac (1996).

56. The Chronic, Dr. Dre (1992).

Aughts Redux

Three years ago, in April of 2010, I owned 15 albums from the aughts (2000-2009). I made a list of those favorites, and kicked off a series of 'best of decade' posts.

Here, then, is an updated list. (For the record I so far only own one album from the teens, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, by Kanye West, released in 2010.)

1.      Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, PJ Harvey (2000)

2.      Is This It?, The Strokes (2001)

3.      Elephant, The White Stripes (2003)

4.      Discovery, Daft Punk (2001)

5.      Fan Dance, Sam Phillips (2001)

6.      Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case (2006)

7.      Sea Change, Beck (2002)

8.      The Crane Wife, The Decemberists (2006)

9.      Neon Bible, Arcade Fire (2007)

10.  The College Dropout, Kanye West (2004)

11.  Congotronics, Konono No 1 (2004)

12.  Kala, M.I.A. (2007)

13.  Largo, Brad Mehldau (2002)

14.  Smile, Brian Wilson (2004)

15.  Tanto Tempo, Bebel Gilberto (2000)

16.  Don’t Give Up On Me, Solomon Burke (2002)

17.  Kid A, Radiohead (2000)

18.  Original Pirate Material, The Streets (2002)

19.  Arepa 3000, Los Amigos Invisibles (2000)

20.  Illinois, Sufjan Stevens (2005)

21.  We Are Three, Joi (2000)

22.  Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, Manu Chao (2001)

23.  American Idiot, Green Day (2004)

24.  Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, M83 (2003)

25.  Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down, R. L. Burnside (2000)

Runners-up:

26.  Who Is Jill Scott, Words and Sounds Vol. 1, Jill Scott (2000)

27.  Nocturne, Charlie Haden (2001)

28.  Mama’s Gun, Erykah Badu (2000)

29.  The Bandwagon: Live at the Village Vanguard, Jason Moran (2003)

30.  Moffou, Salif Keita (2003)

31.  The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem (2000)

32.  Modern Times, Bob Dylan (2006)

33.  Stankonia, Outkast (2000)

Slightly More Interesting Ones

Back in May of 2011 I wrote up a column called ‘Helping Out the Uninteresting Ones’ which looked to provide a UNESCO World Heritage site for each of the 43 sad countries left out. I’m pleased to say that in the interval five states have now joined the club, listed below.

Barbados

I suggested: the Morgan Lewis Windmill, one of the last two operational in the world.

UNESCO went with: Historic Brisdgetown and its Garrison, which shows off the British Caribbean.

Chad

I suggested: Zakouma National Park, a megafauna preserve.

UNESCO went with: Lakes of Ounianga, the only fresh water lakes in the world in hyper-arid deserts that don’t dry up.

Republic of the Congo

I suggested: Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, an endangered species hideaway.

UNESCO: did it! Nouable-Ndoki is joined by two other parks in the even larger Sangha Trinational, combining the Congo’s park with those of Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

Yay, elephants.

Palau

I suggested: Ngarameduu Conservation Area, already a UNESCO biosphere.

UNESCO went with: Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, which, frankly, may have been a part of the vast Ngarameduu, but I can’t find any accurate info. According to maps Ngarameduu Bay is to the north, off the largest island, and the Rock Islands are to the south. So, it may be a different site.

United Arab Emirates

I suggested: Al-Ain, a four-thousand year trading hub, originally settled in the Neolithic.

UNESCO: did it! Inducted as the Cultural Sites of Al-Ain.

Yay, trade.

Now there are only 39 to go. How can 43-5=39 you ask? Ah, because one country has been added to the United Nations roster since 2011.

South Sudan – Bandingilo National Park. Home to the world’s second largest migration (after the Serengeti).