Loving the set-up @DJHazey! I'm making a playlist as we go along too; @NecessaryVoodoo your Emmylou Harris picks are all gorgeous, definitely gonna give the whole album a spin!
Ultimate AlbumJustice - Countdown (Winner: Carly's Instant Classic - Finishing Voter Summaries)
- Thread starter DJHazey
- Start date
I decided against this in the end, so I can say that it was My Chemical Romance's "The Black Parade" (Dead! / Welcome To The Black Parade / Mama) nn. It's loud, it's obnoxious, it's trashy, but it's so much damn fun. A proper big campy moment of rock opera whatever, I still know every song inside out despite only listening to it like once every six months for a kii.
I would post the breakdown of my final list but honestly I think either nationalities/dates would spoil most of them, so lemme just make a few more honourable mentions:
Scissor Sisters - Night Work
Any Which Way / Any Which Way / Harder You Get
Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
Alejandro / Bad Romance / Teeth
Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
Radio / Born To Die / Million Dollar Man
Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
Who'd Have Known / The Fear / Chinese
Any Which Way / Any Which Way / Harder You Get
Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
Alejandro / Bad Romance / Teeth
Lana Del Rey - Born To Die
Radio / Born To Die / Million Dollar Man
Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
Who'd Have Known / The Fear / Chinese
WHEN I WAS
A YOUNG BOY
MY *slap* Sorry. Dead meme, I know. Loved it at the time, anyway.
Alanis... I've never gone beyond Jagged Little Pill, sad to say. I guess that and Emmylou Harris are ones for my list to check out, definitely. Really like the format so far, anyway! (I'm guessing that my #10 will be the highest selling on my list, by a country mile.)
I now hate myself for never even considering this one. Damn.
Lila
Staff member
Blackhawk is one of my favourite songs ever so I'm so glad Wrecking Ball is here.
I've been meaning to get into Alanis properly for a while now since I've never really tried any of her stuff beyond the Jagged Little Pill singles. Just listened to Hands Clean and I'm stunned. What a song.
I've been meaning to get into Alanis properly for a while now since I've never really tried any of her stuff beyond the Jagged Little Pill singles. Just listened to Hands Clean and I'm stunned. What a song.
Oh this already started! Hooray!
I was so obsessed with Beep by the PCD when I was a kid, Dont cha definitely is still a Great pop songs (and a way to act like a complete mess when you are drunk!)
I feel embarassed to say I've never listened to Wrecking Ball or Under Rug Swept, sometimes it's worrying how much music is out there and how hard is to listen to all you want to listen to!
I was so obsessed with Beep by the PCD when I was a kid, Dont cha definitely is still a Great pop songs (and a way to act like a complete mess when you are drunk!)
I feel embarassed to say I've never listened to Wrecking Ball or Under Rug Swept, sometimes it's worrying how much music is out there and how hard is to listen to all you want to listen to!
he/him
To those worried they were the only ones with large commentary - you definitely aren't. I just happened to pick three of the shorter ones last night haha.
I'm so glad people are going to listen to Under Rug Swept. I did her discography rate because I too only knew her Jagged Little Pill singles and it was such a rewarding decision. Her discography is so loaded, including the album we've touched on here.
I'm so glad people are going to listen to Under Rug Swept. I did her discography rate because I too only knew her Jagged Little Pill singles and it was such a rewarding decision. Her discography is so loaded, including the album we've touched on here.
they&she
Under Rug Swept is an incredible album, great choice @LKane ! Actually I'd recommend it over Jagged Little Pill to Alanis newcomers as it's a more polished effort.
It's my joint fave with Flavors in Alanis' discography, with Junkie following in 3rd place. The album cover does look amazing (the JPG compression tends to ruin it though ddd). It's a shame the album campaign stopped so quickly as Hands Clean was a decently sized hit.
You Owe Me Nothing in Return is one of my favourite songs of all time. The lyrics and Alanis' delivery, the "underwater" feel to the production (something shared by several tracks on the album), the bass line courtesy of Meshell Ndegeocello... perfection.
Also, my first live show was Alanis on her Flavors tour (shortly before my 15th birthday) and she did That Particular Time which had me crying. I'm convinced she looked directly at me for a few seconds during it too, which was spine chilling. "I'm sorry I lost myself" – GODDDD.
Speaking of anniversary editions... I need a 2-disc package with Feast on Scraps and the other Hands Clean b-sides on CD2. As it was Alanis' first time producing on her own, I'd love to be able to listen to any demos / alternative takes if those exist. The sessions produced so many brilliant songs, I wonder if there are any unheard ones in the vault still.
@NecessaryVoodoo has been gushing about this album for years I believe and I still haven't listened to it... what kind of a friend am I?? I need to fix that asap. Still, I did guess correctly that he'd be including it in his list ńńń.
@DJHazey good job with the format! Just one thing, I know this is silly but could you perhaps change the abbreviation for Japanese bonus tracks to JP or something? xx
Wow! How many things in common. I have to agree with many of this! "Under Rug Swept" and "Flavors of Entanglement" are definitely the way to go for a first Alanis listen if you haven't heard any of her albums. Flavors almost made it in my list!
When I saw Alanis for the first time, was also during her Flavors tour and that happened to me too! I swear she looked at me for the entire song of "Not As We". Even my friend who went with me to the concert just said at the middle of the song: "Wow, It looks like she's looking directly at you", and then I just say "I know".. and kept singing the whole song. That was incredible!
I actually did that in my iTunes library (That's why I love having the actual files instead of streaming). I joint Under Rug Swept and Feast on Scraps and the singles bsides in the album. So now I can listen to my own edition of 2 discs! Loooove the Hands Clean Acoustic Version and also the Vancouver Sessions for Precious Illusions.
he/him
#391. Bright Light Bright Light - Make Me Believe in Hope
1 Point - @londonrain
Year: 2012
Country: UK
Genre: Electronic-Pop/Synth Pop
Label: Self Raising Records
Writer/Producer: Rod Thomas (himself)
Tracklist
1. Immature
2. Feel It
3. Love Part II
4. Waiting For the Feeling
5. Cry at Films
6. Moves
7. Disco Moment
8. A New Word to Say
9. How To Make a Heart
10. Debris
11. Grace
---------------
(The New Batch Re-Issue)
12. Falling
13. Blueprint
14. Good Times
15. Being Sentimental
Singles Run
1. Love Part II
2. Disco Moment
3. Waiting For the Feeling
4. Feel It
5. Moves
Charts/Sales
---
From Our Voters
@londonrain
Favorite: Disco Moment
Recommend:: Feel It
Underrated: Waiting For The Feeling
I first saw Bright Light Bright Light live in 2008, two years before he started using that moniker and four years before the release of Make Me Believe In Hope. He was performing a set of acoustic guitar pop under the name Rod Thomas as the opening act for Sara Bareilles, who was touring in support of her debut Little Voice. I quite enjoyed his set, so I went to the merchandise stall and bought his EP (a low-budget affair with a cartoon of him on it called The Festivals EP, which featured the stomper Your Love Is A Tease) and the one CD single he had, for the deceptively chirpy Same Old Lines (the video to which involves him singing to sock puppets). I thought no more of it, apart from noting that the free download that was offered with the single (remember when you got a little card and had to enter the URL to get your freebie?) was a quiet little song called Hints of Him, which was a breakup song about a man. I didn't follow him closely enough to pick up his first album, Until Something Fits, or the other singles he released around the time.
In 2010, he reinvented himself as Bright Light Bright Light and I spotted him opening for Nerina Pallot with an acoustic set on the piano. (It later turned out her husband was working with Rod on new material.) I picked up another EP and another CD single (Love Part II) from the merch stall, expecting acoustic ballads, and was totally unprepared for the full blast of electronic euphoria that had taken over his sound. I loved the new sound even more than I had loved the Rod Thomas material, but it was another two years before the first full-length Bright Light Bright Light album, Make Me Believe In Hope, was released. In that time I downloaded two singles (Disco Moment and Waiting For The Feeling) and various freebies from his website, so I felt like I knew half the album by the time it was released!
I could have forgiven the album for sounding a bit disjointed given the number of previously released songs on it, but it's a surprisingly cohesive body of work - and it's an out-and-out '90s pop/dance record rather than an attempt to recreate his earlier sound. The interesting thing about his voice is that his fairly straightforward, narrative singing style (no belts or vocal acrobatics for him), which has the effect of bringing out his lyrics very well and preventing them from being drowned by the electronic instrumentation. Love Part II and its B-side, Cry At Films, are both present, using equally upbeat instrumentation to communicate opposite emotions, and A New Word To Say and How To Make A Heart, from the tour EP, are understated yet effective.
The real bops, though are the singles: Feel It, Disco Moment, Waiting for the Feeling, Moves and Love Part II. Mykal Kilgore's featured vocals on Feel It are brilliant - he has the sort of Martha Wash full-throated belt that Rod lacks, and the song benefits massively from the difference between their voices. Waiting for the Feeling is basically an early '90s Eurodance song, and Disco Moment is a crying-on-the-dance floor masterpiece and is quite frankly the best thing Rod has ever done (and probably the song that garnered him the comparisons to Robyn that were cited around the time of this album's release).
One song from the old pre-Bright Light Bright Light era does manage to sneak in: the quiet Debris, which appears in basically the same form as it did in 2008 when it was a B-side to the Rod Thomas single You Get Goodbyes. It's an unexpected inclusion, but one that works well on this album, bringing down the mood and tempo as the album draws to a close.
The album was re-released in 2013 as Make Me Believe In Hope: The New Batch, which adds some B-sides, remixes and free downloads from this era onto the back of the album. I quite like the standard track list as it is, but Feel It's B-side Good Times (which reminds me a bit of the Spice Girls' Never Give Up On The Good Times) and Disco Moment's B-side Being Sentimental are worth a listen. If you like acoustic renditions, you'll also like the Blueprints Version of the album, which consists of collaborations on acoustic renditions of all 11 songs on the standard edition, plus Blueprint from the New Batch edition.
1 Point - @londonrain
Year: 2012
Country: UK
Genre: Electronic-Pop/Synth Pop
Label: Self Raising Records
Writer/Producer: Rod Thomas (himself)
Tracklist
1. Immature
2. Feel It
3. Love Part II
4. Waiting For the Feeling
5. Cry at Films
6. Moves
7. Disco Moment
8. A New Word to Say
9. How To Make a Heart
10. Debris
11. Grace
---------------
(The New Batch Re-Issue)
12. Falling
13. Blueprint
14. Good Times
15. Being Sentimental
Singles Run
1. Love Part II
2. Disco Moment
3. Waiting For the Feeling
4. Feel It
5. Moves
Charts/Sales
---
From Our Voters
@londonrain
Favorite: Disco Moment
Recommend:: Feel It
Underrated: Waiting For The Feeling
I first saw Bright Light Bright Light live in 2008, two years before he started using that moniker and four years before the release of Make Me Believe In Hope. He was performing a set of acoustic guitar pop under the name Rod Thomas as the opening act for Sara Bareilles, who was touring in support of her debut Little Voice. I quite enjoyed his set, so I went to the merchandise stall and bought his EP (a low-budget affair with a cartoon of him on it called The Festivals EP, which featured the stomper Your Love Is A Tease) and the one CD single he had, for the deceptively chirpy Same Old Lines (the video to which involves him singing to sock puppets). I thought no more of it, apart from noting that the free download that was offered with the single (remember when you got a little card and had to enter the URL to get your freebie?) was a quiet little song called Hints of Him, which was a breakup song about a man. I didn't follow him closely enough to pick up his first album, Until Something Fits, or the other singles he released around the time.
In 2010, he reinvented himself as Bright Light Bright Light and I spotted him opening for Nerina Pallot with an acoustic set on the piano. (It later turned out her husband was working with Rod on new material.) I picked up another EP and another CD single (Love Part II) from the merch stall, expecting acoustic ballads, and was totally unprepared for the full blast of electronic euphoria that had taken over his sound. I loved the new sound even more than I had loved the Rod Thomas material, but it was another two years before the first full-length Bright Light Bright Light album, Make Me Believe In Hope, was released. In that time I downloaded two singles (Disco Moment and Waiting For The Feeling) and various freebies from his website, so I felt like I knew half the album by the time it was released!
I could have forgiven the album for sounding a bit disjointed given the number of previously released songs on it, but it's a surprisingly cohesive body of work - and it's an out-and-out '90s pop/dance record rather than an attempt to recreate his earlier sound. The interesting thing about his voice is that his fairly straightforward, narrative singing style (no belts or vocal acrobatics for him), which has the effect of bringing out his lyrics very well and preventing them from being drowned by the electronic instrumentation. Love Part II and its B-side, Cry At Films, are both present, using equally upbeat instrumentation to communicate opposite emotions, and A New Word To Say and How To Make A Heart, from the tour EP, are understated yet effective.
The real bops, though are the singles: Feel It, Disco Moment, Waiting for the Feeling, Moves and Love Part II. Mykal Kilgore's featured vocals on Feel It are brilliant - he has the sort of Martha Wash full-throated belt that Rod lacks, and the song benefits massively from the difference between their voices. Waiting for the Feeling is basically an early '90s Eurodance song, and Disco Moment is a crying-on-the-dance floor masterpiece and is quite frankly the best thing Rod has ever done (and probably the song that garnered him the comparisons to Robyn that were cited around the time of this album's release).
One song from the old pre-Bright Light Bright Light era does manage to sneak in: the quiet Debris, which appears in basically the same form as it did in 2008 when it was a B-side to the Rod Thomas single You Get Goodbyes. It's an unexpected inclusion, but one that works well on this album, bringing down the mood and tempo as the album draws to a close.
The album was re-released in 2013 as Make Me Believe In Hope: The New Batch, which adds some B-sides, remixes and free downloads from this era onto the back of the album. I quite like the standard track list as it is, but Feel It's B-side Good Times (which reminds me a bit of the Spice Girls' Never Give Up On The Good Times) and Disco Moment's B-side Being Sentimental are worth a listen. If you like acoustic renditions, you'll also like the Blueprints Version of the album, which consists of collaborations on acoustic renditions of all 11 songs on the standard edition, plus Blueprint from the New Batch edition.
Great choice @londonrain!
My favourite from the album is Moves.
I got the acoustic version of the album too.
My favourite from the album is Moves.
I got the acoustic version of the album too.
he/him
Y'all wanted some long commentary huh? @londonrain delivered with a nice story into how he discovered the act and the album.
The next album I post is our first huge act. Not like Alanis and PCD aren't considered big as PJ-favorites, but this is another level.
We'll have these two this afternoon and when I get home tonight I'll do a couple more.
The next album I post is our first huge act. Not like Alanis and PCD aren't considered big as PJ-favorites, but this is another level.
We'll have these two this afternoon and when I get home tonight I'll do a couple more.
londonrain
Staff member
I've met Rod Thomas (Bright Light Bright Light) and he's a big fan of my #1 album, but I promise the one point was for his great album and not his excellent taste!
I posted a photo of myself with him after a concert once and a friend of mine messaged me to ask how I knew him. Bizarrely it turns out they're casual friends, and it was odd having someone I was such a big fan of be just someone's random friend. It's a bit like if someone told you they happened to know Carly Rae Jepsen but hadn't really been aware of the fact she recorded music.
I posted a photo of myself with him after a concert once and a friend of mine messaged me to ask how I knew him. Bizarrely it turns out they're casual friends, and it was odd having someone I was such a big fan of be just someone's random friend. It's a bit like if someone told you they happened to know Carly Rae Jepsen but hadn't really been aware of the fact she recorded music.
Last edited:
Uh-oh.
he/him
#391. Kylie Minogue - Rhythm of Love
1 Point - @phoenix123
Year: 1990
Country: Australia
Genre: Pop/Dance-Pop/R&B
Label: PWL
Main Producer: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman
Main Writers: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman
Tracklist
1. Better the Devil You Know
2. Step Back in Time
3. What Do I Have to Do
4. Secrets
5. Always Find the Time
6. The World Still Turns
7. Shocked
8. One Boy Girl
9. Things Can Only Get Better
10. Count the Days
11. Rhythm of Love
Singles Run
1. Better the Devil You Know
2. Step Back in Time
3. What Do I Have to Do
4. Shocked
Best Chart Position
#9 (UK) #10 (Australia)
Sales
est. 1,185,000
From Our Voters
@phoenix123
So I know this is a Popjustice favourite and I thought maybe that was influencing my decision, especially because at the time of release I was probably far more enamoured with Kylie's first two albums, her debut in particular which I was also considering as my #10. Following sage advice from mvnl that I should go for the better album rather than the one which makes me sentimental here we arrive at my #10, which seems to have been the correct choice as Kylie - The Album now languishes at #12 on my list!
Kylie has always been a dependable singles act and as everybody knows this album officially has the best run of SAW singles ever and ranking them in any kind of order is really quite pointless but I do concur with fan wisdom that What Do I Have To Do and Better The Devil You Know just have the edge most days. My love for the latter has been severely tested by an unnecessary Steps cover and dance routine (which don't get me wrong I quite liked at the time) but seems I have found my love for it again and especially the video, the arrival of SexKylie, wearing short wigs and club clothes and cuddling her dancer! I remember videoing the world premiere on Going Live and being obsessed with the performance for what seemed like weeks before the single release.
Quite aside from the singles, as on her debut, all the album tracks are very enjoyable. For those only familiar with the singles, Things Can Only Get Better is a standout and could have been a potential single. Perhaps it was seen as a bit too dancey? The remix edit really shows its potential as a single.
I never hear anyone discussing the title track (certainly not with the same affection as Enjoy Yourself!) but I think it's the most underrated track here. I think this hits the mark where later New Jack Swing tracks like Word Is Out fail. It seems it may even have been considered as a single too judging by this Motormouth promo
1) Your favorite track on the album
Better The Devil You Know
2) The track you would recommend to a new listener
Things Can Only Get Better
3) What you consider the most underrated track on the album.
Rhythm Of Love
Hazey Adds
If you're a new Kylie listener (like I was not so long ago), Phoenix123 hits on all the points well here. The singles are all essential to have in your pop arsenal. I'm actually not a huge fan of the album tracks on this one but he's right by placing "Things Can Only Get Better" so highly. That's the one for me.
My absolute favorite here is "What Do I Have to Do" though which should pull a new listener in the matter of minutes.
1 Point - @phoenix123
Year: 1990
Country: Australia
Genre: Pop/Dance-Pop/R&B
Label: PWL
Main Producer: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman
Main Writers: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman
Tracklist
1. Better the Devil You Know
2. Step Back in Time
3. What Do I Have to Do
4. Secrets
5. Always Find the Time
6. The World Still Turns
7. Shocked
8. One Boy Girl
9. Things Can Only Get Better
10. Count the Days
11. Rhythm of Love
Singles Run
1. Better the Devil You Know
2. Step Back in Time
3. What Do I Have to Do
4. Shocked
Best Chart Position
#9 (UK) #10 (Australia)
Sales
est. 1,185,000
From Our Voters
@phoenix123
So I know this is a Popjustice favourite and I thought maybe that was influencing my decision, especially because at the time of release I was probably far more enamoured with Kylie's first two albums, her debut in particular which I was also considering as my #10. Following sage advice from mvnl that I should go for the better album rather than the one which makes me sentimental here we arrive at my #10, which seems to have been the correct choice as Kylie - The Album now languishes at #12 on my list!
Kylie has always been a dependable singles act and as everybody knows this album officially has the best run of SAW singles ever and ranking them in any kind of order is really quite pointless but I do concur with fan wisdom that What Do I Have To Do and Better The Devil You Know just have the edge most days. My love for the latter has been severely tested by an unnecessary Steps cover and dance routine (which don't get me wrong I quite liked at the time) but seems I have found my love for it again and especially the video, the arrival of SexKylie, wearing short wigs and club clothes and cuddling her dancer! I remember videoing the world premiere on Going Live and being obsessed with the performance for what seemed like weeks before the single release.
Quite aside from the singles, as on her debut, all the album tracks are very enjoyable. For those only familiar with the singles, Things Can Only Get Better is a standout and could have been a potential single. Perhaps it was seen as a bit too dancey? The remix edit really shows its potential as a single.
I never hear anyone discussing the title track (certainly not with the same affection as Enjoy Yourself!) but I think it's the most underrated track here. I think this hits the mark where later New Jack Swing tracks like Word Is Out fail. It seems it may even have been considered as a single too judging by this Motormouth promo
1) Your favorite track on the album
Better The Devil You Know
2) The track you would recommend to a new listener
Things Can Only Get Better
3) What you consider the most underrated track on the album.
Rhythm Of Love
Hazey Adds
If you're a new Kylie listener (like I was not so long ago), Phoenix123 hits on all the points well here. The singles are all essential to have in your pop arsenal. I'm actually not a huge fan of the album tracks on this one but he's right by placing "Things Can Only Get Better" so highly. That's the one for me.
My absolute favorite here is "What Do I Have to Do" though which should pull a new listener in the matter of minutes.