Make a new cult every day to suit your affairs

Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...

#482 : Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde - The Pharcyde (1992)

These high school friends from L.A. were a little like a West Coast answer to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, offering their own spin on alternative hip-hop in the Nineties and showing there was something going on in Southern California beyond G-funk. They rapped about innocent topics, like having a crush on a teacher in “Passin’ Me By,” which was a small hit, but also about dating a cute girl who turns out “to be a John Doe” and run-ins with the cops (the Public Enemy-homage “Officer”). It all came out as bright and refreshing as sorbet.

I was, at best, vaguely aware of The Pharcyde - I think my expectations ran as far as "hip hop" which is a genre on which my feelings run from really, really liking to really, really hating, without me necessarily understanding what makes me like or hate any particular individual track.  Having listened to this, I think De La Soul is probably the closest touchpoint I was previously aware of which is definitely more on the "like" side.  Phew!

I liked the rapping style and reasonably stripped back musical accompaniment, which sounds pretty lightweight at first listen - more like a load of mates messing about than any attempt at serious content.  However, there's a reasonable amount of skill on display and whilst the subject matter doesn't tend to be hard hitting, the lyrics are clever and often funny - if you can keep up with them, which I must admit I struggled with.  "Oh Shit" and "Yo Mama" are both particularly good examples of both skill and humour.  I also liked "I'm That Type Of Nigga", but I must admit that the frequent use of "that word" made me somewhat conflicted as to whether I'm supposed to or allowed to like it - it's a minefield out there, kids!  My current personal opinion is I'm allowed to like it, but I MUST NOT sing along with it - feel free to let me know if I'm wrong!

"Customers also listened to" A Tribe Called Quest, who I always thought were a bit more hardcore than this album so I'm kinda hoping some of their stuff pops up later in the list to either confirm or deny this (yes, I know I could just listen to it for myself but I'm kinda busy right now!).  But, overall I liked this album and that was after one listen - I can see that listening to it whilst driving along in the summer sunshine would be a fine experience (although I'd be skipping over "I'm That Type..." if the windows were open!)

#481 : If You're Feeling Sinister - Belle & Sebastian (1996)

Being a self-pitying shut-in has never sounded better than it does on the Scottish twee icons’ breakthrough. The chamber-folk arrangements are second to none — like a cup of tea brewed for you by a hopeless crush with a really good record collection — but don’t sleep on Stuart Murdoch’s subtly sardonic lyrics on “The Stars of Track and Field” and “Seeing Other People,” which give these wistful-sounding songs a bite that sets them apart from most imitators.

Belle And Sebastian are right up my street (and were even more so at the time of release) and I absolutely love "The Stars Of Track And Field", particularly for its wry, off-kilter lyrics ("You liberated a boy I never rated - now he's throwing discus for Liverpool and Widnes").  However, for some strange reason I'd never listened to this album - so I was looking forward to doing so and was expecting to enjoy it.  

And (thankfully), I was not disappointed.  I can appreciate that it's not for everyone - the vocal delivery style is somewhat unusual and the songs can stray towards the twee at times but there are good tunes accompanied by some classic lyrics (an area I always appreciate) throughout the album - "Like Dylan In The Movies", "The Fox In The Snow" and "If You're Feeling Sinister" didn't quite hit the heights of "The Stars Of Track And Field" for me, but they still made a great impression at first listen.  I could have picked any number of examples from the lyrics, but we'll settle for the following from the title track.

Hilary went to the Catholic Church because she wanted information

The vicar or whatever took her to one side and gave her confirmation

<...>

When she got back, her spirituality was thrown into confusion

So she got a special deal on renting from the man at Rediffusion

"Customers also listened to" Camera Obscura (who I very much like) and Badly Drawn Boy (who I merely tolerate) but I think it's safe to say Belle And Sebastian very much occupy their own niche of quirk and this album is a fine example of that.

#480 : The Weight Of These Wings - Miranda Lambert (2016)

The Nashville superstar sounded especially free and artistically uninhibited after her divorce from Blake Shelton, and she channeled it all into this expansive, mind-clearing two-CD set, an ambitious grab bag of deep breakup tunes (“Use My Heart,” “Tin Man”), Radiohead-y alt-rock moodiness (“Vice”), eye-rolling, scuz-guitar glam (“Pink Sunglasses”), and tender reflections on the bonds and weights of messy commitment (“Getaway Car”). It’s the sound of bad history falling away in the cracked rearview and nothing but wide-open road ahead.

It seems my method of assuming US female artists I've barely heard of are country music artists has finally paid dividends - but without the description, I wouldn't have had any clue what to expect from this album.  And at 94 minutes long, this double album isn't a trivial undertaking and features a surprising range of musical styles.  Yup, both kinds - country and western!  That's not entirely fair - some of it is far too "yee-ha curn-tree" for me, but has a lot of moments which venture elsewhere.  She has a great voice and uses it well to convey emotion and the lyrics aren't as simplistic as I might have feared (in places, at least!).  Top tracks for me are "Vice", "Pushin' Time” and "To Learn Her" (with the latter being far more country than I'd generally go for).  I'm not convinced it needed to be a double album though - but I get the impression she had some shit she needed to get through, so hopefully it helped.

"Customers also listened to" a lot of other Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies (who featured one Miranda Lambert amongst the line-up) and Ashley Monroe (who looks suspiciously like Miranda Lambert) - I guess it's a case of knowing what you like and sticking with it.  Overall, whilst it's not entirely my thing, it's not offensive and, as has quite often been the case so far, in the right environment it would work better than it did on this cold November day.

So, a much better selection of albums this time around than many have been - with Belle and Sebastian being the winners but The Pharcyde in line for a revisit and Miranda perfectly fine (if a little long!).

#485-483 - UK couple take on the might of the US

#479-477 - A winner I will never listen to again...