We know it's just a lie - scare your son, scare your daughter

I've enjoyed working my way (slowly) through Empire's 100 top films of the century, so when I saw that Rolling Stone had revisited their list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time (in typical American understated fashion) and the internet wasn't entirely happy about the results, I decided I fancied the challenge.  I'm not a huge fan of Rolling Stone and don't believe the list is going to be particularly representative of my tastes (I'm expecting too white, too male, too old, too sixties - but we'll see) but contrarily, that's part of the challenge I'm looking forward to and it won't hurt for me to improve my musical knowledge (even if all I learn is "NEVER LISTEN TO THIS ABOMINATION AGAIN!!").  To make it even more of a challenge, I'm starting at 500 and working upwards, all albums must be (re-)listened to at least once (in full - no giving up now!) and I'm going to try and average one album a day, which means I should finish by 3rd April 2022 - there's nothing like setting yourself up for failure, is there?

So, first up on this marathon exercise is...

#500 : Funeral - Arcade Fire (2004)

about which Rolling Stone had the following to say 

Loss, love, forced coming-of-age, and fragile generational hope: Arcade Fire’s debut touched on all these themes as it defined the independent rock of the ‘00s. Built on family ties (leader Win Butler, his wife, Régine Chassagne, his brother Will), the Montreal band made symphonic rock that truly rocked, simultaneously outsize and deeply personal, like the best pop. But for all its sad realism, Butler’s is music that still finds solace, and purpose, in communal celebration.

Whilst I don't own this album, I have listened to it several times in the dim and distant past and I seem to recall I liked it at the time, but I was expecting it to be very much of the time and to not particularly enjoy revisiting it.  And I reckon I was pretty much on the money there - it's a well-crafted album with mostly perfectly fine songs but nothing particularly stands out (i'd say "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Crown Of Love" are the probable highlights).  The vocal style will definitely not be to everyone's taste - a bit too whiny at times but I like the way that it has 4 songs on it called "Neighbourhood" which strikes me as peak Canadian art-rock band.

I have seen Arcade Fire live and remember particularly enjoying the talent and exuberance on display and I'd have to say neither aspect particularly shines through on this album, so this further contributes to the mild disappointment.  In my head, I always conflate Arcade Fire with The National and I'd have to say my current impression is I'd be much more likely to revisit the latter's 2007 album Boxer than this - we'll have to wait and see whether I get the opportunity as part of this exercise (and to be honest, I'm expecting to!) or whether we get to experience any other Arcade Fire albums (the internet is divided as to which is their best, but it feels like Neon Bible and The Suburbs stand a good chance of appearing).  

"Customers also listened to" on Amazon Music also suggests Vampire Weekend, MGMT and The Flaming Lips as popular alternatives which I'd struggle to argue with and overall, I'd say it's an OK album which feels unlikely to convert any non-believers, particularly after all this time.

#499 : Ask Rufus - Rufus featuring Chaka Khan (1977)

Fronted by Chaka Khan, one of soul music’s most combustible singers, Rufus built its mid-Seventies sound on heavy-footed, guitar-slathered funk. But after spending 16 months in the studio working on Ask Rufus, they came out with a record that gave their songs more room to breathe, anticipating the lithe, loose arrangements of Nineties neo-soul. Khan glided through the head-nodding “Everlasting Love” and the twisty-turny “Better Days,” and fans appreciated the adjustment: Ask Rufus was the group’s first platinum record.

Never heard this one - and no matter what Rolling Stone had to say, I was pretty much expecting this to be super funky (although I'd have to say I was somewhat put off by the album cover featuring a giant Chaka Khan).  And having listened to it, it may well "anticipate the lithe, loose arrangements of Nineties neo-soul" but, to my untrained ear, it sounds pretty funky.  I found it harmless enough but not really my thing - "Everlasting Love" stood out as a highlight for me with its very smooth sound, but the rest somewhat washed over me.  Overall, the sound on the version I listened to came across as pretty flat and lifeless which seemed odd - I don't know whether this was meant to be the case or Amazon just had a low quality version.  I must however admit to being intrigued by the song title "Slow Screw Against The Wall / A Flat Fry" - a potentially painful combination, I'd suggest.

I can see the similarity to a lot of stuff that followed it (particularly Nineties neo-soul) but I can't really comment as to its ground-breaking nature because I'm not aware of what came before it - I could investigate, but I'm afraid I don't care enough to do so.  Embarrassingly, I do have to admit that I always thought Rufus was an actual person so if, nothing else, I've learned that from this exercise.  I also learned that  "I Feel For You" which was a hit for Chaka Khan (without Rufus) in 1984 was written by Prince - I've also unfortunately learned that a version exists by Britney and Justin recorded for The Mickey Mouse Club.  Let's see if you can be stronger than me and resist watching it.

Apparently, "customers also listened to" a lot more Rufus and a lot of other artists featuring some very big hair - none of which I've ever listened to.  So, I think it safest I just leave this at "not for me" - I can see it has its fans, but I am not one of them and find it unlikely I ever will be.

#498 : Suicide - Suicide (1977)

These New York synth-punks evoke everything from the Velvet Underground to rockabilly. Martin Rev’s low-budget electronics are violent and hypnotic; Alan Vega screams as a rhythmic device. Late-night listening to “Frankie Teardrop,” a 10-minute-plus tale of a multiple murder, is not recommended. A droning voice in the wilderness when they appeared in the Seventies, the duo would influence bands from Arcade Fire and the National to Bruce Springsteen, who covered Suicide live in 2016.

Not an album I was aware of beforehand and I can't say the description provided me with a great deal of optimism - but I said I'd listen to them all, so listen I did.  And whilst I'll happily admit it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting and it was mercifully short, that doesn't exactly mean I enjoyed it.  I couldn't really claim that any of the songs stood out as highlights, but "Frankie Teardrop" certainly stood out - Wikipedia quotes Nick Hornby as saying it's a track you'd only ever listen to once and I'd struggle to disagree with that assessment.

"Customers also listened to" Television, MC5 and The Modern Lovers, but I can totally see this album went on to influence a lot of other people later - LCD Soundsystem would be my most obvious later reference point but there are plenty of other groups who will no doubt claim to have always loved the album.  However, just because an album is influential does that mean it's one of the greatest of all time?  I would argue not and hereby present this album to the court as Exhibit A - and I fear there are going to be plenty more such examples to come over the course of the next 497 albums.  However, I would say that (unlike the previous album) I do feel that listening to it has been a musical education and one I will remember (if not necessarily for the reasons they'd like me to)

Three albums per post feels about the right number - of the somewhat eclectic mix, Arcade Fire is the only one there's any danger of me listening to again and even that feels pretty unlikely.  However, we're only at #497 - things have to get better, right?  I'd also have to say that if you think this was an odd mix - just wait until you see the next three...

#497-495 - An even eclecticer mix