Asylums with doors open wide where people had paid to see inside

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

#310 : Pink Flag - Wire (1977)

This first-generation U.K. punk band made sparse tunes that erupted in combustible snippets on its 21-track debut album. America never got it, but Pink Flag — as revolutionary discs tend to do — influenced some important bands, including Sonic Youth and the Minutemen. It also might be one of the most-covered punk LPs ever: Minor Threat did “12XU,” R.E.M. did “Strange,” the New Bomb Turks did “Mr. Suit,” Spoon did “Lowdown,” the Lemonheads did “Fragile,” and on and on. 

I had heard of Wire, but don't believe I ever got round to listening to any of their stuff - and from the description above, I feared I wasn't going to like them.  And having endured the album, I can now confirm whole-heartedly that I do not like them.  I actually think the songs have quite a lot of potential with some quite interesting rhythms and basslines involved, but the vocals just drag on and on and on.  It's not for me.

Wikipedia tells me how influential the album is, including "Britpop band Elastica also used a riff similar to that of "Three Girl Rhumba" for their song "Connection"" which was a similarity I noticed (apparently there was a court case).  The band's Wikipedia page doesn't really tell me a lot more about them other than how influential they were and that they're still going, 18 albums strong.  "Customers also listened to" The Raincoats and Husker Du - if I'd known that before, I might just have run off screaming.  So, whilst the songs have some potential, they're ruined for me, I'm afraid.

#309 : Closer - Joy Division (1980)

One of the most depressing albums ever made, with droning guitars and synthesizers, chilly bass lines, stentorian vocals, and drums that sound as if they’re steadily beating out the rhythm of doom. And that’s not even considering the lyrics, which are about singer Ian Curtis’ failing marriage and how he suffered from epilepsy. (Curtis hanged himself on May 18th, 1980, at the age of 23 — the rest of the band regrouped as New Order.) On Closer, Joy Division fully earned their reputation as England’s most harrowing punk band.

Well, after the previous album, I really needed something to lighten my mood.  What could possibly be better for that than some Joy Division, I wonder?!?  I'd not listened to this album, but have watched the film Control which features some of the music, so had some idea what was to come...

...but I'd have to say without the accompanying light relief of epilepsy, depression and suicide provided by the film, this makes for a very heavy going album.  In a similar manner to the previous album, the songs have interesting qualities but the vocal style makes them, shall we say, "challenging".  I can imagine if you're feeling a bit depressed but want to be really depressed, then popping this on would do the trick nicely, but I'd have to say it didn't really hit the spot for me (particularly after Wire).

Wikipedia comes out with all the usual "influential album" bollocks, but has remarkably little to say about it apart from that and I'm really not convinced by one of the critics comments "probably some of the most irresistible dance music we'll hear this year".  Wtf?!?  I was also surprised to see George Michael mentioned as a fan (it would nice to see some of him on the list later - immediately after this album would have been brilliant).  Joy Division's Wikipedia page is exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from a band with almost fanatical followers - it's fair to say it goes into "some depth" but is definitely an interesting read.  "Customers also listened to" The Cure and Bauhaus, both of whom I find slightly less challenging - I can quite see how influential Joy Division, but it's just all too much of challenge for me.

#308 : Here Come The Warm Jets - Brian Eno (1974)

The former Roxy Music keyboardist’s first solo album pioneered a new kind of glammy art rock: jagged, free-form, and dreamy, sounding like nothing else in rock at the time. “Baby’s on Fire” and “Needles in the Camel’s Eye” are vicious rockers with detached vocals, and Robert Fripp’s warped guitars swarm and stutter, while “On Some Faraway Beach” and the title track are glistening slo-mo-drone pastorales. “I called it ‘warm jet guitar’ because it sounded like a tuned jet,” Eno said later.

Well, I'm really in need to cheering up now - surely Brian "Laugh A Minute" Eno could come to the rescue (haven't we seen him somewhere before on this list?).  I'd not heard this album and was intrigued from the description as to what it would sound like.  And it's different, I guess - it's what I imagine Roxy Music would have sounded like if he'd won the "Battle of the Bri/yans" against the old smoothie Bryan Ferry.  It's not horrible and I can imagine there might be times it would engage me, but straight after Wire and Joy Division was not one of those times.

The album's Wikipedia page feels like it's specifically designed to make you roll your eyes, including the following information "Eno enlisted sixteen guest musicians ... invited on the basis that Eno thought they were musically incompatible with each other" and "Eno directed the musicians by using body language and dancing".  I mean, fair play to the lad for trying something different, but I can imagine there were some sideways glances amongst the assembled musicians.  We'll skip over his page this time because I feel we've had quite enough Eno facts for the time being - "customers also listened to" Harold Budd and Roger Eno (seriously, there's another one?!?).  Overall, I don't think this album is really for me, but it was unfortunate to find me meeting it at such a challenging time in the list.

So, three reasonably influential albums - none of which I actually liked.  I think I hated Eno's the least, but feel I should give it Joy Division because I think it's the one that hangs best together as an album and whilst the sound proved too challenging for me this time around, it's not always bad to be challenged.  But, oh boy was this a challenging selection!

#313-311 - The ladies show Neil what attitude really is
#307-305 - Soul, soul and not soul