My Favourite Albums Of ALL TIME! #4

Marilyn Manson Mechanical Animals

Out of every Manson album out there, i think this one really showcased how creative and conceptual he could be as an artist. Although the previous album 'Antichrist Superstar' was strong, 'Mechanical Animals' proved he could do more than just hard metal.

There's a more glam rock vibe to the songs mixed in with Manson's token thrashy rock. Songs like 'Rock Is Dead' and 'Dope Show' sound like trademark shouty Marilyn, and 'Fundementally Loanesome' is probably the most unique track on the record, with obvious inspiration taken from old skool glam David Bowie.

As great as the faster songs on the album are ['Posthuman' has a bit of a Prodigy vibe to it], it's the slower tracks that really stand out for me. 'Coma White', 'The Last Day On Earth' and 'Speed of Pain' are probably my three favourite songs from the album. All 3 of them are beautifully produced with eerie synthy verses and big sweeping choruses.

As far as image goes, Manson played a lot of with gender reversal during this era. He's depicted as an androgenous alien with breasts and no genitals on the album cover, and he dropped the the darker gothic look he'd been carrying for years and coloured it up with silvers and bright colours in his costumes. It was all very Ziggy Stardust.

His popularity and relevancy has wained over the last decade, but i'm still a fan of his current music. He knows how to write a good hook, and that's not an easy thing for me to find when it comes to metal. Say what you will about how "done" he is now, but Mechanical Animals is a masterpiece, and a good representation of the highest point of his career. I love it.

My Favourite Albums Of ALL TIME! #3 Boomkat A Million Trillion Stars [2008]
Boomkat released their first album way back in 2003. They had a minor hit with the lead single 'The Wreckoning' [great song!], and vanished soon after that. I assume they were dropped from their label, because we didn't hear much else from them for 5 years. I was disappointed, i wanted to hear what else Taryn and her brother [forgot his name] could come up with.

Then, one day in late 2008, Boomkat put up a website containing 13 streaming new songs. I was so excited to hear them, and when i played the songs one by one, i soon realized they had something REALLY special happening with their second album. I played the album over and over, i loved it, but i also realized that the album wasn't as commercial as it needed to be to get radio attention. I figured it would go nowhere, and a year and a half on, the album still hasn't even had a physical release. It has hit iTunes, thankfully, but the exposure for the album seemed to never reach any decent heights, so Boomkat have become one severely underrated act.

Boomkat have a very original sound to their music. Their second album is a mix of pop [Runaway], lite rock [Lonely Child], electronic [Run Boy] and a lot of scratch board/trip hop [Four Track Dub]. They're very eclectic, but still have enough of their own vibe in their music to not sound like a mish mosh. That's a hard thing to do.
Taryn Manning provides all the vocals, and her brother does all the music. You may recognize Taryn from the big screen as well. When she's not singing in Boomkat, she's doing movies. She's most famous for her role in 'Hustle & Flow', where she played a hooker. She also starred in 'Crossroads' with Britney Spears [among many other movies].
Taryn's voice is full of attitude, it's raspy and sexy, but it can also be soft as well for the right song. I guess a diverse voice needs to match the diverse sounds of this album, so it makes sense that she can go between each style of song so easily.

I have NO idea where the album will end up, maybe it will forever remain unreleased and be loved only by their very small fan base online? Either way, it's a fantastic record, and until things change, it will remain one of my most unknown loved albums ever.

1. Run Boy [Here I Come] 4/5

2. Lonely Child 5/5
3. Stomp 5/5
4. Runaway 5/5
5. Elated 4/5
6. Not My Fault 4/5
7. Four Track Fub 5/5
8. Don't Be Shy 4/5
9. Instead 5/5
10. Fall On Me 5/5
11. Wish I Could 2/5
12. Burn 5/5
13. Say Hi 4/5
14. Dressed In Grief 3/5

My Favourite Albums Of ALL TIME! #2Fever Ray Fever Ray [2009]
The debut album from Fever Ray is the solo project from one half of the Swedish electronic duo, 'The Knife'. The half i'm talking about is the singer, Karin Dreijer Anderson [that's a mouthful]. If you don't know her, or her previous music with her brother in The Knife, chances are you may recognize her voice if you listen to Royksopp, who she collaborates with on two of their albums. She's most well known on one of their more popular songs, 'What Else Is There?' [a personal favourite of mine].
If you're hearing her voice for the first time, you will remember it forever. Much like Bjork, she has a very distinctive way of singing. In fact, she sounds like a strangled baby. Trust me though, it works better than it sounds, especially with the style of music she makes.

It's a little hard to describe exactly what Fever Ray sounds like. Those who've heard her previous music with The Knife have an idea of what to expect, but if you're a Knife virgin, it may take a few listens before you completely get into the Fever Ray album.
It's a haunting and dark collection of music, that has an odd innocence to it. It's almost child like in places, like a kids nightmare, but not in a scary way. The album is eerily beautiful in places [Concrete Walls], a little more electronic in others [Triangle Walks], and it even has a slight David Lynch vibe at one point [Stranger Than Kindness]. There's even a track that has distorted baby sounds running through it, all while singing lyrics that sound oddly like they're about birth and re-incarnation [Here Before]. It can be very experimental at times.

The first time i heard this album, i was instantly drawn to it. It was interesting, but it didn't completely click with me until months later when i finally understood the album. It's a unique piece of work, very layered, and also very mellow, so you need to be in the right mind frame to let it works it's magic on you properly. Think of it as a darker version of Bjork's 'Vespertine' album. They both share a similar child like feel to them, in fact, listening to both albums one after the other is a really great experience.

I included this album in my list of favourites from 2009, but it only appeared in my 'Honorable Mentions' list, instead of my top 10. I only wish the album struck with me sooner, because it would have come in at #2 on my list. It still got a mention though, so oh well. It's now one of my top 10 favourite albums of the last 10 years.

If you want something interesting, and you like ambient electronic music, chances are you'll absolutely love this album. Even if it's not really your thing, it's still a good album to have a listen to, just so you can experience something that you may not be used to hearing. The album really takes you to another place. It completely transports you to another world, it's very beautiful.

It appeared on countless critics favourite lists throughout 2009, i can see why, it's amazing.

1. If I Had A Heart 4/5

2. When I Grow Up 4/5
3. Dry And Dusty 5/5
4. Seven 4/5
5. Triangle Walks 3/5
6. Concrete Walls 5/5
7. Now's The Only Time I Know 4/5
8. I'm Not Done 4/5
9. Keep The Streets Empty For Me 5/5
10. Coconut 5/5
11. Stranger Than Kindness 5/5
12. Here Before 4/5

My Favourite Albums Of ALL TIME! #1 Madonna Ray of Light [1998]
A few years before Ray of Light was released, Madonna went through a bit of a career backlash. She took her sex filled image to new heights in her 'Justify My Love' video in 1990. Then she released her 'Erotica' album a couple years after, alongside her nude coffee table book called SEX. By the end of 1992, she'd gone from Madonna to Vagonna!, and the media was having a field day keeping their eye on her constant publicity stunts and over sexualized image. Once her 1994 album hit, 'Bedtime Stories', critics claimed her reign as Queen of pop may be over. Her record sales weren't as strong as they used to be, and people were getting sick of her.
Madonna took some time off, she had a baby [Lola] and eventually won back critics praises with her performance in the movie musical 'Evita'.

In 1998, 4 years after her last album, she was ready to make a comeback, so she unleashed what many fans and critics consider to be the best album of her career, Ray of Light!.
On ROL she joined forces with music producer William Orbit, and Madonna's love affair with electronic music was BORN!. The album was her most personal at the time. It deals with issues about the sacrifices she made for fame, motherhood, and her new found spirituality. The album goes between ambient synths [To Have & Not To Hold], heavy bass driven dance numbers [Skin], and rock light mid tempo tracks [Candy Perfume Girl]. There's also a couple ballads on this album that i consider to be some of the best songs she ever did, those being 'The Power of Goodbye' and my all time favourite Madonna song, 'Frozen'.
The album has a very strong ethereal and aquatic feel to it. You'd think Madonna was dipping her head in and out of the ocean while making this album, ha!.

The album starts off on a quiet note, but slowly builds into a beautifully produced electronic masterpiece. The track listing from tracks #5-#11 are perfect in every way. It's one mind blowing song after another. Then the album goes out on a quiet note again. The only track on the album that doesn't do all that much for me, is the last song, 'Mer Girl'. In saying that though, it fits well with the rest of the album, and is one of the most interesting songs she's done, so i wouldn't get rid of it, it's still an important part of the journey.

When people ask me what my favourite album of all time is, i usually say this one. There are a handful of other albums that could fit the #1 spot easily depending on my mood, but Ray of Light is the one i mention the most. You'd think i'd be playing the album every week since i love it so much, but that isn't the case at all. In fact, i only play the album as a whole a couple times a year. I've heard it so much over the years, that i need to be in the right mood for it. I do love it to death though.

Ray of Light seems to be the ONE Madonna album none fans own. I love that about it. Similar to 'Like A Prayer', it stands on it's own feet as a special project separate from her more fluffier pop albums.
It's honest and atmospheric. You haven't heard what she's capable of until you've heard this album. It's the best thing she's EVER done.

1. Drowned World/Substitute For Love 5/5

2. Swim 4/5
3. Ray of Light 4/5
4. Candy Perfume Girl 4/5
5. Skin 5/5
6. Nothing Really Matters 5/5
7. Sky Fits Heaven 5/5
8. Shanti/Ashtangi 5/5
9. Frozen 5/5
10. The Power of Goodbye 5/5
11. To Have & Not To Hold 5/5
12. Little Star 4/5

13. Mer Girl 3/5