3. Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist: As one of the biggest Pumpkins and Billy Corgan fans in the world, even I got aggravated with the marketing of this album, which would be a strong contender for comeback album of the year if you included all the strong b-sides and bonus tracks from all five thousand editions of it. Even if you don't include great bonus tracks like "Stellar," "Death From Above" or the acoustic "Zeitgeist," it is a very strong album.
Out of the twelve tracks that comprise the original edition, all but maybe three or four of them are repeat-worthy: the shoegazy "That's The Way (My Love Is)," the Brian May-like scorching guitars of "Tarantula," the good-time hard rock of "Bring The Light" and "(Come On) Let's Go!," the heavy crunch of "Doomsday Clock," the dramatic, Mellon Collie era-ish "Bleeding The Orchid" and the symphonic pop of "Pomp And Circumstances."
It's too bad the Pumpkins let the marketing of Zeitgeist get out of hand. Download all the bonus tracks yourself and make your own version of it. Then you will see how impressive this album really is and that Billy Corgan is still capable of writing great music after all these years.
4. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone: When I saw the Pumpkins in Boston, MA, last October, this Austin, Texas all-instrumental, post-rock band simply blew me away with their live set. In the 1990s, the Pumpkins had such acclaimed acts like Grant Lee Buffalo and Fountains of Wayne open for them. But EITS is easily the best opening act they've ever had, IMO. I was somewhat familiar with this band's music going into the concert and knew they had several albums out, but from the first notes of their show I was sold, and later got a hold of this album. Short as it is, AOASIME is full of majestic soundscapes and tones that remind me somewhat of Sigur Ros, and the rush of loud guitars, delicate piano and epic song structures are Mogwai-ish in their quiet-to-loud dynamics. Another instant winner of an album.
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Nice list, man. That Explosions album really didn't grab me like I thought it would, but I did manage to snag one of the early ones with the remix disc that is very interesting - it might even be better than the album itself. And I've been kicking myself for months for not picking up that Dinosaur Jr album. It's been on my "I need to pick this up soon" list and for some reason I never do. I will make this happen soon. Really.