TrainFan73
Frothy
Fiona Apple
Fetch the Bolt Cutters
The Idler Wheel
Extraordinary Machine
When the Pawn
Tidal
Fetch the Bolt Cutters
The Idler Wheel
Extraordinary Machine
When the Pawn
Tidal
Rank The Albums!
- Thread starter KenKaniff
- Start date
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
1. Boxer
2. Trouble Will Find Me
3. High Violet
4. Alligator
5. Sleep Well Beast
6. I Am Easy to Find
7. Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers
8a. First 2 Pages of Frankenstein
8b. Laugh Track
9. The National
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
I agree with the bottom 5 (well, I would probably swap IAETF with SSFDL but that’s a minor quibble).
The new stuff doesn’t do much for me. A couple tracks I might throw on National mixtape but nothing that they haven’t done much better on earlier albums.
The buzz around the new album was way over the top considering what was delivered. I appreciate the live drums but I would appreciate it more if the songs weren’t all mid tempo ballads.
Their still great live and I will enjoy going to see them put on a kick ass concert anytime they pass through the area but it’s probably time to stop blindly buying new National LPs
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ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
Yeah, agreed. The instrumentation is definitely more interesting on LT, but the songs are just as if not more boring than Frankenstein. There's probably one 7/10 album between the 2 of them, but I can't see myself listening to either in full regularly. Still love them tho of course.
whatwhatsaywhat
Well-Known Member
updated...
the national tiers
top: boxer // i am easy to find
excellent: trouble will find me // high violet // alligator // sleep well beast
really good: laugh track // first two pages of frankenstein
solid but unspectacular: sad songs for dirty lovers // the national
i will not stand for any slander (looking at you, steve hyden!) for "i am easy to find"
brilliant album imo
whatwhatsaywhat
Well-Known Member
wtf, 13 so low?!??
blur: 13 > parklife > blur > modern life is rubbish > think tank > the magic whip > the ballad of darren > the great escape > leisure
The singles are strong. The album itself is a bit of a dirge. It’s good. It’s not great. I genuinely like everything from it upwards a lot, I just prefer the other 6.
Also different people like different things, you have one of the most boring albums I’ve bought in the last 5 years in your top 2 national albums.
Hemotep
Well-Known Member
I haven't done one in a while. Lets do Smashing Pumpkins.
1.a Siamese Dream 1.b Zwan
2. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness / The Aeroplane Flies High
3. Adore
4. Machina
5. Gish
6. Zeitgeist (this one has grown on me a lot over the years)
7. Earphoria
8. Pisces Iscariot
9. Atum
10. Cyr
11. Machina II
12. Judas O
13. Oceana
14. Monuments To An Elegy
15. Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
16. Shiny and Oh So Bright
1.a Siamese Dream 1.b Zwan
2. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness / The Aeroplane Flies High
3. Adore
4. Machina
5. Gish
6. Zeitgeist (this one has grown on me a lot over the years)
7. Earphoria
8. Pisces Iscariot
9. Atum
10. Cyr
11. Machina II
12. Judas O
13. Oceana
14. Monuments To An Elegy
15. Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
16. Shiny and Oh So Bright
whatwhatsaywhat
Well-Known Member
this hatred for boxer will not stand
I’d be quite happy for it to still be somewhere between 2007 and 2012, 24 to 29 is more fun than 40…
wokeupnew
Well-Known Member
The National
Molly Burch
- Alligator
- Boxer
- Trouble Will Find Me
- High Violet
- I Am Easy to Find
- Sleep Well Beast
- Laugh Track
- Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers
- The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
- The National
Molly Burch
- Please Be Mine
- Daydreamer
- Romantic Images
- First Flower
Hollywood
Well-Known Member
There's no way in hell that IAETF is better than Laugh Track and especially SWB but different strokes for different folks
wokeupnew
Well-Known Member
IAETF is phenomenal
ayayrawn
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't say it's that good, but it definitely rewards a certain mood, and is definitely more interesting and enjoyable than their most recent two.
wokeupnew
Well-Known Member
I love it. Rylan, Oblivions, Quiet Light, Hey Rosey, Harpin Turns, Not in Kansas, Light Years are all top tier National songs.
whatwhatsaywhat
Well-Known Member
the afghan whigs: gentleman > 1965 > black love > congregation > do the beast > how do you burn > congregation > in spades > up in it
gentleman turned 30; such a brilliant album
gentleman turned 30; such a brilliant album
Turbo
Well-Known Member
Depeche Mode Tier List.
Ok, so I've gone through my deep dive and re-listened to everything.
Violator Tier: Violator.
Basically the record you should own if you own only one Depeche Mode record. Although there really is no such thing because people enjoy different kinds of music, this is one of those records that I arguably would consider as being essential to any record collection.
First Tier: Black Celebration, Music For The Masses, **101 (in any order)
These to me are the next DM records to own. Black Celebration is the album where their brand of dark electronica comes together and Music For The Masses was the record that put Depeche Mode over the top. It's DM at their "poppiest". 101 would fall in this tier if live albums are included.
Second Tier: Songs Of Faith And Devotion, Playing The Angel, Memento Mori, Ultra, Some Great Reward (in any order)
These are the albums for those that want to dig deeper. All of them are excellent from front to back in their own right. Songs of Faith and Ultra follow on Violator's footsteps. Not quite as solid as that album (to me a little weaker on the backend in both cases) but they delve deeper into that darkness, even more so. The fact that Ultra exists at all considering what Dave was going through with addiction is something in and of itself. Some Great Reward is where DM complete their transformation following Vince Clark's departure and develop their unique proto-industrial electronic sound and where they show they can write solid songs (any band with an album with 4 hit songs this far deep in a tiered list is a great band). Playing The Angel was a solid renewal in sound and where Dave started contributing as a writer. And I really love their new record Memento Mori - they embrace their roots on it (you can hear elements of their past throughout), it's uncomplicated which makes it engaging, and thematically it seems to celebrate death, which serves them well and is a great tribute to Andy.
Third Tier: Sounds Of The Universe, Construction Time Again, A Broken Frame, Speak And Spell, Exciter (in any order)
These are for the bigger fans. All have excellent tracks but falter a bit when listened from front to back. Sounds Of The Universe is probably my favorite of this group, if I was to rank them. It continues with the sound established on Playing The Angel but doesn't quite achieve the excellence of that record. Speak And Spell is the first album and really doesn't sound like what DM would become - it's a Vince Clark synthpop record and more akin to Yazoo and Erasure in that respect. But still belongs in this tier due to the greatness of Just Can't Get Enough. A Broken Frame is the first record after Vince Clark left and it's clunky as they seem to be searching for themselves. But hints of what's to come appear in My Secret Garden and See You. Construction Time Again is the next step and remains clunky, but it gives rise to their first post-Vince Clark classic in Everything Counts. Finally, Exciter is a weird record that the band members themselves don't like much. They famously said that it sounds like they were covering themselves. To me it sounds like they were attempting to make a Portishead record and ended up with tamer coffee shop fare. But still, I like several tracks from it.
Fourth Tier: Spirit, Delta Machine (in any order)
More recent and forgettable albums to me. I've always had a hard time listening to these two from front to back but each have excellent tracks peppered throughout. Also kudos for trying something new with Spirit (doing politically-inclined songs).
Ok, so I've gone through my deep dive and re-listened to everything.
Violator Tier: Violator.
Basically the record you should own if you own only one Depeche Mode record. Although there really is no such thing because people enjoy different kinds of music, this is one of those records that I arguably would consider as being essential to any record collection.
First Tier: Black Celebration, Music For The Masses, **101 (in any order)
These to me are the next DM records to own. Black Celebration is the album where their brand of dark electronica comes together and Music For The Masses was the record that put Depeche Mode over the top. It's DM at their "poppiest". 101 would fall in this tier if live albums are included.
Second Tier: Songs Of Faith And Devotion, Playing The Angel, Memento Mori, Ultra, Some Great Reward (in any order)
These are the albums for those that want to dig deeper. All of them are excellent from front to back in their own right. Songs of Faith and Ultra follow on Violator's footsteps. Not quite as solid as that album (to me a little weaker on the backend in both cases) but they delve deeper into that darkness, even more so. The fact that Ultra exists at all considering what Dave was going through with addiction is something in and of itself. Some Great Reward is where DM complete their transformation following Vince Clark's departure and develop their unique proto-industrial electronic sound and where they show they can write solid songs (any band with an album with 4 hit songs this far deep in a tiered list is a great band). Playing The Angel was a solid renewal in sound and where Dave started contributing as a writer. And I really love their new record Memento Mori - they embrace their roots on it (you can hear elements of their past throughout), it's uncomplicated which makes it engaging, and thematically it seems to celebrate death, which serves them well and is a great tribute to Andy.
Third Tier: Sounds Of The Universe, Construction Time Again, A Broken Frame, Speak And Spell, Exciter (in any order)
These are for the bigger fans. All have excellent tracks but falter a bit when listened from front to back. Sounds Of The Universe is probably my favorite of this group, if I was to rank them. It continues with the sound established on Playing The Angel but doesn't quite achieve the excellence of that record. Speak And Spell is the first album and really doesn't sound like what DM would become - it's a Vince Clark synthpop record and more akin to Yazoo and Erasure in that respect. But still belongs in this tier due to the greatness of Just Can't Get Enough. A Broken Frame is the first record after Vince Clark left and it's clunky as they seem to be searching for themselves. But hints of what's to come appear in My Secret Garden and See You. Construction Time Again is the next step and remains clunky, but it gives rise to their first post-Vince Clark classic in Everything Counts. Finally, Exciter is a weird record that the band members themselves don't like much. They famously said that it sounds like they were covering themselves. To me it sounds like they were attempting to make a Portishead record and ended up with tamer coffee shop fare. But still, I like several tracks from it.
Fourth Tier: Spirit, Delta Machine (in any order)
More recent and forgettable albums to me. I've always had a hard time listening to these two from front to back but each have excellent tracks peppered throughout. Also kudos for trying something new with Spirit (doing politically-inclined songs).
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hatfieldpdx
Well-Known Member
Agreed on The National! I might swap SWB with IAETF, but it's a minor quibble.
Molly Burch lost me with First Flower, and especially Romantic Images. Sounds as though I need to give Daydreamer a chance?
wokeupnew
Well-Known Member
Yes! I’d give it at least one listen. If you like Wild Nothing you’ll love this new one.