North Central College Media 200 Class

  In Rainbows - Radiohead Released 2007 - Genre: Art Rock, Experimental Rock While the albums I talked about in this blog are not ranked in any particular order, I can confidently say that this is my favorite album. Radiohead has always been one of my favorite bands, my original idea for this blog was to do an entry on each of their nine studio albums. In Rainbows came at a very unique point in the band’s career, as they had already seemingly reinvented the wheel twice, with the release of OK Computer in 1997, and Kid A in 2000, and their few albums since had been highly regarded but never to that same level. In Rainbows was their attempt at reinventing their sound again and doing something groundbreaking, and they delivered. The buildup to the album's release was very unique, as the band promoted the album almost solely on their own website, where they boasted a pay-what-you-want scheme for the album, where fans could pay any amount (or nothing at all) to download the album. I...

  Mirrored - Battles Released 2007 - Genre: Math Rock, Experimental Rock This is the album that helped me discover math rock, which is essentially normal rock made more complicated by nerds. I think Battles is such a great band because they create music that is technical and uniquely-structured, but it is still fun to listen to. Oftentimes I’ll listen to other bands within the genre and think: “man this is cool but it sounds terrible!” I feel there is definitely a borderline where if music becomes too technical it just becomes grading to listen to, but an album like Mirrored doesn’t have that problem because it still has catchy hooks and grooves you can move to. It is an album built on repetition, with most songs beginning with just a few essential components, but then building into an intricate piece that leaves you captivated. The second track, “Atlas,” is a great example of this, as the shuffling beat of the drums and synth lines remain largely unchanged over it’s seven minute...

  Time n’ Place - Kero Kero Bonito Released 2018 - Genre: Indie Rock, Noise,  Experimental Pop Time n’ Place instantly became one of my favorite albums after listening to it for the first time, and that sentiment is only cemented upon subsequent listens. Kero Kero Bonito is very unique as they are a pop band that has no trouble dabbling in other genres and still creating fantastic music. This album is a great example of that, as it is much more of a rock album than a traditional pop album like the ones they made prior, but instead of ditching the bubbly synth patterns and pop song structures they simply implemented them in a different way, creating a pop rock sound that is still uniquely Kero Kero Bonito . The album isn’t very long, at just over a half hour, and it feels even shorter because of how well each song flows into the next. But each song is so jam-packed with clever ideas and little nuances that I didn’t even notice on my first listen. Another thing I really like a...

  Emergency & I - Dismemberment Plan Released 1999 - Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Punk Emergency & 1 is the third album from Dismemberment Plan , and by far their most popular release. It is cited by many as being a major turning point for indie rock, and many aspects of the record feel very ahead of their time. Touching on lyrical themes of loneliness and feeling disconnected in an age of information only became more relatable decades after the release of the album, with social media becoming a dominating factor in many of our lives. Emergency & I is a very vulnerable and introspective album for it’s frontman Travis Morrison, as many of those lyrics come from his own life experiences. While introspective, the album still delivers it’s share of hard rock tunes that callback to the band’s earlier punk roots. Alternative newspaper The Village Voice stated that "the only way [The Dismemberment Plan are] punk anymore is that there aren't very many of them and that none of ...

  Schlagenheim - black midi Released 2019 - Genre: Math Rock, Noise Rock, Post-Punk This album is a big one for me, it made me realize that rock music is far from dead, and can still break new ground even today. Black Midi are a fairly new group, forming in Croydon, England in 2017. Featuring Geordie Greep on vocals and guitar, Cameron Picton on bass guitar, and Morgan Simpson on drums, the band released a few singles before releasing this debut album titled Schlageneheim , which is one of the most unique rock albums I have ever heard. Greep’s unique, almost crooning vocal style, and Simpson’s high-energy and technicality drumming compliment each other surprisingly well. The band is constantly experimenting with new soundscapes and styles on this record, and the result is explosive. The time signatures and guitar effects are constantly changing, but the unique approach to songwriting is constant. Borrowing the eccentricity of Talking Heads and the groundbreaking songwriting of ban...

  Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Released 2008 - Genre: Indie Folk, Chamber Pop This is one of the more low-key albums I decided to cover on this blog. Fleet Foxes are a band that I enjoy for their simplicity, and their ability to create lush folk songs that tell a story. Gone are the harsh walls of noise on The Glow Pt. 2 , replaced now by reverb-soaked harmonies and plucky guitars and strings, this is pure folk music and it usually serves as a nice change pace from the other music I frequently listen to. Critics often call this album one of the best albums of the 2000s, and one of the best debut albums of all time, and I can’t argue with them! I first discovered this album, and this group after hearing the Pentatonix version of their song “White Winter Hymnal,” which has now massively surpassed the original song in popularity. But honestly I didn’t like that version very much, so I decided to check out the original and I am glad that I did, Fleet Foxes truly seem to have their sig...

  Give Up - The Postal Service Released 2003 - Genre: Indietronica, Synth-pop Just wanted to start off with a shoutout to my junior year English teacher for introducing me to this album, truly a life changing moment. The Postal Service was a very short-lived group, with this being their only release. With Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie fame) on vocals, along with producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on guitar and backing vocals, The Postal Service created a short-but-sweet ten track album that combines electronics with indie pop wonderfully. The album was released by SubPop who helped release several other notable albums like Nirvana ’s “Bleach,” Sunny Day Real Estate ’s “Diary,” and Fleet Foxes ’ debut album (which we will talk about later). Gibbard combined his pop songwriting sensibilities with Tamborello’s electronica production to create a unique blend of synth-pop that became incredibly popular upon its release. For a time, the band “made laptops the new guitar,...

  Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance Released 2004 - Genre: Alternative Rock, Emo, Pop-Punk This album is one that is very nostalgic for me, along with the rest of My Chemical Romance ’s discography. I wasn’t sure if I should talk about this album, as opposed to Black Parade or even their debut album, but after some thought I felt that this is the one that resonates with me the most. I think it still holds just as much relevance, and holds up musically even today, as I am several years removed from my angsty middle school pop-punk phase. My Chemical Romance never really left my musical rotation as the years passed, and I think that’s largely due to how catchy and endearing their music on this record is. I always thought it would come off as cringeworthy after not listening to it for so long, but I only appreciate the band more now. Gerard Way is a phenomenal frontman, and has a knack for writing great hooks that are complemented perfectly by the guitarwork of Fra...

                                                                 The Glow Pt. 2 - The Microphones Released 2001 - Genre: Indie Folk, Ambient, Noise Rock The second album I wanted to cover for this blog is The Glow Pt.2 by The Microphones . While releasing around the same time as The Unicorns album I discussed previously, and similarly falling under the indie umbrella, this seminal indie-folk release is a far cry from the whimsical soundscapes discussed prior. Phil Elverum’s second major release under the Microphones moniker features free flowing and often harsh soundscapes that take the listener on a journey for the entire twenty track runtime. Elverum recorded and produced the entire album himself, in his hometown of Olympia, Washington on a 16 track analog tape. His unconventional recording ...

Hi everyone! My name is Ryan Nolan, and in this blog I will be talking about ten of my favorite albums. Music plays a big part in my life as I play guitar and sing in a band, and listen to a wide range of music genre-wise, so it was an easy choice on my blog topic. The albums are not ranked in any concrete order, and I don’t intend to try and review or score any of the albums. Instead I hope to give an overview of the band and the things I enjoy about each album, so maybe everyone reading can find some new music to check out. I just thought it would be neat to ramble about some of my favorite music because it’s fun to talk about! Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? - The Unicorns Released 2003 - Genre: Indie Rock, Lo-Fi This is the first album I have decided to cover on this blog, as it is the album on the list that I have listened to most recently, so it is still fairly fresh in the mind. Released in 2003 by Canadian rock band, The Unicorns , this album presents whimsical synth and...