Çarşamba 9 May 2007, 20:03

There are a few albums that represent my personal definition of musical and artistic greatness. These are music albums that present extraordinary consistency and are works that I can and do listen to start to from finish while enjoying each moment. Not judging just by their few "hits", these are albums that are excellent as a whole.

Tales of the Inexpressible by Shpongle
Shpongle is probably the only music project that I can consider as the pinnacle of the respective genre. There were three full-length albums created as well as a remix album. This is the second of the three and I consider it the best. The first, Are You Shpongled? isn't quite as active and dynamic. The third, Nothing Lasts... But Nothing is Lost isn't as engaging. This is an exceptional work of art.

Classical Mushroom by Infected Mushroom
This is Infected Mushroom's second major release, after the more obscure The Gathering, before they started playing around with vocoded singing, which many old fans are alienated by. I'm not one of those "old fans" and I greatly appreciate all of their work. Converting Vegetarians and the new album Vicious Delicious contain some incredible pieces, though they also contain some duds. Not the case with Classical Mushroom; I don't feel the need to skip any tracks when listening to it. Highlights include Bust a Move and Dracul.

California by Mr. Bungle
Mike Patton is one of my musical heroes and Mr. Bungle, his high school band, is my preferred project of his. This is their third and last album. Their second, Disco Volante was more of a sound art album and simply didn't fascinate me. Their first, self-titled album, Mr. Bungle has a couple fantastic tracks and a lot of stupid ones. Slowly Growing Deaf is one of my most-loved pieces of music. California, on the other hand, is a solid album of constant good music from start to finish.

The Mollusk by Ween
I love Ween, really, but only two of their albums really latched onto me, this one and White Pepper, but I adore the both of them. I list only The Mollusk because while I enjoy them both in much the same way, the former edges out the latter slightly. The amount of musical versatility and respectable silliness is unparalleled by these two freaks, Dean and Gene. It's Gonna Be (Alright) is a piece that I very much relate with.

Last Rights by Skinny Puppy
The balance of melody & lyrics, abstract sound art, and aching noisiness is perfect in this album. I suppose this is "mid-era" Skinny Puppy, the period of their work that I appreciate the most (I also really like Too Dark Park). I can get into any moment on this album while listening to it and feel no impulse to skip ahead to the "catchy" tracks.

Red Eyed Soul by The World/Inferno Friendship Society
Their most recent, longest, and, I feel, most musically mature album. The W/IFS has produced nothing but excellence since the dawn of their existence, but this album brought them to much greater heights. The group has a unique gift in creating musical pieces that are consistently completely distinguishable. One simply cannot confuse their songs with each other. Still fine in their own right, The True Story of the Bridgewater Astral League and East Coast Supersound Punk of Today! both had their low points and Just the Best Party, while similarly consistent, is just not quite as amazing. Oh, but don't forget their fabulous live album Hallowmas Live at Northsix.

These are the albums that I would want if stranded on a desert island (and a CD player with lots of batteries too, please!).