The most average albums ever made

[Jive Turkey]

So my karaoke singer comparison was apt?

spot on

 

[Irishteen]

Keane - Under The Iron Sea
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sex Sugar Magik
The Dead 60s - The Dead 60s
Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Radiohead - Pablo Honey
R.E.M. - Accelerate
R.E.M. - Monster
Coldplay - X&Y
Guns & Roses - Chinese Democracy (For the most part)


I know some of those choices are gonna be unpopular...

 

[LemonMelon]

Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

I actually enjoy a good chunk of this record. It's certainly more vital and lively than much of his '80s material, but it really is inconsistent, to the point of being jarring. Chaos And Creation In The Backyard is so much better.

 

[LMP]

I'd venture to say X&Y leans more toward pure shit than mediocrity.

 

[phillyfan26]

I do like Pablo Honey as a very average album. I think that's a good way to describe it.

 

[Irishteen]

I actually enjoy a good chunk of this record. It's certainly more vital and lively than much of his '80s material, but it really is inconsistent, to the point of being jarring. Chaos And Creation In The Backyard is so much better.

I haven't really listened to any of his solo stuff, that album was free in the paper. Gave it a couple of listens and just haven't gone back to it since. I just remember it being really average, although maybe it was more inconsistent. I'd give it another listen but...I'd rather listen to music I enjoy.

X&Y probably wins most average album though, even if most of the songs aren't bad (save for What If, The Hardest Part...don't make me remember that album), it's harder to get through in one listen than Metal Machine Music

 

[MMP]

R.E.M. - Accelerate
R.E.M. - Monster
Guns & Roses - Chinese Democracy (For the most part)


I know some of those choices are gonna be unpopular...

For Christ's sake, I love those three albums.

 

[LMP]

Metal Machine Music is at least something different... certainly not "average," in any sense.

 

[LemonMelon]

I haven't really listened to any of his solo stuff, that album was free in the paper. Gave it a couple of listens and just haven't gone back to it since. I just remember it being really average, although maybe it was more inconsistent. I'd give it another listen but...I'd rather listen to music I enjoy.

X&Y probably wins most average album though, even if most of the songs aren't bad (save for What If, The Hardest Part...don't make me remember that album), it's harder to get through in one listen than Metal Machine Music

Fair enough. I do love Paul McCartney's solo work, so I was anticipating that album, and wound up quite disappointed. He was on a good run there for a while with albums like Flaming Pie and Chaos And Creation, but meh. Memory Almost Full sounded like a bunch of unrelated outtakes of mixed quality.

Haha, the Metal Machine Music comparison is fantastic. I actually did make it through about 20 minutes of that once. The difference is, listening to that piece of shit boosts your indie cred. I would never brag about listening to anything from X&Y. Or knowing who Coldplay is.

 

[cdisantis83]

Even Better Than the Real Thing meets Zoo Station, mostly. You can almost sing the latter track over the whole thing.

Ha ha...I honestly thought that "Is It Any Wonder" was a Zoo Station remix the first time that I heard it.

 

[Dalton]

I submit for your consideration:

&

 

[Reggo]

Canadian Vegan Poetry

:suicide:

I actually enjoy a good chunk of this record. It's certainly more vital and lively than much of his '80s material, but it really is inconsistent, to the point of being jarring.

This. Ever Present Past is my favourite, but as a whole, it feels so disjointed.

 

[powerhour24]

Good call. I loved Final Straw for a long time, first hearing "Spitting Games" with the release of MVP Baseball 2004. Eyes Open wasn't any good, but there are one or two nice songs ("Shut Your Eyes" is actually all the comes to mind). I didn't listen to the latest because I don't want to hear all the Grey's Anatomy-ness of their hit singles from the previous record.

Its much better than Eyes Open FYI (which had less cheesy album tracks than the singles), Suns has great production and layering, and for them the lyrics are quite evocative, one other thing is that as rare as it is nowadays, the album works as a whole. Its not up to the creative standard of Final Straw, but its a step back in the right direction. They're endearing, no music virtusos, but enjoyable.

Also, sadly the only thing I appreciated about KOL was their U2 wannabeness of Only By the Night, but I've listened to Because of the Times again and enjoyed it more.

 

[ShipOfFools]

Keane - Under The Iron Sea
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sex Sugar Magik
The Dead 60s - The Dead 60s
Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Radiohead - Pablo Honey
R.E.M. - Accelerate
R.E.M. - Monster
Coldplay - X&Y
Guns & Roses - Chinese Democracy (For the most part)


I know some of those choices are gonna be unpopular...

Yeah, all of those albums are really good. I do not understand.

One that definitely qualifies is Prince "Planet Earth." I love Prince, and that album was crap.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

In fact, I'd argue it was the only great baseball video game.

I hate sports video games. Actually, I pretty much hate video games in general. But Ken Griffey Jr. for SNES was the shit.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I dont know how old most of you are, so I dont know if it was just before your time or if maybe you have forgotten of its sweetness, but THIS is the single greatest baseball game ever made

.......There is no more argument

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

As for the KOL thing...if you had talked to me two years ago I would have said they were one of my 10 favorite bands. The debut had a bunch of great songs, and the oft-used description of them as "The Southern Strokes" was spot on. Aha Shake Heartbreak (which will go down as their best work) was a personal favorite album of mine, and Because of the Times was my favorite album of '07.

But, goddamn, this new one really left a sour taste in my mouth. I can't exactly put my finger on it but...they changed. For the worse. The songs just weren't there. I think they might have lost their souls somewhere along the way. Perhaps Bono stole their souls.

Anyway, good for them for becoming an absolutely massive act over in Europe, and for breaking through over here. But, yeah...I don't even listen to the band anymore. Shame.

 

[cobl04]

I nominate The Fray's newly-released eponymous album.

The slick, blurry, poorly-lit, pseudo-artistic front cover says it all. It's been done at least 10,000 times before, it's record company-sanctioned, and it feigns artistic inspiration. Pretty much sums it up for an album that finds itself so lacking in dynamics that it resorts to rhyming homophones (here, hear) because anything else would prove too eclectic.

Things I learned while listening to The Fray:

1. Sometimes, the difference between a rocker and a ballad is the way it's marketed.

2. Consistency and coherence is not always a good thing.

3. A 1/10 can be infinitely more enjoyable than a 5/10.

Words barely describe how much I agree.

When I first heard You Found Me, it was hard to describe my feelings toward it. It wasn't that it sucked donkey's balls, or was fantastic, just that it was so.... average.

 

[IWasBored]

I think both of their voices sound more or less the same for some reason

I turn it off if it's "Waiitin' on the World to Change", as I think that song has one of the shittiest messages of any pop song of the last few years. "If you don't like how the world is, don't do anything about it, just wait for someone else to!"

that song is up there probably in my top....we'll say 20 just to be safe...most hated songs of all time.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Now this is my kind of thread.

Even if it includes deplorable evidence of GAF disliking video games, which really destroys a part of the image I had of him.

 

[Saracene]

The View - Hats Off to the Buskers

That album taught me to stay the heck away from any band that gets compared to The Libertines. Who are themselves utterly average IMO.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Now this is my kind of thread.

Even if it includes deplorable evidence of GAF disliking video games, which really destroys a part of the image I had of him.

Yeah, sorry about that. I like some older video games. Mostly games for the SNES. The Donkey Kong Country series being the pinnacle of video games for all time. Everything has been downhill from there. They couldn't possibly top that, so I don't even bother anymore. Plus, it just seems like such a lateral move.

The View - Hats Off to the Buskers

That album taught me to stay the heck away from any band that gets compared to The Libertines. Who are themselves utterly average IMO.

The View are pretty weak. I think The Libertines were great but, you're right, they did spawn a shit load of imitation European power chord loving wannabe retro punk bands. The Libertines themselves were spawned by The Strokes, though, so it's them you should really blame for all that.

But don't. Because I fucking love The Strokes.

 

[bono_212]

Now this is my kind of thread.

Even if it includes deplorable evidence of GAF disliking video games, which really destroys a part of the image I had of him.

A little of GAF died for me this day as well.

 

[cobl04]

Mercury Rev

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Cast
The Seahorses
Richard Ashcroft's second album

All evidence that having been in great bands doesn't guarantee being able to make great records.

 

[intedomine]

Whoa, big, original thinking man here, having an irrational dig at Coldplay.

Why would you listen to it in the first place mate? Doubt you even did, or are a closet fan like most anti-Coldplay bashers.

 

[Dalton]

Whoa, big, original thinking man here, having an irrational dig at Coldplay.

Why would you listen to it in the first place mate? Doubt you even did, or are a closet fan like most anti-Coldplay bashers.

Wow. Are you supposed to be in the deep end without your swimmies?

Viva La Vida (which I own) is the epitome of an average album. There is nothing on the album that is bad. There is nothing on the album that is great. It's all good ... average. I put it on in the background and I am neither annoyed nor excited by anything that I hear. When I have people over for dinner, I will often put this album on low in the background because I know no one will ask me to turn it up or down. It is pleasant background noise.

I'm reminded of you a quote by Abraham Lincoln when I read your posts: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

 

[intedomine]

Wow. Are you supposed to be in the deep end without your swimmies?

Viva La Vida (which I own) is the epitome of an average album. There is nothing on the album that is bad. There is nothing on the album that is great. It's all good ... average. I put it on in the background and I am neither annoyed nor excited by anything that I hear. When I have people over for dinner, I will often put this album on low in the background because I know no one will ask me to turn it up or down. It is pleasant background noise.

I'm reminded of you a quote by Abraham Lincoln when I read your posts: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Why would you own the album then? There are tons of other albums out there which are more effective at being "background noise"....

 

[Dalton]

Why would you own the album then? There are tons of other albums out there which are more effective at being "background noise"....

Why do you give a fuck what albums I do or do not own?

I'm gonna break some news to you that might be painful at first, but it's for your own good: Coldplay don't give a fuck about you. That's right. No matter how much you defend them on the internet, they're never going to send you a royalty check. No matter how much you act like a self-righteous (deluded?) asshole on their behalf, that phone call asking you to go on tour with them is never going to come. In the end they're just another band that you enjoy - like the Jonas Brothers. The music you listen to does not define you. It's simply music that you listen to. It doesn't make you better. It doesn't make you worse.

This is probably news to you. I'm sure you sit around thinking, "Dalton hates me because I like Coldplay." But that is incorrect. I simply hate you because you're you. Coldplay doesn't really factor.

So calm the fuck down.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I'm the same way for "Bedshaped," for one reason or another.

Here's one reason: because it's fucking heartbreakingly beautiful.

That's why.

YES! x2 The only Keane song I tolerate...

I don't think Viva La Vida was a mediocre album, X&Y was but I still like it though... I realize I can't be a big tough man in front of my peers if I admit that I like Coldplay but whatever... A wise man once said:

Here he comes. Here comes John Wayne. I'm not gonna cry about my pa. I'm gonna buy an airport, put my name on it. Why, Michael? So you can fly away from your feelings? You can keep them bottled up, Michael, but they will come out. Sometimes in the most unexpected -- Hey! Where the fuck are my hard-boiled eggs?!