This is part one of a special Subvert Central Podcast, put together by Nozkram, documenting the best albums owned by members of the SC community. From protest-heavy hip-hop via Public Enemy, right through to twinkling, melodramatic shoegaze from My Bloody Valentine, it's an uninhibited snapshot of an underground network's cream of the crop, hosted by the oh-so-sweetly-spoken Subvert Bot.
TRACKLISTING01. Virgin Prunes - A New Form of Beauty (1981) - 6 Beats (Seven Bastard Suck) - chosen by shift
The Virgin Prunes was an Irish gothic rock band. The band formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1986 after the departure of member Gavin Friday. The rest of the band continued on without him for a while as The Prunes, but they too ended activities by 1990.
02. Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul (1969) - Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic - chosen by loris
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer-songwriter, actor and musician. Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter during the mid-1960s.
In the late 1960s, Hayes became a recording artist, and recorded successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971) as the Stax label's premier artist. In addition to his work in popular music, Hayes was a film score composer for motion pictures. His best known work, for the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft, earned Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category) and two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for the album Black Moses.
03. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet (1990) - War at 33 1/3 - chosen by Cycom
Public Enemy, also known as PE, is a hip hop group from Long Island, New York, known for its politically charged lyrics and criticism of the American media, with an active interest in the frustrations and concerns of the African American community.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Public Enemy number forty-four on its list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Acclaimed Music ranks them the 29th most recommended musical act of all time and the highest hip-hop group. The group was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
04. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (1965) - Resolution - chosen by Dodz
A Love Supreme is a jazz studio album released by John Coltrane's quartet in 1965. It is generally considered to be among Coltrane's greatest works, as it coalesced the hard bop sensibilities of his early career with the free jazz style he adopted later in his life.
05. Kimmo Pohjonen - Kielo (1999) - Emboli - chosen by Naphta
Kimmo Pohjonen (born August 16, 1964) is a Finnish accordionist, whose singular mission is to expand the capabilities, sound, scope, performance and experience of the accordion to levels never before attempted, seen or heard. Accordion, voice, effects, surround sound and light show combine to make a unique and captivating performance event.
06. Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords (1995) - Labels - chosen by Concept 81
Gary Grice, better known by his stage name GZA (pronounced /ˈdʒɪzə/) and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist best known as a founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and for his inclusion on their group albums, his groupmates' solo releases and a successful solo career.
07. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1970) - Inner City Blues - chosen by Rondema
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist with a three-octave vocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960 signing with the Tamla subsidiary of Motown Records. After starting off as a session drummer, Gaye ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the sixties.
08. Peter Gabriel - Security (1982) - Kiss of Life - chosen by Rooster
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flutist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. More recently he has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. Gabriel was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2009.
09. King Crimson - Discipline (1981) - Frame by Frame - chosen by Theeborn
King Crimson are a rock band, originally founded in 1969 by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles. Typically categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band has in fact incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during its long history, drawing from jazz, classical and experimental music to psychedelic rock, heavy metal, new wave, hard rock, gamelan, folk music, electronica and drum and bass. Originating in England, the band has had a mixture of English and American personnel since 1981.
10. Melvins - Houdini Live (2006) - Joan of Arc - chosen by clinton
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1982. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne ("King Buzzo") and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members. They have made contributions to creating grunge music and sludge metal. The band was named after a supervisor at a Thriftway in Montesano, Washington where Osborne also worked as a clerk. "Melvin" was despised by other employees, and the band's members felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name.
11. Ministry - Psalm 69 (1992) - Corrosion - chosen by Nozkram
Ministry was an American industrial metal band founded by frontman Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (1992) and touring as part of the Lollapalooza festival. After 27 years of performing, Al Jourgensen decided to retire the band as of 2008.
12. Helmet - Meantime (1992) - in the Meantime - chosen by silent wolf
Meantime is the second album and major-label debut by Helmet, released in 1992 on Interscope Records.
Meantime has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, and in 1994 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Helmet released one single from Meantime, "Unsung", which was a charting success on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, and remains their best-known song. The album itself reached #68 on Billboard's Top 200; an unexpected success for the band. Music videos were also made for "Give It" and "In the Meantime".
13. Therapy? - Caucasian Psychosis (1992) - Loser Cop - chosen by Macc
Therapy? are an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band recruited Larne bassist Michael McKeegan.
With keen pop sensibilities, a skewed sense of humour and a willingness to draw inspiration from diverse sources (notably punk rock), Therapy? came to attention in the early 1990s rise of alternative rock, but have endured for two decades since.
14. Henry Cow - Leg End (1973) - Bittern Storm over Ulm (from Unrest, 1974) - chosen By Statto
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members alongside Frith and Hodgkinson.
An inherent anti-commercial bias kept them at arm's length from the mainstream music business, enabling them to experiment at will. Critic Myles Boisen writes, "their sound was so mercurial and daring that they had few imitators, even though they inspired many on both sides of the Atlantic with a blend of spontaneity, intricate structures, philosophy, and humor that has endured and transcended the 'progressive' tag."
15. Amebix - No Sanctuary (1984) - Battery Humans - chosen by Erbanta
Amebix are an English crust punk band. Formed as "The Band with No Name," Amebix's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released three EPs and two full-length LPs. The group has reunited as of 2008.
By being one of the first bands to blend anarcho-punk and heavy metal music, Amebix are often cited as one of the key bands that helped to create the crust punk style. Such notable bands as Sepultura, Neurosis and Deviated Instinct have paid homage to the band.
16. Borax - Mikroрайон (1999) - Laava - chosen by widzhit
Borax was a legendary indie-rock-pop band in the middle of 90's, involving many talented musicians, who now have all moved to their solo or other projects.
Laava is bit different from rest of the tracks on this album, Mikroraion, that was last for Borax. Slow tempo, no vocals, more guitar sounds. Mood changes from mellow flow to desperate and melancholic.
17. Autolux - Future Perfect (2004) - Blanket - chosen by Missy Swanker
Autolux is a Los Angeles-based trio comprising Eugene Goreshter (lead vocals, bass), Greg Edwards (guitar, vocals) and Carla Azar (drums, vocals). The trio formed in 2000 and has since recorded one promotion EP, Demonstration, and released one full-length studio album, Future Perfect, in 2004. Autolux is currently working on a second studio album.
18. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991) - only when i sleep - chosen by Safetyboy
My Bloody Valentine are a shoegazing band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1984. The founding members are guitarist/singer Kevin Shields and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. The band's lineup during its heyday also included singer-guitarist Bilinda Butcher and bassist Debbie Googe, when the band were predominantly based in London.
19. The Young Gods - The Young Gods (1987) - Fais La Mounette - chosen by Kontra
The Young Gods (TYG) is a Swiss Industrial music band. The band's lineup has generally consisted of a vocalist, a sampler operator and a drummer. Their instrumentation often includes sampled electric guitars, drums, keyboards, and other samples. The lyrics are a mix of English, French and a bit of German.
20. Tarentel - Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun (2007) - A Crystal the Size of Our Moon in the Heart of a Pulsating White Dwarf - chosen by Little Nemo
Tarentel began as a post-rock band, making extended, LP-side length instrumental pieces similar to those of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai. Over the course three full-length albums and a number of singles and EPs, Tarentel has gradually shifted their style to a looser, more improvisational form that incorporates genres such as noise and drone as well as having a strong psychedelic element.
21. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992) - Heliosphan - chosen by muscavage
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), aka Aphex Twin, is a British electronic musician described by The Guardian newspaper as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music." He founded the record label Rephlex Records in 1991 with his friend Grant Wilson-Claridge.
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