After you've all played the mix tapes you made for the road trip; after you've made fun of the radio; after you've played various guessing and trivia games and made a long list of songs that start with the last letter of other songs or share a word or whatever... the game that never lets me down is this:
Name a perfect album with one unlistenable song.
The example that everyone usually recognizes is OK Computer. It tops all civilized "Best of the 90s" lists, and yet, a majority of people can't listen to Fitter Happier. AND YET: would the album seem as ambitious and technologically paranoid without the Mac voice reading teen poetry?
I will also suggest:
- Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies, marred by Butchers Tale - I Am A Bird Now, by Antony and the Johnsons, marred by Free At Last
Do you see the potential for long-winded car trip conversations? What is a perfect album, and what is its relation to the one crappy song? Is it different if there are two crappy songs and why? Is an unlistenable song actually crappy, or just "difficult"? Bring it on!
My personal take on the perfect/flawed albums is best summed up in a dorky quote from an old Team Dresch side-project album. One song, which I can't recall the name of, kicked off with this fake-flakey skit:
You know Jody, they say that in Japan? When a master potter makes a perfect pot? He'll always throw it away. [gong sound]
(So, of course, I welcome your broken-perfect album suggestions, so that I can trample all my friends next time this comes up.)
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Come on, Fitter Happier rocks.
I just got OK Computer while I was in Cali and listened to it in the rental car. That track made me crack up. :)
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Synchronicity by the Police, marred by Mother.
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that intro track to 'clap your hands say yeah' is horrible.
the album 'the animal years' by josh ritter should have ended with 'thin blue flame'. adding anything afterwards is like adding a scene to the end of a movie in after the entire earth explodes into a million pieces.
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IMO the strongest evidence of this phenomenon is "Octopus' Garden" on The Beatles' Abbey Road. Holy crap. I hate that song so much. Bad Ringo, bad!
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I couldn't think of an album, but Yay! You're back!
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Jesu's self titled album. Track 7 Man-Woman nearly ruins the entire album for me. The entire record has a pretty uniform, crunchy/beautiful feel... then Man-Woman destroys it with ugly, godawful, traditional Godflesh style screaming.... ugh
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you are spot-on with your "butcher's tale" observation.
my pick= "torn curtain" by television. it was the worst way to end "marquee moon". rather than giving you a sense of euphoria that every perfect album does, this song leave you wondering "how much of this album is left?". a deadful way to end an album.
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I love listening to Kid Loco Presents Jesus Life for Children Under 12 Inches. The songs are really enjoyable remixes that Kid Loco has done of other people's music. There are great songs by Talvin Singh, Pulp, Mogwai, Badmarsh & Shri and more. The cd has been in heavy rotation here many times since it was released in 1999. HOWEVER. There is one song on that drives me nuts. I call it the screaming song. It is Youpi by Cornu. It starts off sweet like the rest of the cuts with some chanteuse in French. Then. There's the screaming. It is so jarring. It isn't necessarily a horrible song. It just doesn't fit in the mood that the rest of the songs put me in.
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Bjork's "Post" is all fucked up by "It's So Quiet". AAAARGH!
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I actually love Fitter Happier.
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Thanks for the good picks, everyone! I suddenly wish I could do something with this data other than save it for the next car trip. Most music-trivia games make good mix tape themes. This game is kind of a rip-off that way.
I thought of one more though. Grace by Jeff Buckley is surely a perfect album, but "Eternal Life" has not aged very well, and is pretty embarrassing now.
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Probably not as well known, but for me it's The Tear Garden's "Last Man to Fly". What an incredible album, but I can't even listen to "The Great Lie" in the middle of it. That track is so bad I have to skip over it every time.
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Alright I'll play - Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine - Track 4 "Settle for Nothing" is just damaged goods, man. But the rest of the ALBUM rocks it down.
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Act Naturally from Help! by...ooh I forget! We'll Meet Again from the first Byrds LP (infact any of Roger McGuinn's extended raga affairs!)
I love Television's Torn Curtain - sometimes there's a morning after you know.
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U2 "The Unforgettable Fire" arsed by "Elvis Presley in America." Have a word with yourself, Paul.
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on the hip hop tip....ghostface ' supreme clientele' is a masterpiece but 'stroke of death' is just about the most annoying hip hop beat of all time.