Klostrophobic asked:
You really don't like The Wall or either of those U2 albums?
What about "Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness?"
Nope. I hate both those U2 albums which are far inferior to their earlier stuff. At least with the earlier music Bono was whining about actual injustices suffered by people the world over and actually had some credibility. By the time
Joshua Tree rolled around he had ceased to worry about them and just wanted to whine about himself, despite being a multimillionaire etc. etc. with half the world hanging on his every word. The later stuff is even less relevant, and I liken it all to
the Beatles' Yellow Submarine phase; basically "we're huge and half the world is hanging on our every word, so let's just record whatever crap happens to cross our minds, and cash the royalty checks."
The Wall is possibly the worst album Pink Floyd ever produced, at least while Roger Waters was still in the band. Considering how thoroughly and terribly he dominated that album, it was kind of a surprise to find that they were
even worse after he left. Their earlier work, even including the overplayed
Dark Side Of The Moon, is much better and much less obsessively self-indulgent.
As far as Smashing Pumpkins goes, I actually prefer the breakthrough album
Tangerine Dream much better. On
Gish they hadn't figured out who they were yet. They nailed it on
Dream, but fear of being thought 'formula' drove them to change at any cost, even though the new music wasn't as good.
Pearl Jam did the same thing after their second album.
Then GilesGuthrie wrote:
OK Computer isn't nearly as good as Radiohead's previous album, The Bends. And how can you say that Parachutes sucks, and then in the same breath advocate purchase of a They Might Be Giants album!
Agreed.
The Bends is my favorite
Radiohead album, and they are onew of my favorite bands. I should have recommended that one as well.
On the
Coldplay topic, I'm not familiar with all of
Parachutes in particular. But everything I've heard by Coldplay on the radio sounds like warmed-over U2, only not as good.
They Might Be Giant are defintiely quirky, but they are probably the most carefully-designed and internally consistent package in rock and roll history. Absolutely everything they do, from music to album graphics to interviews to website to live improvisations fits perfectly together. They're fabulous.
OK Computer isn't nearly as good as Radiohead's previous album, The Bends. And how can you say that Parachutes sucks, and then in the same breath advocate purchase of a They Might Be Giants album! 
