#397: Throbbing Gristle - D.o.A: The Third and Final Report (1978)

Zack: The fuck did I just listen to? This is one of the most confusing albums since Captain Beefheart. There was something about E Coli and a song called Wall of Sounds which was just a wall of sounds. Apparently, my least favorite song is actually a relatively normal song just sped up to 16 times its speed. I’m just so confused. Look, I didn’t like it. It honestly made me uncomfortable and a little anxious. If you’re the kind of person who likes feeling anxious, then seek help but also maybe seek out this album. Otherwise, I’d say hard pass.

Favorite Tracks: Hometime; Dead on Arrival; AB/7A

Emily: I listened to this album while home alone, and every few minutes I felt like I had to adjust the volume to make sure the neighbors couldn't hear what I was listening to. I also paused it a few times because I couldn't tell the difference between ambient city noise and some of these songs. I'm sure it has some artistic merit or other importance - otherwise why would it be on the list - but I just didn't get it, and I have no interest in figuring it out.

Favorite Tracks: Dead on Arrival; Weeping; AB/7A

#198: The Prodigy - Music for the Jilted Generation (1994)

Emily: For having such a scary looking dude on the album cover, Music for the Jilted Generation provided surprisingly inoffensive background music for my afternoon of Internet surfing and homework. It's electro-rave music, certainly not my favorite, but it blended into the background well enough that a few times I didn't even realize a song ended until halfway through the next song. There are pulsing backbeats minus the headache-inducing bass. I even caught myself typing to the beat a few times. The Prodigy's music may not have been the most engaging to me, but it served its head-bobbing purpose. And it certainly wasn't the worst electro we've encountered thusfar. I'll take The Prodigy's steady beats over a pastiche of clanging noises any day.
Favorite Tracks: No Good (Start the Dance); 3 Kilos; Voodoo People

Zack: I’m not positive, and I’m too tired to look this up, but I think this may be our first rave music album. We’ve done techno and electronic dance and chillout and ambient, but I don’t think we’ve done rave until this point. So…was it good for me? Eh, I’ll just say this time it wasn’t over too quick. It was kind of a hit-or-miss thing, much like Daft Punk although probably less cool. The biggest hit was definitely 3 Kilos, which just kicked all sorts of ass. The biggest miss was probably the song that directly followed it: Skyline. It was clearly meant to sound like a futuristic dystopian drag racing rave party. Obviously. But that just wasn’t too enjoyable to me. I think that’s really where the problem lies. When this album tries to create songs meant to be background music for movie scenes, it just fails. Merging that raveness with the ambient elements that excel for such songs just doesn’t work. When the music itself is allowed to shine through, it can be pretty damn entertaining, though.

Favorite Tracks: 3 Kilos; Voodoo People; Poison