HAY GUYS

Gratch · May 20, 2006, 12:08 PM

I could write pages on this, so we'll just do the condensed version with a few of the important albums that really piqued my interest in what makes up most of my music collection:

Men Without Hats/"Pop Goes the World": Hey, fuck you.

Pure 80's new-wave sugar-pop, but no album brings back better memories of growing up.

Metallica/"...and Justice for All": I went through a rather embarrasing hip-hop/rap phase (yes, I bought a Vanilla Ice album), but AJFA was was brought me back to my senses with a swift kick to the head. Thank god...

Alice in Chains/"Dirt": This album was basically the soundtrack to my formidable high school years. And yes, if you do the math that means I'm an old bastard. I hadn't heard anything quite as powerful before, and I'm not sure I have since.

Nine Inch Nails/"Broken": This was the first CD I ever bought. Hell, I still have the version with the mini-CD.

Bad Religion/"Suffer": A friend and I went into a small independent record shop in Colorado and told the clerk to give us something that would blow us away. She picked this album and Helmet's 'Meantime', both of which opened my eyes to punk & hardcore. Although it's completely watered down now, I've been a fan of both genres ever since.

Skinny Puppy/"Too Dark Park": My next door neighbor in the dorms picked up this tape from an obscure band out of Canada, and it absolutely blew my mind. It was basically my first instroduction to industrial, and SP's brand of musical sculpture was nothing short of brilliance. They have been far and away my favorite band ever since.

Bauhaus/"The Sky's Gone Out": Oddly enough, the only reason I bought this album is because a review for the original Diablo in PC Gamer said the game music sounded very similar to Bauhaus. I was late getting into the genre, but were it not for this album I would have never started listening to some of the classic 80's-90's 'Goth' bands (Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Clan of Xxymox,etc.). I actually get to see them open for Nine Inch Nails next weekend, and am giddy as the proverbial schoolgirl.

So, most of my current collection is made up of these genres (industrial, goth, metal, 80's new-wave, & punk) with more than a few game soundtracks and classic rock albums (I'm especially a sucker for Jethro Tull) sprinkled throughout. Makes for a pretty good mix, I think.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Gratch · 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by Morrigan

From Sabbath/Maiden to ICP? Must... resist... get out.. of... thread... ack!

LOL. Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Skexis

My interest is piqued. =o

Do you think any of these bands sound like the Diablo soundtrack? I like the instrumental stuff in the game, but if they overlay it with the doom-like vocals (see Type O Negative) it's kind of a turn-off for me.

Not all their stuff sounds like Diablo, but there are a few tracks that I'm pretty sure Blizzard lifted directly. 'The Three Shadows-Part I', 'Hollow Hills', and 'Silent Hedges' come immediately to mind. Bauhaus vocals are anything but 'doom-like'. They took a lot of inspiration from punk and glam rock, so there's none of the deep, menacing vocals you hear in bands like Type O. Peter Murphy is the lead singer, and you might be familiar with some of his stuff ('Cuts You Up', 'Sweetest Drop', etc.)

I'd recommend picking up their greatest hits CD 'Crackle'. It's a good intro and contains most of their best stuff. There's a few glaring omissions (leaving out 'All We Ever Wanted Was Everything' is criminal), but it's a good overview.

There's nowhere I can't reach.