.::. manzarock .::.

Too much, too soon: 20 debuts que los propios grupos no pudieron superar [sí, otra lista]

Esto de las listas es súper divertido. Pareciera como si cada web quisiera dejar por sentada su opinión aun si repitiera los mismos tópicos ya revisados [en algunos casos con mucho mayor tino] en distintas ocasiones. Pero bueno, cada cual publica lo que quiere en Internet.

20 discos debut

El protagonista de hoy es el portal A.V. Club [mucho gusto, El Manza por aquí]. ¿Qué nos presenta? Una lista de discos que ha titulado Too much, too soon: 20 respectable rock and rap acts that peaked with debut albums [lo cual nos enseña que no vale la pena hacer una lista si no tiene un nombre lo suficientemente pomposo y pretensioso].

No hay justificaciones, no hay excusas, nada. Aquí está la lista. Es como todas, como cualquiera: polémica, aburrida, obvia, exquisita, rebuscada, o como la quieras ver. Aunque mirándola bien, no está tan descabellada como podría parecer; es más, diría que podría estar muy de acuerdo. Creo…

1_rage.against.the.machine::rage.against.the.machine.[1992]
“Using singer Zack De La Rocha’s hardcore militancy to take the macho swagger and frat-boy idiocy out of funk-metal, the albumâ€”and its breakthrough anthem, “Killing In The Name”â€”introduced legions of kids to leftist ideals and the whole idea of funneling unease into activism.”

2_50.cent::get.rich.or.die.tryin’.[2003]
“[...] Fiddy caught the attention of Eminem and Dr. Dre, whose combined influence made Die Tryin’ one of the most famous rap records ever, before anyone had even heard a note. Once the public got a hit of “In Da Club,” 50 Cent became an overnight sensation, and his debut became the bestselling album of that year.”

3_richard.hell.and.the.voidoids::blank.generation.[1977]
“Much as Hell’s taste for ripped-up clothes and spiky hair spawned endless copycats, Blank Generation was a blueprint for thousands of punk, post-punk, and indie-rock bands, pairing Hell’s pinched yowl against Robert Quine’s jagged shards of guitar while romanticizing nihilism as a point for poetic departure [...]”

4_the.strokes::is.this.it.[2001]
“Within months, every group of guitar-slinging dudes on Earth was being comparedâ€”favorably and unfavorablyâ€”to the upstart New York band, while reviews started referring to music in pre- and post-Strokes terms. (Never mind that beyond all the adulation, Is This It is basically a solid, hooky little album that’s heavier on attitude than attempts to define a generation.)”

5_the.modern.lovers::the.modern.lovers.[1976]
“[...] The Modern Lovers’ Velvets-inspired drone is the darkest work Richman has ever done: While his lyrics preached innocence and sincerity, Richman only hints at the pie-eyed romantic he would become on tracks like “Girlfriend,” maintaining a surprisingly aloof, ironic distance on “Pablo Picasso” and “She Cracked.”

6_nas::illmatic.[1994]
“With Illmatic, Nas showed he could make a record that was top-to-bottom brilliant, an impossibly high standard he couldn’t hope to match.”

7_the.notorious.B.I.G.::ready.to.die.[1994]
“A record that perfectly balances hardcore New York rap with rock-solid pop hooks, Ready To Die sounds more and more like a summation of rap’s golden age.”

8_john.prine::john.prine.[1971]
“Prine was a fully formed, extraordinary songwriter right off the bat, and while he kept on writing great songs for nearly 40 years, the foundation of his career will always be John Prine.”

9_kanye.west::the.college.dropout.[2004]
“The College Dropout (from the title on down) is an appealingly self-deprecating, “regular dude” rap record, made by a guy whose genre-defying eccentricities would be fully absorbed by the genre by the time of his second record just one year later.”

10_television::marquee.moon.[1977]
“[...] while Television was merely a shooting star in the late-’70s New York punk scene, it shone brighter than most bands, finding common ground between Miles Davis and the 13th Floor Elevators with jazzy, exploratory guitar jams that countless indie-rock bands are still trying to copy.”

11_taking.back.sunday::tell.all.your.friends.[2002]
“Tell All Your Friends succeeded because of its unpolished mix of punk and pop; the loud/quiet dynamics and big choruses broke no new ground, but they also couldn’t have sounded better on songs like “Cute Without The E (Cut From The Team).”

12_the.sundays::reading,writing,and.arithmetic.[1990]
“[...] the Reading quintet The Sundays took a subtler approach, calling back to the early-’80s sound of Aztec Camera and The Smiths on their delicate, tuneful debut.”

13_black.flag::damaged.[1981]
“[...] the Rollins-led Black Flag dispatched some old business by re-recording the best of its early material for Damaged, the album that best encapsulates the aggression and teen angst of the L.A. hardcore scene.”

14_marshall.crenshaw::marshall.crenshaw.[1982]
“Marshall Crenshaw was a throwback to doo-wop and mid-’60s West Coast pop, though songs like “Cynical Girl” and “I’ll Do Anything” also had enough post-new-wave edge to keep any fan of Talking Heads and The B-52s happy.”

15_boston::boston.[1976]
“Recorded in a basement by a band that preferred the confines of home studios to smoky nightclubs and concert halls, Boston’s debut album produced a string of album-rock hits: “More Than A Feeling,” “Hitch A Ride,” “Rock And Roll Band,” “Peace Of Mind,” and so on.”

16_wu-tang.clan::enter.the.wu-tang.(36.chambers).[1993]
“Offering infinitely more than just a radically new sound and image, Wu-Tang Clan gave listeners an entire B-movie world to get lost in, complete with an elaborate kung-fu-based mythology and a sprawling cast of larger-than-life characters, from deranged court jester Ol’ Dirty Bastard to charismatic anti-hero Method Man to enigmatic mastermind RZA.”

17_the.sugarcubes::life’s.too.good.[1988]
“[The Sugarcubes] started off remarkably strong with Life’s Too Good, introducing the singer’s incredible voice and pixie-like weirdness to the world via “Birthday” and “Deus.”

18_supergrass::i.should.coco.[1995]
“As solid as Supergrass’ subsequent output has been, it has definitely evened out as the band has grown older and wiser. But I Should Coco stands as one of the great spontaneous eruptions of unfettered youth in pop history.”

19_snoop.doggy.dogg::doggystyle.[1993]
“Snoop can always be counted on for great singles, but Doggystyle boasts a cohesion and consistency otherwise missing from the marijuana enthusiast’s ferociously uneven oeuvre [...]”

20_sunny.day.real.estate::diary.[1994]
“In a way, Sunny Day Real Estate never got a proper chance to top its 1994 debut, Diary, which pretty much defined emo at the time. But instead of being whiny, Diary is dramatic, dynamic, and passionately introspective, and though it isn’t head and shoulders above the rest of the group’s catalog, it’s still the clear winner.”