Top Five "Odd" Albums on My IPhone
I've got several albums on my IPhone that I listen to on my daily commute (along with several weekly podcasts). Sure, I've got my traditional staples of Jazz, Classical and even some Pop from the late 90's just like most folks my age. Some of the more... eclectic works I listen to on my way to work, however, are as follows:
(1) ABRAHADABRA (Dimmu Borgir) - No, I'm not generally a heavy metal fan, and no I don't worship Satan. But for some reason, I really dig this album. If the cast of the video game Doom and a couple of those old dinosaur monks from The Dark Crystal kidnapped James Horner and Stephen Soudheim to force them to collaborate on an album dedicated to the life and works of H. R. Giger, you'd come pretty close to what this album sounds like. Personally I was sold as soon as I heard tracks #1 (Xibir), #7 (The Demiurge Molecule) and the magnificent #3 (Gateways). No, it isn't for everyone; and yes, like most heavy metal albums several of the tracks in between the better works are fairly interchangeable (i.e. you wouldn't be able to tell that you'd moved on to another song if there hadn't been a pause between the tracks), but I do enjoy this album.
(2) Contraption Vol. 1 (Beats Antique) - Almost entirely instrumental, this is a bizarre little album. If you could drag the steampunk movement out of Victorian England and drop it into the orient, I think this is the music those folks would be listening to. I find most of the songs on this album very lighthearted and freeing... unlike some of the darker undertones of the album above. Grab your favorite belly dancer and give this one a listen.
(3) The 13th Hour (Midnight Syndicate) - Ok, I'm pretty sure that this album was put together for the sole purpose of creating mood music for a haunted house. In fact, that's why I bought it! But I do enjoy the moody tracks on this album regardless. If you skip the creaky doors, occasional wolf howling, and the rattle of chains, this could be an interesting album just to sit back and listen to... which I do. I mean, how often do you get to insert a grandfather clock bonging away the hour during a cool atmospheric tune, right? Yeah, it's weird, but I like it.
(4) Best. Concert. Ever. (Jonathan Coulton) - Without trying to insult him, I think of Coulton as a modern day Weird Al Yanknovic... with actual musical talent. Unlike Weird Al, of course, Coulton is writing his own music and isn't ripping on the work of someone else. Coulton's music is just good fun. From Ikea to Skullcrusher Mountain to my favorite, Re: Your Brains, Coulton weaves fun little stories with a great sense of humor.
(5) Portrait of an American Family (Marilyn Manson) - Yeah, once again, I'm not generally into alternative metal, and am not generally a big fan of Manson either, but I do like this album. One thing I generally do NOT get hung up on when I'm listening to music is lyrics. I guess I'm more of an instrumental kind of guy -- give me a decent tune, and I'll listen. Hell, if I listened to the actual lyrics of most music, I probably wouldn't have Dimmu Borgir in my playlist at all! (Although, admittedly, who can really tell what the hell he's saying?) But unlike all the rest (except Coulton), it's actually the lyrics in this album that turned me onto it in the first place. There is some fascinating introspection going on in this collection of songs, and the lyrics are the most important part. Say want you want about the bizarre antics of Manson, but the man is much deeper than pancake makeup and a vinyl/latex bodyglove. There is some real art going on in this album, and I dig it.
