1 of 2 ain't bad AZ

In my first choice I had two albums from my top 30 list. In this round, I had two albums I've never owned. Both things are tough. It's hard to compare two albums when you are listening to them completely for the first time. I know that my favorite albums are my favorite albums because of all the times I've listened to them and what they evoke for me. So I find it hard to judge between two albums that I've listened to once. This was a tough choice for me. I have never been a huge REM fan, but I'm not sure why. I don't think I've ever really given them a chance. I listened to Automatic for the People and enjoyed it, especially "Sweetness follows," "Man on theMoon," and "Nightswimming." In listening, I felt that REM had probably influenced many of the bands I enjoy that have come after them. One other thing I like about REM is a quality that I think the top all times albums should have, which is commercial appeal. It's one thing to make a complex and artistic album, and another to have it appeal to a relatively wide audience. I actually think that is a trait I appreciate in music and why I think artists like Bob Dylan, The Clash, Radiohead, and Rolling Stones belong high on the lists. So I enjoyed this album, although there were tracks that I wasn't inspired by. I don't take any sort of notes as I listen, and now a few days later, some of these tracks don't stand out to me at all.

I have to admit that I gave Separation Sunday a closer listen, including reading the lyrics as I listened. Initially, this didn't make that much of a difference. After about 5 tracks of Separation Sunday, I thought this was going to be a tough call for me, with neither album necessarily turning out to be a huge hit for me. But by the end, it was clear that Separation Sunday was the winner. I did like the whole concept album story thing. I do like the classic rock riffs combined with punk. I didn't know what to make of Craig Finn's basically speaking the vocals at first, and I still don't think I love it, but by the end, I also couldn't imagine how else he would sing this album. It seems to fit. Also, it applies to my life a bit right now as I am a teacher at a urban Catholic high school and I think I could recommend this album to a number of the punk lovers in my classes. I was on a three day retreat with the Juniors of my school this week, and the line in Multitude of Casualties, "youth services always find a way to get their bloody cross into your druggy little messed up teenage life" is apropos for what I observed on that retreat. I agree, this album is adolescent, which is why I'll recommend it to my high school students, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it past that phase of life. Although I think Automatic for the People is an album I'd be more likely to just throw on the Ipod while I'm chilling at home after work, I'd more likely listen to Separation Sunday while driving around in my car. And I'd probably much rather see The Hold Steady live than REM. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd like the Hold Steady more as a live band than on their albums.

Anyway, I kind of wanted to blow Andrew's #2 out of the water after his deadline setting made me spend more time this weekend listening to those albums and writing this post than working on my lesson plans and grad school work, but I couldn't do it. Sepearation Sunday moves on.