comments on 20-11:
20. today, tomorrow, forever. side 2 remains the best thing brian wilson has ever done. just be sure to press stop after "in the back of my mind."
19. so it was originally supposed to be this lifehouse thing, which had little or nothing to do with the band of the same name. and i've heard mention of this "universal chord" and the audience joining together with the band, and townshed apparently had a nervous breakdown. blah blah blah. mainly, it seems to be about rocking out, consistently and thoroughly. WITH synthesizers.
18. & 17. both albums are about disillusionment and personal dissolution, only one would be consumed by millions, while the other was likely not to be heard by anyone at all. stone and chilton were never as sarcastic or as sincere as they were on these albums, knocking down the wall between artist and listener. but, at the same time, the wall was replaced by a haze that seeped into both the singer and his song. stone would recover and release one more hit album before slowly fading away and being seemingly written out of rock history entirely; chilton would go onto a mixed career as a solo artist and producer, but he'd ultimately achieve great success as a cult hero.
16. the only great album ever influenced by number 15? meanwhile, the deleterious influence of physical graffiti continues unabated.
15. kids, don't try this at home. please.
14. between "1969" and "1970," disaffected youth iggy stooge becomes a howling MAN-BEAST. free jazz and much peanut butter smearing ensue.
13. i'd completed the list when i saw that i'd inadvertantly left this album off the list. it could be a sign that i've outgrown the album, but i couldn't imagine this list -- or my late adolescence -- without it.
12. number 6: better collection of songs. innervisions: better-conceived album. still feels as if stevie recorded the album with you in mind.
11. three years later, and the characters from 22, after making plans and wild declarations, have gone nowhere. darkness, true to its name, catalogs their resentments, their disatisfaction, and their inability to do anything at all about it.