OK Computer - Radiohead (1997)

Radiohead burst on to the scene in 1993 with their smash hit 'Creep', from their debut album 'Pablo Honey'. A self loathing, depressing song, it became the band's albatross. Critics labelled them as a one hit wonder and a band looking to capitalize on the grunge bandwagon.However, they proved all naysayers wrong with their highly acclaimed follow up album 'The Bends'. They further cemented themselves as rock legends with their their third album 'OK Computer'. The band's later releases would mover further away from their established rock sound, incorporating elements of ambient music, electronica and jazz. However Radiohead's popularity has not waned in the least bit and are continuously praised for thier unique and evolving sound.

Radiohead's 'OK Computer' is and remains a watershed in modern alternative rock, an album that forever changed the music scene. Sonically rich, the album's instrumentation is highly diversified. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood demonstrates his versatility as a multi-instrumentalist using the electric piano,mellotron, glockenspiel and synthesizers in addition to various electronic effects. The album deals with themes such as modernization, globalization,transport ('Let Down'), technology among other things.'Karma Police' is a brilliant song dealing with insanity and dissatisfaction of capitalization. It starts off with a simple yet catchy piano/guitar riff but over time runs into a completely different ending which sounds like a computer crashing.'Paranoid Android' is a modern prog-rock classic. The song is a roller coaster ride of different moods ranging from anger to paranoia. The dual guitars have a melodic yet muscular feel to them and are peppered with various effects. The album draws inspiration from classical music and space rock as many of the songs are highly atmospheric in nature such as the haunting 'Climbing Up The Walls' and the melancholy 'Subterranean Homesick Alien'. 'Exit Music (For A Film)' is sombre and dark, buliding up to an explosive finale. Of note is the beautiful 'No Surprises' which is like a modern day lullaby. Consisting of a layered guitar sound and the glockenspiel, it deals with a person who is sick of it all and is contemplating suicide. 'The Tourist' is a perfect album closer with a spacy and brooding feel to it in tune with the album's themes. Thom Yorke's vocals are top notch throughout. His powerful falsetto adds to the tension in the songs and honestly no other singer could have pulled it off as well as he does. If you've never heard OK Computer, go and hear it right now! There is more to Radiohead than just 'Creep'.

Song Picks

• Paranoid Android
• Subterranean Homesick Alien
  
• Let Down
• Karma Police
• Exit Music (For A Film)
• No Surprises
• Lucky
• The Tourist
  

Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)

Pearl Jam's debut album 'Ten' is very dear to me. I literally know this album like the back of my hand. Every drum roll,every guitar solo,every time Eddie Vedder 'oohs' or 'aahs', I know it. It still mesmerizes me to this day and it never grows old 4 years after I first heard it. Every once in awhile an album or albums come around that defines the zeitgeist. This along with Nirvana's 'Nevermind' captured the spirit of the grunge movement. With their flannel shirts, torn jeans and a 'I don't give a fuck' attitude, Pearl Jam captured the attention of the youth of the 90's. They were a band people could actually relate to. They weren't a bunch of overblown rock stars, they were more than that. They were real. Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 after the demise of Mother Love Bone, an upcoming grunge band. Ten was critically lauded upon release and was commercially successful, having sold 13 million copies in USA till date.

On 'Ten', Pearl Jam successfully manages to fuse hard rock,arena rock and punk to give it a unique sound. It is one of the landmarks of alternative music. Oddly, the album starts off with part one of a hidden track known as 'Master/Slave'. This gives way to the album's true opener, 'Once' ,a heavy rocker which sets the tone for the rest of the album. The next five songs that follow are, in my eyes, all classics. As most people know, 'Alive' is a muscular rocker with powerful lyrics that deal with a boy coming to learn about his real father and also involves,shockingly, incest. 'Alive', even today, serves as an inspirational anthem to many with its uplifting chorus and instrumentals. Of note is also a brilliant solo by Mike McCready which I can actually sing along to! 'Even Flow' is another brilliant song on which Eddie Vedder deals with homelessness. It proves as an excellent companion song to 'Alive'. The next song 'Why Go' is also solid, dealing with the use of psychiatric hospitals. 'Black' is perhaps the most emotional and fragile song on the album.You can actually feel the pain and sadness in Eddie Vedder's voice as he sings about the loss of a loved one. 'Jeremy' is a dark song with an even darker music video that accompanied it. It is one of the highlights of the album and deals with an emotionally neglected boy and his subsequent actions. The song sends a chill down my spine every time I hear the swirling guitars descend into chaos and madness in the end. The album hits a low with 'Oceans' and along with 'Porch' (an upbeat punk rocker) and 'Deep', which are pretty standard fare. 'Garden' is an underrated gem which grows slowly on the listener. The album's closer 'Release' displays Eddie Vedder's wide vocal range, and is one of the more mellower songs on an otherwise heavy album. 'Release' also features part two of the hidden track 'Master/Slave'. While Ten is Pearl Jam's finest, one should not hesistate to check their subsequent albums which are all brilliant in their own ways.

Song Picks

• Alive
• Even Flow
• Why Go
• Black
• Jeremy
• Release
  

Soundgarden - Superunknown (1994)

Soundgarden's 70-minute sprawling epic 'Superunknown' was perhaps the last great grunge record of the 90's.Released in 1994, it was a period when the grunge movement was in decline; many influential bands having disbanded or nearly disbanded. Kurt Cobain's death that year would be the final nail in the coffin for this short lived musical movement that provided many young listeners an alternative image to sugary pop music , rap music and the like. Formed in 1985, Soundgarden were one of the big four of grunge music. Although they were more heavy metal than actual grunge, they influenced many bands of today such as Wolfmother and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Although overshadowed commercially by Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden found their first true commercial hit with 'Superunknown', selling over 6 million copies in USA alone, driven by the singles 'Black Hole Sun' and 'Spoonman'. Both songs earned the band a Grammy in 1995.

At the very outset one can tell the album is extremely bleak with song titles such as 'Fell On Black Days' and 'Like Suicide', the latter being one of the finest 'depressing' songs i've ever heard. Chris Cornell's lyrics deal with death,suicide and substance abuse. While the band retains their heavy sound from previous albums such as 'Badmotorfinger' and 'Louder Than Love', it is taken one step further on this album by introducing pop and psychedelica elements on songs such as the beautiful and desolate 'Black Hole Sun' and the brilliant 'My Wave' which is a perfect fusion of psychedelic and heavy metal.Despite the songs enduring popularity, it could very well be one of the weakest songs on the album. 'Spoonman' is a quirky gem of a song with a call-and-response dynamic reminiscent of Led-Zeppelins 'Black Dog'. 'The Day I Tried to Live' deals with isolation featuring a brooding base line and a lively chorus and is one of the highlights of the album.Other songs include the self-depecriating 'Mailman' and 'Limo Wreck'.The album does have its share of filler songs such as 'Half', 'Head Down' and 'Kickstand' but they do not detract from the album's strength whatsoever. 'Like a Suicide' is a befitting album closer; it perfectly sums up the entire mood of the album and has a blistering guitar solo by Kim Thayil, whose guitar work is consistent throughout this magnificent album. When I look at Chris Cornell now as compared to what he was during his days as Soundgarden's frontman, I feel bad. The man obviously has a lot of talent but not the right outlet which Soundgarden provided. Superunknown remains as Soundgarden's magnum opus.

Song Picks :

• My Wave
• Fell On Black Days
• Black Hole Sun
• Spoonman
• The Day I Tried To Live
• Like Suicide
  

Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1992)

Aaah, Rage Against The Machine. Perhaps the greatest rap rock/metal bands of all time unleashed their titanesque debut album in 1992. This album would lead to countless imitators and usher in a new (or should I say nu?) genre of music into the mainstream. Even if it's not the best example to put forth, without RATM, bands such as Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit would probably never even see the limelight. Propelled by Tom Morello's 'sounds anything but a guitar'-guitar solos and Zack De La Rocha's angry and confrontational vocals, this behemoth of an album managed to successfully fuse heavy metal and rap music together.As your typical angry young teenager this album made me,well, more angry! (In a good a way of course).Alas, I don't feel the same way anymore, but the feeling I got when I first heard the album needs to be experienced at least once by every fan of good music.

The album kicks off with a funky bassline by bassist Tim Commerford on 'Bombtrack' and never lets go. There is not one song on the whole album that is not heavy. There are even some songs that are so heavy that they make the other songs pale in comparision! Songs like 'Bullet In The Head' and 'Killing In The Name' were instant classics.The next time you heat someone say 'Fuck you I wont do what you tell me!', you'll know where they got that. Many of the guitar riffs on the album are Zeppelin-esque in nature such as the brilliant 'Wake Up' which appeared on the Matrix soundtrack. The album ends with the epic 'Freedom'. If the other songs on this album didn't make you break something this song surely well! I cannot continue this review without mentioning a certain Mr. Tom Morello. Simply put, the man is a genius. The main guitar riffs are all in the vein of traditional heavy metal but the guitar solos are out of this world.One has to just hear the songs to know what I'm talking about. That isn't to say there aren't any normal guitar solos ('Know Your Enemy') . Lyrically,the album is highly political, influenced by Zack De La Rocha's leftist political views. The lyrics deal with media control,anti-war and anti-authoritarian subjects just to name a few. To a casual listener they may seem highly over the top and may get repetitive over a time. This album was meant to invoke feelings of rebellion so remember 'fight the war fuck the norm'!

Song Picks :

• Bombtrack
• Bullet In The Head
• Killing In The Name
• Wake Up
• Know Your Enemy
• Freedom
  

First Review!

As promised here is number 1 of the top 10 albums that influenced me. Im technically 'reviewing' an album after a long time, so forgive if seem too formal or too casual!

Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)

Formed in 2001, Audioslave was one of those 'supergroups' that had the potential of becoming one of modern rock's greatest bands.Whether or not they lived up to that potential is a highly debatable point,a question to which even i can't come up with an answer.On paper they seemed formidable,consisting of 3/4ths of Rage Against the Machine and 1/4 of Soundgarden,two of the greatest bands of the 90s. Their debut, in my opinion, blew away many albums by the mainstream rock bands of the time (yes nickelback and creed i am talking about you guys).Critics said that it lacked a cohesive sound, that of a band yet to find it's identity.However it was the first true rock album i heard from start to finish and it enabled me to further explore more and more genres and artists.

The album kicks off with a modern rock classic,Cochise. The helicopter-ish guitar builds up the tension culminating in an explosive main riff which keeps you hooked till the end.Chris Cornell's powerful voice is also captivating showing us why he is one of rock music's greatest vocalists.Other cuts on this album include the bass-heavy 'Show me how to live' and the 'Shadow on the Sun', the latter on which Cornell truly shines.On the whole the album sounds more like Rage Against The Machine, with an abundance of heavy riffs although lacking in real texture. However,it would be wrong to say that the album's more introspective songs don't shine.'Like a Stone' is a haunting yet beautiful ballad.'I am the Highway' is also a easy-going song with a beautiful solo by Tom Morello.I felt that the album was bogged down by too many songs that were not really necessary such as 'Exploder' and 'Bring em back alive'. To fans of Tom Morello,the guitar solos aren't as good as the ones back in his RATM days, but to a then-newcomer, it simply stunned me. You could never beleive that half the sounds heard on the album are from his guitar! Overall while it was mixed bag,Audioslave's debut self-titled album was an amazing experience for me, the kind i'll never forget.

Song picks :

• Cochise
• Show Me How To Live
• Shadow On the Sun
• Like A Stone
• I Am The Highway
• Set It Off
  

Loud Love - A New Beginning

Well this is it.I have finally decided to start my own blog! I could have thrown in a random line from one of my favourite songs to describe what i feel but I honestly cant think of a single thing right now. This blog will basically be an outlet for me to express my (mostly) unbiased opinions on music that has both inspired me and kept me going through some difficult times. The name of my blog has been taken from one of my favourite bands - Soundgarden. It is from their second album Louder than Love. I intend to update this blog everyday regardless of whether people read it or not.I have no intentions of being one of those people who excitedly show off their new blogs only to update it once every millenia.I promise to keep it as interesting as possible but i can be very formal at times,but hey,that's just me! :)

For the next 10 days I shall be reviewing ten of the albums that influenced my taste in music,till then live the loud life!