Pick One

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Zappa is better than Lou Reed in probably every possible way. Better instrumentalist, better producer, more prolific, more inventive, more creative, more diverse, more longevity, higher highs, and higher lows. I'm glad those beret wearing art fags didn't like him. I barely consider VU good. Some tremendous ideas, but the execution, by and large? Yecch.

 

The Kinks are better than The Who, though that's an opinion I've only developed in the past year or so. I used to really like The Who, but somewhere along the line, they really became less and less entertaining to me. Their fun mod speeder pop stuff is fine, but the Kinks did that better, and The Who's big concept stuff is awful in my book.

 

I like Coltrane over Miles, but that's really hard considering how well the two worked together. I guess I like Coltrane's relentless exploration of his instrument and his ability to purely express himself completely uncut with any filler whatsoever. Plus, he never laid any eggs like Miles in the 80's. An early death was kind to Coltrane, I think.

[Guest Bullshiterica]

"Higher lows" is an interesting place to compare the two. Thing-Fish is way too long, tiresome, and poorly executed to take in one sitting, but I can enjoy smaller bites. Them or Us is no favorite of mine, but objectively I can only say it's, at worst, a holding pattern. I don't know what Lou's lowest low is. Probably Coney Island Baby; though its title track is pretty neat on Take No Prisoners, the rest of the album sounds like fat and bloated Eagles. "A Gift" (and "Women" from The Blue Mask, for that matter) is funny when you put it into the context of Lou being a violent misogynistic faggot at the time, but it doesn't save it from sounding bad.

 

Lennon or McCartney as Beatles?

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I'm going to cheat and say McCartney post-Beatles, because I've actually heard some of that. I can only think of about four or five Beatles' songs off the top of my head, and the only one that I actually like is Help!... and I couldn't tell you who wrote that under penalty of death.

 

This thread is culutrally biased.

[Kinetic 0]

Lennon was the much more consistent songwriter. McCartney was definitely capable of some soaring heights, but was frequently guilty of faggoting up their best records with tripe like "Honey Pie" and "When I'm Sixty-Four." So I'd have to go with Lennon, but it's hardly a landslide. Both produced more than a few of my favorite songs.

[Kinetic 0]

This thread is culutrally biased.

 

Let's try Marvin Gaye or Al Green. Or, if you prefer, Tupac or Biggie.

 

My preferences are Al Green and B.I.G.

[At Home 0]

Al Green. I was raised on Al Green, and he's just awesome. I can't say much besides that.

[Kinetic 0]

I've never really understood the love for What's Going On and songs like "Let's Get It On" and "Sexual Healing" don't work as anything more than a novelty for me. Al Green, on the other hand, is, as pbone mentioned, awesome.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I have much love for the Reverend, but I was raised on Marvin Gaye. Although I think what puts Marvin over the top for me are his duets with Tammi Terrell.

 

I'd take You, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Got to Give it Up, What's Going On and Rockin' After Midnight over the collected works of Al Green.

 

EDIT - I'll agree that Sexual Healing is overrated, but What's Going On?

[King Kamala 0]

Thriller or Purple Rain?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Purple Rain, and it's not close for me (duh). All Princely adoration aside, Purple Rain is a lyrical, vocal, and compositional peak for pop music. Prince's greater involvement in the instrumentation of his album helps in an academic argument, since dancing doesn't really show up on record. With the exception of "Billie Jean," I think Purple Rain also more compelling stories and weird psychoses packed into it, which is a big part of why it's such a peak. I prefer Off the Wall to Thriller, even if on face the latter is a better comparison for Purple Rain, because of the titanic singles, huge sales, and peak popularity for Jackson.

[King Kamala 0]

Even though I'm a slightly bigger fan of Jacko than Prince's and I consider Thriller to be his best work, I agree with you. There isn't one track on Purple Rain that is less than great. Thriller has the inane "The Girl Is Mine" (If "Say Say Say" were on Thriller, I would pick it. I've always loved that god damn song for some reason) and "The Lady In My Life".

 

In retrospect, a better question would have been Off The Wall or Thriller.

[godthedog 0]

i was going to do that one.

 

mccartney over lennon, for exactly the opposite of kinetic's reason. i think mccartney was the more consistently good songwriter whose material was on the whole superior. lennon had a habit of making a few standout tracks next to really forgettable stuff. if you look at 'revolver', lennon has:

 

"and your bird can sing"

"doctor robert"

"i'm only sleeping"

"she said she said"

"tomorrow never knows"

 

after "i'm only sleeping" and "tomorrow never knows," it gets forgettable. mccartney has:

 

"good day sunshine"

"eleanor rigby"

"here, there, & everywhere"

"for no one"

"got to get you into my life"

 

that's one better-than-average tune and 4 balls-out classics. except for the white album, mccartney outshines lennon just about every time (at least to me).

 

al green over marvin gaye, for a bunch of reasons. nothing i've ever heard by al green has sounded wanky or off-base. for every "mercy mercy me" or "inner city blues," marvin has a "flying high (in the friendly skies" and a "wholly" holy." ugh. al green had a better overall sound which i don't think is possible to get sick of.

 

objectively, probably purple rain over thriller, because the overall package is stronger and isn't weighed down by stupid crap. but i'd still pick thriller for sentimental reasons. and i'd pick 'off the wall' over both of them, because 'off the wall' is the best pop album ever made.

[Red Baron 0]

This has to be done.

 

Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I prefer Off the Wall to Thriller, even if on face the latter is a better comparison for Purple Rain, because of the titanic singles, huge sales, and peak popularity for Jackson.

I've got to beg to differ, Edwin and godthedog; I want to like Off the Wall more, since I'd consider the first five tracks to be lottery picks. Unfortunately, it also has two tracks (I Can't Help It, Burn This Disco Out) that I think are awful, and one (Girlfriend) that I think is unlistenable. Whereas I can happily play through Thriller and never skip a track.

 

I'd pick Purple Rain over Thriller, though.

[Kinetic 0]

Whereas I can happily play through Thriller and never skip a track.

 

Not even one of Paul McCartney's more notable crimes against humanity, "The Girl is Mine"?

[King Kamala 0]

or "The Lady In My Life"?

 

At least "The Girl Is Mine" is ripe with unintentional comedy. I have a lot of nostalgia for that one. But it's no "Say Say Say".

[Kinetic 0]

"PYT" is Thriller's official unintentional comedy song, if I'm not mistaken.

[King Kamala 0]

Certainly an album can have more than one unintentional comedy song, especially in the case of a Michael Jackson album.

 

I don't 100% get the Off The Wall > Thriller argument. I will say that the former has higher lows than the latter and the first five tracks off the former are untouchable but I still think Thriller has the higher peaks.

 

 

[Kinetic 0]

Certainly an album can have more than one unintentional comedy song, especially in the case of a Michael Jackson album.

 

Point well taken.

 

Anyway, uh...let's try The Replacements OR Husker Du. The latter has never been able to move beyond "Band I Don't Get" status for me, while the former is a sentimental favorite.

 

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I don't 100% get the Off The Wall > Thriller argument. I will say that the former has higher lows than the latter and the first five tracks off the former are untouchable but I still think Thriller has the higher peaks.

I don't have the same dislike of "Girlfriend" and "Burn This Disco Out" that Slim does--in fact, I really like the latter and think the former is fun and sly, and a much better "cute" song than "The Girl Is Mine." I think the higher lows (which essentially is saying "more consistent") makes it a more enjoyable album in full, while Thriller I'm more inclined to listen to song by song. It's fucking great, but it doesn't feel as cohesive, if that makes sense. "Billie Jean" is the best song on either of them.

[Guest Bullshiterica]

I think Paul bested John on the white album, too. "Revolution 9" negates probably a third of Lennon's achievements, and personally, I never even liked "Julia."

 

Led Zeppelin beats Pink Floyd. While there was a time when I loved both back catalogues like family, I've outgrown Pink Floyd more than I have Led Zeppelin since high school, and I'm willing to guess that this is a nearly universal experience. The Acceptable Floyd contingent gets pared down to Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals (or maybe even just the last one in extreme cases) after your tastes mature and you can no longer acceptably profess your love for A Saucerful of Secrets in public. Zeppelin, on the other hand, in spite of being simultaneously associated with the bench-pressing meatheads (brown bomber) and dice-rolling zitfaces (untitled and houses) of days gone by, endures incredibly well and transcends any cultural associations because it's just great music. Zeppelin's worst is an album they half-assed on respective verges of death, so they get a free pass for the situation (and "Achilles Last Stand"); the abject crappiness of The Final Cut cannot be reconciled in any way. I can listen to any of Zeppelin's eight at almost any time, ind new things to like, amuse myself with resequencing, on and on, it stays fresh. I haven't listened to The Wall in months and don't want to, either.

 

Motown or Memphis?

 

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Contrary to my personal biases, I'm going to go with Memphis, if for no other reason than because it seems more authentic. Motown has a reputation of "manufacturing" hits, and giving their artists much less creative freedom.

 

Uh... Spice Girls or Pussycat Dolls?

[godthedog 0]

i think we should slow the pace of these choices a little.

 

i think 'off the wall' has aged remarkably well, especially for being sort of a disco album. "burn this disco out" has a pretty fucking great hook, and the authentic horns-and-guitar combination save it from really being a disco song--really, the only laughable thing about it is that jackson says the word "disco." you could re-record the whole thing and replace "disco" with "motherfucker," and i think it would still be a hit. if anything, "rock with you" has aged much worse, because of that weird synthy sound (as well as "get on the floor" with the sort of disco-y strings on it).

 

"girlfriend" is crap, i agree, but i consider it a minor offense. "she's out of my life" might be the best pure ballad jackson ever did. OTW also just makes sense as an entire album in a way that 'thriller' doesn't. 'thriller' is only as strong as the song you're listening to at the moment, while OTW flows much better track-to-track.

 

led zeppelin wipes the floor with pink floyd, for reasons already mentioned. it's not even close. once you get past the experimentation, floyd's music is very thin. there's meatier and more satisfying stuff to be had in the riffs of "four sticks" and "since i've been loving you."

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

the abject crappiness of The Final Cut

 

No

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Luther Vandross or Barry White?

[Guest Bullshiterica]

the abject crappiness of The Final Cut

 

No

Yes

 

Wait, this was late last night, did I have a brainfart? I'm talking about the album directly after The Wall with no Rick Wright and lots of Roger Waters. That album was horrible. Defend it.

[King Kamala 0]

Uh...Rolling Stone gave it five stars when it came out and called it "art rock's crowning masterpiece" (Review here).......I got nothing.

 

 

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with everything Kurt Loder says in that review, though I wouldn't go quite so far as to proclaim the album a 5-star masterpiece or the best "art rock" record of all time or anything like that. I just think it's a really interesting, moving album that doesn't sound like anything else Floyd did.

[Guest Bullshiterica]

It sounds like The Wall outtakes. I think it's bloated, self-important, hamfisted, and composed primarily, almost solely, of all the conceits that people made fun of Pink Floyd for: the Roger Waters List-o-Rama, the backup girls, Roger's dopey accented high-and-low speak-sing, and the same hokey Bob Ezrin-esque THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PRODUCTION...er, production that mars The Wall and Lou Reed's Berlin in spots (argument for another day). "When The Tigers Broke Free" is my favorite song from the album, and that was just a bonus track from the most recent reissue which was, in fact, an outtake from The Wall.

 

Triple threat: War, The Joshua Tree, or Achtung Baby?

[godthedog 0]

trick question. the answer is 'boy'.