Prodigy - Fat of the Land

Label: XL
Genre: Electronica
Year: 1997
Recommended By: Ryne Henrich

I've kind of always had a problem with "Smack My Bitch Up". Not just because the it sounds like the score to the Matrix, but because, you know, Misogyny. Wikipedia has cleared that up for me:

“The band defended the song, saying that the lyrics were being misinterpreted as misogynistic and the song actually meant “...doing anything intensely...”

— wikipedia

So there. Prodigy is not Floyd Mayweather Jr. They are Tom Cruise.

Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West

Label: Up
Year: 1997
Genre: Indie Rock, Experimental Rock
Recommending Person: Ryan Sullivan

I like Modest Mouse. I understand others are not the biggest fans of them. The lead singer has an affected voice that sounds like a whinier Violent Femmes lead singer, that's hard to do.

This album is an example of why people dislike the band. There is no great melody throughout the album, it's a disjointed way to get his thoughts out into the world. The lyrics themselves are pretty enjoyable, if a bit angsty, but the mechanism to get them to your ears are a bit disappointing. I like their debut album and later albums much more than this individual album. The record reads better as a poetry book than as a piece of music. I will perform it at a poetry slam.

Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentleman We are Floating in Space

Label: Dedicated
Year: 1997
Genre: Space Rock
Recommending Person: Marta Conlon

On the first listen, I was in my car doing an assortment of errands. The album didn't really sink it at all. However, after I put on my headphones and listened while doing little else than tinkering around with the website, I found the album to be overwhelming and exhilarating. 

It turned my heart beat up like I had several cups of coffee. Especially the introductory track, "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" starts with just the name of the song spoken continuing with instruments layering on top of each other. In the end a choir comes in and sings the chorus of "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" famously sung by Elvis. The big issue is that when this song end the transition is quite sharp and goes away from the space-like sound and to a hard guitar. I was in the album, then immediately torn away with such a break.

It happens a few other times in the course of the record, but nothing as drastic as the first time it happens. Besides the transitions between the songs the album is fantastic and tries to incorporate as many spaces of sound as possible. The magically portion of the album is that it does it so each piece fits and they never collide in an unpleasant matter. That sounds simple, and it is easier with only a few melodies going on at the same time, but there are 4, 5, or 6 going on at once. It is really something that cannot be appreciated without concentration on the music.