After participating in the band versus band game, I thought it might be interesting to change the rules a bit in order to make it possible to distinguish between different eras for bands. For instance, few people would dispute Metallica's status as one of the most celebrated bands America has produced. At the same time, however, I doubt many of you have St. Anger in your CD changers. Bands change, and the best way to evaluate the production of a particular group at a particular time is to consider the albums they produce. Here are the rules. I'll suggest two albums, and the person posting after me will pick one as the winner. The next matchup must include the winner from the previous matchup. If an album wins five consecutive times, it must be retired to the "Grasscity Music Hall of Fame." By the way, you might want to consider picking up copies of any albums that make it that far; considering the diverse tastes of people on this board, anything surviving five rounds is probably pretty damned good. Also, you MUST explain your reasoning for choosing one album over the other. It might be something as simple as, "I don't like jam bands, so Phish can fuck off," but you have to give us something. If you disagree with a poster's choice, start another thread about the matchup so that we can discuss it in greater detail. If everything goes according to plan, we might end up with multiple interesting threads in this forum. Let's see what happens. Okay, with apologies to the Black Eyed Peas, let's get it started: Ben Harper - Fight For Your Mind (1995) v. Thrice - The Illusion of Safety (2002)
Ben Harper, because if I'm not mistaken, Thrice is one of those shitty numetal/hardcore bands. That Ben Harper album vs. Dream Theater, Scenes from a Memory
I don't understand why everyone refuses to discuss their reasons for choosing one album over another. I'm also confused by the continued success of Pink Floyd's Animals album, especially when it was forced to compete with Radiohead's OK Computer, a far superior ALBUM. Few modern bands think in terms of crafting a larger work from individual songs. Radiohead has done it better than anyone in the last couple of decades. Also, to the poster who complained about Thrice being "another shitty metal band," you shouldn't judge bands based only on what you hear about them from others. Listen to the album. It's better than you would expect. Obviously, you appreciate technical proficiency, or you wouldn't have mentioned Dream Theater. Some of the guitar parts on the Thrice album are as complex as John Petrucci's. A better bet for incredibly complex arrangements, however, would be The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Check them out. It'll blow your mind.
Animals, cause it's one of the greatest albums ever. Pink Floyd - Animals vs. Yes - Close to the Edge And to that last poster, yes I did call Thrice a shitty numetal/hardcore band, but it wasn't because I didn't think they weren't technically proficient. I may be mistaken, I may be thinking of another band, but I think I've heard that Thrice is hardcore, and if they are, no matter how good they are, my opinion won't change. I mean, Converge is technically proficient, but I still think they suck balls. See how opinions are different? You are offended by the fact that I think hardcore is shitty, and I think you are crazy for saying that OK Computer is a far superior album to Animals. See, I don't know how anyone in their right mind could say that, seeing as Animals consists of some amazing guitarwork and lyrics, and Dogs, probably Floyd's second best tune ever, has an awesome multi-movement structure. David Gilmour, one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen, is at his best on this album. See? Opinions are different. Your opinion is obviously not fact, as lots of people have already chosen Animals over other albums, and I'll continue the trend.
That's the kind of reply I was hoping to provoke. I apologize to anyone who was offended by my previous post, but I thought that I should stir the pot (pun intended) in order to illicit thoughtful responses about choices between albums. What fun is it if every post simply chooses one of the albums from the two provided by the previous poster without discussing his rationale? By the way, isn't it about time that Animals be retired?