TheBigBlack’s 2004 Non-Metal Top 10

Non-Metal Top 10

Rock came up better in the end than I had expected, and had a better showing than the previous couple of years. I actually had to cull a couple to get down to 10.

10. Velvet Revolver – Contraband

Velvet Revolver - Contraband

As much as we all complained about this album, it put some MUSICIANS back on the radio, and that’s worth a mention me thinks. Remove Weiland and pop someone like… say… Axl Rose! on vox, and the album would have been BRILLIANT.

9. Incubus – A Crow Left Of The Murder…

Incubus - A Crow Left Of The Murder...

Incubus has always made great and intelligent music for me, but was always a little to close to walking the radio song line. Now, with the album that finally leaves any chance of that behind (and the legions of radio rock fans that couldn’t make this album out), I think this may be thier best ever. All the clues left on ‘Morningrise’ to where a good Incubus album may be are realised here.

8. Mark Lanegan Band – Bubblegum

Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum

I have been a big fan of Mark Lanegan since the early 90s when he released his ‘Whiskey For The Holy Ghost’ acoustic album, then discovered the HUGE Screaming Tree back catalogue. Everything he has written since then has just gotten better and better. A brilliant blend of acoustic folk and rock.

7. Eagles Of Death Metal – Peace, Love, Death Metal

Eagles Of Death Metal - Peace, Love, Death Metal

Josh Holme’s band long before Kyuss or the QOTSA were even though of finally got together and recorded their debut with him on drums (and leaving not long after…). This is a really groovy southern rock album, with an alternative feel. Unusual and unique. And a stupid name.

6. The Dissociatives – The Dissociatives

The Dissociatives - The Dissociatives

When I fluked upon this playing late one Saturday night on Rage, I got very excited! Could this be new Silverchair? But the style is wrong? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Then after a quick hunt on the net I was suprised to find Mr Johns had teamed up with ol’ buddy Paul Mac again. The 2000 EP ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Rock!’ left us all noting that it wasn’t rock, and I expected more of the same. But this is Johns at his creative best. The album grew on me like an ameba growing in a laboratory petrie-dish, and I love it.

5. The John Butler Trio – Sunrise Over Sea

The John Butler Trio - Sunrise Over Sea

The man is a master of the guitar and a genious song writer. Give him a jazz style percusive team to accompany his blues-riffed folk – and a masterpiece appears. The story goes that Sony America offered him a million bucks to publish the album in the U.S., but as they refused to press the cover on recycled paper, he signed with some small label for less than 100 grand… what a hippy?

4. The Tea Party – Seven Circles

The Tea Party - Seven Circles

The Tea Party are one of the few bands that can be consistant and not go stale. This is a bit of a departure (with a more straight up rock feel and no eastern influences), but is still classic stuff.

3. Ministry – Houses Of The Mole

Ministry - Houses Of The Mole

Rock or Metal? I still class these guys as industrial alternative rock – but I’m very anal about such things. Just when you thought Jorg could never produce another thing of quality when loaded on that much blow and shoot, before your very ears comes what is possibly the best Ministry album ever! And every song starts with a W. Is that ‘W’ for ‘Where’s my veins?’

2. Green Day – American Idiot

Green Day - American Idiot

Green Day can’t do wrong really. Billie Joe is the master of the 3 chord pop-punk style, and… and there is nothing else to say. So get stuffed.

1. Nirvana – With The Lights Out [Box Set]

Nirvana - With The Lights Out [Box Set]

Wow! This is huge, with 3 CDs of nearly all unreleased (or rare) Nirvana, more kurt Cobain demos than Courtney Love can claim ownership of, and a fitting end to the band that started the greatest revolution in rock since Hendrix pumped out Purple Haze at the Monterey Pop Festival in ’67. Brilliant. BRILLIANT.

Honourable Mentions

Twisted Sister – Still Hungry

Twisted Sister - Still Hungry

Re-recording their classic 1984 album ‘Stay Hungry’ with a 2004 production style, and opening the vaults to give us the left over tracks from the original sessions!

Pearl Jam – Live At Benaroya Hall

Pearl Jam - Live At Benaroya Hall

Giving us a live acoustic Pearl Jam set for charity. This has songs the band has never performed live before. Great stuff! Eddie – Will you marry me? Still ‘no’ huh?

Cake – Pressure Chief

Cake - Pressure Chief

Just because they are Cake. And they released an album. And it is funky.

Spiderbait – Tonight Alright

Spiderbait - Tonight Alright

With a pumping cover of ‘Black Betty’ (that topped the charts!), and a followup single called ‘F*cking Awesome’ that radio couldn’t play for obvious reasons, the ‘bait is back! Perhaps they could show Powderfinger and Grinspoon how it is you play rock music, as they seem to have forgotten…

Midnight Oil – Oils On The Water (Best Of Both Worlds)

Midnight Oil - Oils On The Water

The Oils finally releasing in conjunction with Triple J the legendary 1985(?) Sydney Harbour / Goat Island concert on CD and DVD. Man – can Garrett dance or what? Yeah – he’s dancing…

Dishonourable Mentions

Less than the last couple of years, but enough to still have my rant.

Regurgitator – Mish Mash!

Regurgitator - Mish Mash!

Thanks for entertaining us by thinking you could use a reality TV show to make a decent album, when it was obvious to all of us it was never gonna happen…

U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

I smell something stale – Oh, it’s seems it’s time to throw the U2 away, as it’s past it’s use-by date. This is tired and boring. This is boring and tired. This is tired and dull. This is dull and boring. See how I wrote that over and over again, but changed it just a little – there you have the format used for this cattle dung.

Queens Of The Stone Age – Stone Age Complication [E.P.]

Queens Of The Stone Age - Stone Age Complication [E.P.]

Why when so much media hype and controversy is surrounding your band would you delay your new album and release a crappo EP of bad covers of bad songs? GIVE US THE DAMN ALBUM AND STOP WASTING OUR TIME AND MONEY.

Jay Z / Linkin Park – Collision Course [E.P.]

Jay Z / Linkin Park - Collision Course [E.P.]

OK – We had to suffer ‘Reanimation’ a couple of years back where rappers and DJs remixed the already agonisingly overplayed Linkin Park. No we have to suffer another mini-album of the same tripe, only this time worse than the last? And the great part is – of a 6 track album, the have capitalised with the single ‘Numb’ (again) by releasing it seperately with 2 of the 6 songs on it also? And they say Lars loves the money…

Jebediah – Braxton Hicks

Jebediah - Braxton Hicks

With this radio friendly tripe, it’s no wonder nobody bought your crappy album. Go back to Fremantle. You are a disgrace.

A Perfect Circle – eMotive

A Perfect Circle - eMotive

When did ‘A Perfect Circle’ become ‘A Ring Of Poo’? Let’s get others songs to save us time writing them, then make them really dull, so we sound moody and angsty – and we’ll devote the whole thing to protest the war that ended 12 months ago… Maynard – Go back to Tool. We don’t give 2 craps for your side project.

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