When I started this blog last June I knew that there were two things I wanted to do. One was write a 20 year old album review each month where I examine an album and see if it has held up over time or not. I have been doing those for over a year now. The other thing was that I would figure out my top albums for the year that was twenty years ago. My idea was to treat it as a project and narrow albums down and really compare them. I did this last year and I am ready to do it again for this year. Here is how it works, in August (now) I pick between 20 and 25 hard rock and metal albums from 1986 that I think have a chance of making my top ten. Then between August and November I listen to each one of them all the way through and I start narrowing down albums and then I start ranking them. Then I do a countdown of the top ten starting on December 1st with the album I have ranked at number ten. Then I reveal one each day and I countdown to my favorite album of 1986 which will be posted on December 10th. Then I have a few other awards to hand out. The best and worst album covers will be on December 11th. Then on December 12th I award the "Golden turd award" for 1986. This is an album that is both bad and also a disappointment based on either the band having a prior reputation of being good or the fact that the album got a lot of hype, but failed to live up to it. These awards were a lot of fun for me to do last year because it gave me a chance to re-examine my views on albums. My top ten for 1985 looked a lot different last year then I thought it would. I gave very thorough listenings to these albums and I listened to several right after each other to really hear which was better. So this is the project that I am starting on now and I will announce it again around the end of November and then the awards begin on December 1st. If you have any desire to see how this worked last year then check out the archives for December of 2005.
I was curious and was wondering if anyone else keeps a top ten list of albums, TV shows, movies or anything like that? Whether it's on paper or just in your mind. I used to make top ten lists all the time when I was in school.
I have a list of my top 100 albums of all time on a word doc. on my computer. There have been a few changes but it stays pretty much the same.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good project Mark. I'm looking forward to it.
I don't do lists much anymore, although you may recall a few on my site, like best hair metal albums and best debut rock albums, late last year. It's a hell of a lot fo fun, though, and it always generates comments!
ReplyDelete-- david
Since you and I were metal rollers together back in the day, Mark, I recall vividly how you and I constantly made those lists and either read them over the phone or slipped them to each other in class. That was a lot of fun, and after you went away for awhile, I used to type my lists and also fun reviews of most of tapes back then, I suppose preparing myself for what I do today.
ReplyDeleteI naturally have to cough up a Top 10 Metal Album list each year, which isn't the easiest thing to do. It was a bitch deciding between Cradle of Filth's "Nymphetamine" and Mastodon's "Leviathan" two years ago and I ended up taking Cradle. I listen to Mastodon far more now, so it's interesting how that plays in your mindset later. I chose Enslaved's "Isa" last year as Metal Album of the Year and stick by my decision. At this point, it's Boris' "Pink" for 2006 and I hope it doesn't leave that spot.
Anyway, blah-de-blah, I hope to check in more regularly here since you've done a beautiful job with the blog and it was great visiting last week and talking metal along with our other topics. Should be interesting to see your list here.
I've tried to compile my top-10 bands/musicians of all-time and back in the day it would've been all-metal. Now, it's about half or so. Weird.
I think I'll probably do a year-end top 10.
ReplyDeletei have top 10 and 20 album lists for years since 1980 and decades since the 50s, among many many other top lists about music that i do in my head and end up writing down.
ReplyDeletei'm that kind of a geek.
:)
I hate to admit this but every year I try to compile a list of favorite CDs that came out that year but when I start...I can never remember all of the stuff that came out so I just give up.
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