DID from JSD

[Dances With Voles <jondr@sco.COM>]

I can't possibly come up with only 10 discs.  I could maybe give you my 10
favorites of THIS MONTH, but no way can I come up with 10 discs to stay on
an island with.  If I had to, I'd go insane in a day.  I bring more than 10
discs to work each day!  Here's a list of the JSD Classic Collection.  If
you don't own any of the following, consider yourself a Social Donut and go
out and buy them all tomorrow.  Don't even wait that long.  You'll thank me
later.  In no particular order...

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back; Fear Of A
Black Planet.  Two of the finest albums ever.  Sounds - awesome.  Lyrics -
unbelievable.  Attitude - incredible.  Politically hip, AND you can dance to
it!  I could never choose between the two, they're both phenomenal.
"Nation" is so groundbreaking and influential that it would take all day to
list the people it has affected.

Meat Beat Manifesto - Storm The Studio.  For sheer density of ideas, you
can't beat it.  I can't even listen to the whole thing in one sitting.  My
brain threatens to explode rather than assimilate it all.  You don't know
what rhythm is if you haven't listened to it.

Thomas Dolby - all of them.  The greatest living male singer/songwriter.
End of story.

Kate Bush - The Dreaming; Hounds Of Love.  Do I have to say anything else?

Skinny Puppy - all of them.  Every album has its (pardon the expression)
dogs, but there are also many classic tracks on each one.  At first it sounds
like random howling, but eventually you learn to interpret Nivek's style and
then your life changes, immeasurably for the better.  More great lyrics.

Foetus - all of them.  Jim "Foetus" Thirlwell is a genius.  His songs range
from gut-wrenching blues to cranium-pummelling metal to orchestral grandeur,
often in the space of a minute!  Also of note is his collaboration with Roli
Mosimann under the name Wiseblood.  Go out and buy "Sink" right now, you
won't be disappointed.

Ministry - Twitch; The Land Of Rape And Honey.  Twitch is dance-industrial,
Rape is more metal-oriented, but they're both great.  When your
[girl|boy]friend leaves you and you want to run them down in your car, this
is the music that should be playing on the cassette.

The Legendary Pink Dots - most of them.  What Happy Rhodes WANTS to be, but
done right.  Angst, melodrama, a nightmare vision of a horrifying future and
a not-so-hot present, constructed with psychedelic ostentatiousness.
Weeping violins and violas compete with synthesizers, guitars and found
sounds, and above it all rises the voice of Edward Ka-Spel, pathetic, sad or
just plain evil.  Favorite albums: Island Of Jewels, Asylum, The Golden Age,
The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse, The Maria Dimension.

XTC - anything from "Drums And Wires" on.  The best pop-rock group, that's
all.  Andy Partridge is a god.  Colin Moulding is a demi-god.  Dave Gregory
is the high priest, I guess.  My favorite LP is The Big Express.  You should
own it.

The Tear Garden - Tired Eyes, Slowly Burning (CD).  A collaborative project
from cEVIN Key (Skinny Puppy) and Edward Ka-Spel (Legendary Pink Dots).  It
will give you nightmares for the rest of your life.  The CD has the earlier
self-titled EP included as bonus tracks, and thus encompasses the entire
recorded catalog of the group thus far.  There are rumours of a future album
floating around.  Both participants say they'd like to do it...  cross
fingers!

That's ten groups that I'm fanatical about.  Here's a whole fistful of
albums that you really need to own.

Delerium - "Syrophenikan"  Best synth music ever.
The KLF - "Chill Out"  I agree with Lazlo.
Art Of Noise - "Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise?"  A classic.
Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System - "It's Tackhead Tape Time"  Furious!
Scritti Politti - "Cupid And Psyche"  A pure pop masterpiece.
Colourbox - "Colourbox"  Another pure pop masterpiece.
Caterwaul - "Portent Hue"  Crunch factor 10.  Better than Led Zeppelin.
Sussan Deihim/Richard Horowitz - "Azax Attra: Desert Equations"
Fuzzbox - "Big Bang!"  Another pure pop masterpiece.
Propaganda - "A Secret Wish"  Another pure pop masterpiece.
Stump - "A Fierce Pancake"  Brilliantly twisted angular dissonant pop.
Momus - "Don't Stop The Night"  A storyteller on a par with Kate.
Severed Heads - "Come Visit The Big Bigot"  Twisted, but FUN.
Kraftwerk - "The Mix"  Talk about influential!  Full of landmark tunes.
Nurse With Wound - "Brained"  Scary scary scary, but addictive.

I could go on forever.  But I won't.