RISS&ENTERTAINMENT aeditor@gmail.com trady Ehler, OP Contributor f you have any taste in music, there is a good chance at you’ve heard of one or two of these albums, or at east know who some of the artists are. If you don’t have ny taste in music, zead on, this may be your first step pon the endless road of musical snobbery. If, by some reak chance, you are familiar with all of the albums elow, please, please, please let me make love to you until he break-ah break-ah dawn (if you’re a guy, P’ll buy you a izza or something). 0) Do Make Say Think— Winter Hymn, Country lyn, Secret Hymn aS ] he collective of Do Make Say Think create beautifully ntricate, well thought out songs, which all stand strong on their own as clearly distinct works unto themselves. ‘et, they work together in groups of three to revolve round one of the three main themes of the album, hus the title. The brilliance of composition on this Ibum is virtually unheard of in the world of non-jazz, non-classical music. DMST embodies elements of both jazz and classical, however, it is filtered through an lavant-rock filter to create something exciting and fresh. On this album more than any other to date, DMST ush the boundaries of composition and instrumenta- tion. 9) Godspeed you! Black Emperor—Raise Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven Why it’s on the list: It’s hard to choose a quintessential Godspeed album, however, the double disc set, RYSTLATH (wow that’s almost a word!) is commonly considered the pick of the litter. With Raise You Skinny Fists God- speed creates the antithesis of radio pop. They achieve this considerable feat by combining ele- ments of avant-rock with classical music, then adding elements of ambient and electronic. The result is a diverse musical landscape, which feels more like watching some strange apocalyptic movie than listen- ing to an album. he Ten Best Albums You've Never Heard Of 8) Mogwai— Rock Action Why it’s on the List: Rock Action is a diverse, exciting, and incredibly tight col- lection of post-rock masterworks by Glasgow’s best band. Though there are some undeniably heavy moments, don’t let the album title fool you; this album is meditative and complex, there are no rapid triple power-chord assaults, and there is a build-up for every crescendo. Rock Action presents the perfect mélange of layering, lush instrumen- tation, subtlety, and restraint, balanced with well-placed aggression. This is another one of those albums that grows on you like some sort of wonderful endorphin- spewing cancer; it gets better with every listen. Hell, even the B-sides are good. If you don’t believe me, check out the website, where they are free for the taking. 7) Refused—Shape of Punk to Come Why it’s on the List: Before The Hives, before The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and before the legions of Scremo bands that they left in their wake, there was Refused. Refused was the first and best Swedish hardcore band; they were also argu- ably one of the best hardcore bands period. They were certainly more diverse and accessible than the majority of hardcore bands out there. Fortunately, Refused left us with three exceptional albums before their break-up and of those three this, their final release, stands out as a particu- larly fine-cut diamond amongst other rare jewels. I could write about this album all day, so I'll just keep it simple, This is the hardest-rocking most exciting, get out of you seat and break shit album ever. No album before this has made me want to so consistently jump up and scream along to the lyrics. This album is innovative, thoughtful, and very, very powerful. It also contains—and I hope you appreciate the gravity of this statement—the best drum- ming on a heavy album EVER. If you are a drummer and like heavy music, jazz, or just want to have your head blown off, check it out. Continued on Page 13