The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

MyWifeHatesTrain said:
8/21/24
View attachment 211654
Venom - Black Metal



www.allmusic.com

Black Metal - Venom | Album | AllMusic

Black Metal by Venom released in 1982. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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I had not read the book entry on this until today. The book frames this as a Kiss style tongue in cheek thing. I wish I had read it when I listened. I wondered if I would have thought differently about it.

I think this quote from the cover of the album is funny:
Home taping is killing music… So are Venom.
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Rap’s cuss words and violence were hardly new, but Eminem had catapulted the music into white Middle America.
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Does this mean the middle part of the country had ignored Beasties, Vanilla Ice, 2 Live Crew and NWA or is this just writing from someone who wasn’t here? Probably because I grew up on Military Bases and the towns near them, we were listening to LL and Run DMC and Beasties when they hit. Breakin’ was something we all saw when it came out. But the Beasties toured with Madonna. Run DMC may have felt like Aerosmith was forced on them but it launched them into the wider American scene. The controversy surrounding 2 Live Crew, PE and NWA drew every kid to their music. Is this sentence out of touch or is my experience significantly different from kids in the heartland?
 
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
Em makes my fuddy duddy show. He’s a very talented rapper. Dre and the other producers do good to great work. It is singular artistic vision.

I could go the rest of my life never hearing it/him again and that would be just fine.
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I am with you for the most part. Eminem was extremely popular with so many teenage boys when I was myself a late teen that he was inescapable. He is quite talented and Dre production is top notch but I never connect with his music the same way I did with The Beastie Boys or Wu-Tang or Jay-Z or many other 90s hip hop acts. So while I can appreciate it and acknowledge that he absolutely belongs on this list, I doubt I am ever gonna need to listen to any of his albums in their entirety for the rest of my lifetime.
 
I saw this video the other and it’s pertinent as most of the artists featured likely have multiple albums on the list

It’s a nice running timeline that helps visualize the the shift in artists popularity over the past 55 years.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I saw this video the other and it’s pertinent as most of the artists featured likely have multiple albums on the list

It’s a nice running timeline that helps visualize the the shift in artists popularity over the past 55 years.
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Couple of things….
1. Fuck the Eagles
2. FUCK Drake
3. Who the fuck is Luis Fonsi?
4. So Em outsold all rap artists until Drake. I don’t really think that proves the book’s statement. I think it probably speaks more to, well, racism.
 
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
Does this mean the middle part of the country had ignored Beasties, Vanilla Ice, 2 Live Crew and NWA or is this just writing from someone who wasn’t here? Probably because I grew up on Military Bases and the towns near them, we were listening to LL and Run DMC and Beasties when they hit. Breakin’ was something we all saw when it came out. But the Beasties toured with Madonna. Run DMC may have felt like Aerosmith was forced on them but it launched them into the wider American scene. The controversy surrounding 2 Live Crew, PE and NWA drew every kid to their music. Is this sentence out of touch or is my experience significantly different from kids in the heartland?
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In my experience with the Canadian prairies he definitely blew the barn wide open --> hip hop was known and some folks were super down, but it was still a lot more of a fringe niche thing until Em's second album suddenly moved things much more to the forefront. The impact wasn't as noticeable in my Vancouver life, but was hugely noticeable out in rural Alberta when I'd go visit my dad - especially as a hip hop fan before, during and after. I remember a lot of yokels who looked at me weird for playing hip hop in my dad's car were suddenly becoming big Eminem fans. It was kinda surreal, but even the bigots could get onto his shit.
 
avecigrec said:
In my experience with the Canadian prairies he definitely blew the barn wide open --> hip hop was known and some folks were super down, but it was still a lot more of a fringe niche thing until Em's second album suddenly moved things much more to the forefront. The impact wasn't as noticeable in my Vancouver life, but was hugely noticeable out in rural Alberta when I'd go visit my dad - especially as a hip hop fan before, during and after. I remember a lot of yokels who looked at me weird for playing hip hop in my dad's car were suddenly becoming big Eminem fans. It was kinda surreal, but even the bigots could get onto his shit.
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That’s probably fair. Kind of why I asked the question.
 
Rip_City said:
One of the best of that era. From a production (and lyrically even more) view, it hasn't aged well.
Don't need to listen to it, I am very familiar thanks to high school.

Rating: 3.5/5 [Great]
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I disagree about the production. It doesn’t sound almost a quarter of a century old. It’s also quirky. I don’t know though, I’ve always been a sucker for Dre’s beats.
 
Because of the Questlove book and the Mark Ronson show, I’ve been watching old Yo! MTV Raps and listening to old hip hop albums. I really miss the golden age. I don’t know if it’s the curation of the episodes or editing or rights issues but so far Yo! Has been mostly stuff I really dig.
 
MyWifeHatesTrain said:
Couple of things….
1. Fuck the Eagles
2. FUCK Drake
3. Who the fuck is Luis Fonsi?
4. So Em outsold all rap artists until Drake. I don’t really think that proves the book’s statement. I think it probably speaks more to, well, racism.
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I don’t disagree with any of those thoughts. It’s an interesting way to view music through the years.You see artists raise and fall. It’s wild how so few artists have topped this list over those 50 years. Backstreet Boys but not *NSYNC or Brittney Spears. Rhianna but not Beyoncé or Adel.

The late 90s resurgent blip of Elton John due to The Lion King soundtrack and rerelease of “Candle In The Wind”. It’s interesting.
 
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