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03 April 2008

Fill in the blank: a mediocre album by _________ is better than most bands' best albums.
post by: 2or3whiskeysodas at: 10:26 | 34 comments
Neil Young. Even that "Let's Roll" album wasn't too bad. I mean, it was bad, but it was still a Neil Young album.
posted by muddgirl 03 April | 10:31
Curve
posted by crush-onastick 03 April | 10:48
Prince
posted by BoringPostcards 03 April | 11:14
Tom Waits
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas 03 April | 11:34
16 horsepower
posted by small_ruminant 03 April | 11:54
Kate Bush. Although I doubt she's ever had a mediocre album, IMHO.
posted by MonkeyButter 03 April | 11:55
Die Like A Dog Quartet
posted by box 03 April | 11:57
Drive-By Truckers
posted by essexjan 03 April | 11:59
Fugazi
posted by gaspode 03 April | 12:01
The other day, while housesitting for B & T, I was watching this VH-1 'Best songs of the 90s' countdown, and that Pearl Jam song 'Jeremy' was on the list. And, yeah, okay, it's not a bad tune, if you like that kind of thing. But then, every third-rate Hal Sparks and Hollywood Steve started talking about how, when Pearl Jam stopped making videos and got mad at Ticketmaster and whatnot, they became the exemplar of '90s anti-corporate DIY integrity. And, frankly, this made me so angry that I turned the teevee off. Speaking of Fugazi.
posted by box 03 April | 12:05
Heh, box.

Jonathan Richman.
posted by danostuporstar 03 April | 12:14
The Fall
posted by item 03 April | 12:16
The Jam.
posted by richat 03 April | 12:25
I have had this screen up, or hidden, for an hour or so. I got nothing.
posted by danf 03 April | 12:57
Yo La Tengo
posted by smich 03 April | 12:59
Wilco. This is exactly what my enclave of fans said about them re: Ghost Is Born and Sky Blue Sky.

Modest Mouse. They've basically been making the same album over-and-over for a while, but it's a pretty solid album.

There's probably a good argument for Radiohead, since their mediocre albums still end up on many top ten lists at years end.

(Yo La Tengo totally makes me think of Belle and Sebastian as a valid answer.)

Sorry. My answer definitely doesn't fit in the blank. I suck at rules.
posted by pokermonk 03 April | 13:01
Rush. Oh, wait, they have no mediocre albums.

Harvey Danger (same thing; they're all awesome, in different ways)

Talking Heads? I don't have all their albums.

*tries to think of bands whose whole discography he owns*
posted by Eideteker 03 April | 13:20
Lee Perry. Conveniently, there are a lot of mediocre Lee Perry records.
posted by box 03 April | 13:23
Elvis Costello.
posted by Elsa 03 April | 13:59
Radiohead. Rufus Wainwright. Sufjan Stevens. Although this is all hypothetical. They are incapable of mediocrity.
posted by msali 03 April | 13:59
Bare Naked Ladies. seriously. or because of not-so-seriously.
posted by wendell 03 April | 15:03
Lee Perry. Conveniently, there are a lot of mediocre Lee Perry records.

Heh... I almost said something similar about Prince.
posted by BoringPostcards 03 April | 15:30
Disagree on Modest Mouse; I think they suffered a huge dropoff in quality around the turn of the millennium.

I would go with Fugazi or the Ex on this one.
posted by jtron 03 April | 16:52
I've often wondered why bands bother making mediocre records.
They should just make good ones instead.
posted by Hellbient 03 April | 17:38
Contractual obligations?
posted by ethylene 03 April | 17:45
The Replacements. The Rolling Stones. The Dictators. The Ramones.
posted by jonmc 03 April | 20:41
Old 97's.
posted by Triode 03 April | 20:44
Bruce Springsteen.
posted by Savannah 04 April | 00:58
Low.
posted by black8 04 April | 02:07
Bruce Springsteen seconded and by the way how is it possible that he was second to last comment by the time I saw this?

Other runners-up:

- Roxy Music
- The Innocence Mission
- New Order
- The Cure
- John Prine
posted by Lipstick Thespian 05 April | 19:32
Ooh, seconding the Roxy Music. Luckily Bryan Ferry saved all the REALLY bad stuff for his solo career. *sigh*
posted by BoringPostcards 05 April | 19:44
I think this is more fun when you name the mediocre album.

Last Exit (the mediocre album is Iron Path)
Blackalicious (the mediocre album is The Craft)
Marvin Gaye (the mediocre album is Midnight Love)
posted by box 05 April | 19:49
In that case, box...

Roxy Music: the mediocre album is Avalon
Prince: the mediocre album is everything after Sign O' The Times
posted by BoringPostcards 05 April | 19:54
See, I told you it was fun.

Bob Dylan (the, uh, most mediocre albums are the three born-again ones)
Swans (Laswell's my man, but The Burning World just doesn't work very well.)
Run-DMC (everything after Raising Hell) (Actually, come to think of it, that one doesn't really work. The only mediocre album they did was Tougher Than Leather--the rest were pretty much horrible.)
posted by box 05 April | 20:01
← What is one thing you admire about each of your parents? || Name two things that give you hope. →

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