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Emeritus
Reviews 144
Approval 95%
Soundoffs 8
News Articles 57
Band Edits + Tags 267
Album Edits 247
Album Ratings 1485
Objectivity 84%
Last Active 05-01-20 6:11 am
Joined 02-24-14
Review Comments 157
| Arcade's Top 10
What can I say? I only joined the site in late February and have felt so welcomed and
appreciated by the reviewing community. As a site, sputnikmusic.com serves a brilliant
purpose of providing a forum for up and coming music critics to voice and develop their
opinions. Words can't describe how much I value this new position and how hard I'm
going to work in it. Congratulations to Judio!, and thanks to all instrumental in my
promotion and the Moderators for keeping this brilliant site running all these years! As a
celebration, here is a rather fickle list of my Top 10 Albums (in no specific order). | | 1 |  | Guns N' Roses
Appetite for Destruction
Controversial, mainly because of the emerging disassociation trend that's arisen around the album;
"overrated", if you will. It's hardly the most complex or artistically well presented pieces, but that's
hardly something we should expect all music to be to achieve simple entertainment. I'm still taken
back to youthful wonderment when I listen to Appetite, imagining the first time I saw Slash and Axl
Rose on my television set. That same sense of cinematic overdrive is reminiscent when the
iconoclasts take to "Welcome to the Jungle"- to this day, there's something to be said for the
attitude these scumbags purveyed. Words don't really do the likes of "Nightrain", "Rocket Queen"
and "Out ta Get Me" any favours or justice; simply put, Appetite for Destruction is the perfect
reference point for all radio rock post-1987. | | 2 |  | Metallica
Ride the Lightning
I don't believe in regrets, but that doesn't stop me from having an outstanding one in my life-
missing the undisputed kings of heavy metal live. The show will likely come around again, but given
recent disastrous financial losses and the all together dreadful reappearance with "The Lords of
Summer", it seems the power is waning. A snapshot of a band in their youth, Ride the Lightning was
the blueprint that read success for Master of Puppets; gone unsung in the mainstream, RTL is
arguably the greater effort of the 2. Mixing teeth grinding thrash with a little space for flex (acoustic
opening on "Fight Fire with Fire", emphasis on hooks and melody on "Escape"), Ride the Lightning's
blueprint was obviously worthy of repeat. After all is said and done, what other album boasts the
housing of such a titanic and immense track as "Creeping Death"? A narrow choice but a deserved
spot. | | 3 |  | Nirvana
Nevermind
Time has seen this classic age quite disastrously. For a short period of time, "Smells Like Teen
Spirit" was completely ruined for a particularly atrocious and preppy performance at my school ball.
But, given retrospect (and a good space of time between my last listen), Nevermind sticks out for its
ability to deliver angst in a way that few others in my generation were able to muster. Hit songs
such as "Come As You Are", "In Bloom" and "Lithium" may not do Cobain's wisdom justice but
anybody with a keen sense of analysis will realize that he could expose the human condition in a
unique manner, trading overdone pity for objectivity in reading. Go on, give it another listen. You
may be pleasantly surprised. | | 4 |  | Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Not a popular choice but a brilliant one none-the-less. While later albums would be useful as
expositions of Jimmy Page's creative pallet, their debut remains as one of their most excitingly
immediate efforts. Punk's scoffed without giving time to consider the fragile speed of "Good Times
Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown", going immediately to the albums more grandiose
moments (equally amazing "You're Time is Gonna Come", "How Many More Times?"). None of this is
a match though for the centerpiece "Dazed and Confused", a moment of spaced out hallucinations,
jazz progression and impeccable guitar improvisation. Say what you will, but Led Zeppelin rarely
ever did anything but impress; their debut is testament to the fact. | | 5 |  | Joy Division
Substance
One wonders whether Ian Curtis is worthy of beatification; solidified as a cynical, aggressive and
intelligent cunt in 24 Hour Party People, a victim of society in Control, Joy Division's legacy is rarely
disputed. Rightfully so. This collection of singles stands out for containing an albums worth of
brilliant tracks in its own right, from the hard rock by way of punk "Warsaw" to the obvious hit "Love
Will Tear Us Apart". It may not be as well connected and constructed an album as Unknown
Pleasures or horrific phantasm Closer, but when it reaches the tensile beat of "She's Lost Control", I
realize that I really don't give a fuck. Joy Division were a band who knew how to rock and groove in
equal measure- Substance is the proof. | | 6 |  | Manic Street Preachers
The Holy Bible
'Evil'. If I could use one word to describe this vile depiction of human hatred, it is that. Defined as
being the suicide note of Richey Edwards, The Holy Bible is more than just a mausoleum of Edward's
manifesto; fueled by an insanely menacing sense of anxiety and crushing pain, James Dean
Bradfield becomes the canvas for Edward's messages of hate. On "4st. 7lb.", it's anorexia. On
"Archives of Pain", it's pro-capital punishment. On "Faster", it's the world and everything it
encompasses. As only a small segment of British musical history, the Manic's punk-metal sonic
abuse is one of the greatest statements of misery the '90s ever saw (In Utero included). | | 7 |  | Pearl Jam
Vs.
As the first band I went to see on my own volition with my own cash, Pearl Jam hold a special place
in my heart. As opposed to their monumental debut that for many was grunge's magnum opus,
sophomore effort Vs. is a diverse and equally consistent follow-up that rarely runs on empty. The
guitar is given far more focus on the likes of "Go", "Animal" and "Blood", with the power of
"Rearviewmirror" and "Indifference" punctuating the spaces in-between. As a bridge in the gap
between Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder's writing dominance in the band, Vs. could well be the
most articulate and consistent effort they ever produced. A highly recommended favourite. | | 8 |  | The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow
The Smiths are the first band that officially 'got me into music', so they deserve a rightful place on
this list. A compilation of rarities, singles and rerecorded tracks, Hatful of Hollow opened me up to a
world of music I never knew existed. Even without that, the album is undeniably excellent, typified
by Peel renditions of "This Charming Man", "What Difference Does it Make?" and indie's answer to
"Stairway to Heaven", "How Soon is Now?". Even now as Morrissey and Johnny Marr bicker publicly
and deny any hope of the brilliant group reforming, we still have the beautiful music they made
together to marvel at in wonder. On par with more popular record The Queen is Dead. | | 9 |  | The Wildhearts
Earth vs. The Wildhearts
Best described as a head-on collision of bubblegum pop and riff-ready heavy metal, Earth Vs. The
Wildhearts is an oft overlooked classic from the canon of British Rock & Roll. Preaching angst and
Suburban frustration, Ginger's part as the exclusive mainstay of the Wildhearts is deserved for
personifying the struggle of the White Male. "Greetings from Shitsville", "TV Tan", and "My Baby is a
Headfuck" are all fairly self-explanatory; it's when it gets to 6-minute epic "Everlone" and designed-
for-live monstrosity "Luv U 'till I Don't" that The Wildhearts prove that even if they're not popular,
they're immensely important. Recommended for anyone seeking requiem from monotony. | | 10 |  | Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
I used to have the struggle with hip-hop that all white youth seen to have when they go through a
holier than thou rockist period. Thank god for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a record that
opened my eyes to a far more broader taste in music than the one I originally binged on to see the
remarkable nature pop music can take on when given the chance. Every second of the album is
impressive, down to the autotune solo in "Runaway", the dark and dense braggadocio of "Power"
and imperial sense of maximalism on "Lost in the World/Who Will Survive in America?". All of this is
mostly thanks to West's impeccably clear and beautifully full production job, so good it turns the
trite ranting of Nikki Minaj on "Monster" and "Dark Fantasy" into threatening warnings. Right down
to the 100% processed beats that litter the record, Fantasy is nothing but pop perfection. | |
ArsMoriendi
06.27.14 | Interesting list. Hope you don't get too much hate for it. 3 and 4 are great. Kind of hate 10 though. | manosg
06.27.14 | Nice. Appetite for Destruction is one of my all time favorites as well. | tempest--
06.27.14 | m/
| Muisc4Life26
06.27.14 | great list man | Cimnele
06.27.14 | 6 is godly | ExplosiveOranges
06.27.14 | Fantastic list, mate. Congrats on the feature. | PitchforkArms
06.27.14 | good list dude nice feature | BMDrummer
06.27.14 | Congrats on the promotion man, you really deserve it. As for the list, I agree with some, disagree with others, and that's fine. Anyways, good luck in the future! | mryrtmrnfoxxxy
06.27.14 | "haha" | riffariffic7
06.27.14 | 1, 3 and 7 are among my favourite albums as well. This is a phenomenal list that you put together, Arcade. If you'd like to hear something new, check out Daylight's album Jar, it's the grungiest album I've heard ever since Nirvana's last album, and the singer often sounds exactly like Kurt Cobain (the songs "Sponge", "Youngest Daughter" and "Around the Railing" are incredible). Give them a shot if you haven't heard them yet, I think you'd really like them. | SeaAnemone
06.27.14 | lol whats with all the comps
bizarre | mryrtmrnfoxxxy
06.27.14 | 8 is one of the best comps out there tbh up there w building nothing out of something and quarantine the past yay | SeaAnemone
06.27.14 | agreed
on quarantine the past especially
but I just can't imagine choosing the best comps over really good albums | AmericanFlagAsh
06.28.14 | 6, 8, and 10 yesssssss | porch
06.29.14 | i'm not huge on the smiths but plenty of people who are super into them put hatful above most of their studio records, its not a regular comp | Cygnatti
06.29.14 | haven't listened to enough of their material tbh :/ | YakNips
06.29.14 | hm I dont really like any of these
cheers though! | scottpilgrim10
06.30.14 | Sweet list 2, 3, and 4 are some of my favorites as well. LZ I used to be my fave LZ album, but now LZ IV and HOTH hold that position. | Judio!
06.30.14 | "Congratulations to Judio!, and thanks to all instrumental in my promotion"
Cheers Arcade! Even though you've only been here a short time you've already established yourself as one hell of an outstanding writer. Keep up the good work! |
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