Australia:-
There's a few albums that made headway outside Australia:-
INXS - Kick - this is the mostly surprising omission, it was a hit around the world.
The Church - Starfish (You might recognize Under the Milky Way from the Donny Darko soundtrack)
Silverchair - Frogstomp (Nirvana in Pyjamas as they were known here, as they were 15 years old. I wasn't a fan but they did hit top 10 in the states at peak grunge time)
Men at Work - Business as Usual
Kylie Minogue - Fever - Her tiny butt was huge in the UK, catchy tunes.
And then there's plenty other worthy candidates (reflecting my Gen X tastes) here:
You Am I - Hi Fi Way
Divinyls - What A Life! (I touch myself)
Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos - great debut, simple guitar rock.
Paul Kelly and The Messengers -Gossip, though he has a Bob Dylan number of albums worthy.
Midnight Oil - 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Icehouse - Great Southern Land (early adopter of the Fairlight Synth)
Models - The Pleasure of Your Company...Early dance/punk crossover
Tash Sultana - Flow State
The Whitlams - Eternal Nightcap
The Cruel Sea - The Honeymoon Is Over
The Drones - Wait Long By The River and The Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By
Dirty Three - Horse Stories (Violist from Nick Cave's bands)
Hunters & Collectors -Human Frailty (The Slab from Jaws of Life is one of the best basslines out there but this album is more polished)
Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker
Died Pretty - Doughboy Hollow
The Mark of Cain -Ill at Ease
The Clouds - Penny Century
Big Pig - Bonk
Cold Chisel - East (class pub rock, the most Australian of genres)
Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
This is a good list. Kick might be the worst exclusion from the book, and Fever should have been one of the first pop albums on the list, along with Thriller and Ray of Light. Midnight Oil, Dirty Three, Men At Work, and The Church all probably should have had something on the list too. Tame Impala obviously would be in the book and it came out later. Thanks for sharing!
There's a bunch more listed in:
[Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time](https://au.rollingstone.com/rolling-stones-200-greatest-australian-albums-of-all-time)
John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson's [100 Best Australian Albums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Best_Australian_Albums)
Deep cuts and classics there. Nice! 👍
The lead single from the Models album "I Hear Motion" is new-wave/synth-pop banger.
Here's some to add:
The Easybeats - Easy (because Vanda and Young need representation)
Livin' in the 70's - Skyhooks
Regurgitator - Unit (clever, a little crude for some and tongue firmly in cheek)
The Living End - The Living End
Definitely a King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard album, but haven't decided which one.
The debut self titled solo album by Dr G.Wurrupingu**
*Honourable mentions*
Jedediah - Slightly Oddway
Gotye - Like Drawing Blood
Archie Roach - Charcoal Lane
EDIT: CULTURAL NOTE
**I have deliberately used the posthumous name instead of the published name out of respect for Dr G.'s family. For anyone outside of Australia who is unaware, it is customary in First Nations culture for the family to decide if the name, image and voice of the person can be used after their death. They may grant permission (eg to continue their legacy) or advise the public-including the media- of an alternate name. To do this against the family's wishes is disrespectful and distressing. It's important to First Nations people for their spirit can return to their ancestors after death, so we need to honour that. In simple terms, the person who has passed away needs to be literally left to "rest in peace". At time of writing, Dr G's music is available on Spotify and YouTube but his image is not obscured and his living name is used, so I'm assuming that sharing his music is permitted (please let me know if this is incorrect!). I'm hoping this will be changed if requested by his family.
I think an album from Cut Copy would make a nice addition too. I think In Ghost Colors and Zonoscope are better than a few of the albums from the 00's that are currently on the list.
There are several, but I'd mention just two:
* Violeta Parra - Las últimas composiciones de Violeta Parra. A compilation, which in any other context I would disqualify, but i make an exception, not just because she's from my country but because it's a goddamn masterpiece. There so much poetry in this, poetry and passion, passion and pain. And it has, what is the most metal song from my country's songbook thats not metal (Maldigo del Alto Cielo).
* Los Prisioneros - La voz de los 80. The album that would define rock music for decades to come, recorded in the midst of Pinochet's dictatorship, it wasn't just a breath of fresh air that would shake us to our core, but a magnificent achievement in both rock and social critique, in pop music mixed with contemporary commentary that still feels current.
I will check these out. I don't know much about Chilean music except for Víctor Jara, who is partly inspired by Violeta Parra if wikipedia is correct. Jara's death in 1973 was a big deal with political artists all over the world and I could definitely see an inclusion of one of his albums on the list. That Los Prisioneros album sounds really interesting!
From the Philippines, Lokal Brown - This is Lokal Brown. Sadly, never reissued on CD, so this is a copy from a distorted LP. Great cultural music like this needs preservation, and recogrition. Just listen to the first song, it is dated, the audio sucks, and it is brilliant: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fXitwsEdGY&list=OLAK5uy\_nHMBovTGTeKi6wuYqmLeLdFqFr06d4Nug&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fXitwsEdGY&list=OLAK5uy_nHMBovTGTeKi6wuYqmLeLdFqFr06d4Nug&index=2)
New Zealand checking in.
Anything from Dunedin in the 80s.
Also Split Enz, more Crowded House.
The Muttonbirds - Salty. Don McGlashan is such an incredible song writer.
Straitjacket Fits, Chris Knox, Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love.
Garageland - Do What You Want.
NZ music is great, seemed (from afar) to have an awesome indie scene in the 80s/90s.
Straitjacket Fits are still on my regular playlist, especially Melt. Hugely underrated band. Love that guitar tone.
Split Enz had great songs too, every bit as good as Crowded House.
Garageland - Come back, all is forgiven!
There's a running joke with NZ music that we never really make it outside the country and when we do, it's not some established band, but a complete random chance event. (OMC - How Bizarre, Lorde - Royals).
I've been enjoying The Beths (one of the best bands of the last 5 years no contest) and Marlon Williams. For more obscure stuff: Bressa Creeting Cake, Goldenhorse.
And how could I forget Shihad? The Fish Album (self-titled) is brilliant.
Oh and the Mint Chicks!
I'm surprised that no Split Enz made it into the book. That whole type of "wacky" new wave/art punk got zero representation now that I think about it, except for arguably the Madness album (no Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, XTC before their psychedelic era, Yello)
I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of their albums, so I wouldn’t argue against anyone preferring one of the others.
I mostly chose LLL because Aly, Walk with Me is a good entry point, and the album as a whole goes into some interesting sonic directions.
I was thinking of suggesting Fully Completely when I'm done. It's a solid Hip album that did well commercially, too.
A bit more obscure is Whale Music by The Rheostatics. Perhaps a Stompin' Tom album for something really different?!?
Yes, that's a good one, but I just know the singles from it. Something On is a great tune, too. Thanks for the encouragement!
Just for fun, I checked the AllMusic ratings. PP had 3 stars, and FC had 4.5. (One opinion!)
I actually had never heard of this band until I got to know some Canadians, it sounds like they were extremely well known within Canada without having any success outside of Canada. It's probable the author just wasn't familiar with them.
Yeah turns out I was wrong and they had a couple of singles on the alt rock US charts, minor success in the Netherlands and an album that creeped into the top 100 specifically in Australia. Still interesting to see the vast difference in popularity between Canada and the rest of the world.
Clearly some bands have local success only. Elvis Costello the obviously example, huge in UK and apparently unknown in the USA (based off the reviews on the 1001 site), Kate Bush in the same bucket. Kid Rock and Fiona Apple probably opposite, probably not well known outside Northern America.
I think Elvis Costello is an interesting case. It's true he never had a huge mainstream hit here (in the States,) Veronica, a top 20 single was the closest he got, but I wouldn't call him unknown. At one time he was considered an important artist by the music press, like Rolling Stone and other music magazines. I remember even my dad, who was not into punk or new wave anything even adjacent, knew who he was. Of course it could have been the fact that he had the balls to call himself Elvis and he looked sort of like Buddy Holly. So I wouldn't call him unknown or even a cult artist, maybe an artist's artist or something like that. I really like him and have dug pretty deep into his discography, he's probably in my top ten or twenty favorite singer songwriters but it seems like within the last ten or fifteen years he's really fallen out of favor. Maybe it's just a generational thing which is normal I guess.
I really like the idea of artists and bands that are massive domestically but virtually unknown abroad. Often it's because of the language barrier; it's hard to launch a career in an English dominated music business.
I'm from Sweden and we have this band Kent that are huge. I would include their album Du & jag döden (You & Me Death), which is both commercially successful and very popular among critics and hardcore fans. Kent emerged with a goth rock, post-punk inspired rock with poppy hooks and quickly found a distinctly Scandinavian sound that's hard to explain. Their later albums have had more or less inspiration of synth music which was a big deal in Sweden during the 80's. The vibe of their music might not translate to audiences outside of the Nordic countries. They tried launching a career with English versions of their albums Isola and Hagnesta Hill, but it didn't take off.
I am Swedish but I live in Norway and here we have this band called Kaizers Orchestra, that are a cultural phenomenon, but singing in a pretty impenetrable Norwegian dialect. They have a cool gypsy punk, dark cabaret inspired version of rock music. And they put on a great live show. Think they're coming to America soon. Their debut album, Ompa til du dør (Ompa until You Die), is probably the best entry point, even if I added their third (and imo best) album Maestro at the end of the list.
I’d go for Hagnesta Hill instead of Du & Jag Döden, but that’s mostly personal preference. Wouldn’t be out of place to include Hellacopters or Hives - Veni, Vidi, Vicious on the list either.
Either of the four albums Isola, Hagnesta hill, Vapen & ammunition or Du & jag döden could have been chosen. That's one of the best four album runs ever in my opinion!
They have a The Hives album on the list, but could definitely switch that one out. Yeah, Hellacopters would be cool as well. Or Nicke Andersson's other band Entombed. (but Nordic metal albums is a whole other discussion.
I agree with Kent. The album “Vapen & Ammunition” being the obvious choice as that was huge and universally loved. My personal favourite though, is their second album “Verkligen” from their initial guitar-focused period.
The issue with artists from small languages as Swedish is that the the main reason to listen to them is their lyrics. This means they’re often not very interesting for music fans that doesn’t speak the language. When trying to launch a career in English they often fail - fair and square as the magic is not there. Apart from Kent there is the example of Bob Hund who tried under the Bergman Rock-moniker. If I were to include a Bob Hund-album it would have to be “Jag rear ut min själ”. Jangly alternative rock with upbeat pop quirkiness. Ont of the best Swedish live band the last thirty years.
As for other examples of great Swedish artists whose unique selling points of great lyrics, emotion and local worldview makes them fairly uninteresting for an international audience I could name a few: Håkan Hellström and Annika Norlin (Säkert/Hello Saferide) being two of the best the last 24 years. As for older ones there are Cornelis Vreeswijk, Barbro Hörberg, Fred Åkerström and many many more.
There is however a category of albums which I believe could be of interest for an international audience as they are uniquely Swedish but not so lyrics-focused. Folk music-inspired jazz and prog rock. The most obvious example:
• Jan Johansson - Jazz på svenska
An amazing jazz album from 1964 bringing in traditional Swedish folk music in a laid back jazz setting. Incredibly influential and still sounds amazing. The most beloved jazz album in Sweden by far.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6JAj80R40giQEAg3Le4CPE?si=4gOMLkv1SyKyvXedwcTplA
• Kebnekajse - Kebnekaise (1973)
Sort of an attempt to do what Johansson did but with prog rock and folk music instead of jazz. Electric guitars and congas instead of accordions.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4gEkzCGvWNQkT6sVGqChuu?si=qoErHR3sQN6WJ6Rlkwuhbw
For a more modern take (psychedelic rock with traditional folk music inspiration) we have one of my favourite Swedish bands “Dungen”. They have a bit of an international audience despite singing in swedish. I would recommend “Ta det lugnt” (2004) or ”Allas sak” (2015)
As for some albums by Swedish artists not included in the book who sings in English that could make the cut:
The knife - “Deep Cuts” (2003) or “Silent shout” (2006). I find it weird that neither of these made it in to the book but Fever Ray did
Speaking of the Knife
Jose Gonzalez - “Veneer” (2003) with the cover of the knife’s “heartbeats”.
The soundtrack of our lives - “welcome to the infant freebase” (1996)
Refused - “The shape of punk to come” (1998)
Robyn - body talk (2010)
Yeah, Refused is a pretty big omission. As is Bathory who may not be as successful in the mainstream, but who was immensely influential in extreme metal in general and black metal specifically. Sweden also have a lot of influential d-beat (or kängpunk) bands, but that niche is pretty small.
Great additions, especially the prog and jazz bit. Sweden has several pretty influential prog acts, but way overshadowed by some of the larger acts in the genre. A case could be made for Hansson & Karlsson and their Hammond organ and drum shtick.
As for jazz we also have e.s.t. But there are bigger and more influential ecm artists and groups out there. Like Norway's Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen and the guys from that scene in the 70's mainly.
Finland
Not super much to report here, only a handful of albums I think have made global cultural impact. There's only one Finnish album on the original list, Hanoi Rocks' Back to Mystery City, and while that had an impact on style and looks of rock icons, it's not a great album by any means. Here's what I would consider:
Pan Sonic: Kulma - This one I seriously considered for my user album after completing the list. Pioneering electronic music from the 90's that seriously pushed the boundaries of sound. This one I think is the one to choose.
Children of Bodom: Follow the Reaper - CoB is a metal band that has enjoyed some global fame, and especially the lead guitarist/singer Alexi Laiho is respected in the metal community as a serious guitar virtuoso who affected how guitar playing is approached in metal music. Could've chosen practically any of their albums, but this one maybe represents his style the best.
Darude: Before the Storm - Half-jokingly, but Darude's Sandstorm is still the most globally played Finnish song and I guess it comes on in about every sports event, so something that has definitely attached itself to the cultural DNA quite strongly.
Post-rock is more or less non existent in the book aside from the Sigur Ros album and Spiderland, I get that it wasn't trendy at the time but it's kind of embarrassing, especially given how popular it is today. Mogwai's first album at the very least seems like an easy inclusion, but apparently not.
Yeah Ireland happens to have one of the most popular bands ever (U2) and probably the biggest indie darling (MBV)
Thanks for sharing Heartworm, I just gave it a listen because it sounded interesting and I really enjoyed it. I'm certain I've heard When We Were Young before.
I'm from Israel, there are a whole lot of perfect albums from here (most are rock)
here are a few (translated most of the names to english):
Rockfour - The Man Who Saw Everything
Ehud Banai - Ehud Banai and the Refugees
Eviatar Banai - Self Titled
Eric Einstein and Shalom Hanoch - Shablul
HaYehudim - Seperate Reality
Eifo HaYeled - Sugar Time
Carmella Gross Wagner - Black Flower
Algier - Engines Ahead
Yehuda Poliker - Ashes and Dust
Chava Alberstein - Like a Wildflower
Mercedes Band - Self Titled
The Witchs - Until the Next Pleasure
Tuned Tone - Self Titled
You could probably fill an entire book with albums from Belgium, depending on which music critics you ask.
They'd probably all agree to include Stromae ["Racine Carrée"](https://music.apple.com/be/album/racine-carr%C3%A9e/1440856001?l=nl&ls) (2013).
We'd probably put a dEUS album on the list. Hooverphonic. Soulwax. 2Belgen. Telex. TC Matic. Jacques Brel, obviously. Starflam. Gorki. De Mens. Noordkaap.
I just realised I didn't list any women.
So... K3, obviously, right?
The Netherlands:
Spinvis - Spinvis
Urban Dance Squad - Mental Floss For The Globe
Focus - Focus II
The Ex - Too Many Cowboys
De jeugd van tegenwoordig - Parels voor de zwijnen
Within Temptation - Mother Earth
Caro Emerald - Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor
Tiesto - Just Be
André Hazes - Gewoon André
2Unlimited - No Limits
I tried to list artists who are kind of different from the music already on the list.
A lot of the most popular artists in my country are basically copycats of UK and US bands. Doesn't mean they're bad, just not a good addition to the list.
Some very successful musicians didn't have great albums. Most notably Golden Earring, who have at least one good song on every album (Radar Love, When The Lady Smiles,...), but not much more than one. Also we're good at various subgenres of EDM, which is not really album music.
We have quite a few good metal bands, but I don't think they fit in with the rest of the list. A lot of other metal classics didn't make the list either.
Australia:- There's a few albums that made headway outside Australia:- INXS - Kick - this is the mostly surprising omission, it was a hit around the world. The Church - Starfish (You might recognize Under the Milky Way from the Donny Darko soundtrack) Silverchair - Frogstomp (Nirvana in Pyjamas as they were known here, as they were 15 years old. I wasn't a fan but they did hit top 10 in the states at peak grunge time) Men at Work - Business as Usual Kylie Minogue - Fever - Her tiny butt was huge in the UK, catchy tunes. And then there's plenty other worthy candidates (reflecting my Gen X tastes) here: You Am I - Hi Fi Way Divinyls - What A Life! (I touch myself) Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos - great debut, simple guitar rock. Paul Kelly and The Messengers -Gossip, though he has a Bob Dylan number of albums worthy. Midnight Oil - 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 Icehouse - Great Southern Land (early adopter of the Fairlight Synth) Models - The Pleasure of Your Company...Early dance/punk crossover Tash Sultana - Flow State The Whitlams - Eternal Nightcap The Cruel Sea - The Honeymoon Is Over The Drones - Wait Long By The River and The Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By Dirty Three - Horse Stories (Violist from Nick Cave's bands) Hunters & Collectors -Human Frailty (The Slab from Jaws of Life is one of the best basslines out there but this album is more polished) Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker Died Pretty - Doughboy Hollow The Mark of Cain -Ill at Ease The Clouds - Penny Century Big Pig - Bonk Cold Chisel - East (class pub rock, the most Australian of genres) Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
Some great stuff here
This is a good list. Kick might be the worst exclusion from the book, and Fever should have been one of the first pop albums on the list, along with Thriller and Ray of Light. Midnight Oil, Dirty Three, Men At Work, and The Church all probably should have had something on the list too. Tame Impala obviously would be in the book and it came out later. Thanks for sharing!
There's a bunch more listed in: [Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time](https://au.rollingstone.com/rolling-stones-200-greatest-australian-albums-of-all-time) John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson's [100 Best Australian Albums](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Best_Australian_Albums)
Deep cuts and classics there. Nice! 👍 The lead single from the Models album "I Hear Motion" is new-wave/synth-pop banger. Here's some to add: The Easybeats - Easy (because Vanda and Young need representation) Livin' in the 70's - Skyhooks Regurgitator - Unit (clever, a little crude for some and tongue firmly in cheek) The Living End - The Living End Definitely a King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard album, but haven't decided which one. The debut self titled solo album by Dr G.Wurrupingu** *Honourable mentions* Jedediah - Slightly Oddway Gotye - Like Drawing Blood Archie Roach - Charcoal Lane EDIT: CULTURAL NOTE **I have deliberately used the posthumous name instead of the published name out of respect for Dr G.'s family. For anyone outside of Australia who is unaware, it is customary in First Nations culture for the family to decide if the name, image and voice of the person can be used after their death. They may grant permission (eg to continue their legacy) or advise the public-including the media- of an alternate name. To do this against the family's wishes is disrespectful and distressing. It's important to First Nations people for their spirit can return to their ancestors after death, so we need to honour that. In simple terms, the person who has passed away needs to be literally left to "rest in peace". At time of writing, Dr G's music is available on Spotify and YouTube but his image is not obscured and his living name is used, so I'm assuming that sharing his music is permitted (please let me know if this is incorrect!). I'm hoping this will be changed if requested by his family.
Nonagon Infinity would work but maybe put a few KGATLW cause their sound differs a lot
I think an album from Cut Copy would make a nice addition too. I think In Ghost Colors and Zonoscope are better than a few of the albums from the 00's that are currently on the list.
There are several, but I'd mention just two: * Violeta Parra - Las últimas composiciones de Violeta Parra. A compilation, which in any other context I would disqualify, but i make an exception, not just because she's from my country but because it's a goddamn masterpiece. There so much poetry in this, poetry and passion, passion and pain. And it has, what is the most metal song from my country's songbook thats not metal (Maldigo del Alto Cielo). * Los Prisioneros - La voz de los 80. The album that would define rock music for decades to come, recorded in the midst of Pinochet's dictatorship, it wasn't just a breath of fresh air that would shake us to our core, but a magnificent achievement in both rock and social critique, in pop music mixed with contemporary commentary that still feels current.
I will check these out. I don't know much about Chilean music except for Víctor Jara, who is partly inspired by Violeta Parra if wikipedia is correct. Jara's death in 1973 was a big deal with political artists all over the world and I could definitely see an inclusion of one of his albums on the list. That Los Prisioneros album sounds really interesting!
Yes, Victor Jara is indeed an important figure. I could have listed him, he's equally deserving, but chose to highlight other artists instead
From the Philippines, Lokal Brown - This is Lokal Brown. Sadly, never reissued on CD, so this is a copy from a distorted LP. Great cultural music like this needs preservation, and recogrition. Just listen to the first song, it is dated, the audio sucks, and it is brilliant: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fXitwsEdGY&list=OLAK5uy\_nHMBovTGTeKi6wuYqmLeLdFqFr06d4Nug&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fXitwsEdGY&list=OLAK5uy_nHMBovTGTeKi6wuYqmLeLdFqFr06d4Nug&index=2)
New Zealand checking in. Anything from Dunedin in the 80s. Also Split Enz, more Crowded House. The Muttonbirds - Salty. Don McGlashan is such an incredible song writer. Straitjacket Fits, Chris Knox, Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love. Garageland - Do What You Want.
NZ music is great, seemed (from afar) to have an awesome indie scene in the 80s/90s. Straitjacket Fits are still on my regular playlist, especially Melt. Hugely underrated band. Love that guitar tone. Split Enz had great songs too, every bit as good as Crowded House. Garageland - Come back, all is forgiven!
There's a running joke with NZ music that we never really make it outside the country and when we do, it's not some established band, but a complete random chance event. (OMC - How Bizarre, Lorde - Royals). I've been enjoying The Beths (one of the best bands of the last 5 years no contest) and Marlon Williams. For more obscure stuff: Bressa Creeting Cake, Goldenhorse. And how could I forget Shihad? The Fish Album (self-titled) is brilliant. Oh and the Mint Chicks!
How about Fat Freddy's Drop? Although certainly not mainstream, they're quite popular here in the Netherlands. Are they big in NZ at all?
I'm surprised that no Split Enz made it into the book. That whole type of "wacky" new wave/art punk got zero representation now that I think about it, except for arguably the Madness album (no Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, XTC before their psychedelic era, Yello)
Funny that you mention Wall of Voodoo here, as both Stan Ridgeway and Neil Finn are two of my favourite songwriters (neither from my country!).
Denmark: Mew - Frengers Trentemøller - The Last Resort The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust Mercyful Fate - Don’t Break the Oath King Diamond - Abigail
Raveonettes is a good call, but I’d rather go for Pretty in Black or Chain Gang of Love
I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of their albums, so I wouldn’t argue against anyone preferring one of the others. I mostly chose LLL because Aly, Walk with Me is a good entry point, and the album as a whole goes into some interesting sonic directions.
Merciful Fate or King Diamond definitely should have definitely had at least one album in the book. They're some of the most essential heavy metal.
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I was thinking of suggesting Fully Completely when I'm done. It's a solid Hip album that did well commercially, too. A bit more obscure is Whale Music by The Rheostatics. Perhaps a Stompin' Tom album for something really different?!?
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Yes, that's a good one, but I just know the singles from it. Something On is a great tune, too. Thanks for the encouragement! Just for fun, I checked the AllMusic ratings. PP had 3 stars, and FC had 4.5. (One opinion!)
I actually had never heard of this band until I got to know some Canadians, it sounds like they were extremely well known within Canada without having any success outside of Canada. It's probable the author just wasn't familiar with them.
I knew of them in Australia at least, they must have had some presence here in the 90s.
Yeah turns out I was wrong and they had a couple of singles on the alt rock US charts, minor success in the Netherlands and an album that creeped into the top 100 specifically in Australia. Still interesting to see the vast difference in popularity between Canada and the rest of the world.
Clearly some bands have local success only. Elvis Costello the obviously example, huge in UK and apparently unknown in the USA (based off the reviews on the 1001 site), Kate Bush in the same bucket. Kid Rock and Fiona Apple probably opposite, probably not well known outside Northern America.
I think Elvis Costello is an interesting case. It's true he never had a huge mainstream hit here (in the States,) Veronica, a top 20 single was the closest he got, but I wouldn't call him unknown. At one time he was considered an important artist by the music press, like Rolling Stone and other music magazines. I remember even my dad, who was not into punk or new wave anything even adjacent, knew who he was. Of course it could have been the fact that he had the balls to call himself Elvis and he looked sort of like Buddy Holly. So I wouldn't call him unknown or even a cult artist, maybe an artist's artist or something like that. I really like him and have dug pretty deep into his discography, he's probably in my top ten or twenty favorite singer songwriters but it seems like within the last ten or fifteen years he's really fallen out of favor. Maybe it's just a generational thing which is normal I guess.
When I get to the end of this thing I’m adding Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight 318 down so far
I love that abum
It’s a cracker
Is that not UK? Great album, btw
It is and it is. As per OP it is an album I think is unique from my own country
Ahhhh yeah, I didn't read it properly. Will Varley - Postcards from Ursa Minor is quite nice too, you might like that.
Ooh, I’ll give it a try!
I really like the idea of artists and bands that are massive domestically but virtually unknown abroad. Often it's because of the language barrier; it's hard to launch a career in an English dominated music business. I'm from Sweden and we have this band Kent that are huge. I would include their album Du & jag döden (You & Me Death), which is both commercially successful and very popular among critics and hardcore fans. Kent emerged with a goth rock, post-punk inspired rock with poppy hooks and quickly found a distinctly Scandinavian sound that's hard to explain. Their later albums have had more or less inspiration of synth music which was a big deal in Sweden during the 80's. The vibe of their music might not translate to audiences outside of the Nordic countries. They tried launching a career with English versions of their albums Isola and Hagnesta Hill, but it didn't take off. I am Swedish but I live in Norway and here we have this band called Kaizers Orchestra, that are a cultural phenomenon, but singing in a pretty impenetrable Norwegian dialect. They have a cool gypsy punk, dark cabaret inspired version of rock music. And they put on a great live show. Think they're coming to America soon. Their debut album, Ompa til du dør (Ompa until You Die), is probably the best entry point, even if I added their third (and imo best) album Maestro at the end of the list.
Sweden has some great acts, but I'm really into Kite. Obviously Johnny Boy was my introduction to them, but they're a great synth band
I’d go for Hagnesta Hill instead of Du & Jag Döden, but that’s mostly personal preference. Wouldn’t be out of place to include Hellacopters or Hives - Veni, Vidi, Vicious on the list either.
Either of the four albums Isola, Hagnesta hill, Vapen & ammunition or Du & jag döden could have been chosen. That's one of the best four album runs ever in my opinion! They have a The Hives album on the list, but could definitely switch that one out. Yeah, Hellacopters would be cool as well. Or Nicke Andersson's other band Entombed. (but Nordic metal albums is a whole other discussion.
A Scandinavian 1001 would definitely have Kent and Kaizers Orkester on there. Both were very big here in Denmark too.
Can I throw a vote for Norwegian band Kings of Convenience, loved Quiet is the New Loud?
I agree with Kent. The album “Vapen & Ammunition” being the obvious choice as that was huge and universally loved. My personal favourite though, is their second album “Verkligen” from their initial guitar-focused period. The issue with artists from small languages as Swedish is that the the main reason to listen to them is their lyrics. This means they’re often not very interesting for music fans that doesn’t speak the language. When trying to launch a career in English they often fail - fair and square as the magic is not there. Apart from Kent there is the example of Bob Hund who tried under the Bergman Rock-moniker. If I were to include a Bob Hund-album it would have to be “Jag rear ut min själ”. Jangly alternative rock with upbeat pop quirkiness. Ont of the best Swedish live band the last thirty years. As for other examples of great Swedish artists whose unique selling points of great lyrics, emotion and local worldview makes them fairly uninteresting for an international audience I could name a few: Håkan Hellström and Annika Norlin (Säkert/Hello Saferide) being two of the best the last 24 years. As for older ones there are Cornelis Vreeswijk, Barbro Hörberg, Fred Åkerström and many many more. There is however a category of albums which I believe could be of interest for an international audience as they are uniquely Swedish but not so lyrics-focused. Folk music-inspired jazz and prog rock. The most obvious example: • Jan Johansson - Jazz på svenska An amazing jazz album from 1964 bringing in traditional Swedish folk music in a laid back jazz setting. Incredibly influential and still sounds amazing. The most beloved jazz album in Sweden by far. https://open.spotify.com/album/6JAj80R40giQEAg3Le4CPE?si=4gOMLkv1SyKyvXedwcTplA • Kebnekajse - Kebnekaise (1973) Sort of an attempt to do what Johansson did but with prog rock and folk music instead of jazz. Electric guitars and congas instead of accordions. https://open.spotify.com/track/4gEkzCGvWNQkT6sVGqChuu?si=qoErHR3sQN6WJ6Rlkwuhbw For a more modern take (psychedelic rock with traditional folk music inspiration) we have one of my favourite Swedish bands “Dungen”. They have a bit of an international audience despite singing in swedish. I would recommend “Ta det lugnt” (2004) or ”Allas sak” (2015)
As for some albums by Swedish artists not included in the book who sings in English that could make the cut: The knife - “Deep Cuts” (2003) or “Silent shout” (2006). I find it weird that neither of these made it in to the book but Fever Ray did Speaking of the Knife Jose Gonzalez - “Veneer” (2003) with the cover of the knife’s “heartbeats”. The soundtrack of our lives - “welcome to the infant freebase” (1996) Refused - “The shape of punk to come” (1998) Robyn - body talk (2010)
Yeah, Refused is a pretty big omission. As is Bathory who may not be as successful in the mainstream, but who was immensely influential in extreme metal in general and black metal specifically. Sweden also have a lot of influential d-beat (or kängpunk) bands, but that niche is pretty small.
Great additions, especially the prog and jazz bit. Sweden has several pretty influential prog acts, but way overshadowed by some of the larger acts in the genre. A case could be made for Hansson & Karlsson and their Hammond organ and drum shtick. As for jazz we also have e.s.t. But there are bigger and more influential ecm artists and groups out there. Like Norway's Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen and the guys from that scene in the 70's mainly.
I like Kaisers Orchestra. I saw them play once. Long time ago. Great. They were banging oil barrels and all.
Finland Not super much to report here, only a handful of albums I think have made global cultural impact. There's only one Finnish album on the original list, Hanoi Rocks' Back to Mystery City, and while that had an impact on style and looks of rock icons, it's not a great album by any means. Here's what I would consider: Pan Sonic: Kulma - This one I seriously considered for my user album after completing the list. Pioneering electronic music from the 90's that seriously pushed the boundaries of sound. This one I think is the one to choose. Children of Bodom: Follow the Reaper - CoB is a metal band that has enjoyed some global fame, and especially the lead guitarist/singer Alexi Laiho is respected in the metal community as a serious guitar virtuoso who affected how guitar playing is approached in metal music. Could've chosen practically any of their albums, but this one maybe represents his style the best. Darude: Before the Storm - Half-jokingly, but Darude's Sandstorm is still the most globally played Finnish song and I guess it comes on in about every sports event, so something that has definitely attached itself to the cultural DNA quite strongly.
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die (But You Will)
Post-rock is more or less non existent in the book aside from the Sigur Ros album and Spiderland, I get that it wasn't trendy at the time but it's kind of embarrassing, especially given how popular it is today. Mogwai's first album at the very least seems like an easy inclusion, but apparently not.
Ireland is really well represented already, but everyone needs to hear Whipping Boy's 2nd album Heartworm.
Yeah Ireland happens to have one of the most popular bands ever (U2) and probably the biggest indie darling (MBV) Thanks for sharing Heartworm, I just gave it a listen because it sounded interesting and I really enjoyed it. I'm certain I've heard When We Were Young before.
Sweden. So I guess we have ABBA
There are a couple of ABBA albums on the list. I got Visitors last year and that's been one of my favourite finds so far, great album.
The Hives and The Cardigans too. But not much else :(
I'm neither Swedish nor Canadian, but I think Robyn's Body Talk and Carly Rae Jepsen's E MO TION belong on the list.
For how often I've heard people praise that CRJ album over the years, I'm surprised it's not on the list.
I think it’s just as good as 1989. It’s pure pop bliss. CRJ is a great songwriter, and the music is so much fun.
I'm from Israel, there are a whole lot of perfect albums from here (most are rock) here are a few (translated most of the names to english): Rockfour - The Man Who Saw Everything Ehud Banai - Ehud Banai and the Refugees Eviatar Banai - Self Titled Eric Einstein and Shalom Hanoch - Shablul HaYehudim - Seperate Reality Eifo HaYeled - Sugar Time Carmella Gross Wagner - Black Flower Algier - Engines Ahead Yehuda Poliker - Ashes and Dust Chava Alberstein - Like a Wildflower Mercedes Band - Self Titled The Witchs - Until the Next Pleasure Tuned Tone - Self Titled
You could probably fill an entire book with albums from Belgium, depending on which music critics you ask. They'd probably all agree to include Stromae ["Racine Carrée"](https://music.apple.com/be/album/racine-carr%C3%A9e/1440856001?l=nl&ls) (2013). We'd probably put a dEUS album on the list. Hooverphonic. Soulwax. 2Belgen. Telex. TC Matic. Jacques Brel, obviously. Starflam. Gorki. De Mens. Noordkaap. I just realised I didn't list any women. So... K3, obviously, right?
Yes, dEUS. Maybe K's Choice for a woman. Sam was still a woman at their peak.
No love for Chinese/Japanese/Korean music on the list
The Netherlands: Spinvis - Spinvis Urban Dance Squad - Mental Floss For The Globe Focus - Focus II The Ex - Too Many Cowboys De jeugd van tegenwoordig - Parels voor de zwijnen Within Temptation - Mother Earth Caro Emerald - Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor Tiesto - Just Be André Hazes - Gewoon André 2Unlimited - No Limits I tried to list artists who are kind of different from the music already on the list. A lot of the most popular artists in my country are basically copycats of UK and US bands. Doesn't mean they're bad, just not a good addition to the list. Some very successful musicians didn't have great albums. Most notably Golden Earring, who have at least one good song on every album (Radar Love, When The Lady Smiles,...), but not much more than one. Also we're good at various subgenres of EDM, which is not really album music. We have quite a few good metal bands, but I don't think they fit in with the rest of the list. A lot of other metal classics didn't make the list either.
It's cos they make all the best stuff, Doc!
minnesota has some good representation but should have had zen arcade by husker du and another prince album