What are the most mindblowingly creative, inventive, or otherwise otherworldly albums you know of?
What are the most mindblowingly creative, inventive, or otherwise otherworldly albums you know of?
One of my favorite things to do while stoned is listen to albums that are really unique, artful, and/or jam packed with soul and energy, as in that head space music just hits completely differently and it just lends to me finding a deep love and appreciation for the art of music. What're some of your favorites?
Delton 3030 is a rap opera set in the dystopian future. Amazing album start to finish.
Interstellar 55555 is an animated story for daft punks Discovery album which is a banger on its own. Once you watch the movie you never hear the album differently.
Green Day’s American Idiot is a concept album that was good enough to turn into a real musical.
Bitches Brew by Miles Davis.
I once got really stoned and fell asleep while listening to it on a loop. I had all these insane dreams where I was walking through a pitch black jungle. I could feel all this stuff, the different textures of plants, the ground under foot, animals brushing by in the night, but I couldn't see anything: a totally non-visual dream. It wasn't scary, just super weird. Never experienced anything like it before or since.
Oh, man, so many. There’s the obvious like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon or Rush’s 2112, but Rust in Peace by Megadeth is superb, In Step by Stevie Ray Vaughan as well. Muse, however, has a few albums that are incredible, especially when you’re in the headspace to pick out little details. Their Black Holes and Revelations album is a banger from front to back, Simulation Theory is Velvety and interesting, Drones is jarring in a very good way, and The Resistance is harmony-rich and beautiful.
Also, I’m not familiar with the whole album, but the song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane has one of the best vocal performances ever.
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King.
It's just exploding with creativity and craftsmanship throughout the album. The opening tune (21st Century Schizoid Man) was unlike anything anyone had ever heard at the time it was released, and there's honestly still not much like it out there. And the transition to Moonchild after it is equally mind-blowing just for the contrast alone. The title track remains one of the most incredible things I've heard.
Zappa also has a lot of good candidates for this list. I'm soft for Freak Out, where the madness started, but some might argue something like Joe's Garage is a better example.
I love Röyksopp Profound Mysteries. There are several albums. The songs with Susanne Sundfør are amazing.
Days of Future's Past by the Moody Blues, the one with the London Symphony.
I haven't done it in a long time, but I used to turn out all the lights and lay on the floor and listen to this album from start to finish, it's so good.
Not really a specific album but check out Lorn in general.
Easy Star All Stars - Dub Side of the Moon
Most of these fit into the inventive, otherworldly or both kind of vibe.
I haven't used Lemmy to promote myself until now, but check me out: www.thassodar.com
All my songs have no words, vary from chill to drum and bass, and I've been making them for about 4 years. My most recent EP is primarily chill, and my SoundCloud has the latest 4 tracks I put out last month.
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of the Moon
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - K.G.
Pendulum - Immersion
The concept album Hospice by The Antlers is excellent.
Set in New York City's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which the second track is named after, Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer, their ensuing romance, and their slow downward spiral as a result of the woman's traumas, fears, and disease. The story of her deterioration also serves as a metaphor for an abusive relationship. Frontman Peter Silberman has been reluctant to divulge explicit details regarding the meaning of the record, and the extent to which it is autobiographical.
I'm not a very emotional person, but I feel the highs and lows quite profoundly. I think it's the music pairing perfectly with Pete's voice—which is almost acted/in-character at times—and the lyrics. Always appreicate a good concept album and this is a favourite.
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane, Kind of Blue - Miles Davis, Doolittle - Pixies, Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips, Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest, Radiohead - OK Computer
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Polygondwanaland
"Koan Sound - Led By Ancient Light" is a journey from start to finish. I sat in my dark living room stoned a while ago and listened to the album from front to back and it brought me across the universe and back
Apex by Unleash the Archers.
It’s a power-metal concept album, telling the story of an immortal being cursed to carry out the wishes of their summoner - in this iteration, “the Matriarch” - to kill her three sons so she may also gain immortality. The lead vocalist’s range is unlike anything else I’ve heard. It is incredibly well done.
Deloused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta
I don’t have any way to describe this. It’s eccentric and awesome. The drums and guitars are powerful and delicious. Where were you when exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed?
Back in grade school we had a teacher who played us 'Stan Freidberg Presents The United States Of America!" It's an old comedy alboum full of silly songs about the Founding Fathers. Certainly mindblowing, creative, and unique.
Zappa - Apostrophe
Perfect while being stoned
AMAROK by Mike Oldfield. Not just the music itself (it's quite a trip), but the story of its development:
He was under contract for Virgin to produce another long form album, but he and Branson had a falling out. Regardless, Branson threatened legal trouble if Oldfield didn't go through with it. He was hoping for a record with radio-friendly hits like "Shadow on the Wall" and "Moonlight Shadow" that could be peddled to radio stations.
So Oldfield composed AMAROK. It contains one single track, spanning the entire length of the 60+ minute album. That way, Branson couldn't simply lift any tracks and use them as singles.
But wait, there's more! Since Oldfield knew that if he did this, Branson would simply make a selection of excerpts from the album and use those as singles. This had been done before while they still got along or even before he signed with Virgin, so they knew it could work, cfr the "Incantations", "Ommadawn", "Hergest Ridge", ...
The "Amarok" track is... a special kind of composition. It's by no means bad - it's actually pretty great from a technical standpoint. But what you decidedly cannot do, is attribute it to any specific genre, nor easily mark the beginnings and endings of the different "tracks" comprising the record.
Thus, Oldfield won this battle and Amarok was pretty much impossible to use for radioplay. I still enjoy it to this day though.
2112 by Rush
Try Nick Cave & The Bad Seed's Ghosteen.
Soft Bulletin By The Flaming Lips
Heaven and Earth by Kamasi Washington
If you want something really out there, Lifa by Heilung is a spiritual journey. They call their music "amplified history," and its ritualistic tribal/folk music inspired by pre-christianity era northern Europe. Took me a while to get accustomed to it at first but once it clicks it is transcendent. Also this was their first live performance ever which is mindblowing.
Octavarium by Dream Theatre. Its a whole album themed around the number 8.
Also pretty much any album by Muse, but if I had to narrow it down I would say my favorite from them overall is Absolution, followed by Black Holes and Revelations.
I'm not sure about mind-blowingly inventive but check out Mcbaise.
heres my favorite song by them right now:
https://youtu.be/n11j73OYqOY?si=GQp83Zin3QNwAuo7Tubular Bells for me at the time.
Live at the Old Quarter, Townes Van Zandt. Townes at the height of power, and before the years took too much of a toll, a live album including just the perfect amount of chatter and ambience to give an impression of what the night was like, the goofy dad-humor blending into some of the best American songs ever written. I won't argue that he was better than Dylan, but I prefer him, and with a slightly different lyrical style he was absolutely worthy to be mentioned in the same breath.
Grandaddy's The Sophtware Slump
Beck's Morning Phase
Swans - The Seer
This is a weird one, but I'm going to say Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team. It has the vibe of kids playing on a playground in the 80s and 90s. Like, double Dutch jump rope, neon colors, excited chatter... Pure, innocent joy. It isn't actually about any of those things, but the way the band uses samples, lots of trumpet (the most triumphant instrument), and the sung/rapped/chanted/cheered vocals really make it feel like that. It's not experimental though, these are catchy, banger pop songs. One of my favorite albums of all time.
Public Service Broadcasting - Race To Space.
The whole album is just them playing music to sound bytes from the space race era.
Bear with me: Beiguan music.
It's traditional Chinese music with tinny horns, drums and symbols. Close your eyes and imagine a temple procession slowly and loudly passing by, puppets, costumes, dancers, musicians, firecrackers, the smell of street food and general din of human enjoyment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iohWrjSVnb4
If you want something less chaotic, a gamelan orchestra is like rain decided to hold a soiree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEWCCSuHsuQ
And then when you're ready to feel the waves break over your soul, it's time for Taiko drumming.
Check out shpongle and tipper
I discovered Hirasawa Susumu through his work on the Paprika soundtrack and later his other albums thanks to the magic of Youtube. I'm not even sure how to describe it, it's a whole world. There's this album (Kyusai no giho). I'm not a big fan of japanese music otherwise, but this ? I've never heard anything remotely like this. And it seems so coherent, so... mature, in a way.
Great idea for a thread btw, will have to peruse the replies
The dwarf fortress soundtrack slaps so much harder than it has any right to
Alek and the Drummer - May a Lightning Bolt Caress You
Deep Forest
Laurie Anderson Mister Heartbreak https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Heartbreak
KOAN Sound - Polychrome. Everything these guys do is amazing but I feel like this album in particular has an unmatched vibe.
Veil of Imagination by Wilderun
Music by Cavelight by Blockhead. My fav stoned album of all time, probably.
Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape
The consequences album by Godley and creme. I don't think I've ever found another fan haha
Waltari - Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C
One of the first collaborations of a metal band with a classical orchestra. That kind of stuff became more commonplace later, but this mix of death metal, classical music and all kinds of other influences remains unique to this day.
Not sure if it fits the assignment, but the first two Human League albums from the 70s (Reproduction and Travelogue) are analogue synth brilliance. If you can find the expanded version of Reproduction with the Dignity of Labour EP & flexidisc conversation added, even better.
KNOWER FOREVER
Miles Davis On the Corner
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Boards of Canada Music has the Right to Children
Some of my favorites are
“Trust” by LOW
“October Rust” by Type O Negative
“Welcome Oblivion” by How to Destroy Angels
“Dusk” by The The
and more recently “DECIDE” by Djo
Some more modern/mainstream ones:
I love Janelle Monae and the Archandroid albums are fantastic.
Alt-J, we saw them live and my kids said "I just want to lay on the ground and listen", and that's a pretty good description of it.
AWOLNATION, the music is heavy but nice to sleep to, it is dreamy in some way.
Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis) by Praxis is really bizarre and amazing.
For Hawwa and Aimina watch it on a large screen up close when you're high.
Formless by Gridlock made me an IDM convert.
The most recent one that comes to my mind is HEADACHE - The head hurts but the heart knows the truth
Global Goon: Plastic Orchestra one of my my favorite albums of the year, and very unique. Global Goon is really underappreciated and i think they are amazing.
Porcupine Tree - Staircase Infinities 1994 album remastered in 2008. Also Piped Link
Give Sleepytime Gorilla Museum a listen
Mhmm, that is what inspired the sentiment
Red Gone Wild (redman). Incredible piece of art. There are layers upon layers of instruments perfectly mastered. And redman is firreee.
Glass swords by Rustie. Incredible album and very unique.