1. "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" - The Postal Service
The Postal Service was a side project of Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. Him and Jimmy Tamborello, a producer in Los Angeles would send music back and forth through the mail (which is how they took their name) and it eventually became an album known as Give Up. Give Up was an immediate hit among Death Cab fans and non-fans alike. The songs were accessible, catchy and many featured guest vocals by Jenny Lewis which gave them a conversational feel between her and Ben. Though a new track was released in 2013, a second album was speculated but never made and the band has been officially disbanded.
2. "Anarchy Of The UK" - The Sex Pistols
Often named among candidates as the best Punk Rock Groups of all time, it may come to a surprise to some that The Sex Pistols released only one official studio album 1977's Nevermind The Bollocks...Here's The Sex Pistols. Like all classic albums the recording of Bollocks did not go without a hitch. Bass "player" Sid Vicious could not play bass to save his life, so several session musicians were used. The band were dropped by their label after recording only 4 singles and near the completion of the album Johnny Rotten and producers Chris Thomas and Billy Price were attacked at a local pub, which of course after word got out, helped promote the dangerous nature of the band to Britain's youth. To this day Nevermind The Bollocks is considered one of music's most important rock albums.
3. "There She Goes" - The La's
The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool who got their start in the mid-80's. They managed to record and release a few singles in the late 80's (which includes their biggest hit "There She Goes"), but finally landed a deal with Go! Records to record a full length album in 1987. Problems emerged finding the right producer who could get the sound that frontman Lee Mavers envisioned and went through as many as 8 producers before finally settling on Steve Lillywhite and Mark Wallis. Even though Mavers still wasn't fully satisfied. Couple that with a virtual revolving door of volatile musicians that would argue and butt heads with one another before quitting or being replaced and it's not wonder that The La's would not only never release another album, but shortly call it quits in 1992. Their self titled debut was released in 1990.
4. "I'm Hardly Ever Wrong" - The Would Be's
Silly Songs For Cynical People was the name of the 8 song EP released by the Irish group The Would Be's in 1991. Decoy Records was the obscure label they decided to release their album on, even though a reported 14 other labels expressed interest and were turned down. Eventually the band crumbled as not enough attention was gained and album sales were poor. The members will occasionally reunite here and there, but have made other projects their primary objectives.
5. "Since I Left You" - The Avalanches
The Avalanches are an Australian electronic group. whose 2000 debut album Since I Left You was a wonderful effort that combined funk, pop, hip-hop and electronic elements as well as sampling older songs and fusing them together other musical styles. The album had 9 nominations at the 2001 ARIA Music Awards in the UK and the album is viewed as one of Australia's best by many music critics. The Avalanches have not faded from obscurity and a second album has been apparently in the works since 2005. Ten years later and the project seems to have stalled, especially since longtime vocalist Darren Seltmann left the group in 2014. Fuckin' great video though...
6. "Last Goodbye" - Jeff Buckley
While some artists on this list have only made one album due to a personal choice or for financial and logistical reasons, Jeff Buckley was all but slated to release multiple albums full of fantastic music had it not been for his untimely death in 1997. Grace was released in 1994 and still is listed on critics top 100 lists and personal favourites all over the world. Though a few live albums and EPs of demos and unfinished material have been released posthumously, nothing has matched the impact and success of Grace.
7. "Respiration" - Black Star
Mos Def and Talib Kweli make up the hip-hop duo Black Star that formed in 1997. The album came about when Def and Kweli, who were releasing solo albums around the same time, realized their chemistry and decided to merge two albums into one. Black Star is known for their socially conscious lyrical content which is sometimes critical of hip-hop culture. Though Black Star have performed many times since the album's release Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star remains their only album. Maybe they said all they needed to say?
8. "The Music Sounds Better With You" - Stardust
Only releasing one album isn't cool, you know what's cool? ONLY RELEASING ONE SONG!!
Stardust consists of two producers (one being a member of Daft Punk) and vocalist Benjamin Diamond. The song came about simply by creating an instrumental track and having diamond sing over it. A sample from a Chaka Khan song was thrown in to flesh it out and "The Music Sounds Better With You" was released. The song was a hit all over the world and Thomas Banglater, one of the producers, was even offered 3 million dollars for a full length Stardust album. Alan Braxe the other producer has not worked with either other member since, leaving Stardust a thing of musc legend.
9. "Stroker Ace" - Lovage
Lovage is a musical project of famed producer Dan The Automator who was worked with such bands as The Gorillaz, Ben Lee, Kasabian and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. Dan enlisted vocal contributions from Mike Patton (Faith No More) and Jennifer Charles (Elysian Fields) and released an album full of songs called Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By in 2001. Other contributors include Kid Koala, Astacio The Nudist, SweetP and Daniel Spills. It's a visionary album and one of the most unique musical experiences you'll ever have.
10. "Get What You Give" - The New Radicals
The New Radicals, also known as that band with that guy in the hat, were known in the late 90's for their single "Get What You Give". Hailing out of LA, the guy in the hat was Gregg Alexander who was the band's founder and lead singer. He was known for his political activism and awareness of social aspects and current events which were featured heavily in his songs' lyrics. After the success of their first album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too they were slated to release a new album in the early 2000's. A few mysteriously cancelled tour dates led to speculation about the band's future. Those speculations were confirmed when Alexander announced the group had disbanded in July of 1999.
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Thanks for reading as always!
JZ
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