Why is The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Revelation on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Melancholy yet upbeat, accessible yet deeply indie.
Some stats & info about The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Revelation
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock, Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock, Lo-fi
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Revekation released? 2014
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #945 out of 1,000
The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Revelation on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.
What does The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Revelation mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
“Vad Hände Med Dem?” is a mix of jangle pop and moody indie rock that somehow and oddly works beautifully. I have no idea what it’s about or, indeed, even what language it’s in (Dutch? Don’t @ me, as the not that young kids say on Twitter) but that’s perfectly fine by me. As you’ll read more about below, this is great music for driving around Seattle on a rainy day or, better yet (and let’s pretend it’s the Before Times for kicks) hanging out in a coffee shop with your headphones on, watching the people and world go by in a melodic and jangle jumping haze.
Here’s a fun live version. And who knew that like 15 people (okay… more like seven) people were in the band?
As crazy and contradictory as it is to write, “Food for Clouds” is both melancholy and upbeat at the same time, but most importantly it’s got a great pop sensibility and a hook that is highly listenable and accessible while maintaining a deeply indie rock vibe.
“Memory Camp” has a warped out Oasis-y feel in a very good way and is the song that’s growing on me the most as I revisit Revelation.
This album also sounds like
The Dandy Warhols on the more rocking side, Beta Band on the super chill meets super hipster indie side.
Personal stuff that’s somehow related to The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Revelation
I moved from Southern California to Seattle, Washington in late 2016 and, perhaps partly because I was living in a new city and working at a new job and living in a tiny apartment by myself as my wife heroically took care of wrapping up things with selling our house in LA, went into a pretty deep music binge.
I love creating playlists on Spotify and naming them really wacky things or are weirdly specific, though in this case I recall creating a pretty massive one that was just flat out called The Mood. It’s a pretty cool mix of moody (get it?) indie, new wave, and eclectic rock, and filled with some bands that I had discovered around that time. The Ponys are one of those bands, who you’ll be seeing on this list. And The Brian Jonestown Massacre is another.
Somehow these moods and sounds simply fit the wonderfully melancholy and atmospheric vibes that Seattle can throw at you (and often do). And I dig it just fine.