So why is Conehead Buddha’s Rockets on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
It makes me so happy to promote bands that most people have never heard of as part of this best 1,000 albums ever project.
I emphasize most people, those of a certain time (‘90s), place (Northeast), and age (college-y), who are familiar with Conehead Buddha remember them quite fondly. Case in point: I met up for drinks with a former boss of mine in Seattle, whereupon we realized that we are both card-carrying Conehead Buddha fans!
If you roll deep with Conehead, you’ll recall that their first album, from 1993, is called Easter Island Vacation. I spent quite a bit of time with that album on cassette during college road trips. Songs like “Thank You” and “Gotta Have Fun” still hold up well, and it has a place on my “honorable mention” list for this project.
Rockets is the most consistently good album that Conehead has produced to date, though, and most closely resembles the upbeat, manic-but-good energy of their live shows. And, frankly, the production is far superior versus Easter Island Vacation.
“Body Up” is the best song on Rockets, an exciting horn-driven, groovy ska number that is designed to get bodies moving and shaking (not to mention up).
“Lioness” kicks off with a great guitar hook, after which the horns jump in and the ska beat takes off to the races. Special shoutout to Conehead’s horn section, which creates a counter-melody against guitar and vocals. Many bands attempt this, but few pull it off as well as Conehead.
“Road Kill Coffee” is more of a fun mid-tempo number and shows off what the band can do in a slightly moodier mode. Bonus: great song title.
But Conehead’s most in its collective wheelhouse when busting out fun, sexy, upbeat ska numbers a la “Mattress Mambo.” And this one has a fun little Latin touch to it. Funky ska with a Latin edge, as it were.
Some stats & info about Conehead Buddha – Rockets
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock, Rock Music, Ska, Alternative Rock, New York Bands, Pop, Pop Music, Dance Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – not rated!
- When was Rockets released? 1999
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #740 out of 1,000
Conehead Buddha’s Rockets on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Conehead Buddha’s Rockets that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Get that body up.
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 review of 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.