So why is Mark Lanegan’s Bubblegum on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
It’s the moody, introspective, and melancholy material on Bubblegum* that appeals to me most, and as a whole it’s my favorite Mark Lanegan record.
* This album is anything but bubblegum pop, so there’s certainly irony in the title, I’d wager, and/but “bubblegum” is also referenced in the song “Bombed”: “When I’m bombed I stretch like bubblegum / And look too long straight at the morning sun.”
That vibe is best represented by the fantastic “One Hundred Days,” which has the feel of a drug haze or dark trip. Lanegan’s scratchy, emotive vocals are both haunted* and wonderful.
* And the song is all the more eerie as Lanegan passed away earlier this year at the age of 57. While he struggled with addiction throughout his life, no cause of death was provided.
Here’s the quiet, sad, and beautiful “Bombed.”
There are two collaborations with PJ Harvey on Bubblegum. The better of these is “Hit the City,” which ramps up the guitar volume and has a nice dirty, grunge-y tone.
“When Your Number Isn’t Up” begins with a disquieting piano part, and then transitions into having a slightly unsettling, Breeders-y feel. I like it more every time I listen to it.
Also see:
- Screaming Trees – Sweet Oblivion: #938 of best 1,000 albums ever
- Isobel Campbell & Mark Langean – Hawk: #989 of best 1,000 albums ever
Some stats & info about Mark Lanegan – Bubblegum
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Singer Songwriter, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Bubblegum released? 2004
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #589 out of 1,000
Mark Lanegan’s Bubblegum on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Mark Lanegan’s Bubblegum that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
There is no morphine, I’m only sleeping. There is no crime to dreams like this.
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.