The week selection

If you plan to spend this weekend enjoying good music, The Week brings to you another set of albums that you shouldn’t miss out on. From alternative to electronic music, these albums we’ve picked have received wide critical acclaim as well.



The Bends by Radiohead

The Bends is the second studio album by the English alternative Rock band Radiohead, released on 1995. Featuring five charting singles, the album also marked the beginning of a shift in the aesthetics and themes of the band, with greater use of keyboards, and more abrasive guitar tracks balancing subtler ones.



The song “High and Dry” from the album is widely regarded as Radiohead’s most accessible pop hit. “Fake Plastic Trees,” rated as one of Radiohead’s best songs, was released as the second single, with “Just” as the band’s third. “Street Spirit” (Fade Out), the final single and last song in the album, became their first top five UK hit. The album was subject to greater critical acclaim than their debut “Pablo Honey” (1993), receiving an enthusiastic critical reaction, and it reached number four in the UK Albums Chart. In the years since its release, the album has frequently appeared in listeners’ polls and critics’ lists of best contemporary rock albums.[break]



Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette

This is the third studio album by the Canadian-American recording artist and songwriter Alanis Morissette and her first album released internationally. Her first studio album after a three-year hiatus following her break with MCA Records, it became a commercial and critical success, selling over 33 million copies worldwide. Co-written with the album’s producer, Glen Ballard, the album produced six singles, including the Grammy nominated “Ironic.”



Lyrically, most of the songs were written by Morissette and Glen Ballard. A lot of her lyrics talk about broken relationships, hurt, rage and confusion of a woman. Tracks like “All I Really Want” and “Right Through You” talk about frustrations in her life. Her song “Ironic” talks about irony in her life and “You Oughta Know” talks about a sudden split with a man who has fallen for another woman. Her previous albums generated more dance and bubblegum pop genres. But with this album, it reached more Rock music, including post-Grunge, Rock, Alternative Rock and even acoustic rock music.



Ten by Pearl Jam

Ten is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released in 1991. The album was not an immediate success, but by late 1992, it had reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. The album produced three hit singles: “Alive,” “Even Flow,” and “Jeremy.” Several of the songs on Ten started as instrumental compositions that Vedder added lyrics to after he joined the band.

The album also tackles social concerns such as homelessness with the song, “Even Flow” and the use of psychiatric hospitals in the song “Why Go.” The song “Jeremy” and its accompanying video were inspired by a true story in which a high school student shot himself in front of his classmates.



We are the Night by Chemical Brothers

This is the sixth studio album by English big beat duo The Chemical Brothers, released on 27 June 2007. The record entered the UK Albums Chart, debuting at number 65 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry.



Used throughout the album is the nostalgic technique of sampling old sounds, The Chemical Brothers used on other albums. For example, the song “We Are the Night” uses a direct sample from “The Sunshine Underground” from Surrender. The album also includes samples of outside sources. The opening track, “No Path to Follow,” is an intro track used for the title track which follows the song on the album.



All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2

This is the tenth studio album by the Rock band U2 which was released in 2000. Following the mixed reception to their 1997 album, Pop, All That You Can’t Leave Behind represents a return to a more conventional sound for the band after they experimented with alternative rock and dance music in the 1990s.



The album received wide critical acclaims and sold over 12 million copies. The songs “Beautiful Day,” “Walk On,” “Elevation,” and “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” were all successful singles. The record and its songs won seven Grammy Awards and it’s the only album in history to have its multiple tracks win the Grammy Award for the Record of the Year: “Beautiful Day” in 2001 and “Walk On” in 2002.

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