BEST/MOST "BON JOVI'S NEW JERSEY" ALBUM EVER

ah shit, you know what we forgot? Poison's Flesh & Blood. "Unskinny Bop" and "Something To Believe In" were totally the poor man's "Nothing But A Good Time" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" but they still got 3x platinum and released a DOUBLE LIVE album the year after.

I remembered it when watching Paula Abdul's "Vibeology" VMA performance, which reminding me of when CC couldn't even get through "Unskinny Bop" and just started playing "Talk Dirty To Me"

I'm listening to Monster right now. I think one reason it's not "New Jersey" is that it doesn't in any way presage THE WAY in which R.E.M. dropped out of the commercial megastar zone. Two alternate futures in which it would be more of a New Jersey:

1. R.E.M. makes four more steadily less popular albums which all sound like less-interesting versions of Monster (e.g. four "Accelerate"s.)
2. R.E.M., chastened by relative failure of Monster, makes four more steadily less popular albums which all sound like less-interesting versions of Automatic (I wouldn't say they even recorded one.)

those roads are ironic considering bon jovi took neither

is Butterfly really the consensus favorite for Mariah, or just among fans who got on the bus in the bare midriff era? (xpost)

I guess it's at the crossroads of fans who came on board the bus for Mariah finally going straight up R&B and fans who were still at this point on board who liked her vocal skills (this is when she started to go into whisper territory but could still belt & do her runs). It's at the midpoint where it appeases those who like "old" & "new" Mariah, so gets more broad consensus appreciation in the fanbase. Plus it's her ~personal~ album (dealing w/ her divorce etc.), and the one with her finally getting real artistic & creative control over the output which always codes well for a consensus critical favourite. Plus stuff like "The Roof" & "Breakdown" are hard to argue with.

Really convinced Monster is more of a US-style Be Here Now - aside from early sales gigantism, it lacks "event" status. But once again, I remain most interested in the New Jersey as the inevitable result of the era/ethos that said "try to get every album to be Thriller or Hysteria, spend a year a gazillion dollars in the studio, then unveil the treasures slowly." Albums that peak early on prior momentum and then totally lose the commercial plot, like Monster, are better understood in terms of the general rules of flops and audience-shedding "oops" moments. Not uninteresting, and it's true that it's only in the big-sales CD era could an album with the contents of Monster do 4x platinum - but the story doesn't have the same hooks for me.

those roads are ironic considering bon jovi took neither

― da croupier, Friday, August 10, 2012 3:06 PM Bookmark

they took the lost highway iirc

Albums that peak early on prior momentum and then totally lose the commercial plot

that's not what happened, though. Monster got it's fourth platinum trophy almost a year after it came out. The tour kept it selling.

Wow, damn, didn't realize that.

Sorta gives some lie to the "#1 used CD" story, which kind of implies people buying it, deciding it sucked, and selling it back. You'd think by six months in the word of mouth would be out and people would have stopped buying the thing.

i think it just took a while to happen, Monster being "acceptable in the '90s" and sticking out like a neon orange thumb a couple years later

voted Rattle & Hum as the most New Jersey album. "Angel of Harlem" remains supremely hollow: list a bunch of names & places, "tonight this city belongs to me". Angel, alright.

the Charles Manson opening

also on one of the singles you have

"Love Rescue Me" (Live from London, 16 October 1988; featuring Ziggy Marley and Keith Richards)

hoping they turn it into a reggae theme!

Voted for the only one of these I've ever heard. (Rattle & Hum)

you should hear Dangerous shamon, told you, uh-huh, it will change your life *breaks another glass*

I totally love about half the songs on Dangerous - track-by-track it's clearly, indisputably stronger than UYI II, my pick of the GNR twofer - but somehow it's even harder to get through from beginning to end

It tails off at the end but "Give In To Me" does megalomania/sexual hysteria – not to mention slash guitar actually played by Slash – better than "Dirty Diana."

"Who Is It?" is one of my favorite MJ songs

it took me a long time to admit dangerous qualified just because i liked so many of the tracks

"Who Is It" is top ten MJ imo

Really convinced Monster is more of a US-style Be Here Now - aside from early sales gigantism, it lacks "event" status

Whoa, it seemed like an event to me but I was a fan. Douglas Coupland's Microserfs (lol 90s) came out the same year and was half a tribute to the release of Monster.

yeah this kind of why i'm rmde every time somebody quibbles about "Event" status - if you're an established artist going multi-platinum, PLENTY of people think it's an event.

I'm sure he's happy and I'm happy he's happy but in song and performance Stipe was the most unconvincing queer. A year after my intense Roxy/Bowie fandom, I really dug the intentions of "Crush With Eyeliner" but it's not as sexy as he thought it was.

Most: New Jersey or Don't Look Back
Best: Monster

Was "Crush with Eyeliner" supposed to be sexy? It makes the most sense to me as a song about a closet case forcing himself to date a woman.

xxxpost hahaha seriously? makes me want to read that book! I didn't get into REM until "Bittersweet Me" so all this is me catching up on things after the fact - pay me no mind.

"Who Is It" definitely one of my fave MJ songs too, but man, this album! Surely this is the point where MJ the megastar begins to be overtaken by MJ the cartoon weirdo? Obviously tons of non-musical events playing into that but it's somehow exactly the kind of record that fits that transformation; preposterously self-confident, the tics and signature moves flying all over the place to constantly assert territory, this "doth protest too much" proclamations of BIGNESS against all comers. "Jam" is nearly six minutes long and never actually becomes a song - it's just state-of-the-art kitchen-sink dance production shuttling loudly along with a bunch of random crap in the mix and MJ periodically squeaking out verses and blurting out the title. Oh and hey here's a faceless rap! Are those sleighbells?! Just a mess. I'm reminded of Ismael's discussion of the "Bad Medicine" listening experience on the other thread. And this is the opening salvo!

Monster was definitely an event, magazine covers galore, biggest band in the world that hadn't toured in literally years getting back on the road. the "Kenneth" video premiere with the delayed reveal of BALD STIPE was a big deal! he even beat Corgan to the headshaving move by like a year and a half.

plus song about Kurt, health scares, it was a media circus.

That era produced the best REM interviews imo

"Jam" is nearly six minutes long and never actually becomes a song - it's just state-of-the-art kitchen-sink dance production shuttling loudly along with a bunch of random crap in the mix and MJ periodically squeaking out verses and blurting out the title.

just close your eyes and imagine this as a Skinny Puppy or Meat Beat Manifesto track

Oh and hey here's a faceless rap!

I didn't think it was possible for me to roll my eyes this hard. If there's one person who was "totally faceless" in the early 90s, it was Heavy D!

Oh and hey here's a faceless rap!

are you fucking kidding me

yeah this kind of why i'm rmde every time somebody quibbles about "Event" status - if you're an established artist going multi-platinum, PLENTY of people think it's an event.
The 'event' thing is very much to do with how the album is promoted imo, plus how it's covered by critcs/the media, perhaps more than how many people actually end up liking/buying it.

so i take it i should...recognize that guy

voted Rattle & Hum as the most New Jersey album. "Angel of Harlem" remains supremely hollow: list a bunch of names & places, "tonight this city belongs to me". Angel, alright.

the Charles Manson opening

also on one of the singles you have

"Love Rescue Me" (Live from London, 16 October 1988; featuring Ziggy Marley and Keith Richards)

hoping they turn it into a reggae theme!

― Euler

R&H i sincerely believe gets a bum rap if only because the studio tracks are generally quite good or at least fairly interesting, it's the live stuff that seems to bear the brunt of the criticism.

van diemen's land
desire
hawkmoon 269
angel of harlem
love rescue me
when love comes to town
heartland
god pt II
all i want is you

if they'd released those as a 9 track album it probably would have been less of an event, perhaps sold less, but today might be looked upon as even an underrated entry in the catalog as opposed to a bloated mess. the worst songs are probably 'angel of harlem' and 'when love comes to town', mostly because they're clunky and obvious but they're still listenable imo. at least much of the time. they probably should have released the live tracks separately and only to their fan club or something.

lol stupid browser didn't refresh for me and I didn't think either of those posts went through

but yes, you should know who Heavy D is

he was an overweight lover iirc

After all that, it seemed a bit wrong to not vote for Don't Look Back.

I am nothing if not committed.

Man, I'm listening to Don't Look Back on Spotify and it sure is a trebly mastering. Ouch.

that's that classic Rockman (TM) tone, brah

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Finally had to toss a coin between UYI and Dangerous, went with the latter on the strength of Heavy D's earth-shaking, instantly iconic guest rap.

went with the former on the strength of Alice Cooper's earth-shaking, instantly iconic guest rap.

IT'S GLAD TO KNOW YA

<3

I don't think there's much doubt that the most "New Jersey" album on this list is Backstreet Boys. It may even be a better example than "New Jersey" itself.

That's what I voted for, after hovering on New Jersey for awhile.

bump medicine is what i need

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

finally voted for Dangerous

justice

(breaks a glass)