Two part question…

Part a

Just realised I rarely listen to any compilations these days, but as a medium, they were /are super fun and great for finding new music… on the downside they could also be a throwaway item with all filler no killer…

What say you?

Part b

Post some compilations that captured a point in time, a scene or a city. For me as a Sydney sider , the Aberrant punk comps of the early 80s were just fantastic - like a love letter to a city finding itself, and all of them so obviously labours of love. Fave of the 3 - not so humdrum. As the liner notes say (if I remember correctly) - “these bands existed and they were great”. Bruce G who made the comps said in some interview that after release of the first one nearly all the bands had broken up and two band members were dead (hope I’ve got this right) - just showing how a comp can capture a moment in time. Comps can be also very localised in that sense - my NZ friends just turned me onto some great punk aligned 70s comp which they and all their peers know inside out, but it never spread beyond NZ.

Honourable mention also to “Boston not LA” for all the obvious reasons…

Can’t vote. Pure waffles.

At its best: a good, possibly essential way to summarize a band that focused on singles or had many non-album singles. Also the occasional charity or benefit comp (e.g., No Alternative), or B-sides comp (R.E.M.’s Dead Letter Office).

At its worst: corporate strategy to sell more records.

EDIT: just realized that I once again may have misinterpreted the OP’s meaning. Anyway I am otherwise going to leave my post as-is.

Totally not crap such a great way for a young fan to find more bands. The ultimate gateway drug to new bands that were totally out of your orbit but you may enjoy.

I just saw that fm Barbo’s old band was on a comp I used to listen to so much when I was 17. So funny.

Absolutely Not Crap

on top of the usual scene lookovers - from the genius of Nuggets to the first smatterings of the Killed By Death series to some ultra curated deep cuts like Chains & Black Exhaust - there's even some artists whose best album is a comp. That very first Fleetwood Mac best of from 1974 where it's the greatest summary of their blues era, the Dolly Parton greatest hits with the rock version of "Travelin' Man," hell on the right day I'll go to bat for Incesticide and Palace of Swords Reversed being the true overviews of their respective bands.

I love compilations, they make you root for 'em.

Absolutely not crap.

Comps with multiple bands:

From 80s punk comps like We Got Power (40 punk songs all at 1:00 or less, and Life's a Joke (international punk comp), to The Enigma Variations (Enigma Records comp) to WAP100, to albums I mailed away for, cash in envelopes like What's Up Matador and Lounge Ax Defense And Relocation, and more recently Sonic Mook Experiment (dance/electronic comp, so great) and Macro-Dub Infection (dub electronica). I learned about soooooo many bands from compilations. That Alternative Tentacles one on which other bands cover DKs, Virus 100 I think it was. The Steve Reich tribute by electronic artists. The one with Joy Division Covers was how I learned about godheadsilo. Fucking LOVE a good comp.

Soul Jazz Records? FUCK!

Compilations from the same band:

I mean, The Fall: The Complete Peel Sessions. Fuckin'ell. Tortoise: A Lazarus Taxon. Sheeeeeit.

akosinski wrote: Fri Jul 05, 2024 8:17 pm Totally not crap such a great way for a young fan to find more bands. The ultimate gateway drug to new bands that were totally out of your orbit but you may enjoy.

This.

I'll think of some favourites over the weekend, but this was a cracker from the early 00s.

https://www.discogs.com/release/147673- ... ompilation

There was a relatively early Southern Lord comp that got me into Loincloth, which led me to Gore. NC.

Probably the one format CDs really excel at. Big fan of African or Asian soul/funk/psych comps and the like. NC.