#315Albums is a list of 315 albums that appear on both the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, as well as the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die book, edited by Robert Dimery. At its best, it is a representation of some of the greatest music ever released; at its worst, it is a journey through the history of music that the majority see as important, influential, and/or relevant. If nothing else, these albums are worth experiencing at least once to get a better understanding of music, which is why we are working to complete all #315Albums.
No. 003
“[Gang of Four] played staccato guitar-driven funk, and the stiff, jerky aggression of songs such as ‘Damaged Goods’ and ‘I Found That Essence Rare’ invented a new style that influenced bands from the Minutemen to LCD Soundsystem.”
Artist: Gang of Four
Album: Entertainment!
Released: 1979
Label: Warner Bros.
Rolling Stones Ranking: 483
I admit that I was not expecting this to be a punk album, but that’s exactly what Entertainment! was. Unfortunately, nothing from this album stuck with me. I found a lot of the songs jarring and uneven. When something would pop up that I started to enjoy, Gang of Four would do something to take me out of it, like interlacing other lyrics on top of the main song, so there were two sets of lyrics happening over each other. This was probably quite inventive for the time, but it doesn’t hold up well, and I found it, frankly, annoying to listen to. Though I respect it for being at the forefront of the punk rock movement, it just wasn’t for me.
Cinefessions’ #315Albums Rating: 40%
Image and quote courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
