The Six Best Shitty-Sounding Records
Before we begin, let us clarify that "shitty" and "bad" are not the same. Bad-sounding records aim for a certain result and fall short. Shitty-sounding records result from conscious decisions consciously executed. Here are the six best shitty-sounding records. If your favorite entry is missing from the list, leave us a shitty comment.
6. At the Drive-In, Acrobatic Tenement
According to legend, Omar Rodriguez's parts for Acrobatic Tenement were recorded directly from his guitar without an amplifier, and the band intended to beef up his tone later. However, At the Drive-In ran out of money in the recording process and released the album unmixed with the original guitar sound. Like many punk-rock records before, the shittiness contributes to the Acrobatic Tenement's urgency.
5. Van Dyke Parks, Song Cycle
Song Cycle is a cult classic late-'60s record, as notorious for its commercial failure as for its ambition. It is an adventurous exercise in proto-chamber pop with edgy orchestration that probably sounds terrible in your car. Song Cycle is an early version of the beautifully shitty record, wherein the artist maxed out the recording capabilities in the quest for something never done before. Funeral by Arcade Fire is a more recent example, and it doesn't sound as conventionally pretty as you remember.
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