🎵 How Good Are They Really 🎵 DJ Shadow

Genuinely thought we’d already done this one tbh but apparently not…

Ian Dury goes far too low:

Leaderboard
Artist Rating
Aretha Franklin 4.64
Nina Simone 4.57
A Tribe Called Quest 4.56
Kraftwerk 4.50
Neil Young 4.48
David Berman 4.47
Talk Talk 4.46
Miles Davis 4.42
Alice Coltrane 4.42
Talking Heads 4.39
R.E.M. 4.38
John Coltrane 4.37
Beastie Boys 4.36
Scott Walker 4.36
Otis Redding 4.34
The Velvet Underground 4.33
The Temptations 4.32
David Bowie 4.31
The Beatles 4.31
Leonard Cohen 4.30
Pixies 4.30
Sparklehorse 4.29
Boards Of Canada 4.28
The Cure 4.28
Björk 4.27
Mogwai 4.24
J Dilla 4.23
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 4.22
Fugazi 4.21
Marvin Gaye 4.21
Tom Waits 4.20
Johnny Cash 4.19
Aphex Twin 4.18
PJ Harvey 4.17
Stevie Wonder 4.17
Four Tet 4.17
Dead Kennedys 4.17
Nirvana 4.15
Joy Division 4.15
Radiohead 4.13
The Supremes 4.13
Bill Callahan 4.13
Minutemen 4.12
The Four Tops 4.12
Pavement 4.12
Cocteau Twins 4.11
Prince 4.11
Wu-Tang Clan 4.11
Orbital 4.11
Dinosaur Jr. 4.11
Jason Molina 4.10
De La Soul 4.10
Nick Drake 4.10
The Stooges 4.10
Elliott Smith 4.09
Yo La Tengo 4.09
Les Savy Fav 4.09
Pulp 4.08
Sleater-Kinney 4.08
Sonic Youth 4.08
Public Enemy 4.08
D’Angelo 4.08
Slowdive 4.07
Kate Bush 4.07
OutKast 4.07
Burial 4.07
Autechre 4.06
Grace Jones 4.05
Godspeed You! Black Emperor 4.03
Black Sabbath 4.03
Portishead 4.03
Super Furry Animals 4.03
Fuck Buttons 4.03
Joanna Newsom 4.02
Mclusky 4.02
Simon & Garfunkel 4.02
Sufjan Stevens 4.01
MF DOOM 4.01
My Bloody Valentine 4.01
The Knife 4.01
Run The Jewels 4.00
Sharon Van Etten 4.00
The Roots 4.00
New Order 3.99
Frightened Rabbit 3.97
Bob Dylan 3.97
Kendrick Lamar 3.97
Wilco 3.97
Robyn 3.96
Low 3.96
Grandaddy 3.96
Built To Spill 3.94
Shellac 3.94
Sigur Rós 3.93
The Beach Boys 3.93
Jimi Hendrix 3.93
Depeche Mode 3.93
LCD Soundsystem 3.92
Broadcast 3.92
Dusty Springfield 3.92
Arab Strap 3.91
Joni Mitchell 3.89
Janelle Monáe 3.89
Massive Attack 3.89
The Twilight Sad 3.88
Frank Ocean 3.86
Spiritualized 3.85
Bruce Springsteen 3.84
Future Of The Left 3.84
Deftones 3.84
The Blue Nile 3.84
Siouxsie & The Banshees 3.83
Lou Reed 3.83
Guided By Voices 3.82
Underworld 3.82
At The Drive-In 3.82
The Kinks 3.82
The Jesus And Mary Chain 3.82
Deerhunter 3.81
Creedence Clearwater Revival 3.81
Fucked Up 3.80
Patti Smith 3.79
Run-D.M.C. 3.78
Young Fathers 3.78
The Clash 3.77
Dolly Parton 3.77
Pet Shop Boys 3.76
Modest Mouse 3.76
Trail Of Dead 3.76
Spoon 3.76
Sparks 3.76
Missy Elliott 3.75
Hüsker Dü 3.74
Blondie 3.73
Bright Eyes 3.71
Rage Against The Machine 3.71
Nine Inch Nails 3.70
The Walkmen 3.70
The Avalanches 3.69
The Wedding Present 3.69
The National 3.68
Paul Simon 3.68
M.I.A. 3.68
The Ramones 3.67
Spacemen 3 3.67
ABBA 3.66
Fiona Apple 3.66
Neutral Milk Hotel 3.66
Soundgarden 3.66
Kanye West 3.65
Solange 3.65
Cat Power 3.65
Air 3.65
Arcade Fire 3.64
Mercury Rev 3.63
The Antlers 3.63
Ty Segall 3.63
Tricky 3.62
Blur 3.61
The Magnetic Fields 3.61
N.W.A. 3.61
Beck 3.59
Elvis Costello 3.59
Hope Of The States 3.58
The Smiths 3.57
Sea Power 3.56
65daysofstatic 3.56
WHY? 3.56
Sunn O))) 3.55
Beyoncé 3.54
Yeah Yeah Yeahs 3.54
Mew 3.54
Flying Lotus 3.54
Charli XCX 3.53
Eels 3.52
Half Man Half Biscuit 3.52
Carly Rae Jepsen 3.51
Roxy Music 3.51
Mastodon 3.51
Daft Punk 3.50
The Hold Steady 3.50
The Chemical Brothers 3.49
Jimmy Eat World 3.49
Explosions In The Sky 3.49
Bob Marley & The Wailers 3.48
Jeff Buckley 3.47
Teenage Fanclub 3.47
Wild Beasts 3.47
The Flaming Lips 3.46
The Cribs 3.46
Hot Chip 3.44
Bon Iver 3.43
Idlewild 3.42
The Fall 3.42
George Michael 3.41
Black Flag 3.41
Madonna 3.40
Manic Street Preachers 3.39
Fleetwood Mac 3.39
Queens Of The Stone Age 3.39
Big Thief 3.39
The Postal Service 3.38
The Shins 3.38
The Notorious B.I.G. 3.37
TV On The Radio 3.37
The Cooper Temple Clause 3.37
The Go! Team 3.36
Converge 3.36
Metronomy 3.36
Toots & The Maytals 3.35
The White Stripes 3.34
George Harrison 3.34
Paul McCartney 3.33
Iron & Wine 3.33
Supergrass 3.32
Dr. Dre 3.32
Leftfield 3.32
Sepultura 3.32
Hole 3.31
Squarepusher 3.31
Iggy Pop 3.31
The Decemberists 3.31
The Smashing Pumpkins 3.30
Suede 3.30
Steely Dan 3.29
Misfits 3.29
Elton John 3.28
The Pogues 3.28
Kylie Minogue 3.27
The Specials 3.26
Vampire Weekend 3.26
Doves 3.26
Richard Hawley 3.25
Death Cab For Cutie 3.24
Laura Marling 3.24
James Brown 3.23
Sugababes 3.22
Thin Lizzy 3.22
Hall & Oates 3.21
The Futureheads 3.21
Rihanna 3.19
The Prodigy 3.18
Led Zeppelin 3.16
Ash 3.16
The Streets 3.16
Pink Floyd 3.15
Pearl Jam 3.15
Motörhead 3.15
Ian Dury 3.15
Taylor Swift 3.14
Jay-Z 3.14
Arctic Monkeys 3.14
Goldfrapp 3.14
Gorillaz 3.13
Snoop Dogg 3.13
Interpol 3.12
TLC 3.12
Lana Del Rey 3.11
Maxïmo Park 3.11
Los Campesinos! 3.10
Nas 3.10
The Rolling Stones 3.09
St. Vincent 3.09
Animal Collective 3.07
T. Rex 3.07
Iron Maiden 3.06
Placebo 3.06
The Charlatans 3.06
Destiny’s Child 3.05
HAIM 3.05
Primal Scream 3.04
The Divine Comedy 3.04
Everything Everything 3.04
The Strokes 3.03
Elvis Presley 3.02
System Of A Down 3.02
Wolf Alice 3.01
AC/DC 3.00
Frank Zappa 3.00
Duran Duran 3.00
The Bee Gees 2.99
Art Brut 2.99
Weezer 2.97
The xx 2.97
Grimes 2.96
Garbage 2.96
Amy Winehouse 2.95
Girls Aloud 2.93
Frank Sinatra 2.92
2Pac 2.91
Elbow 2.91
The Stone Roses 2.90
The Doors 2.89
Franz Ferdinand 2.89
The Mars Volta 2.89
Ariana Grande 2.88
Tool 2.88
The Coral 2.88
Paramore 2.88
Lizzo 2.86
Happy Mondays 2.86
Feeder 2.86
Belle And Sebastian 2.85
Britney Spears 2.85
The Horrors 2.84
Metallica 2.81
Green Day 2.81
Madness 2.80
Slipknot 2.80
James 2.78
Foals 2.76
The Jam 2.75
Basement Jaxx 2.75
Alanis Morissette 2.75
Miley Cyrus 2.73
John Lennon 2.73
Oasis 2.71
Whitney Houston 2.69
Nelly Furtado 2.68
The Verve 2.67
Fatboy Slim 2.67
Slayer 2.65
The Sex Pistols 2.63
Faithless 2.63
The Levellers 2.63
Lady Gaga 2.61
Queen 2.60
The Police 2.59
Billy Joel 2.57
Foo Fighters 2.57
U2 2.55
My Chemical Romance 2.54
Justin Timberlake 2.52
The Maccabees 2.52
Editors 2.51
Little Mix 2.49
Biffy Clyro 2.48
Dire Straits 2.43
The Beautiful South 2.43
Meat Loaf 2.43
Bloc Party 2.41
Linkin Park 2.41
Cher 2.40
N.E.R.D 2.40
Michael Jackson 2.39
Eminem 2.38
Mariah Carey 2.32
Jamie T 2.32
Coldplay 2.31
IDLES 2.29
The 1975 2.28
Rancid 2.26
Guns N’ Roses 2.26
Ocean Colour Scene 2.26
Travis 2.25
The Killers 2.22
The Who 2.22
Blink-182 2.21
Phil Collins 2.21
Muse 2.20
Robbie Williams 2.20
Katy Perry 2.18
Jamiroquai 2.17
Panic! At The Disco 2.16
Counting Crows 2.13
Bon Jovi 2.11
No Doubt 2.10
Christina Aguilera 2.09
Paul Weller 2.09
The Offspring 2.08
Usher 2.08
Moby 2.06
Ringo Starr 2.06
Adele 2.05
Aerosmith 2.03
Korn 2.03
Drake 2.02
Kings Of Leon 2.01
Bryan Adams 2.00
The Libertines 1.99
Celine Dion 1.99
Fall Out Boy 1.96
Red Hot Chili Peppers 1.90
Sir Rod Stewart 1.88
The Eagles 1.86
McFly 1.85
Kaiser Chiefs 1.84
Limp Bizkit 1.82
The Spice Girls 1.81
Bruno Mars 1.79
Take That 1.76
Stereophonics 1.74
Busted 1.74
Razorlight 1.74
KISS 1.73
Morrissey 1.69
Kasabian 1.57
Ed Sheeran 1.29

And today;

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
  • Entroducing…
  • The Private Press
  • The Outsider
  • The Less You Know, The Better
  • The Mountain Will Fall
  • Our Pathetic Age

0 voters

  • Midnight In A Perfect World
  • Stem
  • Camel Bobsled Race
  • What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1)
  • High Noon
  • The Number Song
  • Dark Days
  • You Can’t Go Home Again
  • Six Days
  • Mashin’ On The Motorway
  • 3 Freaks
  • Enuff
  • You Made It
  • This Time (I’m Gonna Try It My Way)
  • Gabracabara
  • Def Surrounds Us
  • I Gotta Rokk
  • Warning Call
  • Scale It Back
  • Listen
  • Nobody Speak
  • Rocket Fuel
  • Rosie

0 voters

He’s a five from me even though I found the Private Press disappointing and haven’t been near him since. Endtroducing… is such an all-timer he deserves it.

2 Likes

Endroducing is a masterpiece.

The Private Press is good.

Other DJ Shadow stuff I’m not fussed about.

Psyence Fiction deserves recognition too. Also a very good album.

6 Likes

Yep pretty much this. Instant 5 but I’ve barely listened to anything but Endtroducing…

2 Likes

High Noon single is also amazing.

You are going to rock and roll…

2 Likes

Outside of Entroducing, it’s his collaborative work that I like the most. Solesides, Quannum, Brainfreeze etc can veer wildly between being po-faced and novelty act, but they all try something different.

Listening back to the UNKLE stuff twenty years later, and it seems much more coherent and interesting than it was portrayed at the time of release.

Oh, and Holy Calamity from the Handsome Boy Modelling School album is an absolute banger as well.

2 Likes

This is an absolute beast of a song, the shit Killer Mike is coming out with is amazing. It’s also one of the few videos that makes the song better.

17 Likes

Best thing that Ian Brown has been involved in (still a dickhead though, obvs).

6 Likes

He can still knock out a banger. They’re some gems on all the albums.

1 Like

I’d say the same for the Richard Ashcroft track, too.

7 Likes

Always reminds me of this dude in my halls at uni who i had a discussion with once - he thought all DJ Shadow did was steal other peoples music and i should listen to a real musician, one who has more talent in his little finger than DJ Shadow has in his whole body…that person? Jamiroquai :slight_smile:

Anyway yeah, ever since this NME tape i’ve been hooked

Got endtroducing not long after then was fully in love.

He was never as good again but Private Press has some bangers and that In Tune/On TIme Tour was an incredible show - i’d only seen him DJ before that (including supporting Radiohead) and he was so good. The dvd is worth a watch for anyone into that period. Kissed someone i’d fancied for a while that not also so what a winner!!

He completely lost it after that in my opinion but still, what an original run.

That first UNKLE LP is great also, and is a DJ Shadow album. For anyone interested in that time and hasn’t seen it, The Man from Mo Wax is a great documentary.

gone for 4 - wanted to give a 5 but then i’ve only liked a handful of songs in the last 20 years so i can’t.

4 Likes

5 for Entroducing - listened to it so much and last time I revisited it it was still great.

Private Press is a weird one for me - every time I’ve given it a go I start feeling positive about it and I definitely think it’s objectively good but there is something just slightly off about it to my ears that makes me end up disliking it.

Haven’t listened to anything else.

Mean 3 or generous 4, I’ll go 4.

1 Like

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 break down baby

7 Likes

Yeah, i think i get this. IT never quite fully delivers, or even near to be honest but i can’t put my finger on it. Feels a bit more obvious overall, which is a crap description but i can’t think of a better way to say it.

Loved this song also

1 Like

i just had this track playing in the car :slight_smile:

Known as DJ Shitshow in our house after we came to the realisation that everything since Endtroducing… has been shit, and we don’t even listen to Endtroducing… much either. Boring live, boring on record.

1/5

This post paid for by PROF$.

2 Likes

Endtroducing is one of my all time favourite albums. I felt something change in my head when I first heard it. UNKLE, Private Press and Pre-Emptive Strike also very good. His live album In Tune and On Time is phenomenal, but it is extremely mixed results thereafter. Some flashes of former greatness (I like The Mountain Will Fall a lot) but also a lot of forgettable meh.

Building Steam with a Grain of Salt is by far my favourite track but oddly not a choice above.

5 for that initial run, knocked to a 4 for everything after.

3 Likes