Music Times is all about math—what would our subject matter be without rhythm and meter?—so we felt the need to give a shout out on Pi Day to the world's most important number, responsible for everything from trigonometric functions to the probability of relative primeness.
That said, we're not mathematicians. We struggle enough with 5/4...we don't even want to think about the stuff the Dillinger Escape Plan comes up with. Instead, we're taking the digits of Pi (or at least the first nine digits), 3.14159265, and coming up with a numerical album or song title for each. Advance warning (because we know we'll get at least one angry e-mail): Don't expect any Led Zeppelin. The technical title of the band's first four albums are Led Zeppelin II, not just II. Only digits allowed for this count.
Let's go:
3 = Three by The John Butler Trio
Many bands opt not to come up with album titles, merely counting the records as they go along and naming the releases as such. That's not the case with Australia's John Butler Trio: Three is actually the second album from the jam band. This was also the first record from the group to be released in the United States, and it came at just the right time: The bluegrass feel of the record played into the craze that had broken out the year before in the United States, thanks to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. The didgeridoo helps add some native flair.
1 = One by The Ministry of Sound
We briefly considered going with The Beatles' 1, a greatest hits collection featuring 27 of the legendary band's no. 1 hits. Instead, we decided to give you something featuring music you don't know already: One, a 2009 release from the UK-based independent record label. It focuses on club music, with most of the 54 tracks featured topping the chart at some point. It starts with hits from the big beat era (Prodigy, Fatboy Slim) and keeps going through house (Steve "Silk" Hurley, Jakatta).
4 = "Four" by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Miles Davis was responsible for many modern jazz standards, as well as for recordings of many preexisting standards throughout his legendary career. Many people confuse which category the composition "Four" belongs in. Although Davis was the first to record the track, on his album Blue Haze, the tune was actually composed by alto saxophonist and jazz vocalist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and it has since been handled by Sonny Rollins, Chet Bake, Stan Getz and more.
1 = "One" by Metallica
Don't worry, there will be at least one track you've heard on this list. Most Metallica fans would argue that Master of Puppets was the thrash band's best album, but there are plenty who would argue that "One" is the group's best song from that era, rather than the title track from Master. It's the best example of a formula the band has made famous, opening for several minutes with a melodic approach before shifting dramatically into a brutal bridge and wild solo, displaying the range of approaches the band was capable of during its golden age.
5 = "Five" by Machine Head
We might as well keep going with the thrash metal theme while we're on the subject. Machine Head is one of today's most respected metal groups, although its not without controversy. Robb Flynn can't deny that The Burning Red, including its song "Five," was inspired at least somewhat by the nu metal and rap metal trend that was developing around it. It's far from the best release from the group but if you have to listen to nu metal, it might as well be this. The numerology of the number five makes a few appearances throughout the album as well: Aside from the song, the record comes in at exactly 50:00.
9 = Nine by Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan is a successful Bollywood composer and a playback singer (someone whose vocals are recorded for lip-syncing in film) but he's also been successful with his two solo albums. The second, Nine, follows thew concept of moods, with Mahadevan singing about a different mood on each of the record's nine tracks. Joy, sadness, love, jealousy, hope, fear, peace, passion and "jazbaat"—a feeling from the heart.
2 = 2 by Ned Collette + Wirewalker
Ned Collette is a Australian folk performer, who has also released several albums with the band Wirewalker. The title of the collective's second album was more than just hinting at this being a sequel however: Wirewalker's Ben Bourke had taken time off from performing, which made Joe Talia essentially the only member of the band performing on this album. Between him and Collette, that amounts to two contributors.
6 = 6 by Supersilent
Supersilent operates in titles as most record labels do: Regardless of the format of the release, it gets assigned a number. Through 2014, the band had released a total of 13 studio and live albums, and only the 2010 box set 100 broke the cycle, rather than assuming the number 12. Of all these numerical releases, the most critically acclaimed was 6, which Allmusic described it as a "level of unspoken understanding, interplay, and clarity of vision in experimentation is now beyond words."
5 = 5 by Alizée
Alizée represents somewhat the trend that struck the United States after a high-school aged Britney Spears exploded around the turn of the millennium. Her Gourmandises dropped during 2000, and was notable for its underwhelming songwriting and its overwhelming attempts to turn the 16 year-old performer into a creepy sex symbol. More than 13 years later however the performer truly hit her stride as a more mature performer, using her talents for honest artistic expression and not just racking up sales.
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