Reviews (page 2 of 8)
I will bump one star for creativity and making the list but for me, too long and boring. I could say the same about Bob Dylan but this album hit a new low for me. No, I take that back. Dylan still rules.
This feels like the background music to the Mortal Kombat movie. Just didn't do it for me.
This just didn't click with me. It felt like a random collection of sounds put together. I'm confused by that, because it's not that different than Red Snapper which I really liked.
2 out of 5. Only reason it got a two is because of the ok and relaxed James Bond theme remix.
This was great to work with on in the background. I could have used with less spoken word and recorded conversations in the background but overall 5 stars.
Álbum eletrônico muito técnico e cheio de nuances. QoA Cloudscape.
++: My Mate Paul, Gritty Shaker, Head Rush on Lafayette, Rodney Yates, Radio 7, Caddell Returns, Don't Die Just Yet +: Let's Get Killed, The Parcus & Madder Show, Slashers Revenge, Freaknik +-: Listen, For You 7,0/10
Let’s NOT get killed, okay? Oh, and here’s another idea: let’s not listen to this album again. I kid, but only slightly.
Chiant
I put this on in the background and it was so uninteresting that I forgot it was even on.
David Holmes – Let's Get Killed (1997) On Day 243, I found it pretty ironic to listen to an album titled Let's Get Killed on a list of albums you must hear before you die. Unfortunately, the record was mostly dull to me. The only silver lining was that it made for an easy listen because I wasn't straining my ears trying to make sense of anything complex, it was just a flat dud. It wasn't completely unlistenable or incomprehensible enough to warrant a 1, as it was at least coherent music, but it was entirely passable and uninspired. A low 2/5.
Ei
Big city music, surprisingly good background music for cooking.
snooze
These vox pops are on another level. What would be a very good break beat electronic album ends up being this bizarre journey into the freaks and weirdos of New York and I love it. Takes a lot of bravery to have some stranger's attempt at a fortune reading play on your album for over a minute and it's even more impressive to make it work well.
Surprisingly enjoyable, interludes only okay because they’re so NYC
This was a house party cd for sure, very 90s electronica. Somewhat dated, but nostalgia is strong with this one. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? Yes Owned: No, 104/390 (26%) Will I get: No
Marko - 3 Sara - 3
Uninteresting electronic album but was inoffensive enough that i still finished it, but i felt almost nothing listening to it.
ok
Another one slipped by without my really noticing. Background music.
lets not. 1.5
I can’t.
Never heard of this and thought it was pretty great, he went on to dona bunch of soundtracks which makes sense
It's not good, I suppose there is an audience for it but it can't be big
Listened before?: nope Listen - no rating My Mate Paul - 3/5 Let's Get Killed - 3/5 Gritty Shaker - 2/5 Head Rush on Lafayette - no rating Rodney Yates - 2/5 Radio 7 - 4/5 The Parcus & Madder Show - no rating Slashers Revenge - 2/5 Freaknik - 3/5 Caddell Returns - 1/5 Don't Die Just Yet - 5/5 For You - no rating Average score: 2.8/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ i mean, it sounds like some video game music to me, or maybe something that would be part of a film score. i guess that's a fitting description, since he did the music for the Oceans trilogy apparently. while i guess i wouldn't mind letting this play in the background, i didn't really find this all that engaging to listen to otherwise
Percussion, other "instruments", some voice, but never do they come together into a coherent song. I could have been fine dying without ever listening to this.
David Holmes' name sounded familiar to me. In fact, I'd heard him a few times on my favorite radio station back then. Really cool sound. I'll definitely give it another listen. 4/5
I dislike electronic music and dont feel they should be in any top album list. This one was decent
I tried with this one, but it’s just repetitive and annoying. 1/5
Another electronic music project, another project I did not like. Did not finish all the way through.
I’m 52 I shouldn’t really use the word vibe but this is a vibe. A funky finger snapping vibe, and sometimes that’s exactly what you want. The samples are all carefully selected and it’s like listening to someone’s carefully curated record collection all at once
At first I did not like this, but as I kept listening going to work this reminded me of 90s action movie, and low behold - this guy indeed did the OSTs for Ocean's bank heist movies so maybe that's why it sounds somewhat familiar. I was thinking 2, but maybe 3 stars after all.
1.5
Background muzak. 2 stars
I thought this was okay. Not essential, but not the worst 90s electronica we've had by a long shot. 3 stars.
Really boring and inessential. Might work ok as the film soundtrack to McBain’s next $180 million blockbuster ‘Let’s Get Bored Silly’ where McBain and Mendoza sit around and do nothing for 120 minutes.
Tired of these boring electronica albums.
Opinion fluctuates from song to song. I liked some, and found others annoying.
Dope. Reminds me of DJ Shadow but might be better.
Pretty good album and it's one of trip hop og
It’s easy to listen to. Nothing particularly earth-shattering, but to have it in the background is pleasant enough. 3.5 stars.
This was again another album that was just too atmospheric for me
Heel vet. Filmisch. Opnames uit New York werkej goed. Maar net niet catchy genoeg.
4.5/10
Not gonna lie this was not what I expected. I thought it was really cool. Funky, easy listening music, would study to this album ngl. Could also see it being used in montage clips for a 90's early 00's spy movie. Pleasantly surprised by this album!
This doesn't do anything for me. It's not bad, it's just background music.
Nothing to love or hate.
alternate title: david holmes presents the best of dvd menu music vol. 2
This is fun. Kinda wish it was "You've Come A Long Way Baby" (that better be in this list), "Endtroducing", or "Donuts", but I like it.
No me gustó nada. Viendo las reviews de este disco noto que otros tuvieron la misma sensación. En cuanto al disco, aburrido. En cuanto a los discos en general, más que 1001 discos que hay que escuchar antes de morir, son 400 que hay que escuchar antes de morir y 601 que le gustan al creador de la página. Igual no me quejo, porque está buenísima la página.
2. Sounded like the N64 GoldenEye 007 soundtrack, maybe it did grab it from there.
Every techno album is an hour long. It's too much techno! And it starts with a really stupid interview about New York. DJs love random street interview chatter. Every song with this shit! This is going to be a long hour. This is nonsense...just get someone to write some lyrics and hire someone to sing if you need this many words on your songs. This is one of the worst techno albums I've ever heard...I'm sure it's supposed to represent the vibrant city life of New York or some other overblown critical nonsense words. This guy was a decade early to get the Mad Men theme. This is the album begat RJD2, especially Rodney Yates.
Not awful but not very good. Can only be a 2
Going to follow this with ‘Getting Killed’ by Geese and ‘Killed’ by Rubber Band Gun.
Sympa mais les sons sont toujours trop long et redondants. Zzzzzz
Très sympathique mais un poil long et certains sons trop répétitifs
interesting
4 another great discovery from the list. Never heard it before, but somehow it felt like a comfy return to some '90s electronica.
OK
Enjoyed the music, good house with variety throughout the album. However the spoken word samples are beyond irritating. Long irrelevant monologues from some of the worst people the US has to offer. A great album has you going back for multiple listens - why would anyone want to listen to these awful samples more than once? Ruined the album.
I have coined a new expression: crap + repetitive = crapetitive. Let's Get Killed is crapetitive. It wouldn't be so bad if the songs were only a few minutes long, but some of these tracks are 5, 6 7 minutes plus. It's so unnecessary and there is no justification for it. I am impressed that I managed to finish this album. I can't say I enjoyed it at all.
This one was pretty chill, enjoyed it quite a bit. Thought some of the songs got a bit too repetitive though for being instrumentals
это конечно интересные срезы диалогов и диджей технологии но я люблю песни!
I quite enjoyed the title track. That is all.
Pretty rad story on the Let's Get Killed track. It's an interesting album, but that doesn't mean it's good.
This was absolute garbage. Who listened to this and thought that this was one of 1000 albums that people absolutely needed to listen to? Nothing but repetitive tracks and soft whispering about stupid stories. Why was there a random James Bond style song in the middle of the album? This album actually made me mad listening through.
Oh joy generic 90s electronic beats overlaid with random people in New York talking about random shit or doing some of the worst rapping I've ever heard. What a treat. Thanks for the listen Mr. Holmes, I hope I never hear it again.
Each track contains at most one interesting and/or unique concept (beat, sample, rhythm, etc.) and repeats it ad nauseum. The songs are too long and repetitive. Another feature on the list that makes for "decent background music" but isn't worth listening to. In this case, the artist is a professional soundtrack artist, probably adding another collection to their portfolio, but the author of this book mistook it for exceptional music on its own.
𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 certainly creates a mood, but it never gives me much reason to pay attention. The album’s blend of beats, samples, and cinematic textures is well crafted, yet I rarely felt engaged by what I was hearing. Rather than drawing me in, the music simply drifted by. I kept waiting for a track or moment that would make me stop and listen more closely, but it never came. By the end, I was left feeling surprisingly indifferent. As background music, it works well enough. As an album to actively sit down and listen to, though, it simply isn’t for me.
Rubbish
I saw this didn’t have a ton of listens on Spotify, so I was nervous. I am so pleasantly surprised with this. This scratches all the itches I love listening to, especially as background music while working. After looking at what else this DJ has produced, it totally clicks that he did the soundtrack for the Ocean’s 11 movies. 5/5.
Cool, a couple tracks too long
Terrible
Some good, most boring. Why is this here?
This worked for me. Very 1997. Good listen.
Good beats, and very unconventional compared to what I usually listen to. Kinda loke lofi beats cranked up a notch!
I felt stuck in a 90s straight to video stoner comedy.
That was decent chill background music.
Monotonous.
Not sure why there is a james bond theme redux halfway through. The rest was fine. Wasn't bad but not anything special.
I know the reviews for this album are pretty mixed, but I kinda enjoyed it. It's not the most outstanding album of all time, but I had fun listening to it. The beats, while not daring, were enjoyable and it served well as some background music. Some songs did struggle to really capture your attention or like...go somewhere...but I didn't care most the time.
Whatever
So very 90s and memorable. Largely because so many were used in adverts.
the sound of Y2K cybercore retrofuturism mixed with the dirt and grit of the same period
decent electronica record, some good styles
groovy 😎
Unmemorable
I was having a terrible day. This....did not help.
Cooles Projekt, hat mit gut gefallen. Einfach ein chill vibe und nice Produktion.
It's lounge music, but with lots of personality, technical perfection, and just fun to listed to.
Vibes. I enjoy how it the music puts you in a time and place so effectively. Also clearly very socially conscious in that approach as well.
10/10. Kept wondering why it sounded like a heist movie, then low and behold.
This was fine. Background music that sounds like movie background music, so that fits the description. But not anything I'd seek out.
Is a no from me David
Let me check my calendar…. Nope. It’s not April 1st. So there’s no joke being played. Hmmm. Why’s this album on here. I’ve no idea. I’ve only given out one 1 ⭐️ review but that’s doubling down today. Zzzzzzzz
Meh
Never heard of this but it's not bad. I'll have to trust that it's influential, although nothing struck me as particularly groundbreaking. Seemed solid but not inspiring
Felt very y2k movie soundtrack interspersed with some monologuing
As electronic music goes it was ok. ✅ the vocal snippets/interludes really added nothing to the album though for me and if they were missing, it would make it better.
Mostly unremarkable lounge music. It's competent enough to create a nice atmosphere for drinking and hanging out, but not much more ; I found it dated and unexciting. The James Bond remix was tepid at best (if I want to hear film scores revisited with a twist, I'd rather listen to The Big Gundown by John Zorn - a radical rework of Ennio Morricone's work, acclaimed by Morricone himself). I did enjoy the cinematic vibe of the first couple of tracks, but I got bored pretty quickly after that. Pretty sure I'll have forgotten everything by tomorrow. A very debatable pick for this list IMHO. 4/10
At first I was sympathetic. I had a knack for drum 'n bass in my days. But soon enough I felt these samples are just monotonous with little addon. The cup was full arrivint to "don't just die yet" a remix of several tracks from Histoire de Melody Nelson, one of my favourite record ever. And the you realize it's one thing as a Dj to be able to sample the best musics but it's another thing to play real instruments with real drums and Jean-Marie Vannier's great producing. Maybe this was innovative at the time but it aged badly.
That constant feeling of déjà vu, and the impression that every song could be playing in the background of the same beach bar. So polished and formulaic that it never feels like it has a real soul.
This album should have been titled, "Kill Me Now". Next....
Ugh.
vibey. it was fine.
this was just boring to listen to. Plain beats, no excitement, and gets worse the deeper you get into it, which makes it painful to get through
Somebody described this as ps4 music, somebody else described it as the music on the you ‘wouldn’t steal a car’ advert…they are both correct. But where they gave this album a one I’m giving it a five because I LOVE MUSIC LIKE THAT. Very liminal - I love listening to video game soundtracks anyway but I’m still surprised I liked this as much as I did. I can’t deny how easy and enjoyable it was to listen to for me, I will be listening to it to write and will explore more of his work. An EASY FIVE STARS and I’m happy to see stuff like this included in the book :)
This will never be the vibe. Truly terrible album..
Really interesting album, enjoyed the dialogue at beginning of songs and the way each song was kind of a riff on it. Cinematic and entertaining, this one surprised me in a good way.
This is kind of great actually. An eclectic soundtrack for an odyssey through nocturnal NYC, from the perspective of an outsider. Definitely hear why this guy was tapped to score Soderbergh films
It’ll be a great day when I get an Electronica album that isn’t boring as fuck on this list.
Electronica, but make it smooth jazz.
Decent album! Good techno!
I feel like I've had a few mostly instrumental dance albums recently. This is one of the good ones, even if its hour runtime doesn't completely hold my focus. The Bond theme remix was fun, the rest was enjoyable, but I'm not sure how much I will come back to this.
One or two interesting tracks on here but probably wouldn’t revisit the album anytime soon. Quite liked Rodney Yates but overall it comes across as soundtrack music. 3
Weird
Wikipedia says, "Let's Get Killed" is a trip-hop album. If that's the case, then it's the worst album trip-hop has to offer. "Let's Get Killed" also fails in the other subgenres it dabbles in. Despite this, some of the tracks on it do sound nice, like "My Mate Paul". I hope I get a better album next time. 2 stars for "Let's Get Killed".
Pretty good background music for working to. Varied enough to be interesting, kind of dancey, and not too distracting. Nothing transcendant though
Boring so idk why it was on here. It worked as a background music for working. Toward the end it did make me want to turn on the Sims 2 Nightlife soundtrack.
Every techno album is an hour long. It's too much techno! And it starts with a really stupid interview about New York. DJs love random street interview chatter. Every song with this shit! This is going to be a long hour. This is nonsense...just get someone to write some lyrics and hire someone to sing if you need this many words on your songs. This is one of the worst techno albums I've ever heard...I'm sure it's supposed to represent the vibrant city life of New York or some other overblown critical nonsense words. This guy was a decade early to get the Mad Men theme. This is the album begat RJD2, especially Rodney Yates.
Get killed
this was weird, kinda a vibe, was good for making bracelets and helped my headache
My problem is that I just don't care. But if this played in the background I wouldn't turn it off so I'll give it a 2
I dunno, I can see where this could be enjoyed, just not by me.
I've never heard of this artist, let alone this album. It's pleasant enough, but I can think of lots of other music in this genre from this era that I would sooner put on this list.
Someone else described this as the soundtrack to a bad 90s movie about hacking - I both agree and kind of love it because of this.
Jazzy, heady and electronic trip hop. Pretty good, but lackluster in end result. Probably influential though so i gotta give it its roses. The genre grew quite a bit since 97.
DJ album from Dave
Its ok. I only liked two tracks, "My Mate Paul" and "Head Rush On Lafayette" I want to play these on my imaginary drums.
Pleasant enough. Not my normal listen.
Really enjoyed this. Not my usual thing but horizons extended again!
Album 230. Let's Get Killed (https://open.spotify.com/album/0HEoXFTgPHGvczXdz9Ty5S?si=iX0uEZJHSEu7f6ecwr4v5A)— David Holmes (1997) It's questionable to put this album on the list. Quite average electronic album, some James Bond or spy movies vibes. A lot of repetitive beats, samples. 2/5 Liked: — Caddell Returns
Boring
Electronica music, but not hardcore EDM. It's a decent album that is quite listenable. Pitchfork: n/a Rolling Stone: n/a
I thought this album had a pretty good dubby urban feel to it. It was let down somewhat by the juvenile inclusion of the sampled vocals. I'm adding this to my Qobuz favourites.
Fatboy slim at home
In '97, there were 767 murders in New York City, the locale that presumably sets the backdrop to this album. That's far fewer than there were in 1990, which was a record-setting 2,605. I mention this b/c David Holmes clearly has violence on the mind. But this is no horror flic as electronic music - it's get-up-&-go-music, even or especially if that going's motive is a let's-get-killed-sort-of-thing. I appreciate the documentarian aspects of the project. Nevertheless, the energies of the record are somatic rather than wholly or importantly cinematic. Don't try to dance to it - it's too cerebral - but don't try to think w/ it - it ain't that deep. Just let yourself go to it, get killed to it, be a part of something bigger than yourself. An unwonted classic, I submit.
It's hard for me to understand how people just listen to this. It's more like background noise, so I guess I don't see the point.
Decent soundtrack for navigating suburban Boston traffic--I felt like I was in an action movie. Has a little more zip than most electro-background music
It's fine. I recognized Rodney Yates from an old Chillout Sessions disc. The little skits were the most interesting thing about it.
Such a cool record. Imagine bringing your friends home one night and telling them you're working on a new album, and then playing them this! Too much sauce!
I hated this. It was all instrumental except for intros of people talking about New York, which were the best parts of this album.
This shouldn't even be considered to be music. It's just noise
I liked when there was JUST music. The talking gave me angry rap/hip hop vibes.
1. "My Mate Paul" 2. "Gritty Shaker" 3. "Rodney Yates"
A interesting album but one i won't really revisit
its ok. not really anything very exciting here just another background music album that is for some reason on this list 5/10 Favourite: Rodney Yates Least Favourite: Radio 7
Kinda cool, might be nice in the background of a party. Failed to blow my mind
I think I might have enjoyed this more in '97, but in 2026 it seems pretty dull.
Relaxing but mid. I'm starting to see a trend with this list. Was this really ground breaking when new? Feels like a evolution, not a revolution.
just like that one geese album!
Not my thing at all - don't really know how to vote for it? I was pretty bored.
Very good
V good
Class, Holmes has made some great tunes over the years
I remember having the James Bond song in my sex playlist when I was 20 and now I look back confused at this jarring decision but luckily no one ever had to endure it .
I had never heard of David Holmes and was not familiar with any of the songs on the album (other than the fact that "Radio 7" is a re-working of the James Bond movie theme). I don't mind EDM, but it's not a genre I actively seek out to listen to. In this case, the music seemed more repetitive than usual and didn't have much creativity to it. After doing some research on Holmes, it seems he's made quite a career of doing movie soundtracks after gaining fame as a DJ, which I can totally see after listening to this album. It definitely felt like a movie soundtrack rather than an album of dance music I'd want to hear at a club. This is one of those albums that I question why it's on the list. Outside of the fact that it used a few clips that he recorded in NYC which was maybe a bit unique (which also let to the title of the album if you read about the making of the record), I didn't find anything memorable or groundbreaking about this album.
One of the worst music genres ever.
Instrumental Hip Hop = one of history's worst mistakes.
Yeah just not my kinda “music” As far as sample heavy electronica goes, I definitely liked this more than the DJ Shadow album since this one at least has a stronger sense of direction. I thought the snippets of conversations and whatnot were actually pretty cool and add a lot to the ambiance. I just don’t respect this one much from a musical standpoint; too repetitive, not a whole lot going on in the instrumental department, and just a bit too weird. I hate how the overall energy of each song basically remains flat the entire time, where there’s not really peaks and valleys but rather 5 minutes of the same loop playing over and over with some minor variations Starting to realize I really just don’t like this genre, and although I’d rather listen to this 1000 times over the people next to us at the Indy 500 blasting shitty dubstep for 24 hours straight, it’s just not something I’d ever consciously want to listen to. It’s not that painful so I don’t think I can give this a 1 but there’s were some segments that really tested my patience
I like the samply beats but nothing was a real standout. i think it needed a little more oomph, a little more variety in the tracks. great to work to methinks but i wont reach for it
Incredibly boring. The fact that the best sounding song on this album was James Bond is enough to tell you how I feel about this album.
This genre is very much not my cup of tea, so I went into this expecting not to like it and I heard nothing that would change my opinion on the genre. Both uninteresting and repetitive, there's a spy motif throughout the album that's not handled particularly well. It reminds me of the music that you find in a PlayStation 1 game rather than a snazzy spy flick. The album was most enjoyable when more famous works were sampled. The James Bond theme is sampled on “Radio 7” and some Serge Gainsbourg tracks are sampled on “Don't Die Just Yet”. I'm not an expert on electronic music, but I know that this is not as cutting edge as his contemporaries. It all feels very nineties and not in a good way.
Całkiem oki. Na 3
Really enjoyed this. It reminded me of Fatboy Slim
3.5. It’s well enough done. But I like his bond soundtrack better
Is it an electronica concept album? I hope not as I actually like this very much. It's a soundscape, that's its appeal, in a weird way it reminded me of Sandinista. Considering the limitations of the genre, it is really good. Well worth a listen.
It's like the soundtrack to a stylish late 90s heist movie, which is fine if you're watching a stylish late 90s heist movie, but I am not currently. That's a bit disappointing. Not as disappointing as the cover of the James Bond Theme, which sucks. It suffers from comparison with the version Moby released in the same year, which is a better example of how you _should_ do this track, if you wanted to cover it in a dance-inflected late-90s style (assuming that is something you really thought was worth doing -- I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. I couldn't possibly comment). The NYC field recordings are like a light seasoning of sonic gentrification, but it doesn't quite tip into Malcolm McLaren-style appropriation IMHO. But, overall, this album sounds like stylish soundtrack music. What's David Holmes been up to since this album? [checks notes] Soundtracks. Lots of soundtracks for stylish thrillers and heist movies. Quelle surprise.
With strange, unimportant albums like this one, this list will affirm the bias of anyone who thinks electronic music is uninteresting and repetitive. Every song sounds like an interlude! The beginning of the title track is something right off DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing… . It evolves into a very peculiar spacey, breakbeat thing that I can’t say I’ve ever heard anything else sound like before. That might be the only truly unique song you’ll hear. Hmmm. I’m gonna try to keep the practice of suggesting an electronic album I think deserves to be on here. Let’s do “Monomara” by Isabel’s Dream. This is a flat 2/5
Sounds like a soundtrack to a movie, which it looks like Dave-o got into later in his career. The “man on the street” type clips from. New Yorkers were the best parts of the album, the music was ok but pretty repetitive for an instrumental. I’d often fast forward 3 mins in the song and you couldn’t tell the difference. Needed some New York rapper over a few songs. 2.3
1.6 For all of you who are new to the generator, let this album be the reason you sign up for weekend albums. You dont want to get this on a Friday, and then every time you open up the app for the next couple of days, this album pops up.
Holmes knows how to get a good groove going, but he doesn't then seem to know what to do with it. Almost all these tracks start out with great promise but then develop no variety or themes and outstay their welcome.
I really shouldn’t enjoy this as much as I do, because it’s just so derivative, but I kinda have a soft spot for this sort of generic soundtracky stuff, and Holmes keeps things interesting with fascinating found recordings of NYC street denizens. The whole thing is all vaguely Pulp Fiction-y and very 90s and embarrassing, but you’ve got to let the hokiness wash over you. Can you find love in your heart for “Don’t Die Just Yet” even though it’s a bald-faced Serge Gainsbourg ripoff / cover / homage? If you can, this record is for you. Best track: “Don’t Die Just Yet”
Nice idea, and some interesting stuff, but I kept forgetting it was playing. This may be on me.
For electronic music it was fun I liked it
Between the I-♥-James-Bond track, the snippets of people talking and some of the other tracks' names, I'm wondering if this is a sort-of concept album about flicking through television channels? I think he nailed it, even down to the little details like being interested for five seconds then flipping to the next (but for album purposes, these five seconds of intrigue are stretched to six minutes each) as well as the experience of passing out by the end I think there's two major positives to the album; one, it sounds pretty cool, the tracks *are* interesting and strange for those few seconds until they feel like the world's most interesting endlessly-perpetuating background music... and two, after you fall asleep through like, track 10, you can dream that you're listening to Ziggy Stardust or something instead
Um, let’s not.
You know how toddlers will beat on things, like a Fisher Price keyboard or pots and pans with a wooden spoon, and think it's music? They smile and giggle, and we laugh which encourages them, and it goes on and on until your head is pounding and you take the wooden spoon away? I feel like David Holmes's parents encouraged him, told him he was a genius, and then got him a record contract. Perhaps they were deaf? I've heard some shitty music on this list, but this may be the worst. Overindulgent complete garbage. Does he have dirt on the record producers? I don't care enough to dig deeper. Even the album cover sucks, an out of focus cityscape with a giant blue splooge on it. How does stuff like this get made?
This was pretty fun. I find instrumental hip-hop and best sampling albums very hit or miss, but this was a really good version of that type of thing.
This was good thinking music. I thought a lot of thoughts while listening (not about the music, necessarily, but it created a good atmosphere for daydreaming).
i respect this but man repetitive techno beats that build up to nothing are not for me. i'll revisit if i need background instrumentals while working.
Dull and boring.
This album should not be on this list. He copies others music and just drops drums beats over it. Not something that I needed to hear.
Brutal “soundtrack” it just stunk
I hope James Bond beat this man to a pulp for completely stealing his theme song in the most lazy and uninspired manner I have ever heard an EDM “artist” attempt. This whole “album” was just boring repetitive beat after boring repetitive beat. The tracks are too long, it’s mostly just random crap and there’s zero plot to the album besides some New Yorkers spasming out on some tracks. Cool man. I’m sure your mom is proud of you.
yes, sounds like it belongs on a heist movie soundtrack until you get to the Bond cover.....and that was just a bad cover. after that I was just annoyed.
My brain really liked this today, it was v creative + cool + interesting. Quite 90z and nostalgic too! I would say it needs a re-listen to maybe make it a 4 so have left as a 3 for now
Every time i get some 🎵🎶 BULLSHIT 🎵🎶 like Let’s Get Killed, I remember that some poor soul got THIS as their first album, a true introduction to the future this generator holds for them. Why does Robert Dimery love electronica so much?
Kind of just electronic nonsense. It is OK as background music, but nothing I where I would grab a vinyl off the shelf and sit down to enjoy it.
Halfway through this I was like "this sounds like Oceans 11" and I'll be damned if I wasn't SPOT FUCKING ON.
Dont tempt me david
Hated the instrumentals in most songs. Was happy when I heard the last cuz it was surprisingly alright, realised it wasnt even by the same artist or in the album so I will not give it/him any more streams.
I didn't hate it, but also, the more the album was going, the more I was wishing for it to be over. It's somehow a mix of beats I like but way longer than it should.
Felt a little juvenile, like a bit of a wannabe DJ Shadow, but it wasn’t all bad. Somewhat background like. Fave tracks: “Don’t die just yet” and “Slashers Revenge”
Not my bag - tricked me by classifying it as "electronica". However.... the tunes without lyrics (middle of the album) are so much better than the attempts at lyrics.
It's like the soundtrack to a heist film that doesn't exist... YET! I really enjoyed this electronica album from David Holmes, whom I'm more familiar with in terms of his film scores. The sound takes you on a journey, from car chases to bank robberies, all within the confines of NYC, and I found myself becoming properly immersed. More of this please. Favourite track: Rodney Yates Least favourite track: Freaknik
Was I mostly supposed to listen to this for the samples? Three
Nah, not for me.
Never heard of him, but that kicks ass
Never heard of this guy but the album is pretty good. Seems that whoever put this list together not only likes to include all albums by stellar artists/bands, but also a ton of relatively unknown Irish music.
This album has some pretty cool ideas... I like the use of field recordings and the kind of weird, atmospheric beats. It reminds me a bit of some modern artists like Water From Your Eyes, which I enjoyed. A bit on the long side, though. Favorites: My Mate Paul, Gritty Shaker, Freaknik, Caddell Returns
Yeah makes sense this guy became a film score guy and Soderbergh's go to guy. This sounds like a soundtrack in search of a movie. It's fine but hardly memorable, and I got the idea about 3 tracks in.
Trip Hop can easily feel like background music if done wrong... and that's just what Holmes did, go Listen to Fat Boy Slim instead. It really has no interesting points or samplings. I wouldn't mind hearing this in a bar in the background but this is nothing that grabs your attention either for being good or bad. I don't know if it's worse to be unnoticeable than stand out as shockingly bad
I hated this on first listen but then on second proper louder listen I appreciated it. A bit more. Just a bit. I liked the idea of the samples from New Yorkers but he didn’t do much with it I feel - not sure how the music tied in with the samples. Clearly he is a better film composer
At best it's a pale reminder of better music, but usually it's just totally boring. His use of black voices in the intros and interludes for colour and, I don't know, a feeling of authenticity? Of grittiness? Either way it's pretty troubling. Also the James Bond remix, which is already an inherently bad idea for a song, with fart noise is totally laughable. WORST TRACK: Radio 7
Por momentos, o más bien algunas canciones, los salvaban, ej. Don't Die Just Yet. Fuera de esas pocas canciones pues…
At first I was going to say this was monotonous. But it got good. I hate the talking parts between songs. But man I love the beats. Some were so familiar I had to look up to see if I knew this guy. And I do. From the Ocean’s 11 movie series. Love those sound tracks.
1/10 I have no idea why this is on this list. It's somewhere between elevator music, and falling asleep in the 00s with the DVD playing the menu music. I get that it uses samples from NYC, but that doesn't make it good or any more interesting. There's just nothing groundbreaking here at all.
It's like having a good background.
I actually quite liked this. Almost like wandering the streets of new york with a constant backing track
I liked it a lot (excellent background music)!
Nice & chill
Music designed to make you feel like a million bucks. But it only really reaches its full potential when George Clooney and Brad Pitt are explaining how they’ll rob a casino blind. And, well, you don’t get that part here.
There were some moments on this that were interesting to me and I really liked. But on the whole it bored me to death. Glorified elevator music.
It doesn’t offend nor does it particularly interest me. But there are some good beats. 2.5
Sometimes hotel lounge music and sometimes movie soundtrack. Mostly someone left a microphone on in a taxi.
Not really my style
Yay! More terrible 90s electronica.
don't die just yet uffff bastante buena
Not the most interesting, but not the worst.
Very soundtrack-ish if that makes sense. The vibe and electricity of this album is just so nice to listen to. I feel like I'm able to create various scenes and visualize them easily in my head.
I'm not super into techno, but I live in Detroit, so I'm surrounded by it. This is exceptionally mid techno. It's not bad per se, it's just not exciting, good, different, or any other positive adjective. It just sort of is. No idea why anyone would think it has to be listened to before one dies. Influence 1. Hits 1. Quality 3. Intangibles 1. Meh 2.
Not a huge fan. Weaker opening but album more listenable as it goes on. Like... ambient beat tapes. Some tracks sound like they're off a PS1 JRPG or one of the lesser tracks off a Lumines game. It's okay.
ok
Fick this is good! The soundscape, the concept, the stylish social Reflection. Feels like Im traveling the tube in NY, watching each station fly by, while Im doing my best to come up a way to make the world order come into it's place as best as I can.
In general I feel trip hop is fine, nothing too special or worthwhile. If you're going to include it on this list then it better be the best trip hop I've ever heard, and this album isn't that
Someone in the reviews labelled this as a "Soundtrack to a bad 90's movie about hacking" and, in all honesty, that sounds about right. By the time the fuzzy reverbed bass beats of "Let's Get Killed" kicked in, I couldn't have agreed more. That being said, I am at odds with this music. The me of the 90s (soon coming out of my single digit age) loved movies about hacking and would have absolutely loved this album too. However, the me and my music taste of today though has largely left this genre to die by the side of the road. Imagining scenes of hackers and prowlers in sunglasses and '90s cool' leather outfits managed to elevate my opinion of this (so for that, I enjoyed "Let's get Killed" and "Caddell Returns"), but similarly, I couldn't wait for the album to be over. It doesn't have quite the same quality as DJ Shadow's Endtroducing and almost feels like an include by the author in an attempt to represent the genre more, rather than a genuine include.
Vamos a morir perdiendo una hora de nuestro tiempo habiendo escuchado este album sin ningún interés especial.Una hora desperdiciada, eso sí, no es insoportable.
Nice for background music for work.
Fine. Unimpressive.
Eh, again not really my thing but at least more interesting in places than other albums in the genre.
Nah….
My Mate Paul
Are we kidding? 59 minutes? I can just about stomach listening to this for 10 or 15, where it's kind of fun and evocative of having a good time. Then it's kind of not fun and extremely evocative of listening to total garbage for 45 minutes. Also, there's the song with the Bond theme, which is conflicting, because it's quite nice to have something you recognise, but equally James Bond is among the stupidest concepts in history.
I'm reminded of videogame soundtracks such as jet set radio, it's got an old exploitation film feel to it, 70s, despite the fact it was made in the 90s. Not an album I would have thought to listen to but definitely one I have saved after finding it!
Rätt nice, Filmmusik från Ocean.
Really pleasant and stylish pastiche, obviously a guy who was poached for film scores with good reason. Unfortunately, the latter means it's hard not to listen to this without imagining George Clooney and Brad Pitt walking down a long hallway. Covering the James Bond theme was a strange choice, especially in an album that's ostensibly about NYC, and further gives the impression that this album was an audition for film producers. Otherwise, the NYC sound bites give the album a necessary flavor but also come unnervingly close to poverty tourism.
If you have all the power of electronic music production, why do you just create basic tracks with guitar, drums, and bass? Might as well just learn the instruments and play them on the record if you aren’t going to be creative.
Балдежная чилловая электроника, иногда немного таинственная и загадочная, иногда более веселая и динамичная. В целом оставляет атмосферу такого шпионского фильма 90-х годов, что не удивительно, учитывая ремикс на тему Бонда с одной стороны, и то, к каким фильмам писал саундтреки автор, с другой. Очень хороший, глубокий и богатый на интересные звуки альбом.
This is good background music. I give it a 3 because it sounds like the perfect music for a 90's movie montage. And I do love the 90s.
Nah
Good
Fuck off, electronica trash. 1/10
Solid selection of drum breaks (the main redeeming quality) paired with melodically simple basslines and other instrumental flourishes in repetitive, casual grooves. But that can only be sustained well for so long - the songs don’t really have enough movement, changes, or variation to maintain interest. Fine for some background music, but not something I really need to focus on or listen to repeatedly. Mostly forgettable
Love me some instrumentals
NYC movie soundtrack. Cool atmospheric listening and I'd like to play this during my next trip. Holmes went on to score the Oceans trilogy and other Soderbergh movies so that tracks.
Boring
Ziemlich geil. Klingt durch die 007-Theme-Interpretation wie ein Éric Serra Soundtrack zu einem 90er Bond-Film
This ain't it, I'm afraid. I would not recommend listening to this album.
1001 albums on this list and 998 of them are 90s british electronic music
Not for all moods or temperaments, not really even that great for dancing. Electronic breakbeat house-ish, not quite jungle. A little spooky at times, is this a concept album? Maybe. Feels like watching a movie. Not quite sure what to make of it, but I like it for some background bank heist grooves while I play chess online or something.
meandering album that goes nowhere
I am generally a big fan of breakbeat so this was pretty enjoyable - not the best - but perfectly listenable.
Nice very special kind of electronic music.
Not really my thing - the bond theme was cool though
This album is very cool
I mean It's alright
Listenable, nothing egregious. The street sounds and recordings gave it a feel evocative of the movie Heavy Traffic. Maybe an issue of hearing it backwards through time, but it just wasn't extremely engaging as other DJ producer albums like Endtroducing.
Interesting album. Has a consistently dark atmosphere which works well, it makes the songs pretty entrancing. Unfortunately not all of them are standouts, as many moments came across as a bit dull and uninteresting. The flow of this album is also pretty choppy and lacks cohesion.
I was listening to this and a song started playing that sounded really cool. Turns out the album had finished and Spotify autoplayed The Chemical Brothers. This was meh to me. Not really my style and it just felt really long. It was thoroughly suspenseful and sounded like a film soundtrack so I will give it some credit.
The movie placements helped make it recognizable, but those ended up being "the best tracks" on an otherwise okay album.
Just like… not very good Background Noise 2/5 Favorite: title track I guess
Trip-hop tourism for people who think overheard cab chatter is profound. Holmes builds a whole record out of grooves that circle the block and never park, then litters them with random New York street-scene voice clips as if atmosphere were the same thing as songs. Maybe it’s a concept album about how boring concepts can be. “Gritty Shaker” nearly escapes on a tasty retro groove before a pointless intro and six-minute sprawl sink it. “Slashers Revenge” at least manages a little menace. Otherwise: background music for a fake Scorsese movie.
Really cool hip hop electrónica! Highly recommend!
Ok, kinda repetetive.
Not for me.
1.4 stars
No matter how dull the cover may seem (or how well it blends in to the rest of the fodder of this book), just about every electronic album I've been given so far has been pretty innovative and often pivotal to a lot of electronic I like. The NYC theme coming from all the samples this guy recorded there seems distinctly personal to David Holmes, and it's cool to get a snapshot of the city from someone not from there for a change. Really, I was a bit bored until Gritty Shaker, but things don't drop one bit after that, and Holmes shows off an impressive control of multiple styles. Don't Die Just Yet is a sick pseudo-rock song, and a pretty grand ending to a well weaved, vividly produced album.
I have no idea why but I absolutely love this
Not for me.
It’s not a great album, but I have a soft spot for it
How painfully boring...
I enjoyed the music, not so much the talk tracks over the music
An enjoyable piece of 90s Electronica. I really must go check out his film soundtrack work.
dull
Pretty sure I worked at a restaurant years ago with a guy who was obsessed with DH music sounds very familiar even though I had no clue who he was before this.
Not really like anything else I’ve listened too. Instrumental cool kinda EDM meets hip-hop? Quite repetitive though. Generally favorable view of this, but it it lost me after awhile.
Oh good, more electronica. I regret saying Bowie was over represented on the list. Electronica as a whole is FAR MORE over represented on this list. There are some decent American country artists that could be here. There are some amazing middle eastern metal groups and African rock groups that should be on this list. I know of some really fun Japanese punk bands that should be on this. Instead we get generic UK electronica number 218.
Just about fine enough. Nothing memorable but it bubbles away in the background nicely enough. Essential?
I was not expecting to like this as much as i did few songs were a miss it has an upbeat vibe to it fav: Gritty Shaker, Slashers Revenge, Head Rush on a Lafayette
EXCELENTE estimulación completa
Really enjoyed this and a bit of fresh air from that has been selected so far. Would definitely listen again. First listen I'd say 4 out of 5. Some classics on here I'd heard before.
Very dull
interesting album. i enjoy david holmes' film scores for the ocean movies. he's got a cool sound. this album itself is fine. some standouts like gritty shaker and rodney yates, but other than that its a bit of a repetative project. the recordings of people on the street are cool mixed in with his beats but after a while i got annoyed with it. 5/10
Ok 2/5
Not my thing
Let’s Get Killed by David Holmes was something completely new to me today, so I was looking forward to giving it a proper listen. It feels like a cross between a Fatboy Slim record and the soundtrack to a slightly offbeat spy film. It’s easy to listen to, easy to drift in and out of, and has some really strong moments when it leans into its groove. The music is consistently good throughout. Vocals are used sparingly, but when they do come in, they add something extra. A lot of the album works best as a background listen, but there are enough standout moments to keep you engaged if you’re paying attention. Favourite tracks: Gritty Shaker and My Mate Paul are great, proper dance tracks. I also really liked the reworked Bond theme, which was a nice touch. Least favourite tracks: Listen is an odd way to open the album. It starts quite slowly, but improves as it goes on. Album artwork: Cool cover, even if I’m not entirely sure what’s going on in it
Not bad.
One for the Green Wing fans
I know this project aims to be (and ought to be) eclectic in its genres, and I can respect electronica and DJ-type stuff, but sometimes going from jazz crooners to classic rockers to something like this in the same week can be like eating at a tacky Chinese buffet. (Pass the cheeseburger to go along with the lo mein?)
Fun album and great to work to, felt like I got a lot done and the music was interesting. Radio 7 is a jams bond
Oh man, I looooooved this album. Little disappointed to learn this is a white man from Northern Ireland when the audio samples are definitely meant to evoke an inner city New York vibe but that doesn't change how much I vibed with this. The beats are fun and energetic, it's got some really neat experimental sounds going on over top, lots of fun samples and mashups with other musical elements (like the James Bond song). It's just so good. Hard to believe they were doing some of this in 1997.
First album I couldn't even finish. It was just like an entire album of background music that never changed with occasional audio clips overlayed.
Liked this a lot, reminded me a lot of propellorheads in places and not just because of the James Bond sampling
Maso
It's ok though I'd rather go listen to Ninja Tune folks from that time.
todo instrumental no es mi tipo 1/5
snoooooooze
Meh! The music wasn't too bad, but I found some of the street recordings annoying.