There’s that famous scene in The Blues Brothers movie where they’re playing at the country (and western!) bar and they wind up playing the theme from Rawhide repeatedly as their playlist. The band gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience doesn’t enjoy their music, and similarly gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience enjoys their music. This live album reminded me of that scene. I wonder if it was an inspiration for it.

Melancholy electro-pop dream buzz. It’s got swing and soul but it unfortunately also has drone. Still, I would have never heard of it had it not been recommended. A fun go-round.

Oh yeah! Any list that includes more B-52s is a list that I want to be on. It’s not as uniformly-amazing as their first album, but there’s nothing else like the B-52s, so the only comparison is to themselves. Private Idaho can be on permanent repeat in my head. That counts for something.

Ah - nu-metal for the MENSA crowd. I thought that this album needed to be in this list. Just a densely-beautiful and surprising explosion of noise.

Eh. I appreciate the Canterbury Tales feel of this album but the wandering and whining vocals and the strange strings just irritate.

Yeah. Hunh. Not necessarily the most interesting album. It’s ok. Hunh.

Like many albums on this list that have grown on me like a fungus, this one demanded a re-listen as soon as I was done with it. And then another. I saw a comparison to Kid A, but I’d say a comparison to Trout Mask Replica is more apt. This thing is so brainy and beautiful and different. I love it. Colour me a Bon Iver Bonhomme.

It’s a lovely chapter in the gothic metal genre. I appreciate the campy nature of the album - especially the Addams Family nod in Black No. 1. I felt lots of Danzig influence. The band lists Duran Duran as an influence. I did not feel that.

If Sum 41, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and My Chemical Romance had a ménage a trois…. Hey! I like all of those bands.

It’s definitely got Elvis Costello vibes to it and I appreciate that. The title track bops a bit and I like the lead singer’s authentic delivery. I had never heard of this band or their songs before - it just never made the jump to America, I guess. It would scratch an imaginary itch. How’s that?

The singer reminds me of the Modern Lovers and Counting Crows put together and the lyrics remind me of Alice in Chains insofar as every single song is about drug use. I do like the dense jangle of their jam but they stray dangerously close to Hipster-ville. Maybe that’s not so bad - someone has to live there.

It sounds like the Dutch version of Fishbone - but less impactful. Like frenetically unfocused jam music that you don’t remember when your high ends.

It’s straight-up-and-down rock with definite Led Zeppelin influences. I liked the slower and minor key songs better than the ZZ Top-type stuff.

Hunh. Jam bands have rabid followings but their albums never really capture the trance that they cast on their enraptured fans. It’s another funk band from the 1990s without much major media exposure. Ok but derivative of RHCPs.

There’s that famous scene in The Blues Brothers movie where they’re playing at the country (and western!) bar and they wind up playing the theme from Rawhide repeatedly as their playlist. The band gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience doesn’t enjoy their music, and similarly gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience enjoys their music. This live album reminded me of that scene. I wonder if it was an inspiration for it.