Have always liked Robyn Hitchcock. Saw him in San Diego in the early 1990s. He performed Beautiful Girl on 91x as a promo for the concert. He's always been a bit different.

Really smooth, but nothing that evokes any type of emotions, either love or hate. Doesn't really make any promises, but also doesn't disappoint, or worse, offend.

They Might Be Giant fans are a very dedicated group. There's a certain cadence to their music that's very boppy, in a good way. Hard to believe they've been around for over 40 years. It's a good album, but I've not seen anything that would think this is a whole lot different than their previous work. It's a whole bunch of short, creative songs.

It's an unbelievably calm album, straddling a few different genres. It's old school, but with a new world feel. Interesting listen.

Fourth studio album? Who chooses these albums? Melodic, musical, and rhythmic. Shades of Elvis. Very easy to listen to.

I guess you have to give him credit for knowing when to end the song. I did not need to be reminded to watch where the Huskies... but then he continues to Nanook Rubs It, with its sick guitar licks. Just a really enigmatic album to listen to.

Seems that on a lot of these songs, Dave Matthews is grunting or screaming as if he needed some bran in his diet. He puts a lot of emotional effort into his music, sometimes unnecessarily. It's a good album that I'd listen to again.

Very surprising. Contains things like accordions, speed accordions, Spanish classical guitars, acoustic guitars, pianos, and... 70s video games samples(?) along with the obligatory screaming. If I was asked to annotate what they're saying, I'd just make stuff up... and I'd be right.

A neat album. Modern throwback to clean electric guitar sounds with quite a few great tracks. The Heart of Life is a great, somber track.

Really smooth, but nothing that evokes any type of emotions, either love or hate. Doesn't really make any promises, but also doesn't disappoint, or worse, offend.

A really powerhouse of an album with unlimited energy that gives such a good and unfiltered view of young adulthood and it's joys and pains.

Started off a bit dated, but he really picked up his groove. Hadn't heard of this artist before, but he's got a good Dylan vibe to him. The whistling/feedback in Good Man was a bit annoying.

Not really sure about this one. He lacked a lot of energy, and the composition was decidedly monochromatic. I'm not sure what the thunder did, but it was there.

Wow. No idea that we never had a Weezer album. That's just insane. Pinkerton is probably my favorite of the bunch. And maybe people doing the research got lazy by the time they got to Weezer and Yaz. Who knows? It's just a phenomenal album. Love Surf Wax America.

It's slow getting off the bat, but it really gets going. I've said I'm not a fan of the silence that extends into the minutes when an album is starting up. The only use case where this works is if the listener has put the needle on the record and is going to get a beer before sitting down to listen. I'm still sticking to that... However, the Wanting Comes in Waves does need an instrumental to follow it. BTW - is there a guide that says a rock opera needs to have organ music. Seems all of them do.... The guitar picking on Margaret in Captivity sounds like Wanted Dead or Alive

Fourth studio album? Four stars. No other comments. Well, other than Gibbard does have a certain cadence that make it easy to listen to, such as Death of an Interior Designer. Some absolutely great songs, but also a couple of songs that don't quite match.

I can't get Lullaby out of my head on the song 'it's all about me'. Overall it's not a very good album. These lyrics... Oh, I let you in my back door You're the one who's creeping Rough love's so deceiving ... Anyway, I like the Cheryl Cole album much more than this one. It's better than gris gris... is that saying a whole lot?

It's a very inventive album that seems to overturn a lot of the paradigms of what a song needs to be. Ultimately, however, it doesn't really work for me. A bit mechanical, a bit herky jerky.

It's pretty entertaining to listen to, but ultimately not something that I would actively seek out to listen to again, however.

Some of the rhymes are a bit... underwhelming.... "hell" and "well"... "good" and "could"... The music is easy to listen to, melodic. Something that I wouldn't mind listening to again.

It's an ambitious album. Very unique. Difficult to listen to, but inventive.

They Might Be Giant fans are a very dedicated group. There's a certain cadence to their music that's very boppy, in a good way. Hard to believe they've been around for over 40 years. It's a good album, but I've not seen anything that would think this is a whole lot different than their previous work. It's a whole bunch of short, creative songs.

A powerhouse of a SKA album. Excellent example of how SKA should be. Enjoyed it very much.

Very aptly named. A classic sound from the 52s. Great when they are in harmony. Not so great when they aren't.

Fourth studio album? Who chooses these albums? Melodic, musical, and rhythmic. Shades of Elvis. Very easy to listen to.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to think about this, and more importantly why I'm supposed to listed to this. the only thing I really liked here was that the songs were very short.

I feel a lot of these 60s and 70s albums were long because they decided... we'll have a section where you can play the drums. Wait, that means you need 30 seconds for a guitar solo... Very formulaic. I'm trying to figure out what this album may represent... not sure, yet.

It's an unbelievably calm album, straddling a few different genres. It's old school, but with a new world feel. Interesting listen.

Pretty good funky album. I'm pretty sure some of these songs are party staples. Probably not as popular as the Village People, but still pretty darn popular.

Have always liked Robyn Hitchcock. Saw him in San Diego in the early 1990s. He performed Beautiful Girl on 91x as a promo for the concert. He's always been a bit different.

It's a good album. Really like his voice. Music is really upbeat and just very easy to listen to. Nothing over indulgent.

Pretty darn good album. Carries the test of time pretty well. Contains a bunch of hit songs, including an iconic song from the movie "Risky Business".

It's a steady album. Reminiscent of a lot of other artists in the genre. Party Pit carried on a bit. I'm sure he's still walking.

Fourth studio album? It's got a pretty good beat. Obviously, I don't really understand the lyrics, but the tone is upbeat, varied, and pretty easy to listen to.

A bit twangy and folky. Pretty easy to listen to. However, not something that I'd listen to on a regular basis since it's somewhat melancholic. Worth listening to, however.

A strong album with plenty of strong voices backed up by some disco funk. Maybe before the disco era.

Light, dreamy, full of instruments, but not overplayed. Nice craftsmanship, if I can say that.

Catchy and upbeat. Very Spanish poppy, if there's such a thing. Would definitely listen to again.

Really good album from TOOL. Really all that you would expect a metal album to be. Definitely listen to again.

I suppose that there is a lot of talent here. However, it's difficult for me to appreciate the quality of the music, given that I'm generally not someone who listens to a lot of instrumental music.

Why are the lyrics for Machine Screw not available?... and why would they want to remake summer breeze? ugh. It's not so bad of a goth album.

It's a smooth album with some good beats, but the language is just a bit much for me. Somewhere along the way, he samples TLC... a bit weird.

Better than most metal albums. at least for me. Is it an album that I should listen to? Not sure.

The suggestion that I should listen to this starting at 4:30 and ending it with the last song starting at 5:11 is pretty novel. However, as I've said before, you can't/shouldn't have 15 seconds of dead air. Am I going to go bake a pie or something and wait for the music to start? Seems like there's a lot of yelling involved in a bluesy album. I'm not sure what happened to the first nine parts of the pros and cons of Hitch Hiking.

Fourth studio album anyone? Seems like someone else was paying attention! It's a pretty decent album, but some of the instruments are off for me. Just different. Some in a not so good kind of way. Very heavy. Ultimately difficult to listen to again.

very very enjoyable album. Maybe the lyrics were all f-ed up, but I'd like to think they weren't. because how can something sound so festive, joyful, upbeat have bad lyrics?

It's modern and interpretative. Moody, windy, keying on emotions. I can feel the fibers of the music playing back into the room.

Interesting the back story of this album. Reminds me of a few different artists (Jack Johnson specifically). Waffling between 3/4.

I don't think I have an appreciation of this other than it's a Swedish album performed by Indian musicians? Other than being able to understand it, I couldn't really get into the flow at all. Probably difficult to listen to this more than once.

Fourth studio album? It is unique. I think I like it.

Another 4th studio album? What in the world? Nice and mellow. Nothing too offputting. Enjoyable to listen to. Will probably be the same album 10 years from now.

It's got a lot of Ben Folds in it. Pretty decent album. Different than what the title implies. I'd listen to it again.

Upbeat. Good tempo. Glad it was recommended.

Lest any geographically challenged people mock me for this review, the song doesn't match the title! Denton is north Texas, not west. Unless there's a north Denton in west Texas in the similar way that north Bend is no where geographically close to Bend, OR. Jenny sounds like Jesse's girl.

The only thing I can say about their music is that it's herky jerky. It's difficult for me to follow, and thus, enjoy.

I've heard of them before, but I don't know when and I don't know why. They seem to be an interesting enough group. Not sure that I'd be able to listen to the down under version of Iron Butterfly for too many times, though.

If I didn't know better, I would have thought this was a mix of the Kills and Siouxsie. It's got a really heavy beat that helps carry the dark mood. It's nice.

Funky and spunky. I'd heard of them, but probably not quite as familiar as Rippopotamus. Meanwhile, Chucklehead has the number of plays in the triple digits still. Get in while you still can.

It seems to be a concept album of sorts. Musically, there's something lacking. Not sure what it's missing. Maybe rhythm? ugh.

some long songs here. Some songs that are short but sound long. It's decent musically. But with most concept albums or epics, it's just difficult for me.

A live album recorded over 4 days... Said and done.

It's decent. I think if I listened to it a few times in a row, it might grow on me, but nothing really popped for me. Nothing too catchy.

The most popular song is also the longest song. It has a decidedly Beatles sound. To be fair most songs can probably be traced to a Beatles song somewhere.

Probably not as good as their previous albums. Solid, but nothing too outstanding. Stockholm Syndrome Interlude just seemed indulgent. Maybe I just didn't understand it.

Pretty decent punk rock... on the television screen...

Hmmm... not sure I understand it.

I'm not sure I understand this one, either. It sounds like a bunch of songs you might hear at a carnival, with other instruments.

Didn't really get anything special out of this. Not looking for anything unique, but it should have something that captures the attention or moves the soul or calms the spirit.

Lively and energetic. Has a good energy to it, with nice melodic hooks. Very 2000s.

Just some really good songs on this album. It doesn't have all my favorite INXS songs, but still really powerful. The way need you tonight goes straight into mediate is simply, very cool.

Its a fun album. The fact that it's not too complicated or sophisticated makes it even more enjoyable. Maybe you just need to be in the mood to listen to it?

Just an excellent album. Not sure why they decided to cover Phil Collins, but I guess Rivers and Ben like to cover other songs.

It's got a lot of energy and a lot of spunk. Sounds almost live, but without the background noise. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Such a shame. A live album. As mentioned before, these tend to be a "best of" that's interspersed with background noise that isn't what the artists intended.

It's clubby with a lot of pep. Couldn't understand the majority of it, though. Most likely not go back to it.

The island sound reminds me of Poi Dog Pondering. California English kind of hurt my ears. Fairly melodic throughout, though.

Pretty good. Got lots of things going on in it. The organ/synthesizer was interesting.

Fourth studio album: check Seven songs seventy minutes: check Sequentially numbered pop songs that I'll never remember: check Looks like we're ready for launch. I wonder how long it would take for me to memorize this to the point that I could accurate identify which song is which. How many notes would it take me?

You and me sitting in a tree... ugh. I can't rate anymore.

Pretty good. Reminds me a little of Stone Roses. And I guess that's a bit of the problem. I'm trying to find a reference point for them, which is ultimately not the goal, right? It's good, but not sure how many more times I'll listen to it.

It's got a bit of throwback to it, but ultimately, there's not so much in it. Is the intent to sample anything where "villain" is mentioned?

its upbeat, energetic without being too over the top. It does have a "club" feel to it, but I like the way he's able to weave different styles/genres into this album. Great recommendation.

Really very enjoyable. Melodic with appropriate use of non-"traditional" instruments on a pop album. Oh comedy takes about 20% of the album, and didn't really need to do so. But otherwise, good.

Listened to this all the way through the very first time. There's a certain excitement to opening a CD, and this cover was especially interesting because it was textured and tactile. Crazy, I know.

What a nice album. Makes you want to move. And dance. And bounce. I am the black gold of the sun was delightful.

Excellent. It's like a SKA version of they might be giants. And really enjoyable. Sounds like a band that's having fun doing what they love.

The tone of the album is really good. Nice energy and spirit. Interesting to listen to.

An outstanding 282M views on youtube music! It's a rich album, lots of content, lots of themes and really expansive. Nicely composed.

Interesting beats. It sounds much better than some of the finished albums on this board. Seems like this was more of a passion project than a job to him. Thumbs up.

Decent album. A few interesting songs, but drops off pretty quickly. Definite door has a good sound to it.

Very melodic and hypnotic. A short album, but one that doesn't waste time with anything indulgent. Sharp and crisp.

I was only able to listen to side A of this project. Not sure if side B carries a different tune, but this overall sounds a bit dated. Really very drum heavy and tries to carry the album with this. Hopefully others had a better shot at finding and listening to the full album.

I get a big taste of David Coverdale and Whitesnake in this. Maybe a bit of Poison. Fender heavy and just classic 80s rock components. Released in the 2000s. Zoinks.

Fourth studio album. My math says that 14% of all the albums on this list are 4th studio albums. Do bands come into their own the 4th time around? Is third time not the charm?.. This is your life seems more in place next to Policy of Truth by Depeche Mode. Overall a good, safe choice for this list.

Can anyone say, GUITAR HERO? Welcome to the Black Parade is a great song. Definitely more on the harder side of rock, and I'm glad it wasn't a rock ballad. Rest of the album is pretty strong as well.

I'll give them a pass with this 5th studio album. I'm sure there was an album in there that shouldn't have been made. This album carries the Buffett sound, one that would sound better along with some surf sounds and clinking beer bottles (yes, I get the irony). He apparently didn't consult Christopher Walken. There's cowbell in here, but it could use more.

One thing I've learned from this list is that not all albums, and in fact few, may qualify as the one album you would have if you were stranded on a deserted island. But in the sense that this is upbeat.. and it's not five Bjork albums. The pop melodies are catchy and it provides a good representation of 80s pop.