In the early ’80’s, I was riding with the Hell’s Angels and selling PCP in Bakersfield. I listened to this record ALL. THE. TIME. Nowadays, I need a pint of virgin blood and a nap halfway thru to make it through the album once. There’s lots of noise here on this album and the devil lyrics are on high. As a matter of fact, the lyrics are where this Black Metal shines. Who can dismiss “do you believe in God, he’s chained up like a dog and every hour he screams 'SATAN RULES SUPREME!" ?? [whoa!] And, though there's nothing fancy about the drumming, the guitar is show-y, fast and intricate at times. As a matter of fact, this band makes me think a lot of TSO. Yep, TSO - The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I’m quite certain these Venom guys could’ve been real competition to the TSO if the devil-worshiping thing ever caught on. There are plenty of similarities between the two. Both are rock’n’roll crusaders for a higher power and tolerable in small doses, played ONLY during special occasions. For example, TSO, is often heard during Christmas season, while Venom's Black Metal, I'm assuming, gets a lot of play during sacrificing your first-born or throwing a surprise birthday party for Lucifer. Two stars.

Though Cee-Lo might also wish to be a little bit taller and perhaps a baller, it’s important to note that Skee-Lo and Cee-Lo are two different people. I should know that. Their voices are completely different. Cee-Lo’s voice is very unique, though I would not consider it a soulful voice, as the title of this album would suggest. It’s more of a Sarah Silverman, Megan Mullaly cute voice that is best enjoyed in SMALL increments. Unfortunately, "Cee-Lo Green … Is the Soul Machine” has SIXTEEN songs on it and none of them are soul. After listening to this album, it is apparent the only link between Cee-Lo and soul is that he shares a last name with Al. A lot of the arrangements here seem dated and don’t hold up well over time. But it’s his voice that is really difficult to endure, especially on Scrap Metal. In this song, CL takes on a hard persona and sings about being strapped with a MAC-10 and threatening to box cutter your face while telling people he doesn’t give a f**k. Sorry, but that stuff coming out of your mouth in that cute voice is straight comedy, CL. Buuuuuut..., that got me thinking about Sarah Vowell from early episodes of This American Life. If you didn’t know, Sarah Vowell was born to play the voice of Violet Parr, the American teenager forced into a life of secret superpowers in The Incredibles. Vowell, however didn’t just begin here career there. She used her fun, thought-provoking essays and contributions to This American Life as a springboard. Voicing Violet probably wasn’t a career highlight for her personally, but it was appreciated and she was spot-on perfect. I imagine she’d rather be writing for the New Yorker just like CL would rather be singing. And so, I would like to present this album as a launchpad for Mr. Green and address him directly. Mr. Lo: Don’t worry, bud, your voice is fun and you’ve got a talent for singing, but that voice is best used elsewhere. I’m thinking Spongebob Squarepants or similar cartoons, maybe one of those greeting cards that makes funny noises when you open it up or even stand up comedy where it can truly be valued, admired and even imitated. Rest assured there are big things waiting for you. This isn't the end, it's only the beginning. Oh wait, this is the guy that does the 'Fuck You' song?! I Love that song. It's hilarious! _________________________________________________________ *Correction from the Elvis review (https://tinyurl.com/yhbfbm68). The reference to Curb can be found here: https://youtu.be/1-7W1sftcXw

The polish, I hate the polish. Gimme the real stuff. Patti Smith is a total badass and her passion and intense desire to create something regardless of natural talent and poise is infectious. There's a gravitational pull toward her I don't quite understand, it's certainly not her voice which I can understand puts some people off. I think it stems more from just doing whatever the fuck she wants to do and be completely unapologetic about it. I've seen this emulated for years in music, but it appears I've found the source of truth in this album. I love the builds in her songs, the way she slowly dips into song and by the end of it has erupted and is totally killing it with chaos like in Free Money and especially Birdland. I enjoyed her cover of Gloria and the Horses song is hella fun. To boil it down to the bare minimum, it's Patti Smith, and the quality of this music that I really love. It's refreshing not to sense an overt drive toward fame, generating sales and digging in to create a brand or perfect album. This just seems real, like it was MADE, not focus-tested, manufactured and built.

Q: How do you diminish the illustrious reputation of former Beatle Paul McCartney? A: Put an album like Band on the Run on a top 1,001 ablumns list. "Yeah, I used to smoke grass and play this while living on the nudist commune. Everything was honkey-dory in those days.” This is the album you create when you’re three years out of high-school and still can’t figure out what to do with your life so you smoke weed and drink beer hoping that a future will materialize. I found this album without purpose or inspiration, just shitty jam-band garbage with a chorus. Thankfully, Ringo Starr went on to be the lowlight of post-Beatles success and we could instead remember Paul as an incredible songwriter and performer.

Pushead. The common denominator uniting, among others, Thrasher, Metalica, Zorlac and The Cramps in the 80's. In those days, Thrasher magazine had a full on music section featuring interviews with bands like The Cramps, TSOL, JFA, D.R.I. along with black and white photos of shows and general punk rock mayhem. Before I even heard them, I knew I'd like them because of Pushead's contribution to their album art.(https://tinyurl.com/4xedxr63). However, I really didn't listen. It was just music that everyone listened to while skating backyard ramps. I hadn't really thought much about their music until this album popped up. After spending the better part of the past day listening to The Cramps with a different ear several things emerged. First, my parents had no idea the shit I was exposed to. Second, this is great stuff, I hear Jack White, Makeup, Horton Heat and John Spencer in this. Visually though, I think of this as an alternate version of Sally Field's Gidget character, from the 60's TV program 'Gidget.' In this version Gidget is dead, roams the Malibu beaches as a powdery white zombie vampire, preys on goody-two-shoes surfers, worships satan and drinks blood around campfires. The Cramps provide the tracks for the opening / closing credits and a maybe a zombie dance montage on the beach. Songs The Lord Taught Us plays like a ghoulish take on Dick Dale, rockabilly punk with some Charles Manson thrown in. It's easy to get lost in the beach drums, surf guitar and acid tripping of this, but be careful. Every episode ends when Zombie Gidget sexxy dances toward you, bludgeons you to death and sinks her teeth into your neck for a midnight snack.

"Slappin' the bass" - Oh Rush, you crazy Canadians. First off, I thought it was kinda lazy (or crazy) that a 'full length album' only contained 7 songs. Regardless, I was happy to begin with the album, Moving Pictures. I was lucky enough to see Rush at The Forum in '97 during the Test for Echo tour and I remember it being packed and enduring an incredibly long drum solo... like 20 mins., while maintaining a strong contact high. Anyway, the album. There are some great songs on this. Limelight, Red Barchetta and of course Tom Sawyer are timeless, but even the ones that didn't get a lot of radio play are still an easy listen... that is except for XYZ. This song, XYZ isn't fun, doesn't cook and is difficult to get in to. Rush needed it on this album, though. It's the only song that can absolutely labeled as 'prog rock' and allow the album as a whole to maintain some unique classification. XYZ, the last three letters of the alphabet almost seems like a well-calculated afterthought. Without XYZ, this album was intended for everyone. Including it seems like a ploy to gain new fans but keep a home with the old ones. Ironically, that's the only track that I couldn't listen to.

I'm only two days in and this 1001 Album exercise has served its purpose. First though, the real job of a douchey music critic is to write reviews and say everything except how you really feel about something. But I'm going to shatter that and just say one word three times: "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE." I feel like we all have been listening to this album in our hearts since we were born, or at least since we hit puberty and experienced a wealth of emotion for the first time. I was two years old when this was released and this album plays as if it could've been released today. It's evocative, emotional, raw and unspoiled by the inter-workings of what a traditional album should be. I've heard this a million times since 1976, but this is the first time I've listened to Ambient 1/Music for Airports. This one pays dividends, I truly enjoyed it and is inspiration for me to find / listen / experience more Eno. Five stars for this album. Five stars for this exercise.

Q: How do you diminish the illustrious reputation of former Beatle Paul McCartney? A: Put an album like Band on the Run on a top 1,001 ablumns list. "Yeah, I used to smoke grass and play this while living on the nudist commune. Everything was honkey-dory in those days.” This is the album you create when you’re three years out of high-school and still can’t figure out what to do with your life so you smoke weed and drink beer hoping that a future will materialize. I found this album without purpose or inspiration, just shitty jam-band garbage with a chorus. Thankfully, Ringo Starr went on to be the lowlight of post-Beatles success and we could instead remember Paul as an incredible songwriter and performer.

In the early ’80’s, I was riding with the Hell’s Angels and selling PCP in Bakersfield. I listened to this record ALL. THE. TIME. Nowadays, I need a pint of virgin blood and a nap halfway thru to make it through the album once. There’s lots of noise here on this album and the devil lyrics are on high. As a matter of fact, the lyrics are where this Black Metal shines. Who can dismiss “do you believe in God, he’s chained up like a dog and every hour he screams 'SATAN RULES SUPREME!" ?? [whoa!] And, though there's nothing fancy about the drumming, the guitar is show-y, fast and intricate at times. As a matter of fact, this band makes me think a lot of TSO. Yep, TSO - The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I’m quite certain these Venom guys could’ve been real competition to the TSO if the devil-worshiping thing ever caught on. There are plenty of similarities between the two. Both are rock’n’roll crusaders for a higher power and tolerable in small doses, played ONLY during special occasions. For example, TSO, is often heard during Christmas season, while Venom's Black Metal, I'm assuming, gets a lot of play during sacrificing your first-born or throwing a surprise birthday party for Lucifer. Two stars.

"WHO RUNS BARTERTOWN!?" TINA FUCKIN' TURNER, that's who! –– | –– I was dreading this album when I saw it come in last night. The '80s have a special place in my trashcan. I was relieved, however that the saxophone didn't make an entrance until track five—'Private Dancer' which I immediately hated. However, I think that if you can remove that wretched instrument from this song, you can find the beauty in the juxtaposition of Tina's strong, survive-at-all-costs voice singing those lyrics. A quick note on the saxophone. Byrd, Coletrane and James Bond– theyr're all great ... In the late '90's and early 2000's there was this belief that any crappy movie could be made better if only Sean Connery was in it. Studios figured this out and it worked for a bit until audiences eventually realized that Sean Connery equals suckfest, making him redundant and leaving us with movies like LXG. In the '80's the same thing happened with the saxophone. Anyway, Tina - an empirical 'YES!' The music backing up Tina... that's a harder sell. The flat drum machines, the stiff-lo-tech-robot percussion and errant guitar strum sprinkled through tracks is pure Connery. Is it possible to remix this without all that 80's baggage? If so, I'm on board. Just do me one favor and keep 'I Can't Stand the Rain.' Somehow, in ways I can't explain, this song just works as-is.

As far as I remember sexy boy / Simon Le Bon WAS Duran Duran. There were others in the band but somehow he was the only one that mattered. But that was 40 years ago and my mind has turned to mush since then. These days, I spend time trying to mentally separate Tom LaBonge, from Tom Delonge and Simon Le Bon from Cinnabon. Mmmmm.... Cinnabon — yummy, indulgent, sweet and warm. Cinnabon's brother, Simon is everything Cinnabon is but likely a complete and total dick. He seems like the kind of guy that'll park in a handicapped spot, try to screw your girlfriend and your sister at the same time and probably begins sentences with the phrase "Do you know who I am...?' But that voice of his... OMG. Is it possible to extricate that voice from the music and put it in my trousers? On tracks like Save a Prayer and Hold Back the Rain, Lonely in your Nightmare, Le Bon's voice gently blends into the music underneath in absolute perfection. Whomever produced this earned their money. The Wolf song is sexy fun and the others, except for the title track, are good too. All said, Rio is a great album, a composition of strong, sharp baselines, synth-y etherials, some disco drums and that oh so sexy-boy voice. YUM! Be forewarned before listening. Try to control yourself and bring some napkins. Similar to Cinnabon, Simon and his voice could easily leave you feeling weightless with a mess of sugary goo on your hands after you've finished. Four stars.

If there's one thing that I learned by listening to this album it's that half-assing it works well for Jack and Meg. Highlights include Ball and a Biscuit, No Home for you Here, Black Math and Little Acorns. I feel like at a show when I listen to this. So good. So much more to say, but taking a page from their book and half-assing this review.

Are you getting ready for a lengthy stay at a nearby state or federal penitentiary and not sure how to prep? Southern Rock Opera has you covered. So, close your eyes, turn it up and get baptized. This is a straight-up southern-culture record and these are some of my takeaways in no particular order: Skynyrd | Grit | Racist Governors | Cheap Cocaine | Stale Beer | Ronnie Van Zant | Sweat-Stained Trucker Hats | Southern Pride | Shady Shit | Tanktops (No Bras) | Roscoe P. Coltrane | Rock and Roll | Humidity | Skynyrd | Whiskey | Bushy Beards | Skynyrd | Good Ole [fill-in-the-blank] | Skynyrd | Airplane Crash The more I listened to this, the less I liked it, but the more I appreciated it. Individually, each song is forgettable but as a package it forms a picture of southern life and rock and roll. The album is a collection of anecdotes, explanations and accounts centering around Lynyrd Skynyrd. Two songs stand out to connect the disparate parts: Three Great Alabama Icons and Angels and Fuselage. Through loose narratives, bass-y guitar riffs and southern drawl crooning, DBT has created a window into the soul of the unapologetic south. Southern Rock Opera is like required reading, Sunday school, cafeteria food or Cracker Barrel... if you have your way, and you've done it once, you'll never do it again. So, a big 'thank you' to Drive-By Truckers for making this. It's not for everyone. But, if you’re southern-culture-curious, love Skynyrd, Alabama or have family in prison, you're gonna love Southern Rock Opera.

Aretha and Urethra are very similar words, but there are vas deferens. — | — Listen to 'I’ve Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' and agree with me — a standard UTI doesn't evoke as much pain as Aretha does on this album. There’s this incredible feeling of a heartbroken innocence that runs from beginning to end. The first track worth mentioning, “Drown in My Own Tears” wraps you in the warmth of a dark, desolate dive bar where Aretha’s voice is the only thing you can feel after hours of drinking alone. And that holds true for most of the songs. This album could’ve been the soundtrack to every B movie made in the 80’s. The title track, 'I Never Loved a Man…’ could easily be set to the scene of a lonely bride hiding her face at the altar in an empty church. Queue up the song, close your eyes and imagine the scene. The camera, focused on the bride, slowly backs away up the aisle, gently pulling out of a small Baptist church, out the doors, down the steps and then, just as slowly, points to the blue sky as a single black bird crosses the frame. The credits start to roll. Through all of this, the undercurrent of an organ and backup singers evoke possible redemption through faith. However, everyone knows only time will heal a broken heart, and antibiotics ease pain caused by gonorrhea and even the worst UTIs.

Remember that time you were huffing nitrous while being chased through the house of mirrors by those clowns playing the bagpipes and you couldn't find a way out? THIS IS THAT ALBUM!!! I bought my first and only CT album in 1993 because of Jeremy Klein's part in "Ravers." I liked that Iceblink Luck song, yet it wore on me after only a few plays and I never listened to it again. But that was 30 years ago ... on a different album, and we've all changed ...so why not start fresh, eh? No such luck, and if I changed, it's only to be less forgiving. Yes, this album is terribly-unique in that it's uniquely terrible. I had a visceral reaction to Treasure and though technically, it is music, I hated everything about it. The bajillion fasletto voice overlays, high-pitched keyboard overlays and more overlays of echo-y feedback overlays gave me the sickly-anxieties so bad that were tough to shake even after it ended. Somehow, I managed to find my way though without barfing and lose the clowns in the process. So, that's one good thing about this one. Truth be told, I'd rather be in this room, with these two guys just before being murdered than giving Treasure another listen. (https://youtu.be/7E_U1xyK7Gw?t=91).

Not sure if you know this about me, but I'm a massive procrastinator. It's pervasive, it's terrible and I hate it. I never listened to Springsteen but remember the Butt Album being promoted in stores when it came out. You know the one with the butt and the American flag on it? Anyway, I never listened to it and then people were oooh'ing and ahh'ing over him and started referring to the singer as 'The Boss' which only turned me off even more. FF to a couple of years ago when I started paying attention to the world and agreed with some of Mr. Butt Boss' politics. So, I picked some of his music and tried to listen and got bored. A friend, who I admired and had similar music tastes, pushed Nebraska as being the quintessential Springsteen album that would change my life. I procrastinated for years. I queued it up and half-assed a listen to the first song and turned it off. I wasn't in the right mindset, I couldn't do it. "What if I hated this album and it means nothing to me?" Butt Boss has been hailed as an important voice of a generation, of America even. Today, Nebraska sat in a browser tab until almost 3:00 p.m. until I finally turned it on and listened a couple times. I still don't know what to make of it. It's thematic, I understand the 'voice of generation' thing. Though it's not my generation and kinda hard to relate to. The album plays kinda like a book of short stories. Each one equally boring as it is interesting. I'm still kinda undecided about this one. The best thing about this review 1001 albums exercise is that I would've continued to put off listening to Nebraska if given the opportunity. In reality, I could listen to this a couple more times, however, I know myself and I have no plans to.

"That's not a knife, THAT's A KNOIFE" Never heard of these Australians but they've got great sounds and I totally dig them. Eternally Yours is dirty, lo-fi 70's punk rock plus. The album kicks off with 'Know Your Product' featuring a full horns section and a singer full of blast before slinking into the sounds you'd expect to find at venues like Al's Bar or CBGB's. However, the band doesn't stay within the confines of a late '70s four-piece punk band. The horns make another appearance on 'Ourstralia' and there's strong harmonica on 'Run Down'. There are subtle changes in their sound throughout the record. The 'Untitled' track and "Memories are Made of This, / The Ballad' are slower paced. 'A Minor Aversion' has a country western twang to it and 'No Your Product' would've made a perfect contribution to the Repo Man soundtrack. It's hard not to smile to the fun had while recording 'Do the Robot'. This track is complete with giggles, sloppy clapping and a chorus chanting 'dum-do-de-dum-dum' in the background. So good... This album is a great listen and these guys must've had some good times touring back in the day.

Pushead. The common denominator uniting, among others, Thrasher, Metalica, Zorlac and The Cramps in the 80's. In those days, Thrasher magazine had a full on music section featuring interviews with bands like The Cramps, TSOL, JFA, D.R.I. along with black and white photos of shows and general punk rock mayhem. Before I even heard them, I knew I'd like them because of Pushead's contribution to their album art.(https://tinyurl.com/4xedxr63). However, I really didn't listen. It was just music that everyone listened to while skating backyard ramps. I hadn't really thought much about their music until this album popped up. After spending the better part of the past day listening to The Cramps with a different ear several things emerged. First, my parents had no idea the shit I was exposed to. Second, this is great stuff, I hear Jack White, Makeup, Horton Heat and John Spencer in this. Visually though, I think of this as an alternate version of Sally Field's Gidget character, from the 60's TV program 'Gidget.' In this version Gidget is dead, roams the Malibu beaches as a powdery white zombie vampire, preys on goody-two-shoes surfers, worships satan and drinks blood around campfires. The Cramps provide the tracks for the opening / closing credits and a maybe a zombie dance montage on the beach. Songs The Lord Taught Us plays like a ghoulish take on Dick Dale, rockabilly punk with some Charles Manson thrown in. It's easy to get lost in the beach drums, surf guitar and acid tripping of this, but be careful. Every episode ends when Zombie Gidget sexxy dances toward you, bludgeons you to death and sinks her teeth into your neck for a midnight snack.

This album is downright SCANDALOUS! If I have to guess, she's gotta live someplace in Texas 'cause she sounds miserable and all the dudes she sings about are cheatin' drunk assholes. I think Loretta needs to get out of whatever this situation is that she's got happening. Perhaps there's a small mountain town of coal miners she might be happier in...? I love the brevity of these songs and there are some really great verses dripping with animosity. Here are two of my favorites: "You better wash that sneaky smile right off of your face For I just might to knock it off and put you in your place Just like the wild wild wind all you do is blow You say I'm holdin' you back but baby I'll help you pack So get what'cha got and go." And the second, from The Devil Gets His Dues, which may have served as inspiration for a girl named Left Eye Lopes, in 1994: "Well, your little play house is sittin' on sticks of dynamite And I get mad tonight and light the fuze If you come in and find out that my dog bites You'll know the devil's here collectin' dues." I think the point of this is that Loretta is a strong woman, has put up with a lot of shit, and she's realizing that Texans are assholes so she's gonna pack up her things and go. All I can say is 'Amen.'

"Elvis, was a hero to most, Elvis was a hero to most, Elvis was a hero to most, But he never meant shit to me straight up racist, the sucker was simple and plain —Fuck him AND John Wayne!" The above taken from Public Enemy's Fight the Power from Fear of a Black Planet's 1990 release. Recently, I read an interview with Quincy Jones and he alluded to Elvis as a racist and even stumbled on an unsubstantiated quote from Elvis that he remarked "The only thing a Black woman can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes." [whaaa...?] My first instinct is to say that haven't had any exposure to Elvis... except that I have. Elvis is pop culture Americana and there are references to him everywhere. I've heard the song, Suspicious Minds countless times, never attributed it to Elvis and (surprise) It's a great song, wonderful even, the horns, choir and the evocative feeling of it. Also, when people used to watch TV together, this Southpark episode (https://youtu.be/5SYwLZ-riqg) elicited laughs from others, but I didn’t fully get the reference until (surprise) I listened to this album. This is a decent album and I liked it just fine. But reviewing an Elvis album and knowing the things that have been said about him compounded by it being the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which I NEVER learned about, and is NOT in any pop culture, gives me hesitation. Is it okay to like something and separate it from the artist? Is the artist the art? And if so, is it okay to enjoy something that it prevents you from enjoying the art? It’s an important question to consider and perhaps there is no correct answer. I'll finish with this... I often think about a scene from a Curb Your Enthusiasm that illustrates this perfectly. Larry, who has, over the course of the previous 11 episodes, enjoyed the company and fallen for a woman he’s been working with. Then this happens...(https://youtu.be/5SYwLZ-riqg). Did you catch Jeff's (NSFW) reaction at the end? –––– Yes. ^This may be a BS review, but since you’ve made it this far. You should know the song 'Suspicious Minds' now has another home on one of my ‘favorites’ playlist.

Though Cee-Lo might also wish to be a little bit taller and perhaps a baller, it’s important to note that Skee-Lo and Cee-Lo are two different people. I should know that. Their voices are completely different. Cee-Lo’s voice is very unique, though I would not consider it a soulful voice, as the title of this album would suggest. It’s more of a Sarah Silverman, Megan Mullaly cute voice that is best enjoyed in SMALL increments. Unfortunately, "Cee-Lo Green … Is the Soul Machine” has SIXTEEN songs on it and none of them are soul. After listening to this album, it is apparent the only link between Cee-Lo and soul is that he shares a last name with Al. A lot of the arrangements here seem dated and don’t hold up well over time. But it’s his voice that is really difficult to endure, especially on Scrap Metal. In this song, CL takes on a hard persona and sings about being strapped with a MAC-10 and threatening to box cutter your face while telling people he doesn’t give a f**k. Sorry, but that stuff coming out of your mouth in that cute voice is straight comedy, CL. Buuuuuut..., that got me thinking about Sarah Vowell from early episodes of This American Life. If you didn’t know, Sarah Vowell was born to play the voice of Violet Parr, the American teenager forced into a life of secret superpowers in The Incredibles. Vowell, however didn’t just begin here career there. She used her fun, thought-provoking essays and contributions to This American Life as a springboard. Voicing Violet probably wasn’t a career highlight for her personally, but it was appreciated and she was spot-on perfect. I imagine she’d rather be writing for the New Yorker just like CL would rather be singing. And so, I would like to present this album as a launchpad for Mr. Green and address him directly. Mr. Lo: Don’t worry, bud, your voice is fun and you’ve got a talent for singing, but that voice is best used elsewhere. I’m thinking Spongebob Squarepants or similar cartoons, maybe one of those greeting cards that makes funny noises when you open it up or even stand up comedy where it can truly be valued, admired and even imitated. Rest assured there are big things waiting for you. This isn't the end, it's only the beginning. Oh wait, this is the guy that does the 'Fuck You' song?! I Love that song. It's hilarious! _________________________________________________________ *Correction from the Elvis review (https://tinyurl.com/yhbfbm68). The reference to Curb can be found here: https://youtu.be/1-7W1sftcXw

There's something about this album that makes me think of one of the best, if not THE best 80's movie, Brazil. s. I imagine that this must be one of those albums that was right for it's time, but out of place in any other. Released in 1984, Communism was on high, the Berlin wall was still a thing, Gordon Gekko / Michael Milken was selling junk bonds on Wall Street and we were in the middle of the Reagan years. Perhaps it's the Reagan connection, but the word 'bureaucracy' is a good descriptor word for A Walk Across the Rooftops. There's a lot of busy work here, but you never get anywhere with this album. It's like you keep jumping through hoops because you're programed to think 'if I just listen a little more I'm sure I'll find something interesting.' This album I'm sure was considered intellectual and avant garde when it was released. It's just oozing with the 'you're not smart enough to understand this music' vibe, but I don't think there's much here to consider. The underlying music is incredibly repetitive, I found myself wondering if maybe some of this was repurposed for use in Roblox games, and the singing doesn't contribute much. Sometimes his voice sounds like he's either yawning while singing or taking their last breath before dying and neither are dramatic. I haven't seen Brazil in probably 30+ years, but I suddenly want to rewatch in hopes that it hasn't aged as much as this album.

Soooo... which one is favorite? You like Chili, don't you? I'm a Left Eye fan. Why doesn't T-Boz get any love... I think I'm the only one that didn't buy this album when it came out. And, why would I? All the ladies I knew were playing this nonstop and the Waterfalls video (great video BTW) was played ever 15 mins. on MTV. Though this is the first time I've listened to it all the way thru, it's apparent that the album was intended to be a hit in itself and not just an album that had some hit songs. I enjoyed the 'interludes' and respites between tracks. Maybe I overlooked it in the '90s but it seems like a different approach to making music, perhaps novel for the times. In the 90's you threw in a CD and were basically a captive audience. No Spotify to immediately toggle between bands/albums and because it plays so well, it's easy enough to play it again. I enjoyed it today. It's very well put together, but too much a throwback to the 90's to get more love from me...

Peace, love and group sex! Expectations were low and I considered it’d be variations of Turn, Turn, etc. and Tamborine guy songs. This is the music my mom would’ve listened to in college. I was generally underwhelmed until Space Odyssey played and I began seeing trails, but then Moog Raga kicked in and I was tripping balls. Moving forward to the threesome sex song Triad, was unexpected but oddly enjoyable. Take another hit, there’s a great riff on Bound to Fail. Finally, Universal Mind Decoder was another trippy song to get lost in and the banter on the alternate version in the studio provided some interesting insight into the recording process. I was pleasantly surprised at how dynamic and full this album is. In the end, how much do we really know about our parents anyway? Maybe mom was a freak who liked dropping acid and frolicking naked in the mud at Woodstock with everyone else. (yuck).

Ears hurt and Hershey squirts. Britpop ruined my Saturday. I'm going to throw this back in a closet and hope it doesn't come out again. I know there's more Britpop-y bands on this list and eventually, I'll lose. Some day, I'll have to unpack all the reasons why bands like Travis, Verve, Lush and yes- even The Smiths, Morrissey and The Clash make me unwell. It's going to be messy and today isn't the day.

Ugh. Do I really have to review this. Richard Linkletter / Richard Marx / Richard whatever his name is ruins songs with his oh- so-dramatic voice. Honestly, it's not that terrible. But it is very much on the tortured artist side. Somehow it works for Tom ... oops, sorry, I meant "Thom" You're trying too hard, def doesn't rise to the level of imaginative, creative and head-bopping. But I can't hate this too much, it's 90s. "You get an 'E' for Effort, T for nice Try"

Five. I'm done. Honestly, this is the gold standard. I wish everything could be so perfect. Dave Navarro, Perry Ferrell and heroin*. This played constantly when I was a sophomore in high school and have great memories listening to this cassette and being a teenager. Top to bottom each song kills, but "Ted, Just Admit It" kills hardest ;) I still listen to this album in 2021 and there's not a bad song on it. Ocean Size, Summertime Rolls, etc., they're all great. Even the little interlude Thank You Boys is awesome. Up the Beach is an album intro with no words! The intro to Summertime Rolls is so remedial and relaxing and then moves right into Mountain Song. It's is a shot of adrenaline. I appreciate the way the songs open up. Each one begins differently but kind of eases you in and then clobbers you with bass guitar and Navarro with PF and his illustrious screechy wails in the background. It's just and amazing mess of sound that consumes you. Love all of it. Five Stars. ___ *Actually, that's not true. From what I understand the heroin didn't start until the early 90's.

Pink Moon made me and a bunch of other people want a Volkswagen. Nick Drake made me want to explore folk music. His soft spoken voice and the fret buzz of his acoustic guitar conveys an understated sense of being and its perfect. This album taps into something beneath the surface and it all comes out. If Gustavo Sataolalla, Alexi Murdoch are are able paint pictures with their music, Nick Drake is able to make you feel it. I hear Gustavo in Horn and Alexi in Which Will and so many other songs. There can't be any musicians who've heard Pink Moon and been unaffected. This album and the whole Nick Drake story gets me emotional. An artist that kills himself after releasing two albums to lackluster reviews and thirty years its discovered by the world because of advertising. Unattainable desire. To become famous, to own and possess things you don't need. It’s difficult to point to anything good that’s come out of marketing since it’s inception. Pink Moon and Nick Drake may be the one thing.

Remember that episode of Portlandia where they're at a 'cool' wedding and... No? Well all my friends tell me that I should watch and it's sooo funny... Sleater-Kinney was one of those bands that I should've spent time listening to but I never made time for them until now. Some of the tracks are familiar but most of it I'd never heard. I dig the repetition and the syncopated rhythms and raw energy. I bet they put together a great show. (They're at Merriweather in August). Some of the stand out tracks are 'Buy Her Candy', 'Heart Factory' and 'Jenny' but I really like 'One More Hour.' Such an interesting riff and the layered guitar produces a song to experience. I'm not tied to Carrie's voice, but it plays really well on this track. Perhaps in another 20 years I'll get around to watching some Portlandia. I understand it's something that I'd dig.

Yes! This album is a sign o' the times and it needs to stay there. I was sorely disappointed by this album. This is like that movie Cleopatra, big star, big budget has some fans, but really not worth spending hours of your life in the hopes of enjoying something that isn't relevant. Also, sign of the times is the pushy- rape-y- coercion one-sided dialogue in 'If I Was Your Girlfriend'. Maybe I've been married too long, but I can't imagine that would be okay in 2021. With all this sexxy talk, this album just sounds impotent. Treble is not the friend you think it is. I wanted to get into some of the funk, but it seemed lame and tame by today's standards. Didn't they have a bass dial in the studio? I want to feel the thump of those bass lines and the excitement of the crowd. Unfortunately, time has moved on and left this album behind.

"Shit don't change until you get up and wash your ass..." I've taken the past few days off and listened to this album during most of it however I could still listen to this for the next week before I was really ready to write a review of this. I think this is an important album and not one I would've found on my own. There is so much going on here with KL. It should be noted that KL is the real hero of this album, not the production or the instrumentation or guest appearances. This is all KL and he is a powerful force. His lyrical style is fast and his words are incredibly deep, insightful and full of meaning. Standout tracks, probably my favorite is the 'i' track. Toward the end of it, KL engages with the audience just prior to doing some a capella and starts off amongst audience chitter chatter and during the course, the audience calms and begins to listen. It's difficult to tell if this is produced or this is live, but the effect is moving. Other notables are "For Free? interlude", 'King Kunte', and worth mentioning is the sister track to 'i', 'u'. There is so much to unpack here, and I could stand another week to really feel comfortable enough to write a proper review. Really a great album on its own that everyone, yes everyone, should listen to at least twice if not more.

Dirty fuckin' hippies. CCR, will always occupy that space on the other side of the peace, happiness and 'love -will-save-us-all' flower power movement for me. Just over that line resides the stinky, up-all-night, bloated excesses with a dirty harmonica in a shirt pocket, otherwise known as Creedence Clearwater Revival. Though listening to this album did not change my, albeit narrow view of the band, it was nice to listen to some of the underplayed songs from this album. I appreciated the late night, drunken Graveyard Train blues-y tune and to a lesser extent, the harmonica-laden Keep on Chooglin' song at the end. However, there are three things going on here that prevents me from ranking this album higher: 1. FOGERTY SINGING - (not sure which one 'cause I don't care) and his fake-ass southern drawl. These guys are from Cali. 2. That twang-y, shit-guitar sound. 3. The dirty fuckin' hippies.

Which cruise line is right for you? Princess Cruises is supposed to be nice. I've gone on Norwegian when my rich grandmother paid for all of us to take a cruise for Christmas, and it is top-notch - that I can say that from personal experience. Carnival? - meh, I don't do keg stands or have little kids anymore but there was a time in my life that would've fit. I think your best chances of running in to K.D. Lang would be on Norwegian cruise lines. It's the cruise line for old people with lotsa money and a taste for vanilla. I bet she's the house music on all Norwegian cruises and probably performs for the young gray hairs at least once a week. I wonder how they get her from ship to ship. Or if she has to disembark, embark the way that normal passengers do. I would expect that from Wilson-Phillips, but not sure about the KDL. I found Ingenue perfect for the early '90s., KDL had some serious fashion style back then, yes she did. Her music right on par with a Norwegian cruise, very adequate on Gram's dime, but nothing you'd pay extra for. Regardless, after a long year quarrantining things are looking up and I'm sure there are a lot of excited people ready to be confined to a boat in hopes of running into the KDL. For me though, it's more likely you'd find me on a Carnival cruise binge drinking, avoiding my kids and constantly craving for solid ground than listening to this album again.

I'm a sucker for old Stevie Wonder albums. Talking Book is like a key to an era that I wasn't able to experience but would've loved it. This album just makes me smile. The key characteristic of this album is the Wah guitar, on and it's just a really cool sound like a 'brown-chicken-brown-cow' without the porn. It's a wonder this sound didn't dominate more albums back in the day. I think if it had, it'd be one of those minor annoyances like saxophones are. Anyway, the album... You are the Sunshine of My life opens the album and it's one of those perfect sappy guilty pleasure songs that I just can't get enough of (and makes me want to drink orange juice). The keyboard and congas on this are just lovely. Superstition is the break out hit, but there are some really good ones that are overlooked. Big Brother has got some understated grit with political undertones. Evidently SW played all the instruments on the recording. The song 'I Believe' is a great outro striking a hopeful reflective note that leads me back to the beginning of the album and hoping for an excellent follow up ... 'Songs in the Key of Life', I'm talking to you...

An album is only as strong as its weakest link. If that held true, this would be a TWO STARS package. Alternatively, if this album was to be judged as 'best ball' it'd receive a solid FIVE STARS based solely on 'Summertime' because Summertime cooks. The sound of the guitar on this album is absolutely incredible, deep, bossy, full of lazy rough distortion that you can sink your teeth into. The opening to Ball and Chain is soooo gooood. Oh Sweet Mary has a great start, but then syrup-voice starts the singing and just ruins it... I want Janis. Ohhh, Janis, you are the wings to my angel. Your voice and that guitar are such a sweet combination ...or so I'd think. The songs that are good, are REALLY good. The guitarless Turtle Blues, old time piano and Janis... beautiful. Piece of My Heart ... classic power, and, have I mentioned 'Summertime...?' But then there are these mediocre and less than adequate songs like the opening track, Combination of the Two, Flower in the Sun and Roadblock that don't belong and drag the rest of the album down. But the ones that cook... Summertime, (have I mentioned Summertime) I could listen to on repeat for hours...

Is it coincidence that two great communication artists named Fela / Fella were born in 1938 and only one is still living? Ed Fella, the designer of 'Fella Parts' and Fela Kuti, the musician, both pretty amazing guys, but only one is still living. Graphic designers live forever, they are notoriously boring people that think they know everything. Generally, they sit high atop a velvet throne and pass judgement from a distance without getting their hands dirty. Real musicians, like Fela are in the mix, they ARE the dirt that makes the world spin, that evoke and create change from within. I enjoyed this album and felt like I was in the room, at the rally in the protest. I got lost in Fela with Ginger Baker Live! while toiling away on the PeTA poster I've been working on, meat is murder by the way. The jamming of this album had me bobbin' my head back-and-forth for hours and when Adobe crashed I started lookin' for a joint and a dashiki while my machine restarted. Fela, also an activist against corruption and inequality in Nigeria was a force for change. Through his music he brought people together and was arrested, jailed and beaten. Speaking of eaten, please don't eat my friends, by the way. Ed Fella will celebrate his 83rd birthday while Fela Kuti didn't live to see 60. Musicians cause real change and die young. Beets not meats, by the way.

This album is pornographic! Though not as obscene as the woeful TRIPLE X, this album is twice as profane as X. X started in Los Angeles in 1977, then 28 years later in 2005, XX was formed. By the same progression XXX will make its debut in 2033. Chalk it up to decaying moral standards, but the reality is that XX wasn't as lewd as you might think. As a reviewer it is my job to tell you that most, if not all songs are super-mellow and there's no fucking. The album is relatively short, weighing in at 38 mins. and an easy listen. I suppose this album represents somewhat of a turning point in music in the late 2000's. It's a delicate fuse of real and electronic instrumentation that exists effortlessly. Intro is the simple, dark beauty used to sell AT&T and Hugo Boss that you've heard many times before. It's the recognizable instrumental and an easy listen that subtly builds amongst single-note plucking. The balance of the album includes more complex songs but maintain the overall feel of the first. There's an effortless fun vibe about this album as such if it had existed before 2009, it would be might be called The Moldy Peaches. Also, it's worth noting that the dude singing sometimes sounds like Kurt Vile, it's subtle and distant, but once you hear it you can't unhear him. So, if you don't care for Kurt, I probably just killed this album for you. Finally, for the freaks out there looking for music to get the joyknob turning, this album isn't for you. I would suggest checking into Big Black's famous album from 1987.

I got this album from Ed, a guy at work, and pulled one song off after listening once - Typical Girls. The Slits. Perfect name for a punk girl band and that cover art is perfectly outrageous. Ed and I worked in an open space, most of us were pretty artsy but I still felt funny about having six boobs covered in mud on my desk for everyone to see. After listening to this again, I've fallen pretty much just about where I was in 2002 on this album. Despite the reggae guitar, there's some interesting repetitive patterns that deserve another listen... but then only one more. To quote Billy Waldman "I hate reggae music. I hate it." Two tracks that stood out on this recent listen. The first, Instant Hit makes me feel like I'm passing time with a smile. The second was absolutely wretched, the cover of Heard it Through the Grapevine, made me feel like I need to clean my ears with a wire brush. Musically, this is probably a dos-star album, but these three girls made their mark on the punk scene in the late 70's and I'm pretty sure they didn't get a group hug welcoming them. It must've been a difficult go even with the help of Johnny Rotten. So, they score massive punk points for pushing thru and releasing more music after this.

YES! YES! YES! Va, va, va, va.. FIVE! You know when your husband is gonna try and put the moves on you when he throws this on the record player. I think this is Pepe Le Pew's go to. I'm sure Stan Getz a lotta action with that love horn of his.... mmhmmm. I dig this album and will listen to it before and after sex.

Hmmm... Don't know what to say about this one except it seemed like the background noise when you go to a pub for a pint. I'm sure there's some cultural significance to this and may be stronger if I were aware of British politics of the '80s (I couldn't listen to Morrissey cover this stuff either). This isn't terrible and I did enjoy some of the rich Gibson, but I'm not gonna brag about Billy's album on my weekend readout.

What'd the overworked pastry chef say to the restaurant owner? Anita Baker! In the late 80's this was the best album to play when hoping to seduce your young Wall Street assistant while doing lines of coke on your mirrored coffee table. Fortunately, unfortunately Spotify only provided access to five of the songs, probably due to licensing issues. So, my rating may have been higher if somehow the rest of the album sounded nothing like those first few...

"Weel set sail ageeen" WTF is that...? Musically, I dig The Coral but the accents kill the rest of it for me. British bands that embellish or feign American accents are like putting on deodorant when you should just take a shower... we can still smell you and it's not good. Chances are that even if you're 100% authentic I still won't dig you. Case in point, Arctic Monkeys, great music, but then Alex Turner and his syrupy British voice ruins it. Anyhow, The Coral is a band I totally missed, there's some decent stuff on this album and after that first track, it sails. Sure there are some errant tambourines but some great hooks. Dreaming of You sounds familiar and judging by the number of plays on Spotify it's included in some soundtrack, rightfully so. The song cooks with a great bass line intro and organ. Other successful experimentation can be found on Wildfire with the xylophone and maracas. After two solid listens, I'm interested to check out some of their other work, but this album's gotta find a home somewhere else.

Is it true that in 1983 Sting was busted for smuggling the Kentucky Waterfall into London? [shake magic 8-ball] ... Syncronicity has got to be their weakest album, but still ranks high as a solid album without any duds. Tea in the Sahara song is probably the only one that's a waste of time, it makes me think of the Ten Summoner's Tales release after the Police broke up. Listenable, but not something worth searching for. Sure, "Mother" is a strange song, but there's an odd pleasure to it. And it probably served Sting better to answer the phone and write "Mother" than reject the calls and listen to his brother and sister ask "why don't you answer the phone when mom calls...?" every time he sees them. The Police was a super-accessible band. There's a ton of radio on this album, Every Breath, Synchronicity II, Murder by Numbers, I think this whole album was played on the FM growing up. Even Miss. Gradenko, which is probably the best track, got airplay. Finally, some 80's without Saxophone and suckage. The pace of some of these like King of Pain and Wrapped Around Your Finger are sleepy, but this whole album makes me think of growing up on Top 40. So perhaps I'm the wrong person to review this but Synchronicity is like a gateway drug to the good stuff. Earlier Police stuff is less refined, less acceptable and a whole lot more fun.

There are very few bands that I have allegiance to, but the five dollar shows, DIY ethos, messages of equality, politically minded rage against capitalism, an outlet for anger and angst are all things that resonated when I was 14. Fugazi (and Ian MacKaye in particular) helped shape my view of the world during high school and beyond. I’ve got nothing but love for this one.

Is that a banana in your pocket or is that Keith Richard's guitar? This album stands erect over many flaccid albums of the day. Super-bluesy and tons of great guitar riffs. Everyone talks about Jagger, but KR is the real engine behind this band. There's no doubt it's his schlong on the cover.

FIRST LISTEN: "Based on this meat, I don't think I want any pudding." SECOND LISTEN: (At the behest of 'Hell Yeah' I decided I should listen to this album again... and again... ) I was able to dodge the music of PF for most of my life until today. And then, I found myself lost in a rabbit hole and along the way came to an epiphany. Did you know that Randal's character in Dazed and Confused is called 'Randal' by his coach, but his 'buds' call him 'PINK' because his last name is FLOYD!!! [OMG!] and there's more... PINK FLOYD is a person, NOT A COLOR!!! WHOA!! [takes another bong hit] Also, there's a movie called 'The Wall' which is a film adaptation of the album which is based on PINK FLOYD (aka Roger Waters), where Pink Floyd is played by Bob Geldof!! Well, the second+ listen of this made me realize that I really need to see this movie, if for nothing else, to have an excuse to get baked after the kids go to bed. Unfortunately, the Himalayan Blackberry sent me right to zonksville before the movie even started. Anyway, the album must be taken as a whole, you can't listen to one or two tracks, you've got to EXPERIENCE this album, man. Evidently, this guy Roger Waters, is a genius and had a big falling out with the band and sued to retain rights to several PF albums, including The Wall, and won. But he's the character in the album and the movie. So, to break it down for you, The Wall is Communism and the album is based on the struggle for democracy between east and west, and Pink is a Communist (Pink Floyd=Pink=Pinko=Commie).... all makes total sense, right...? Well, RW isn't as concerned as much with freedom as much as he is with himself. The Wall is really about him and the fascism he's encountered through much of his life. Pink's wall is what he constructs and it evolves as he grows older until he's old, lonely and depressed. Musically, this album didn't do much for me, but as I listened to it, I began to care more about the story and Pink's survival. All of those years I spent hearing 'Comfortably Numb' on the radio began to make sense once I had the background and context of the album. After spending some time with this I came to this conclusion: appreciation for this is going to take time, but a foundation for it is there. Big thanks to Hell Yeah for urging me to take another listen and dig a little deeper. Perhaps one day I can finish the movie and enjoy some pudding too.

At Hawkins elementary I ate lunch in the cafeteria. We all had assigned seats and once you sat down, you weren't allowed to move until the lunch bell rang 35 mins. later. Kids, myself included, would eat the Little Debbie's first and then make our way through the PB&J's only to leave the less desirable food untouched. Others bought lunch which was stuff like pizza or mac'n cheese with fries, and limp veggies. Like limp and discolored, rubbery carrots and lima beans-type veggies. What kid eats lima beans ... like ever? Eating took roughly 20 mins. to complete. The remaining time was often spent pulverizing the leftovers and adding some ketchup and milk to create some disgusting concoction and then daring each other to drink it until the bell rang. Michael Gunter was the only kid I remember who actually followed through on the dare. I'd never heard of The Happy Monday's until today and after hearing it, I would've thought this would've been placed a little further into the '90s based on their sound. There's a lot of layers within the music, people talking, bong-ripps, white people rap, makeshift instrumentation, sampled loops and other superfluous noise that, when combined makes me think of Michael Gunter and cafeteria-time at Hawkins elementary. The result of this mish-mash is a deep, full-bodied experience that's messy and convoluted but not as terrible as you'd think. It almost makes me wonder if Michael Gunter actually enjoyed drinking that sludge. After all, he was awarded with a legendary status for that. But then I remembered he earned that for spewing chewed-up ketchup, lima-bean disaster milk all over Paul Pyle who was lucky enough to be in direct line of fire from Michael's pie hole. Paul Pyle, for his part, had to stay seated until the bell rang, was forced wear his stinky sweater for the remainder of the day and earned the nickname 'puke pile' for the rest of fifth grade.

I've never heard of Jane Weaver and frankly, sounds like she'd be a dental hygienist. Though a little slow in places, this album brings us into the 20th century. It's nice to listen to something more contemporary than discovering old classics that I missed. The album starts off strong. Jane sounds like Stereolab or School of Seven Bells with a hint of Daft Punk, Postal Service and even some Cocteau Twins thrown in. But tapers off toward the end with songs like Valley, which is a slow and whiny or Ravenspoint which includes traditional instrumentation and dabbles in Psychedelia. The first listen was good, but the second grew on me. Despite the tail end of the album, there's enough of a foundation to expect good things from this hygienist in the future. I even found myself meandering off the reservation and exploring her new release 'Flock' which I immediately enjoyed.

Wow, sometimes I hate this platform. YOU, however, should smile in relief that you don't have to read my 10,000+ word review. After spending too much time I care to admit, I navigated away and closed my the page. But here's the condensed version: --- | --- WOULD PRETENTIOUS-ASS LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM? Yes, this album would be played in the background for the swanky dinner parties I host as a way to prove I'm multidimensional, culturally astute, worldly and very, very deep. Otherwise, no.

Climate change is real. This album does nothing for me, but I did find it interesting that Elvis Costello used a time machine to go 18 years in the future to watch Jon Heder’s breakout movie and include Napoleon Dynamite on this 1986 album cover. I did however deduct a star for failing to warn the world about global warming.

I really liked A Mighty Wind but never listened to JM. Much to my disappointment there wasn't a single strong character she reminded me of. Perhaps Mitch and Micky, the duo played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. Anyhow, this album was fine, and the dulcimer skills are strong, but this album isn't very silly or even funny. :(

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was one of my favorite shows. The original one. I've been writing reviews so I don't have much time to watch the new one, but I hear it's good. Though I never listed to Orbital in the 90's this is a huge throwback for me. My pacifier and glowsticks, oversized pants, pigtails, pumas and DANCING! Oh, how I loved Special K and dancing. Anyway, this is a huge throwback and I did enjoy listening to this. There's a lot of repetition and beats as you'd expect from 90's rave music and There's a lot of repetition and beats as you'd expect from 90's rave music andThere's a lot of repetition and beats as you'd expect from 90's rave music andThere's a lot of repetition and beats as you'd expect from 90's rave music andThere's a lot of repetition and beats as you'd expect from 90's rave music andThere's a lot of repetition and beats as you'd expect from 90's rave music and I liked this but probably won't listen to it again unless I get nostalgic or eat more Special K.

This was a welcomed listen and I was into it until about the third song when I realized that they all sound roughly the same and rely heavily on his voice. However, this album opened up a door that I didn't know existed. RP is prolific and has recorded a TON and even had Willie Nelson in his band. Anyway, this may not have been the best album to start with, but he's been added to my list of musicians to explore a little further.

The best thing about Chris Martin is that he named his kid Apple and apples are the natural toothbrush. British people are famous for their teeth. I’ve heard many times, but don’t know if it’s true or not that the toothbrush was invented in West Virginia because if it was invented anywhere else it would’ve been called the TEETHbrush. (I bet the same myth persists in the EU too but they replace West VA with Britain when they tell it.) Anyhow, the only thing I like more than Parachutes is a Rush of Blood to the Head which probably happens when you ‘chute doesn’t open or when you forget to pay rent, bounce a check or get your car towed for having too many parking tickets, which was my life until I listened to ‘chutes. I’m a huge fan of this album, classified as "adult contemporary" music. After the first listen I was hooked and discovered I was now an ‘adult'. :( Big bummer. This meant that I’d have to stop eating fast food and sleeping late and start opening the mail and start paying bills on time. But there was a huge upside… all this new music that I could explore and immerse myself in. I’m talking Matchbox 20, Dildo, Rob Thomas and Josh Groban to name a few. Soon after the first listen I became one of those people that drives to work singing in their cars, tucking t-shirts into my jeans and checking food nutrition labels at the grocery. It was a long road, but now, 20 years later, I still like the subtle distortion and that sexxy voice of Chris Martin. After Rush of Blood, my affinity for the band waned, and I found myself relapsing occasionally to listen to Fugazi. However, this album made an impact and I’m proud to say that I haven’t gotten a parking ticket since. Thank you Coldplay.

I didn't try to listen to this too hard. Maybe there's something there, but I couldn't find it on one pass... and frankly spent a lot of time listening to my favorite dental hygienist, Jane Weaver this weekend.

Really good, except I have a visceral reaction to Alex Turner, aka British Fred Durst.

Tricia Restivo gave me a ride to school every day and she always blared this from her Suzuki Samurai. It was better than taking the bus, but I swore I'd never listen to this again. I prefer pie over cake, but always abstain from Don McLean.

The polish, I hate the polish. Gimme the real stuff. Patti Smith is a total badass and her passion and intense desire to create something regardless of natural talent and poise is infectious. There's a gravitational pull toward her I don't quite understand, it's certainly not her voice which I can understand puts some people off. I think it stems more from just doing whatever the fuck she wants to do and be completely unapologetic about it. I've seen this emulated for years in music, but it appears I've found the source of truth in this album. I love the builds in her songs, the way she slowly dips into song and by the end of it has erupted and is totally killing it with chaos like in Free Money and especially Birdland. I enjoyed her cover of Gloria and the Horses song is hella fun. To boil it down to the bare minimum, it's Patti Smith, and the quality of this music that I really love. It's refreshing not to sense an overt drive toward fame, generating sales and digging in to create a brand or perfect album. This just seems real, like it was MADE, not focus-tested, manufactured and built.

Wow. I so enjoyed listening to this album from the time that I turned it on. Love the horns, bongos, guitar riffs and the feeling that I'm either hanging out with The Sugarhill Gang making music or reviewing the Rockford Files with Starsky, Hutch, TJ Hooker, Barney Miller, Thomas Magnum, The Six Million Dollar Man / Bionic woman and planning my next vacation on the Love Boat. ... Incredible. https://www.whosampled.com/Incredible-Bongo-Band

Turbonegro... Am I allowed to say that...? According to the band, it's not at all racially based and instead meant to be like their music; FAST and DARK. Still, with that interpretation, it is not the Norsk death-music that I was expecting, though still less Cardigan and more Hives. Some of it was good... err MOST of it was good... a bit poppy with some surface-deep grit and grime. However, there are some tracks that seem as if they were written for performances on Eurovision. The vocals and mixing was just overproduced enough to ponder the identity they were carrying at the time of recording (... Gothy NSYNC anyone?) Eurovision, may not've been much a stretch, perhaps "Eurovision After Dark" as Turbonegro had stage performances outshined their music and evidently include antics like shooting roman candles out of their asses and playing in blackface in the early 90's. "Get It On" was great as is "Age of Pamparius", but tracks like "Are You Ready" which I suppose is meant to be frightening just plays like the Halloween lawn section at Home Depot. Maybe a little too refined for repeated listening, but there's definitely some stuff here worth saving and even looking forward to in the future.

The perfect album for a fancy dinner party with your boss or coworkers. Highly recommended if you want to make a lasting impression.

Gish was about to takeoff and was eclipsed by Nevermind and then Siamese Dream was released. The Pumpkins really took off with Infinite Sadness which was their most polished and seemed to give everything to everyone. The relevance of the Pumpkins lies in Gish and Siamese Dream, even Pisces Iscariot to an extent (Landslide cover rivals the original). Soft and suspenseful song opens turn to raucous distortion and loose chaos. Similar to Infinite Sadness, there is range and it's not all gnarled mayhem and anarchy on SD. While Billy Corgan seems like a monster, Sweet Sweet is beautiful; the intro to Mayonaise; beautiful, Soma; lovely even Rocket's song open calms with a wonderful distorted repeater riff. Musically, every song is evocative despite the lyrics. From the first track... the slow peppy build to furious excitement is incredible. However, if there's one thing that I dislike about this album it's the song Disarm. What a blugh downer song. It sounds like Eeyore wrote it. And then there's the lyric... I always thought the lyric was "cut that little child, SODOMY is such a part of you" uhhhh BUZZKILL - you can't put that word and 'child' in a song!! WTF? (... though today the lyrics read "...cut that little child, INSIDE OF ME and such a part of you"). I dunno, Billy Corgan has always seemed to be a tortured artist with a bullhorn that's never big enough. Regardless, I've got a lot of great memories tied to this album. It was on repeat for months when I moved out and was living downtown Richmond. I may have evolved some (not much) but to me, this album will always be relevant.

This album is very adequate.

The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was a real surprise. When I listened to that I was shocked at how progressive and different it was for 1968. I enjoyed the NBB album as a whole, however Moog Raga, Triad, Space Oddessy and Universal Mind Decoder stood out. The album continues to get airtime here. Younger Than Yesterday is closer the Byrds album I was expecting, the signature chiming soft guitar, tambourines and voice harmonies that evoke the 60's is sticky syrup and it's all over this. I did find interest in a few tracks. C.T.A.-102 evades the norm somewhat and introduces some errant electronic whizzing which is interesting. The opening guitar to Have You Seen her Face is badass, but then the steady tambourine kinda ruins it. Why includes some backwards, (I'm assuming devil worshiping) talk, But the most surprising track is the opening "So You Want to Be a Rock N Roll Star" is original. I'm used to Tom Petty's version and I discovered Patty Smith also covers it. In the time before 1001 albums I'd been dismissing The Byrds as Byrd shit and neglected to realize the cool guitar chord progressions, riffs and bluesy breaks that really are unique. However I wasn't too far off. I just found out that most of the great songs on NBB were not commercially released in 1968, and only made an appearance in the remasters and rereleased versions in the 90s.

Ace of Spades is a classic. Musically, this is straight thrash, get up and go, but it's Lemmy's gravelly voice that really catapults this into badass territory. The live album is absolutely amazing and brings all the feelings of being in a dirty, sweat filled stinky crowd totally engulfed in the moment and it's what really makes this album an exhilarating, rowdy bender. Lemmy, famous for his love of amphetamines is making a good show of it here.

Woke up, didn't choke up Saw my AK, it was broke up Put it together like a jigsaw Got my nine and my Rambo knife off the floor Went to the bathroom, and beat the rush Yo, who the fuck used my toothbrush? Went to my sister's room, yo bitch, wake up You stupid ass, dirty ass, nasty ass slut Shot her in the leg, shot her in the thigh Kicked her in the pussy and punched her in the eye Slapped her in the head, stepped on her corns Don't fuck with mine bitch, word is bond Went downstairs to eat wit' my folks Ma, you broke my fuckin' egg yolk! Punched her in the chest, cut on her cheek Then I did a sweep, knocked the bitch off her feet Knee to the pussy, kick to the skull AK y'all, shot that bitch in the temple Pop got mad 'cause mom got licked I didn't give a fuck so I shot him in the dick Hungry as fuck, said my grace Pop kept screamin' so I shot him in the face Ate my food, found my coat Mailman came so I cut his motherfuckin' throat Waitin' for the motherfuckin' school bus!! - Black Sheep / A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing (Intro) --------------------------- Within a week of The Chronic being released every kid I knew turned into a weed-smoking gangster. This, from the streets of Salisbury, a white-collar neighborhood in afflutent Virginia. The Chronic played well for plenty of awkward suburban teens looking to find confidence in themselves. There was an effortless gravitation toward an identity that used strong words and threats of conflict by rapping about AKs, UZIs, hollow-tips, dicks too big for your mouth etc. It all provided a great act to hide behind. Now, nearly 20 years removed from this, I assumed I would listen to it with new ears and find something that I enjoyed. And, I did --- the beats --- those dope beats behind tracks like Let Me Ride, Fuck Wit Dre Day, "G" Thang, etc. are amazing. I'm gettin' into it, bobbin' and weavin', thumpin' my chest and consuming those yummy hardcore lyrics signing "...I'm callin' 1-8-7 with my dick in ya mouth..." [record skips] Wait. What?! In addition to the beats, and possibly moreso, the popularity of this album is predicated on the attitude and strong persona it conveyed to those kids in Salisbury. And it's not such a far cry from recent tactics used by a former U.S. president. Both employ chest-thumping, direct FU conflict attitudes to up the ante. They both change the game, and normalize violence and confrontation to instill confidence in a people unsecure in the world around them. This album, for all of its regurgitated funk beats, deep bass and good grooves, does not outweigh its detriment on society and the mainstream acceptance of gangster rap. The Chronic killed hip-hop. Tribe / De La / Eric B. and Rakim / BDP / PE etc. groups with real messages and a good time dried up overnight for this shit. The Black Sheep track "Intro," cited at the top ends by waking up ... it was all a dream... he dreamed he was 'hard.' In reality, the popularity of this style rap lasted for years. So yeah, twenty years on, this album is worse than I remember. It has new meaning based on the times we live in and for that, I'm allocating a BIG FAT zero stars. Sorry, Dre and Co., the content of this shit sucks. You are better than this. But it's not all bad news, I'm doling out a bonus star for those dope funktastic beats that got me movin' and shakin'.

Yes. I enjoyed very much. A little stale THIRTY years after it was released, but a great respite from the traditional sounds on this list. What happened to this guy?

Five stars. Mic drop.

Caster Oil, four raw eggs and a blueberry pie eating contest. Listening to this, I feel like the blueberry pie after being scooped up by Lardass and dropped into his mouth. All I want to do is GTFO. The harmonization grates on after the chorus of Our House and it doesn't stop. This is only a 36 minute album but the urge to vomit came on quick. A few mins. later, after Neil Young starts singing in his ladyvoice, Lardass becomes a vomit machine and just starts spewing egg yolks, castor oil and blueberry pie. The end is near, and when it comes, I'm going to take a shower, rinse my mouth and brush my teeth. I feel awful. Raw eggs, castor oil and blueberry pie produce the same results as the bluesy guitar, Neil Young's voice and harmonizations. Be careful, it could get messy. https://youtu.be/zK0JaEde4VI?t=55

I've been friends with lots of people with lazy eyes in my life. For example Steph and I spent a whole summer together being Floyds and watching MTV. The summer of '95 was right before I moved to LA. The 'Just' music video played at least twice every hour, but it seemed like more. That was a clever video, it was great. Fake Plastic Trees, notsomuch. In the FPT video, Thom (pronounced 'Tom') turns the drama up to 11 while imitating a baby in a shopping cart. It was disastrous and didn't do the band any favors. Anyone that watched that immediately hated them, him, Thom (Tom). The album Pablo Honey, was good and an easy listen. The Bends, followed PH and was a logical extension of the first with more angsty, artsy-fartsy undertones thrown in. I liked it. Revisiting this album, it's not groundbreaking, but it's held up okay. This is more like a warm wool sweater that smells like home and you put it on when the leaves turn brown at the end of summer. The Bends is one of the quintessential albums of the 90's, and by those terms it's relatively traditional. There's heavy guitar reverb, song builds, and self-consumed lyrics with a tinge of despair. It is also the last album before the band becomes Radiohead. Before Ok Computer. Perhaps all of that self-introspection is authentic, Thom (Tom) isn't as insufferable as we thought. Maybe he was somehow able to see a future with machine learning, crappy politics, overconsumption, etc. and identify change is coming. Ok Computer, the album after The Bends was truly groundbreaking and set the band off in a new direction with intricate arrangements, new instruments, computers, electronica, etc. It's incredible that this is the same band. All good things come to an end. This album The Bends, marks the closing of an era, the end of summer, the end of Floyd and for me at least, the end of the 90's. It is the closing door that goes unnoticed and time moves on. REFERENCES Floyds = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIA-5l4tRyY Just = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIFLtNYI3Ls Fake Plastic Trees = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h0qHwNrHk

You can call me Al. If Cee-Lo Green is the Soul Machine then who is Al? Compared to Al, Cee-Lo Green is the Tim Meadow's character from The Lady's Man. Oh-- not familiar with The Lady's Man? Search up Netflix if you want, but the real deal is on this album right here. I'm not sure of their connection, but if they are related it must be distant. Cee-Lo isn't even in the same ballpark as Al Green. Even so, Cee-Lo Green would be the guy cooking Oscar Mayer weiners at the concession stand while Al is putting the moves on his girl. Why don't they make music like Let's Stay Together anymore? This album exists in a different era. Turn it on and be transported to a different place in time. Go ahead, dim the lights, this is the stuff of late Saturday nights. Lo-fi recordings on the slow pace are great for indulgent relaxation. Simple songs, basic riffs, some backup singers, Al's high notes and songs that fade out. Oh yeah.. let's get deep, balls deep... Cee-Lo and the ladies man can Netflix and Chill. I'll keep it simple and stick with Al. ----------- REFERENCES ----------- Cee-Lo Green as the Ladies Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4fTcRViu_Y Cee-Lo Green ... Is the Soul Machine: https://1001albumsgenerator.com/albums/0wdleLMeNmGUHChsmx9svt/cee-lo-green-is-the-soul-machine

The same guy that named the Tesla’s S, 3, X and Y must’ve named this album. I get it, Aerosmith Rocks, you are so clever. Unlike the Tesla models, the album name is accurate. Say what you want about Stephen Tyler’s lips, but they breath some great sound into this album that’s otherwise filled to the rim with smash-it-all, balls-to-the-wall rock and roll guitar. It’s hard to identify another mid 70’s alblum filled with so much losely tied cacophony in one spot. In fact, I think this was the last great rock album before the music industry fell in love with glam rock, poodle-heads and power ballads. Though this isn’t a daily listen album, I truly enjoyed the truth in advertising.

Hair farmers singing opera.

Really sorry about your brother, Suzanne. Honestly, I love pop-tarts and everyone knows that they're only good if you heat them up. I'm pretty sure that Vincent chose the cinnamon and brown sugar Pop-Tarts. Not all Pop-Tarts are created equal. It would've sucked to die waiting for a strawberry Pop-Tart to exit the toaster before being shot by Butch. Anyhow, I really like your voice, but the music is pretty boring.

Ahhh, George Michael.... I've heard that there's no such thing as bad publicity, however with songs titled 'Look at Your Hands', 'Hand to Mouth' and 'Hard Day', it's difficult to listen to this album without thinking about GM getting arrested for jerking off in that Beverly Hills park. Regardless, this is a great album and I think it's one of those that has only gotten better with time... and a little exposure. ;)

I feel like my favorite team just got bageled at the Superbowl. Tom Waits is better experienced in person in a small venue preferably a dark dive bar in east Los Angeles in the 90s... It's really hard to translate the persona of Tom Waits anywhere else. Hopefully things will come full circle, but the digital age has no use for a lounge-y spoken word performer.

Is it true that Richard, the Aphex Twin guy is the spawn of productivity lovers David Allen and Stephen Covey? ----- The main goal of ambient music is to fade into the background and be forgotten. This album does a fine job of that. The only memorable things about Aphex Twin are the album covers which give me NIGHTMARES. The thought of being stoned out of my mind and floating through some warehouse rave with this guy spinning is really attractive (is that still a thing?), though these days, crossing things off my to-do list is just as fulfilling. Richard Marx -er Richard James, the freaky guy in the blue bikini, was ahead of his time, there are literally loads of playlists and channels on Spotify, XM, Soundcloud, etc. with titles like "deep meditation" to get shit done. Go ahead, turn this on and start powering through all the albums you still have yet to rate.

I love Volvos! Volvos, aka the 'Socialist Containers' have always held my attention in a way that I cannot fully articulate. They're weird, but cool looking, especially the wagons. I bought one and it's kind of crap, it's got issues that nobody can figure out, once you solve one issue something else fails, kind of like this band. Nina Persson's voice is so soft, sexxy and warming, like my 50's pinup posters started singing to me ... mmmm Nina. However, the Playboy mansion submissive-bimbo-act got kinda gross after a couple of listens. The voice, ultimately becomes a liability and eventually a detractor. I really liked a song until I saw the title... "Happy Meal II" ummm, Nina not sure what happens in Sweden, but you can't sing about kinky thoughts and title it after a meal geared toward toddlers. Also, Iron Man is complete disaster bordering on blasphemy. Love Fool was overplayed and grated when this was released (though coming back, it is a really good song). Musically, there's a some uniquely good stuff. The percussion on Losers is wonderful, refrains on Great Divide, great and all songs really, have some secret sauce I can't quite figure out but really enjoy. There is enough to keep this album going. However, each time it's on, the liklihood of encountering irritation and disgust is high and trading it in for something that works is a real possiblity. Kind of like my Volvo. ---------------- Liner Note: Gran Turismo, the follow up to First Band on the Moon, shows a band that has evolved and is redeeming, that would be a five.

I love black cherry iice cream but it’s pretty easy to hate Sinéad if you're a fan of the Pope / Catholic church or were watching SNL in 1992. There are also some difficult-to-unsee dancing in her MTV videos that also may give you pause. But if you were lucky enough to listen to her before the aforementioned, you’ll probably agree 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got' is the best album of 1990. In an age of maximalism, this album shows that maximum impact is achievable with basic tools and simple beats. There are no gimmicky production tricks, flimsy bass or wild synth-y sounds to date this album by. It holds up well, unlike ice cream on the beach or Prince’s Sign of the Times. From an a capella title track to the steady power chords of Jump in the River, the beauty in the album is its simplicity. Wikipedia says that this album was almost entirely devoted to the family of Colin Roach and presumably he is the subject of Black Boys on Mopeds. That song itself resonates stronger today than it did when it was released. This fact catapults it into the another realm. Nothing Compares 2 the use of James Brown's Funky Drummer backup on Stretched Out On Your Grave, or the gentle strum and steady build of Last Day of Our Acquaintance. I love how the tenor of that song creates liberation from a stifled existence. The entire album is great, but The Emperor's New Clothes keeps me coming back to listen to the rest. Emotionally, this album rides the line of somber relaxation and unrealized power on the brink of erruption. Without being too heavy, I could listen to this on my way to a protest rally or any Sunday morning. This is a Five for sure, but to put the five into context, I’ll offer this. If I was stranded on a desert island forever and had one album to take, this might be it, this and an everlasting supply of black cherry ice cream with a cooler.

Is it me or are sample-heavy albums like this difficult to produce and release? Perhaps I'm out of touch but they do seem unique. 3 Feet High and Rising, the '89 De La Soul album, is virtually unattainable today due to all the rules and hight costs of licensing the samples it contained. Power In Numbers likely wasn't cheap, but they really make the album special. Great licks, snappy beats and great sample grabs from artists like Minnie Ripperton and David Axelrod. This album really wouldn't exist without them. Regardless, this albums roots are in the old skool and there's plenty of range in the ummm six(?) voices. Each is unique and brings a special flavor to the album, which leads me to this... I've always wondered what the Verbal Herman Munster looks like. I get the Munsters and The Adams Family mixed up, is he the dad that resembles Frankenstein or the kid with the super tall widows peak? The dad, right? Doesn't matter, I didn't listen to this album much when it was released, and was happy to have been able to spend some good time with it here.

Heatmiser's 'Half Right' was on a mix CD a friend made for me titled "Music to Slit Your Wrists To". It was track number three. I was fortunate enough to see ES at the Henry Fonda theatre just before he died. It wasn't a great show, even sad watching him stand up on stage and forget the lyrics to his own songs. A couple of months later, on the way to work, driving up Topanga Canyon, KCRW played continuous ES one-after-another and another for most of the drive until there was a break. Nic Hartcourt came on and said Elliott Smith was found dead in his Silverlake apartment, just on the other side of town a few hours earlier. I pulled over. Until receiving "Music to Slit Your Wrists To" I hadn't considered how truly sad Elliot Smith and his music was. That stuff is kinda just glossed over, or was... Everyone was sad in the 90's early 2000's but just accepted as normal life where depression hid in plain sight and nobody recognized it as something to pay attention to. For a lot of people, myself included, the music of ES provided a place to go and hide and be enveloped by unobjectionable solitude. Kind of like a place of rest, stagnation and complacency. Either / Or got a huge boost from Good Will Hunting and rightfully so, Elliott Smith's music complemented Will Hunting's loneliness perfectly. I listened constantly and bought most anything he released without hesitation, my favorite song, No Name No. 5 is on this album. I still love it though I hadn't listened all the way though in probably 15 years. I have a reluctance for change which may be why I liked ES so much. Three years after the new millennium closed the death of Elliot Smith ended the 90's for me. No Name No. 5, the heavy drop-d tuned song still sparkles dimly in my imagination as an artifact of a life with an errant existence and no place to be.

Great stuff! I was way into this yesterday when I was listening, but this morning woke up and couldn't remember what it sounded like ... except there was a melodeon... and it was festive...(?) But to put this in perspective, the morning after a great night with the mates and some pints is often accompanied by memory loss and an underlying feeling that a good time was had. This is that kind of album.

Prehistoric eurotrash from the 80s. Saxaphone, funk, reggae and preppy white kids in sweaters. There's a reason this never made it stateside.

Great album. Huge fan of old TCQ and most Native Tongues stuff from back in the day and I didn't think an album like this was possible anymore. Love the samples, scratch, beats and old skool vibe of The Renaissance. Below are some great highlights that have occupied my ears for the past couple days: Gettin Up WeFight/WeLove ManWomanBoogie Move If this was a solo album it makes me wonder what the other four members of Tribe Called Quest were doing in the studio.

This album spins just fine, most of the songs I've heard on the radio, the others I have not. Very adequate.

There are two sets of songs on this album. The songs that you've heard before because they're good songs and played on the radio (or used in Martin Scorsese films), and the foundational songs that give those others meaning. The foundational songs are innate, born from dark empty dive bars with makeshift stages and played differently each time. They are barely commercial and exist as authentic extensions of some guys that just like to play music. Sure, Jagger's buxom lips are alluring, drool-worthy even, and his androgynous stage prancing has unmatched sexx appeal, but it's really Keith Richards and his schlong that keep the band honest.

This evening I found a cold wet washcloth behind the toilet in my kids' bathroom and found it more interesting than this album. I was actually looking forward to this, but the Bee Gees Odessa is terrible, has zero personality and was a huge disappointment.

It's hard to describe what it is that makes me love and hate this music in equal parts. I loved two songs on this... but it really doesn't matter which ones they were because they all sound roughly the same. Dramatic. Spain. Paris. Cafés. Theatre. That accordion-thing and some strings. The music is interesting, there's a lot going on here but this album fills me with anxiety after about 10 mins. of listening. I'm not sure what it is, but the first two mins. were very enjoyable. The balance of the album had me looking for a bridge to jump off of. In summary, I would rather listen to "Closing Time" by Semisonic on a loop than turn on this album one more time.

I just finished watching White Lotus and I'm pretty sure that they used parts of Watermelon Man to build eerie tension and impending doom in some of the episodes. I'm glad that I was introduced to this, Chameleon went on forever, and it was good, but could've ended about 12 minutes sooner. All of this was good to experience and provides a basic foundation of electrofunk. I'd be open to hearing more and exploring this genre a little further.

Absolutely beautiful, I loved this voice, though I don't know what she's saying most of the time. Must be in the right mood to listen to this, I chose late in the evening and it was perfect. Highlight of this album is Lakutshon' Ilanga, so relaxing. The album artwork and lo-fi production only added to the listening experience. She seems to have been an important figure in fighting apartheid and had an exceptional career from Johannesburg to New York to Italy. Super happy to have been turned on to this album and Miriam Makeba.

This album was heavily promoted and toured so it's no wonder why they chose to place this Blur album on the list. However, there are other, read BETTER, albums by this band and I'm not even a big fan. Song 2 is most notoriously used pretty much whenever your favorite team scores a goal or cuts to a commercial break, but even then it's only about a three second blip. Some may not know that this was originally used in the blockbuster (I use that term loosely) epic Starship Troopers. Listening to this more than twenty years later, the album is a chore to get through, even Look Inside America, the song that IMO was underutilized on the airwaves lacks luster today. To make matters worse, the 'special edition' which is hard to avoid on Spotify includes more than two hours of material. It burns a little to say, but even with some background on the band, it's difficult to get into this album. The long drawn out repetitions and the lyrics delivered with phone-it-in laziness is a huge turn off. The success of this album relies too heavily on the fans of previous work. I can't imagine what it's like listening to this for the first time. Hugely disappointing.

Beep! Beep! There's a band named Cracker that was big in the 90's. Also, in the 90's I was once called honky - "What's up honky?!" ... and again, in the 90's... Archers of Loaf had an album called "White Trash Heroes," (the last song on that album by the same name is great). This album, "Honky Tonk Heroes" came out in the 70s. Evidently things had changed in the 20 years since Waylon Jennings had released this so I had to get to the bottom of what Honky Tonk was and I did a Wikipedia search. Evidently, there's a difference between country music and another similar style of music called Honky Tonk, whereas Country music was mostly from the rural south and had a religious slant to it whereas Honky Tonk was the style of music played by rural southerners who've moved to the city and discovered all of it's ills, which makes sense since WJ and Johnny Cash were known to do some pretty awesome drugs together. Oh! The album. As soon as I found out that this eschews any religious slant, it freed me up to listen to this with an open mind and guess what... ? I liked this way more than I thought I would. I especially liked that it was only 32 mins. I liked the pace of it. I liked the slide guitar and I liked his voice.

Golf is a slow sport, filled with muted excitement and plaid pants from Rod Stewart's wardrobe. Someone must be listening to this album tho. The play-count on Spotify is through the roof. ...It's gotta be those golfers. The first song out of the gate is great, and by song number three, I'm searching for something that could give me the motivation to keep listening. This isn't a new phenomenon, all of his music seems to be like this. Similarly with Faces, another RS group, I thought "man, I should listen to this stuff more often" until I do and realize my time would be better spent screaming at my kids or watching golf. I'd like to think that RS is a rocker at heart, on par with Mick Jagger and Keith Moon but the energy he has just isn't sustainable and it slows down. Some people may refer to this as 'range'. I say, if you want range, go hit a bucket of balls with your plaid pants. This album barely registers as par.

That cover is scandalous! The music is pretty bland. This is another one of those bands that everyone seems to like except me. I have neither positive or negative feelings about this band, it is straight vanilla. Roxy Music always gets lumped into music that I somehow missed and should spend some decent time getting to know. But, even after two listens, it is entirely forgettable. I hear some Beck in there, and some Talking Heads and some Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's kind of all over the place... The music backing up the sing-song-y delivery of the lyrics is decent, specifically Out of The Blue has some great sounds grounding it, but the style of singing is filled with fiber and makes me want to poop. Another album that leaves me asking "Why is this on the list?"

Oh wow! Who turned up the drama to eleven?! That first track is terrible with those operetta voice and lovesick lyrics. Fortunately the balance of the album doesn't follow that first one "The Whole of the Law". I love the diversity of instruments used on the record, and the raw guitar with short breakouts like the one that opens City of Fun. However, please save us the 'my voice is awesome lemme show you my vibrao skills' crap. I don't care about any of that and I can't imagine any of your fans do either. I'm kind of a sucker for this era of intelligent lo-fi polished punk from the late 70s. I'd never heard of The Only Ones and happy to have been turned on to them.

I bet Sinatra was a total prick asshole and a shitty driver, but I love those sweet pipes of his... mmmm.... Sinatra is no replacement for Astrud Gilberto, however. Sinatra is a classic in himself and I wish he wouldn't have tried rewriting some of these Bossa Nova classics. Stay in your own damn lane, Frank! This is borderline offensive, is what it is.

I always wanted a pair of leather pants. Did they steal those from Jim Morrison? I would've thought I'd have a harder time getting into those pants than I would getting into this album. But alas, it'll be easier to squeeze my 240 pounds of self into those sausage tubes than listen to this again. Great guitar work, leather pants (and balls-out presentation) isn't enough for me to enjoy this album. It's a shame, Thin Lizzy is one of those bands that I think I should like but never quite do.

Historically important, check. Listenable, check. Enjoyable, check. Sought after, nil. Commercially viable in the late 50s / early 60s does not translate sixty years into the future. This is much more about recreating a time period similar to the HS dance scene in Back to the Future.

Lot's of nuanced sex in this album. I doubt that I'm the ideal demographic of this album, but I appreciated Jazmine Sullivan's attempt at pulling back the curtain to expose realities and thoughts of her audience. That was enough for me to engage with this album. Different self-reflection interstitials connect themes of sexuality and feminism and provide short glimpses into the headspace of the artist. These are the highlights of this album. The 'tales' are short (each one less than two mins.) and convey candid, and I assume genuine, thoughts from different women about the pussy, the money and the self-worth. The tales are relatable (even for those without vaginas) and the effect on the listener is a stronger connection to her music. In an age where artists are defined more by their carefully choreographed social media splashes than their music, it's a welcome change that JS has opted for. The inclusion of some authenticity seems to be counterintuitive for aspiring singer / songwriters but that's what I love about this one.

This is the music that sits in a corner by itself at a party waiting to be discovered. This album makes me relive, uhhh revile, high school and this album was played perpetually from the sidelines amongst my group of friends. Robert Smith, the personality, overshadowed the music within. When Disintegration came out it was difficult to enjoy this album without dressing up like Robert Smith or Edward Scissorhands. But today, separating the Robert Smith-goth fans from this music is pretty easy. Time has moved on. There are some great takeaways from this that even today I'll listen to. That intro to Fascination Street is incredible, Pictures of You, Lullaby and Last Dance all are on some playlist of mine somewhere. Disintegration is a late-80's early 90's piece of nostalgia that, no matter how terrible high school was, I'll always want to remember.

I've heard people refer to this as the jazz album for people that hate jazz. My dad bought me this "white guys play jazz" album when I was in high school and I wore this thing out. For the record, I'm white, and I'd like to think I like jazz, but in reality... notsomuch. Anyway, Time Out has been a guilty pleasure of mine in the past. Though, I feel less guilty about it as time has moved on. (To put this in perspective, It's not like Counting Crows-guilty pleasure which is now just an embarrassment). Evidently, this is a quintessential 'Cool Jazz' album. [side note] One of my favorite t-shirts I had when I was a kid had an illustration of a Saxophone with music notes flying out of it and a headline that read "Smooth Jazz Blows" DB is pretty amazing, when I hear this album, I imagine the guys at Doyle Dane Bernbach and George Nelson sitting around smoking and drinking Martinis joking around laughing and getting ready to watch Playboy's Penthouse, which at that time was pretty cool, but by today's standards, almost cringeworthy. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel did a great job of recreating a similar scene in an episode, "Comedy vs. Cabbage," I think. Regardless of the associations, the music is still great.

If the word vanilla is used to connote absolutely plain, basic and uninteresting, what would be one notch under that? I'm trying to rectify how something can be totally unlistenable but not terrible. This is music, yes. And, I imagine that there are some people that enjoy this, but I couldn't find any music worthy of discussing here. I suppose, since I have to pick something, Easy Blues is a positive that I'll extract from this. It is the one song that doesn't belong here. I'm going to take a stab at how the term 'vanilla' would fit into the 5-star breakdown. 1 - Shit / offensive 2 - ? 3 - Vanilla / meh 4 - Doughnuts and Cronuts 5 - ? Well, that didn't work... to be continued...

If you google 'Strange Cargo' it takes you pages of results for a movie staring Clark Gable from 1940. This alone may give you some insight into how awesome this album is. Despite that, this was far better than I thought it would be, and much better than the album art is. It's important to note that there are at least three Strange Cargo albums, the second I started listening to by mistake and it was a mistake. I should've eaten a sprig of Parsley after listening to SC2, or at least dusted my ears with it. I honestly didn't mind spending time with this. Though since 1993, the robots have taken over the world and today, this music is ubiquitous. It's absolutely something my daughter would splice into her YouTube videos. I blame the machines. At one point SC3 was avant garde and exciting, but time moves on...

In the early 2000s, you'd hear the term 'Eurotrash' a lot. I kinda liked that term, kind of like a badge of honor because most of the people using it had bad taste. It was similar to being called a Texan. Which, depending on your social circles was either an extreme insult, or badge of honor. [Though, Texans are the only people that would consider this a badge of honor]. Anyhow, after listening to this album, I'd like to introduce another term. 'Brit shit'. I don't use this term like, 'Yeah! That's the shit!,' but more of a 'Oh man, you stepped in shit ... and it's got bad teeth.' The music coming out of Cornershop is what happens when you create by committee. This music has no backbone, it's absolutely flaccid and that tambourine isn't helping. There's no coherence here. There are seven members in this band and the music presents like everyone is leading it. The abundance of samples and inclusion of unique noises gives me anxiety. Candyman, for example has some guy rapping against a sampled ukele, some gospel chorus and a muffled man talking gibberish in the background with some errant clapping. This cluttered instrumentation is all over this album. To come full circle I would categorize this album as Brit shit, and for reference here's what that means: Texans Cornershop Eurotrash

There are some great sounds coming out of this one. There are timeless hooks and builds that have influenced countless bands. Not to mention consumers. Some songs, or portions of them are ubiquitous in film scores (Darjeeling Limited) and commercials. 'Picture Book' was played in an HP Commercial that played incessantly in the early 2000's. Also the intro from 'Steam-Powered Trains' is used in either some Dick Pills, or Valtrex / STD-type commercials. And why not? With lines like "I'm the last of the good old renegades, all my friends are middle-class and gray" and "last of the good choo-choo trains" big pharma was obviously looking to connect with old dudes looking to plow twenty year-olds. The selection only makes sense. Anyhow, I really love the sound of this album. It's ragged, garage-y and crusty, yet loosely unified in all the right spots... perfect for old dudes. This is The Kinks that I know and love.

I'm a sucker for vintage punk rock girls and Debbie Harry and Chrissy Hynde are on the top of that list. The Pretenders somehow are able to thread the needle between raw and refined perfectly. Good enough for the airwaves, but grimy enough to want to go see them live. This is a great reminder that 80's radio wasn't all saxophones and blow suck. Really enjoyed listening to this album in its entirety.

Kim Basinger has aged and so has Purple Rain. But the classic album endures partly because of the personality and all the stories tied to it. The Charlie Murphy skits on Chapelle's Show were the best. My favorite is when Prince challenges the Murphy crew to a game of hoops, destroys them and then serves pancakes afterward. Sure, Let's Go Crazy has got to be one of the best 'pick me up' songs there is known to man and despite the inclusion of Computer Blue, this album still scores high. But it's the basketball and pancakes story, the fancy roller skates and afterhours rollerskating with Questlove story, the personal ads story (where in 1993 to spend the holidays someone) give PR longevity that Kim Basinger will never have... even after being immortalized by releasing recordings of the two having sex. https://www.vulture.com/2014/09/24-outrageous-prince-stories.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff8LEx9Mw54

I reviewed music for Buddyhead just before they signed The Icarus Line. (None of my online write-ups survived over the past 20 years, I looked). Travis was an intense dude and poured everything he had into Buddyhead. He rejected substantial offers to maintain legitimacy and be able to write whatever the hell he wanted to. He carved out and occupied a special space in the LA / Hollywood music scene. I listened to this Penance Soiree back when it was new. On a fleeting superficial level, I thought there was something to like contained in the album. For example, the way that the first song starts (Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers) is great, the distortion and long pauses open to heavy bass-y basics against a subdued tempo and decent vocals. Spike Island retains a little bit of this but as the album progresses, it sounds kind of like a self-absorbed Soundgarden / Chris Cornell revival. I hated Soundgarden and the album was forgettable. Reading up on TIL, I found out that Mark Trombino, of Drive Live Jehu (and a bunch of other productions) was set to produce an album, but dropped out for some reason. DLJs Yank Crime still stands as one of my favorite albums of all time and I listened to it again with new ears. And today, some of makes me think of The Dirty Nil, who I really like. They've got great energy and power, but even still, there's just not enough that is interesting to continue listening. Great memories, meh music.

Do you know the importance of a Skypa-jah? Love, love, love. Saw TCQ tour this album at the Flood Zone with Busta Rhymes. They went out with Scenario and the whole place was going wild! The Low End Theory is contaminated with all the good post-high school memories, there's no way that I could provide an unbiased review today. ----- Equally as good is the TCQ doc. Highly recommend. https://www.amazon.com/Beats-Rhymes-Life-Travels-Called/dp/B005LM7KP0

I'm not sure why these guys have such a devoted following. I was trying to figure out what 'Legs' would've sounded like if it was written by women. "She's got legs, and she knows how to use them" ...would be changed to... "He's got money, and he knows how to save it?" And what would they look like? A trio of hairy women in trench coats and sunglasses, perhaps? And it was with that exercise that made me realize that it was more fun than listening to this music.

I feel like I'm watching all of the Godfather movies in one sitting. Not super excited about listening to more Prince since we just reviewed Purple Rain, which was decent. This too is decent but I'm just so tired of looking at Don Corleone. Some decent radio music from my childhood but nothing I'd ever buy or listen to willfully especially after being served so much in such a short span.

I am biased. Aimee Mann went to my high school. I wasn't aware of this fact until I was 24 and working on the film Magnolia. One of the sound guys brought his nephew to the set who was visiting from out of town. He was wearing a brown and orange Monican t-shirt. Aimee Mann happened to be on set that day and noticed the shirt. She said something along the lines to him, "Midlothian and Monican are high school rivals, and I attended Midlothian." A couple hours later she was gone and I approached him to comment on his shirt, saying basically the same thing. "You're the second person to tell me that today," he said. Crazy. What are the chances? I kept hoping she'd come back to the set before the end of filming, but she never did. A couple months later I worked on a Fiona Apple video with PTA and he was signing Magnolia soundtracks and giving them out to the crew. For the foreseeable future, I bought all of Aimee Mann's music and saw her perform a few times at Café Largo on Fairfax. She was great. All of this happened AFTER Whatever was released and until now, I wasn't super-familiar with this album. Jon Brion was heavily involved in the Magnolia soundtrack and he's here too. Though not as fully formed as her later work, the album has all the hallmarks of the work I know. Reaching vocals against basic distortion, slower acoustic songs with a smattering of samples with a heavy emphasis on her soothing voice. This album was best played in the 1990s in middle-suburbia. Ideally listened to on CD, but definitely in the bedrooms of late-teen-anxty girls who yearn for a life far from Midlothian and closer to Melrose Place.

"So fresh and so clean, clean!" If I lived in a show like the Truman Show, I'd make sure this song played every time I brushed my teeth or got out of the shower. However, I didn't find much to love about remainder of the song... or the album for that matter.

It seems Skunk Anansie is REALLY big across the pond but I'd never heard of them. Though not terrible, the album is largely forgettable today. The doom-laden sound juxtaposed with Skin's undeniably strong voice surely worked well in the mid-to-late '90s. And though I appreciate the unique tempos, thick bass and boundless energy, this isn't something that I'd willfully turn on today. If I had discovered this at the turn of the century, I probably would have listened and enjoyed this on more than one occasion. And, if I were to do the 90's all over again, Post Orgasmic Chill would be right next to Ednaswap's Wonderland Park in my Sony 6-disc CD changer.

The sound coming out of this album is before its time. I really liked this album more than I thought I would. Instead of being some relic of the late London punk scene, Killing Joke provided some good sounds to last and inspire the next generation of musicians. Of the bands that have cited them as profound influences, Metallica and Soundgarden are not my favorite, thought I did find it interesting to know both LCD Soundsystem and Jane's Addition cited them as inspiration. Never listened to them before, but will definitely listen to them in the future.

Ahh, another BM. I feel a kinship to this guy simply because of his unfortunate name used to indicate Bowel Movement. On my way to work I was listening to 'Jamming' on the radio. The station cut to a commercial break for Charmin toilet tissue. Did you know that Chamin's slogan happens to be 'Enjoy the Go'? I giggled a little when I heard that. Not sure about you, but I always enjoy a good BM. But reggae music is a different story. I hate reggae music, but this is somehow redeemable simply because of the unique mood it sets up. Like, let's all get high and relaxate, and who doesn't want to do that? All things can be facilitated with a little relaxation. Next time I go BM, I'm gonna take some BM with me.

Though this isn't the first time listening to Tidal, I missed this when it was first released. Though I did become a fan of her later work. I was assuming that Jon Brion had something to do with this album. I find his influence here and know they'd collaborated before, but he's nowhere to be found on the credits. Highlights on this album are the ones that you'd expect because they were played on MTV / radio endlessly. But the one that stands out for me is the opening track, Sleep to Dream. It's just so badass, and unique. I love the sound of the strength coming through in her voice.

UGH. Nope. Not for me. This music is for douchy faux rugby players and /or unemployed recent college grads who hang out at coffee bars and recite Noam Chomsky.

Christopher Cross with some Patti LaBelle should've done an album together. A duet of sorts. I imagine that if Patti and Christopher's album had materialized, it would sound a lot like this SoaD album. The deep soft vocals of are soothing and relaxing especially when they hit those low thud-y notes. And the chorus' rwwrawwhhh, rwawrahhhh is incredibly inspiring. This is something you'd put on for an enjoyable Sunday morning with the family or right before you marched into Taliban territory outside of Kabul.

This album is unoffensive and fine. A relic of the past. When I listen to this album, I can't help but feel like I should be driving an old Studebaker toward the west coast with a green frog in the front seat singing "Moving Right Along" https://youtu.be/Q6NQcO9KTBY

I always thought Lion-O was kinda douchey, but this really made me laugh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHml_J1PN9Y). For the record, Panthro was my favorite Thundercat, though this guy might be my second favorite. Anyone that can work with Pharrell, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins and Kendrick Lamar deserves respect. The album was on the longer side clocking in at 53 mins., but Drunk kept moving. I'm not much of an R&B fan, but this is far less traditional than what I had expected. Unique repetitions, loops, beats, sounds it was wholly refreshing and was glad to have been turned on to this. Will listen more... Thundercat, hooooooo!