It's obvious that she's a good songwriter, and there's not a bad song here, but literally no one wants to listen to 11 crooning ballads in a row. Just set up some drums and hit the snare on 2 & 4 sometimes!
I would say my tolerance for corny '80s synth-oriented music is pretty high, but this still exceeded that threshold by a ridiculous amount
Probably my favorite album of all time. When I first heard it in 2012, this record changed how i listened to and thought about music. There are so many songwriting and production decisions here that just totally floored me, from the combination of the upbeat accordian grooves with totally programmed drums to the super melodic bass lines. What really made me become obssessed with this album, though, is how conversational and impromptu his vocal delivery is. There are sooo many lyrics on this album, and his phrasing throughout is very cluttered and erratic. It risks sounding clunky and awkward, but instead it makes this whole record feel unpredictable and lively. One of the few albums i wish i could hear again for the first time
I don't think so. I would like my 36 mins and 26 secs back.
This album is more interesting to me knowing that one guy played everything and programmed all the drums himself. There's some cool synth stuff but this mostly feels pretty derivative.
Not what I was expecting at all, but I was surprised to find I really liked this. Ended up listening to it twice in a row.
I don't think so. I would like my 36 mins and 26 secs back.
One of my favorite records, and still probably only the third best Herbie Hancock album imo. I have a poster of this art hanging over my keyboard rig. This actually made me thinking about getting a tattoo of that weird yellow mask thing over Herbie's face
There wasn't much here that I disliked, but not much that was exciting to me either. The best thing I can say about this album is that it sounds like it was a lot of fun to record - the guitar and synth tones sound very meticulously crafted.
It didn't take long for me to turn this off. Not my thing at all.
It's interesting how much they talk about each person's role in making their songs. So many references to Dr. Dre making the beats and Ice Cube doing the lyrics. I generally find it difficult to latch onto lyrics, since I'm mostly paying attention to technical aspects of the arrangement, so it's not easy for me to get to into something so oriented around dynamic vocal performances. But the beats were pretty interesting - lots of interesting sampling and arrangement choices. Was there a Steve Miller Band sample?
I've heard so many of these songs before in the background, but I've never listened to them seriously. Glad I did.
Apparently this band almost called themselves "Nazipenis". I wish this music was provocative, but this is just pretty lame glam rock
Into it
Lots of fun
Love it
Not my fav pavement album. There are hints of what they'd become here, but it's missing some of the cohesion and cleverness of an album like Brighten the Corners
Yes very good
I'm not sure how I feel about the reprises from the earlier songs that punctuate the latter half of this record. Otherwise, this is full of great moments that remind me why I love PM
Pretty cool, but didn't dig the change of vibes on the second half. Cool synth stuff though
I do not like this band. This album did not change my mind.
Really cheesy lyrics. I've certainly heard worse ska albums though
Cool artwork, even cooler arrangements and songwriting. Don't love the vocals though. I feel like this album would reward some repeated listens.
This album made me want to turn on my keyboards and play some soul/r&b all day. Excellent arrangements and vocals
A great window onto a very particular kind of intricate pop arrangement and production
I could see why this wouldn't be for everyone, but i loved it. The second half was particularly good. The vocals were hit or miss for me, but i loved these sparse, iterative electronic arrangements throughout
On the surface, this album verges on feeling unfocused and directionless, but Eno somehow makes this collection of songs feel purposeful and coherent. I'm really interested in the "oblique strategies" cards he uses to construct songs
I get it - it's fine.
This band is comically over-rated. I don't get it at all.
That is some jangly guitar
This was cool - I liked the production, but I'm not super into the songwriting
When i first got really into the Beatles, i couldn't get into this album. I've since come around, but there are still some real stinkers on here. "Dr. Robert" might be the worst Beatles song. I almost demoted this to 4 stars just because of that song
R u talkin talking heads 2 my talkin head? I generally prefer these early TH albums to the obvious mid-career ones. This and 77 feel the most frantic and paranoid, as if everything was done in a take or two. Also, the Al Green cover rules.
Very cool. Love this early electronic/synth stuff
Really liked this. Really smart songwriting and solid playing throughout
Not my favorite PF album - lots of filler here in my opinion. Still has some incredible moments
I found this really exciting and ambitious
Probably my favorite album of all time. When I first heard it in 2012, this record changed how i listened to and thought about music. There are so many songwriting and production decisions here that just totally floored me, from the combination of the upbeat accordian grooves with totally programmed drums to the super melodic bass lines. What really made me become obssessed with this album, though, is how conversational and impromptu his vocal delivery is. There are sooo many lyrics on this album, and his phrasing throughout is very cluttered and erratic. It risks sounding clunky and awkward, but instead it makes this whole record feel unpredictable and lively. One of the few albums i wish i could hear again for the first time
This album is what comes to mind when I think about musicians in the '80s adding synthesizers to their music simply because it was the thing to do at the time and having it just fail miserably. I don't like Bruce in general, but the production on these songs makes this whole record feel particularly disingenuous and superficial.
Pretty cool. Can definitely hear how this has shaped a lot of recent things
One of my favorite new finds so far. Some really dynamic sampling and amazing vocal performances throughout.
It's obvious that she's a good songwriter, and there's not a bad song here, but literally no one wants to listen to 11 crooning ballads in a row. Just set up some drums and hit the snare on 2 & 4 sometimes!
It's kind of silly how little i've listened to this band. Loved it
Hard to not love The Roots
Nope
This was boring
I can see why this album didn't do well at the time, but these are pretty solid songs throughout. He just seems like a such mature and confident songwriter here. On the other hand, I'm also grateful that this album failed, since Graceland wouldn't have emerged otherwise. You can definitely hear him starting to flex the kind of muscles here that he explores later on in Graceland
i don't think live albums really belong on a list like this
Rarely gets interesting enough for me to want to keep listening. They spend so much time crafting these meticulous arrangements for what are really incredibly boring songs
Kind of cool and surprising. I liked how theatric it was
Interesting production but kind of bland songwriting
Miles is probably my least favorite of the iconic jazz giants, but this is him at his best.
incredible arrangements
not really my thing
Never really listened to this band before, but this was super cool
I feel like this isn't actually that amazing but I'm a real sucker for this kind of electronic music
Not really my thing
Actually a pretty great live record, but I kind of object to live albums being on this list in principle.
I'm into it
The title track is wild but
Not really my thing but I get it
Not as strong as Soft Bulletin, but this band has perfect production and arrangements
There are cool individual moments, but overall feels too same-y throughout. Not for me
There are some great songs on here, but a few of them feel slightly underdeveloped. I also prefer the more complex arrangements on his later albums to the focus mostly on piano and strings here. Love the Cleveland song!
I do think there's some filler here, but overall this album is bursting with incredible arrangements and complex harmonic structures.
Chuckie is back
Just a solid rock record from start to finish.
It did not take me long to discover that I don't like this
Fuck yeah, this was cool. One of my favorite parts of doing this list has been discovering these sample-heavy records
Incredibly pleasant
I would say my tolerance for corny '80s synth-oriented music is pretty high, but this still exceeded that threshold by a ridiculous amount
Not super into the songwriting or the vocals, but there are some super interesting production and mixing choices here that make it feel more substantial than a generic indie pop record.
This was kind of cool - the singer sounds like he needed to be in a hair metal band
This one was really cool
I would normally object to rating without listening, but I don't need to put this on to know it's garbage
Really liked this one. I would have been obsessed with this band if I had discovered them in like 2013
So close to being 5 stars, but the Car song and Sweet Lady really drag this album down.
I appreciate the eclecticism, but this is ultimately not for me
Fine but way too safe and hardly her most interest album
An important and exciting transition point in Joni Mitchell's career. I love hearing her experiment with these kinds of arrangements where everything feels so open but still remains grounded by her songwriting.
This was pretty remarkable - I don't know that I'll listen to it regularly, but it was quite a feat to take one of the most experimental jazz performers and somehow make it even more out there.
Very good production and arrangements. Pretty into it