Pure Americana. Starts and finishes strong, the title track stands out in the middle with a slide whistle. Overall, an enjoyable evening listen with a similar style throughout.
Lots of gritty guitar, scratchy static noises I find distracting and not really ambient.
Dynamic, melodic. Easy to see why this album makes a best list. I could do without the beeps and bops in the middle, but it works well as a transition in tone. Love Laguna Sunrise, what a nice breath of fresh air.
Like a mix of Fleetwood Mac, Hall and Oates, and Barry Manilow. I prefer the first two, but the title track swings a little too Manilow for me. Peg is a feel-good classic. Generally, the album feels like it's missing soul and is too rehearsed or produced to get at my rock or jazz tendencies. It ain't natural.
The groove really takes over, I don't think I could listen without moving my head. U got the look is an easy favourite. I could never take the place of your man and it's gonna be a beautiful night make me wish I could have gone to a Prince party. What a fun vibe. Adore is so good, lemme light a candle and get a snuggle on.
Noise rock and out of key vocals. Dissonance isn't my thing, I guess. Less rock, more cringe for me.
Hard to imagine what it would feel like to listen to this one with fresh ears. This album is bluesy and lo-fi, but also forms the soundtrack to my 20's, and invariably my relationship with Scott. The Black Keys are one of the artists we shared an enjoyment of when we met, exemplified by this album. Next Girl, Howlin' for You, and Tighten Up I liked in the pre-Scott era of my life. Together, I've grown to love Sinister Kid and Ten Cent Pistol for long car rides. The pandemic, stay home life, and turning 30 brought me to a place to really appreciate Everlasting Light, Black Mud, and Never Gonna Give You Up.
This album is mambo in a Latin club. Not very dynamic, but a good time.
Love is a Stranger is a fun, breezy, synth pop start. The darker, new wave tone of most of the album isn't for me. Sweet Dreams is, of course, a great classic dance track.
Dynamic, interesting. I had no idea what would come next and was eager to find out. Nothing stood out to make it into regular listening for me.
This little pitstop on the evolution of soul into funk through Motown is everything I needed. It's uplifting and melodic but also raw at times. The title track as an album opener is such a heavy hitter.
Powerful vocals, but I am generally bored by the song arrangements. Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes and Black Coffee are best. I don't think any are making it into rotation for me.
What an absolutely transformative album. The first three tracks were too much noodle and clang for me to feel anything other than cold and sad indifference - a little too weird for me to really enjoy. How to Disappear Completely burrowed into my soul. Treefingers expanded through me. I wanted to just lay down with my eyes closed and listen, focus. I'm at a spa, floating, inside a computer at a perfect ambient temperature. I emerged on another plane. I was on the ride until Idioteque, which brought be back to my earthly body. Motion Picture Soundtrack is beautiful, and I was genuinely sad to find the end of the album. Had a nice sit in silence after, what can you even play to follow it?
Overall, the bass lines and jazzy rap hit right. Lost me on a couple songs. Really serves as a time capsule to 1991 in so many ways. The Busta feature on Scenario is a standout favourite for me.
I only knew one song, It's My Life, by Talk Talk prior to listening. This album is much more jazz-infused Pink Floyd than the 80's synth pop I was expecting. The songs drag on in a way I don't find very interesting.
I don't even know what to say about this one. This album is part of the fabric of my life. I remember being ten years old, listening to it as loud as possible with my friends' parents. Songs on this album underscored crushes on boys in Zeppelin t-shirts. I've listened to it on many car rides to cottages in the summer, from my first time having the car for a weekend in high school through to the last summer pre-pandemic. It's impossible to be objective, it's one of the greatest albums of my life.
Great sampling. I really respect what they did with rap thematically and every song has a distinct sound. I already loved People Everyday and it remains a favourite. I got a little bored and lost in the back half. Tennessee is another solid single.
It's hard to genuinely listen to this and not feel like it was put on ironically. These songs have appeared in too many things and it's such a fake, put-on vibe. The musical talent is undeniable, but the styling is not for me.
I find the bubbling of the electric jug distracting. Easy to see how these guys were influencial founders of the psychedelic rock scene.
What terrifying cover art. N.I.B. is a standout favourite. Great melodic arrangements throughout, while also making me want to... Rock out?
Wow, this is definitely different. The sonic styles between La fille de la mort and Rue des tempetes showcases quite a range. Charlotte brings back the creepy French clown vibe. Props to the lyrics for embracing taboo themes like female masterbation and menstruation, but did it also have to be a horror? Okay this was really a rollercoaster leading to this man becoming a father, then killing her? It's a little unclear what's going on, even once you get past my terrible French and lack of access to reasonable translations.
I was originally confused by the Dark Cabaret genre label but I get it now, at least. I was curious what was around every new song, but it isn't something I would recommend or want to listen to again.
It starts so heavy and powerful, then gets a little dorky. You're my best friend is such a feel good moment. There's a switch to a more folksy sound with '39 before heading back to classic rock. Seaside Rendezvous is full ridiculous campy cabaret I would have loved to see live in a small theatre. Prophet's Song is a little too rock opera and inconsistent for me. I couldn't figure out if Good Company featured a banjo or ukelele and learned of the combo instrument for the first time. How quirky and fun. Bohemian Rhapsody, what a masterpiece. Not possible to listen without joining in. Didn't really need the patriotic closer, but wow what a tight set of tracks showcasing real DYNAMIC range.
This album is so much darker than I remembered, or maybe I am hearing it differently than when I was in high school. Beck has captured melancholy in a beautiful way. This album brings feelings of wanderlust and apathy together. Lost Cause is the standout favourite, although Golden Age is a tight second.
A big personal favourite. Not only as a sonic masterpiece as an album, but each song can stand on its own. I can't think of another group with 3 different lead vocalists that works so well. It's endured for over 40 years as one of the GOATs and remains endearing to each subsequent generation. What more could you ask for?
Picking a favourite song is absolutely impossible, there are so many moods represented. If I'm looking for motivation - The Chain. Reading before bed - Songbird. Having a peaceful sunny weekend - Dreams, Never Going Back Again.
There are 69 songs, I'll give them that. The concept of a large volume of under produced, not-all-that-in-key songs really doesn't do it for me. I am struggling to find the appeal, and I lose respect for the artistic process with every new song. Editing, refinement and actual emotions are things I value much more than hearing an exposé of the process. I enjoy Peter Gabriel's version of The Book of Love, the original doesn't stand out from the sea of tracks. I enjoyed The One You Really Love, Papa Was a Rodeo, Love is Like a Bottle of Gin, and Zebra but not enough to want to listen again. Things get a little weird on the third disc (Experimental Music Love, For We Are the King of the Boudoir, Xylophone Track), but it's too little, too late. I'm bored, I'm tired, and my Spotify algorithm is confused.
This is one I really wanted to like, after hearing about its place in hip-hop history. It sounds influencial, but not something I want to add to my listening rotation. It's Like That is the standout favourite.
What a banger of an album. The bass lines and lyrics are equally powerful. It's a tragedy the same themes of injustice are still at play 30 years later. Bombtrack, Killing In the Name, Take the Power Back, Know Your Enemy are my top picks.
Love that funky vibe. I didn't expect the social commentary on white flight in Run Charlie Run. I have to keep adjusting my perception of the Temptations. Papa Was A Rolling Stone and I Ain't Got Nothin are top tracks, although I preferred the more funky sounds of the Cloud Nine album overall.
Oh yes, Slow Burn is such a mood. Also really enjoy Butterflies, Space Cowboy, and High Hopes. Mother hit a nerve, it's short and bittersweet but being so far away from my family right now gave it punch. This album is just what I needed. I really appreciate her California country vibe.
This album seems like it should be my style but something isn't really clicking for me. Sweet Cocaine and Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga are top picks.
Iconic holiday classic. Even moreso realizing this is the original Christmas (baby please come home).
Two weeks is good, the rest don't give me enough melody or feeling. Dory gives me feels but in the way it sounds like the vocals are at odds with the instrumentals. It took work not to turn it off.
Love the West Side Story reference in Pedro Navaja. The songs are long and get the hips moving. This album doesn't stand out to me, as an outsider to the salsa genre.
Classic old school rhymes, great sampling. Best tracks for me are Shame and CREAM.
The perfect antidote to this morning's dark freezing January temperatures. I wish I was lounging on a beach in the sun. Concrete Jungle, Baby We've Got A Date, and of course, Stir it Up are the top tracks for me.
This album is the embodiment of the good kind of classic rock and folk for me. Hard to wrap my mind around it being 50 years old and still so relevant. Wild World was a favourite before today. The version of Father and Son as a duet between his older and younger selves on the 50th anniversary rerecording hits harder than the original but it's a classic sound.
Funky, psychedelic, and a whole lot of sitar. I didn't make any new discoveries on this one, just reminded of the tracks I love: Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch.
Oh yes, a family favourite. The title track cuts deep every time, hard not to feel and sing along. Also love El Condor Pasa, Cecilia, The Boxer, and The Only Living Boy In New York. How can these all be from the same album!?
It's surprising this is from 1987 not 1997, what a pioneering sound. Clearly inspiring for the grunge alternative scene that followed, you can hear the tendrils this type of album left for artists to come. I didn't realize It's The End of the World wasn't a Great Big Sea original. I'm partial to their sped up, more manic cover.
I feel like I'm right at the intersection between the Velvet Underground and indie bands that followed like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene. This album is a little too distorted and noisy for my delicate sensibilities, but the melodic instrumental stretches are nice.
This album is reminiscent of listening to the oldies AM radio station in my parents' kitchen growing up. Hard to listen by myself and not miss them.
I spent many nights laying on my best friend's floor gossiping about our transition to high school and summer camp changes while listening to this album. Once your adolescent heart has seen a boy with hockey hair play Wonderwall on an acoustic guitar by a campfire, what's left? I started listing favourites and realized it's 9/12, so it's easier to say swamp songs and cast no shadow resonate the least with me.
I wasn't into the first half but things took a turn with The 6th Sense. I was getting a misogynistic vibe, but Common artfully addressed that angle on A Film Called (PIMP). Lots being said but this album wasn't for me.
The biggest meh of 80's pop that I've never heard of and will immediately forget.
Great beats, a little too repetitive for me to get into.
A little boring but in a nice, background music sort of way. Melodic, warm, soothing.
I was only familiar with the International Superhits, and they remain the only songs I will continue to listen to on their own. In their defense, it's 5/15 tracks, which is a pretty sizeable portion. Solid songs, the rest just don't grab me in 2022.
Most of this album is too hard for me to vibe with, Guillotine was my favourite.
This is the first Beatles album to come up and I've gotta say, there are better. It's wild to like 8 songs off an album and feel that way but it's the Beatles.
A great first two tracks had me excited to hear what else this album had. I got a little bored and lost in the middle. The hits I already knew are the only ones that resonated with me - Hanging On The Telephone, One Way Or Another, Sunday Girl, Heart Of Glass.
I was a little tired of the Bob Dylan vibe, and I'm certain that influenced my resistance to this album. Tell Me Momma was the first skip in my step as a departure from things already heard, or at least that felt tired.
What a pleasant surprise.
This is my first time hearing about this album, despite being really into anything the Neptunes touched in this era. Cee-Lo presents a real variety of styles, some more soulful straight-up singing, some raps, but not much endures as something I'd love to hear again. Soul Machine feels under developed, especially next to The Art of Noise, a classic Neptunes production. Childz Play is FUN. I'm missing the catchy vibe I associate with Cee-Lo.
This seems to be one of those albums where I hoped to discover new loves, and am leaving with my old favourites. Somebody to Love, My Best Friend, Embryonic Journey, and White Rabbit all exemplify the good kind of psychedelic folk I love.
If I heard this when I was 13, I would have really liked it, and would still like it for the nostalgia of that time. As it is, I'm 31 and it really doesn't resonate with me. It feels well-crafted, and the Thom Yorke feature was nice.
Blueberry Hill teleported me immediately to my late grandparents' kitchen. While obviously much more a song of their youth, it reminds me of visiting them in the nineties - their dark red stone kitchen with the bird chirping in the corner.
Having never heard of King Crimson before, it was really surprising to hear the song sampled in Kanye's Power. The juxtaposition between the cacophony of how 21st Century Schizoid Man ends and I Talk To The Wind's soft and sweet beginning makes it interesting.
Nothing was actually bad, but it felt like it could have been summed up by a single 3 minute montage in an 80s movie
I liked the more ambient tracks than the more rolling stones songs. Overall, not something I'll need to revisit.
What a fun, moody live album, really makes you wish you were there for it. There aren't any standout songs for me, but the whole vibe sounds like a great night.
This was pretty boring. Hopefully, they had fun, at least.
I need a lot more from a live album. I don't love the source material and it wasn't enriched by the mediocre live recording.
Inoffensive but a little dull.
Oh, this is a smooth album. Very nice.
Kind of loud and poorly produced covers of songs done better by other artists. I don't get it.
