2/14/2022 Today's Album: "In The Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson - Finally, I am able to talk about an album from this generator that I know very well and can review top to bottom with ease. This album is incredible. This album defined what would become essential parts of 70s psychedelic rock, progressive rock, noise rock, and art rock. The production is top notch and the choice to split the music into 5 tracks makes listening to it an incredibly deep, yet digestibly experience. The first song, 21st Century Schizoid Man is one of the best openers to any album ever. The blaring saxophones, the blasted out vocals, the booming bass and top notch drumming make this track feel incredibly powerful and chaotic. There's many time switches, screeching saxophone solos, and dizzyingly polyrhythmic drumming. The band keep incredible co-ordination while having random pauses, impacts, and entrances in a way I haven't seen perfected again until Black Midi. The horns, bass, guitar, and drums play off each other so well and the vocals all throughout the track ranting about the terrible condition of this hypothetical 21st century man match the manic and unpredictable tone of the instruments perfectly. It's hard to tell when the track is going to end because of how noisy and scattered all of the instruments get. I Talk to the Wind follows this track up in an almost unexplainable way. It is such a calm and beautiful track that it gives the listener musical whiplash. The vocals are so smooth and dazed, lamenting the condition of the world and the way the vocalist simply talks to themselves and the wind around them. There are clarinets and flutes in the mix that add to the flowing and sedated nature of the track. The flute solo about halfway through the song followed by the pedaled guitar just sounds so pristine and clear they're memorizing. The outro solo from the flute is even more technically impressive and leaves the track off on such a groovy and impressive note. There is then a huge drumroll transition into perhaps the best track on the record, Epitaph. From the hypnotic guitar riff to the drowning bass and snappy snare hits, this album puts the listener into this cage as it drags you through the universe it creates. The singer illustrates a terrible dystopian environment that one might compare to today. The chorus on this song is powerful, insightful, and incredibly saddening. There is just an incredible weight to this song that leaves such an impact after what was such a laid back song in I Talk To The Wind. The whole album feels like it's set in this "world of the crimson king" which just so happens to be medieval Europe. There's instruments like harpsicord that add to this effect. Moonchild follows this epic piece with a haunting and atmospheric track called Moonchild. The lyrics are incredibly well mixed and produced, telling of this moonchild that yearns for a sun-child and dreams in the shadows of a willow. Each song feels like it holds lore to this mysterious land and this song just hugs your ears while doing so. There's a wailing guitar that accompanies drowning synth chords and cymbal clashes until the album completely tapers off into nothing. The 10 following minutes of this 12 minute track contain some of the wildest improv percussion and it really just needs to be listened to to believe. The 10 minutes of psychedelic ambiance is completely smashed with the intro of the final track, In the Court of the Crimson King. This song is the perfect finisher to the album, leaving it on a similarly noisy and chaotic note as it began and with many ending fake outs too! It's a great track to end off this absolutely incredible album. I have to end this off short due to text limits, but please listen to this album. It's something that has to be experienced and in the 3 years I've been listening to it, it hasn't gotten old. Score: 10/10 Period. Highlights: 21st Century Schizoid Man, I Talk To The Wind, Epitaph, Moonchild, ITCOTCK

2/9/2022 Today's Album: "Franz Ferdinand" by Franz Ferdinand - I reviewed this album right after the last on the flight home from Colorado and went song by song, but the text didn't save so I'll give a shorter and more concise review Edit: This did not end up being concise. This album is fantastic. Going into it, I had heard the title track, Take Me Out, which is a clear shining moment on this album with one of the best executed beat switch ups and lush background instrumentation and dueling guitars. However, that isn't to say there aren't other highlights on this LP. The opener, Jacqueline begins with a softly spoken vocal before the bassline welcomes in the drums and lead guitar. Like a lot of songs on this record, it is an incredibly danceable track with a great chorus that has a critical message of the daily grind of capitalism. The track The Dark of The Matinée is a mixture of 2000s alt rock and 50s show tune melodies, thus the name of the track. The chorus absolutely slaps and the track in general just keeps a really fun and danceable energy throughout. The slowed refrain that speeds back up into the chorus is incredibly well executed and every instrument is able to shine through the mix. The track This Fire is a fairly popular track that has strange vocal harmonies similar to Talking Heads but the quick and precise drum beat and staccato guitar strumming keeps it very energetic and the finish is very noisy and climactic. The track Come On Home is a fantastic track that might have become my favorite of the record. The subtle, yet dramatic chorus and incredible guitar and synth work gives this song an amazing energy. I should mention that this album has a very uniform sound and despite for the most part being quite innovative with it, the track Cheating On You just didn't do many exciting things with the style. However there are plenty of moments where there is tons of innovation. The track Auf Achse has these ringing synths to back the usual quick drum beat, guitar and bass and it works very well. I also like the bit of German at the end of it to give the title some context and I imagine have a potent message if I went looking for it. The album closes off well with the track 40', which just cements the entire vibe of the track into one song, with it feeling like a culmination of what came before it. It's a much more subtle and chilled out track and it gives it a somber finale feeling. The guitar riff that comes in around 2 minutes is great and the drums/cymbals are getting the absolute shit beat out of them. There's also a really cool synth line that comes in before it cuts back down to the more somber vibe. It leaves off the album in a fantastic way and I just cannot emphasize that enough. This album blew me away with it's creativity, yet consistency. Each Instrument always comes through the mix well and the entire album has themes of break up, anger towards exes (or the other gender in general), and positivity towards being single after a shitty relationship. I love this album and although some songs lack in innovation, it's really hard to complain when the album flows so excellently and keeps my interest so well throughout. If you like alt rock or rock in general, this is an essential listen. Score: 9.5 Phenomenal Highlights: Jacqueline, Tell Her Tonight, Take Me Out, The Dark of The Matinée, Auf Achse, This Fire, Darts of Pleasure, Michael, Come on Home, 40'

4/08/2022 Today's Album: "Heaux Tales" by Jazmine Sullivan - This album is really great and knows how to keep it's ideas short and concise. This album should essentially be called hoe tales, as almost every track is split up from the next by a short interlude of a woman talking about some aspect of being a woman. Antoinette's Tale talks about how men are taught to objectify women, Ari's Tale is about submitting to a man because of his sexual game, and Donna's Tale is about fucking men for the sole purpose of getting something out of it, even if that man is your husband. Although these interludes seem ammeter and comical, the combined message of the interlude and following track can have a huge impact. Like in Rashida's Tale, which talks about cheating on someone and how awful it feels on both ends being followed by Lost One, which is a chillingly somber track about a heartbreak. The tracks in between the interludes are all pretty fantastic. They all feature a really cool musical idea with Jazmine's vocals taking center stage and the R&B backtrack always backing her up perfectly. I think every song has a lot of impactful lines that help them all feel unique, necessary, and apt given the context provided by each "Heaux"'s tale. The whole album feels like it tackles many of the crucial modern issues of being a woman in America and it feels like all the ideas are integrated in a way that doesn't take away from the entire musical presentation of each track. I think if you like female pop like Ariana Grande or Doja Cat, you will like the aesthetic of this album and if you have ever felt the world is just a little fucked up towards women, and especially black women, this album is a great one to dig into the lyrics with. Give it a listen if that sounds like you. I think a lot of it isn't totally my thing and the whole thing feels really short (especially with about 8 minutes of interludes), but some of the hits on here made my playlist for sure and I think it's a fairly good example of R&B/Pop today. Score: 7.5/10 Some great female R&B/Pop Highlights: Bodies, Pick Up Your Feelings, Put It Down, Price Tags, Lost One, The Other Side, Girl Like Me

11/19/2021 Today's Album: "A Seat at the Table" by Solange - I did a little bit of research on this album when I was unable to actually listen to it and found out that Solange is Beyonce's younger sister and after listening to this album, it is obvious that the talent in the family doesn't stop at her big sister. This album was enjoyable from start to finish. Her subtle vocals, but harsh criticisms on race are complimented by simple, but effective lo-fi instrumentals that are some of the best produced ones that I have heard. The album almost flew by despite it's more than 50 minute runtime and I attribute that to the way this album kept my interest throughout the entire project. I was either appreciating her vocals, a lyric, an interesting addition to the instrumentals, or one of the biting racially charged interludes that split up the main tracklist. These interludes give the audience a clear message for the whole album, which is one of Solange choosing to not accept or take the time to learn of what America is because of how broken, unfair, and disrespectful America has been to her race. Songs like Mad, Don't you Wait, Don't Touch my Hair, and a many others all point to this idea of black culture being stepped on and abused by American systems and Solange's refusal to be okay with any of it or accept any of it. She pretty much talks to the entire white US population during the album as if she was talking about her relationship with a single person, which allows for a lot of interesting comments and critique. Overall, this album floored me. It was so subtle, but packed such a punch and every few seconds I was being surprised by a new sound, with everything sounding so organic and natural within the mix. Great vocals, great music, great message, and great vibes. This is a killer record for sure. Score: 9.5/10 A masterpiece Highlights: Essentially every non-interlude track

4/24/2022 Today's Album: "Modern Lovers" by The Modern Lovers - In my personal opinion, this album is a pile of absolute dog shit. Excluding the highlights, which I will discuss a bit later, this album has absolutely unbearable vocals. The dude sounds like he's shitfaced and just doesn't give a fuck at all. I know that with punk music and especially with what this album is clearly ripping off (The Velvet Underground), there is a lot of "bad" vocals and it's sort of the point of the genre, but jesus christ if it isn't just absolutely grating. I can manage it on the songs where he's singing with any sort of rhythmic intent, but often times it just doesn't fit the music whatsoever. I think the production on this album is actually quite okay and the instruments sound pretty good on some tracks, but most of the performances throughout here are just so mediocre and generic. It often feels like there is little to no difference in the instrumental from track to track and that is truly what makes the highlights stand out. There are only 3 highlights on this record for me. The track Pablo Picasso still suffers from the dogshit lead vocalist's singing, but I think the instrumental is actually really tasteful and the lyrics are kind of funny, even if they come across as completely annoying due to the voice. The track hospital feels way more subtle and mellow than any other track with this really nice soft organ opening and what I can expect is this vocalist trying their absolute hardest to sound somewhat decent (and failing at it). I like the drum groove that comes in at about 45 seconds and I think the time switch ups are pretty cool and well done. Government Center sounds like a punk track you might here closer to the 80s or 90s and is the only time when this album feels forward thinking. The lead vocal is still incredibly grading but the instrumental is fun and bubbly with claps and a goofy synth sound. Overall, though, this record is fucking awful. I think I am still missing some perspective on the punk genre, but at this point I have heard enough good punk songs to know this record never reaches the same highs as any of them. There are some promising moments on this record, but it just is so few and far between that it is seriously one of the worst album experiences I have ever had. Listen to the highlights if you can handle some strange punk and seriously just don't listen to the other tracks. They are generic, blown out, and have terrible vocals over them. Score: 2/10 bad Highlights: Pablo Picasso, Hospital, Government Center

Seems like a big inspiration for a lot of artists. The word "Classic" comes to mind a lot and I get a lot of Sinatra vibes. Overall very good.

11/19/2021 Today's Album: "The Gershwin Songbook" by Ella Fitzgerald - This album must have been revolutionary at the time, given the bright brass band instrumentation in the background and that it was released before even the 1960s. However, this album ends up sounding really dated to me. There really isn't anything in here that you wouldn't find in some broadway musical and the more I listen, the more it sounds like this album inspired so much of musical music today. It literally sounds like the most boring musical I've ever heard because of that reason and although that is by no fault of the album, the fact that this sound has been polished and perfected to the point it has on Broadway, it makes it very hard to listen to this and not have my ears glaze over. The best moments on this album are the parts that sound most like that Ray Charles album we heard earlier. This album has merit, but it absolutely is not my thing. Score: 4/10 sounds nice but not my thing Highlights: But Not For Me, 'S Wonderful

11/19/2021 Today's Album: "A Seat at the Table" by Solange - I did a little bit of research on this album when I was unable to actually listen to it and found out that Solange is Beyonce's younger sister and after listening to this album, it is obvious that the talent in the family doesn't stop at her big sister. This album was enjoyable from start to finish. Her subtle vocals, but harsh criticisms on race are complimented by simple, but effective lo-fi instrumentals that are some of the best produced ones that I have heard. The album almost flew by despite it's more than 50 minute runtime and I attribute that to the way this album kept my interest throughout the entire project. I was either appreciating her vocals, a lyric, an interesting addition to the instrumentals, or one of the biting racially charged interludes that split up the main tracklist. These interludes give the audience a clear message for the whole album, which is one of Solange choosing to not accept or take the time to learn of what America is because of how broken, unfair, and disrespectful America has been to her race. Songs like Mad, Don't you Wait, Don't Touch my Hair, and a many others all point to this idea of black culture being stepped on and abused by American systems and Solange's refusal to be okay with any of it or accept any of it. She pretty much talks to the entire white US population during the album as if she was talking about her relationship with a single person, which allows for a lot of interesting comments and critique. Overall, this album floored me. It was so subtle, but packed such a punch and every few seconds I was being surprised by a new sound, with everything sounding so organic and natural within the mix. Great vocals, great music, great message, and great vibes. This is a killer record for sure. Score: 9.5/10 A masterpiece Highlights: Essentially every non-interlude track

11/22/2021 Today's Album: "Rattlesnakes" by Lloyd Cole and the Comotions - Yeah I am not a huge fan of this one. I think it's admirable for some of the production. Many of the synth lines on the songs are good and there is a lot of talent among the band, but I honestly think this is some of the most generic pop rock music to have come out of the 80s. The vocals like if Billy Idol but worse and I just think every backing track sounds like the soundtrack to some inspirational young teen movie in the 80s. The lyrical flow also just seems really awkward. Like there isn't an understanding of when to end a line. Overall, not my thing. Score: 3/10 Solid Highlights: Rattlesnakes

11/23/2021 Today's Album: "Whatever" by Aimee Mann - This album is very easy on the ears. It sounds like a cross between Fleetwood Mac, R.E.M, and the 3 blonds. That classic rock backdrop with very interesting additions like sharp guitar solos floating around the channels or a variety of synths providing different backdrops. I really like a lot of the melodies here and the songs keep my attention with how they build and how good the production is. There are some slower songs that end up losing me and I think there are a lot of times where the singers vocals just don't really work with what's going on musically, but this is a very occasional problem and often her voice is extremely strong and smooth. This is 90s grunge throwing it back to some classic Fleetwood Mac sounds and I think it works out fairly well. Score: 7.5/10 Solid Highlights: I should have known, 50 years after the fair, put me on top, say anything, I know there's a word, Way back when.

11/24/2021 Today's Album: "Picture Book" by Simply Red - I like this album decently well. I think the sound is really clean and emblematic of what was going on with pop rock in the 80s. Some moments sound like Michael Jackson, Prince, Alan Parson's Project, The Police, and maybe even some Van Halen? There's some really nice stuff on the opening moments of the album, like the Paul Simon like anthem that is Come to my Aid or the soultry bassline that backs Sad Old Red. I think that there are some very forgettable songs on this album, but that isn't to say there isn't great musicianship throughout the rest of the track list with some catchy hooks and groovy basslines. Overall, I had a good time when I was listening to it. It definitely had a coherent feel and consistent vibe throughout Score: 6.5/10 pretty good. Highlights: Come to My Aid, Sad Old Red, Heaven, Holding Back the Years, Open up the Red Box, Picture Book

11/24/2021 Today's Album: "Rust Never Sleeps" by Neil Young - I didn't really care for this album. I respect Neil Young for being one of the best folk artists of the 70s and I think the guitar work and vocals in this album are great, but after the first song, this album does very little for me to stay invested. Each song sounds like it should be covered on a muppets folk album and I get sick of the instrumentation really quickly, as the soloing instrument is ususally a harmonica and the rest of the instrumentals are so similar to each other throughout the album. The second half has more distorted guitar, but its sort of an obnoxious effect. I also just am not really into the asthetic of a country boy out on the farm and the only thing this album offers outside of that is if John Denver made an entire album that was just rocky mountain high. The only reason this album will not be receiving anything lower than the score it is getting is because I understand that this is a solid folk album and that Neil Young is a legend. It just really is not my thing, though. Score: 3/10 boring Highlights: My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), Powderfinger, Welfare Mothers

11/26/2021 Today's Album: "Parklife" by Blur - FYI I am writing this as I listen to each song. After researching, it turns out I already have some songs by this group on my playlist. Girls and Boys is a great opener to this album, with this fun and bouncy backtrack that is just layered up with these whiny vocals that actually work pretty well and these rock guitars. There's also a bunch of cool channel specific synth effects that I really dig. I know I'm still on the first song but damn the breakdown at 3 minutes is also so cool and I just really love the sound of it so far. Tracy Jacks is nowhere near as explosive as Girls and Boys, but I think it's a good follow up and it's still a pretty fun song, if not a little repetitive. Also damn the strings switch up is cool as hell. Oh my god the production on End of a Century is next level. I absolutely love this song it's like if the Beatles were grungy with those muted trumpets and distorted guitars. Parklife is a very interesting song, with the layering beat and laid-back spoken word vocals. I keep wanting to say the vocals are annoying, but then there's some great harmony or the instrumentals take center focus, and I can't really complain anymore. Bank Holiday is a stinky track. It sounds like the most annoying Green Day song but with Gorillaz vocals. Okay but that noise rock pop off at the end though okay okay I see you. Badhead is a very pretty piece of psyche pop. I really like the pretty flowery guitars and the synth in the left channel. The vocals are also much less obnoxious, and I think that it directly following Bank Holiday makes that track much more bearable and makes it make more sense within the track list. Fantastic track. The debt collector has this creepy carnival atmosphere to it. Very moody, but playful. Wow the flutes and clarinets add a whole new layer to this vv good yes i like. Far Out is just that, far out. I think it's a nice way to split up the album with some weird ass experimental noises. The vocals actually meld somewhat well with this, and it reminds me of a weird track off of a Ween album and the way the vocals trail off is so cool. I actually really like this song as well, damn. To the End is a super nice song. I love that the vocalist is really pushing his abilities and the psychedelic guitars mixed with such chill percussion is so cool. I really like this album holy damn. Oh wow the sparkly little flourish on To the End holy cow. London Loves absolutely fucks. Everything about this instrumental just screams CUM. I can't help but boogie down to this one. The hook and chorus are fantastic, and I am not bored for a second. The fucked-up guitar solo around 2 minutes makes me nut. This band is so good at balancing their sounds to make it just go down so smooth. The sampled traffic narrator in the left channel are mixed so well. This album is absolutely blowing my mind. Trouble in the Message Centre is this cool retro futuristic track. I don't think I'm crazy about the vocals in the beginning but I'm waiting to see where it goes. The instrumental is so good I'm waiting for the vocals to stop sounding so monotone, but I think that's sort of what they're going for. This guitar solo at 2:10 is absolutely making up for the poor parts of this track. I overall think it fits the flow of the album well, even if it isn't a great track by itself. Clover Over Dover starts off really strong with these harpsicord piano sounds mixed well with a psychedelic guitar and steady drums. I like the vocals a lot in this song and the bridge has these really cool laid-back vocals that hug my ears. Me like. Magic America sounds a little funky at first but as you get used to the sound it really opens up. The bubbly noises in the second verse is so cool and I really like how consistent all of the choruses are. They all sound so natural and clean. The solo on this song is so weird but so cool at the same time. This weird instrument just shines over the backdrop of the distorted guitar and rock drums and the descending synth at the end just closes up this track perfectly. Jubilee sounds like it could have come off of Pablo Honey by Radiohead. Its a little too blown out for me to really like it. I do like the strange descending note at around 2:00 but its short lived and the saxophones in the background just don't do enough to save the song. This is maybe the only bad track other than bank holiday, and it isn't even unlistenable. This is a low has these really cool effects that sound like they came out of Radiohead's The Bends. Once this song hits the chorus, it hits for sure. I love the melancholic instrumental and all of the psychedelic effects overlayed on this track. These distorted guitars at 3:00 absolutely fuck all over this song. It turns this song up from a 7 to a 9.5 and is the perfect culmination of most of this album. This is a great climax to the album and I just hope the closing track puts it to bed nicely. Lot 105 is a nice upbeat closer. It has this playful organ piano over this ascending bassline and 808 beat and it just gets better when the guitar and aux percussion come in. It feels like its wrapping up in that same kind of energy it started with. When it picks up in the last 20 seconds, its super fun and closes out the album fantastically. Overall, this album fucks so hard and the few flaws I see in it are completely overshadowed by the amazing highlights this album has to offer. Holy shit it's good. (and fun) Score: 9.8/10 Almost flawless. Highlights: All excluding Bank Holiday and Jubilee

**11/30/2021** Today's Album: "Odelay" by Beck- Devils Haircut is a great opener to this album. This beat is so upbeat and fun and I like how it breaks down a little bit right before 2 minutes. The amount of sounds being thrown at me is really refreshing and the production on all of it sounds so so good. Hotwax is such a smooth song and it reminds me of no rest of the wicked. The way his lo-fi beats are mixed with that southern instrumentation is so masterful. Holy shit the instrumentals in between verses gets wild. I really like those weird abrasive noises. Wow this is some interesting shit this sounds so weird. It works unusually well. The ending is so weird ahh what is happening? Lord Only Knows is also a great track. So far I'm getting the impression that he mixes classic country sounds with these new digital sounds and effects. I like it so far, but I feel like I have to be in the mood for these kinds of sounds. Ooh the guitar feature at 1:35 was super cool I like that. The New Pollution is a fantastic track and I believe I have heard it before. The steady rolling beat and chill vocals with all of the effects is just so cool. This style of song works way better with those glitchy effects than the other previous songs. That saxophone is just the cherry on top as well. Derelict is a very strange and eclectic song. I sort of just don't like how obtuse it is. The stuttering beat and dark tones just don't really hit to me and although I like some of the droning synths, it just isn't keeping my interest. Novacane is a more laid back song, with very strange effects launching us into this harsh rock beat. I really like the ambience of this song, but I don't know how crazy I am about Beck's rapping here. I think the style is all there, but I just can't really get into his voice. This album definitely enters noise-rock territory and I enjoy how it's done. This song is actually winning me over slowly as he keeps going. I like the building noisy effects and the frequent drop offs. His shouting of NOVACANE is reminiscent of Oxygen by Swans to me and the swelling bass just absolutely fucks my ears in a good way. The glitchy effects that transition to the end of this track are fairly abrasive. I'm not sure if it is really my thing. This is like that ear fucking I was talking about a second ago but now its rape. Jack-Ass starts off as this really pretty track and I really like Beck's vocals here. It's a definite mood switch from Novacane, but I really like how it brings this album down a notch. I really like the bouncy guitar effect too. This kind of reminds me of a Wilco song if Wilco was more straightforward. I actually really like this track as it goes on. The sitar and harmonica really welcome me in before everything is cut off again with these donkey sounds. Ooh those vinyl cracks are cool. Where It's At already sounds very familiar. I still don't know if I completely like Becks rapping, but it is growing on me and this beat is so smooth it's pretty hard not to love. I actually think I don't really fuck with the chorus on this one. I like that soft brass and the spoken word sample, but yeah I don't really like the, "WHERE ITS AT" vocal. Goddamn, though it's hard to hate anything about this when that bass, guitar, and piano are staying so smooth and sound so good. The horn freakout at the end is pretty sick and I like the effect on it. Minus is a cool track but I really am having a hard time keeping my attention. It just sounds kind of obnoxious in all honesty. Sissyneck on the other hand, is really fun with this whistling in the background and bass absolutely rocking it. I like the country guitar embellishments and the vocals aren't too bad. It's a decent song but there isn't too much to say about it in my opinion. Readymade is yet another droning track that comes and goes. I don't like how these past few tracks lack personality like the first few. They just sort of come and go. They sound okay, but they don't leave much impact. High 5 is just kind of weird. I don't really know if I like it or not. It's just sort of experimental for being experimental sake. His vocals are way to distorted to get anything out of it. kind of a mid track like the last few. Ramshackle is actually bringing things back a bit in terms of quality. I like how it takes its time and I actually really like his soft folky vocals in this track. Unlike most of the album, he's not going overboard with this track and it sounds so much better. He sounds best when he strips things back. The acoustic guitar definitely starts to go off, but it doesn't go overboard and there aren't a ton of other effects overshadowing the nice melody. I really like this track and I think it gives a good energy going into the end of the album and actually could have ended the album itself. The last track, Computer Rock, takes that pretty ending and shits all over it. It ends in the most abrasive and unflattering way possible. Literally ruined the last song by just how stupid this closer is. Overall, I really like some of the ideas presented in this album and the first half starts off so strong, but by track 9, its obvious that Beck was working off of half baked ideas and any good song that he would construct, he would just weight down with these over the top effects and abrasive noises. There are definitely some highlights here, but it really isn't worth sitting all the way through. I will add the songs I like to my playlist and dump the rest. Score: 5.5/10 half fantastic, half awful. Highlights: Devil's Haircut, New Pollution, Jack-Ass, Where It's At, Ramshackle

12/01/2021 Today's Album: "Bluesbreakers" by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - I had this album on in the background and I think that was a great way to listen to it. Lots of classic blues chord progressions with expert music playing over them and insane solos, many of which are from the GOD Eric Clapton. There's a funky organ the whole thing just sounds like classic blues. This album is great road-trip music or an album to have playing while you do chores or something. That being said, I was bobbing my head in agreement to a lot of the solos which must mean I liked it. Score: 6/10 decent Highlights: None in particular. I'd put all of the songs in the 'decent' category equally

12/02/2021 Today's Album: "Odessa" by Bee Gees - Usually when I think of the Bee Gees, I think of the high-pitched singing in tracks like, "stayin alive", but this album really shows their musical range. Slow ballads, strange psychedelic sound scapes, somewhat cloudy or rustic production, catchy hooks, soft melodies, smooth psychedelic pop, Beatles worship, and more make this album what it is. I like how much this album makes me want to sway and there really isn't too much to complain about in the instrumentals. If anything, I would say the record drags on in the middle few songs, but it makes sense as they are seemingly experimenting with a ton of different ideas. Piano ballads, upbeat country tracks, and general bangers come out of the second half. This album is really good and I think it took me a few listens to really understand it, but now that I gave it the time it deserves I like it a decent bit. Score: 8/10 Fun, creative, and enjoyable Highlights: You'll Never See My Face Again, Marley Purt Drive, Edison, Melody Fair, Lamplight, I Laugh In Your Face, First Of May

12/03/2021 Today's Album: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson - This one is going to be fun. I love this album, but I am going to try to take a completely objective approach if its at all possible. Wanna be starting something is an energetic opener to this album, with a funky bass, tons of shakers and auxilery percussion, and of course Michael at what was pretty much the peak of his career spitting out great volcals. The colorful horns that are sprinkled around the track helps to shake things up and I like the extra vocals in the left channel. This song is also iconic for the chant around 4.5 minutes, which saying that I am reminded how long Michael's songs are. I would say the song drags on at the end but it really doesnt. The way the raw chant is isolated with the horns and percussion and then the beat is brought back to close things off is expert. Baby be mine is actually a track I hadn't heard before. It's a more low key track compared to most of the bangers on this album, but I actually think it lays out a really nice vibe and the chorus is so colorful with all of the funk instruments and the cowbell in the back. Michael as always has some of the best vocals around at the time and he is not holding back at all. The song doesn't really go anywhere too exciting but I thought it was solid if not just a little bit dragged out. The Girl is Mine with Paul McCartney is a great song. It's sort of silly the way the two are arguing over this girl, but it comes off as super charming and the backing instrumental is so soft and smooth it makes me float. Honestly a 10/10 song if you ask me. The way these two play off each other is amazing and they break up the song with the bridge in a way that makes the verses not get stale and I like when they just have a little chat before the ending vv cute lol. The next track is fucking Thriller. Like what tf am I going to say about Thriller its fucking Thriller. Okay now that I look at it the 2 tracks after are Beat it and Billie Jean, which are also like uncontested BANGERS so yeah i dont have much to say about them. Then Human nature is a nice come down from the excitement of the last track, with a ton of pretty and lush instrumentation just absolutely hugging Michael's voice. Another amazing track and one that I already love a ton. Then PYT is an exciting dance track with a ton of fun funky instrumentation and fun chipmunked vocals that have been sampled on a ton of songs. Super catchy chorus and extremely innovative for the time. Super great song to come right before the finisher of the album The Lady in My life. This song is a perfect way to tuck this album into bed after the insane highs it had gotten to. This album needs no review. It is Michael Jackson's magnum opus and in my opinion the most influential albums of the 80s. Score: 9.6/10 Masterpiece. Highlights: Every Song except Baby be Mine

12/06/2021 Today's Album: "White Blood Cells" by The White Stripes - I don't like this album. Usually I can deal with post punk and older punk rock because of some sweet instrumentals or some redeeming quality from the whiny vocals, but with this album, it really is just blown out and shitty. The only song I liked was one I already knew prior to hearing this album and thats the only highlight on this album in my eyes. I think this band obviously has talent because they have a crazy good reputation, but either this album is some of thier worst material or their sound is just not for me Score: 2/10 Didn't like Highlights: We're Going to be Friends

12/07/2021 Today's Album: "Wild Gift" by X - The Once over Twice is very strange and I honestly don't really like it. It drags on and repeats this sorta off sounding chorus. There's a cool solo in this song but it doesn't really redeem the shitty rest of the song. The next song is even more annoying and droning. The instrumentals in Adult Books are less annoying but they still don't really sound good or pay off in any way. Im going to stop reviewing this track by track and just suffice to say, this album sounds awful. It's very droney and samey throughout each song and the vocalists always sound off pitch and stuttery. Actual garbage 80s art rock Score: 1/10 painful to listen to Highlights: N/A

**12/08/2021** Today's Album: "Golden Hour" by Kasey Musgraves - This first song is surprising me. I at first didn't like her lyricism and felt like it was very country, but the song definitely is growing on me as it goes along. Very pretty. Lonely Weekend is solidifying the idea in my mind that this artist sounds like older Taylor Swift. There's definitely something else, though. The lyrics and production apply to Millennial and Gen Z tastes. As much as I'm not inclined to say any of this is extraordinary, I'm having a hard time skipping this song. There's more and more fun instrumentation that's pulling me in and she does have a really nice voice. Butterflies off the bat catches my attention. The instrumental is so cool and the way the bass cuts in when the verse starts is amazing. The chorus is so good and even though it sounds really country, it's not really turning me away. The synth in between the verses is so bubbly and cool. She is making her sound more distinct from other country pop I've heard in this song. I was absolutely not expecting an intro like Oh, What a World. That's pretty cool and I really like the Radiohead-like swells in the background of this song. The positivity of this song is starting to wane on me, but I think the instrumentals being so bright really accompanies the aesthetic. Mother is a slower ballad. Despite it being so short, it's able to pack a decent bit of emotional punch and it doesn't even get very large musically. Love is A Wild Thing is a pretty fun Swift-like song. It has banjo in the back and some fiddle to give it that full country sound, but there are some other things that set it apart slightly like some cool psychedelic sounds and wavy synths. Space Cowboy is a really solid tear jerker in the album. The reverbed and distorted guitar add a perfect sadness to this break up song and the way Space Cowboy is used as, "Ill give you your Space, Cowboy" is really clever. I think I really expected this album to lose me some time in the middle, but it really has stayed diverse enough to make me really get into the base country-pop sound. Happy & sad keeps this sad beat, but has a happy overtone over her feelings about the break-up. She actually is really opening herself up in this album, and this song is about how she feels depressed, but relieved because her relationship has ended. Velvet Elvis is a great upbeat track to pick things up after the last 2 tracks. She puts on this really strong and confident voice over this bumping guitar and bass and it sounds awesome. The chorus is booming with the choir that joins in and the bumping groove keeps chugging along. This is a great song gotta say. It almost sounds like she's found a new person after this breakup and she's feeling on top of the world with them. The psychedelic guitars and then distorted solo guitars sound fucking fantastic. Idk how this isn't a bigger hit bc it's 100% a bop. Wonder Woman pulls things back for a dreamy song about wanting this new relationship with this person that picked her back up after her break-up, but expressing that she's not perfect and can't be like all of the rich girls this guy is usually bringing around. She still wants to try with this person even though they're both not perfect. This song is so fun and dreamy. High Horse is a catchy and biting song about people who are on their high horses and are always buzzkills. The instrumental travels places and I really like all of the production choices. This sounds like if kraungbin wrote a dance track and I love it. Golden Hour starts off with this great lo-fi feel and the chorus just bring the listener into this dreamy floaty cloud land. It reminds me of the Shacks for how slow and psychedelic it is. Great track to bring the album around. This album has had great pacing so far and with the last track, Rainbow being the most popular, I have high expectations for sure. Rainbow is a piano ballad that sounds initially a lot like a Paul McCartney song. It's a beautiful song about realizing how beautiful you are. It's a good sad song to end this album on and it really leaves you with that great "end of a great performance" feeling. I relate it most to something like Bo Burnham's, "Goodbye" at the end of Inside. The reverb effects add to this really pretty atmosphere and the piano really takes center stage because it sounds so good. Great end to a great album that really exceeded my expectations from the beginning. Score: 9/10 extremely pleasant Highlights: Lonely Weekend, Butterflies, Space Cowboy, Velvet Elvis, Wonder Woman, Golden Hour, Rainbow

12/09/2021 Today's Album: "Swordfishtrombones" by Tom Waits - This album I initially was going to write off, but now that I'm on track 4 I think I might give it a chance. The first 3 songs were like these creepy weary instrumentals with this weak out of tune vocal that sort of works in it's own way. Very weird but definitely listenable. Johnsburg, Illinois is a great track to take things back a bit and have a nice short little break between the gritty blues. 16 Shells is a sort of boring track that just trudges along. It's straightforward and that's kind of all it is. Town With No Cheer starts off really cool with these bagpipes, before returning to this kind of slow organ ballad with those same growly vocals. I don't really think I am a fan of the vocals, but they work with the tone of music I guess. This song is really sad, but never really picks up or does anything for 4 and a half minutes. Listening to the next few songs just secures in my mind that these are just a bunch of slightly melancholic or creepy ball tunes backing really boring and depressing vocals that sound like if Axl Rose never tried. Gin Soaked Boy pickes things up instrumentally but the vocals are straight up unlistenable and the next 2 songs just aren't worth even listening to. This album is incredibly mediocre. It seems like it would have been insane when it came out in 83 and Im sure theres a huge cult following to this album, but I really don't see it and I think the vocals are physcially grating Score: 4/10 poorly done Highlights: Johnsburg, Illinois,

12/10/2021 Today's Album: "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green - Coming directly off of listening to that terrible Tom Waits album, this album sounds like a hug. The production is already so warm and welcoming, with a booming groovy bassline and Al's subtle vocals. This beginning song is a very laid back and peaceful love song. This second song picks things up with a swinging back beat and these smooth piano lines. The production on the drums particularly is so good but everything sounds immaculate. The horns are a really nice part of this song. It almost feels like an end of movie song, like the task is completed and the heroes are happy.This song has a similar vibe to the others, but its a distinctly different feel and the hooks are completely different. Ooh that horn line in What is This Feeling is so nice. I love the groove of this song and the soft organ in the background is so nice. I like the swelling horns as well. I think the song structure is getting boring for me, but I think each of these tracks individually are great. Old Time Lovin' is a nice soft love song. It's like an instrumental that could have been done by the late Beatles with Al just being all horny over top of it lmao. I've Never Found a Girl is a nice track. I feel like these instrumentals get me really hyped up for the vocals and the vocals are always underwhelming, but I feel like it somehow works well all together. I just think I'm expecting a bit more nuance in the lyricism. The instrumentals are fantastic, though. There's a great horn solo in this song and I think it really works since Al isn't really singing much. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart has a way more straightforward song structure and I think it makes it a really nice song. Judy is sort of the same thing Al has been doing this whole album and It Ain't No Fun to me is a nice closer with a soft fade out. Overall this album is ok. Score: 7/10 Fairly good Highlights: La-La for You, What Is This Feeling, I've Never Found a Girl

12/13/2021 Today's Album: "Tapestry" by Carole King - This album is really fun. So many songs that played during this album made me think, "oh I've heard this before!" And that's because of just how influential this album is. Songs like I feel the earth move and You've got a friend have been covered by other groups countless times and for good reason. These are soulful, bouncy, and well written singer songwriter tracks and the the band that backs her amazing voice are also extremely talented with great performances of great arrangements. I like a lot of the songs off of here despite how dated some parts feel and I think it deserves a listen from anyone that enjoys music. Score: 7/10 Extremely influential and very enjoyable Highlights: I feel the earth move, it's too late, beautiful, you've got a friend, smackwater jack

12/13/2021 Today's Album: "Deserter's Songs" by Mercury Rev - This album is incredibly interesting. It sort of reads like if the Moody Blues did a psychedelic rock album along the lines of the Flaming Lips or Ween. It's very colorful and full of life and rich instrumentation at some moments, and in others it can get simply haunting or scary. The ambient track "I Collect Coins" almost like Everywhere at the End of Time, with crackly ballroom music with creepy chord progressions. I was road tripping when it came on and it literally made the world feel fake for a second. This album is definitely very backloaded, with a lot of the best songs being on the second half. The album really kicks off with Opus 40, with a really fun psyche pop song with some fun vocals and soloing. Hudson Line is a very similar mood, almost feeling like a rock version of a Paul Simon type song. Goddess on a Hiway is a nice swinging rock track with lots of ringing bells and a really solid chorus. The Funny Bird is a killer song just strictly talking about the performances and solos, but I'm not crazy about the vocals (which are fortunately in about only a quarter of the track). Pick Up If You're There is another ambient this track, but this one has these really cool synth lines and piano chords. It almost feels like if treefingers by Radiohead was good. Finally, Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp is a great finisher to this album. Although, I could see how the ending could be annoying to some. To me, it was probably extremely weird and innovative at the time, but now it just sounds like random bits of penis music. Its actually hilarious. This album overall has some really good tracks, but a lot of it seemed like it was trying too hard to be experimental and it didn't really pan out. The first few songs also drag on a bit long and are a lil too samey. Score: 7/10 Weak start but solid finish. Overal decent. Highlights: Opus 40, Goddess on a Hiway, Pick Up If You're There, Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp.

12/15/2021 Today's Album: "Dance Mania Vol.1" by Tito Puente - This album is a bit different from the ones we've reviewed so far, being one made by a composer from Puerto Rico and composing of mostly latin dance tracks. Although I obviously do not speak the language, there is somewhat of a barrier for me to completely love it, I really like the arrangements and I would be lying if I said this isn't some of the best Latin Jazz I have heard. The variety of sounds that comes out of this album defines basically the entire genre and is incredibly performed. I understand why it's on the list, even if it definitely isn't something I can really fairly enjoy. Score: 7/10 Pretty much perfect but not my thing. Highlights: All of it. It's all worth a listen

12/16/2021 Today's Album: "Clube Da Esquina" by Milton Nascimento - This album is really difficult to review as well. It is really excellently performed and written. I love all of the melodies and beats on all of these songs and they are all very charming, but being in some latin language, it get's pretty difficult to follow. I think I that is all I really have to say about this one. Score: 5/10 Great but I can no speak the language Highlights: all I guess?

12/16/2021 Today's Album: "Exile on Main Street" by The Rolling Stones - This might be a very unpopular opinion, but I think The Rolling Stones are incredibly overrated. I understand completely why they are important to the time they were popular in and they have one of the greatest influences over classic rock, but I really think they are emblematic of all of the clichés I really don't like about classic rock. Every song they make sounds like the most generic rock and as if it is applying to the lowest common denominator. There is legitimately great musicianship and performances in this album, but the composition of most of the songs just feels so stale unless if it's one of the songs that sounds like it is trying to be a hit. There are plenty of Rolling Stones songs that I like, but I feel like they are a band whose albums are very difficult to listen to as a wholistic experience. That being said, there are some moments on this record that really shine. Sweet Virginia strips things back with a very simple tune and sorta sounds like a Bob Dylan track. Turd On The Run oddly enough has an energy to it that almost no other track on this album seems to have and woke me up a little bit. Other than that it is really hard to latch onto these tracks. They are all lovely to listen to and the production isn't half bad, but they just sound very samey. It's a lot like the early stuff the Beatles were doing in the 1950s and early 60s. Score: 4/10 Just kinda boring to me Highlights: Sweet Virginia, Turd On the Run

12/17/2021 Today's Album: "Led Zeppelin" by The Led Zeppelin - Alright this first song is blowing me away so I want to go song by song. Good Times Bad Times kicks offthis album with an extremely solid start. The drums are doing this crazy thing with the pedals and the guitar is going nuts. I could have done without that weird fadeout at the end but still and amazing song. Babe I'm Gonna Leave you immediately slows things down for a slow ballad. There is a lone guitar in the beginning playing these really nice arpeggios until the bass comes in. The vocals on this song are really the focus and for good reason as they are incredible. The guitars and drums really do take it away in the second half, though. There are some feelings that this song is going on too long, but it sounds so warm those doubts are getting quickly dismissed. The sentiment of needing to lead a relationship despite the love attached is very emotional and lends well to the whole band just giving it their most sappy performance possible. You Shook Me is even slower, with the beat and distorted guitar sounding like a shovel being dragged through the mud it's so behind the beat. The blues progression gives this really cool contrast between the lamenting vocals and the absolutely gross effects on all of the instruments. The organ soloing, like in any 70s rock album (even though this one is '69), is fucking phenomenal. That paired with the harmonica, whose solo is fucking masterful, actually feels really revolutionary for the genre. Immediately after maybe one of the best guitar solos I have heard out of the entire decade it's from holy Christ it's actually so good. I also like this back and forth between the vocals and guitar before the ending and the singer actually goes fucking sicko mode. That immediately transitions into Dazed and Confused and the transition is actually really random and sudden, adding to the title. This song is hypnotizing, with insane drum breaks in between the moments of rocking grooves. Half way through the song picks up and the drums lay on the symbols. It's really disorienting but in the best way. My mans on guitar is just shredding. Your Time Is Gonna Come has a bunch of organs playing chords with one soloing on top of them. They drop out and the following song is a swaying soft rock groove with a country twang and a hard edge with the drums. Absolutely great tune and it works really well as a single (presuming it is one). There's a super cool drum break with these weird muted tones in the right channel and I love it. Smash cut to Black Mountain Side. It's this really cool guitar Jam with some amazing playing joined with a bunch of eastern percussion. It also cuts off right into Communication Breakdown, which feels more like a straightforward Zeppelin track, with a chugging bass and crazy high vocals. I am not as much of a fan of this style of theirs, but nonetheless the production on all of it is amazing and the playing is top notch as always. It is also a great way to keep the album flowing so I think it still is excellent, especially if you consider it's killer guitar solo. I Can't Quit You Baby is a slow grooving track that reminds me a lot of Voodoo Chile by Jimmy Hendrix, which came out a year before. However, the track does go in a different direction with it and focuses much more on the bass, which is turned up to 11. The solos are great and I have to say, I love how up front in the mix the drums are throughout this entire album. How Many More TImes is the 8.5 minute closer on this album and it is pretty crazy, with extremely loud guitar and symbol crescendos and some insane riffs to kick off the vocals. Every instrument is playing off of one another and bringing each other up and it is just amazing to take everything in. I now understand why people say Led Zeppelin is their favorite band. This is some of the cleanest and well performed rock I have ever heard. I want to listen to this album more and I absolutely regret not listening to it sooner. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen. Score: 10/10 The. 1970s. Rock. Template. **Perfection** Highlights: The entire thing. **Please listen to this album**

12/20/2021 Today's Album: "461 Ocean Blvd" by Eric "God Himself" Clapton - This album is beautifully balanced and incredibly technical. Motherless Children is a great opener with a ton of really fun guitar playing. Give me strength is a slow soul ballad and has some really funky and interesting lead guitar sounds. Lyrics of asking for strength from god and being on the highway are kinda boring imo but really nice instrumental for sure. Willie and the Hand Jive is a pretty cool boogie track and the vocals are super smooth and nice to listen to. This is an amazing track its so bouncy and fun. Get ready is a chill funk tune and I dig it. There's a female vocalist that pairs really well with Clapton's voice on this track. I swear my dad always played I Shot The Sheriff in the car or something because its very familiar. Its a very groovy reggae track. I Can't Hold Out has a pretty generic chord progression and doesn't really do anything interesting lyrically either. Please Be With Me is a slower stripped back song that has some nice guitar work between 3 or 4 guitars at the back half of it. Let it Grow is a darker track that sounds sorta like moody blues but the chorus literally sounds like the Lorax song and I cannot take it seriously. Steady Rollin Man is a pretty great upbeat track with some great guitar grooves and organ. The soloing gets pretty great on this track. We close off with Mainline Florida which is a pretty rocking closer. It wraps up a lot of the sounds on this album and sort of summarizes the whole piece. This album overall was very nice to listen to, but I just wouldn't say any of its very memorable. It's like if the eagles only had 1 hit per album. Still good and you have to respect Clapton for his amazing guitarwork and it covers a lot of 60s and 70s styles, similar to The Beatles white album. Overall a must listen to album Score: 7/10 Essential Listening Highlights: Willie And The Hand Jive, I Shot The Sheriff.

Today's Album: "Exodus" by Bob Marley & The Wailers - This is a very laid back and chill album, with most songs comprising of a steady reggae backbeat and hazy vocals from Marley. I think for me, a lot of it gets pretty boring and static, but I absolutely see the value of having it on in the background of a smoke sesh and the sound of the record itself is super warm and comfortable. However, other than the highlights listed below, I think all this album is for me is perfectly adequate background noise. Score: 5/10 Okay Highlights: Exodus, Jamming, Three Little Birds, One Love

12/22/2021 Today's Album: "Rattus Norvegicus" by The Stranglers - This album was pretty surprising for me. I went into it really not liking the vocals, and I will say the vocals are the biggest problem I have with this album. However, the instrumentation and performances really blew me away. Each instrument is on board to create this really solid groove on each track but are all ready to jump out of the mix for an outrageous solo or some cool embellishment. There's a ton of cool soundscapes explored on this record and each song feels super unique. I think I would have to only listen to this album as a complete piece because the vocals are almost too hard to get used to and just don't work in a "single" setting. Other than that, I just want to point out that Hanging Around is the second most popular song on this album and for good reason. It's nuts and deserves a listen from anyone who likes blues and jazz soloing. Overall, a really fun and interesting album but none of the songs are really able to be latched onto or enjoyed as a single track. Score: 6/10 Great effort and I would love to hear these instruments with different vocals. Highlights: Sometimes, Hanging Around, Peaches

12/23/2021 Today's Album: "A Christmas Gift for You" by Phil Spector - I have to temporarily get myself back in the Christmas spirit for this one so please pardon any lapses in judgement. This is most likely the best Christmas album ever made. Pretty much every track on here is an incredibly recognizable holiday tune performed by some of the best talent of the late 50s/early 60s. It has some of the most classic iterations of these songs that you hear everywhere during December. Overall, a Christmas staple with amazing versions of the best Christmas classics. Score: 8/10 There's a time and place for this one, but it's really that good Highlights: *List of all 13 of the most beloved Christmas songs of all time*

12/24/2021 Today's Album: "1984" by Van Halen - This album opens up with what will be the theme of this entire album - S Y N T H S. This ambient opener kicks off perfectly to the biggest hit on the record - Jump. This song still sounds so good today and I think it just shows exactly what Van Halen were good at - blending late 70s rock with new 80s trends like synths and metal to literally birth the hair rock genre out of their Vandussys. Panama is a great track to follow up Jump and is emblematic of the sound Van Halen were pioneering at the time. I think Top Jimmy is a little boring lyrically, but the guitar work is insane in this track and it is fairly short, with pretty much a third of it being expert guitar riffing. Drop Dead Legs ends up sounding pretty generic to me, at least in the beginning. Again, expert guitar work is enough to make this track at least listenable, but I think outside of that it doesn't have a ton going for it. It's just very horny. Hot For Teacher is the 3rd most popular song on the track list and it is pretty kick ass. The guitar riff and crazy fast kick drum beat just makes the energy of this song through the roof and I think the chorus of this song is actually pretty good despite how, again, horny it is. The parts where the instruments cut out for some adlibbing is pretty charming and the ending of this track is just absolutely nuts. I'll Wait starts with these really cool synth effects and the slow pounding beat kicks off a really cool mood for the song as it transitions into a steady groove and a pretty traditional execution. This might be my favorite song from this album that I haven't heard before today. Girl Gone Bad starts off at a fucking 10. Lyrics are dumb but the performances and chilling atmosphere are absolutely killer. House Of Pain kinda fumbles the ending. Sounds like if Tool sucked. Overall, a decent album with great performances. Score: 8/10 Great at moments Highlights: Jump, Panama, Top Jimmy, I'll Wait, Girl Gone Bad

1/26/2021 Today's Album: "School's Out" by Alice Cooper - This album was another surprise for me. I always saw Alice Cooper as a darker artist, and although you get some of that from this album, I'm really just blown away with the melodies created and some killer performances. No one song really blew me away, but as I listened to it on the walk to and from school, it was definitely enjoyable and climactic. I also really like the west side story reference in the 3rd track it's a nice touch. Overall, interesting album that I will most likely be coming back to Score: 6.5/10 pleasantly suprised Highlights: School's Out, Gutter Cat vs The Jets, Grand Finale

1/27/2021 Today's Album: "Dire Straits" by Dire Straits - This album is perfectly alright. I think this style is incredibly played out for me, with the same old classic rock tone and similar instrumentation, but the guitar work at times is really nice and I do vibe with most of the tracks on here. Setting Me Up is the first real surprise on these tracks, coming in at track 3, but it's still just a good solo surrounded by some generic grove and vocals. Southbound Again brings the energy up and is pretty bouncy and playful. I think its a half decent track, and it is quickly followed by an amazing track, bring Sultans of Swing. It is a great song and so far is the only reason to give this one a chance. They just feel like a really typical jam band and I don't know what exactly it is about these songs, but they are just really not hitting the right spot with me. Yeah the rest of this album just doesn't pay off and is the same stuff. I think it's a good album to put on in the background during dinner or something, but it really just doesn't scratch any itch for me. Score: 4/10 Meh Highlights: Setting Me Up, Sultans of Swing

1/31/2021 Today's Album: "Jagged Little Pill" by Alanis Morissette - This album is starting off very well with the track, "All I Really Want," which has a really cool harmonica and distorted guitar, which is kinda my bread and butter. Not huge on her vocals but they sort of have their own charm at the same time. Reminds me a lot of Avril Levine. You Oughta Know is a pretty fun song with a crazy chorus and an incredible bass grove throughout. The placement of the guitar in the mix on this one is also really pleasant. There's some nice psychedelic guitar chords too and I can actually see why this song is insanely popular even if it is kinda dated. It's really catchy and her vocal performance is actually really impressive, even if it is strangely accented. She feels like both squeaky-clean teen pop artists like Avril and marketed mom rock artists like Adelle but it's actually very well done. Perfect was more laid back but still really well done. Hand in My Pocket I had heard before and it is an absolute banger and a classic. Right through you is a little more basic for her, but it keeps the flow of the album going in a really great way. Forgiven is a darker track, which is okay but it follows another pretty basic track so it just doesn't hit in a very impactful way for me. Still, she goes absolutely crazy vocally in this track and sounds almost like evanescence. You Learn is a nice uplifting track about how you learn from every experience you have good or bad and I think its really well done. Head Over Feet is a pretty nice love song and I think it sounds pretty nice. Mary Jane is also a nice uplifting song that might also be about weed but who knows...Ironic is obviously a gigantic hit and honestly has aged well in my opinion. Not the doctor is a break up song and goes well as a closer to the last 2 songs. It's bitter and clever and overall solid. Wake Up is a nice closer, but the ending really shines with the extra reprise of You Oughta Know with the extra amazing vocal performance in Jimmy the Saint Blend. I think its a really interesting and powerful way to end things off. Overall, this album is a classic screenshot of the late 90s and early 2000s and I enjoy it still a lot Score: 8.5/10 Pretty good :) Highlights: All I Really Want, You Oughta Know, Hand in My Pocket, You Learn, Head Over Feet, Ironic, You Oughta Know - Jimmy the Saint Blend

2/1/2022 Today's Album: "Live At Leeds" by The Who - Being someone who is not really into the Who to begin with, I don't think I am very into this album. If you like the Who, these are great live versions of some of their biggest hits. However, I just have never been able to get into their stuff and this is no exception. Great performances and cool jam sessions, but it's just not for me. Score: 3/10 Listenable Highlights: I Can't Explain

2/2/2022 Today's Album: "A Grand Don't Come for Free" by The Streets - This is already incredibly interesting to me, being my first real exposure to British rap. The first song is incredibly charming, with a narrator rapping decent bars being broken up by the chorus, which is actually really catchy, not to mention stripped back and very close in the mix. It almost sounds more like poetry. Could Well Be In brings the beat in and is really warm and groovy. The flow on this track is much more casual. The choruses of these songs so far sound a lot like Watsky and I think the overall vibe of this album is felt in a lot of modern bedroom storytime rap and although that genre has its time and place, it's definitely as more of a background lofi setting. The beat is kinda cheesy. After listening to about 4 more songs, I have decided this is not worth my time. The vocals are obnoxious, the beats are either simple or overblown. The lyrics are extremely British and it gets to be so fucking cheesy. I legitimately laughed at some sections because the delivery is just awkward. The charm that the shitty production gave it quickly wore off as it just sounds hollow and machined. Such a Twat is still pretty annoying, but its not as bad as the rest of them with a decent refrain. Actually, getting to Dry Your Eyes, I really enjoy it. The story of a broken relationship is really well done and the singing in the chorus is actually great. The whole concept of the album is actually not poorly done either, but I think some of the worst parts really overshadow it. Score: 2.5 Very rarely enjoyable Highlights: Such a Twat, Dry Your Eyes

2/3/2022 Today's Album: "This is Fats Domino" by Fats Domino - This album is a blessing to my ears compared to the last one. These are a collection of 1950s blues tracks by Fats Domino and each of these tunes are surprisingly unique compared to most of the music that was creating blues melodies like this in the 50s and 60s. Whatever mic they recorded his voice with is excellent because his vocals absolutely shine through the mix. Theres some great solos and buildups throughout the record as well. Blue Monday stands out as a very full and soulful tracks. This sounds a lot like the Ray Charles record, but it came out a few years prior and is just very rich sounding. La La is simple but just shows how such a simple concept can be made a really fun 2 minute track. It's obviously a very creative person appealing to the tastes of music listeners at the time, so its a lot of very danceable tracks. Overall, an essential listen. Classic, yet unique tracks that are great to have in the background or foreground. Score: 8 Great Highlights: Blueberry Hill, Blue Monday, You Done Me Wrong, Reeling And Rocking

2/4/2022 Today's Album: "Something / Anything?" by Todd Rundgren - This will be a bit harder of an album because it is so long, given it is a double album clocking in at just under 90 minutes. However, I will still give my general opinion, which is that this album is pretty fantastic. There's extremely well crafted melodies, a ton of really great solos, and the vocals are spectacular. There's some interspersed bits of spoken word sections, like the comical track "Intro" which is the 7th track despite it's name and plays around with record sounds. There's a handful of colorful instrumentals and every song either has an excellent backing track or a solid vocal performance. The style is right up my alley with a lot of early 70s psychedelic guitars and tons of really bright, but well mixed instrumentation. I listened to it while doing homework and instantly turned it on again when it finished because it simply a very nice experience to listen to it. There's some well done experimentation with things getting really weird or dark at moments and there's tons of charming chatter and banter from the band members. The album's production is also top notch and sounds just as good as an eagles record, but with imo better playing. Tons of different genre breaking songs make this album sort of hard to pin down, but it's still a fantastically paced record all the way through. I think it could have placed lower than what I am going to rate it just because it still is a pretty typical sound for it's time, but just the sheer amount of great music on this thing, given its a double lp, and the consistency of quality makes it really respectable in my opinion. Give this one a listen if you like 70s soft rock. Also Black Maria and Little Red Lights are straight up awesome tracks. Score: 8.75 Really dang good Highlights: Wolfman Jack, Breathless ,The Night the Carousel Burned Down, Marlene, I Went to the Mirror, Black Maria, Little Red Lights, Dust in the Wind

2/6/2022 Today's Album: "Superfuzz Bigmuff" by Mudhoney - I think this is one of the most influential albums for the 90s. Coming out in 1988 and predating the entire grunge movement, this band shows off a lot of talent and innovation. The groany vocals and and slightly detuned guitars that would define the grunge rock takeover in the 90s are all over this record and are well executed. This album is messy, but controlled and there are a lot of diverse ideas on the record, even if the instrumentation stays pretty similar throughout. Some songs sound like they're made for the mosh pit and some just fit that crying-alone-in-your-bedroom vibe and I think if you look at Nirvana and Pearl Jam, which to me are the closest in comparison to this group, you'll find a very similar aesthetic. It seems that the movement sort of took off without these guys, which is really a damn shame since they were such pioneers of the genre. I don't really know if I am totally on board with grunge music, but I have to say that if you're even just tolerant of hard-rock and metal, you'll appreciate this album or at least enjoy listening to it while it's on. It sounds like the exact transition point between the hair metal that ruled the 80s and more subtle grunge rock, with plenty of chugging 80s guitar and bass lines on tracks like No One Has, but also slowed down grunge beats on tracks like Need and If I Think, both of which sound like Nirvana songs before Nirvana existed. In 'N' Out of Grace and You Got It are absolutely crazy tracks and I like them a lot. I think there are a lot of songs on here that are just sort of forgettable or just don't leave a big impact, but the good parts are really great and there weren't really moments where I didn't at least half-like what I was hearing. I think it's definitely worth it for those who like music with an edge. Score: 7.5 Angsty and Grungy Highlights: Touch Me I'm Sick, Need, If I Think, In 'N' Out of Grace, You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)

2/7/2022 Today's Album: "The Genius of Ray Charles" by Ray Charles - Going back to the first artist I reviewed, this album is another stellar work by the great Ray Charles. This might be a compilation album of some of his best work, which would make sense given the bangers on this album, but I think it still flows well as a traditional album. I don't think I need to say too much more about this one. Its Ray fucking Charles. If you like country western albums, he is the best and his talent is not to be understated. The best track on here is the super hit "Let the Good Times Roll" and the momentum pretty much keeps up from there. It Had to Be You makes me sad because my now passed grandmother sang it a lot before I ever heard this version, so I think this album hits extra hard for me. No other track quite grabs my attention like the first 2, but they don't have to. This is the kind of album you have playing in the background during dinner or something and it is some of the best there is for country western music. Give it a listen if you like this sort of thing, or just listen to the first 2 tracks to hear some great lyricism and artistry. Score: 7 Another great classic Highlights: Let the Good Times Roll, It Had to Be You, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'

2/8/2022 Today's Album: "Pink Flag" by Wire - This album is 35 minutes of 21 fairly short songs, with many running just over a minute. This UK band plays punchy punk-garage rock that goes well with the format of the album, since the tunes they are playing are usually quite abrasive, making their short runtime a warm welcome. In the longer songs, the band takes a step back to work on stronger melodies, but they still come across as a chugging, angry, and punky melodies that do tend to grate on my ears after a while. The lyrics get drowned out in the mix fairly often and anytime the band actually tried for a subtler approach, it is often cut short in favor of more yelling and chugging guitars and drums. I think it's a good album if you like punk influence and want to listen to some upbeat and quick tunes, but it really isn't something I'd like to come back to. The style is obviously fairly new at the time of release (1977) so there is a lot of innovation to appreciate, but in this day in age if you have ever heard a punk band, you've heard this one and it just feels played out when they aren't doing something different with it. With that being said, the music is well performed and never feels amateurish or sloppy despite how messy the genre usually is. Score: 5.5 Some good moments but overall not my thing Highlights: Reuters, Lowdown, The Commercial, Fragile, Mannequin, Feeling Called Love,

2/9/2022 Today's Album: "Franz Ferdinand" by Franz Ferdinand - I reviewed this album right after the last on the flight home from Colorado and went song by song, but the text didn't save so I'll give a shorter and more concise review Edit: This did not end up being concise. This album is fantastic. Going into it, I had heard the title track, Take Me Out, which is a clear shining moment on this album with one of the best executed beat switch ups and lush background instrumentation and dueling guitars. However, that isn't to say there aren't other highlights on this LP. The opener, Jacqueline begins with a softly spoken vocal before the bassline welcomes in the drums and lead guitar. Like a lot of songs on this record, it is an incredibly danceable track with a great chorus that has a critical message of the daily grind of capitalism. The track The Dark of The Matinée is a mixture of 2000s alt rock and 50s show tune melodies, thus the name of the track. The chorus absolutely slaps and the track in general just keeps a really fun and danceable energy throughout. The slowed refrain that speeds back up into the chorus is incredibly well executed and every instrument is able to shine through the mix. The track This Fire is a fairly popular track that has strange vocal harmonies similar to Talking Heads but the quick and precise drum beat and staccato guitar strumming keeps it very energetic and the finish is very noisy and climactic. The track Come On Home is a fantastic track that might have become my favorite of the record. The subtle, yet dramatic chorus and incredible guitar and synth work gives this song an amazing energy. I should mention that this album has a very uniform sound and despite for the most part being quite innovative with it, the track Cheating On You just didn't do many exciting things with the style. However there are plenty of moments where there is tons of innovation. The track Auf Achse has these ringing synths to back the usual quick drum beat, guitar and bass and it works very well. I also like the bit of German at the end of it to give the title some context and I imagine have a potent message if I went looking for it. The album closes off well with the track 40', which just cements the entire vibe of the track into one song, with it feeling like a culmination of what came before it. It's a much more subtle and chilled out track and it gives it a somber finale feeling. The guitar riff that comes in around 2 minutes is great and the drums/cymbals are getting the absolute shit beat out of them. There's also a really cool synth line that comes in before it cuts back down to the more somber vibe. It leaves off the album in a fantastic way and I just cannot emphasize that enough. This album blew me away with it's creativity, yet consistency. Each Instrument always comes through the mix well and the entire album has themes of break up, anger towards exes (or the other gender in general), and positivity towards being single after a shitty relationship. I love this album and although some songs lack in innovation, it's really hard to complain when the album flows so excellently and keeps my interest so well throughout. If you like alt rock or rock in general, this is an essential listen. Score: 9.5 Phenomenal Highlights: Jacqueline, Tell Her Tonight, Take Me Out, The Dark of The Matinée, Auf Achse, This Fire, Darts of Pleasure, Michael, Come on Home, 40'

2/10/2022 Today's Album: "Raw Power" by The Stooges - This album definitely exceeded my expectations, with the title and album causing me to expect some overblown and out of control punk outfits. However, this album is able to do what the earlier pink flag record couldn't and that is to implement subtlety into their hard rock. The first song didn't blow me away, but was still quite listenable. The vocalist sounds more grungy than the usual heavy punk act in the early 70s and I quite like it. The second song Gimme Danger is actually quite laid back with a generally great vocal performance. And okay yeah the third song, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell is more of what I expected. His vocals sound disgusting and the instrumentals sound like such generic hard rock aside from what is fairly decent guitar work. Penetration takes things back down a notch and is definitely enjoyable. There's a mysterious guitar and keys riff that accompanies fairly strange and eclectic vocals that match the energy of the album quite well. Very creepy vibe which matches the title and subject matter of the track. And going right back to shit, the title track Raw Power is so boring and generic and offers little to nothing in terms of a cohesive melody. The instrumentation doesn't change it up enough to make the boring lyrics and vocal performance listenable and it actually sounds like the singer is bored singing this track. The only saving grace is somewhat decent guitar playing again. Yet again, this next track strips things back and really offers a solid bluesy track about needing somebody. I don't understand how this band is able to switch between sounding so terrible and then pretty decent, but I Need Somebody is a pretty great track. After skipping around the last 2 tracks I decided they were similar to the louder, shitter songs that are scattered throughout this record. This album has 3 decent songs and 5 that are borderline unlistenable. It is disappointing given how much the highlights on this LP show promise, but it really isn't enough to save this album in my eyes. Score: 3 Inconsistent Highlights: Gimme Danger, Penetration, I Need Somebody

2/11/2022 Today's Album: "Siembra" by Willie Colón and Rubén Blades - This is a fantastic Latin album that covers an incredible amount of traditional Latin melodies with great production and excellent performances. Many moments on this record sound so fun, energetic, or eargasmic that it makes me wish I knew how to speak Spanish. The vocals are incredible, many basslines are groovy and danceable, and the chorus melodies are catchy and pleasant to listen to. Lots of exotic percussion and bright trumpets join the rest of the elements to create a really warm and welcoming soundscape. There isn't much else for me to cover as I don't speak Spanish, but suffice it to say this album is a great listen and I enjoyed it from top to bottom. Score: 8 Groovy Highlights: Plastico, Pedro Navaja

2/12/2022 Today's Album: "Wild Is The Wind" by Nina Simone - The bluesy opener I Love Your Loving Ways is a bouncy track to kick off this classic record. Being a 1966 blues record, one might expect this album to be riddled with genre clichés and a lack of innovation, but that is not the case. The song Four Women takes each verse to take the perspective of a woman being taken advantage of or in a position of vulnerability and the slow grooving piano tune in the back creates a somber and mysterious atmosphere for the story to take place in. What More Can I Say is a slow love ballad that feels like the perfect song to slow dance to as the vinyl player crackles in the background. The instrumentals on these tracks are minimalistic and subtle, but serve the exact purpose they need to in each track. The track Lilac Wine is an emotional and slow expression of unsteadiness and continued feelings of vulnerability. It is a very powerful track while never getting too loud or dramatic. That's all I ask is another great track. I love the repeated "nobody"s and the vocal performances borders on Sinatra levels of pomp and circumstance. The rest of the tracks sort of follow this trend. They all have an extremely solid instrumental foundation without having really too much in the mix and Nina's vocals are the shining star atop every track. I really like this album and I think a lot of tracks are perfect slow dancing material. The production leaves a tad bit to be desired, but the tunes are great and theres a ton of talent across the 11 tracks on this record. If you like 60s soul and blues, this is a record for you. Score: 7.5 Great Highlights: Lilac Wine, That's All I Ask, Break Down And Let It All Out, If I Should Lose You

2/13/2022 Today's Album: "Lady In Satin" by Billie Holiday - This record is very similar to the softer slow dance moments on the last record. This sounds like if Nina Simone was plucked out of 1966 and put into 1958 and was told to make music that sounded like Louie Armstrong. Her vocals are very raspy and I don't think I'm a huge fan of them, but joined with the orchestral backdrop that feels like it belongs in a musical makes the general vibe feel whimsical and angelic. All of the songs are quite slow and have a similar beat to them, but I think it would be perfect for having family over and having something simple going on in the background. It feels classic and it would probably match most holiday vibes. It's not something I would listen to on a regular basis and it does much less than the Nina Simone record to innovate the sound that was all over this record. Not terrible to listen to but might put you to sleep. Score: 6 A bit boring Highlights: Any/None

2/14/2022 Today's Album: "In The Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson - Finally, I am able to talk about an album from this generator that I know very well and can review top to bottom with ease. This album is incredible. This album defined what would become essential parts of 70s psychedelic rock, progressive rock, noise rock, and art rock. The production is top notch and the choice to split the music into 5 tracks makes listening to it an incredibly deep, yet digestibly experience. The first song, 21st Century Schizoid Man is one of the best openers to any album ever. The blaring saxophones, the blasted out vocals, the booming bass and top notch drumming make this track feel incredibly powerful and chaotic. There's many time switches, screeching saxophone solos, and dizzyingly polyrhythmic drumming. The band keep incredible co-ordination while having random pauses, impacts, and entrances in a way I haven't seen perfected again until Black Midi. The horns, bass, guitar, and drums play off each other so well and the vocals all throughout the track ranting about the terrible condition of this hypothetical 21st century man match the manic and unpredictable tone of the instruments perfectly. It's hard to tell when the track is going to end because of how noisy and scattered all of the instruments get. I Talk to the Wind follows this track up in an almost unexplainable way. It is such a calm and beautiful track that it gives the listener musical whiplash. The vocals are so smooth and dazed, lamenting the condition of the world and the way the vocalist simply talks to themselves and the wind around them. There are clarinets and flutes in the mix that add to the flowing and sedated nature of the track. The flute solo about halfway through the song followed by the pedaled guitar just sounds so pristine and clear they're memorizing. The outro solo from the flute is even more technically impressive and leaves the track off on such a groovy and impressive note. There is then a huge drumroll transition into perhaps the best track on the record, Epitaph. From the hypnotic guitar riff to the drowning bass and snappy snare hits, this album puts the listener into this cage as it drags you through the universe it creates. The singer illustrates a terrible dystopian environment that one might compare to today. The chorus on this song is powerful, insightful, and incredibly saddening. There is just an incredible weight to this song that leaves such an impact after what was such a laid back song in I Talk To The Wind. The whole album feels like it's set in this "world of the crimson king" which just so happens to be medieval Europe. There's instruments like harpsicord that add to this effect. Moonchild follows this epic piece with a haunting and atmospheric track called Moonchild. The lyrics are incredibly well mixed and produced, telling of this moonchild that yearns for a sun-child and dreams in the shadows of a willow. Each song feels like it holds lore to this mysterious land and this song just hugs your ears while doing so. There's a wailing guitar that accompanies drowning synth chords and cymbal clashes until the album completely tapers off into nothing. The 10 following minutes of this 12 minute track contain some of the wildest improv percussion and it really just needs to be listened to to believe. The 10 minutes of psychedelic ambiance is completely smashed with the intro of the final track, In the Court of the Crimson King. This song is the perfect finisher to the album, leaving it on a similarly noisy and chaotic note as it began and with many ending fake outs too! It's a great track to end off this absolutely incredible album. I have to end this off short due to text limits, but please listen to this album. It's something that has to be experienced and in the 3 years I've been listening to it, it hasn't gotten old. Score: 10/10 Period. Highlights: 21st Century Schizoid Man, I Talk To The Wind, Epitaph, Moonchild, ITCOTCK

2/15/2022 Today's Album: "Boston" by Boston - This is yet another album that I have listened to prior to this 1001 album project. I have much less to say about this album, but that isn't to say this album is bad. I would argue that this album is the definition of what classic rock it. Coming out smack dab in the middle of the 70's, this album has such a clean and pristine instrumental sound that is incredibly well executed and topped with amazing vocals and pop sensibilities. The opener, More Than a Feeling has about half a billion streams on Spotify because of how simply solid this track is. Powerful, grooving, well-balanced, and incredibly well performed, this song is what I think of when I think of Boston. Peace of Mind and Foreplay / Long Time are also absolute classics. I think they tend to sound quite similar, but it doesn't really matter when they all sound so well put together. I wasn't as aware of the rest of this album as the hits on this LP are packed towards the front, and I think it is for a good reason. These following tracks aren't difficult to listen to and I think there is a lot to like, but I don't feel like there is anything built upon the formula they set up in the first few songs and it just feels like they stretched peace of mind through another 5 tracks. Again, I think there is a lot to like about the album as a whole and putting it on a record player is not a bad experience, but all I get out of this album are the singles that I have already added to my playlist. Great tracks, and a staple of 70s rock, but just not super groundbreaking or revolutionary. Score: 6.5/10 Good Highlights: More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Foreplay / Long Time , Smokin'

2/16/2022 Today's Album: "Teenage Head" by Flamin' Groovies - I reviewed this album once before while my flight was taking off from denver and it got deleted by the time I got wifi, so here is a shorter review. This album is fairly decent. It is a lot of straightforward rock beats and progressions with some Velvet Undergound (Lou Reed) type vocals. There is a lot of guitar twang that makes this album feel quite hick-y and bluegrass-y. However, that doesn't totally take away from the technical talent in the guitar work throughout this album. There are a lot of songs that feel quite memorable and that get me bobbing my head, but then there are tracks that are fairly ugly and campy. I think overall, though, they balance these two types of tracks in a way that flows well and keeps my engaged. There are some surefire highlights on this album, like the smooth and warm Whiskey Woman or the rocking cover of Louie Louie. Some of the guitar work on this album is so impressive for how under the radar this little punk project is. There is a dirtyness to the production, but it is relatively clean compared to most punk outfits of this time. It is a great album for some straightforward dude rock and punk. I don't know quite what else to say about it since many other aspects are fairly generic, but there is a lot of personality to the aspects of this album that shine and there are many moments that are very enjoyable. It seems like a great road trip album or just one to have playing in the background of a small gathering. Score: 7.5/10 Pretty Good / Classic Highlights: High Flyin' Baby, City Lights, 32-20, Whiskey Woman, Shakin' All Over, Louie Louie, Scratch My Back

2/17/2022 Today's Album: "A Night At The Opera" by Queen - This is an album that I have had on vinyl since around the beginning of the initial 2020 quarantine and in the time it really has not gotten old to me. The reason? This album is one of the best produced albums of the decade. In my opinion, this is a textbook example of how to mix and pan audio to transform it from a basic performance to something that feels beyond instrumentation. The Bohemian Rhapsody movie that came out a few years ago did a great way of showing how much Freddy Mercury wanted to create an LP at the caliber of a theatrical performance and with a good pair of headphones, it absolutely sounds like it. The way Death On Two Legs begins with a gigantic instrumental build before it cuts out to pretty much nothing is absolutely stunning. Lazing On a Sunday Afternoon is a really fun ragtime tune about exactly what the title would imply. I'm In Love With My Car, despite its absurd title, has a ton of really creative sounds in the mix and they are all mixed exceptionally well as well. The song '39 is one that I had on repeat after listening to it because of how enchanting it is. You're put into this bittersweet song about war and forgotten love that tugs on the heart string despite the lyrics being quite vague. It has this deep emotional weight to it and is the best track on the album in my eyes, with two acoustic guitars and the bass playing off each other in a way that gives this song great levity despite the lyrics. Seaside Rendezvous is a really fun piano-focused track that has a really bouncy 20's feel to it, similarly to many other songs on this album. It is a great way to end side 1 of the vinyl with Freddy saying, "Give us a kiss" before one last musical hit. Prophet's Song, being the longest track on the album, is an incredibly dark and menacing track with great chorus vocals and bass work before the track breaks out into a several minute experimental looping and prog rock section. I think it's really well done and despite how long it goes on for, it totally works with the flow of the record. Love Of My Life is, in my opinion, one of the best love songs to ever exist. It's up there with The Beatle's Something and everyone should know this song. It's heartbreaking, but lovely and incredibly well performed by Mercury. Also the harmonies are literally perfect. Like I haven't emphasized it very much yet, but this guy's vocals are NUTSO. Good company is an all around solid track, Classic queen with great guitar work, fast basslines, and a ton of extraneous orchestral instruments. The stringed instrument, which I think is a ukulele(?) is a really nice part of the track and gives it a lot of personality. Bohemian Rhapsody needs no review. It is fucking Bohemian Rhapsody (It sounds funny at 45 speed on the record player lol). God Save the Queen closes off the album and is just the British national anthem. Epic. Overall, this album is really enjoyable from start to finish and more people should hear it because it's some of queen's best work, despite some of it being really overplayed (Really just Bohemian) Score: 9.5/10 "Bloody Brilliant" Highlights: Death On Two Legs, Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, '39, Seaside Rendezvous, The Prophet's Song, Love Of My Life, Good Company

2/18/2022 Today's Album: "There's A Riot Goin' On" by Sly & The Family Stone - Score: This is an incredibly groovy and bass heavy album that captures a lot of great African intrumentation, tunes, and melodies. The bass and guitar playing throughout the album is incredibly impressive and the production really brings everything to life with different percussive and funky hits appear throughout the mix. The performances are next level. These songs are extremely expressive and just about every track has a very strong aspect to it. The vocals are really great and in some instances they are brought really forward in the mix and sound really cool, like on the track Family Affair. I feel a lot of R&B and soul influence as well, with some production choices that indicate a more nuanced understanding of Black music from across a few generations. There isn't too much to say about this album outside of that. It sounds absolutely fantastic, super warm, and very very expressive. Give it a listen if you like funk, African percussion, soul, rock, or honestly just want something groovy to have on in the background. 8.5/10 Grooooovy Highlights: Just Like a Baby, Poet, Family Affair, Africa Talks to You ("The Asphalt Jungle"), Spaced Cowboy, Runnin' Away, "Thank You for Talkin' to Me, Africa", Spaced Cowboy, My Gorilla Is My Butler - Instrumental

2/19/2022 Today's Album: "Debut" by Björk - The only thing I had heard about Björk is that it is quite Avant guard music, and that is pretty much what I got. The thing I didn't expect it how dancy this album would be. Most of the tracks have some sort of club beat behind them that gives the instrumental a ton of energy and grove. For that reason I think that these beats are some of the most colorful and well made instrumentals I have heard and I really have to give this album credit for that. However I think that her vocals are really where I have problems. Her voice is the kind of voice that should be put over a soft piano ballad or an acoustic guitar, where the subtlety of the instrumental can give support to the vocal, but when the instrumentals are too energetic, like they are on most of these songs, she gets really drowned out in the mix and often feels off pitch or like there's some sort of weird effect on her voice. This is also paired with her sitting between her head and chest voice for these Alanis Morrissette type moans and I just cant jive with it most time. There are some exceptions though. The song Like Someone In Love is quite sweet as Björk actually strips back the instrumentation for a ballad and it works as well as I described earlier. One Day has a stronger instrumental but its more of a droning, spacy, and entrancing backbeat that lends to Björk's repeated phrases. Aeroplane is also a pretty solid track and makes me feel like this album is picking itself up after a sort of strange start. The mysterious groove and wood percussion pair well with Björk's delivery in a similar way to One Day. Come to Me has a fantastic beginning groove and yet again just gets kind of thrown away with the vocals. Usually I can look past it but it is almost like its frustratingly close to being amazing and Björk is just edging us with these out of tune vocal parts. I appreciate the strings in the background and how chilled out the drum beat is, but this song is just not very much to me. Violently Happy is yet another club track with weird vocals. I don't like it. The Anchor Song is something I can appreciate a little bit more, with her vocal being separated from when the instruments are playing and her poetic writing style shines with the horn chords that are being played. Play dead is an absolutely KILLER instrumental and it is wasted AGAIN. like this could be rapped on and be absolutely saved but it just sucks. Overall, I think Björk is best when she is being subtle and if she is going to make a killer groove, she should feature someone that can actually sing on it. Score: 6/10 Very strange and hit or miss (mostly miss) Highlights: Like Someone In Love, One Day, Aeroplane

2/19/2022 Today's Album: "Here Are The Sonics" by The Sonics - This is a pretty classic 60's record. You get that classic 60s band feel from groups like the Beatles, but it almost feels like its infused with a lot of different musical genres, rather than the simple love songs they were doing back then. It feels like something you would hear in an old American diner, but with enough musical flare that it feels relevant today. That being said, the sounds are just really too outdated to casually enjoy today. It has it's place in history and it's not terrible on the ears, but the basic chord structures and fairly terrible production really date this album. Score: 5/10 inoffensive Highlights: N/A?

3/20/2022 Today's Album: "Machine Gun Etiquette" by The Damned - To start, this album has fairly decent production, with the instruments feeling well mixed and very warm / full. The chorus of the first song Love Song is really catchy despite such a heavy demeanor. The title track after that introduces the general sound of this album, being a very mosh-pit focused piece of headbanging hard rock. That being said, I think this is a really solid showing for the genre. 1979 feels like it would have been pretty early in the hard rock scene, so this album really feels like one of those genre-starting classics that holds up against all of the cliche's it created. The 3rd song I Just Can't Be Happy Today sounds really nice, but the vocals are starting to really grate on me, as these vocals have never really been my thing. Very similar to Billy Idol or Depeche Mode, whom I have a lot of respect for. I just don't think I like the monotone vocals trying to sound cool. There's a great synth solo in this track, however, so it's probably my favorite of the first 3 tracks. The following Melody Lee feels like sort of wasted potential, with this nice piano opening being interrupted by this chugging rock track that just feels really uninteresting and too heavy. After the similarly forgettable Anti-Pope, These Hands brings this strange carnival organ into the mix and I actually sort of like how weird it sounds but then there's a bunch of manic laughing before everything cuts to these muddy footsteps tracking around the left channel. It just sounds kinda gross tbh. Then, Plan 9 Channel 7 is a more straightforward rock track and I like this one quite a bit. It's a great example of the genre that would eventually spawn from music like this in the 80s and it has a really fun chorus line and guitar riff. The vocals sound great and the bass has a great chugging energy. Noise, Noise, Noise brings the energy back to the more heavy stuff they were doing earlier, but it still sounds pretty great with solid performances from the band (vocals still kinda blow). The chorus isn't half bad so its half decent. Looking At You feels very similar to Anti-Pope, being another annoying and boring, yet fast paced track. Liar is the same kind of story as Looking At You and Anti-Pope. Finally, the closer Smash It Up is a pretty solid track, reminding me of something like Alan Parson's Project and then transitioning into something similar to R.E.M. It keeps that same Depeche Mode type energy as the rest of the tracklist, but has some really warm instrumentation and a more energetic bassline / drum combo. Overall, this record shines in a lot of places, and although some of it isn't great in my opinion, nothing is really too bad and shows a better side of punk/hard rock than I have seen from other albums in the generator. Score: 6,5/10 Not bad Highlights: I Just Can't Be Happy Today, Plan 9 Channel 7, Smash It Up.

3/23/2022 Today's Album: "Tago Mago" by CAN - This album started off blowing my socks off. The opener Paperhouse gives me everything I want in a musical work. There's lush production, great instrument performances, a fantastic groove, and psychedelic elements. It is 7 and a half minutes of head bobbing goodness and I highly recommend giving it a listen. The second song Mushroom is a little more experimental and trippy and I am not a huge fan of the vocals, but the bass is absolutely beautiful sounding since they bring it so forward in the mix. The third song Oh Yeah kind of sucks, with 2 minutes of reversed vocals and the rest of the song having relatively whiny vocals throughout. However, the instrumentation of the track sounds pretty groovy still with a lot of awesome solos and it is over before it overstays it's welcome. The track Halleluhwah is an 18 minute track filled with a variety of different, but fantastic grooves that showcase some fantastic soloing as well as just some great background playing from the bass and drums. It really shines in the middle section and it kept my attention very well despite the length. Aumgn is a 17 minute long noise rock piece, and although I usually like that sort of thing, it's just not worth sitting through strange drone sounds for that long. The next track Perking O does the same thing for 11 and a half minutes. I am not upset with artists being experimental and trying to recreate Revolution 9 by the Beatles, but when it is so apparently weird just for weirdness sake with no inherit meaning, it just doesn't merit wasting so much time on what could have been such a great record. The closer Bring Me Coffee or Tea is a fast paced and decently performed track that brings the album to a really exciting close, but it just doesn't sit right after what was pretty abrasive noise rock. Overall, when they shut the fuck up and play their instruments, it sounds absolutely magical and really pleasing to my tastes, but whenever the vocals are prominent or they try these lengthy experimental tracks, I just feel very underwhelmed and unimpressed. Score: 7/10 Great potential squandered with abrasive filler. Highlights: Paperhouse, Halleluhwah, Bring Me Coffee or Tea

3/24/2022 Today's Album: "The Sun Rises In The East" by Jeru The Damaja - This album is really fun to listen to. I have very little experience with this era of rap, but the funky hip hop beats and fairly impressive flows throughout this project are really just a delight to the ear. It feels like the perfect music for just booling around the city and feeling like a badass with friends. The verses on these tracks are really great and seem to feature a lot of fantastic features, unless if this is just a rap group or Jeru putting on multiple voices. Anyways, There's a ton of diversity of this record and I like all of the interludes throughout the album. There's some great jazz accompaniments that boost the smooth feeling of these songs and there is just such a solid flow from track to track, with many dynamic changes in the sound, without ever feeling out of character. Other than that, it's pretty hard to review anything else about this record. I am pretty new to this genre and dont have a good frame of reference for the lyrical talent behind the record, but the grooves are smooth and theres a ton of character and talent behind the rap verses. Check it out if you like classic hip hop. The best I can compare it to is my very little knowledge of Biggie's top tracks. Score: 8/10 Enjoyed it a lot despite my lack of experience in the genre Highlights: D. Original, Da Bichez, Ain't The Devil Happy, Come Clean, Jungle Music, Statik

3/25/2022 Today's Album: "Songs From The Big Chair" by Tears For Fears - The opening track, Shout, sets the stage perfectly for this album of memorable classics and a little more. Being such a big hit itself, Shout is a great synth ballad with some very colorful auxiliary percussion, the ever-present 80s synth, and a really cool flute solo about half way through the track. The guitar soloing is also fantastic near the end. The Working Hour starts as a beautiful follow up before transitioning into this extremely groovy samba track that reminds me of the soundtrack to Tarzan (Very Phil Collins). I really like the chill nature of this track and it does enough to not feel boring. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a perfect song. It's just one of those songs that supersedes any explanation because if you've somehow never heard it, you probably don't care enough about music to be reading this review. It's a great song and still holds it's ground despite how much it's overplayed. Mothers Talk is also a really great track. The bass sounds so funky but is playing so fast it gives the whole track this really groovy disco energy. The vocals are as great as any of the bigger hits and the background vocals really add a lot of personality and soul to this track. I Believe is a much slower and lowkey track, stripping back to just a piano, bass, and drum kit. The vocals are really smooth and emotional, feeling really authentic in the process. It might drag out a bit long, but it sounds nice while it's on and adds a lot to the flow of the record. Broken is another insanely groovy and fun dance tracks with some really impressive guitar work and musical breaks. Head Over Heels / Broken is a really great rock track that feels a lot like Boston by Boston. The lyrics and vocals are on point and there's a really warm and smooth rock band arrangement backing it up. Yet another highlight on a really great sounding record. Finally, Listen is a fantastic closer to this album, being a lush and wide soundscape of a synth ballad. There's a lot of random noises and sparkly synths overcasting the velvety base and synths. There's some great chorus vocals and screaming guitar tones that just sound fantastic. The name of it being Listen really does make sense because it makes me want to get this album on vinyl just to listen to it. The production of the entire record is fantastic start to end and I highly recommend this for anyone who even sort of likes Shout or EWTRTW (or just likes 80s Rock in general). Score: 9.5/10 Fan-freakin'-tastic Highlights: Shout, The Working Hour, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Broken, Head Over Heels / Broken, Listen.

3/25/2022 Today's Album: "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A. - This album is just really boring. I think that the production on it is pretty stellar. Each track is warm and features a pretty solid beat, groovy bass, and sometimes even a nice vocal, but the rapping is absolute dogshit. Not only do the beats just kind of sit in one place and not do anything, but the rapping and verse structures are just so boring and stagnant throughout the track list. You get each member of the group just ending each line with rhymes like frozen and chosen, effect and select, and even more similarly predictable matchings. I think there is a lot of potential coming from the hooks and choruses of each song, but the verses are just so tedious to listen to and just sound like a kid listing off everything they did today but in the style of Dr.Seuss. Like I said, it's a pretty nice set of beats to listen to because the production is pretty excellent, but it just doesn't have enough experimentation or variety within the rhythm or beat structure to illicit any reactions from me. The subject matter of a lot of these tracks are also just really dated, littered with misogynistic and edgy ideas. Overall, if you like old rap like this, listen to Biggie or Snoop. There's more charisma and charm from them and the subject matter is a little less played out. Even the album I reviewed 2 days ago from Jeru the Damaja was better than this. Score: 4/10 Highlights: If It Ain't Ruff, Express Yourself (carried by it's sample)

3/26/2022 Today's Album: "Step In The Arena" by Gang Starr - Being a rap album from the same era as Straight Outta Compton, this album feels like a step up. The first track is the title track Step In The Arena and is a great introduction to this mellow, grooved out, rap music. It has a similar issue in it's verse structure as SOC, where each line has a rhyming counterpart, but this album does it with much more finesse. It still feels boring after a little while, but there is so much more character and intent behind each of the verses being spit on this album. The bass throughout these tracks is super in the mix and super deep/dark. It gives this booming feeling to each track and does a lot to stylize the album. As we get into the track list, the instrumentals seem to only get more interesting as the vocals get more and more difficult to slog through. Maybe I just really can't appreciate this genre, because it is so unbearable how inherently uninteresting this way of rapping sounds to me. Each track sounds like such a let down, as the beats lure me in with the authentic and dark production, but the rappers suck every ounce of energy out of it. Getting pretty done with the generator recommending these let-downs. As far as I can tell, one of these rappers has some real potential. I can't tell which ones, but the Highlighs section is pretty much all of his tracks because he just has more charisma. He still uses that annoying cliché in his rhyming, but he mixes it up with lengthened lines and smart wordplay. The song Lovesick has a truly amazing beat, welcoming me in with soft guitar plucking and that ever-present warm bass. The flow isn't bad on this track and I think that they work well as a group when they are singing about love (for whatever reason), but it is a really nice track overall. I really like the telephone sample in What You Want This Time?, but as usual it gets pretty ruined by the rapping. Also, they just mostly rap about being good at rapping, despite it being the literal worst part of this project. Seriously, though. It is all they rap about. The rest of the track list doesn't leave a very large impact except for Precisely The Right Rhymes, which has a bass so overblown it made my walls shake and my ears hurt for a sec. So, I would say overall that although there are a ton of really cool instrumental ideas all over this record, it never ends up hitting quite right due to the lack of performative talent form 1, or sometimes both, of the rappers in this group. Listen to it if you really dig soul instrumentals and can overlook some plainly bad rap verses throughout most of the tracks. Score: 6.5/10 Almost really good. Highlights: Step In The Arena, Beyond Comprehension, Lovesick, Here Today Gone Tomorrow, As I Read My S-A

3/27/2022 Today's Album: "Rio" by Duran Duran - This 80s synth record pops off with a very instrumentally exciting and blood-pumping ballad named Rio. It's your typical Toto's Rosanna, meaning it's one of those movie soundtrack songs that popped off in the 80s named after a girl that the lead singer is horny about. Great track, but it's something I've noticed in 80's music that I think is pretty overplayed. However, there is an excellent bass and saxophone solo that really gives this track some shine. The vocalist is also really similar to that Tears for Fears / Billy Idol / Depeche Mode sound that is very popular in this time period as well. The next track My Own Way is a pretty groovy dance track that really shines in it's pre-chorus and has a ton of layered staccato parts that sound really cool all together. This song feels much less repetitive than the last and the band kind of pops off at the end so the repetitiveness of the chorus matters less to me. Hungry Like the Wolf is a huge hit and I can see why. It's a really flashy pop anthem and, despite it's creepy subject matter, I have never really gotten too sick of it. It's hard to point out to many other highlights in this record because it has a very consistent (and somewhat generic) 80s sound, but the highlights I have listed are songs that I felt like broke through the formulaic nature of this LP. Overall, I thought this record was decent and had a lot of energy, but there wasn't a lot new to chew on and I felt like I had heard all of these sounds done before and/or better. Score: 7/10 Alright Highlights: My Own Way, Hungry Like The Wolf, New Religion, The Chauffeur

3/28/2022 Today's Album: "The Score" by Fugees - It took me a few tracks to really get into this album, but wow this album really turned around and showed me a really nice sonic experience. There is a ton of character in the rap verses on this really consistently great-sounding and well-produced record. They take breaks to explore other sonic routes other than just rapping, but I would say the hip hop tracks are a majority of the track list. I appreciate a lot of the samples they use in this album, 2 of which I think I can pin on Moody Blues Days of Future Passed, but anyways, I like a lot of the production choices on these tracks, having a really groovy bass and African percussion scattered throughout the album and always mixed very highly, which sounds great for this kind of music. The cover of No Woman No Cry was really great, and it just goes to show their versatility between their hip hop tracks and their more stripped back melody-focused songs. There are some mediocre tracks and performances, especially near the beginning, but this album really picks up with a lot of great soul, R&B, African, Hip - Hop, and Reggae music influences and just a ton of great tunes and performances. Overall, this has been the best so far of the 90s hip hop album the generator has been spewing at me over the past week and you should give it a listen if you enjoy this kind of stuff and want a great example of it done well and with tons of character. Score: 8.5/10 Amazingly colorful and charismatic Highlights: Zealots, The Beast, Fu-Gee-La, Killing Me Softly With His Song, The Mask, No Woman No Cry, Manifest / Outro

3/29/2022 Today's Album: "Imperial Bedroom" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions - This album is pretty frustrating. The first 9 or so tracks show off the general theme of this track list, which is that some songs have a really fun energy that matches Elvis's blatantly horrible vocals. Whenever this guy has enough energy to sing a tight verse and chorus, it feels really fun and the 70s rock inspired instrumentals do numbers to lift up the lyrics in the songs mentioned in "Highlights", the other songs have just this unlistenable cheep feel to them, with each line feeling a little to long and all of the lyrics really bogging down what are admittingly decent instrumental performances. After these first 9 tracks, the view count on spotify really tanks and I can see why. It's pretty much more of the unlistenable stuff from the first half. Overall, I really wanted to like this project given some of the more promising tracks, but it just honestly should not be Elvis Costello leading this band. He is not a talented enough vocal performer to pull these ideas off in a listenable way. Score: 3/10 Just not very good Highlights: Tears Before Bedtime, Almost Blue, Human Hands,

3/30/2022 Today's Album: "Exit Planet Dust" by The Chemical Brothers - You know how a few reviews ago I was complaining about 2 albums having rather mediocre rapping, but the beat production being fairly good in comparison? Well, this album is like if they just removed the rapping and showcased how cool those beats are, but how stale they get over time. I am not saying it really sounds bad, as the production quality is rather high and a lot of the beats feel really energetic and danceable, but a lot of them after the first 2 tracks, Leave Home and In Dust We Trust, just feel really repetitive and don't really have interesting progressions despite how decent of beats they are. A lot of them also have elements that just drown out the rest of the beat and sound straight up ugly, like on the track Song To The Siren. (Probably intentional now that I think about it). That being said, they still sound like beats that would be fun to get totally lost in at a club on hard drugs and are somewhat enjoyable sober. The track Chemical Beats brings things back a little bit with a really long build up and a pretty solid drop into some added percussion and slightly more beat variation. It isn't a great track to me personally, but I can tell that there is a tad more variety with what it is trying to do. The track Chico's Groove takes a complete left turn and has a really cool synthetic and chilled-out groove to it. It's actually really pleasant to listen to and has a nice variation and bassline throughout. One Too Many Mornings follows this trend of pretty decent tracks, with a really nice chill beat joined by this angelic voice. It captures the feeling of waking up early after a night of partying and trying to start your day. Life Is Sweet is the first track to feature vocals in it, and I actually think this album would have sounded nice with some more. That being said, I enjoy that most of this album is instrumental. It's a pretty great track that leads us into the last 2. Playground For A Wedgeless Firm is kind of a strange noise rock experiment, with this weird descending synth and some horror strings in the back. Kind of weird, but then it leads us into the finisher, Alive Alone, which is another song with vocals, this time being female. It's sort of a spacey outro with lyrics contemplating life and relationships. It's a pretty solid track that ends this record off on a really nice note. Overall, this record really surprised me. I thought a lot of the beats in the beginning were really basic and boring, but the ending really popped off with some awesome material. Check this out if you like club music with some subtle tracks thrown in. Score: 8/10 A slow-burner, but worth it! Highlights: Leave Home, In Dust We Trust, Chico's Groove, One Too Many Mornings, Life Is Sweet, Alive Alone

3/31/2022 Today's Album: "Elephant Mountain" by The Youngbloods - This album is actually pretty great. The production throughout feels very warm and real, with a consideration of where to put different instruments and sounds in the mix. There's also a great flow to this record, with short intermission tracks breaking up the longer ones, which all seem to vary in style. There's some great folky tunes like Darkness, Darkness, a detour into some renaissance type music with On Sir Francis Drake, some softer acoustic cuts like Sunlight and beautiful, and some more pop-centered tracks like Quicksand. The vocals are nice and remind me of Cat Stephens or Steely Dan. There's some great guitar work throughout this record, the bass really shines at moments, the synths and keys sound great, and the drums are solid. There are some duds in the track list, but the real heart of this record is extremely enjoyable and nice to listen to. Listen to this album if you like music. It's good. That's it I don't have much else to say it's just a solid album Score: 7/10 Solid and Varied Highlights: 'Darkness, Darkness', On Sir Francis Drake, Sunlight, Double Sunlight, Beautiful, Don't Let the Rain Bring You Down, Quicksand

4/01/2022 Today's Album: "Isn't Anything?" by My Bloody Valentine - This album is somewhat difficult to rate and I had to give it a couple of listens to really even get an idea of what to say, but here goes. I think this album is going for a really difficult to listen to, but still musically cohesive vibe that I think works in a lot of songs / sections of songs, but falls flat with many others. The first 3 or so tracks, in fact, really captured my attention by toeing this line of unlistenable and fantastic and it really is just so interesting to me. The singing as far as I can tell is really solid, at least from the male vocalist, and although it gets drowned out often in the mix, I think it is okay given that the instrumentals are pretty solid, despite how unorthodox and strange they sound. They have a diverse set of tracks, from slow and wavy to hard and rocking, this album really takes you through some grunge 101 and highlights a bunch of sounds of the grunge genre. I am getting a lot of velvet underground influence out of the overall vibe, but they are doing some stuff that reminds me of the strange production we would see on future outfits like the Strokes. However, this is only about half the tracks, with the others just sounding really generic and uncreative due to how much nuance this genre really needs to sound good in my opinion. They sound their best when they're being subtle, which is the case with most grunge groups, at least in my opinion. It just doesn't sound good to me when the guitars are overbearing and smothering the entire track with distorted mush. I think this album is definitely worth a listen as there is a lot of challenging content for newer music fans, but if you don't like grunge like Nirvana or early Radiohead, you're going to find this pretty unlistenable. Score: 6/10 Promising and interesting in moments Highlights: Soft As Snow, Lose My Breath, Cupid Come, Sueisfine, I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)

4/02/2022 Today's Album: "Ananda Shankar" by Ananda Shankar - This album starts off with a great song, Jumpin' Jack Flash, which has really elaborate production, with fuzzy synths, a grooving sitar, and some really colorful chorus vocals. The whole track feels really jamming and chill and generally colorful. Jumping to this next track, it's clear I am going to be listening to a lot of Indian inspired music infused with 70s psychedelic rock, with this one being an awesome sitar solo with some backing synth, bass, and bongos. I have given the rest of these tracks a listen and they are all just consistently amazing psychedelic sitar tracks with no vocals. Just a bunch of groovy and meditative instrumental tracks, with Sagar (The Ocean) being over 13 minutes long and fantastic from start to finish, shifting in tempo, style, and instrumentation throughout. Dance Indra sounds like a Mario Desert level backed up by these dark piano and synth chords and I really love it. The final track, Raghupati actually does have lyrics and I don't know how much I really dig it. There is a nice message about accepting each other despite our beliefs, but the singing in Indian just doesn't appeal to me due to the language barrier. The instrumentals go pretty wild, but I think it would honestly fit better somewhere in the middle of the track list and I can't really enjoy it casually like I have the rest of these tracks. I just can't really be blasting this Indian chanting in my car and expect to not get intentionally crashed into. Overall, this album has a ton of amazing psychedelic instrumental sitar tracks that are almost perfect in my opinion topped off by one track that is just kind of meh for me. If you like Indian or Psychedelic music, give this one a listen. P.S. I think if you listened to Raghupati and Dance Indra after Metamorphosis and then close it off with Sagar, it would be a really nice listening experience and would conclude more concisely. Score: 9/10 Really fun to listen to but feels a little out of order Highlights: Jumpin' Jack Flash, Snow Flower, Light My Fire, Mamata (Affection), Metamorphosis, Dance Indra, Sagar (The Ocean)

4/03/2022 Today's Album: "Channel Orange" by Frank Ocean - This album is dense, extremely well executed, and packed with a ton of instrumental personality, so it definitely took a few days and a handful of listens to really "get" it. This album is phenomenal. These are really expressive and rich R&B tracks that cover a veriety of subject matters with suprising levels of nuance and with tons of layers of meaning in every line. From a surface level listen, you're met with likeable tracks that fuze pop and R&B with fantastic production and suprisingly listenable heavy sub-bass. Frank's vocals are fantastic on every track, the choruses are quickly learnable and given the hundreds of listens on each track, Frank is obviously a big heavy hitter in the pop scene. Going into the tracklist, there are a lot of times where the themes of drugs, past relationships, racism, systematic inequality, etc. that are all over most albums in this genre and the broader hip hop and rap scenes show up, but in a way that is very interesting to the listener. For instance, the first song of the album, Thinkin' Bout You explores the regret of past relationships by asking their first love if they still think about them, but his lyricism makes it hard to determine if this is an ongoing relationship or one that has already ended, adding to the message. The track Fertilizer is a short poppy interlude with only one line of lyrics, but the meaning of it is one of a partner feeling like they must continue with a relationship despite them being treated like shit. The name Fertilizer is also a play on words, implying the only connection in this relationship is when Frank and his partner have love- less sex (Fertilizing Her). The song Sierra Leone covers seemingly all of the emotions surrounding an unplaned pregnancy, with Frank having to come to turns with his immaturity and grow up to raise a child, the financial and familial struggle of dealing with an unplanned child, and even the relationship Frank has with being a father given how his father left him when he was young. The track Super Rich Kids is not only a fantastic sounding song, but it covers the troubles of young wealth and all of the mental, interpersonal, and legal issues related to someone having vast amounts of wealth when they are young. Pilot Jones and Crack Rock both cover the issues related to drugs and homelessness in America in great depth, with the former being from the perspective of Frank dealing with a parter that is dealing/addicted to drugs. The 10 minute track Pyramids is a great examination into the tarnished identity of black women as they were stolen from their home continent and were bastardized by the west. The first part is about the capturing and exploitation of black woman slaves right from the African Population and the second part is about the modern day black woman and how many have been reduced down to hookers and strippers. This track also sounds phenomenal from start to finish and features some amazing instrumental moments. Lost covers the drug industry further, this time with Frank taking the perspective of a man forcing a woman to mule drugs by putting them inside of her Double D sized breasts. It sounds immature and cliche upon first listen, but after understanding the premise it is a story of a young woman who is unable to escape a world of drug trafficing that she is already too far deep within. Monks is Frank examining his fame, but through discribing a drug fueled sexual encounter he had with a handful of groupies from one of his shows. One of the heaviest hitters, Bad Religion, compares a romantic relationship to a religion, as Frank finds this partner he once worshiped gone from him now. Like many tracks on this album, he describes these past relationships in an absolutely heartbreaking way, shedding light to the parts of a relationship that most dont think about. Pink Matter is a beautiful track that uses relationships and specifically a woman's womb to contemplate desire, fantasy, and even existentialism. It is an example of another pattern of this album, where Frank seems to be simply singing a love song, but there are several deeper meanings underneath simply talking about vaginas or boobs. Forest Gump is a light-hearted track from the perspective of Jenny from Forest Gump, being a metaphor for Frank's first love, who he later admitted was male and the final track End ends the album in a similar way it started, with background chatter and noise as Frank is musically switching through memories like TV channels. From an instrumental and musical standpoint, there are some moments that feel a little underdeveloped on this LP, but the diversity of sounds and melodies alongside solid instrumentals and lyricism that are so layered it can take hundreds of listens to fully comprehend make this album just fantastic from start to end. Themes of first loves, past toxic relationships, drugs, pregnancy, status, wealth, and power are all brilliantly meditated on under the guise of an R&B pop album and I really just cannot emphasize how well it is pulled off. This album is getting me really excited to check out Ocean's other music and about 80 percent of the tracks here are going to find their way into my library. Listen to this one if you like R&B, pop, heavy bass, great vocals, smart lyrics, or any/all of the above. Score: 9.5/10 Smart, Beautiful, Excellent. Highlights: Thinkin Bout You, Fertilizer, Super Rich Kids, Pilot Jones, Pyramids, Lost, White, Monks, Bad Religion, Pink Matter, Forest Gump.

4/04/2022 Today's Album: "Dust" by Screaming Trees - This album takes influences from multiple genres in a really appealing and well-assembled manor. This grungy, psychedelic, folky, bluesy, and hard rocky LP at points sounds like early Radiohead, Red Hot Chile Peppers, Doves, early Pink Floyd, and even Lynyrd Skynyrd or CCR. It is obvious though, that this is a group of talented musicians that are using these inspirations to create some amazing tracks. Not only do these ideas seem to flow from one to another very seamlessly, but the production of these tracks is great and there are a bunch of really great instrumental performances throughout the mix. Despite the different genres used throughout the track list, the instrumentation stays relatively similar throughout, which gives this project a great feeling of consistency. The vocals sound really nice; the album cover is really cool and interesting; the chord patterns may feel a bit re-used, but the soul and energy is there and every track ends up feeling unique. Some tracks don't catch my attention as much as others, but those who don't serve as nice interludes between some of the really dazzling moments, like at around 2 minutes into Sworn and Broken with the dazzling synth solo it has. Given this album came out in 1996, I think it might be fair to assume that this sound inspired many other bands (most obviously Doves from my perspective). The final track, Gospel Plow is a little more experimental than the others and it runs for about 6 minutes, but I think it's a really fantastic track that incorporates a lot of the sounds they were using in the rest of this album. It almost sounds like if Tool in the best way, with these really cool chugging bass lines and some eerie synth notes. It ends the album in a really killer way and cements this record in my mind as one of the most solid albums of the 90s, showcasing everything that was big in that era from alt rock to grunge to even classic rock revivalism. I think this album is a must listen for anyone who likes moodier 90s rock with excellent performances and a lot of melodic character. There are some points that aren't for me as much as others, but I can still see the value in what they were creating and their hits make up for it all 10 fold. Score: 8.5/10 Highlights: Halo Of Ashes, All I Know, Look At You, Dying Days, Sworn and Broken, Traveler, Dime Western, Gospel Plow

4/05/2022 Today's Album: "Frank" by Amy Winehouse - This is a fairly solid early 2000s singer song-writer and R&B record by the legendary Amy Winehouse, whom I had only known prior through a few hits. I think her voice is probably the best thing about this record. Not only does she have incredible technical ability in tonality and range, but she also brings a lot of personality to every line she sings. I like a lot of the bass and guitar grooves that are sprinkled across this album, with only a few songs feeling either boring or simply off/underdeveloped. I think my overall problem with listening to this is that Channel Orange was such a solid introduction into R&B music and although this album can be no considered bad, it just doesn't stack up within the R&B pop genre as anything less than a predecessor. Ironically, "Frank" (Ocean) ended up outdoing her. That being said, this is no album to simply shrug at and there is a lot of great material on this project. I like the sweet love song (There Is) No Greater Love and I think Cherry is a really funny interlude track where she confesses that she has feelings for another to her partner, but then admits the other person is her new guitar. I like the very fun and bouncy Amy Amy Amy and all of the other highlights listed are worth checking out if you like some great R&B and even greater vocal performances. Check this one out if Amy Winehouse has ever interested you before or you simply liked other R&B projects and want more. Score: 7.5/10 Pretty good, but dated by comparison Highlights: Stronger Than Me, Cherry, Fuck Me Pumps. No Greater Love, In My Bed, Take The Box, October Song, Amy Amy Amy, Brother, Mr. Magic

Today's Album: "Surfer Rosa" by Pixies - From the bare tits on the album cover to the strange spoken word interludes to the off kilter singing and whining guitars the pixies are fucking WEIRD. My dad has always recommended them to me because he's really into this era of punk rock, but I just could never get into how avante garde and honestly wrong everything they created sounded to me. However, I think listening to this album with headphones cranked up and the lyrics up, I think I can start to appreciate some of these tracks a lot. Some of the vocals sound like they're shouting at the microphone from the other side of a slinky or something with very little depth and this weird accent they put on. It sort of reminds me of when Modest Mouse gets kind of in the weeds and starts shouting at the microphone from across the room. That being said, I don't really think that's a bad thing. As I have started to get more into abrasive genres of music, it's gotten easier to pick out the nuanced and creative ideas out of a chaotic piece of work like this. I would say if that isn't your thing and you have never been able to dig deep into, on the surface terrible sounding, music for a deeper experience, this probably isn't for you. There is also a lot of really weird subject matter in the lyrics, but I think it all sort of fits together to create a uniform aesthetic. The guitar work throughout this whole album is really quite stellar, with the instrumentalist really knowing when to play something straight and when to go off into the weeds a little bit with a strange sound experiment with occasionally multiple layers. The distortion always feels really intentional, the drums feel like they aren't perfectly in time, but never to a distracting degree, and the vocalist really just make the entire experience one of confusion and strange enjoyment. Now there are really moments that I don't like, like the obnoxious phrasing on Broken Face, but it is easy to overlook those sort of oddities when the music sort of just takes them on with pride and keeps chugging along. When the band decides to play a track fairly straight like in the track Gigantic or the masterpiece that is Where is My Mind?, it really sounds so so good and makes the harder to listen to parts more bearable. Overall, listen to this one if you like to challenge yourself musically, but maybe give it a little while if you're a newer music fan and haven't heard the heaver parts to punk/indie rock or even metal. A lot of these tracks I won't listen to casually, but as a whole experience it was very interesting from start to finish. Score: 7/10 definitely…interesting Highlights: Bone Machine, Something Against You, Gigantic, Where Is My Mind?, Tony's Theme, Brick Is Red

4/07/2022 REVIEW #69 Today's Album: "Aladdin Sane" by David Bowie - As with any Bowie record, there is a ton of stuff on here that is so unique to him and that no one else has done better. His occasional off-key singing and strange instrumental choices coupled with his knowledge of making an absolute pop BANGER leads to a lot of moments where he toes the line of what is listenable music, like on the title track Aladdin Sane with it's almost terrible piano solo but great backing instrumental. That being said, there aren't really any "hits" on this album in comparison to Ziggy Stardust or Hunky Dory. It feels like Bowie is really taking some time to experiment with different sounds after the success of Ziggy and it is turning out on this record in some parts and just kind of falling flat in others. I am not the hugest Bowie fan and really only love his music when he has a very solid and condensed song structure and doesn't go too into the weeds, but I will say this is a nice example of him going off the rails occasionally and in a artistic manor, but also playing it straight sometimes. Overall, I like this record, but honestly won't really be coming back to it except for the few songs I decided to add to my playlist. There isn't really a consistency or theme to the songs and it leaves it just feeling like it has no identity, which is unusual for a Bowie release. Listen to it if you reaaaallly like Bowie, but otherwise just pick out the hits and leave the rest. Score: 6.5/10 good but just isn't really pulling me in. Highlights: Watch That Man, Aladdin Sane, Drive-In Saturday, Cracked Actor, Time, The Prettiest Star, Lady Grinning Soul

4/08/2022 Today's Album: "Heaux Tales" by Jazmine Sullivan - This album is really great and knows how to keep it's ideas short and concise. This album should essentially be called hoe tales, as almost every track is split up from the next by a short interlude of a woman talking about some aspect of being a woman. Antoinette's Tale talks about how men are taught to objectify women, Ari's Tale is about submitting to a man because of his sexual game, and Donna's Tale is about fucking men for the sole purpose of getting something out of it, even if that man is your husband. Although these interludes seem ammeter and comical, the combined message of the interlude and following track can have a huge impact. Like in Rashida's Tale, which talks about cheating on someone and how awful it feels on both ends being followed by Lost One, which is a chillingly somber track about a heartbreak. The tracks in between the interludes are all pretty fantastic. They all feature a really cool musical idea with Jazmine's vocals taking center stage and the R&B backtrack always backing her up perfectly. I think every song has a lot of impactful lines that help them all feel unique, necessary, and apt given the context provided by each "Heaux"'s tale. The whole album feels like it tackles many of the crucial modern issues of being a woman in America and it feels like all the ideas are integrated in a way that doesn't take away from the entire musical presentation of each track. I think if you like female pop like Ariana Grande or Doja Cat, you will like the aesthetic of this album and if you have ever felt the world is just a little fucked up towards women, and especially black women, this album is a great one to dig into the lyrics with. Give it a listen if that sounds like you. I think a lot of it isn't totally my thing and the whole thing feels really short (especially with about 8 minutes of interludes), but some of the hits on here made my playlist for sure and I think it's a fairly good example of R&B/Pop today. Score: 7.5/10 Some great female R&B/Pop Highlights: Bodies, Pick Up Your Feelings, Put It Down, Price Tags, Lost One, The Other Side, Girl Like Me

4/09/2022 Today's Album: "Heartbreaker" by Ryan Adams - This album was pretty mid. I think going into it, I expected it to be pretty bad, being an album from the year 2000 with the title Heartbreaker and although there are a few break out tracks that really shine, a lot of the folk-country displayed on this record just sounds like John Denver could have done it and so much better. I appreciate the production of this album and on the songs that have a lot of views, there are really great ideas being presented like in the track My Sweet Carolina where the vocals are really clear and present in the mix. However, the only times this album really sounds good outside of that is when the song has a sad tone to it, which gets really old after a while. I think My Winding Wheel is a really great track on it's own and Amy really tugs at the heart strings, but after you hear the good tracks on this album the effort feels like it was really soaked up and the rest of this is just a bunch of filler. I enjoyed it to some extent, but I really think I would just recommend listening to the tracks under the Highlights section and leaving the rest as a bunch of uninteresting and cliché'd country folk. Score: 4/10 Very little value in most of the tracks. Highlights: My Winding Wheel, Amy, Oh My Sweet Carolina

4/10/2022 Today's Album: "The Idiot" by Iggy Pop - This song was apparently a collaboration with David Bowie and it definitely sounds like it in the production. It reminds me of a lot of the strange experimental sounds I was hearing on the Aladdin Sane record from a few reviews ago, but with strange and creepy post-punk Iggy pop all over it. From the off vocals to the strange key, this album screams creepy, but with a really listenable twist. I think this collaboration goes over particularly well because each of them are bringing their weirdest ideas to the table to create something that sounds really interesting, but also so twisted or demented. It definitely took a detailed listen with headphones to really get a lot of the ideas on this record and frankly, I would say the 5 songs with less than 3 million streams are all comparably worse than the ones with more. I love the track China Girl for its toy piano and I really like the 8 minute long Dum Dum Boys but I think the latter is just too long with too little variety to be a repeat listen kind of track. Tiny Girls is sort of cute but the lyrics are kind of messed up and I don't like the vocals at all. The finisher is kind of interesting I guess, but it sort of sounds like Bowie trying to do his best Roger Water impression and just not being very good at it. The instrumental gets truly weird and I think there is a lot to say about the experimentation of it, but the vocals just really don't back it up at all. Although it ends the album in a decent way by wrapping up a lot of the themes, it's only because the only consistent theme of this album is being fucking weird and it is just 8 minutes of stranger and stranger noise. If you are a David Bowie fanboy, this is probably a must listen because the production really sounds like the weirdest side of Bowie in the best way, but I think I just don't like when they go off the deep end and really get experimental. I would give the Highlights a listen if you can handle slightly stranger pop music, but leave most of it for what it is, which is a bunch of experimentation with a very small amount grounded in some solid pop ideas. Score: 6/10 Highlights: Sister Midnight, Nightclubbing, Baby, China Girl

4/11/2022 Today's Album: "Smile" by Brian Wilson - I already reviewed this album and it got deleted so I am just going to say this. This album is made by the bassist of the Beach Boys and it sounds exactly like what you imagine from one of the members of the band making music on their own. It just has that typical beach boys falsetto and every track begins to sound the same by track 6. It isn't a terrible listen, but it has flat production compared to any Beach Boys record and the only standout songs are the opening track and what is just a re-recording of the Beach Boys' Good Vibrations. My research indicated this record had a lot of hype behind it's release, but I think it totally isn't worth it and disappoints any expectations of a Beach Boys spiritual successor record. Listen to it if you are a die hard Beach Boys fan and have to hear every release, but even then I don't think it's that enjoyable. Score: 4/10 Incredibly underwhelming. Highlights: Heroes and Villains, Good Vibrations

Today's Album: "Group Sex" by Circle Jerks - At first this album hit me like a slap to the face, being incredibly abrasive and sounding almost unmusical, but after a while, the manic screaming vocals and frantic instrumentals sort of came into frame. It never got to the point where it sounded genuinely good, but I understand the punk perspective this comes from and I think it's a good example of a punk band being purposely unbearable. The whole album is only 15 minutes long which is extremely merciful and honestly smart because all of these songs work way better as short sonic experiments than as 3 minute tracks making up a 50 minute LP. I have to really emphasize that the instrumentals are really quite good. They sound like they're way too frantic at first, but they really are impressive if you listen in. I think if the album has one huge problem, it's the writing. I don't mind the grating vocals or out of tune guitars as much as lyrics like, "I've got the world up my ass" and "I don't care, nice parents anyway". There are a decent amount of political messages throughout the album, especially in the anti-war track Paid Vacation, but I think it just ends up feeling kind of dated at this point in a similar way Green Day's criticism of Bush's America in American Idiot does and most of the punk ideas just come across as whiny and edgy. "I don't want to live to be34" just scream teenage edge-lord from 1980 headbanging to his bedroom cassette player. Again, I think this album is really surprisingly listenable, but I think none of these tracks have any merit on any playlist and the lyrics are all just sort of insufferable. Also, the vocal delivery is very stagnant throughout and doesn't vary much, which gets annoying even after this short runtime. All I have to say is thank god this album is only 15 minutes. Overall, don't listen to this album. It really just has so few redeeming qualities and only isn't a 1 because some ideas have merit. Score: 3/10 exceeded expectations, but still grating. Highlights: N/A

4/13/2022 Today's Album: "Axis: Bold As Love" by Jimi Hendrix - Crisp, warm, soulful, trippy, soulful, groovy, perfect. This record is so beyond reviewing and I think because of that I am just going to spend this time explaining why it's so amazing. From the very start, you have one of the best pieces of noise music I have ever heard in Exp. It is so abrasive and off-putting and I feel like it's the perfect test for the listener, as if it's saying, "There's a ton of cool shit that's coming up, but if this is too much for you, turn back now." The next few tracks are an immaculate display of Hendrix's expert level production, beyond-comparison guitar work, and just overall what he is capable as a single musician. The track Spanish Castle Magic reminds me of much of what I've heard from Electric Ladyland and in the best ways. The track Little Wing is just perfect in so many ways and is truly a standout performance amongst standout performances on this record. It's psychedelic and lovely and just feels like there isn't a single piece out of place. If 6 Was 9 is absolutely stunning, from it's invasive production to the cutting lyrics and vocal performance. This song gets in your face and shows you some of the most insane noise music you've likely ever heard. A clopping sound effect echoes above and just creates this absolutely crushing atmosphere for this noisy, distorted guitar to go berserk over. Castles Made of Sand has one of the sweetest choruses on the record and generally just has a really digestible and cozy vibe to it. There's also some really great sounding guitar work isolated to the left channel every so often and it really spices things up when Hendrix does that. One Rainy Wish has some really cool guitar work with these stuttering riffs and descending arpeggios and generally has this really dreamy, swaying feel to it. The closer of the album and title track, Bold as Love is a really endearing and poetic song with an absolutely killer guitar solo that ends by cranking up a really treble-heavy guitar and just going to town for a minute. It's super distorted and sort of trails off in a really pleasing way sonically to end the record. The whole album is somewhat difficult to listen to at moments with some really overbearing production and frankly horrific noises, but when you give this record the time to show you what's great about it, it really does not disappoint. It feels like one of those album that needs no alterations and is just perfect as it is. If I am not liking a part of it, it feels like it's because my musical palette cannot handle it yet and I just need to give it another try. If you enjoy well produced and densely packed psychedelic music, do yourself a favor and listen to this absolutely amazing classic record. You are bound to have a strong reaction to it one way or another because it just has so many ear-gasmic and/or productionally impressive moments. Bravo. Score: 10/10 Will blow your entire mind. Highlights: Up From The Skies, Spanish Castle Magic, Wait Until Tomorrow, Ain't No Telling, Little Wing, If 6 Was 9, You Got Me Floatin', Castles Made of Sand, One Rainy Wish, Bold As Love

4/14/2022 Today's Album: "Surrealistic Pillow" by Jefferson Airplane - This album is a really nice folk blues album and reminds me of Rubber Soul by the Beatles. The vocals feel very Lennon and some of the instrumental choices would fit right in on that record. However, this album sets itself apart with diverse song structures and instrumentation. The first single Somebody to Love is a staple of this generation of music. The vocal is so powerful, but still has this gentle tone to it and the chilled out guitar and harmonizing background vocals add so much flavor to the pounding tambourine and drums. The track Today is a really peaceful ballad about wanting to be everything for your partner, but acknowledging your limits, and the building instrumental adds to this heart-breaking idea. Some of the following tracks don't really impress me in any particular way, but the general sound is pretty solid and all of the instrumental performances feel really well executed and well placed in the mix. Whenever the guitarist gets a chance to solo, it sounds great and those songs sound better for it. The end of 3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds frustrated me because it just fades out when the guitar comes back for another pretty cool sounding solo. Funnily enough, most of these songs sound a lot like a Beach Boys track, but instead of it being falsetto-drenched feel-good bullshit like on Smile, it's like the more subtle chorus vocal stuff with impressive production and solid guitar-work. It may be a little more folky than that, but it's a good way to describe it. Embryonic Journey is just a really nice solo acoustic guitar jam and it really puts a spotlight on the guitar soloing I mentioned before. It's soulful, but also really technically impressive. White Rabbit has the most spins out of any track on this album and it is for good reason. It welcomes back that amazingly powerful female vocal and just has this really strong instrumental backing it up. The final leg of this record are a bunch of songs that fit into that same category as before. They are pretty nice to listen and all have unique ideas, but most of the positive aspects of the tracks are the instrumentals as the woman in the band seems to be the only talented vocalist of the band (as far as I can tell). In The Morning felt notable to me, but then I realized it's because the Beatles basically stole the whole track and made Yer Blues on the White album 1 year later and honestly did it way better. Sidenote: I feel the same way about a bassline in Led Zeppelin 1 that pretty much got lifted for 25 or 6 to for by Chicago and was done leagues better. Anyways, the song has a really solid solo section in the back half of it and I think it's one of the best displays of the band's jamming ability. These last few tracks are really just not as interesting and are nice to listen to, but leave my brain as soon as they're gone. The closer, Come Back Baby, is just sort of dull and doesn't do a lot to thematically close off the record, but it feels like this record really is built around it's hits, so maybe it's just to be expected. I think overall, this album is a really solid listen, especially if you like the Beatles or even Aretha Franklin given the solid vocal work by the female of the band. It's a really pleasant listen all the way through and has a great guitar solo on every track so even though there's only a few highlights here, that's really just what stood out from the all around solid track list. The hits are great and the filler is pretty good so give it a listen if it sounds like your thing. Score: 7.5/10 Late 60s blues-rock with great hits Highlights: Somebody to Love, Today, Comin' Back to Me, How Do You Feel, Embryonic Journey, White Rabbit, In The Morning

4/15/2022 Today's Album: "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen - Let's get this out of the way. The country genre is plagued with cheap sellouts and generic 4 chord strummers, but there must be a distinction between those artists and Bruce Springsteen, who as far as I can tell, pioneered the genre and did it better than anyone could replicate. Each of his songs have the same sort of guitar and harmonica shtick to them, but they also mostly have this really depressed loner tone to them. I don't know if I would add any of the tracks from this album to my playlist, but I think there is definitely a time and a place for music like this and I can respect that this is not just a shitty country record like I might expect on first impression. I will say that the production of this project makes me sort of sick. His voice has this really weird peaking issue where there'll be a ton of compression when he sings a little louder into the microphone. He is obviously a great performer at both guitar and harmonica, but I just don't think he does a lot to impress me. It's definitely more about the story-teller aspect of his music and trying to get a deeper meaning, but on a first listen it just is sort of distracting how little there is to latch onto musically. I will also say that a lot of the subject matter built into the genre is usually pretty toxically masculine, and this album isn't devoid of that, but it definitely steers away from it more than the average country project. Overall, if you like country music you're probably going to be into this, but I haven't really met many people that like country music and aren't slightly inbred so take that as you will. Score: 5.5/10 A great country record, but a country record nonetheless. Highlights: Atlantic City, Johnny 99, Open All Night

4/16/2022 Today's Album: "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" by Lauryn Hill - I like how this album opens ups up with a roll call with Lauryn missing, starting off a theme of her being against traditional education. The first rap track Lost Ones is a really solid opener, with a great reggae backbeat and some confident rapping from Lauryn. I like the way the chorus breaks off into this funky guitar riff before the third verse and damn does this lady just fuckin' rap. Every line sounds so natural and although her flow is pretty static throughout the track, it's a really solid flow so I'm not complaining. The ending interlude of the track adds even more to the education theme. The next track Ex-Factor is a silky sweet R&B track with some of the best R&B production I've heard out of the 90's. It's a really standout track and I love her vocal performance on this track. It really doesn't feel dated for being 24 years old. The guitar solo at the end of it is also absolutely killer. Zion continues this theme of outstanding R&B tracks with an amazingly chilled out guitar groove and calculated vocal performance. Doo Wop (That Song) gives me that classic R&B rap style that I've heard on Kanye's Late Registration, specifically Touch the Sky. The rap has a ton of personality and there are just great performances all around form the horns to the background vocals to the bass and drums. I like the critique of men on this track as well it's very tongue and cheek. It turns out Kanye actually has taken a lot of inspiration and samples from Lauryn Hill and it is obvious now considering how amazing the production is on this record. Every track just has a ton of personality and brings with it a unique beat and flow. It really just is no comparison from the other 90s rap I was seeing earlier in the generator and it is clear that this is one of the artists that bridged the gap from the rap of old and what is currently popular. Even the tracks that are more of just bridging tracks to the bigger hits are very pleasant to listen to and have solid hooks and choruses to bring me in. I love the low reggae accent she puts on in Forgive me Father and the heavy bass and flow switch ups makes this track an absolute banger to put on in the car. I think each of these songs could easily be 3 minutes and be just as enjoyable, but I think them being 5 minutes isn't the worst thing ever, as she does add something in the last 2 minutes to warrant it usually. I also just realized that this artist was the female front-person of the Fugees, and it makes a ton of sense given the similar genre, but I really think she did it better in a lot of ways. This project is a tiny bit long and I think either some tracks should have been cut or the lengths of some should have been trimmed, but it is never too much really. I like her rendition of Can't Take My Eyes Off of You and it really could have ended off the record, but the closer also does a decent job wrapping things up. Overall, this is a really really solid R&B hip-hop record that bridged the gap from 90s poet rap to what we hear today in Kanye and his contemporaries. Listen to this one if you like modern Hip Hop R&B like Kanye and Drake. Score: 8.5/10 Kanye before Kanye Highlights: Ex-Factor, To Zion, Doo Wop (That Thing), Superstar, Final Hour, Forgive Them Father, 'Every Ghetto, Every City', Nothing Even Matters, Everything is Everything, Can't Take My Eyes of You

4/17/2022 Today's Album: "Homework" by Daft Punk - Being the first album by legendary EDM outfit Daft Punk, this is really showing me their roots as musicians. This is essentially the spiritual successor to the Chemical Brothers, being that the album is mostly composed of remixed dance music and samples with very little music. Coming out in the tail end of the 90s, I would have to imagine that this is one of the first albums to really work with style and I think in a lot of aspects, it pioneers that sound in a fantastic way. The nature of EDM and club music is that it's just going to get boring after a little while. The shuffle beats and claps get repetitive after a while and although this is not seen as a negative by most fans of the genre since it is being danced to for long periods of time (often on drugs), I think I just have never been able to sit through a song that is essentially just a looping beat. However, I think that is only somewhat of a problem on this record simply because of how great the production is on the beats. There are repetitive moments, but they usually are really great to listen to and it isn't long before there is some sort of mild switch-up. I think my favorite parts of this album is when they really go off the rails with their instrumentation and let some absolutely disgusting midi synth noises in like in the last half of Da Funk. I love the distorted arpeggios that open the song Fresh alongside the sound of crashing waves. Around the World is obviously really well known, but I really think it drags on for too long (almost 7 minutes) and the only thing you really get out of it is a geometry dash instrumental with the line "Around the Wooooorld" repeated like 150 times. It's not a bad song by any means but just gets really grating after a bit. Rollin' and Scratchin' is a more dark take on the dance music they had been showing off thus far and although I think the 7.5 minute runtime is reasonable for this track given the experimentation it's going for, I really don't think it translates well out of a drugged out club scene. Technically impressive, yes, but would I listen to it more than once? no. Teachers is a little weird in terms of the vocal, but idk I kind of fuck with it for whatever reason it's just groovy enough to justify itself. The track Rock'n Roll is actually really fucking grating and goes on for way too long. If there wasn't some other redeeming parts of this album, this song would singlehandedly make it not worth it to listen to this. The rest of the songs on the album are decent to listen to and I think the closer Funk Ad is really nice, but none of the tracks leave very much of an impact at this point, feeling like Daft Punk has shown their hand at this point in the album. Overall, I'm looking forward to hearing their later albums in full because if there's anything I can say about this one, it's that there is a ton of promise, but the runtime is simply too long and many of these songs that run for 6-7 minutes could be compressed into some great 3 minute tracks. Listen to this one if you like EDM and if you aren't, maybe just play Around the World and vibe for a little bit. Score: 7/10 Promising, but either bloated or boring. Highlights: Daftendirekt, Revolution 909, Da Funk, Fresh, Teachers, High Fidelity, Burnin', Indo Silver Club, Alive

4/18/2022 Today's Album: "Mama's Gun" by Arykah Badu - If I had to compare this album with the other albums of it's genre that I have reviewed so far, being R&B music, I would have to say that this is the most technically impressive and well executed album of the bunch. Mixing elements of funk, soul, and jazz, the artist expresses a lot of her insecurities and opinions about relationships, womanhood, and love. As a whole it doesn't sound like much, but when you dive into these tracks, there are so many relatable and creative sentiments throughout the tracks and the high production and amazing instrumental performances just elevate all of it to the most vibey level possible. Her vocals are clear, confident, and cover such a wide range of expressions as well as pitches. I love the opener Penitentiary Philosophy with it's funky groove and it's pre-chorus that brings in this real haziness to itself as well as the chorus. & On is a really fun neo-soul track that Lin Manuel Miranda has absolutely taken inspiration from because it sounds exactly like Hamilton and he's quoted it in another project of his. Anyways, it's a really cool track with a lot of fun wordplay and rap verses. The interlude Hey Sugah is this really nice psychedelic jazz chorus piece with this flute backing up an extremely groovy beat and chorus hum and it impresses me in such a short time frame. Booty is a really braggadocios track about the artist attracting another woman's man despite what that other woman has, and yet the artist doesn't even want to deal with the guy. It comes off really smooth and funny and has a ton of personality. Kiss Me On My Neck is extremely catchy and similar to most of these tracks, just grooves so damn hard. Her vocals never miss and it is really just building in quality each song. Orange Moon is an absolutely gorgeous 7 minute ballad and it just demonstrates not only her vocal talent, but the musical stability and wit to the instrumental performances. It just builds and builds and by the end it is just a wonder to take in with a whimsical flute performance and the piano and vocalist almost competing with each other. I love the way the artist's voice plays off of the male voice in In Love With You and there's this really funky bass that's shoved back into the mix that I absolutely love. It's a really beautiful love song about being unapologetically in love with someone. I love the little descending scat line the male singer has too. I like the sound of the guitar on Bag Lady and overall the instrumentals of this song are just unbeatable. So warm and smooth and nice. The closer Green Eyes is a really heartfelt break up song about being jealous of your ex's new partner, and I just think it does a good way of wrapping up a lot of the themes of the album and then of course ending with an awesome instrumental jam before the a soft fade out. Overall, there are maybe 2-3 tracks on here that I think are just alright and mayyyybe 1 that misses the mark completely, but a majority of this album is really enjoyable and laid back neo soul R&B and a lot of the lyrics are just nice to listen to even if you don't identify with the perspective. If you like this kind of music, it's a great one to just let ride in the background and notice new instrumental flourishes each time you listen. Score: 8.5/10 Great Highlights: Penitentiary Philosophy, My Life, & On, Cleva, Hey Sugah, Booty, Kiss Me On My Neck, Orange Moon, In Love With You, Bag Lady, Green Eyes

4/19/2022 Today's Album: "Rising Above Bedlam" by Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - This album was a really fantastic surprise. It seems to be a collection of music from around the world and each song has a ton of really bright and interesting instrumentation amongst it. I really love the opening track Visions of You. It sounds so sweet and has this really nice chilled out guitar line and bongo groove, not to mention the incredibly catchy chorus. The male vocalist throughout the album really toes the line between a performance that feels kind of off and creepy and one that sounds clear and confident. I really like the instrumental break in the song Ungodly Kingdom. It has that great island vibe and incorporates a ton of pacific instrumentation to back up that idea. Some of the tracks don't pull me in as quickly as others, like the track Rising above Bedlam, but most of them have really engaging sonic ideas right off the bat. I like the song Erzulie for it's chilled out eastern vocal performance and I like how melodic the bass guitar is in it too. It's a really great Latin dance track with a lot of different levels of energy throughout. Everyman's an island takes a sort of psychedelic approach, with this groovy meditative bassline and some really strung out electric guitar. I like just how groovy it is and how much they are switching up the sound even just measure to measure. It reminds me of a lot of King Gizzard's microtonal music, but with a bit of a softer edge. The opening drum beat of Soledad is so welcoming and brings you into a sort of Arabian dream. The, what I think are Latin, vocals would usually turn me away from the track, but not knowing the lyrics feels okay because the vocal performance is just so hypnotic and eastern sounding. The bass line and drum beat keep the song so sturdy throughout as the guitar and auxiliary percussion solo on top. The solo sections of this album really feel reserved and like they only are doing what they must to add to the experience of the track and I really appreciate the subtlety of it. Sweet Divinity is a very strange track to me because it sounds extremely unique. There's these weird sections of trumpet and trombones sort of just going ham on this dueling fanfare and it breaks up the verses in a very engaging way. It feels like a song that I wouldn't like under usual circumstanced, but the sheer skill of these musicians keeps me engaged in this sort of creepy and uncomfortable tune. The closer Wonderful World is a great way to pick up from the weird spot we were left in with Sweet Divinity and I really like the instrumentation and vocal performance here. It's a bouncy and playful track with a really chorus and some nice chorus vocals backing things up. They play with the reverb subtly in some of the vocal sections in a really pleasing, yet experimental way and I just really like whatever effect is on the guitars because they sound so tropical and bubbly. It ends things off in the same really cheery optimistic vibe introduced in the first track Visions of You and it's a great way to end. As a whole package, this is a really great album if you like stuff that sounds like it's from outside of the good ol' USA. There's fun microtonal sounding stuff, a lot of eastern and Latin influence, and all of the cultures on display also showcases a huge variety of talent. I think there are some tracks that are a little worse than the majority and the vocals can be a little off putting at first, but if you can just put this on in the background while you're doing something and vibe along to the grooves, I think it'd be a nice time for almost anyone. Score: 8.5/10 Best world music I've heard yet Highlights: Visions of You, Bomba, Ungodly Kingdom, Erzulie, Everyman's an Island, Soledad, Sweet Divinity, Wonderful World

4/20/2022 😉 Today's Album: "Bongo Rock" by Incredible Bongo Band - This is a really great album. It is essentially a cover album (with maybe a few original tracks) with an emphasis on bongos and the genre of rock. The tracks are all instrumental and it gives the record a big-band sort of feel, with a lot of horns and guitars joining in on the foundation of bongos. I think I like it most when they're covering a song I know fairly well, like the intro song Apache (cover of do the hustle), Sing Sing Sing, Satisfaction, and Wipeout. They bring a lot of new flavor to these songs with the aforementioned instrumentation. Apache really is the best song on this album. The horn melodies are just so beautiful and it sounds so funky and cool. The song Pipeline is one that I am not sure whether or not it's a cover, but it is a really good representation of the incredible groove this group is able to pull off, and although no track meets the initial high of Apache, a lot of them sound fantastic with a filled out mix and crisp production. I definitely could not call any of these songs bad and the long list of highlights is a testament to that. Aside from that, there isn't much else to say about this album. If you like rock instrumentals with a bongo focus that almost toes the line of jazz fusion, give this one a listen. It kept my attention through a vast amount of it and some moments were extremely impressive. It's just a bunch of great instrumental tracks done to near perfection. Score: 8/10 Fantastic instrumental tracks Highlights: Apache, Bongolia, Last Bongo in Belgium, In A Gadda Da Vida, Bongo Rock, Satisfaction, Wipeout, Pipeline, Okey Dokey, Sharp Nine

4/21/2022 Today's Album: "Drunk" by Thundercat - Before hearing this album, The only thing I knew of Thundercat is that he produces tracks for a lot of hip hop artists, usually showcasing a prominent and technically proficient bass guitar in the mix. Given that, this album is just about what I expected, but just like super fucking weird. His production shines through to make almost every track really nice to listen to, even if his vocals may be a bit weird at times. In fact, he's kind of singing like one of those improv voice groups where it's a lot of notes that don't technically belong in the scale, but are used to transfer to and from notes that are. I think a ton of personality is shoved into this record, with very strange lyrics that relate to the overall theme of the album, which is being drunk. I like how the last track takes the melody from the first to give the whole thing a nice bookended feel. There are songs that fall flat and either lose my attention quickly or just sound too off to be likeable, but I like how the tracks that aren't as good are usually fairly short and don't waste too much time before moving on to another idea. I don't exactly know how to pin the genre, but it's some sort of groovy R&B lo-fi type of deal and I think it's really likeable if you're into either of those genres. I think it might take a few songs to get over some of the oddities of this record, but it is very enjoyable to just vibe to it, especially when drunk or high. Listen to this one if you like any track with Thundercat as the production credit or just like oddball lo-fi R&B. Score: 7/10 Weird, but unique and overall a nice vibe. Highlights: Uh Uh, A Fan's Mail, Lava Lamp. Jethro, Show You The Way, Walk On By, Tokyo, Jameel's Space Ride, Them Changes, Where I'm Going, Drink Dat, 3AM, DUI

4/22/2022 Today's Album: "The Köln Concert" by Keith Jarrett - This is a really excellently performed improv piano concerto recorded in Cologne, Germany in 1975. All that really needs to be said is this mf can play some piano. Throw out what immediately comes to mind when you think piano concerto because this performance travels from so many different levels of energy and ways of playing it feels really fresh and exciting (at least upon first listen). It's insanely well recorded for being live and you can even hear when he feels really proud of himself for something and lets out a little laugh or cums in his pants a little. I think the first part is a little bit more of a slog to get to, but it definitely doesn't feel like it's full 26 minute runtime. Sometimes the sounds he's letting out are even a little concerning, but the music is good enough to warrant it. I really like how upbeat and lively the first half of part A of part 2 is and then how it slows down into this kind of dark and slow section. All the way through the different speeds and grooves, he's just playing the fuck out of the piano. The chord structures feel new and interesting, but it doesn't feel like he goes off the rails too much. Part B is a lot more brooding and really made me notice just how much interplay and coordination there is between the left and right hands throughout this whole album. The transitions between different moods are also done really well and make it feel like a really cohesive experience. Part B really takes off as it develops and just does a beautiful job of transitioning from idea to idea while building this atmosphere. Part C made me notice that this guy is just creating such solid groves solely out of the way he is hitting the piano keys while also just playing some of the most technically and musically impressive piano playing I may have ever heard. He has so much control over the keys and the fact this whole thing is improv just blows my mind. Part C is only 7 minutes and therefore ends the album off in a really digestible and satisfying way. I think he even may incorporate some melodies from the other 2 parts which is pretty insane when you think of just how much this guy is making up on the spot. The entire album is just a fantastic performance that is great to just sit down and contemplate life to. It's beautiful and unique and musically dense and I think anyone with any sort of classical music and jazz background will love this piece of music. Score: 9/10 Highlights: Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt. 2 A, Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt. 2 C

4/23/2022 Today's Album: "Private Dancer" by Tina Turner - This album is an 80s pop album that can pretty much be split right down the middle in terms of quality. The first leg of this record is so promising. The opening track is immediately really funky and features a lot of really interesting instrumentation. The vocal performances from Tina feel powerful and confident and each following track just shows that off. What's Love Got to Do with It has this really cool reggae beat in the chorus and overall is just a great 80s love ballad. Show Some Respect kicks the energy back up and at this point it is clear that this entire album is going to feel incredibly 80s, but so far it has been pulled off with some serious expertise. The chorus kicks ass, even if it sounds just slightly underdeveloped. I Can't Stand the Rain has this really cool production to it, sounding very unique for a song of it's style. There's this tinking percussion noise that repeats until the song picks up with some seriously cool percussion and synth work that creates a really cool atmosphere. Private Dancer is a great track that gives a lot of insight into the life of a private dancer and the insecurity involved with that line of work. The first half could almost be cut into a short and sweet single, but the guitar work in the second half before the last chorus feels really ahead of it's time and adds a ton of charm to the track. Let's stay together is a great bait and switch, starting with this really slow ballad verse before opening up into this really fun funky track with this really cool synth solo and a lot of interesting production throughout. And with that, Better Be Good to Me begins the slow decline of this album. I still like the overall feel of this track, but it doesn't really reach a similar high as the rest of the tracks so far and begins this trend of every song sounding like another 80s band could have easily done it and probably done it better. Steel Claw literally sounds like that "saturday" song from the 80s and doesn't do much to deviate from it. Help! is perhaps one of the worst beatles covers to ever exist. 1984 is generic and the mix feels really unbalanced. I wrote a letter sounds like a bad blondie song. Rock n' Roll widow doesn't have too bad of an instrumental, but the lyrics are really corny and the vocal performance is just kind of weak. The rest of the songs continue this trend with unlikeable and generic 80s tracks that don't do much to improve to the album at all and often make it much worse. I would absolutely recommend the first half of this album as one of the best examples of 80s synth pop, but the 2nd half is bound to put anyone to sleep. Listen to the first half if it sounds good and just don't listen to the first half if you respect your time Score: 5/10 fifty fifty Highlights: Soul Survivor, What's Love Got To Do With It, Show Some Respect, I Can't Stand The Rain, Private Dancer, Let's Stay Together, Better Be Good To Me

4/24/2022 Today's Album: "Modern Lovers" by The Modern Lovers - In my personal opinion, this album is a pile of absolute dog shit. Excluding the highlights, which I will discuss a bit later, this album has absolutely unbearable vocals. The dude sounds like he's shitfaced and just doesn't give a fuck at all. I know that with punk music and especially with what this album is clearly ripping off (The Velvet Underground), there is a lot of "bad" vocals and it's sort of the point of the genre, but jesus christ if it isn't just absolutely grating. I can manage it on the songs where he's singing with any sort of rhythmic intent, but often times it just doesn't fit the music whatsoever. I think the production on this album is actually quite okay and the instruments sound pretty good on some tracks, but most of the performances throughout here are just so mediocre and generic. It often feels like there is little to no difference in the instrumental from track to track and that is truly what makes the highlights stand out. There are only 3 highlights on this record for me. The track Pablo Picasso still suffers from the dogshit lead vocalist's singing, but I think the instrumental is actually really tasteful and the lyrics are kind of funny, even if they come across as completely annoying due to the voice. The track hospital feels way more subtle and mellow than any other track with this really nice soft organ opening and what I can expect is this vocalist trying their absolute hardest to sound somewhat decent (and failing at it). I like the drum groove that comes in at about 45 seconds and I think the time switch ups are pretty cool and well done. Government Center sounds like a punk track you might here closer to the 80s or 90s and is the only time when this album feels forward thinking. The lead vocal is still incredibly grading but the instrumental is fun and bubbly with claps and a goofy synth sound. Overall, though, this record is fucking awful. I think I am still missing some perspective on the punk genre, but at this point I have heard enough good punk songs to know this record never reaches the same highs as any of them. There are some promising moments on this record, but it just is so few and far between that it is seriously one of the worst album experiences I have ever had. Listen to the highlights if you can handle some strange punk and seriously just don't listen to the other tracks. They are generic, blown out, and have terrible vocals over them. Score: 2/10 bad Highlights: Pablo Picasso, Hospital, Government Center

4/25/2022 Today's Album: "Kenya" by Machito - This album is one of afro-cuban jazz and it is done quite well. The highlights amongst these tracks stand out as amazing demonstration of jazz stylings with great representation of both African and Cuban percussion and a ton of really excellent improv performances. The others of the track list might not impress as much as the highlights, but they still do a great job as background music and the production is top notch. There's a lot to like in the instrumentation of this album and all of the horn players do a really great job with crescendos and fast stops. Some of the solos throughout the album are noticeably worse and it is a mystery to me whether or not it is intentional, but either way it just sounds less musically proficient than the others.. The mix places everything pretty much exactly where it would be in a usual jazz band, with sax in the front and trumpet blaring out from the back. I don't think there is too much to say outside of the fact that this is a really solid jazz album with a ton of personality. Give this one a listen if you like improv jazz and/or African percussion/Latin horns and you won't be disappointed. This is obviously a very talented group and I like a ton of the sounds here. Score: 8/10 Great Jazz with a few minor lacking performances Highlights: Congo Mulence, Kenya, Holiday, Cannonology, Frenzy, Blues a La Machito, Conversation, Tin Tin Deo, Minor Rama, Tururato

4/25/2022 Today's Album: "Heroes" by David Bowie - With every Bowie album I listen to for the first time, I feel like I gain a new respect for him. The way how he displays his ability to make pop hits and then throws all of it to the wayside to make some crazy psychedelic shit is done seamlessly and is always so impressive. In this album, there is definitely a different vibe than on Aladdin Sane. With the first half of the album, it's your standard Bowie experience with a ton of strange production thrown into what are generally common and poppy genres. The opener Beauty and the Beast has a great chaotic energy and does a good job of welcoming you into the track list, Sons of the Silent Age is a really epic, yet sweet track where Bowie is singing very well and the effect on his voice adds to the performance a lot. The track Black Out is a great way for this first half to end. It's a really great track on it's own and the title hold significance as it becomes a literal black out for the album. This is because the next 4 tracks act as an extended experimental ambient sonic journey. Each track gives a different side to this sort of droning and isolating environment with squeaky saxophones and pianos with an effect to give it this booming and resonant quality. I really like the way all of it is presented and all of the tracks together serve as a nice break from Bowie's eccentric vocals. It puts on display his amazing production skills and experiments with a lot of sonic ideas without being unlistenable. The closing track The Secret of Arabia breaks the tension built from the last tracks with a really fun and groovy dance track. The vocals are nice and the band is playing really straight in comparison to much of this record. It feels fun, fresh, and is a great way to end the album off on a positive and groovy note. Despite some of the tracks near the beginning being a little too much and feeling a little claustrophobic, this album overall has an awesome sound and aesthetic to it. I love the way Bowie is posed on the album art and one of his eyes being dilated while the other isn't is a great symbol for the strange nature of the track list on this album. Listen to this track if you like ambient music or have like Bowie's work on other albums. Score: 8.5/10 Experimental, yet palatable Highlights: Beauty and the Beast, Sons of the Silent Age, Black Out, V-2 Schneider, Sense of Doubt, Moss Garden, Neukoln, The Secret Life of Arabia.

4/26/2022 Today's Album: "Machine Head" by Deep Purple - This album is some serious dad rock if I've ever heard it, tapping into that early metal sound while maintaining a mostly generic 70's rock aesthetic. There's a lot of fun performances on here and I think the production is quite nice, but it's definitely an album that caters to it's demographic and just sticks to it. It's pretty much a by the numbers 70s rock outfit full with rock organ, bluesy solos, and 4 chord structures. There's even that classic hit Smoke On The Water, which sounds even more like dad rock in this context than it already did. I'm not saying this album is bad, but I also understand that I am someone who tends to like this kind of music and it really doesn't do much outside of just performing the genre. That being said, if you like dad rock, this album is stellar. The solos throughout are absolutely mind melting and the 7 minute track Lazy is just an all out jam session. I like how many ideas this band traverses in a single song and it really helps to make this album stand out from your typical rock group. There are songs that don't hit as hard as others on this project, but with a runtime of 40 minutes over only 8 tracks, the songs are over before you know it and you're onto the next impressive solo or headbanging chorus. Honestly, this feels like a record that I would be really really on the fence with, but the instrumental breaks and solos just keep bringing me in. Overall, I think this is an above average 70s rock album, but it also doesn't do a ton to really revolutionize the genre. Listen to this one if you like dad rock or can sit through any track if it's got a killer guitar solo. Highlights: Highway Star, Maybe I'm a Leo, Pictures of Home, Smoke On The Water, Lazy, Space Truckin', When A Blind Man Cries Score: 7.5/10 Dad rock, but some of the best of it's breed.

4/27/2022 Today's Album: "Inspiration Information" by Shuggie Otis - This is an album that I didn't think much of just from the cover, but there is some funky, groovy, soulful gold within this track list. All fantastically recorded and produced, the 13 tracks on this album have an incredible flow to them as passionate guitar solos and expressive vocal performances make each track shine. There's this great wavy sort of vibe to the project that give it this really mellow and psychedelic tone. The vocals from Shuggie are expressive and on pitch and performed with such great tone and personality. I really enjoy how the middle tracks of this album like Rainy Day and Pling offer an instrumental break from the rest of the sung tracks. The first 4 tracks of the album kick it off by showing off everything that is going to make this album shine for the next 30 minutes after. The last leg of the album wraps things up nicely, going from the great hit Strawberry Letter 23 to the mostly instrumental Sweet Thang, and then finally to the funky Ice Cold Daydream. The final track is a 13 minute sonic journey with this slow building experimental feel to it. There's this really hard to listen to bass in the mix on this song, however, that just sounds really crackly and bad. It doesn't ruin the track as it only hangs around for about a minute, but yeah that is probably the worst part of the project. The rest of the track is psychedelic, memorizing, meditative, and most of all a great thematic closer to this whole project. Overall, I like a ton of tracks of this album and I think as a whole work, it offers a lot both in terms of hits as well as instrumental experimentation. Listen to this one if you love funky psychedelic jams, singer songwriter talent, or just vibing out to a long instrumental track. It's a great vibe all the way down and there's a ton for music fans to chew on. Highlights: Inspiration Information, Island Letter, Sparkle City, Aht Uh Mi Hed, Rainy Day, Pling!, Not Available, Strawberry Letter 23, Sweet Thang, Ice Cold Daydream, Freedom Fight Score: 8/10 Amazing funky psychedelic bliss

4/28/2022 - ALBUM #92 https://open.spotify.com/album/0QOBJYviordwqHAgv5g9m3?si=8DymYbWOSainkUeMB8nYyA Today's Album: "Quiet Life" by Japan - This album just kind of sucks in all honesty. Now, I usually don't just write off a record like that, but this really just feels like a record that does not need to exist. The sound this band is attempting was done better by it's contemporaries like Duran Duran for instance. The title track and opener Quiet Life honestly isn't a terrible song and as far as I can tell, it's really the hit that makes this band even qualify as a one-hit-wonder. Any of the songs that are somewhat likeable on this record are typically just shy of hitting the highlights threshold of 7.5 and that usually just spells doom for a record. Tracks like Dispair, In Vogue, and Halloween have some good instrumentals backing the track, but the vocals just really are not very good. There is a definite line in this kind of music where if someone goes too overboard with singing off key, it just sounds bad. It is an art that few punk acts and even fewer other acts can get right and this album just doesn't. The track All Tomorrow's Parties is a cover of a Velvet Underground track from more than 10 years earlier and comparing them back to back just shows the lack of talent in the vocalist and even in the band to an extent. I may be biased by my current dislike of 80's style vocals, but this really is just so unbearable. The only highlight to me on this track list is the closer and to me, it's really just carried by a pretty great jam session from the band. The vocalist is barely scraping by good enough of a performance and there's enough of an intriguing vibe to warrant a listen, but that really is the extent of how good I think this group can get at it's peak. Overall, this is an act that I can only see significance in if it is the first to do it's style (which is might be) because it has just been done so much better and in such a more listenable manor than this. Maybe it isn't my thing, maybe it actually is bad. Either way, give this one a listen if and only if you are a die hard for 80s music and can tune out some honestly unlistenable vocals. Highlights: The Other Side of Life Score: 5.5/10 Inoffensive instrumentals but a damn terrible vocalist

4/29/2022 Today's Album: "Back To Black" by Amy Winehouse - This is Amy Winehouse at her absolute prime and these are therefore some of her most iconic track. Rehab, Me & Mr Jones, and Back To Black are some of the most iconic R&B tracks of all time and they absolutely do not disappoint. In fact, this entire album is just great track after great track. The whole 60s style that we've heard in albums by Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald is perfectly emulated in this album and it truly sounds like a classic record despite it coming out in 2006. All of the instrumentals are really fun and unique because there are just so many layered textures surrounding the bouncy 60s tunes. The production is also super crisp and clean and the vocals have a perfect boost in the mix to give them just enough pop. The vocals are extremely impressive, but it's insane how well the band keeps up and just has an amazing sound throughout. I will say this album does trail off a little bit in the end with some less memorable tracks, but the flow of the record is not jeopardized by this fact. The cyclical idea of this album ending with Addicted and ending Rehab is a great analogy for both Amy's love life as well as her relationship with drugs and it really is a tragic reminder of how early we lost this talent. This is the best album from one of the best voices in music since the 1960s and it deserves every bit of recognition it gets. With upwards of half a billion streams on the biggest track and just around 350k on a few others, this album is obviously being celebrated by many people. So, do yourself a favor and listen to at leas the first half of this record if not the whole thing. A bunch of bubbly, creative, and amazingly performed R&B tracks await you within this fantastic track list. Highlights: Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, Me & Mr Jones, Back to Black, Love Is A Losing Game, Tears Dry On Their Own, He Can Only Hold Her, Addicted Score: 7.5/10 Some of the greatest vocal performances of all time.

5/1/2022 Today's Album: "The Atomic Mr Basie" by Count Basie - Basie, his big bands, and his orchestra ruled jazz for decades. Just going back through this man's discography, you can see albums from all the way back in 1936 up to as recent as the mid 90s! His jazz stylings are always iconic and even from my little experience with playing jazz, I know that his tracks are some of the most fun to play as a brass player. The fact he stayed relevant throughout essentially the entire 20th century is truly astonishing, but it isn't for no reason. These jazz tracks are ones that created the blueprint of what popular jazz music is and it is obvious that Basie never stopped innovating through the changing of what was popular in jazz throughout the decades. As for this album, the production quality, although perhaps lacking by today's standards, is pretty outstanding for being released in the late 50s. The performances are very lively and the improv from whoever is soloing at a given moment are always spot on and full of creative passion. I like that there are a variety of different jazz moods on this album, and although there is sort of this dated fuzz to a lot of the sounds recorded here, the performances really do shine through. The horns really take the spotlight on this album and it is to be expected from a Basie record. Not to say the other instruments aren't also fantastic, but horn quality, tone, range, and consistency like I'm hearing on this record it so so hard to achieve from a horn section and it is just pulled off so well in every track. Aside from that though, the saxophones are all in time with each other and whenever one of them solo's it sounds fantastic. The rhythm section feels pretty standard for a jazz outfit, but given the spotlight shined on the band, it really isn't too big of a deal. I like the tracks where the tempo picks up because Basie just has this touch with these fast and chaotic tracks that just pulls me in every time. Overall, I find myself enjoying this album as a listening experience, but it doesn't do a ton to really "impress" me in terms of jazz music. However, it is still a ton of really solid jazz tracks with some admirable solos. Jazz to me is something that is always great as background music and this album is great for exactly that. Give this one if you like ragtime jazz music. Highlights: The Kid from Red Bank, Duet, Flight of the Foo Birds, Whirly-Bird, Splanky, Score: 6.5/10 50's Jazz

5/2/2022 Today's Album: "Infected" by The The - Looking at this album from the name and cover, I really had no fucking clue what to expect, but as it opened up, it really blossomed in front of my eyes. This album is great fusion of two common genres of the 90s, being the synth-heavy new wave and the birthing post punk movement. Usually, this sort of thing really wouldn't be my thing as a lot of 80s projects like this have left a sour taste in my mouth for being generic and uninspired and post-punk has often been overdone by a lot of groups in my opinion with explicitly poor songwriting. However, this album does not take on any of those attributes as far as I can tell. The instrumental soundscapes all sound really lush and the vocalist really matches the aesthetic of the album well. There are songs where the vocalist experiments with strange and creepy vocals similar to many post-punk outfits, but it always feels really tasteful and like it's serving a story-telling purpose. Even if the vocals do end up feeling somewhat standard for a new wave outfit on a few tracks, it really doesn't matter because the ability for this band to just tear up a great tune outshines any clichés it may be exhibiting. Some of the solo's on this record are just straight up memorizing with how unique and innovative they are. A great example is the trumpet solo near the end of the opening track because of the incredibly articulated double tonguing technique the soloist uses to trill the last note. The recording of each instrument feels so clean and separated in the mix and the layered sound effects over top the band often builds up this great sound into this enamoring sonic experience. Maybe I'm just opening up to these stranger musical ideas more than I have in the past, but I really don't think that's the case. I really feel like this is some of the best execution of these kinds of sounds I've heard thus far. The new wave aspects of this album are able to spice things up and keep them interesting enough to take on the stranger post punk ideas and the post punk edge helps to stop these new wave songs from sounding too polished and clean. The flow feels great, the production feels great, and although the mix could probably use some tweaking, it's great as is. It's honestly just a great combination that I never would have thought would work but it does so so so well. Overall, this is both a great new wave album and a very listenable post-punk project and the fact that this band can pull together such solid tunes elevates these possible generic tracks to insane heights. Give this one a listen if you like 80's new-wave or some very clean post-punk and I promise you won't be disappointed either way. Highlights: Infected, Out Of The Blue, Heartland, Angels Of Deception, Slow Train To Dawn, Twilight Of A Champion, Score: 7.5/10 Inventive new-wave post-punk

5/3/2022 Today's Album: "Back At The Chicken Shack" by Jimmy Smith - This album is pretty simple to review because it's just a really straightforward and simple album. Simple blues grooves are constructed by a consistently chilled out drum set and a bass guitar walking up and down the blues scales. On top of that, Jimmy Smith solo's over these tracks with some fairly impressive organ playing and there's a saxophonist that really takes the spotlight when it's their time to solo. Honestly, it's pretty surprising that Jimmy Smith is the one on the cover of this album when whoever he has on sax just totally steals the show. Not to say the organ playing is by any means bad, but it really can't hold a candle to some of the amazing stuff the sax pulls of. I really like the stripped back nature of this album. It works with what it has and creates some great tunes out of 4-5 instruments and some basic blues progressions. I should mention there's also a guitar soloist that is pretty great as well that really helps to fill out the bluesy feel of this record. The mixing and production sound really nice with an obvious attention to bringing out the soloing organ or sax, but while maintaining impressive balance. That being said, there isn't much more to say about this album given just how basic a lot of the basis of it is. It's just a bunch of fantastic performances by musicians that know these blues scales backwards and forwards upside-down and inside-out. Overall, this is a great blues record to just vibe to and admire some fantastic performances. Give this one a listen if you like blues organ or blues soloing in general. Highlights: All Score: 7/10 Great blues improv

5/4/2022 - ALBUM #97 Today's Album: "The Contino Sessions" by Death in Vegas - This album is one that really took me by surprise with each track. The opener, Dirge, is a really awesome track with these "la la la" background vocals that give the building instrumentals this really cool, yet kinda creepy, atmosphere to it. It's a clear highlight given just how nuts the band goes with wild effects while still keeping my engaged in this chilled out beat. The next track, Soul Auctioneer, continues with this brooding creepy atmosphere but it's even more elevated with this slow dragging rhythm and these really drugged out vocals. It honestly sort of sounds like Bob Dylan and even though I've shit on his vocals in the past, they actually really work well in this dark and creepy setting. Death Threat is a great instrumental track that surprised me in a variety of ways just on it's own. The strange noise in the background loop, the building electronic sound scape, and the interspersed more code give this track a really disorienting feel to it, but still somehow stays so engaging. The next track, flying, while still sounding somewhat similar to the previous songs, brightens things up with a more full rock instrumentation and these cool reversed synth accents. The track keeps getting crazier and crazier as it goes on and sort of reminds me of something King Gizzard or Psychedelic Porn Crumpets would do, with these blasted out distorted guitars hanging out quieter in the mix. This track has a great energy to it and the 7 minute runtime of it really doesn't ever feel bogged down. Aisha is a really strange track from the perspective of a serial killer that eats dead bodies. The narration feels super in your face and monotone and the band is really just showing their proficiency in creating these really solid, but creepy and uncomfortable instrumentals and they only get better as the track progresses. I have heard so many bands try to do this creepy sort of aesthetic, but this band does it in such a badass way it just works. Lever street is this really sweet instrumental that sounds fantastic, but I have to knock a few points off for it's progression being straight up Heart of Gold by Neil Young. Aladdin's story was the real big surprise on this record, brightening the usually broody dark instrumentals up to feeling pretty pleasant. The instrumental here is fantastic and the vocal really fits it well. I love the sax and organ in specific on this track. Broken Little sister probably falls the flattest out of the track list, feeling like some really generic grunge, and it just doesn't really go anywhere with it. Neptune City is a great instrumental closer to this album, feeling like it's uniting a lot of the electronical ideas throughout the project while balancing the dark and light aesthetics. Overall, this album is a fantastic listen for anyone that can handle something a little unconventional or experimental. Give this one a listen if you're more of an instrumental kind of person and like electronica. Highlights: Dirge, Death Threat, Flying, Aisha, Lever Street, Aladdin's Story, Neptune City Score: 7.5/10 Incredibly experimental, but so well done

5/4/2022 - ALBUM #98 Today's Album: "Rocks" by Aerosmith - Yet another surprising album from the generator, I thought this album would just be what I've grown to expect from Aerosmith, which is masturbatory hair rock with obnoxious vocals and boring instrumentation, but this album is a ton of fun. Coming out in 1976, the hair rock aesthetic of this project feels much more progressive and innovative than many of the late 80s outfits that played this cliché out to death. This is the best the genre has sounded to my ears and it makes it feel intentional that this is pretty much the first album of it's genre that the generator has given me. The solo's are killer, the beats are fantastic, the production is great, and although I don't really care about the lyrics too much, the song writing here is really impressive. A lot of these tracks are full out jam sessions and I love how loose some of the song structures feel. I think Stephen Tyler's vocals here are taking way more of a backseat compared to a lot of their later work and it just makes it feel way more like a band and not just Stephen Tyler and the whatevers. I enjoy when these tracks transition into each other and although the hard rock vibe of this album never really calms down for a ballad, the songs feel pretty diverse still and most of them have a major redeeming quality about them if I begin not liking them. Overall, this album is fantastic and blew my expectations out of the water. Come for the guitar solos and stay for the killer vocals, guitar work, drum beats, basslines, and production. Listen to this one if you can handle some ROCK and if you feel like you never understood why Aerosmith is as beloved as they are. Highlights: Back In the Saddle, Last Child, Rats In The Cellar, Combination, Sick As A Dog, Nobody's Fault, Get The Lead Out, Lick And A Promise, Home Tonight Score: 8/10 The reason they're legends

5/6/2022 - ALBUM #99 Today's Album: "The Visitors" by Abba - Abba is one of those bands for me that I never got into, but knew that as soon as I did I would probably dig it a lot. I knew the style of some of their bigger hits and just figured they were a pop band with great vocals and a soft-rock twist, but this album demonstrates some real song-writing maturity and has a lot of highlights. I think if there is one problem I have with this album, other than some songs just not peaking my interest as much as other, it would probably be with the overall flow of the record. I think the first track is pretty mediocre compared to a lot of the killer hits we get deeper into the record, and although I really like the closing track, it doesn't feel like a conclusion as much as just another one of the hits that they just happened to place at the end. It fades out in this really cheesy way that feels like it should be closer to the middle of the track list and it just sort of left an inconclusive feeling. Other than that, though, there are so many amazing tracks where the band is laying down an absolutely killer groove with lots of synths and electronic flourishes and the vocalists always giving top notch performances all around. I really like the track Two For The Price Of One. The groove is super funky, the chorus is absolute ear candy, and the vocal harmonies are absolutely beautiful. Like I said before, some tracks do sort of drag and really don't warrant their inclusion and given the 53 minute runtime of this project, all of them could have been removed and it still would have been a full length LP, but I really enjoy a lot of cuts on here and I would absolutely come back to this album. Overall, it's a really pleasant listen and was a great way to introduce me to Abba. Listen to this one if you aren't quite sold on Abba yet and I think you'll find they're pretty dang good. Highlights: Head Over Heels, When All Is Said And Done, Soldiers, I Let The Music Speak, One Of Us, Two For The Price Of One, Slipping Through My Fingers, Should I Laugh Or Cry, The Day Before You Came, Under Attack Score: 7/10 A bunch of great hits, but some minor pacing issues.

5/7/2022 - ALBUM #100 Today's Album: "The Yes Album" by Yes - This is an album I have already heard before, but it's great to get another listen of it more in depth. I have always liked Yes for their smooth style of prog rock and great vocals, but I had mostly stuck to their album, "Fragile". With so many other albums by the band after Fragile, it seemed hard to pick one to listen to next, but THIS album is a great choice to follow up with. The opening track Yours Is No Disgrace opens up the album with 9 minutes of pure PROG. In this track they sound a lot like Kansas, but with this new-rock filter on it and the more I listen to this album as a whole, it really feels like it's THE inspiration for so many of the sounds I love in prog rock . The guitar sounds super crisp in the mix and the bassist is going absolutely nuts as usual. The Gap totally shifts gears with a solo acoustic guitar going absolutely crazy with some very impressive finger picking. It's a great upbeat track and is just so damn impressive. The 3 part Starship Trooper transitions expertly between various tempos, moods, and grooves. I especially love the vocals on this track and although it does drag a bit in some spots, there's a lot of great sonic moments on this track. The slow building third part crescendo's up into the end and gives the track a real feeling of significant progression, not to even mention the killer guitar solos. I've Seen All Good People is a 2 part track, but this one is much more accessible and fun. I love the opening vocal harmonies and the pounding bass drum gives this track a lovely meditative feeling to it. This is truly some of Yes's best songwriting and the vocals are just so damn silky smooth. I don't even feel like I could get into everything that makes this track amazing because there are just so many beautiful, well-performed layers, but the do-do chorus is absolutely a highlight and the way the mood picks up from part 1 to part 2 is so well done. Both parts compliment each other so well and it's really impressive that the band is able to make the whole thing feel so cohesive. The much shorter track, A Venture, feels like it could have been a Supertramp track with very similar vocals, instrumentation, and song structure. It's a bouncy, yet brooding track and although the beginning feels sort of slow and boring, the interplay between the piano, bass, and drums in the end of the track is just really memorizing and sounds great. The closing track, Perpetual Change is pretty much exactly that, with the band exploring so many different ideas and switching up the beat constantly. It is a little disorienting at some points, but I really think they do a great job of keeping the momentum of this track going throughout all of the switch ups and some of the chorus melodies are really lovely and catchy. This track is similar to I've Seen All Good People where it's just so massive and amazing that it's hard to describe everything great about it. It really should just be experienced. Overall, this is a progressive rock album through and through and as much as I tried to keep my love of prog out of any bias for this review, it's impossible for me to not just love this album. The instrumental performances are all so energetic and on point and the vocals are heavenly. Give this one a listen if you like prog even a little and I promise it's a great time. There's some less exciting moments in here, but when the album reaches it's highs, it really knocks it out of the park. Highlights: Yours Is No Disgrace, The Gap, Starship Trooper, I've Seen All Good People, Perpetual Change Score: 8.5/10 A fantastic demonstration of the power of prog rock

5/8/2022 - ALBUM #101 Today's Album: "Celebrity Skin" by Hole - Before I say anything else, I will say this is a good album. Now, by that I simply mean it's pretty pleasant to listen to throughout. The vocals are competent, the production isn't terrible, and it's feeling like this was the start of the rise of alt-punk in the early 2000s. However, I think my big problem with this album is that it doesn't stand out very much. I really like this album and the way it sounds, with it's powerful chords, strong and confident vocals, and meaningful lyricism, but I just feel like I'm not left with anything exceptional or that I couldn't get better from Alanis Morrissette or Doves. The big hits on this album feel like they have stronger songwriting than the others, but it's still not anything that really blows me away. There are some tracks on here I actually really dislike like Use Once & Destroy, where the production feels really blown out and the band feels like they're half asleep. It also starts to feel like the vocalist doesn't have very much range and by the later half of the album, I just feel really sick of the tone of her voice. It feels like each song is having a harder time standing out for me and the charm that was initially there in the beginning of the album is fading. It kind of feels like this album was really just a vehicle for hits and there was little to no care put into the way the album flowed or would sound as a whole. Overall, this album just doesn't offer much other than decent background noise. Listen to the first 5 tracks and decide if it's your thing I guess, but I'm sure you'll be sick of it by the end. Highlights: Celebrity Skin, Malibu, Dying Score: 6/10 Meh alt-rock

5/9/2022 - ALBUM #102 Today's Album: "The "Chirping" Crickets" by Buddy Holly & The Crickets - I like this album a lot. Being a 1950s doowop album, it's hard for it to really stand out in any particular way, and there are a lot of tracks that feel fairly dated, boring, or both, but there are a surprising amount of really fun and catchy songs on here. All of the highlights below are fun tracks that really feel like they were breaking the mold for what was standard for these kinds of groups in the mid-50s. The instrumentation is pretty great with some standout solo's on a lot of the better tracks and Buddy Holly's voice sounds great too. The production isn't fantastic, but given it's time it's pretty good, and it was really nice to just jump from one track to the next since the album is only 26 minutes long and there's 12 tracks. Overall, this is a really fun little bite-sized doo-wop album from one of the greatest talents the 1950s had to offer. Give the highlights a listen if you want to time travel back to a 50's diner! Highlights: Oh Boy!, Not Fade Away, That'll Be The Day, I'm Lookin' For Someone To Love Score: 7/10 Fun little doo-wop album

5/10/2022 - ALBUM #104 Today's Album: "Heaven or Las Vegas" by Cocteau Twins - This may be the most unique album to come out of the generator thus far. It isn't really that it's incredibly inventive or really does anything shocking, but it just has a really unique atmosphere to the sound and the production and mixing, despite being subjectively poor, add to the experience and tone of the project. Each song has a similar sort of laid back bass and drum beat joined by a very ethereal, hazy, synth. The chord structure is usually pretty basic, but there is a really cool hazy atmosphere created by the instrumentation and the vocals sort of float above as unintelligible murmurings. I usually have a problem with vocals I can't comprehend, but they're so unintelligible here I am just really ignoring any of the lyricism and I have to say, the vocal melodies in the choruses work really well due to this sort of incomprehensible mumbling. I also think it's aided by whatever post production is being placed on the vocal track to make it so washed out and hazy. Now, there are moments where the lyrics do shine through and I like these moments a lot. For instance, Pitch The Baby has a really infectious hook singing, "I really want to love you" and I really like the chorus of Heaven Or Las Vegas, which is a highlight among the track list because of it's clear vocal delivery. I think there are a lot of tracks outside of the highlights that sort of get boring and drone on for a little too long, but I think it's entirely missing the point to judge this kind of ethereal music for it's structure and not it's overall vibe. Once I judge it for that, I really just like this album as something to put on in the background and forget about. All the performances are great and it's obvious there is a strong attention to the mixing and mastering on this project. Overall, this is a great introduction into shoe-gazy, ethereal, pop rock and it's vibe is immaculate enough to bump up the final score by a half-point. Listen to this one if you like a spacey and chilled out vibe album and want something a little different. Highlights: Cherry-coloured Funk, Pitch the Baby, Heaven Or Las Vegas, Frou-frou Foxes in Midsommer Fires Score: 7/10 Decent Ethereal Rock

5/11/2022 - ALBUM #105 Today's Album: "Sheet Music" by 10cc - This is an album that does something kind of different and in my opinion, it pays off well. It seems like throughout the project, there really is no consideration by the group to seem serious or to hold anything back. This album is goofy and it takes pride in it, which I think pays off in a really positive way. The first song The Wall Street Shuffle is really great straightforward rock track, but its apparent not to far into the track that the band is going to play a lot with song structure. The clear lead vocal sounds really great throughout the whole project and when they reach a higher register or falsetto, I get a lot of beach boys vibes out of it. The instrumental performances are all very lively and make the whole album feel super full of personality with pretty consistent mood switch ups and beat changes. The choruses are usually pretty attention grabbing and although the lyricism can get super cheesy at moments, it all sort of adds to this carefree attitude and ends up feeling more creative than cringe. The production is also really nice with everything feeling really balanced in the mix and there's a lot of fun stuff they do with the channeling on many of the tracks. I will say that with the way the band switched up tracks so much, it does sometimes feel like you're waiting through some weaker moods to get to the really great-sounding parts, but there is still a really solid overall flow to the record. I can't emphasize enough just how goofy and funny some of the lyrics are on this record. I like the track The Worst Band In The World for it's really creative choruses. I think everything about this record is a double edged sword, where the loose song structure and goofy lyricism both elevate this album to something that stands out and has a lot of personality, but it also hurts the album by making it feel disjointed and amateurish. It can be fun to shove a lot of ideas into these tracks, but it really takes away from some of these fantastic melodies when it changes ideas so much and it turns me away from really loving any of these tracks. Fortunately, the instrumental proficiency and sonic experimentation elevate this project a lot and I only rarely find myself getting bored. Overall, there are a lot of really fun melodies and personality-filled lyricism and the vocals and instruments support all of the ideas in a really cohesive way. Definitely a disorienting listen at first, but listen to this one if you like the goofier parts of the Beach Boys or just want something different and you'll have a good time. Highlights: The Wall Street Shuffle, The Worst Band In The World, Hotel, Oh Effendi Score: 7/10 Goofy and not taking itself too seriously, but super fun!

5/12/2022 - ALBUM #106 Today's Album: "Lust For Life" by Iggy Pop - The opening track of this album, Lust For Life, is a really fun and upbeat track that is so accessible, it's really surprising that it's an Iggy Pop song at all, which is a great analogy for how I feel about most of this album. I think this being the third album I've hear from Iggy, I really am starting to appreciate his vocals and the production on a lot of these tracks is really great, managing to mix everything equally and make it sound really warm and crisp. I think I still am having a hard time getting into his lyricism, but it's really starting to make sense how he writes song and its getting easier to dissect the deeper meaning out of these tracks. I really like the simple instrumentation of the passenger and I think Iggy gives a really solid and powerful vocal performance on this one. All of the track on this album really just feel like Iggy is deciding to make a more uplifting and upbeat album after coming out of a battle with drugs and alcohol and it genuinely shows in just how fun the songwriting is on this album. Tonight and Success are both fantastic rock anthems and the performances are just so damn lively and full of heart. Turn Blue isn't really as exciting as some of the other tracks, but it has a really nice aesthetic to it and the vocal performance may be the strongest and most confident I have heard from Iggy to date, with many dramatic changes in vocal delivery that go over quite well. Neighborhood Threat feels a bit more generic than some of the other tracks here, but it still sounds pretty nice while it's on. The closing track, Fall In Love With Me, is a really fun jam track where the band lets loose a little with this really groovy track. There's a lot of fun solos, a rock organ backing things up, and Iggy's vocal performance really takes a back seat and blends well into the vibe of the track. Overall, this album really surprised me and showed me why people like Iggy Pop so much. He isn't often poppy, but when he decides to make a pop song, you understand why it's in his name. Listen to this one if you like 70s rock outfits like David Bowie or if you want to hear some of the most accessible music from Iggy Pop. Highlights: Lust For Life, The Passenger, Tonight, Success, Neighborhood Threat, Fall In Love With Me Score: 7.5/10 My favorite Iggy Pop project so far

5/13/2022 - ALBUM #107 Today's Album: "Master Of Puppets" by Metallica - This album was on that I have been excited to get to since it's popped up on the generator. I've always wanted to get into Metallica because many of my friends have raved about them, but never giving them a close listen caused me to write it all of as overblown noise and terrible vocals. Going into this album, I played it casually on a set of speakers while doing housework and really just found it mediocre and at many points fatiguing to listen to. However, giving this album a listen with headphones for the 2nd time was one of the most impressive experiences I have had with music to date. To start, the performances on this album are, with no bit of sarcasm whatsoever, perfect. I might not personally always love or be in the mood for some of the melodies here, but there isn't a single time where the song feels held back by the instrumentation and there are so many moments throughout the record where the playing is so next level it's hard for me to visualize how it was even recorded. The production also is killer, with all of the instruments feeling really well placed in the mix and the tightness of the guitar riffs and drumming really shine through in the recording. The whole record flows incredibly well, balancing the heavier songs with more accessible songwriting and I think the overall theming of the record is incredibly well done, comparing god and religion to some sort of puppet mastery in the title track and going on to call Jesus a "Lepper Messiah" in the track of the same name. The title track is easily one of the best of the album, with this really cool dropped beat at the end of every 4th measure and the solo at the end expertly implements their guitarwork into this really awkward time signature. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is also a fantastic track, with a great building atmosphere and some sonic aesthetics that I would never expect from Metallica, but holy cow do they just rock the shit out of this entire track. The soloing is always a highlight on all of these tracks but the ones in this track are particularly amazing. Orion is truly a perfect track in my opinion. The band really just lets loose and travels through so many different sonic landscapes, many of which involve some of the craziest guitarwork I have ever heard. Damage Inc. is an incredible closer to the album, with not only a great intro, but an insanely fast chugging groove as the track gets going and a really cool vocal delivery when whispering, "Damage Incorporated." The instrumental break at the end has some of the fastest guitar riffs I have heard and barely sound possible. It's a really chaotic and exciting way to end the album and although I don't love the way it ends off rhythmically, it is still a fantastic finisher. Overall, this album blew every expectation I had of it out of the water and has introduced me to the world of heavy metal in one of the best ways imaginable. There are a very small amount of moments where the heavier tone of the album gets a bit much for me, but when I really put myself in the mindset to listen to Metal music, it really gets easier to see how few and far between those moments really are. Give this album a listen if you have ever wanted to get into heavier music and have been waiting for an entry point that's worth it. Highlights: Battery, Master Of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Leper Messiah, Orion, Damage Inc. Score: 8.5/10 Exceeded every expectation for metal music I had

5/14/2022 - ALBUM #108 Today's Album: "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts" by Brian Eno & David Byrne - This album got me really excited right off the bat, with the name Brian Eno resonating with me as a name I have definitely heard brought up and compared to within music discussions. Alongside that is also David Byrne, who I have heard a decent bit of material from in both the Talking Heads and his own solo work. I have to say that although I am underwhelmed by the album I got out of this collaboration, it is still very interesting. Given my experience with albums so far, I expected the very strange ambient opener with lots of eclectic samples to simply be an introduction into some more digestible or lyric-driven music, but this album just keeps continuing with track after track of stranger and stranger instrumental grooves with no vocals, but many strange and random samples throughout. No track particularly stands out, but as you get deeper into the track list, the quick and fun dance grooves of songs like America is Waiting and Regiment slowly turn into experimental noise pieces like A Secret Life and Come With Us. It doesn't really get worse as it goes on in terms of it's presentation or style, but since many of these tracks focus on laying down a solid beat with little worry towards musical progression, the more experimental tracks do just end up sounding a bit more boring. When this album picks up and demonstrates a fun beat, it really pops off with a ton of fun auxiliary instrumentation and really groovy and varied percussion, but it honestly would be nice to hear a bit more of a cohesive song structure on at least some of the tracks given how awesome the band is. Overall, it's a really cool experimental work that doesn't ever apologize for going off the rails and being a weird experience from start to finish. It's an essential listen for anyone that loves the sharp and clean instrumentation of the talking heads or very experimental music in general so give it a listen if that sounds like you. Highlights: America Is Waiting, Mea Culpa, Regiment, Help Me Somebody, The Jezebel Spirit, Moonlight In Glory, Score: 7/10 Great experimental art-pop that gets less enjoyable as it goes on.

5/15/2022 - ALBUM #109 Today's Album: "Juju" by Siouxsie and the Banshees - This album is really sort of just okay to me. I really like the general style of it, the vocals work well for what they're trying to do, the production feels decent for a group like this, and the songwriting overall is pretty decent. However, it just does not really catch my attention very much outside of having a pretty cool 80s psychedelia aesthetic to it. The highlights on this record really do show how talented the group is and are quite enjoyable, but there are some really stinky tracks on here filling out the track list like the fairly awful Halloween and the generally boring Head Cut. Overall, the vibe of this record doesn't really fit well into a casual listening scene and it doesn't give me enough to enjoy an in depth listen either, so it just feels like this kind of stale experience that's trying to be more than it is. Maybe just give the highlights of this album a listen because the most of it rubbed me the wrong way and the highlights just barely made it worth giving it a play at all. Highlights: Arabian Knights, Monitor Score: 5.5/10 2 good tracks and a lot of hazy and uninteresting garbage

5/15/2022 - ALBUM #109 Today's Album: "Buena Vista Social Club" by Buena Vista Social Club - This is a great Latin jazz album and I really just have to leave it at that. I really love getting these Latin albums on the generator because it's always a great album experience with usually great production, great performances, and personality-filled vocal performances and my analysis of the album pretty much stops there due to the language barrier. This one has a really great energy and spans a lot of musical sounds from your typical Latin jazz all the way to some stuff that I would never expect out of an album like this. Orgullecida stands out as this sort of acoustic rag-time track that honestly would not fit on this record at all if it weren't for the Spanish vocals but dang is it not energetic as hell. Overall, this is a great one to have in the background and if you know Spanish, it's a must for sure. Listen to this one if you like Jazz, or specifically Latin Jazz, and want to hear another great album. Highlights: N/A : ALL Score: 8/10 Lovely Latin Jazz

5/17/2022 - ALBUM #110 Today's Album: "Ramones" by Ramones - Oh boy is this album ever grating and obnoxious. Now, after giving this a casual listen and thinking that exact sentiment, I really tried to have an open mind going into my more in depth listen to try to get anything out of it, but wow does this album just get more and more insufferable as it goes on. It starts off really promising with the gigantic hit Blitzkrieg Bop, which sets a great tone for the record with these really crunchy guitar chords and some really punky and confident lead vocals. The HEY HO LETS GO chants add so much energy to this track and it really made me think I was getting into something amazing. The next track Beat on the Brat has some really nice aspects to it and I think the chorus is really fun despite the very strange mixing choices, but it is obviously a step down from the last track and the rest of the album just follows suit. Ranging from decent to unlistenable, the rest of the songs start with the same overblown 3 chords that the guitarist keeps cranking out and the moany, whiny, and lazy vocal performance just gets less charming and more unlistenable with each track. I really tried to put myself in the mindset that this punky project is going to have some production choices that I will just not agree with, but when the issue comes not from the production but the song writing, it really gets hard for me to stay invested and look past the flaws when so much of this project is just poorly put together. Each track feels like it goes on much longer than it actually does and the overall >30 minute runtime feels like an absolute slog to get through. Overall, this album has a lot going for it and I really see the start of something special (as in it is pioneering a genre), but as a standalone album it just isn't worth my listen. Listen to Blitzkrieg Bop and leave the rest unless if you're really into punk, but even so I don't think you'll get a ton out of it. Highlights: Blitzkrieg Bop Score: 4.5/10 A downhill slope

**5/18/2022 - ALBUM #111** https://open.spotify.com/album/3wG8DcAJVgr7sbWNvKanzS?si=VUbVk0vsSq-0NBq-Brktcg Today's Album: "Birth Of The Cool" by Miles Davis - Miles Davis is just one of those names you hear all the time if you've ever been part of a jazz band, and it's for damn good reason. His jazz arrangements are some of the cleanest, most stylish, and smoothest sounding in my opinion. Plus, his trumpet playing; what could I possibly say about his trumpet playing other than he will probably always sit as one of the top 10 best trumpet players of all time. The production on this album is absolutely stellar for being from the late 50s and it really gives me a perspective of just what was possible back then sonically. The band are really all in tune with each other while still maintaining this very loose feel to each track. There are some minor biffs and cracks from both the saxophones and trumpets, but I actually think it adds a really live feel to it and the mistakes feel simply human. Not every track stands out as an absolute banger or anything, but every good Jazz album will have downtime to add to the flow of the project and this record does it very well. Overall, this is a really great album and it deserves to be in anyone's background-music rotation. There's a reason Miles Davis's music is so celebrated and this album displays exactly what that is. Listen to this one if you like some nice Jazz to have on in the background and don't care too much about, "perfection" in the performances. Highlights: Move, Jeru, Venus De Milo, Budo, Boplicity, Rocker, Isreal, Score: 7.5/10 Great trumpet-focused jazz

5/19/2022 - ALBUM #112 Today's Album: "The Man-Machine" by Kraftwerk - Holy fuck this album is really great and so ahead of its time! Coming out near the tail end of the 70s, this album feels ahead of the game not only for it's new wave and synth-wave aesthetics that the 80s would be full of, but it honestly still holds up incredibly well for today's standards. It essentially plays sort of like a Daft Punk album, with a lot of looping synth lines with occasional vocals with a European accent. However this album really feels so much more organic than those pieces, with a lot of building synth chords that sound great together and almost feel like they're being played over and over instead of being looped. There are points on the record where the synths build really beautiful soundscapes that are almost psychedelic and there are others where it's very dance focused and beat-driven. The track The Model is the most popular on the track list, and although I think it's a really great pop tune, it feels pretty standard and uninteresting when compared to tracks like Spacelab and Neon Lights, the latter of which is mostly a really groovy instrumental synth passage after the main verses are out of the way. I really like the lyricism whenever it pops up and I really like how the vocals don't overstay their welcome (which is really nice considering the accent makes the vocals just seem a little bit off). The theme of man and machine becoming closer and closer together is really well laid out despite how few words are said and the aesthetic of the album lends itself well to this concept. The production feels top notch and it really lets the synths shine when they're layered over each other or playing off of each other in an interesting way. Overall, this album is absolutely stellar and it just amazes me to no end how ahead of it's time and advanced it was given it came out in 1978. Give this one a listen if you really like 80s synths, groovy beats, synth psychedelia like Pink Floyd and Alan Parson's Project, or simply just want to be amazed for 36 minutes. Highlights: The Robots, Spacelab, Metropolis, The Model, Neon Lights, The Man Machine Score: 8/10 Synth-wave perfected before it even began

5/20/2022 - ALBUM #113 Today's Album: "Urban Hymns" by The Verve - This album is a very popular indie rock piece from the late 90s and it is a pretty nice listen. The production on all of the songs feels really good, the performances both instrumental and vocally are pretty impressive and help to create this really solid atmosphere. The songwriting overall is pretty good with some interesting lyricism and considering when it came out, it feels like it was ahead of the game on a few now-staples of the indie rock genre. Now that being said, I will say this album does get very tiring by the end of it. No track particularly stands out as particularly bad (except maybe the last track which feels like a pure waste of 15 minutes), but given that this album goes on for almost 2 hours, it needs to do more to justify it's huge runtime than just crank out the same kind of sound track after track. The beginning track is obviously a super big hit for this band and it feels like everyone knows it, but I really was unimpressed by it as the chord progression felt really basic, which becomes a larger problem throughout this project. Like I said nothing here really sounds bad, but having listened to albums of this vein like Radiohead's The Bends, which has an infinitely more interesting flow and progression, it gets really difficult for me to feel like this is anywhere as significant. The lack of overall flow on this album makes it feel like a collection of tracks meant specifically for radio and it just doesn't give itself well to a full listen. It may sound harsh for me to criticize it so much just for being generic, but 90s indie rock to me is all about standing out as an artist and doing something new and this just really sits in it's little corner. Overall, not a bad record in any way, but it's massive bloating issues and sometimes generic sound make it really hard to get through for me. Give this one a listen if you like 90s indie rock and maybe just spin the highlights and leave the rest so you don't waste your time. Highlights: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Sonnet, The Drugs Don't Work, Space and Time, Lucky Man, Score: 6.5/10 Decent 90s indie rock that's just a bit bloated

5/21/2022 - ALBUM #114 Today's Album: "Connected" by Stereo MC's - This is the most impressive album I have heard in quite a while. This band does an absolutely stellar job mixing 90s Hip Hop/Rap with the new-age electronic aesthetics that started in the late 80s. First, the band is absolutely stellar. Each track has an amazing, memorizing groove to it that just make me want to move. The vocals in both the rap verses as well as the choruses are both really well done. I really enjoyed a more laid back approach to rap and the main vocalist has a really smooth, yet mysterious tone. Speaking of the choruses, each of them are so incredibly catchy and likeable without being really poppy. I like a lot of the background vocal performances and each track feels so unique while maintaining a really consistent quality. The track Everything stands out as a really great fast rap sequence with an incredibly groovy funk beat and just a ton of goddamn personality. The production and of the instruments sound good throughout the entire project and I particularly like how the project is mixed. Everything comes through really clearly and plays off of each other so well. Some songs are a bit boring compared to others, but even if I don't like a song's songwriting, it always impresses me enough to hop onto the highlights list and the rap verses are structured in a way to where it doesn't get as stale as some of the songs off of the NWA record I reviewed earlier. Overall, this is easily the best 90s rap album the generator has given me and given how early in the 90s it came out, it feels way more like an influential album than a collage of clichés. Nothing I could say in this review would describe how colorful and fun these songs are, so it really should just be experienced for yourself. Give this one a listen PLEASE if you are into R&B, Rap, or Electronica and you'll see what I'm talking about. Highlights: Connected, Ground Level, Everything, Sketch, Fade Away, All Night Long, Step It Up, Playing With Fire, Pressure, Chicken Shake, Creation, The End Score: 8.5/10 Crazy fun electronic hip-hop

5/22/2022 - ALBUM #115 Today's Album: "Pump" by Aerosmith - This album is another great set of tracks from Aerosmith with a lot of new sonic ideas and interesting experimentation. If you want to hear my opinion for most Aerosmith songs, you can read my last review where I had a bit of a revelation and realized I enjoyed their music way more than I thought I would just hearing the hits. However, I think this album is interesting more for how it differs from the last project. Both are fantastic albums with many similarities like the amazing songwriting, insane guitar solos, interesting mixing choices, and really masterful choices in terms of the album's flow. This song centers on a common theme of young love, lust, and breakup and there are a lot of really cool moments where other song titles pop up in the lyrics in interesting ways and adds to the cohesion of the message. The guitar solos feel noticeably better than they were on Rocks, sometimes bordering on sounding like Led Zeppelin 1 (in a good way), and I really enjoy some of the departures they took from their usual style. The beginning of Dulcimer Stomp and the end of What It Takes are really cool musical interludes that sound like old Scottish folk tunes and they both took me so off guard given the usual style of Aerosmith. I also like the track Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man because it sounds like a fusion of Zeppelin and Hendrix and really comes out as this loud and energetic psyche-rock tribute. There are some incredible highs on this record and for me, no song really falls under a 7 due to just how great Tyler's lyricism and songwriting is and just how many sounds the band goes for on each and every track. Harmonica is a welcome addition for sure on this album and the whole project just makes me want to hear what else the band has put together. Yes, a lot of that generic hair rock sound is present, but it is really spaced out well throughout the project and I never found myself getting fatigued. Overall, this is a great way to follow up Aerosmith's Rocks and has gotten me more and more excited to listen to more of their work. Check this one out if you liked Rocks or if you just enjoy some kick-ass hard rock. Highlights: Young Lust, Going Down/Love In An Elevator, Water Song/Janie's Got A Gun, Dulcimer Stomp/The Other Side, Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man, What It Takes Score: 8/10 They did it again goddammit

**5/23/2022 - ALBUM #116** https://open.spotify.com/album/328gsq5mObioXj2TcD8AED?si=301bkd6cSCiHraUkHiwdUA Today's Album: "The United States Of America" by The United States Of America - This album is sort of a hard one to figure out. Being pretty much the first example of art rock or noise rock aside from maybe Sgt. Peppers, it shows a lot of musical talent and wit. The album flows as a sort of musical acid trip with every song being interrupted quite frequently by strange and disorienting effects and noises. I think that for it's time, this is truly a work of art, showing the really early sonic experimentation that was going on in the late 60s and early 70s and it really does lend itself to the psychedelic era it was created in, but once you realize it's just an album to fuck with druggies for an hour and 6 minutes and you start to get deeper into the track list, it becomes obvious that it doesn't hold up today. However, I kept having to listen to track after track to figure out why. After all, the instrumental playing is great, the production is obviously stellar, the songwriting is pretty consistent and easy to listen to, but the reason it all falls apart is that the sounds that keep interrupting the otherwise decent music are just too dated. The first time I heard Revolution 9 by the Beatles, it was one of the most insane experiences I had with music because it was just so uneasy and disturbing. Then I listened to To Be Kind by Swans and was blown away by what noise music could really be. My problem with this project is that no matter how hard they try to create this really disorienting and trippy experience, it never actually crossed over into being anything that actually surprised me or made me feel uneasy. Annoyed and disoriented, yes, but never actually tripped out or uncomfortable. Maybe this is just me being used to this genre and therefore being less surprised by this kind of experimentation, but considering A Day in the Life was apparently the inspiration for this, it just starts to become really underwhelming as the gimmick of this album becomes more clear. I really like a lot of aspects of this project, but the songwriting is almost too tight and enjoyable to allow for these interruptions that just don't hold their own within the bigger noise rock genre. I think many of these songs are really up my alley but they all end up getting marked down a point or two because of this glaring flaw. Overall, this could be a really cool introduction for someone who like tighter songwriting into the world of sonic experimentation and noise, but it just didn't really impress me and I don't think it holds up very well today. Give this one a listen if you want a decent entry point into this style, but honestly just listen to Sgt. Peppers instead. Highlights: N/A Score: 5.5/10 Psychedelic art/noise that just doesn't impress me

5/24/2022 - ALBUM #117 Today's Album: "Goodbye And Hello" by Tim Buckley - This is a fairly decent singer songwriter album in the same vein as Carol King, with a lot of folky guitars and unique percussion. The production probably isn't as high quality as Carol King's Tapestry, but it makes up for it with a lot of personality in the soundscapes, moods, and overall atmospheres Tim is creating. His vocals are really really impressive. He has this really smooth Steely Dan feel to his tone and he gets into some registers that really make me question if its a girl singing at any given point or if he's just goin crazy. I will say that sometimes he is a little over the top and gets a little to forward in the mix, drowning out the pretty great instrumental performances. I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain has this exact problem and I think overall the song sounds a little too noisy and blown out for the sound quality it has. Fortunately, it is followed up by one of the best tracks on the album, Once I Was, which plays out like a really somber break up song with a great harmonica melody and some nice banjo accompaniment. His vocals really shine on a ballad like this and it makes sense that it's also the most listened to song here. I am not a fan of a few of the ending songs, but I really appreciate the flow of this album, shifting frequently from mood to mood. The final song Morning Glory is another somber ballad and I have to say it's really where this album shines. He's singing about some hobo and I don't really get what it means but he sure is emotional about it and putting that on full display. Overall, this album is a really nice peaceful singer-songwriter piece with some solid moods in each song and great vocal performances/songwriting throughout. Listen to this one if you like some of the slower songs by John Denver or Carol King. Highlights: Pleasant Street, Once I Was, Phantasmagoria in Two, Morning Glory. Score: 6.5/10 Decent folky singer-songwriter

5/25/2022 - ALBUM #118 Today's Album: "Beggars Banquet" by The Rolling Stones - When I last reviewed a rolling stones album, I felt that it did very little unique to stand out and does not differentiate enough from song to song to be very interesting, but either that album really sucked and this album is much better than that, or I was very impatient with that record, because I had a much nicer time through this one. There feels like there's a ton more talent in the guitarwork than last time with this really folky fingerpicking sort of vibe throughout. Some of the songs do feel like your typical Rolling Stones tune, but they don't feel like they're wasting my time as much with this project. I like a lot of the Bob Dylan type vocals on a lot of tracks and the band really do hold a better tune this time. However, the more I get used to this more stripped back way of rock music with some of the other albums I've reviewed, I am starting to rethink a lot of my original opinion of that first record. They really pioneered so many sounds and were essentially the start of rock music in general, so I think I really need to just give these tracks more time to settle into my ears. This album has some really great production and although The Stray Cat Blues was pretty blown out and some other songs were kind of unimpressive or boring, there really aren't many, "bad" moments on this record. I really like the last song as this sort of desperate ballad and I especially love the instrumental freak out at the end. They really reach some levels of noise I didn't expect out of the stones. Overall, this album has honestly turned my opinion around on The Rolling Stones and makes me want to go back and reconsider the score I gave their last album I reviewed. It still isn't totally my sound, but if you've ever been slightly into their music, this album is a must. Highlights: Sympathy For The Devil, Street Fighting Man, Prodigal Son, Salt Of The Earth. Score: 7/10 Made me reconsider The Rolling Stones

5/26/2022 - ALBUM #119 Today's Album: "Live 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert" by Bob Dylan - I think I really just have to veto this one and choose to review the first disc of this album. The entire thing is an hour and a half long and as decent as Bob Dylan is, this recording is not produced or mixed well enough for me to sit through an incredibly grating harmonica and rather boring songwriting in my opinion for that long. I really respect Bob Dylan as an artist and I think a lot of this material is great, but it is just not something I can sit through. It might sound petty, but it seriously is just how this harmonica is mixed in the recording. It's so fucking loud and it's one of the worst instruments to have that happen with in my opinion. I know he is a great songwriter in terms of the story telling of his work, but he really just cannot sing and it's been a problem since I listened to the first album by him the generator gave to me. If I want some absolutely mindless bullshit to turn on on a road trip, I would throw his music on as decently enjoyable background noise, but being a live recording, having to hear the audience applause and the aforementioned harmonica just gets so so annoying and unbearable. Overall, I know Dylan writes some decent songs, but knowing that I can barely get through his studio records without falling asleep, his live album is obviously really not my thing. Give this a listen if you are a hardcore Dylan fan but otherwise leave it alone for sure. Highlights: N/A - VETO Score: ?/10 I just cannot do this one I am sorry

5/27/2022 - ALBUM #120 Today's Album: "Water from an Ancient Well" by Various Artists - This is a really smooth and impressive jazz album from a bunch of different artists. There really isn't anything to complain about here. The bassist is consistently laying down a solid groove, the accompanying band is excellent and well balanced, and the soloists are fairly decent. There are some occasional subpar solos, but others make up for it tenfold and beyond. There title track probably has one of the best trumpet solos I have ever heard and after playing trumpet for 10+ years, that should mean something. Overall this is a really impressive jazz album that's great put on in the background or sit down with a good pair of headphones and just enjoy from start to finish. The flow is great, the runtimes of the songs don't feel too long or bloated, and every song strikes a different and unique tone. Give this on a listen if you like some more laid back jazz that still knows how to lay down a funky groove. Highlights: Mandela, Manenberg Revisited, Water from an Ancient Well, The Mountain Score: 8/10 Excellent laid-back 80s jazz

5/28/2022 - ALBUM #121 Today's Album: "Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield - This album is the accompanying soundtrack to the movie of the same name, Superfly and wow does this album make me want to watch the movie. This is an extremely lively funk concept record that closely relates to the plot of the movie and really does a good job at representing the flow of the story. The Story from what I can gather is about the black community dealing with the rampant drug use and poverty that is brought on by cooperate America and widespread systematic oppression. There is this constant reference to a character known as the Pusherman who seems to be a drug pusher that recruits and abuses young kids who act as drug pushers and only cares about profiting off of the drug crisis within the black community. There is a story arc of the titular character, Superfly, throughout the album as he battles with drug addiction, loss, love, and eventually sobering up as he pushes against the oppression of the Pusherman. The social commentary and the lyricism with which it's delivered is extraordinary and I find it incredibly impressive how well this album can tell it's story without feeling bogged down or uninteresting. It is most likely due to it's greatest strength, which is it's fantastic instrumental performances and stellar production. The sound of this thing is so crisp and centered and direct. The bass sounds absolutely fantastic throughout this entire record, the percussion is going absolutely ham, and the inclusion of the big-band brass accompaniment make it feel like a really epic crime movie, which it is. I imagine this movie is elevated a lot by this soundtrack because each song feels like you can think of how it would be placed in the movie alongside the action, romance, or whatever else. However, it also just stands alone as it's own thing so well and I honestly might not think it's made for a movie if you didn't tell me. The singing isn't always super great, but a lot of the performances are and the rest of it is just so great it makes up for any inconsistencies in the vocal. Overall, this album is a really great way to get the story of Superfly without ever having to watch it. It's densely packed, socially aware, and all around super fun and engaging. Give this one a listen if you like classic 70s movie soundtracks or just want to experience a really cool concept album. Highlights: Little Child Runnin' Wild, Pusherman, Freddie's Dead, Junkie Chase, No Thing on Me, Think, Superfly Score: 8.5/10 Extremely fun 70s movie soundtrack

5/29/2022 - ALBUM #122 Today's Album: "Queen of Denmark" by John Grant - This album is really striking and impressive. Coming from 2010, there's a very stark difference from this project and most of the ones I have reviewed before. However, that isn't just because of the difference in time period/sound quality. This album really feels like something that I haven't heard before. The vocals are incredibly smooth and there is way more emphasis on these synth-lead instrumental soundscapes. The lyricism is incredibly unique because it's rife with social commentary and it is all hidden under obscure language, but it also is incredibly catchy with great hooks and choruses. It feels a lot like Bo Burnham's Inside or Father John Misty's Pure Comedy, where there is a heavy emphasis on great songwriting, song structure, and production, but there is also a unique flare to this record that isn't present in those. The writing is like hella goofy and does not take itself seriously at all and I love it. There's shit like him talking about his hairline receding and being unable to find clean underwear and then talking about pissing in coffee and women in athletic wear. It's probably the weirdest lyrics I have ever heard before and sometimes it takes away from the project, but most of the time it comes across as really charming and different. The instrumentals are really great with frequent synth solos and really solid bass playing throughout. The chord progressions being used are really pleasant to the ear and vocal effects coupled with the way it's mixed make it really fun to sing along with all of the weird lyricism. The amount of autotune on the vocals might be a bit much to others, but I actually really like the way it sounds. Overall, this is a crazy unique album that really deserves a listen by just about anybody. It's inventive, fun, easy to listen to, honest, and a project that makes me extremely interested in where this artist went from here. Highlights: TC and Honeybear, Marz, Sigourney Weaver, Chicken Bones, Silver Platter Club, It's Easier, Outer Space, Jesus Hates Faggots, Caramel, Leopard and Lamb, Queen of Denmark. Score: 8/10 Incredibly unique and very gay

5/30/2022 - ALBUM #123 Today's Album: "The Blueprint" by Jay-Z - Now I am going to preface before saying anything, that I think this is a pretty good rap record. Many of the beats are very fun and memorable. A lot of the guest performances are great and liven up the album and overall the songwriting is pretty dang good. However, I think that everything I like about this album has absolutely nothing to do with Jay-Z. In terms of technical ability, I don't negate his ability to rap with a fairly solid flow and his lyricism is often pretty funny, but I get really tired of hearing the same delivery on every song. He speaks in this very 90's rap sort of gangster-yell, where every syllable is emphasized and I wouldn't have a problem with it if he ever changed it up, but it gets pretty grating over the whole track list. Even on one of the best songs here, Izzo, the really fun and charismatic beats are just being sort of botched with this really ridged and uncharismatic rap performance from Jay. Speaking of the beats, not only does he produce none of the tracks here, but all of the tracks that are worth listening to are produced by Kanye or Eminem. All of the tracks produced by Kanye sound like lesser versions of the tight and soulful beats all over his debut album, College Dropout, which came out only 3 years after this album and feels lightyears ahead of it. Now, this was a very transitionary time for rap music as the gangster rap of the 90s started to lose over more publicly appealing pop outfits, so this album falling right in that cusp made it hard for it to stand out against all of the fantastic work that's come before and all of the innovation that would come after. I also have to note that Kanye wouldn't be where he is today without Jay-Z and a lot of what rap would become would not be possible without Jay-Z. All I am saying is I don't believe that he is the biggest talent showcased on this record and for as innovative as it may have been at the time, the fact that the best verses on this album come from the song that's pretty much just an Eminem song with a Jay-Z feature is pretty telling for the quality of this project. Overall, there are a great handful of tracks on this album and it really is a great project overall, but Jay-Z being the weakest part of a Jay-Z album is sort of a problem. Listen to this one if you like Kanye's early work and want to get a good idea of what the rap scene looked like when he came up, but the highlights really will be the only songs worth checking out if you're not a huge rap fan. Highlights: The Ruler's Back, Takeover, Izzo, Hola' Hovito, Heart Of The City, Never Change, Renegade Score: 7.5/10 Important and grand, but held up by other artists' talent.

5/31/2022 - ALBUM #124 Today's Album: "Purple Rain" by Prince - From what I have heard from an anonymous Prince aficionado, this is not his best work, but if that's the case I have only the highest hopes for his other work because this project is amazing. It's one of those cases where an album is so generally appealing it becomes very popular and once it's printed on enough shirts and posters, it becomes iconic no matter if there are better albums by the artist or not. Most of the time in these cases it makes the album incredibly hard to live up to this image it's created for itself, but I really feel like this album perfectly met the expectation that was set for me. From the very start, Let's Go Crazy is an incredibly energetic and powerful opener with an absolutely killer guitar solo at the end. The production across the album has the punch of a classic Michael Jackson record, but the sounds feel so much more experimental and inventive and the personality of the songwriting makes these songs pretty incomparable with MJ's work. Each track has this lightning in a bottle energy, with very impressive performances, especially from the synth and bass. Prince's vocals sound really unique, confident, and strong, with an honestly impressive range and some moments where he screams out without holding back whatsoever. The song When Doves Cry is a particular favorite for me. The synth loop honestly sells the entire track for me, but everything else in the track including the incredibly catchy chorus just pushes it over the edge to make it such a fantastic track. The closing rack Purply Rain also stands out as this really epic closing track that wraps a lot of the lyrical themes of the album together, while bringing the whole project to a satisfying resolution. Many of the other tracks on here like Take Me with U, Computer Blue, and Darling Nikki also stand out to me as really solid tracks to me as well, and I just want to point out that none of these tracks fall below the 7.5 Highlights threshold. There may be songs that I think slightly lesser of than others, but every track on this album deserves a listen and the album as a whole flows incredibly well. Overall, this is an essential listen for any music fan and especially for anyone that loves the glory days of new-wave and electronic pop. Give this one a listen if you want a great introduction to Prince or just want to know why this album is so iconic. Highlights: Let's Go Crazy, Take Me with U, The Beautiful Ones, Computer Blue, Darling Nikki, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 You, Baby I'm a Star, Purple Rain Score: 8.5/10 Iconic, Inventive, Incredible

**6/1/2022 - ALBUM #125** Today's Album: "Triangle" by The Beau Brummels - As cut and dry this album may seem to review on the surface, the longer I listen to it I really have a hard time forming my opinion. The sound of this record honestly isn't half bad. It's sort of this strange mix of folk music and psychedelia and I think from a distance, the tunes here stand up pretty solid and I think the Bob Dylan sounding vocals work out pretty well in this context, especially because this vocalist just honestly sings better than Dylan. However, I think the overall production of this album could have been a bit better for an album of this time period. Given the late 60s gave us some of the most experimental production of any decade, it's pretty underwhelming to have such a standard sounding mix and the vocal effects leave it feeling pretty raw. There are some really great songwriting moments on here, particularly in the songs Are You Happy and Nine Pound Hammer and the lyricism is pretty great in these tracks too. However, some of the tracks really just leave a bad taste in my mouth, with a lot of the lyrics feeling like poorly hidden sexual innuendos or otherwise just degrading towards women. I think this album had a lot of potential to be something I really like and the highlights to stand out pretty strong, but with so much of this material being pretty masturbatory and dragged out, it's hard for me to defend such uncomfortable lyricism. Overall, this isn't a particularly bad album, but it really didn't do a whole lot to impress me and a lot of the sounds this album was pioneering at the time have been totally played out at this point. Give this one a listen if you like vibey folk music and don't care too much about the lyrics. Highlights: Are You Happy?, Nine Pound Hammer, Magic Hollow Score: 5.5/10 Somewhat mediocre 60s folk

6/2/2022 - ALBUM #126 Today's Album: "Head Hunters" by Herbie Hancock - What an absolutely breathtaking, diverse, and impressive Jazz album. From the opening song, Chameleon, it is apparent that this is going to be a jazz album unlike ones you have heard before. The 15 minute track runtime, Having one of the catchiest and funkiest basslines in existence, the ridiculous keyboard soloing throughout the track, the crisp and balanced production, the way the main bassline changes for the middle third of the song, the little embellishments from guitars and keys throughout the entire track, the incomparable performances from every single member of the band (especially the drums). Everything combines to create this absolute clusterfuck of a jazz song that hits you like a train and never gives up for it's entire quarter of an hour runtime. The performances don't stop being extremely energetic, impressive, and incredibly funky despite the changes in mood and it becomes more and more obvious how in tune all of these musicians are. Watermelon Man is also a really great track here that starts with this sort of pan-flute chant before the bass and drums lay down this absolutely psychedelic groove. It definitely is a bit more experimental and eccentric, but I think it really plays into the strengths of the group and very soon after the band is back to running on all cylinders, but this time with the more chilled out groove, there it way more skill put into the timing and style of the playing and it just lends itself to this really great musical atmosphere. The saxophone really shines in this track and I just think it's kind of wild how the thing that stands out the least in this group it probably the guitar, and the guitar performance is still leagues better than most. Everything in this album is just super catchy and puts you into this really great vibe. I really like how the tracks follow this sort of ABA pattern of playing, where the original grove that is constructed in the beginning is tore back down at the end. I can best describe the track Sly as the soundtrack to a spy movie when they're sneaking around the heist location, but then it sort of deconstructs into this nightmare trip of a chase sequence, where there is a lot of essentially chaotic, yet synchronized noodling. It's a really great track and has a ton of personality along with some killer performances all around, but it does sort of just start to sound like background music in the beginning and total chaotic nonsense in the middle, at least from just a casual listening perspective. Very fun and experimental track, but it definitely doesn't lay down as solid of a groove as the other songs. The last song, Vein Melter, is a pretty calm and meditative closer, with this really steady snare roll and hi-hat groove leading these really ethereal synth sounds and a really dreamy bassline. Some of the keyboard sounds do sound a little cheesy here like they're pre-installed on some midi keyboard, but the great performances from the rest of the band and the really steady groove make it a pretty enjoyable listen and a good way to end off the record after a pretty insane listen. Overall, this album loses me a tiny bit in the second half with some slightly less exciting tracks, but the album overall still feels really balanced and flows well from start to finish. Give this one a listen if you enjoy jazz in literally any capacity or have ever wanted to understand more. It's very accessible and super fun! Highlights: Chameleon, Watermelon Man, Sly, Vein Melter Score: 8.5/10 My favorite Jazz album to date

**6/3/2022 - ALBUM #127** https://open.spotify.com/album/6tF9nPl6x7ACsKZ8alL1he?si=WDF1-mWXT1uAdHxGuK-AAg Today's Album: "Café Bleu" by The Style Council - This album really didn't seem like it was going to blow me away from the front cover and name, but wow this is seriously one of the most compelling albums I've listened to on this generator so far. Like when the first track starts, you think you're in store for this really soulful jazz instrumental album with these really punchy piano playing with a tambourine accompaniment. But then, The Whole Point Of No Return subverts every expectation I had with this really soft, yet powerful guitar ballad about how the rich control everything. Then it's right back to jazz instrumental tracks like nothing happened, the first of which has this really fun Latin groove to it while the second is a super laid back club tune. I at this point really enjoyed how it was mostly instrumental cuts, but then The Paris Match entrances me with yet another slow club song, this time with a really nice female vocalist and at this point I was also noticing the amazing acoustics on the vocal production on the tracks that have vocals. My Ever Changing Moods is definitely the most straightforward track here song-structure wise, but the songwriting itself is actually really great and it's amazing with a really catchy chorus and I am impressed by how much sound is coming out of a simple Piano and Vocal performance. We get another jazz track before a pretty cheesy rap track about gun control. I think it's a decent track with a good message in the lyrics, but I also think it's the point in the album where I like a song slightly less than the rest. Strength of Your Nature is an insanely enjoyable electronic dance track that just goes absolutely nuts with synths and background vocals and I think this was the point in the album where I really felt like there was no consistent theme to the song styles here, but I sort of love it. The rest of the tracks up to the end sort of fit into the same styles we've heard throughout the first 2 legs of the album, but they still all feel really unique from one another and it all lends itself to a pretty outstanding record flow. The closer in particular includes this really upbeat and optimistic organ melody that ends the album on a nice upbeat note. Overall, this is a jampacked record full of fun tracks of a variety of different genres. There definitely is a bit of a range of quality throughout the track list, but I commend the band on just how much sonic ground they cover. Give this one a listen. Period. You will enjoy it. Highlights: Mick's Blessing, The Whole Point Of No Return, Me Ship Came In!, Blue Café, The Paris Match, My Ever Changing Moods, Dropping Bombs On The White House, Strength Of Your Nature, You're The Best Thing, Here's One That Got Away, Headstart For Happiness, Council Meetin' Score: 8/10 An incredibly unique and enjoyable jazz/dance/electronica(?) project

6/4/2022 - ALBUM #128 Today's Album: "Countdown To Ecstasy" by Steely Dan - Steely Dan is always a name that I had heard in passing when talking about music and I know that he plays a really essential role in the evolution of soft rock, but the only song I knew by him was dirty work, which is a great track off of the album before this one. I'll save my thoughts on that song until I review that album, but suffice it to say that this album gave me everything I wanted and more out of what I had grown to expect from Steely Dan. The way the piano plays a large role in many of the tracks and the presence of brass and sax in the mix gives his music a really unique taste to it and he just has that classic sort of songwriting you heard in older outfits while bringing his own flair to it. Sprinkled throughout the album, but mostly present in the standout tracks Bodhisattva and My Old School, there are really fantastic solos all around the band. The production and mixing is top notch and each song feels really cohesive and well build, even if most of them don't keep my attention super well. The songwriting is just overall really charming and the really charismatic vocals back that up really well. I like a lot of the chorus vocals incorporated into these songs and when the band just feels really tight all around. There are plenty of shimmering highlights instrumentally and pretty much every chorus is good enough to get stuck way up in your brain. Overall, this is just a really fun pop-rock album from one of the most inventive song-writers of the era. Give this one a listen if you like soft rock or have ever heard the name Steely Dan and wondered, "Why does everyone care about this guy's music?" Highlights: Bodhisattva, Razor Boy, The Boston Rag, Show Biz Kids, My Old School, Pearl Of The Quarter, King Of The World. Score: 8/10 Effortlessly Enjoyable

6/5/2022 - ALBUM #129 Today's Album: "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye - As I have dived deeper into the culture of R&B and hip hop, I have heard a lot of hype around Marvin Gaye for his sensual style of R&B. Because of that, when I listened to this album I kept waiting for some meaning moment or statement, but by the time I got halfway through the track list, it was evident that this album is appreciated for much more subtle reasons. One of those reasons is the instrumental performances throughout. I think one of my biggest gripes would be the way it's all mixed together, but the smooth string playing reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald mixes really well with the mellow blues aesthetic among the rest of the instruments and Marvin's vocal performance is for the most part, really great. There are a lot of moments where the songs sort of stay in one place for a little while in terms of the groove and vocal delivery, and those are moments that do lose my interest a little bit. The opening track is one of the most well known R&B tracks and the opening alone is enough to conjure up every cheesy sex scene this music has been associated with in your mind, but it's all for good reasons, as this is a standout performance all around from the band. Distant Lover was another highlight here because of just how great of an atmosphere and tone this track builds throughout the track, with lyrics alluding to a long-distance relationship in a really insightful way. Overall, this is a pretty great album throughout, but the sort of hollow feeling production and occasional boring moments make it something that I wouldn't return to super often. Give this one a listen if you like R&B and want a lot of songs that sound like Let's Get It On. Highlights: Let's Get It On, If I Should Die Tonight, Keep Gettin' It On, Distant Lover, Just To Keep You Satisfied. Score: 7/10 Influential and iconic, but somewhat stagnant.

6/6/2022 - ALBUM #130 Today's Album: "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" by Bob Dylan - I can confidently say that this album has begun to open my eyes to the brilliance of Bob Dylan's talent as a songwriter. I'm not sure if it's due to simply more exposure or if I this album is unusually accessible, but either way I think that by the time I finished this album, I began to understand why Bob Dylan plays such an important role in the progression of music throughout the 1960s. His incredibly unique and often strange/funny songwriting makes him such a standout force and gigantic influence in singer/song-writer folk Americana. I think this album differs most from Highway 61 Revisited by having stripped back the electric instruments for a barebones acoustic guitar and occasional bass and drums, which helps me really just hear Dylan's songwriting for what it is, which is for the most part very enjoyable. I really shat on Bob Dylan on the live album I reviewed recently, but this album has such better mixing with the harmonica, guitars and vocals and the overall production is so much better, so I don't feel too bad for those earlier thoughts. This album travels a variety of styles for Dylan and it was really nice to hear very few repeated ideas. There are a lot of moments here where the songwriting isn't as strong as others and I think for the most part it is because Dylan isn't taking himself very seriously at this point. It's only his second album of his career at this point and it just seems like a lot of the songs here where the lyrics come across as not taking a very big subject very seriously like on Masters Of War or the structure of the song is just very annoying and hard to follow like on Down The Highway. Overall, I think this album does a lot of things that sort of rub me the wrong way or don't really appeal to me, but the great tracks here really gave me a good insight into what people like about Bob Dylan and I honestly think I am starting to like his singing for as obnoxious it can be at times. It also makes me excited for the post-1089 review of these albums so I can see how I feel about Highway 61 Revisited on the next listen. Give this one a listen if you've never liked Bob Dylan and if you don't like the first song, maybe turn it off. But if you find yourself intrigued, you might find the whole project pretty enjoyable. Highlights: Blowin' in the Wind, "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", Bob Dylan's Dream, Oxford Town, "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance" Score: 6.5/10 Bob Dylan's early work enlightening me to his genius.

6/7/2022 - ALBUM #131 Today's Album: "Junkyard" by The Birthday Party - When I looked at the cover for this album, I thought 2 things. First, I thought, "Ew," and then I thought, "Maybe it'll be sort of subversive and not look like what's advertised." Unfortunately, only the first thought was able to remain in my mind as I sat through 47 minutes of some of the most gross post-punk I have probably ever heard. Now, I really think there is a lot of talent demonstrated in this album. As I am getting more into punk music, I can appreciate a good performance from a detuned instrument and this album is full of that. However, the overall presentation doesn't come across as being sophisticated in any way despite their musical proficiency. I'm not saying every punk rock album needs to be clever or smart to be good, but when the album really just sounds like the deformed flesh monster vehicle on the cover, I just can't bring myself to enjoy 47 minutes of that kind of ear abuse. The production is also kind of terrible as well or maybe it's a poor mixing, but is sounds like every part was recorded in a gigantic tunnel and it really just takes away from anything I could have enjoyed about this project, namely the instrumental performances. Overall, it was a cool take on the punk rock aesthetic, but I just hope I don't get much more of anything like this on the generator from now on. Listen to this one if you're a grubby little goblin Highlights: Release The Bats Score: 4/10 Really musically impressive, but borderline unlistenable.

6/8/2022 - ALBUM #132 Today's Album: "Very" by Pet Shop Boys - This generator has been slowly introducing me to the world of new-wave and synth-pop with a records like that Brian Eno project or parts of that Cafe Bleu record, but this feels like a true introduction to what makes this genre so likeable and fun. I think if I am to comment on anything first, it would be the production. There way these powerful, yet ethereal synth chords pair with the super melodic bass, a quiet guitar playing these really funky lines, and a straightforward piano make these really amazing soundscapes for the auxiliary percussion and leading synths to just have fun over. There are also a lot of random synths throughout the mix that add to this really funky robotic feeling throughout the project. The vocal performance at first seemed like it worked well for the vibe of the project but I didn't see it as very impressive. However, once I looked up the members of the band and found out the lead singer is a guy, it became obvious how impressive the chops on this vocalist were. I think overall, though, it's the songwriting that really get me to love this album. Each song has this really tight structure to it and although it makes it sound very commercial at some points, I think it overall leads to very memorable songs. It helps that the choruses are EXTREMELY catchy and that the lyricism is very unique (holding up very well today in my opinion). Yes it's cheesy at moments; yes it's pretty overtly queer, but it stay's in this sweet spot of feeling relatable and doesn't take itself very seriously in the best way. I think there are good handful of tracks here that don't hold up as well as others in terms of the song writing overall, but I still enjoy what's going on throughout those tracks musically and sonically. The flow of the album is also really good, making it feel less like an album purely for radio and more like something they made intentionally. Overall, this is an album with a fantastic vibe overall and a ton of great songs, just with a few songs that bog things down a fair bit. Give this one a listen if you like ear candy and love a good synth sound. Highlights: Can You Forgive Her?, I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing, Liberation, A Different Point of View, Dreaming Of The Queen, The Theatre, To Speak Is a Sin, Go West Score: 7.5/10 Very fun synth-pop record

6/9/2022 - ALBUM #133 Today's Album: "Either Or" by Elliott Smith - This is a really fantastic record and I feel like it's going to be a mouthful to say everything that makes this album great but I guess I'll try my best to keep it brief. First of all, I really think Elliott's vocals make this entire album work as a whole. There is a lot of great things to say about the instrumentals, but the thing that really keeps me engaged throughout the album is the way Elliott is able to sing with such a quiet, melancholic tone. The microphone sounds like it's right up against his mouth most of the time, but it's insane how he's able to maintain control of his voice while staying so hushed. Even when he's really letting loose and shouting out a verse, it either maintains that melancholic tone or he does a sort of whisper scream like he doesn't want to wake his parents (With surprisingly positive results since he still holds such strong control of his voice). The vocals however are only a great execution of what is some seriously amazing songwriting. Not only are the lyrics super dense and hard-hitting, with the general theme of the record being about the sorrow and melancholy of becoming an adult as your expectations and surroundings constantly change around you. There's also a lot of lyrics alluding to this idea of someone inflicting the pain they whine about onto themselves. The track Alameda is a clear example of this with the line, "Nobody broke your heart." I also think the music writing here is pretty damn fantastic, with super tight and catchy choruses and a ton of really unique grooves and guitar licks. The guitar playing is a definite highlight throughout the album with a ton of really impressive riffs and licks and whenever he introduces a drum and bass into the mix, those tracks really shine from it. It's definitely an album that's perfect to listen to top to bottom because the low-energy moments that take up a majority of space here only make the louder moments count more. I heard Angeles while watching Good Will Hunting so when I opened this album, I saw that song was already downloaded and I have to say it's really one of the best tracks here. When I first heard it I was just so stunned by it being able to portray such optimism and melancholy at the same time, and I think that perfectly describes a lot of this project; such a happy sadness to it. I kind of put this album in the punk category in my mind when I first heard it due to it's darker tone, but the more I explore this album it really feels more like an indie folk record with a sort of depressing filter on it. Overall, this is an extremely moving album that truly shines in it's subtlety and is best enjoyed with a pair of headphones. Give this one a listen if you want something sort of sad to listen to after 1am but also want something with great melodies and fantastic performances throughout. Highlights: Speed Trials, Alameda, Ballad Of Big Nothing, Between The Bars, Pictures Of Me, No Name No. 5, Rose Parade, Punch And Judy, Angeles, Cupids Trick, 2:45 AM, Say Yes Score: 8.5/10 A subtle, melancholic masterpiece

6/10/2022 - ALBUM #134 Today's Album: "The Pleasure Principle" by Gary Numan - It's quite unfortunate that this album had to quickly follow up the Pet Shop Boys because by comparison, this new-wave album simply does not hold up. As I researched this album, it seemed like it was one of those albums that was super influential for the invention and progression of electronic music, but as I listen to this thing I really just cannot force myself to like it. There are some very admirable things in here like the aforementioned usage of synthesizers and I have to say there are a lot of cool synth sounds being used here. The way everything is mixed is pretty mediocre, with a lot of things feeling like they speak too loudly in the mix or the thing overall just feeling a bit too cluttered or messy, but I do think that everything is really well produced in terms of the actual sound of most of the instruments. It makes it feel even the slightest bit grand or important. However, I think that all of it is ruined by some pretty lousy performances across the board. Not only are the vocals nearly unbearable, but the synth work is pretty sloppy, the drum beats and basslines are poorly done and fairly basic, and the instruments sort of don't feel like they mesh together very well, both meaning that they do not synergize well together and they often are not really on time together (feeling like it's dragging). The track Cars is probably the only redeeming part about this album, being a pretty solid 80's synth bop, but besides that there is really so little to write home about with this album. There are a lot of songs where the sound of it is pretty cool or at least listenable, but often times it's just looped too much to be very interesting to me or the vocals sort of ruin the experience. Overall, this is an important album in the progression of music, but it doesn't hold up very well today and the shoddy vocals are not really made up for by any other musical performance. Listen to cars and then I would drop this album outside of that, unless if you really dig new wave and want to dive really deep into it's history. I see the value in it, but it just isn't for me. Highlights: Conversation, Cars Score: 5.5/10 Probably super impressive for it's time, but doesn't hold up well today

6/11/2022 - ALBUM #135 Today's Album: "69 Love Songs" by The Magnetic Fields - This album is very, VERY ambitious. Clocking in at just shy of 3 hours, this album actually features 69 different songs all relating to the topic of love. Now, that alone is a pretty insane accomplishment and it should be commended for that. It's sort of an early sort of theatre-core, where the author was inspired by early Broadway musical scores, and there are many artistic decisions here that co-inside with that like the very raw vocal production and the layered chorus vocals. The instrumentals sort of stray from this idea, but it's in favor of pretty much covering love songs of every genre. From jazz to 70s rock to new wave, this album covers the topic of love songs in a variety of genres and usually a pretty clever way. However, this ambition does come at a pretty great cost. First, this album is pretty bloated with unfinished ideas, filler interludes, underdeveloped vocal lines, and sometimes just blatantly awful performances across the entire group. For every diamond in the rough track you can find here, there are literally 20 other tracks that will underwhelm you in one way or another or just generally ruin great ideas with annoying sound effects or theater music clichés. Now full transparency, I only ended up listening to the first 2 discs (46 songs) of this project, but I think I have a pretty solid idea that this is just a really bloated record overall. Yes, there is a ton sonically that is new to me and seems pretty impressive to be packed into this long of an album, but I think there is enough in here that is actually offensive to my ears to justify a pretty low score. Overall, this is an extremely ambitious album. being probably the longest album I've ever seen, but it is pretty bloated with unfinished ideas and random interludes. Give this one a listen if you're interested, but I wouldn't be surprised if you quickly wanted to turn it off. It is definitely not great background music. Highlights: Absolutely Cuckoo, All My Little Words, Boa Constrictor, Papa Was A Rodeo Score: 5.5/10 Impressively ambitious, but bloated and underdeveloped theatre core

6/12/2022 - ALBUM #136 Today's Album: "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival - This album was somehow a huge surprise while meeting my expectations pretty perfectly. I had heard about this group through a lot of their big hits like Have You Ever Seen The Rain and Bad Moon Rising and I knew that they were capable of a really great sound, but whenever they got suggested to me I was always hesitant due to the very bluegrass/country aesthetic of their rock music. However, I knew that they were a very talented group deep down and that record pretty much confirmed all of those conflicting view at once. I think that although that hicky sort of aesthetic is present throughout much of the record, it is done in such an appealing way. I think it has a lot to do with the very raw lead vocal performances that edge the line between sounding very country, but having a strong blues-rock edge to it that makes it more exciting to me overall. The production overall has a very raw production to it that helps everything keep a sort of light tanginess that separates them from much of the other bands around at the time. Considering this album came out the same year as Led Zeppelin 1, it does make this album a pretty inferior alternative to the powerhouse of blues-rock Zeppelin's debut album in terms of much of the songwriting, but I think that where Zeppelin exceeds in pure songwriting and performance might, this album thrives much more on having a large range to it, traveling back and forth from really chilled out vibes to more exciting tracks. The guitarwork, specifically in the solos, on this album really stand out as being really well performed and I just admire the improvisational ability as a whole. Overall, this is a really great rock album for it's time and although I don't love all off the instrumental aesthetics, I appreciate the talent that went into such a unique sound, which is really well executed. Give this one a listen if you like any of CCR's hits or just want to dive into their music. Highlights: Green River, Commotion, Tombstone Shadow, Wrote A Song For Everyone, Bad Moon Rising, Lodi, Sinister Purpose, The Night Time Is The Right Time, Broken Spoke Shuffle, Glory Be Score: 8/10 THE bluegrass-rock album

6/13/2022 - ALBUM #137 Today's Album: "Emergency On Planet Earth" by Jamiroquai - This album takes no time getting right into the thick of it with a blaring didgeridoo before welcoming in a groove so funky it sounds like Stevie Wonder and a vocal performance to match. That opening track introduces a lot of the ideas that are going to be all over this album like systematic inequality, unintentional discrimination, and the dire needs for not only civil rights, but a total revolution. These messages not only dig into the American discrimination of African Americans, but also tap into the inequality of people living comfortably in America compared to those living off of very little in 3rd world countries. All of this is presented, though, through some of the funkiest tracks I have probably ever heard. It really sounds like Stevie Wonder's and Michael Jackson's bands crashed into each other and started laying down some sick beats. Although the background of this album is a little concerning, with it being a lot of traditionally black music being sung by a white man, but when you look at the members of this fairly large band, it's clear that this band spans many cultures and is inspired by this kind of music more than simply ripping it off. Every track balances it's great sound with a ton of really great lyrics of social justice and the entire time I just kept thinking about how much it relates to today despite coming out 30 years ago. The struggles we are facing in America today have been experienced by people around the world for so long and it often takes an album like this to show Americans how privileged they are. There are many times where it can be pretty heavy handed with it's messages, but it's never too up front with it that you can't just sit back and enjoy the fantastic instrumentals. Great production work all around and the mix is perfect for this genre, with the bass and funky synths way up front. Overall, this is a really great statement album in protest of a lot of injustices going on around the world, but it's also an incredibly fun, groovy, and above all else funky experience from top to bottom. Listen to this album if you like Stevie Wonder or like an album with a deep message contrasted with an enjoyable sound. Highlights: When You Gonna Learn?, Too Young to Die, Hooked Up, "If I Like It, I Do It", Music of the Mind, Emergency on Planet Earth, Blow Your Mind, Revolution 1993, Didgin' Out Score: 8/10 Puts the fun in funky and the pro in protest

6/14/2022 - ALBUM #138 Today's Album: "Music for the Jilted Generation" by The Prodigy - Wow what a really fucking unique sound this album has. Stemming from the electronic dance sounds we heard on The Chemical Brothers' and Daft Punk's Records, This album takes those electronic loops and eclectic samples and twists them into the really twisted picture of society. The title isn't wrong when it claims that this is music for a generation that's pissed off with the ways of the past, with songs like The Law and Break & Enter emphasizing this idea of disregarding societies norms. The big problem I have had with electronic dance music so far is that a lot of the loops can get pretty repetitive and lose their charm quickly, but key production choices set this album apart a bit. The sound of the album is pretty awesome, with invasive samples of industrial sounds and the way the sounds are staged give them this echo that makes it feel so cold and inorganic. Each song sort of feels like it could be the background music in some crazy gun fight or car chase in a blockbuster movie, but the picture I get clearest in my mind is an absolutely insane dance floor. This music is the perfect thing to get a crowd of people on their feet and hyped, with a ton of really great instrumental builds and they often introduce instrumental lines that sound really pleasing to the ear and contrast with the really dark industrial beats that are constantly building. The drum machine work and general sampling throughout the project is next level and I think if any album was going to help me make the jump from simple loops like Daft Punk's Homework into more drugged out and insane EDM, there is no better transition album than this one. The way things build just leaves me kind of speechless, as it quickly goes from a pretty standard beat to something that is so chaotic it is hard to follow anything. With that, though, the mix of this record is absolutely masterful, as all of these noises feel balanced so so well. No sounds really became obnoxious despite how invasive they are because they are placed perfectly in the back of the mix. The track Voodoo People is one that I have definitely heard before and it sums up a lot about what makes this album great. In one part alone, I hear a blaring synth lead, string accompaniment, a distorted flute, a sample of a pastor, and about 10 other auxiliary effects to build the dark atmosphere that makes this album amazing. Overall, this is a really great EDM album that has opened my eyes to the darker and more chaotic side of EDM, while still being really accessible and fun. Give this one a listen if you want some bomb ass music to dance to on a really energetic night or maybe just something to play while playing an intense fps game. Highlights: Break & Enter, Full Throttle, Voodoo People, No Good (Start the Dance), 3 Kilos Score: 7.5/10 The best EDM album so far

6/15/2022 - ALBUM #139 Today's Album: "Red Dirt Girl" by Emmylou Harris - This is an album I have been waiting to review for a little while because honestly, it was hard to work up the motivation to review this album after my preliminary research. The Wikipedia article for this album labels Harris as a beloved **country** artist, so I generally didn't want to give it a shot given my typical reaction to country music. However, this album taught me that there is an important distinction between the contemporary folk country that Harris presents on this album and the more stadium country I grew up despising in the 2000s. The former category contains artist like Harris, Carol King, and John Denver, who put an emphasis on folk songwriting while still setting a more country vibe overall. This album really rides the line of not sounding too country very well. There's some rather simplistic instrumentation and vocal-oriented lyrics, but the sound of this album is actually quite refreshing when compared to something like Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. This album explores a lot of different songwriting techniques and has a lot of different sonic styles, but still manages to stay really rooted in an authentic aesthetic. The song Red Dirt Girl is the most played on Spotify, and although I like the great backdrop the wailing electric guitar sets, I think the vocal delivery has a heavier than usual country twang and the songwriting has enough of those, "Hard-workin' life" clichés to make it pretty annoying to me. The track I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now stands out more to me as a track that stands the test of time, with this bouncy groove between the drums and a fuzzy, distorted electric guitar that is complimented by a really strong vocal performance and a lot of colorful piano flourishes. The track My Baby Needs A Shepard also feels really fresh to me, with a chilled out instrumental that turns this folk tune into more of a sea-shanty in a way and just feels like the perfect anthem for exploring the unknown or going on a long journey. The closing track, Boy From Tupelo, is a pretty fun closer to this album as well, putting to work that electric guitar that has been shining throughout the record and switching up the percussion with some really great marimba and wood-block work. Overall, there are plenty of songs on this album to dislike the aesthetic of, but the general songwriting ability is all there and when you look a little further than surface level, there ends up being a lot in this album to love. It may not be an album I plan on coming back to for a full listen anytime soon, but anyone that wants an example of a decent country act should look no further than miss Emmylou Harris. Highlights: I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now, My Baby Needs A Shepherd, Boy From Tupelo Score: 6.5/10 Folk-Country that shines when it's more folky than when it's country-y

6/16/2022 - ALBUM #140 Today's Album: "Darklands" by The Jesus and Mary Chain - These album reviews are starting to take a bit longer due to my busy schedule (which will hopefully eventually clear up), but the worst part about it is when I get these really fantastically layered albums that take me so much time to properly unpack. The instrumentals, lyricism, storytelling, songwriting, and even mood and sonic landscape of this album are all so layered and the instruments in particular are incredibly impressive when considering they're using a drum machine throughout the entire album. The album really gains a lot of it's personality through it's blaring distorted guitars that create a really rich sounding background to some really great moody vocal performances. The lyricism, although a bit hard to decipher on first listen, actually tells a really great story of feeling a lot of anger and injustice in the world and projecting it onto a relationship and all of the heartache that comes with it. By the ending track, About You, they sing about feeling better about the world and feeling something warm in the rain, warm in everything, and finally warm about "you". The lyrics can be a little heavy handed and hard to understand at some times, but I also think it's totally possible to just tune them out and enjoy this project for the great soundscapes it creates. This album overall just strikes a really awesome balance sonically by having a really structured automatic beat, that honestly sounds convincing for a drum machine, and then having a lot of effects on the guitars, melodic basslines, and somewhat strained vocals to incorporate a really moody atmosphere. They then incorporate a lot of conventional song structure to make this sound really appealing. A lot of the stuff in this album has become very worn out in the alt-rock genre, but for 1987, this still holds up today and sounds so incredibly fresh. The mix is also pretty solid, putting the vocals in the background of these blasting guitar chords. The songs April Skies and On The Wall stand out to me as all of these ingredients combining to create something that ascends the rest of the tracks. I also think the sequencing of this album is really solid, with the few songs that weren't as good being sprinkled throughout the track list. Overall, this album deserves a listen with a really good pair of headphones because most of the greatness in this record comes from the soundscapes they create, but at the same time...I really love that shit. Give this one a listen if you like an album with a moody alt-rock tone to it or like an album that gives you some great sonic moments and experiences. Highlights: Darklands, Happy When It Rains, Down On Me, April Skies, Fall, Cherry Came Too, On The Wall Score: 8/10 Pretty fantastic and unique alt-rock experience

6/17/2022 - ALBUM #141 Today's Album: "Shaka Zulu" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Whereas the last album was very difficult to unpack, this one is quite easy. It's a collection of acapella tracks performed by a chorus of South Africans. Sonically, it stays pretty consistent throughout. The voices all are mixed very well to create a really nice ear-feel throughout the project and it begins to feel like you're in the center of this really soulful African campfire chant. All of the vocals sound super in tune and just overall solid throughout, with a really great vocal tone and inflection that the entire chorus is enacting. It definitely isn't the easiest thing to just throw on and enjoy from to bottom as the inflection in which the chorus sings each line does get a bit grating after being repeated over and over, but again, it does sound pretty pleasant throughout. The highlight Hello My Baby is mostly spoken in English so it makes it most accessible for sure, but I think the rest of the tracks have a level of quality pretty consistent to it, with the only difference being that they're not in English. Overall, this is a really interesting stop in this 1001 album journey, but it does just get to be a little bit much by the end of it. Give it a listen if you're super into South African a Capella and if you're not sure if that's your thing, give Hello My Baby a listen and see if you want to dive deeper. Highlights: Hello My Baby Score: 5.5/10 Very interesting South African a Capella songs.

**6/18/2022 - ALBUM #142** Today's Album: "The Chronic" by Dr. Dre - This is a pretty solid rap album from one of the biggest legends in hip-hop. Dr. Dre emerged onto the hip hop scene as a member NWA in the late 80s and early 90s, but this album was released after Dre's departure from the group and he definitely puts his fallout with them to work lyrically on this project. The album even opens up with disses on NWA member Eazy E and manager Jerry Heller, showing that Dre is not messing around on this album and he continues throughout the tracklist to justify his stature in the rap game, which he does well. Snoop Dogg also features on this album a ton, pretty much every track, and although he is a bit more cut throat than usual here, I really think the moments that emphasize his smooth and laid back flow pair so well with Dre's more straightforward rapping technique. I think it's pretty clear that Dre and Snoop are having a ton of fun writing this album, with lots of talk about "deez nuts", but they also cover a lot of really hard hitting topics on tracks like Lil Ghetto Boy and High Powered. It feels really fresh compared to many of the rap albums the generator has given me so far, and I think a lot of the tracks here are really great. Nothin' But A 'G' Thang and Bitches Aint Shit are absolute classics in rap and pretty fairly represent the quality of rapping throughout this album, which is pretty damn solid for its time. There are definitely moments on this album where Dre's tone while rapping starts to feels like being shouted at in a slam poetry club, but it's not too bad to the point where it ruins any song for me. Overall, this is a really great introduction to the very unique and skillful hip hop of Dr. Dre, even if some of it hasn't aged super well to my personal tastes. Give this one a listen if you want a 90s rap project still worth listening to today Highlights: Let Me Ride, Nothin' But A 'G' Thang, Lil' Ghetto Boy, High Powered, Bitches Aint Shit. Score: 7.5/10 A very well executed 90s hip-hop album.

**6/19/2022 - ALBUM #143** Today's Album: "Teen Dream" by Beach House - I have heard a lot of talk about dream pop as I have explored music discussion, but this is probably the first album from that genre that I'm actually sitting down to listen to all the way. So, does it live up to expectations of an ethereal and spacey experience? Well, what I can say is this album does a very great job of being wallpaper music, which seems to be sort of the goal with this genre as far as I can tell. Each song is usually a really peaceful guitar that blends with a drum machine, bass, and a bunch of ethereal chorus vocals to back up a really powerful lead vocalist. The lyrics are sort of all over the place, but it adds to that ethereal dream like aesthetic for sure. The opening track is a little hard to take seriously nowadays with the chorus line, "arching AMONG USSSSS", but that is obviously at no fault of the artist and the track itself is a really straightforward and accessible opener to the sound of this album. I think this album is worst when it doesn't feel like it's doing anything innovative or new and just sticking in it's little bubble, but I think the overall vibe of this record is nice for simply putting on in the background and vibing to. I particularly enjoy the first half of this album with tracks like Silver Soul and Walk in the Park, and I do think the second half trails off a little bit in terms of quality, but I think it flows pretty well if you aren't paying too much attention to it. Overall, this is a really great, peaceful record to put on during a late night hang out or a night of insomnia. Give this one a listen if you like songs that make you float off into space. Highlights: Zebra, Silver Soul, Walk In The Park, Used To Be, Lover Of Mine, Take Care Score: 8/10 Really great songwriting for a such a laid back dream-pop album

6/20/2022 - ALBUM #144 https://open.spotify.com/album/168tPkaBJZKYxSrWDo4n1h?si=kUR1gj6pSEyS-6XqmlrZNg&utm_source=copy-link Today's Album: "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" by The Incredible String Band - At first, this album seems very bad. The way each idea is presented makes it have this really disjointed feel to it, despite the pretty consistent medieval tone the whole project has. I think however, there are a few things to like about this album. The vocals to start, have a really nice and down-to-earth tone to them that give the whole thing a really solid folky foundation. The strings, like I said, usually stick to this sound that makes me feel like I'm in some sort of Renaissance stage show and although it can be pretty obnoxious at times with a twangy sitar and deep chorus vocals, there are a lot of moments per track that start to sound fairly decent before things are switched up. These kinds of switch up are very abrupt, with not only the instrumentals, but also the vocasl taking almost 180 degree turns from one tempo or feel to another and it has to be one of the weakest aspect to this record. The tracks that have a decent tune at first are usually ruined pretty quickly by a burst of random experimentation and it just makes this very difficult to have as a casual listen. However, this album isn't much better on a closer inspection as it is very difficult to follow to overall flow of each song. I think this album can kind of be summed up as a collection of string-oriented tracks that were constructed and most likely performed under a heavy dose of psychedelics. I'm all for acts that take inspiration from drug usage, but wow this really just gets too in the weeds and masturbatory for me to ever really find it enjoyable for more than a few minutes. Overall, this is a pretty impressive psychedelic renaissance-folk album, but it's flaws make it pretty difficult to enjoy in any capacity. Give this one a listen if you want to hear something unlike anything you've heard before and I'm sure you'll come out of the experience either hating this album or loving it. Highlights: A Very Cellular Song Score: 5/10 Very compelling, but pretty unlistenable, psychedelic-folk

6/21/2022 - ALBUM #145 Today's Album: "Crocodiles" by Echo & the Bunnymen - As a punk rock album, this was quite an enjoyable listen. Firstly, the production is quite good and I really like how the album opens up with this sort of psychedelic soundscape before getting into a solid punky groove. The drums and bass come through really clearly and I like how the guitar is sort of used as an auxiliary instrument on a lot of these tracks. The overall asthetic of this project is this sort of beautiful darkness. Like yes, the awkward, strained vocals and punchy grooves give it that dark and moody vibe, but the band adds this sort of color to each track. The track Do it Clean, for example, is this sort of surfy garage rock track and the dark and dreary tone of it is made really enjoyable through a pretty catchy hook and some smart production choices. The album does sort of get bogged down in the later half of the tracklist with a lot of similar sounding or generally boring tracks, but I do really like the way this album closes off with Happy Death Man. The bass guitar kind of acts as a rythmic anchor as a bunch of jangly keys and dissonant chords make you feel like you're in some sort of haunted saloon and the build up to the end of the album is really stunning. There are a lot of really great sonic ideas on this album and I really enjoy when the vocals take a step back for some really well done experimentation. Overall, this is a solid punk project with a lot of creative sonic ideas and although it gets bogged down in some areas, the shining moments make up for it by a mile. Give this one a listen if you're pretty used to punk and want a dark and moody, but mentally managable album to spin. Highlights: Going Up, Do it Clean, Pride, Crocodiles, Read it in Book, Happy Death Man Score: 7/10 Cool and unique punk rock with some subpar tracks

6/22/2022 - ALBUM #146 Today's Album: "Orbital 2" by Orbital - This album has to have one of the best attention grabbers so far. The opener Time Becomes is a looping sample of a man saying, "where time becomes a loop" in each audio channel. It begins with it playing in both channels together, but as it repeats, one channel begins to delay behind the other and the space between them grows until eventually they line back up with each other. It sort of reminds me when you're looking at car blinkers that are going at different rates and watch as they line up and separate again. It really brings the whole theme of the album together as a lot of the EDM dance loops that this album features will build up elements just to break them back down and end where they began. The end of the album also ends with a similar idea, but with this one one channel says "Output Rotation" and the other ways "Input Translation". These bookending songs are a fantastic day to make this album feel like a cohesive idea and make the name of the band make a lot of sense. The music in between these tracks are pretty excellent too, being a collection of dance loops that really do a great job of building, climaxing, de-escalating and rebuilding while still keeping the listener's attention. No musical idea sticks around for too long before something else comes in to switch things up. I also love how much diversity is on this record, the Lush collection of tracks are these really clubby dance tracks with heavy synths and bass, Impact is this kind of breakdown track with a lot of washed out pianos and some really dreamy and unintelligible vocals. Remind takes that techno edge and totally runs with it with these robotic synths. Walk now sound a bit basic at first, but some of the switch ups they do sound pretty insane. I like more mellow piano sample loop that holds the track Monday together and the progression is just really satisfying. The last musical track here Hylcyon ends things off perfectly by getting really ethereal with these long drowning dream synths and some beautiful meditative vocal samples. Overall, this album really blew me away for an EDM project and I am surprised more people don't talk about it. Give this one a listen if you want some really solid study beats or just want to float away for a little bit. It's also really great for dancing! Highlights: Planet of the Shapes, Lush 3-2, Impact, Walk Now, Monday, Halcyon and On and On Score: 8.5/10 Elaborate and well-executed EDM with tons of personality

6/23/2022 - ALBUM #147 Today's Album: "More Songs About Buildings And Food" by Talking Heads - Boy am I glad to get to a Talking Heads album on this generator! I've heard many of the hits from them but I always had a feeling the listening experience of one of their full albums would be a treat, and it absolutely is. The production feels so clear and real, with each instrument coming through super crisp and it helps that each member of the band is just absolutely killing it from front to back. The bassist especially cought my attention for being really meolidic, even when the beat is fast and wild. I really have grown to love David Byrne as a vocalist and this album feels like it was early on enough for him to have a pretty straightforward approach with it. I just love the way they construct their songs as well, with enough space for the band to really let loose and create some really unique, but accessable grooves. The last minute of the song I'm Not In Love is a great example of this. I also think they do a really good job at making really accessable songs too like with the really cute guitar riff in The Good Thing and the amazing blues groove on Take Me to the River. I also really like the flow of this album, with a lot of tracks feeling like they intentionally start with a similar sound to the last track, while still maintaining diversity amongst the track list. Overall, I think this album was a fantastic introduction to the talking heads, showing off the early song-writing of David Byrne and the amazing instrumental chops of the whole band. Give this one if you like a few Talking Heads songs and really want to dive into an incredibly well presented and cohesive project. Highlights:  Thank You for Sending Me an Angel, The Good Thing, Warning Sign, Found A Job, Artists Only, I'm Not in Love, Stay Hungry, Take Me to the River, The Big Country Score:  8/10 No one does it quite like Talking Heads

6/24/2022 - ALBUM #148 Today's Album: "Sound Of Silver" by LCD Soundsystem - This album is freaking phenomenal. I had been exposed to LCD Soundsystem in the past, through their follow up to this project, This Is Happening, and they quickly became one of my favorites pop outfits. The mastery of control over sound was immediately noticable from that record, and I'm happy to say they're just as talented in this project than they were on their next, if not even better. In this album, each of the songs are an incredible showcase of the sonic range of this artist. The track Get Innocuous! is a great introduction to the pumping basslines, diligently crafted synth tones, lively drum play, and the frequent auxiliary sounds that keep each bar feeling interesting and fresh. It feels like there was so much intention put into each little section of the track so that even though there are a lot of looping parts, it very rarely feels boring or played out. The vocal performance is also absolutely incredible and the track It's Time to Get Away is a great showcase of this, with these falsetto flourishes that he maintains such solid control over. Another great example is the pretty much perfect track that is, "New York I Love You, but You're Bringing Me Down", which may be one of the best vocal performances I have heard in terms of range alone. It also serves as a fantastic closer for this album, taking the amazing energy from Sound or Silver and taking it down a notch in order to build to a climactic and satisfying conclusion. The track Someone Great also stands out as a really great track, managing to stay entertaining and sound beautiful for a whopping 6.5 minutes. I think the real star of the show for this album, though, is the production. The way that the sounds are mixed makes a listen of this album with headphones an absolutely memorizing experience and each instrument, especially the drums synths, have such perfect effects on them, making the album feel effortlessly enjoyable and like it will be able to be enjoyed for a long time without feeling dated. Overall, this album is just spectacular and mesmorizing. It feels like I could listen to this 1000 times and I would still notice new sounds due to how sonically dense it is. Give this one a listen if you like indie pop, electronic music, or just want something to go crazy dancing to.  Highlights:  Get Innocuous!, Time to Get Away, North American Scum, Someone Great, All My Friends, Us V Them, Watch the Tapes, Sound of Silver, "New York I Love You, but You're Bringing Me Down"  Score:  8.75/10 Absolutely phenomenal electronic indie-pop

6/25/2022 - ALBUM #149 Today's Album: "Lady Soul" by Aretha Franklin - All of the years and years of praise and acclaim Aretha Franklin has gotten for her music still doesn't adequately describe just how celebrated her talent should be. This is an album that delivers on all fronts, to the point where I firmly believe if you isolated the vocals from this album, it would still be better than a vast majority of albums, but the fact that the soulful R&B instrumentals adequately back up Aretha's vocals is what really sells this record for me. I really love the flow of this record too, with a great mix of upbeat soul tracks and slower R&B ballads and the songwriting chops on display make every track feel like a unique expression of Aretha's soul while still maintaining a consistent quality and tone. The track A Natural Woman stands out as such a lovable and relatable track, with just such a stellar chorus. I also really enjoy the opener Chain of Fools for how upbeat and fun it is, welcoming the listener into the project. The tracks Good to Me as I Am to You and Ain't No Way are heartbreaking tracks about wanting to love someone and not having your love received or reciprocated is such a great premise for a track and I think both execute it very well. I am a tad disappointed in the closer of this album, being just an extended reprise of the intro song and having a super cheesy fade out, but I do think if you end the album on Ain't No Way, it feels like it has a really great and complete sequence of songs. Overall, this is a really soulful album with a ton of fun, upbeat tracks as well as some mellower cuts. Give this one a listen if you like an artist that can absolutely kill it on the mic. Highlights: Chain of Fools, People Get Ready, Niki Hoeky, A Natural Woman, Since You've Been Gone, Good to Me as I Am to You, Come Back Baby, Groovin', Ain't No Way. Score: 8/10 an incredibly soulful album from one of the best vocalists ever known

6/26/2022 - ALBUM #150 Today's Album: "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" by Aphex Twin - This is an artist that I've been meaning to check out for a long time, and although this isn't the album I've heard is their best work, it is still so good that it's hard for me to imagine how they could have improved upon it. Some of these tracks even date back to when the artist was 14 and it's just amazing to me what they were able to create so young. These tracks are a collection of ambient loops and each of them is a unique soundscape that is slowly explored with incrementally added instruments and samples. It actually reminds me a lot of the Orbital album I just reviewed, but there is a more subtle approach to the production and layering of each song. The droning ethereal synths and echoey production remind me a lot of those sleep/meditation playlists on Spotify, but the steady drum machine and lead synths make it much more engaging and enjoyable. The album as a whole feels like one long song in a way since all the songs do take a pretty similar approach to the sonic landscapes they're building, but each song does stand on its own as a unique piece and it becomes very enjoyable to hear what each track is going to build off from. Overall, this is a really peaceful, but engaging album with a ton of really interesting sounds and it's filled to the brim with ethereal grooviness. Give this one a listen if you want a good electronica album to study or sleep to. Highlights: Tha, Ageispolis, Green Calx, Heliosphan, We Are the Music Makers, Delphium, Actium Score: 8/10 The most peaceful electronic music I've heard before

6/27/2022 - ALBUM #151 Today's Album: "Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby" by Terence Trent D'Arby - This is a really great late 80s R&B pop album that demonstrates the talent of Terence D'Arby. The sound of this record is very reminiscent of sounds I've heard before from artists like Prince and Michael Jackson, but this time it feels like there is much more soul involved, with a lot of the more commercial and synthetic sounds that Jackson is known for being replaced with more creative auxiliary percussion. I particularly like how on some tracks, the guitar is used as more of a percussive instrument, only being placed in the back of the mix to serve some rhythmic purpose. The flow of this album is also something to compliment, with a really solid crop of tracks to start things off before transitioning into some of the slower or more experimental cuts, and then finally ending off with the extremely artful As Yet Untitled and the great closer, Who's Loving You. D'Arby maintains such a cohesive sound to this album, while still offering a lot of different kinds of tracks. If You All Get to Heaven is a heavier song, commanding the listener to pray for D'Arby's entry into heaven. If You Let Me Stay and Wishing Well are certified R&B bangers, Dance Little Sister is an energetic dance track, and As Yet Untitled is this slow spoken word poetry piece with harmonizing vocal lines splitting up the quiet verses. There are moments where the album does trail off and get a bit boring and I specifically think the track Rain sort of jumps the shark with the instrumental and gets a little too goofy, but the fantastic moments of this record demonstrate that this is not simply someone messing around. Overall, this is one of the most unique and fresh R&B albums I have heard and there are a ton of fun bangers in the track list to keep me coming back to it. Give this one a listen if you like Prince or MJ and want a new R&B pop influence. Highlights: If You All Get to Heaven, If You Let Me Stay, Wishing Well, I'll Never Turn My Back on You, Dance Little Sister, Sign Your Name, As Yet Untitled, Who's Loving You Score: 8/10 Some funky, soulful, and earthy R&B bangers

6/28/2022 - ALBUM #152 Today's Album: "Horses" by Patti Smith - This is hailed as a pioneer for it's influence in the history of punk rock music and it's avantgarde approach to songwriting and I have to agree with that report. This album did not impress me upon first listen. The simple chord progressions and eclectic vocals made the first song feel like a strange amalgamation of dramatic country and cracked up Alanis Morrissette. However, once I learned this was produced by The Velvet Underground's John Cale, I took the time to really listen to this album deeply and appreciate the subtle minimalism of this punk album. The way many of these songs start with dramatic and rich piano chords, but build with sailing guitars and melodic bass make each song have this punching impact that is only pushed further by her cracking and whining vocals. The track Birdland demonstrates this very well by telling this extremely strange story of a boy seeing his dead father in the belly of a ship and wanting to crawl inside of it. It's a really long experimental piece that is quite frankly hard to listen to, but it has such this chaotic and impressive build to it. I do think sometimes her vocals don't completely live up to the sound she is going for, but I think that also sometimes adds to the experience. I think the thing with punk rock it I would really like it more if there were absolutely any vocal effects added, but I believe it's part of the genre to have very raw vocals. It's something I really wish I could accept more than I do, but it does take away from many of these tracks that I just have to sort of tune out her singing to really enjoy it. The band is going absolutely insane on many of these tracks and as much as I would try to give that credit to John Cale's production, I think a lot of the fun of this album is found within the songwriting, which is all Smith. I love the soundscapes that Smith builds. though, with the end of Free Money ranking pretty highly in that regard. I like the sailing guitar lines on the track Break it Up as well and some of the percussive hits before the last chorus are captivating. I do think the track Land: Horses... is very impressive, but I also think it goes on just a tad long to be very enjoyable on an attentive listen. It's definitely more of something you put on in the background to observe casually. This album is pretty lucky that My Generation - Live is included on the first disk, because I think it acts as a way more exciting closer than the track Elegie, which kind of just ends the album on more of a shrug. My Generation is an incredibly fun and lively cover of The Who's My Generation and I think it exceeds the original by a lot. It's a great way to end this ultimately mixed punk album. Overall, this was a very good exercise in tolerating some pretty difficult, yet rewarding music. If you have the time to give this album a listen, maybe try to give it a few more spins if you don't immediately like it. It seems very clunky and awkward at first, but by my third listen I really have grown to respect what this album is going for and trying to accomplish. Give this one a listen if you want a challenge. Highlights: Gloria in Excelsis Duo, Redondo Beach, Free Money, My Generation - Live Score: 7/10 A strange and awkward punk album that grew on me over time

6/29/2022 - ALBUM #153 https://open.spotify.com/album/7nFlAxnXMrQRpM1R80pKQm?si=zxgztEEiTS6K97Nb_3-3tQ Today's Album: "Devil Without A Cause" by Kid Rock - This was one that I was expecting to dislike going in, and although there were a few decent moments, I just couldn't get out of my mind the entire time how much I dislike the entire aesthetic of this artist. Essentially, it's a white guy rapping about how cool he is and occasionally like how he's better than black rappers, while simultaneously directly ripping off the style of black rappers that were doing this style and better at the beginning of the decade. By the time this came out in 1998, Dr. Dre's The Chronic had been out for 6 years and that album at least had production that didn't sound like hicky garbage. I think the opening track is kind of fun cause I've always heard the main chorus in memes, but the metal instrumental gets so grating by the end of it. The track Cowboy is half saved by it's decent beat, but it's sort of the only decent one for the entire track list and there are so many lines on this track that make me upset it only barely squeaks into a 7.5. The ballad track Only God Knows Why has probably the #1 worst autotuned effect on the vocals I have ever heard. It is so bad that it makes me angry this song has almost 50 million plays on Spotify. The rest of the tracks I haven't mentioned yet are all pretty much carbon copies of each other, with a really shitty and aggressive beat that's poorly mixed being poorly rapped over by the whitest trailer trash you can probably imagine. Overall, there may be one or two ideas on here that might have inspired someone great to do something better because it truly is a unique work, but it is so insufferable as an album that I earnestly had to take a break from these reviews after giving this one a full listen for fear of having to give it a follow up review. Give this one a listen if you're a trashy person bc you'll probably dig it, or if not then just give the first two tracks a listen and leave the rest because it's really not worth it. Highlights: Cowboy Score: 3.5/10 Terrible white rock-rap

6/30/2022 - ALBUM #154 Today's Album: "Songs For Swingin' Lovers!" by Frank Sinatra - Everyone knows who Frank Sinatra is. He pretty much invented the singer-songwriter genre and pioneered the showtune genre. All of these songs are rather beautiful love songs led by Sinatra's incredible and beautiful voice. I think in terms of how well this music stands up today, I think many of the tunes feel intrinsically dated due to just how many musicals have used this style of big band horns and swelling string sections. I don't think this is a big enough reason to completely write off the tracks or anything, but may of them just sort of drift into the background as none of the musical flourishes really surprise me as much as I imagine they would if I had never heard a showtune before. In terms of the actual sound of the record, I think it's pretty good for it's time period. Many of the horns come through very clearly and Sinatra's voice sounds pretty crystal clear. The lyrics aren't terribly substantive, mostly being simple love songs, but given the title is Songs for Swingin' Lovers, it's hard to say it doesn't give what you come for. I like whenever the music gives way for the flutes or bells to come through in the mix because they are particularly beautiful, but overall the whole production is very elegant and whimsical. There's obviously more effort given to some tracks more than others and it makes the project feel like it could have done without a solid handful of it's songs, given how much they feel like boring filler and really make the track list a bit of a slog, but the times where it sounds good make it worth an entire listen if you just want to throw it on in the background for a little while. There isn't much else to say about this album really. Everyone knows what a decent Sinatra song sounds like and you can imagine what an album of love songs by him would sound like. Overall, this is an incredibly influential and important record that has aged fairly well, despite my own disliking of some of the now-clichés of this genre. Give this one a listen if you like Sinatra or aren't too into / sick of show tunes and want a good crop of tracks. Highlights: You Make Me Feel So Young, You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me, Too Marvelous For Love, I've Got You Under My Skin, Score: 6.5/10 Love songs by the most admired artist of the time.

7/1/2022 - ALBUM #155 Today's Album: "Real Life" by Magazine - The Spotify page for this album says the album came out in 2007, when in actuality it was only remastered in that year and the publisher didn't bother to change the date to the actual release date of 1978. Before I knew this, however, I thought this sounded like an actually somewhat decent 80s punk tribute band incorporating new-wave sounds into their overall aesthetic. However, once you know this album came out in the late 70s, it becomes clear how ahead of it's time some of these tracks are. The highlights here all demonstrate some of the incredible synth work that pushes this album above other punk outfits of the time just in terms of its raw sonic power. I think the problem I have with this album is not only that the vocals sort of stink, which they do even for a punk album, but it's actually how the instrumentals sort of degrade over time. There are a lot of moments in the beginning of this album where I really felt like I could look past the vocals like I do with most punk albums and enjoy the instrumentals because they were pretty solid, but by the time we get down the track list to songs like The Great Beautician In The Sky and even the closing track Parade, the instrumentals just feel really cheap and not really well thought through, which is brought down by the fact that the already pretty awful vocals are getting worse at this point as well. It really just feels like a case of a really front loaded album due to poor pacing and planning on the band's part. I really enjoy a lot of the aesthetic and sonic choices in the beginning of this album, but even the more straightforward tracks near the end just pale in comparison. Overall, this is a pretty ahead of it's time and ambitious punk rock album to come out of the 70s, but it just sort of runs out of steam by the half way point and has a hard time covering up it's technical flaws with it's aesthetic. Give this a listen if you like punk and new wave and want to hear an early example of a band trying to combine the two. Highlights: Definitive Gaze, Shot By Both Sides, Motorcade, Score: 6.5/10 An ahead of it's time punk project that gets worse as it goes on

7/2/2022 - ALBUM #156 Today's Album: "3 + 3" by The Isley Brothers - As far as I can gather, the Isley brothers are a pretty legendary soul-funk trio from the early 70s, which typing now seems odd considering how well this album holds up when compared to a lot of it's contemporaries in the later 70s and early 80s. This album is somewhat of an experiment for the group, since they combined the efforts of the original 3 members (and 3 other family members providing various small parts) to an additional 3 guest musicians playing drums, tom-toms, organ, and congas, thus the name 3+3. In terms of the album itself, I think it's really enjoyable from start to finish. I think from the first 30 seconds of the opener, That Lady, it's clear that the production of the project overall is going to be stellar and it really does just sound great the whole way through. I think the auxiliary percussion from the guest artists liven things up and give it this sort of latin vibe to the otherwise super funky grooves being laid down on these tracks. The vocals are also a huge highlight here, with Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight being a standout for me, with lots of heartfelt balladry. There are a lot of songs in the middle of the project that do start to feel a tad more like filler, and not because they're terrible on their own, but just that when compared to tracks like That Lady and Summer Breeze, tracks like the pretty sub-par cover of the Doobie Brother's Listen To The Music just fall a bit flat. Speaking of Summer Breeze, however, I think this song alone saves a lot of this album for me. It's just so smooth and enjoyable that it feels like it pulls up the end of the record into feeling like this magical experience. The chorus is so goddamn catchy and the lyricism in general across the track is just so carefree. I should also mention that both this song and the opener That Lady come in a 2 part package, with the first part being a radio-friendly banger, and the 2nd part being an extension of the song with an absolutely wicked solo section and by that I mean genuinely some of the best guitar soloing I've heard. I do also appreciate the flow of this album, with many tracks seamlessly entering into the next like from If You Were There to You Walk Your Way. The closer of the album also carries this momentum into a pretty stellar finish, with a lot of the thought provoking themes of relationships and looking back on your decisions and communications being brought to a head, with the lyrics comparing the many paths in life to highways. It also has a lot of really sweet sounding synths and elegant piano passages that just create such a bittersweet atmosphere for a perfect goodbye to this record. Overall, I think this album was pretty fantastic, even if there are a few songs in the middle that stand pretty strong on their own, but simply don't compare to the way this album opens and finishes. Give this one a listen if you like Funk and Soul and I guarantee this will be your favorite album for a while. Highlights: That Lady, Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, What It Comes Down To, Summer Breeze, The Highways Of My Life Score: 8/10 colorful, groovy, and occasionally psychedelic soul-funk bangers

7/3/2022 - ALBUM #157 Today's Album: "Your New Favorite Band" by The Hives - This shit sucks. I feel like it reminds me a lot of what a lot of bands wanted to be in the early 2000s and what wasn't perfected until The Strokes, which is this really shitty blown out brand of pseudo-punk-rock that's going for this really crunchy aesthetic, but it just comes off so annoying here. Maybe it's just because I am sort of a snob for how music sounds, but this album's mix is just honestly unbearable to me. Everything feels way too overblown to have any actual tone to it, but it's also all placed equally in the mix so it feels super flat as the lead singer is just shouting absolute nonsense the entire time. The fact that the instrumentals feel super repetitive and generic doesn't help this fact either for sure. I mean, maybe there's a point to what they're trying to say here, but I just honestly don't want to listen to it. Maybe the generator thinks this is some sort of early birth of the emo music movement, but this doesn't really feel like it goes hard enough to justify itself as that either. I earnestly tried to give this album a few tries, but it is really hard to find anything musical about this at all. I feel like I might have heard one or two of the most popular songs here on the radio or something at some point, but that didn't leave me with the impression this was important and instead made me feel like it was generic 2000s early pop-punk and bad pop-punk at that. Overall, this album gave me a headache and it just feels like garbage they put on the radio at skating rinks to make it seem like the place goes hard when it's actually the most tame shit ever and I am grateful it is only 28 minutes long. Give this one a listen if you have bad taste lol Edit: turns out this is a complication album and it sort of clicked for me that this album really is not trying to be an artistic statement because it is literally the antithesis of that. Also, the last song on the album is just like really good and mixed perfectly all of a sudden and it makes me so confused Highlights: The Hives Are Law, You Are Crime Score: 2.5/10 one note and generally obnoxious 2000s pop-punk(?)

7/4/2022 - ALBUM #158 Today's Album: "Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1" by George Michael - The opening track, Praying for Time, does a great job of welcoming the listener into this diverse collection of dramatic pop songs. Themes of human injustice, especially when it comes to money, are discussed with such great weight, and although the mix on this song in particular feels a little bit washed out, it still has such an impact due to some very strong lyricism and singing. The next track, Freedom! '90, takes things in a much more uplifting direction, with a playful piano line and shaking tambourines laying out a really playful musical base for a very strong and slightly cynical vocal performance from Michael. It's a song I've heard all over different movie soundtracks and that I imagine was overplayed to all hell in the 90s, but I have to say it's still a banger. The energy absolutely takes a nosedive with They Won't Go When I Go, where a solo, sorrowful piano backs a vocal performance that sounds much more like a poem recital than anything else. I think the song captures this really pained feeling of betrayal and fits with many songs on this record, but what he was thinking putting this song directly after the last I may never know. The next track, Something To Save brightens things up a lot and could have been a much better way of transitioning between those two tracks. Anyways, the album carries on with a pretty solid collection of tracks. Cowboys and Angels is a sort of low-key jazz ballad, Waiting for That Day is a particularly catchy and upbeat track and I love the vinyl production filter placed overtop, and Heal the Pain is a really lovely acoustic track with a peaceful groove to it that makes me want to float away on a beach. Soul Free strips things back for this pretty great instrumental break and it really feels like this song is emblematic of the range of songs you get out of this album. I don't think every song is a total home run, but the shift in song style from track to track is pretty refreshing and gives the album a lot of depth. The last track Waiting is a really nice closer for the album, with the vocal performance and lyrics feeling as grand and full of depth as the first song, but the laid back acoustic guitar and hopeful atmosphere of the song give it a much more hopeful tone. Overall, this is a pretty dang good album, with a lot of memorable moments and as previously mentioned, a lot of variety to the track list that give it a lot of re-listenability. Give this one a listen if you want a contemplative, but uplifting batch of memorable gospel-pop(?) tracks. Highlights: Praying for Time, Freedom! '90, Something to Save, Waiting for That Day, Heal the Pain, Waiting Score: 7.5/10 A strong batch of tracks from a 90s pop king

7/5/2022 - ALBUM #159 Today's Album: "Palo Congo" by Sabu - Being another Latin jazz dance album, I yet again find myself unable to really give this album a proper review. In comparison to the other projects I've heard, this one kind of falls in line. In terms of ways that this album does stand out, I would say there is definitely a strong focus on the fast percussion and lively rhythmic expression in these tracks. When there are vocals, it often comes in the form of some sort of chant. Some are just a solo voice, while others are sort of a call and response. The track Billumba-Palo Congo for instance is mostly a backing bongo and conga as a man says a variety of lines followed by a few female vocalists repeating the same chant after each one. There is also more of an emphasis on the sound and expression of the vocals and less on the tone and range of the performances. In my personal taste, I think the album sort of gains and loses interest for me throughout the track list and the songs that are much more lively and rely mostly on the fantastic improv percussion playing are much more enjoyable than the more repetitive chanting tracks. Overall, this is a pretty unique Latin jazz album that offers a lot of variety. Give this one a listen if you like a lot of conga and bongo. Highlights: El Cumbanchero, Asabache, Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso Score: 6.5/10 Pretty enjoyable and danceable Latin Jazz album

7/6/2022 - ALBUM #160 Today's Album: "Heavy Weather" by Weather Report - This stands out as a pretty great Jazz album up there with the likes of Herbie Handcock Headhunters and Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and that becomes like a super obvious observation once you realize that this band is a mending of a lot of different members from those bands. The opener, Birdland, is a perfect Jazz track in my opinion. The long-form stylings of classic Jazz with the constant musical momentum of the fusion movement come together to create such a fun and energetic track. It is just one of those instrumentals that never gets old to me and has so many aspects to it it's impossible to explain everything I like about it. Carrying on, the album stays consistently high quality with the great contemplative ballad A Remark You Made and a bunch of upbeat energetic tracks like Teen Town, The Juggler and Havona. I think I'm not a huge fan of Rumba Mama because although it has an infectious loud energy to it, it doesn't really have a lot of progression to it and starts to feel stale as it goes on. I really like the closer on this album as well, Havona, as it ends off with this really dramatic and hectic improv section. It doesn't stick the landing when it comes to closing up the album with a strong climax, but it is pretty emblematic of the experimentation that was all over this record. The jazz fusion moments on this record especially stand out to me as being so fundamental to the genre and being just generally really likeable. Overall, there is a reason this is such a beloved and successful jazz album with covers of Birdland more plentiful than can be counted. Give this one a listen if you want a solid piece of Jazz history and a great album to just throw on to set a nice vibe. Highlights: Birdland, A Remark You Made, Teen Town, Harlequin, Palladium, The Juggler, Havona Score: 8/10 One of the most influential jazz albums of the late 70s

7/7/2022 - ALBUM #161 Today's Album: "Innervisions" by Stevie Wonder - This was a pretty fantastic introduction to Stevie Wonder from a generator perspective because it really feels like this record is Stevie transitioning into some of the songwriting and experimental techniques that would define his career. It feels much more like an intentional statement as an entire album than something like Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Although I had heard many of his hits and a fair amount of his most acclaimed record, Songs In The Key Of Life, I hadn’t really ever heard an entire project from him top to bottom, so this being such a cohesive work made it a treat to say the least. The opener, Too High is a really great start for this project, with solid funk grooves that contrast lyrics alluding to the tragedy of someone losing their life to overdose after getting “too high” too many times. The track Visions slows things down after this for a contemplative look at what Stevie invisions for the future look like and how they clash with the harsh reality of injustices today. This theme transfers over to the track Living For The City, where a man moves into the city with barely enough and ends up getting incarcerated by racist police for a crime he didn’t even know he was committing. The voice clips of the policemen and jailer putting this man away hit so hard on a first listen and really make you feel the inequality going on. This theme of Stevie putting these injustices and “innervisions” to song continues throughout the track list and I particularly like the closing track He’s Misstra Know-It-All because it tells the listener exactly who is to blame for all of this injustice: The fast talking business man that thinks he knows everything. It’s almost poetic the way Stevie describes these pieces of shit people that exist in mass in our world and cause so much suffering for others without any regard for it. Now in terms of the actual music on the record, I think there is quite a large array of different moods and styles that Stevie is weaving together here quite well. I like the track Golden Lady for its amazing synth/piano work and its expressive chorus. Higher Ground is a great track as well with a bubbly funk guitar, some interesting cymbal work, and an uplifting message. All In Love Is Fair is one of the shining ballads on the album and it does a good job of capturing the emotion felt in a tough romantic situation. It’s also one of the most passionate vocal performances from Stevie on this album and boy does he blow it out of the park There are moments where I felt that the instrumental pallet felt a bit flatter than what I would typically expect on a Stevie Wonder project, especially when compared to a lush project like SITKOL, but I think the songwriting on this album really makes up for where it lacks sonically. Overall, this is an album jam packed with flavor, personality, soul, and a healthy amount of experimentation. It may not be what I initially expected to get out of a Stevie Wonder album, but the more I listened to it, the more I embraced the thematic songwriting choices he went for. Give this one a listen if you can handle soulful funk grooves and punchy ballads. Highlights: Too High, Visions, Living for the City, Golden Lady, Higher Ground, All in Love is Fair, Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing, He’s Misstra Know-It-All Score: 8/10 A particularly introspective and experimental album from the great Stevie Wonder

7/8/2022 - ALBUM #162 Today's Album: "Mott" by Mott The Hoople - This album sits in my mind as simply decent. Although I am surprised by a lot of what is on display instrumentally here, with a lot of great glam rock and classic rock influences, I feel that it really is hit or miss whether or not the band is going to put together a solid song. The intro track All the Way from Memphis is fairly promising with this high energy and vocals reminiscent of David Bowie, but that energy is only shared with maybe 2 other tracks on this album and the momentum they create just isn’t enough to keep my attention through the duds of the album. I think the instrumental palette also gets pretty plain after a while, which is pretty typical with the standard classic rock setup. However, there are some solid exceptions to this when looking at the highlights of this album. Honaloochie Boogie is a pretty enjoyable track where it feels like the vocalist is taking a slightly more subtle approach. Drivin’ Sister has some really great moments with the vibey detour in the middle of the track and the powerful guitar strumming near the end of it. Although some moments feel a bit generic or bland, I think the production of this album is pretty solid, with each instrument carving a solid spot for itself in the mix. The instrumental detours I enjoyed on Drivin’ Sister are all over the place on I’m A Cadillac / El Camino Dolo Roso and it overall really works for the track, making it a great track to relax and drift away to. Other than that, there are just too many moments where the band is trying too hard to create something groundbreaking or influential and it just doesn’t work for me. Overall, this is a fairly promising album with a lot of great elements working for it, but the sort of 1 note nature of classic/glam rock and the lack of consistently solid songwriting make it sort of a chore to sit through as a complete work. Give the highlights of this album a listen if you want a solid crop of Bowie-like glam rock and dig deeper if it really suits your fancy. Just don’t be mad if you don’t find a ton beneath the surface. Highlights: All the Way from Memphis, Hymn for the Dudes, Hanaloochie Boogie, Drivin’ Sister, I’m a Cadillac Score: 6.5/10 A hefty dose of Bowie-inspired glam-rock

7/9/2022 - ALBUM #163 Today's Album: "Another Music In A Different Kitchen" by Buzzcocks - I hold a very similar opinion to this album than I do to the last album I reviewed, Mott by Mott the Hoople, with one key difference: The vocals are pretty unenjoyable throughout a majority of this album. Now, I think that an album isn’t completely defined by it’s vocals and can shine outside of a poor singing performance, and I think there are many moments where this record is able to achieve a level of greatness, but it is a common occurrence for me to feel like a song on this album is completely unlistenable because a large chunk of it is tainted with this whiney british vocal. I also think that there is a noticeable lack of instrumental variety on this album, with many tracks feeling indistinguishable from each other. The album probably shines the most when it steps out of the stiff and stale grooves to show off one of the instrumentalists with a solo, which alone aren’t enough to save any of the individual songs, but at least while they’re happening, you’re almost able to forget that the rest of the track is as boring as it is. I think there are a lot of solid ideas here and maybe it’s important for the broader evolution of this kind of punk rock, but I just feel like as an album listen top to bottom, it doesn’t really bring anything impressive to the table and ends up blending into wallpaper. Overall, this is a pretty energetic and jammy punk rock album, but it doesn’t really leave me feeling like I got anything out of it. Give this one a listen if you really like early punk rock and jammy guitar riffs, but be warned it doesn’t offer a ton in terms of a single solid tune. Highlights: I Don’t Mind, Autonomy, I Need, Moving Away From The Pulsebeat Score: 5.5/10 energetic punk rock that ends up getting too repetitive

7/10/2022 - ALBUM #164 Today's Album: "Murder Ballads" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Music is something that is supposed to elicit a reaction out of the listener and make them feel something. Happiness, excitement, sadness, and even tripping out are all common reactions in this regard. However, sometimes you come across a project that is intended to make you feel something you’ve never been made to feel before and in this album’s case, that feeling is dread. Now, you might hear me say that and think the experience was dreadful or that the music is overbearing, but by dread I’m talking about that combination of disgust and intrigue that you experience when witnessing something dark and gruesome. It’s almost like watching a car accident or a crime documentary and being unable to look away, and the ladder of which is very apt of this comparison as this album, “Murder Ballads” is exactly what it sounds like; 10 tracks depicting the murder of various people in various ways. Each of these stories feels like it explores murder from a different perspective and the product of that is a bunch of tracks that feel quite diverse in terms of their story, even if you know what’s going to happen at the end. For that reason, I really have to say the songwriting on this album very nearly approaches a state of perfection. The atmosphere of this album is also something that should be admired. The mellow bass and piano playing throughout the project provide a slow and melancholic backdrop and I think it really helps steer the attention to the fucked up imagery being created by the lyricism. I also give this album a lot of credit for breaking up some of the slower moments with more lively tracks like Lovely Creature and The Curse of Millhaven and I think it also does a good job implementing female vocalists into the mix on tracks like Henry Lee, Where the Wild Roses Grow, and Death Is Not The End to give the vocals more diversity. Now, with a description like that, how could I not be recommending this album to absolutely everyone? Well, a lot of the enjoyment to be gotten out of this record is up to whether or not you can handle dark imagery, dreary atmospheres, and deep vocals, and although I had a great time exploring this record and hearing these dark stories, I feel that it’s not something that warrants a ton of repeat listens. Additionally, despite everything working really well together as a cohesive piece, I don’t feel like many of the songs were able to stand out on their own or offer a solid tune in the face of the dense and often overloaded lyricism. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I think this album should have been presented any differently because I think for what it’s going for, it does a great job, but it does definitely lose some points for being generally inaccessible. Overall, this is a fantastic artistic piece with a dense and dreary atmosphere and really unique songwriting. Although it might not be immediately appealing to a general listener, I think it deserves to be experienced by anyone that can handle music with a bit of a narrative edge. Give this one a listen if you’re tough enough to handle some dark imagery and patient enough to sit through it all being told in a very laid back fashion. Highlights: Song of Joy, Henry Lee, Lovely Creature, Where the Wild Roses Grow, Death is Not the End Score: 7/10 Uniquely dark and twisted stories presented through some methodically-created atmospheric grooves.

7/11/2022 - ALBUM #165 Today's Album: "Queens Of The Stone Age" by Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age is a band that I have heard held in high regard and their albums Like Clockwork and Songs For The Deaf being acclaimed as some of the best modern rock albums. Now from my personal experience, I turned on Like Clockwork a few years ago and flat out didn’t get it so I turned it off. Now, with hopefully a bit more of an open mind when it comes to music, I have to say I walked away from this album, their debut album, with a lot of excitement and eager to hear what they did next. Now, unfortunately I won’t have an opportunity within these 1089 albums to cover their later works as they aren’t included, but with how promising this piece was, I can only imagine scores in 8s and 9s for them. Now why is this album getting me so excited for their next albums? This album just has such a great sound to it. From the blasted out guitars that are mixed perfectly between the channels, to the crisp, clear, and at times insane drum playing, to the chunky and dirty basslines, the mix just hugs your ears from start to finish. From the starting riffs off of Regular John it’s apparent that this album is going to play around to what’s going into your ears. It’s such the case in fact that I feel like my second listen over headphones far exceeded the experience of my first listen over speakers because the mix is just built for it. The whole project just has such a great sound to it and the playing is so unwaveringly lively and full of personality. When this band is firing on all cylinders like they do on many of the highlights here, it sounds like the best possible mix of messy grunge aesthetics/experimentation and clean, almost alt-rock-esque songwriting. However, there are some moments on this record where it feels like the band isn’t cranking out their best stuff and the overall immaturity of the group starts to show. For instance, the track Walkin on the Sidewalks feels sort of off with these clunky rhythms and some bass and guitar riffs that are a bit too harsh to be replayed for as long as they do. Another track that’s a bit weaker than the bunch is These Aren’t the Droids You’re Looking For, which starts with a bunch of abrasive and random riffing that’s thrown around from channel to channel and once the song opens up, the guitar tone is just really shrill and piercing to the ear. It starts on the right channel and is somewhat of a cute addition, but as soon as you think it should be wrapping up, it spreads to both channels and makes the rest of the track practically unlistenable. I wouldn’t say all of the sub-pat tracks are necessarily bad, but these moments merely highlight the band exploring and experimenting with their sound and not quite having all the ins and outs worked out yet. Their batting average overall with this album is pretty strong with standout tracks like Regular John, Mexicola, and Spiders and Vinegroons, so the overall listening experience is hardly tainted by the tracks that don’t hit the ear as nicely. Overall, this album is full of kickass moments and some really well crafted songs, both musically and sonically. Although there are some moments that drag this record down, they mostly come across as a byproduct of this being the band’s debut project and only help to strengthen my excitement and anticipation for listening to their later works. Give this one a listen if you’ve heard of this band and want to hear an early and pretty raw demonstration of their sound. Highlights: Regular John, The Bronze, Mexicola, Hispanic Impressions, You Can’t Quit Me Baby, Give the Mule What He Wants, Spiders and Vinegaroons, I was a Teenage Hand Model Score: 7/10 Kickass debut album from a band that only went up from here

7/12/2022 - ALBUM #166 Today's Album: "Achtung Baby" by U2 - After a while of not reviewing albums, this album marks a serious turning point for the way that I consume music. On the first listen, not even looking at the release date of the album, I thought U2’s Achtung Baby sounded like generic, popular 90s alt-rock and none of the songs really capturing my attention. However, after a few months of continuing to digest music from the generator without reviewing, I realized on revisiting this album just how influential it is in creating the sounds of one of my favorite musical genres. This album offers a ton in terms of hit potential, with each song having a pretty straightforward verse-chorus structure. However in this case, that doesn’t really strike me as a negative because it draws my attention towards the sonic and instrumental experimentation, as well as the solid vocal performances on display throughout this project. The song Zoo Station shows this perfectly within the first 5 minutes of the album, with fairly heavy sonic experimentation and some really interesting percussion. Each proceeding song somehow feels like it is both an extension of the song before it, but still stands as a unique sonic venture within the album. Probably the most experimental track on the album is The Fly, which offers probably the hardest-hitting song on this album. I think it perfectly balances it’s harsh guitar effects with a catchy chorus sung in dreamy falsetto vocals. The track One is also a beautiful and heartbreaking track that is emblematic of what I consider to be U2’s central sound, which expresses this mixed feeling of inspiration and sorrow that somehow rocks super hard. Mysterious Ways is probably the most popular track from this album and for such an accessible and straightforward track, I think U2 does a great way of giving the track a ton of flare both sonically and through Bono’s vocal performance. What I enjoyed about this project was that there were a few songs that followed that U2 cookie-cutter template, but there were also a variety of tracks that took a more subtle approach to the songwriting. There also weren’t many moments where I was super turned off by the sound of this album. There are definitely some moments that aren’t as sonically engaging as I would have liked given this is an alt-rock album, but considering this was released almost a decade before many of my favorite albums from the genre, I have to cut this album some slack and just enjoy the innovation that this album was for it’s time. Overall, this is a great album that offers more highlights than not and could probably serve as some excellent road-trip music. The way this album juggles relaxing, rocking, tear-jerking, and inspiring moods (sometimes simultaneously!) is simply impressive. Give this one a listen if you can go without more elaborate song-structure in favor of some relaxing, yet engaging alternative rock. Highlights: Zoo Station, Even Better Than The Real Thing, One, Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, So Cruel, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Love is Blindness Score: 8/10 Foundational alt-rock album with many great songs

7/13/2022 - ALBUM #167 Today's Album: "...And Justice For All" by Metallica - When I saw this album in vinyl for only $20 at walmart, it was right after I saw this album appear on the generator, so I figured, “I’ll listen to this one for the first time on vinyl because maybe the compression of music on spotify had tainted my perception of the critically acclaimed Master of Puppets, altering the overall experience.” After listening to this one a few times and comparing notes, I can say with confidence that my hypothesis was correct. The amount of depth that was gained in my listening experience from spotify to vinyl for this album has made me rethink if my distaste for metal was ever a product of poor audio equipment. But what do I actually think of the record itself? I actually think this one holds up as one of the best In Metallica’s discography, even if there are some major issues with it. The biggest issue that people seem to have with it is that it lacks any bass guitar since the frontman didn’t like the way the bass part sounded. However, I feel like paying attention to what isn’t there misses the point of all the great stuff that is still present in this album. In my opinion, these songs are some of Metallica’s most creative in terms of song-structure, instrumental performances, and lyricism. The opener, Blackened, perfectly kicks off the album with some infectious thrash grooves and dark, prophetic lyrics of a darkened existence and human self-destruction. The guitar solo near the end of the track is not only breathtaking, but it sets a standard that is upheld throughout the proceeding tracks. The first impact of the track …And Justice For All does reveal a somewhat glaring issue in the overall sound of this record, where the lack of a bass part causes the drums to sound just way to bassy in the mix and the kick drum sort of fills up the bass frequencies with this really aggressive bassy hum that is hard to ignore. Much of the album doesn’t have this sound present, but when it does show up it does really take away from the listening experience. The track One might be Metallica’s most praised track and I think it absolutely deserves that praise. The guitar pickwork and tone is hypnotic and though the lyrics of bed-ridden death and potentially iron lungs are depressing, they’re delivered with such power and presence. The rest of the album after One doesn’t stand out quite as much as the beginning, but as a complete listen, they still bring just as impressive songwriting and instrumental performances. I enjoy how all of the tracks flesh out this concept of injustices occurring in the world and the corruption that exists within the systems of government, calling them out for falsely waving the flag of justice while committing heinous acts. It’s a concept that resonates with me differently each time I relisten to the album as I discover the intentions and hidden meanings behind the lyrics. Overall, this album stands tall in Metallica’s overall discography in my opinion, as it has a solid, resonant concept and a ton of headbanging thrashy goodness. The bass being missing definitely holds this album back, but listening to youtube covers of the album with bass being added back in make me absolutely sure that this album’s songwriting and the remaining instrumental performances make it stand on it’s own. Give this one a listen if you like Metallica or thrash metal in general. Highlights: Blackened, And Justice For All, Eye of the Beholder, One, The Shortest Straw, Harvester of Sorrow, The Frayed Ends of Sanity, To Live is To Die, Dyer’s Eve Score: 8/10 Visceral and poignant criticism of American justice through solid thrash metal

7/14/2022 - ALBUM #168 Today's Album: "Clandestino" by Manu Chao - As with most latin albums I review here, I have to address the disconnect between myself and the music due to not understanding the language. But, like many other albums I give this disclaimer when reviewing, it was actually a really pleasant listening experience. The opener Clandestino welcomes the listener in with these swinging bass melodies and a chilled out shaker groove. There are some interesting vocal effects going on in the chorus and I think it sets a good tone for what is to come. I really like some of the production choices on this album, with this descending, ‘video-game’-like, synth sound being used throughout the tracklist, tying many of the tracks to one uniform theme, and there is overall a lot of attention paid to the way the vocals interact with the instruments. Bongo Bong is a pretty fun and lighthearted track that still follows the chilled out groove set up by the first track, but brings some more auxiliary percussion and some english vocals to spice things up before carrying into ‘Je ne t’aime plus’ with the same groove. The album actually transitions very smoothly across all the tracks and just does a really good job of getting the listener lost in a swaying latin groove and keeping them there, even if you don’t speak the language. I really appreciate the layered guitars and stringed instruments that create the instrumental backbone for many of the songs and I think the bass is mixed really nicely into the back to the point where the focus is drawn much more on the tone of the bass than the attacks and movement (even if it do be movin’). In the songs where the band implements some english lyrics into the mix like Bongo Bong and Mama Call, I really start to see the chain of influence from this band to groups like Santana and even later contemporaries like Sublime. They end up being some of the most enjoyable moments on the record for me for fairly obvious reasons. Overall, I think this album is a great demonstration of the state of latin music as the 80s were coming to a close and the baton was being handed back and forth between groups like this and prominent latin acts like Santana. If you enjoy latin music that occasionally caters to English speaking peoples or have ever enjoyed a track from Santana, this album is a great history lesson in that sound. Highlights: Clandestino, Bongo Bong, Mama Call, Welcome to Tijuana, La vie a 2, Minha galera Score: 6.75/10 A dense meditation on Latin music by an achieved French artist

7/15/2022 - ALBUM #169 Today's Album: "All Directions" by The Temptations - This was a really easy album to enjoy and listen to. Coming straight out of the early 70s, the fusion of R&B, soul, and funk that this album exudes is very much emblematic of the experimentation being done by groups of the time like Earth, Wind, and Fire. From what I was able to gather, this was quite a departure for this group, who were mainly labeled as 60s balladeers with songs like ‘My Girl’. If this is true, than this album is truly a stunning achievement, as the band is able to fit the developing, gritty R&B vibe of the time pretty well for a first attempt. The track Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone is a 12 minute epic detailing the story of a runaway father and does so with so much color and control of sound. The bassline is simple, but unrelenting in its pushyness and the warbly guitar mixed with angelic synths give a really cool psychedelic-soul atmosphere before the track picks up with some claps and building strings. When the vocalist finally comes in, the depiction of a low-income single-parent household is so visceral and strong and I really love the way the instruments play with what’s going on lyrically instead of staying stagnant. It is a great demonstration of the production of this album as well, as the heavy bassline, tapping hi-hat, and detailed vocals somehow all feel really balanced and spaced out. This is followed up with the beautiful ballad, Loe Wokee Me Up This Morning, which like many of the tracks on this album, could have been a fairly enjoyable, but boring vocal performance had it not been for the life breathed into it by creative and generous instrumentals. Other tracks like this include I Ain’t Got Nothin’, which is lifed up by lush strings and some really fun background vocals and Mother Nature, which has a truly lush bass sound and very smooth woodwinds/strings. There are definitely moments on this album that I wasn’t a huge fan of, like the poorly aged Run Charlie Run’s excessive use of the N-word (even if it is in protest of it), and the somewhat lackadaisical and uninteresting The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, but I think this album still offered enough really interesting moments to chew on to make up for the lacking moments. Overall, this album is pivotal in the development of the R&B, soul/funk genre and was a huge milestone in the career of this band. Give this one a listen if you like Earth, Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder, or if you enjoy Marvin Gaye, but wish there was a bit more of a punch to it. Highlights: Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On, Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone, Love Woke Me Up This Morning, Mother Nature Do Your Thing Score: 7.5/10 An increasingly important album in the evolution of ‘black’ music in the early 70s

7/16/2022 - ALBUM #170 https://open.spotify.com/album/2Geg4mwE8z9DO5BSSUoMKz?si=36887e03a2324980 Today's Album: "Bitte Orca" by Dirty Projectors - This is an album very unlike most albums I have heard before, and it is for the very best reasons. The opening song, Cannibal Resource, introudces the listener to everything that makes this album great, from the thoughtful lyrics, to the jangly and echoey guitar effects, to the tight drums and bass, and of course the fantastic female vocal harmonies. This album somehow captures a very youthful spirit to it while maintaining a pretty rocking core to it’s overall indie sound. The production of this album is pretty great, if not maybe a tad sterilized and clean, but that is pretty easily forgiven given when it came out. I really appreciate some of the odd rhythms this band uses in the verse structure and melodies of these songs. It reminds me to some of Bob Dylan’s experimental songwriting techniques if they were revamped for a modern, slightly more hipster, audience. The song Temecula Sunrise is a beautiful example of this with some incredibly jarring and unsteadying rhythmic changes that somehow sound beautiful in their janky, offcenteredness. I think part of this warmth and cheeriness to their sound comes from a fairly melodic bass guitar and what sounds like an incredibly skilled drummer when it comes to timing. There are of course other factors to this like the bright guitar sounds and beautiful harmonies, but the rhythm section of thi band really strikes me as what is keeping the core of the sound together. I also think this album flows together pretty nicely and it feels like one of those projects where the songwriters are very tuned into how the record should flow as a musical journey, which is something that I appreciate. I do think there are moments where the scattered and syncopated rhythms become a bit samey throughout the tracklist, but I also think there are a ton of interesting risks being taken to change up that sound, like on the track Stillness Is The Move. This song also shifts the background female vocalists to the foreground and drops the usual main male vocalist and I think this really helps to diversify the vocal feel of the record. Overall, this is an incredibly creative and colorful rock album that no-doubt inspired countless indie musicians for years to come (let alone most modern female vocalists!). Give this one a listen if you like indie music with a fair dose of quirkiness to it and enjoy a lot of interesting auxiliary instrumentation. Super fun! Highlights: Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise, The Bride, Useful Chamber, Remade Horizon, Fluorescent Half Dome Score: 8/10 One of the most sonically adventurous indie albums I have heard

7/17/2022 - ALBUM #171 Today's Album: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel - This is a truly astounding album for the time it came out in. Given that Simon and Garfunkel have albums spanning from the early 60s to the late 70s, most of which being fairly cheesy art-pop, I didn’t have super high expectations for this seemingly random album in their cataloge, but after a thorough listen of this album about 20 or so times, I have to say this is hands down S&G’s best album and it stands as one of the best singer-songwriter albums of it’s decade. Starting off with the awe-inspiring Bridge Over Troubled Water, Paul Simon does not hesitate to offer one of his best vocal and lyrical performances of all time over some absolutely stunning piano playing. Following this great opener, we unfortunately run into what I think is the worst song on the album, El Condor Pasa, which offers some cute lyricism, but sounds mostly like a cheap rehash of the melody from their beloved track, The Sound of Silence. Fortunately, this song is followed by the track Cecilia, which picks the vibe up with some upbeat handclap percussion and a pounding bass drum backbeat. The track Keep the Customer Satisfied is even more upbeat with an incredibly catchy chorus and some incredible horn playing at the end that creates a total wall of sound. The tracks The Boxer and Baby Driver are both iconic songs from the duo’s catalog and they really do show off what songwriting powerhouses these two were. I also really like the tracks So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright and The Only Living Boy in New York for their hypnotizing, melancholic vibe and sentimental songwriting. The track Why Don’t You Write Me is a pretty cute track to pick the vibe back up near the end and then there is a live cover of Ray Charles’ Bye Bye Love, which is a song I love very much, but I think S&G kind of weren’t the guys to cover it. It ends up sounding a little cheesy and sort of feels like it doesn’t correctly capture what the original song was going for in terms of tone. The album finished off with Song for the Asking, which closes off the album pretty well with a thoughtful and meditative guitar track by Paul Simon with some soft strings filling out the bass and high end. Of the songs of this ilk on the album, this one really puts you into that melancholic atmosphere the best. Overall, this is THE best album from the strongest songwriting due of the 1960s and after even half a listen, that becomes very clear. Give this one a listen if you like S&G, but want a more distilled collection of hits than a best-of compilation or a different album of theirs. Highlights: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cecelia, Keep the Customer Satisfied, “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”, The Boxer, Baby Driver, Why Don’t You Write Me, Song for the Asking Score: 8.75/10 A jam packed album of singer-songwriter BANGERS

7/18/2022 - ALBUM #172 Today's Album: "Enter The Wu-Tang" by Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang gets a lot of praise nowadays for being the best rap coalition group of the 90s and now that I have heard this album and a few albums from the competition (NWA, Pharcyde, Gangstarr), this praise is all absolutely warranted. Even if I don’t see some of these songs as super listenable in normal day-to-day life, most of the songs make up for that by being super interesting sonically, which is quite uncommon for a rap album. Instead of the focus being on the rap performances, there is more of an attention on the quality of the beats and samples, which I can really appreciate. That said, these rap performances, even if they are still a bit cheesy like most other 90s rap, have quite a bit more subtlety and finesse than their competitors. In terms of going into specific tracks, I enjoy Bring Da Ruckus, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F* Wit, and C.R.E.A.M since they have more of a concrete identity as a song than the rest of the tracklist. Overall, this is probably the best 90s rap group and this is probably their best album since they had a fairly small output over their time. I don’t think I am really the target audience for this, but I still thought it was an intriguing listen and recommend it to anyone that has troubles listening to old rap because you crave something with a bit of spice. Highlights: Bring Da Ruckus, Clan In Da Front, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothing Ta F’wit, C.R.E.A.M, Tearz, Wu-tang: 7th Chamber Part 2 Score: 7.5/10 A 90s rap album that takes the best parts of NWA and cranks them up a notch

7/19/2022 - ALBUM #173 Today's Album: "I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got" by Sinead O’Connor - This album is very much a mixed bag. From the first track Feels so Different, I thought I would have had her pegged as your average 90s alternative artists (like Alanis Morrisette), and the song I Am Stretched on Your Grave pretty much strengthened that idea, if not with a strangely psychedelic twist. However, The Emperor’s New Clothes made me realize that I was listening to an album with much more flex in its sound than I initially thought. Sinead O’Connor is able to capture the sound of many artists spanning a variety of genres and decades and although these ideas don’t always land perfectly, they are given quite a bit of breathing room, respect, and effort when recorded and produced.I will say that much of the sound palette of the album is pretty plain and generic and I wouldn’t necessarily say the songwriting is very creative, but I think there is a decent bit of confidence and charisma in the performances that helps to elevate this album to at least a sub-par standard. There are some standout track among the bunch because of this, but like I alluded to before, much of this album is pretty mediocre. Overall, this album never enters the realm of being straight up bad, but it definitely is an album to pick the hits from and leave the rest. Give this one a listen if you like pretty standard and predictable rock with some decent, if not monotone, female vocals. Highlights: The Emperor’s New Clothes, Nothing Compares 2 U, Jump In The River Score: 6.5/10 Pretty generic 90s alt-rock most of the time with some standout moments here and there

7/20/2022 - ALBUM #174 Today's Album: "Off The Wall" by Michael Jackson - This album just sounds so fucking good. That is seriously the most fitting opening sentence to this review; this album is simply that good. As someone who was big into Michael Jackson’s catalog as a kid, I think this album is the peak of his talent as a musician and was close to his peak as a performer. The production is top notch, the songwriting is some of Michael’s most eccentric and creative, and the vocal performances exceed not only in vibrancy and clarity, but in range as well. The bass is unmatched in funkines, the percussion is varied and constantly locked into time, and the variety of auxiliary horns and strings perfectly fill up the sound. Every track on this album is fundamentally built for the dance floor, making a try-not-to-tap-your-toes challenge of this album pretty much impossible; The grooves are just too infectious. Everything just sounds so fucking good too, with the clarity and space given to the instruments giving them this really echoey, spacey, vibe to them and makes it feel like you are experiencing this music in a pure vacuum from the outside world; It sounds otherworldly. I would go over the tracklist of this album to try to explain why it’s so good, but when I tried to do so it felt redundant to type over and over how flawless and enjoyable each track is. All I can say is that the flow from track to track makes it feel like this album is never declining in quality, but instead always matching itself or going one step further. Overall, this album could do so little to improve upon itself. It’s an achievement for Michael Jackson, but it’s even more so an achievement for disco music and black music as a whole. It feels impossible for any of these songs to get old with how much is packed into every second. Give this one a listen. Please just do it. Highlights: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Rock With You, Workin’ Day and Night, Get on the Floor, Off the Wall, Girlfriend, She’s Out of My Life, I Can’t Help It, It’s the Falling in Love, Burn This Disco Out Score: 9.3/10 THE BEST disco album. Period.

7/21/2022 - ALBUM #175 Today's Album: "The Low End Theory" by A Tribe Called Quest - This is a fairly decent 90s rap project from another rap group I hear a lot of praise given to. However, unlike the sonic variety found on the Wu-Tang record I just reviewed, the songs on this album really like to find a groove and sit in it for the entire duration. Many of the songs have a great boom-bap sound to them with a really rich bass and head-bobbing drum beats, but as soon as the sound of a track and flow of the rapper is established in the first 10 seconds of the track, they fail go anywhere. It gives each song a really wallpapery and lackadaisical vibe, which you could argue is some of the appeal of the album if you enjoy music that sits heavy in the background, but for me it just feels really repetitive and difficult to stay engaged in. There are plenty of solid grooves laid down on this tracklist and I have no doubt that the big picture ideas of this record inspired countless other artists. However, I find it pretty rudimentary in many ways that are hard to directly articulate. Overall, I would say this album is worth spinning to understand the rap style I am trying to describe here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you found it difficult to reach the end of it without listening fituige. Give this one a lesson if you are very lyric oriented and can vibe with a pretty basic and repetitive instrumental. Highlights: Excursions, Rap Promoter, Butter, Show Business, Everything is Fair, Scenario Score: 6/10 A rap album with great vibes and grooves, but under-achieving verses

7/22/2022 - ALBUM #176 Today's Album: "A Date with The Everly Brothers" by The Everly Brothers - This album kicks off with some absolute HEAT. It might be fairly dated in its base idea, but the first track, Made to Love, is a beautifully warm and joyful production of jangly keys, plucky guitar strums, and some sturdy surf-rock grooves. The next track That’s Just Too Much serves as a hypntoizingly sweet and slow country ballad and continues to show off the warmth of the mix. I find the songwriting to be very comfortable without falling into a really boring sound. Yes, it reeks of the early 60s, but it does so as more of an ambassador of the sound of that time and less like a contemporary. If there was an artist I could best compare them to, it would be the early work of the Beatles; very basic and fundamental songwriting that is performed with expert finesse and consistency. Obviously, this album just barely scratches the level of brilliance that the Beatles were on, but there is still a life and energy in this album that justifies it’s enjoyment in the 21st century. Overall, I would say this album is about as mainstream pop as you can get for the 1960s, but I think it stands as an important piece of music history and holds some really good tunes throughout. Give this one a listen if you like the early Beatles or Beach Boys. Highlights: Made to Love, That’s Just Too Much, Love Hurts, Cathy’s Clown Score: 7.25/10 A classic in one sense of the word ;) An early 60s gem

7/23/2022 - ALBUM #177 Today's Album: "Nevermind" by Nirvana - This is an album that any music fan should already be familiar with, but in case anyone missed it, this was the largest album in grunge rock and stands one of the most acclaimed albums of the 90s. The opening track, Smells Like Teen Spirit, gets unrelenting praise for being an anthem of it's generation, and I have to say it is hard to compete with the raw punk energy in this track. The track In Bloom follows as another really stellar track and demonstrates this wall of sound that they seem to achieve so easily. The way the band is able to fill up sound as just a guitar, drum set, and bass is unbelievable. Many of the tracks on this album are defined by Kurt Kobain’s unbelievable songwriting chops; there are simply no choruses on this album that miss. However, the instrumental performances really elevate things as well. The quirky Kurt Kobain guitar solos (See In Bloom, Breed Solos), the disco-like drum beats from Dave Grohl, and the super-melodic and hypnotising basslines from Krist Novoselic (See the beginning of Come As You Are, Lithium) make Nirvana such a complete package sonically. There really isn’t much to improve upon as a rock band when you have a kickass and impressive sound, insightful lyricism, and some of the best chorus writing of the 90s. The track Something In The Way is a standout track as well for showing off the dark mental issues Kurt was covering in his lyricism and stands as a really chilling song to listen to all these years later. Obviously, the tragic end of the band draws both positive and negative attention towards the band’s work and this album in particular, but as we will see in the upcoming review of their next album, In Utero, the band were absolutely not out of steam at this point and had a lot more distance to cover before Kurt Kobain’s suicide. Overall, this is an absolute staple of 90s grunge and just rock as a genre in general. Give this one a listen if you haven’t; it can be a bit abrasive at first, but it is an album that rewards patience for sure. Highlights: Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come As You Are, Breed, Lithium, Polly, Territorial Pissings, Drain You, Lounge Act, Stay Away, On A Plain, Something In The Way, “Endless, Nameless” Score: 8.75/10 THE 90s grunge album. Energetic, dark, thoughtful, beautiful.

7/24/2022 - ALBUM #178 Today's Album: "Selling England By The Pound" by Genesis - As a 70s prog rock album, this album is at times intentionally obtuse, but with some really fascinating production and a lot of impressive performances, it becomes easy to get locked into whatever world the artist is trying to portray, which in this case seems to be about the economic and sociological decline of england and the issues within the government and broader society that are causing it. The opener Dancing With The Moonlit Knight is a pretty impressive opener, switching up the temp and tone of the album frequently and managing to include plenty of strange instrumentation and stellar soloing. Like many other prog rock albums, this album is one that is going to be enjoyed if the listener likes other prog rock groups like Yes, The Moody Blues, Kansas, etc. and if the listener doesn’t enjoy that kind of music or hasn’t been exposed to it before, it probably will seem really scatterbrained and confusing. Fortunately, I have conquered the Court of The Crimson King and I have eaten my Leftoverature, so I fucking love the sound of this album. The overall sound of the album is quite different in the way that it mixes sounds together and brings certain sounds out in the mix. The band keeps a pretty solid energy despite the numerous changes in feel that occur multiple times a song. There are even moments where it feels like they are incorporating some sounds from artists like Bowie and Queen as well so it really feels like a full on celebration of all things prog. A huge highlight in the tracklist is Firth of Fifth, with some absolutely insane performances coming from all members of the band. The guitar solo sounds excellent, the keys add a ton of flavor, and the drums and bass are locked in this rhythmic game of chicken. It all adds up to a really mind-bending sonic experience. Overall, this album is a prog rockians dream, with a ton of unique and interesting sonic landscapes being set up and broken down. Give this one a listen if you are down with some strange music in order to get to some golden moments and have enjoyed prog rock in the past. Highlights: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like, Firth Of Fifth, After The Ordeal, The Cinema Show, Aisle Of Plenty Score: 8/10 The culmination of many of the best ideas in prog rock: an album about England?

7/25/2022 - ALBUM #179 Today's Album: "Tea For The Tillerman" by Cat Stevens - This album is pure beauty from front to back. The sound of it is like Cat Stephens was trying to make this album sound like a landscape painting, with the gentle guitar strums acting as strokes of foliage across the canvas and his rich vocals acting as the large sun warming up the entire piece. From Where Do The Children Play?: a ballad expressing optimism for the future while asking the important question, who is all of this progress for? Then moving onto Hard Headed Woman, expressing the love he holds for a woman that can hold him to be the best he can and accepts him for what that is. It sets up a template of soft folky subtlety mashed with poignant, critical songwriting. The track Wild World stands as an all time Cat Stephens classic because of it’s captivating chorus and expert guitar picking. I enjoy the track Miles From Nowhere for continuing this theme of blind optimism for the future, distilling it into one’s personal journey in life. Cat also goes off here vocally on this track and the band does a great job of keeping up with colorful pianowork and soft chorus vocals. The track On The Road to Find Out does a great job of picking up the tone near the end of the project before we dive into the absolute masterpiece that is the track, Father and Son. An expression of the passing of time and the way the viewpoints clash between a father and his son simply because of where they are in their journey through life is captured in pure songwriting genius and rivals Cats in the Cradle for the saddest song with this concept. Not to mention the track itself is a fantastic guitar driven tune with a super satisfying melody line. Finally, the album ends off with the title track, Tea For The Tillerman, which perfectly ties back into that Where will the Children Play? Idea that was expressed in the beginning of the album, perfectly framing the heart and soul of this record: a weary, but optimistic view into humanity’s future. Overall, this album is like a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It just feels warm and makes you feel better when you might be having a difficult day. Give this one a listen if you enjoy acoustic folk and prefer a bit more nuance to the way that songs are written. Highlights: Where Do The Children Play?, Wild World, Miles From Nowhere, Longer Boats, On The Road To Find Out, Father And Son, Tea For The Tillerman Score: 8.5/10 A simply beautiful acoustic folk album with a powerful message that ties everything together.

7/26/2022 - ALBUM #180 Today's Album: "Done By The Forces Of Nature" by Jungle Brothers - When it comes to the oversaturated, predictable nature of most 90s rap, a group really just needs to set themselves apart from the crowd in one way or another in order to peak my interest. Interesting hooks, engaging flows, or unique beats alone make an album worth listening in my opinion. That is why it is incredibly disappointing to listen to an album that exceeds in none of these categories. Perhaps there was a solid audience for this group in the 90s because they liked the slight variations this group puts on the typical rap template that was popular at the time, but after more than 30 years, the uniqueness of this group from the crowd has faded. With crunchy beats, muddy basslines, and rap flows so basic they becomes fatiguing, this album sits as a beacon of mediocrity for it’s genre and for it’s time. I think there are some interesting concepts and sounds that start to be examined in the latter end of the record like with the tracks Acknowledge Your Own History and Beez Comin’ Through, it ends up being a bit hard to justify a full album listen. Coming so far in the tracklist and the fact that they still have such boring rap verses, these tracks end up not doing enough to justify this record in this decade. Overall, I think this albu has a few highlights here and there for diehard 90s rapheads, but it should be poked at with a long stick otherwise. Give it a listen if you want some predictably plain rap style and some luke-warm social commentary but otherwise give this one the skip. REDUX: looking at the release date of this album, I have to give it credit for coming out as early as it did and holding so much poignant criticism in it’s lyrics, but my opinion still goes mostly unchanged. This shit dated. Highlights: Acknowledge Your Own History, Tribe Vibes, J. Beez Comin’ Through, Doin’ Our Own Dang Score: 5.5/10 A VERY early rap album that has not aged well as the genre has advanced

7/27/2022 - ALBUM #181 Today's Album: "Funhouse" by The Stooges - The opener Down on the Street opens up pretty strong with a chugging punky bass, strange abrasive vocals, and a breakback drum beat. I believe that whatever punk I have been exposed to in the past months since I last reviewed a stooges record has helped me to place them in the history of punk rock as one of the most important influences in the genre. The rawness, yet complete control of their sound is what have inspired much of the punk sound going forward. The second track, Loose, is much more melodic than the first and it feels like they use a more usual chorus structure as a handrail for the album to hold while the guitars really start to go nuts with some classic shredding and improvising. The track T.V. Eye is much more spastic and frantic, with the flanged sound of the guitars feeling like it’s barely keeping up with the pounding bass and chugging drumline. There’s also some very interesting and creepy augmentation done to the vocals in parts of this track that I really like. Things cool off for the beginning of the 7 minute track Dirt with a swaggering bassline and howling guitar chords surrounding the most normal vocal performance of the album thus far. The way this song sort of just slowly unravels with jaw-dropping guitar solos and more and more complex bass rhythms is super impressive and makes for a super powerful statement in the middle of the album. The next track 1970 feels almost like a punk Bob Dylan track, with a groove and vocal performance reminiscent of Tombstone Blues if it was passed through a woodchipper (in the best way). The track is a real rollercoaster, though, ramping up at the end with an insane sax solo. Maybe it’s the way they’re mixed further back in the mix or maybe it’s the great instrumentation around them, but Iggy Pop’s vocals on this album really strike me as way more listenable than I remember them being on Raw Power. The title track of the album is the penultimate one, and it’s pretty much a bunch of solos being traded between the sax and guitar (sometimes soloing simultaneously) surrounded by the rest of the band just throwing down a hypnotic groove and not letting up for the whole track. It’s the longest track of the album, but because of the thrilling solos going on the whole time, it feels much shorter than almost 8 minutes. The album closes off with the track L.A. Blues, which after the insane build that is Fun House, cranks things up to 11 with a 5 minute avante-guard noise piece that really traps the mind in this cage of noise and, the more I think about it, serves as a perfect transition into their much noisier and much punkier following album, Raw Power. All of the instruments soloing together tastefully out of tune is just a really cool sonic experience and ends the album off on such a glorious note. As a whole, this album has managed to join a place in my top 5 favorite punk albums so far, with a sound somehow both raw and clean that is so enjoyable, it makes me want to revisit Raw Power, since I know I didn’t enjoy that one when I reviewed it. Maybe it’s a growing appreciation for punk as a genre, or maybe it’s just actually a really good album. Who’s to say? Overall, this is probably the most early example of an album that perfected the sound and energy of punk rock, all the way back in 19-goddamn-70. Give this one a listen if you enjoy punk rock that’s well thought out and masterfully executed. Highlights: Down on the Street, Loose, T.V Eye, Dirt, 1970, Fun House, L.A. Blues Score: 8.25/10 A distillation of raw, yet well performed punk rock

7/28/2022 - ALBUM #182 Today's Album: "My Aim Is True" by Elvis Costello - The last Elvis Costello album I listened to from this generator was with his band, The Attractions, so it was interesting to hear what his music sounded like solo. On this album, in comparison to the other one, there is far more emphasis on Elvis’s songwriting and less on the sound of the record. That isn’t to say the sound of this is bad by any means, but I think it sounds pretty simple and stripped back in comparison. This tracklist is pretty full of good tunes, with every song holding a pretty decent chorus and a classic rock and roll vibe. There isn’t a ton to say with any of the specific tracks, really, aside from some standout funky vibes on tracks like Blame It On Cain, Sneaky Feelings, and Watching The Detectives. If I told you to imagine classic rock distilled into a scrawny white man with the voice of Frank Zappa, I’m sure you would be able to imagine something pretty similar to what’s on display on this record. It’s really just Elvis’s unbeatable melody writing paired with a chunky rock and roll groove on every track and there isn’t much more than that. I guess that’s what is really standout about this record: for how little it’s doing something new for it’s time. It’s such an enjoyable listen from front to back and it’s such a testament to how strong his songwriting abilities are. Overall, this is a solid rock and roll record with great song-writing and a bunch of banger choruses. Give this one a listen if you want to know more about the 2nd most famous person named Elvis. Highlights: Welcome To The Working Week, Miracle Man, Blame It On Cain, Alison, Sneaky Feelings, Watching The Detectives, Red Shoes, Less Than Zero, Mystery Dance, Pay It Back, I’m Not Angry Score: 8/10 A classic rock and roll record with quite the songwriting punch

7/29/2022 - ALBUM #183 Today's Album: "On The Beach" by Neil Young - Since the only other Neil Young album I have gotten on the generator was a live album that I didn’t care too much for, I was excited to see what his studio material sounded like since I hear so much praise thrown his way. This album justifies that praise by way of soulful folk vocals, warm production, and a strong songwriting tact from young. The album opens up well with the upbeat rock track Walk On and continues strong with the slower track See the Sky About to Rain. The rockier songs on this album are quite enjoyable, but the delicate sound of the keys and strings paired with Young’s soft, youthful vocals makes for great balladry throughout this album. Neil Young is known for this kind of folky balladry that lifts the dark tones of the lyrics with the levity of the instrumentals, but it was also great to find that he was exploring other, beach-inspired, sounds on this project. The track Revolution Blues follows much of the singer-songwriter conventions that Bob Dylan pioneered in the prior decade, but Young feels like he has a deep respect for this sound and does well to add in a fair bit of 70s rock flair to update it. I think the track For the Turnstiles feels a bit weak in it’s execution, with pretty hollow sounding vocals from Young. Maybe it’s that I feel like it could have sounded much better with more vocal harmonies or that I wanted it to sound more like Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, it just feels like a fairly uninteresting detour. I think Vampire Blues also doesn’t doo much to pick things up from there. There is some interesting guitar work going on, but the overall progression doesn’t really impress me. Things pick back up a fair bit with On the Beach, where a groove not unalike I Want You (She’s So Heavy) by The Beatles fill out the verses and a rather lovely melody line fills out the chorus lines. The album ends with the track Ambulance Blues, which I think is a fine way to close things off with some sweet sounding strings and low brass instrumentation. Throughout this album, there are some really nice moments that show me the beauty of Neil Young’s musicianship and I think Walk On stands as a great standalone track, but I think there is something missing in it for me. His lyricism is pretty decent, but it doesn’t top the greats of the decade prior and I think there isn’t enough in this record sonically to distinguish itself from the piles of folk rock greats that were performing better music before, during, and after his career. Overall, I am a bitter Neil Young hater that thinks that his sound isn’t super impressive, but this album is a really solid statement from him as an artist. Even if I was only sometimes really blown away wih this album, there were never moments that I flat out disliked and the whole time and I have to compliment the sturdiness and cohesion of this crop of tracks. Give this one a listen if you want to hear Neil Young’s expert level songwriting 5 years into his solo career, with all of the fatigue and wisdom that comes with that. Highlights: Walk On, See the Sky About to Rain, Revolution Blues, On the Beach, Ambulance Blues Score: 7/10 An example of what Neil Young is capable as a solo artist; Hopefully not the very best he has to offer

7/30/2022 - ALBUM #184 Today's Album: "Before And After Science" by Brian Eno - The first exposure I had to Brian Eno was through a collaboration he had done with Talking Head’s front-man, David Byrne, which was a strange collection of loops that although very funky and danceable, served little in terms of variety. Learning later that Eno was responsible for the production of many of the Talking Heads projects I have been made familiar with, I was excited to what he would sound like on his own project. I have to say, it’s about what you would expect from the producer of the Talking Heads. Similarly to how Allen Parson’s Project parallels the sound of Pink Floyd, I think Brian Eno’s music takes all of the quirky-ness of his work with the Talking Heads, but gives the sound the ability to shine outside of Byrne’s avant-garde songwriting style. The track Kurt’s Rejoinder is a really fun example of this, with this super expressive growling bassline backing a relatively tame tune with some crazy fast hand-drum over top. This track also shows off how much fun Eno has with the sound of this record; everything just has this bounciness to it that comes together to give a rather ominous tune a really urgent and fun tone to it. It also feels like Eno has a sort of knack for psychedelia and the sound strange design that comes with it, so his music ends up having much more of an explorative feel to it than the rambunctious groovy-ness of a Talking Heads project: see Energy Fools The Magician. There are still a ton of moments where the sound of this projects mirrors that of the Talking Heads (or even Devo) like with the song King’s Lead Hat, but there is still a clear difference in the way Brian Eno writes a chorus that seems to ground these strange sounds in a more consistent listening realm. Maybe I am just not a fan of the avant-gardism's of the Talking Heads, but it’s refreshing to have strange sounding music like this be so easy to digest. Overall, this is a really fun album both instrumentally and in terms of songwriting and serves as a great window into the mind that produced some of the strangest albums of the late 70s and early 80s. Give this one a listen if you enjoy the Talking Heads. Highlights: No One Receiving, Kurt’s Rejoinder, Energy Fools The Magician, King’s Lead Hat, Here He Comes, Julie With, Through Hollow Lands, Spider And I Score: 7.5/10 A solid standalone album from the mind behind the sound of the Talking Heads

7/31/2022 - ALBUM #185 Today's Album: "Figure 8" by Elliott Smith - After the success and eventual Good Will Hunting Soundtrack inclusion of his last album, Either Or, Elliott Smith wanted to create an album that elevated the sound of the instrumentals that back his subtle and prophetic songwriting. This effort would ultimately culminate in this record, Figure 8, which I believe reaches the same musical height as Either Or in many of the beginning tracks, but is unable to keep up that momentum throughout the latter 60% of tracks. To be more specific, I think the album starts off with a bunch of really great songs: Son Of Sam, Somebody That I Used To Know, Junk Bond Trader, Everything Reminds Me Of Her. However, by the time we hit track 6, L.A., there are only maybe 3 songs of the next 8 that scratch the surface of how good the album starts off. I don’t think this ultimately kills the record, as I think the journey from track to track to get to the real songwriting highlights is still a fairly enjoyable one, but I think it becomes pretty obvious when listening to this record which tracks have been given lots of attention and which ones are purely filler. In terms of the larger sonic footprint Elliott was going for, I really think he achieved that throughout the album, from the opening powerful rock of Son Of Sam to the avante-garde closer, Bye, Elliott has managed to beef up the sound with more instruments and more effects. I think this is a bit of a double edged sword, however, since so much of the appeal of his last record was the subtlety of it. Overall, this is a pretty strong follow up for an artist that was launched to the peaks of critical acclaim with their last project. It’s a difficult task to follow up great work with even okay work and I have to say this album is at least good. Give this one a listen if you enjoy Elliott Smith’s work and if you don’t know who Elliott Smith is, please listen to or read my review of Either Or. Highlights: Son Of Sam, Somebody That I Used To Know, L.A., In The Lost And Found, Easy Way Out, Can’t Make A Sound Score: 7.25/10 A good record from an artist who has made better, but is handling their success well and still making great music.

8/1/2022 - ALBUM #186 Today's Album: "Physical Graffiti" by Led Zeppelin - As someone who knows the popular hits from most of Led Zeppelin’s catalog, but have only fully listened to Zeppelin 1, I feel a bit strange jumping all the way forward in their career to this point. However, this album really impressed me with it’s variety and consistency throughout it’s double LP runtime. To me, it doesn’t have the super hit potential of an album like Zeppelin 4 or even Zeppelin 1, but I think for what it lacks in straight hits, it makes up for great solos, killer bass progressions, and powerful drums. In terms of what it does serve out in terms of hits, the track Kashmir is an all time Zeppelin classic and even it still has far more subtlety to it than many of the other hits by the band. The track Houses Of The Holy is also a stands out among the track-list for it’s traditional rock and roll sound and smooth vocal performance. If I am being honest though, reviewing a Led Zeppelin album sort of feels like reviewing the Bible: anyone who likes this music knows why it fucking rules and doesn’t really need to have that explained to them and anyone who doesn’t already know how much they rule is not about to be convinced by me talking about ‘traditional rock sound’ or whatever tf. I know for how highly I am about to rate this album, I should have more to say to justify the claim that it's good, but I feel like music history already knows Zeppelin rules and I am sure there is someone more qualified than me to tell you exactly why each of these tracks is legendary. Overall, I think this is a fantastic album for Led Zeppelin and stands as a monument of creative output and instrumental prowess for the band at this point. It’s runtime makes it a little bit difficult for any one song to jump out at me as important over the rest or a standout hit to add to my playlist, but as you can see from the highlights, almost every track on here was good enough for me to vibe with it at one point or another and the overall album listening experience is incredibly rewarding. Give this one a listen if you dig Led Zeppelin. They’re great. Highlights: Custard Pie, The Rover, In The Time of Dying, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir, In The Light, Bron-Yr-Aur, Down by the Seaside, Ten Years Gone, The Wanton Song, Boogie With Stu, Black Country Woman, Sick Again Score: 8.5/10 It’s a goddamn Led Zeppelin album ofc it’s gonna be good like…???

8/2/2022 - ALBUM #187 Today's Album: "Dare!" by The Human League - This album is one of those albums that is on this 1001 albums list because it has a hit single that was massively overplayed by the public, which in this instance is the album closer, Don’t You Want Me. However, unlike most albums of this vein, there are a few tracks throughout the album that justify a full listen. The opener, The Things That Deams Are Made Of, is a fairly energetic start to the album, introducing the whirring synths and robotic drum beats that are emblematic of both this album and the developing sound of new-wave in the early 80s. I also like the slower, broodier track, I Am The Law, as I think the songwriting of the track is particularly strong and I think the ambient synths and bass framing the track create a really interesting soundscape. There are, though, plenty of tracks here that have a real lack of urgency and an uninteresting sound palette, with some songs sounding pretty goofy from the childlike sounds the band was experimenting with. The overall flow and balance of this record is ultimately heavily thrown off by this, with some of the highlight tracks sounding fairly good, but having a hard time shining when mushed together between what sound like playground experiments. There is obviously, the shining star at the end of the album, Don’t You Want Me, which really does capture the overall sound of this album and shows it off in the most flattering light. It is an extremely clean and polished new-wave song and as a genre that thrives when it sounds like digital beeps, I think it really elevates this album from a forgettable experiment to an important musical influence. Overall, though, I think this album is a pretty mixed bag of early new-wave experimentation. It has a ton of moments that are sonically impressive and a fair bit of memorable hooks to keep you hooked, but it’s mostly just 4 good songs held together with scotch tape and gum. Give this one a listen if you are into new wave and otherwise maybe just peep the highlights. Highlights: The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, Darkness, I Am The Law, Don’t You Want Me Score: 6/10 Early new wave album that is very groundbreaking, but is mostly held up by a few good songs

8/3/2022 - ALBUM #188 https://open.spotify.com/album/2uqUv4tMXOPTwP6nHzi9mA?si=086d71de466c4881 Today's Album: "No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith (Live)" by Motörhead - As far as live albums go, I think it’s pretty fair to suggest that a studio album is always going to be superior in terms of subtlety of sound and distillation of artist intent. But, with a kickass heavy-metal rock band like Motörhead, those two things really don’t matter, and that is why I think this album is pretty kick-ass. It’s a pretty great recording of some classic Motörhead hits and, although somewhat fatiguing after a while, I think it faithfully recreates what it would be like to hear them live in their prime. I really like that it starts off with a super recognizable track, Ace of Spades, as gets me familiar with how the next hour will sound without being too heavy too fast. After that, though, I do think the album sits at a pretty consistent level of quality for most of the rest of the album. The highlights demonstrate when the band is able to launch above and beyond their normal sound with guitar solos so good I am shocked they can do it live, but for the rest of it, it’s pretty much at a solid above-average level of enjoyment. Overall, I think the live element of this album works immensely well in it’s favor and I think it gives a good window into who Motörhead are as a band and what it sounded like to hear them back in the day. Give this one a listen if you like heavy rock / metal. Highlights: Ace of Spades, Metropolis, Overkill Score: 6.75/10 Really solid live album from some hard-rock legends

8/4/2022 - ALBUM #189 Today's Album: "Aftermath" (UK Version) by The Rolling Stones - So far in my exploration of The Rolling Stones, I went from disliking them in my review of their ‘72 release, Exile On Main St. for not being very interesting for the time, to somewhat reconsidering them in my review of ‘68’s Beggars Banquet. So what do I think of their even earlier work, 66’s Aftermath? I think that this album hit me at the perfect point in my music discovering journey. Listening to the early work of the Beatles and some of the peak albums of Bob Dylan’s career around 1965, I realize that this album came out before any of the albums by the Beatles that really pushed the sound of rock and exists in a time where the blues reigned supreme, and after you understand that bit of history and place yourself in the time period this was created in, the experimentation the Stones were trying on this album becomes far more impressive. For instance, the 11 minute track Going Home is noteworthy for it’s (at the time) adventurous length for a and dramatic progression for a pop rock band. The track Mother’s Little Helper also opens the album on a fairly experimental songwriting note, with allusions to moms pill popping to keep their 20th century family satisfied. I enjoy the fairly unapologetically sexist songs Stupid Girl and Under My Thumb for being so upbeat despite the rude lyricism. Lady Jane is a fairly interesting song for it’s classical composition style and delicate lead vocals and I like the closer What To Do with it’s beach-boys-like background vocals and overall carefree vibe. None of the songs together create a real sense of cohesion across the record and even that aforementioned ending track ends in a pretty unsatisfying fade-out, but I think this album still flows from track to track in a way that isn’t too out of the ordinary. I think this album also has a decent problem with the second half feeling a bit more bloated and uninteresting, but given the close to hour of music on this thing, I think it does a fine job filling the time. Overall, this is a fairly enjoyable album by The Rolling Stones that innovates on a lot of the sounds at the time while still maintaining the youthful chaos that the stones were known for back then. Give this one a listen if you dig 60s music or enjoyed Beggars Banquet. Highlights: Mother’s Little Helper, Under My Thumb, Goin Home, What To Do Score: 7.25/10 A slightly bloated, but innovative and explorative Rolling Stones album from the mid 60s.

8/5/2022 - ALBUM #190 Today's Album: "Histoire de Melody Nelson" by Serge Gainsbourg - This album has a really strong vibe to it, with a ton of hypnotic and expertly executed guitarwork, subtle yet impressive string passages, and some funk sections so dirty they could ruin a towel. However, those elements aren’t really what shares the spotlight on this album. The real center of the album is the artist himself, at the time 36 years old Serge Gainsbourg, hopping into an alter ego of himself called Gainsbarre to lament his perverted and pedophilic desires with the caricature of an impressionable young teen, named Melody Nelson. Now, if you don’t think this sounds shady enough in concept, you can feel free to listen to the opening few tracks and experience the vocal performance Serge gives, which is an uncomfortably close, but deeply sensual sort of whisper into both audio channels. It paints the whole album in this really gross and creepy esthetic that makes me want to simply stop listening. However, the instrumental aspects of the album that I mentioned before really make this a fantastic classical/funk experience. The highlight of this experience though was the track En Melody, which drops the melodrama to provide a head-rattling bass and drum groove with some jittery, distorted guitar riffs. The band being given a track with only 4 lines of lyrics to just go absolutely ham for 3 and a half minutes was really used to the artists advantage, even if there are some really awkward woman laughing sounds being mixed in. They are so obnoxious that on a lesser track, they would make it unlistenable, but on here it somehow adds to the experience and makes the track even more psychedelic, which is emphasized by the insanely produced guitar solo that follows. Truly an incredible track that takes a fairly creepy album and makes it a solid recommendation. Overall, this album’s base concept is creepy and unsettling and I don’t really like it, but the music is pretty damn innovative and makes a listen at least partially justifiable. Give this one a listen if you’re curious and if the first few songs turn you off, give En Melody a listen at least. Highlights: En Melody Score: 6.5/10 Gross base subject matter and concept, but really great instrumentals.

8/6/2022 - ALBUM #191 Today's Album: "Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine - This is an album with THE highest level of acclaim within the shoegaze genre, inspiring countless other acts with it’s ethereal blend of guitar reverb and soft vocals. Despite the relatively lo-fi production of the project, it uses compression to enhance the dreamlike haziness and rhythmic ambiguity that this album is known for. The tunes these tracks at their core are relatively sweet (notably When You Sleep, Come in Alone, Blown a Wish, Soon), with lyrics that call upon this sort of love-sick nostalgia and enforce the overall concept of the record being an expression of lovelessness. The way the original guitar sound is taken out of many tracks, leaving only its ghost in the form of echoey reverb, gives the album this super unique identity. The flow of this album is also something to be commended, with many great transitions from track to track both sonically and tonally. One of my favorite examples is the perfect transitioning from the moody interlude, Touched, into the sparklingly ethereal To Here Knows When. The album as a whole is somewhat hard to review because it feels like the parts of my brain that enjoy this album are ones completely separate from the parts that usually consume music. It becomes so much more of a visceral experience listening to this album because there isn’t a real separation between instruments within the sound so it’s not an album where you can focus on just one instrument. This makes it difficult for me to exactly pin down what to say that makes this album so awe-inspiring and enjoyable, but if I had to sum it up in a sentence: This album simply does what no album did before it and is, in many ways, yet to be superseded by any of its contemporaries. Overall, this is a fantastic sonic experience that bends the fabric of what music conventionally sounds like and challenges listeners with an entirely new framework with which to understand music as an art medium. Give this one a listen if you are a fan of shoegaze or ambient pop and even if those genres aren’t your favorite, give it a listen because this album deserves to be heard at least once throughout your lifetime. Highlights: Only Shallow, Loomer, To Here Knows When, When You Sleep, I Only Said, Come in Alone, Sometimes, Blown a Wish, What You Want, Soon Score: 8.75/10 Beautiful in ways I don’t think I can comprehend yet