going back in the list to rate this since it is my favorite band. MOP start to finish is great. Aggression, sadness, fear, descent into madness, unspeakable monsters, fuck you to the military, psychiatric, and religious industrial complexes --- great stuff. Oh, you say you can't have a 8 1/2 minute instrumental on an album -- fuck you. Oh, and it is basically a bass solo but the bass does the work of 3 instruments -- double fuck you. Did I mention the bass is recorded playing fingerstyle, none of that pristine picking, just nasty and raw -- triple fuck you. Oh, wait, the bass player is wearing bell bottom jeans in 1983 - that is a fourth fuck you. Song about a Lovecraftian monster from the deep? No one asked for it but Metallica is serving it up anyway cause we should want it. Anti religious establishment song title snagged from Bowie's Ziggy Stardust? you guessed it - fuck you. Battery and Damage, Inc. -- no one cares what they are about -- they are the perfect opener/closer in your face combo. The main riff in Battery shouldnt work but somehow it does because it is willed into existence. Time signature? Irrelevant. What is Damage Inc.? It doesnt matter because it already punched you in the face. Master of Puppets' opening downpicked riff, the slow two guitar harmony bit, the call-response -- great. Hearing it all live when they hit their stride made your bones shiver. It all seems tame now especially seeing it on Stranger Things (which was perfect), but this was the band's 3rd album, the oldest member was 23, they had no radio play, no music video, and no fear. Fuck you.
If Medievil Times theme restaurant had a soundtrack, this would be it. Its got all the things: canticles; jangly sounds of Robin Hood prancing through the forest; whimsy; nature; herbs. And the album cover! PS in a puffy shirt looking like he is about to invite AG to check out his Cask of Amontillado, AG time travelling from the '80s with acid wash jeans and looking like he is about to blink SOS in Morse code. 10/10 for Homeward Bound and credit for Scarborough Fair being whatever it is and calling out 4 separate herbs. Everything else 0/10 -- proves the 60s were mostly stupid and self-important. The 7oclock news Silent Night and bob dylan Robert McNamara must be SNL protest song parodies. Homeward Bound though...a good jam.
I don't get it. Massively banal.
Nope --
music that makes you think < music that makes you feel. The only thing I feel when listening to this is that I am 'supposed' to like it. Stop bossing me around Gill Scott-Heron.
I always get tricked when I see "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds". Cool name, I will like this--never make it through full song let alone album. Voice is interesting, music is interesting and fits with vocal but most lyrics are overwrought.
It is a vibe. Musically interesting, good use of voice as instrument. I don't pay any attention to the lyrics but that feels fine. They feel Canadian -- I don't know why or what that means but they do.
Half the points go to the band -- an improbable success for 3 (the classic albums lineup) ne'er do wells. one look at phil taylor, fast eddie, and lemmy and of course they are in motorhead -- true scuzballs. Lemmy gets points for playing a rickenbacker a' la McCartney and overdriving it. Also points for being a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and love of Little Richard. Lots not to like about him too but I imagine he would probably be nice to anyone as long as you aren't a dick go people. Anyway, I suppose the review should be about the music -- hard, fast, loud, juvenile, and clearly the result of drug-addled brains - not 'good' by any definition but just right nonetheless.
I don't want to, but I like it. You do too -- don't worry I won't tell.
I know society says I should like Radiohead but I simply don't get it. I can only understand 1 of every 20 words so maybe I am missing the profoundness. The music is well-crafted with bits similar to Sonic Youth in exploration of sound. The radio play songs are good but every song is like a funeral dirge. Yorke's vocalization makes me think of a wailing widow lamenting alone at the grave of her lost love. It's affecting but I wouldnt put it on my summertime roadtrip playlist. I saw them open for REM (Monster-era maybe?) - I said to myself them that this band has a lot going on -- whatever that means.
The sunglasses and beards are to hide their surprise at being on this list. I am pretty sure that if MTV didnt exist, neither would ZZTop.
Started out great but got monotonous. Back to Black much better but you could see on this album that she was going to be massive.
Underappreciated gem of a record. Not the greatest REM album but solid -- every song is a great vibe. Late eighties/early nineties was overflowing with creativity.
I could never get into Afghan Whigs much but the music is objectively good. All their songs have a seedy LA vibe in a good way.
11/10 for the acoustic bass and the awesome bass fills alone. This album is lightning in a bottle.
Front to back excellent. Straightforward song structures but solid playing that makes each a great platform for the many voice Stipes' brings: Sing-songy King of Birds; punk-y Strange; darkness of Welcome to the Occupation-- an earworm around every corner. The popular songs are great, if overplayed. But the lesser known tracks make it great - I still sing Oddfellows Local 151 when I drive past a firehouse with kids in the car -- they don't know what or why but it makes me feel good.
Spent last Saturday listening to LDR which was my first extended play and it was pretty chill. I don't like all the L.A. vampy-ness though. Brave introduced me to the title track the same day in the car on the way to Jen's house. Good stuff but I kept thinking Phoebe Bridgers also sings about chemtrails then I just started thinking "what are chemtrails" then I remembered it was like a conspiracy theory about government control through contrails then I thought "what the heck are contrails anyway, maybe there is something to the chemtrails theory because contrails are just as unlikely" then I thought "wait am I becoming a conspiracy theorist" to which I thought "maybe LDR is in on it and this song is a subliminal attempt to get me to question the chemtrail theory" then I thought that sort of fits because I remembered LDR's debut on SNL was a disaster and I thought "oh this person can kiss her career goodbye and tha'ts what should happen because I think she started out as a youtuber" all of which is analogous to the govt's pattern of usually messing things up at first like the obamacare website but now we are all like "oh obamacare its great, lets go on the website and give over all our info to the NSA" but then I thought "why would she have a song and album title that basically gives away the whole scheme" but I thought "maybe LDR is going rogue! and will actually save us all!" but of course I couldnt be the only one who figured that out so then I started worrying about LDR's safety because really have any of us seen LDR in person! If they can fake Melania they can fake LDR who probably got disappeared to guantanamo. Then I snapped out of it because the light was about to turn but I remembered it was a red light camera and I looked toward it shaking my fist and said "Not today Lana Del Ray! Enjoy guantanamo!". But the music is alright.
Ugggh...Public Enemy did it better. I liked the voice but then I realized it was the guy from Spearhead. Not much else to say.
Music that should be on that Golden Record they sent to space on one of the Voyager missions to communicate what humans are to aliens. That doesnt mean I would want to listen to it everyday or say it is my favorite, but you can tell that it is good and should be heard (especially by aliens).
