Queens of the Stone Age - Self-Titled - 1998 This album came out the year I graduated from high school. I had stoner friends that loved Kyuss, so when Kyuss/QOTSA released a split EP in ’97, the stoner music crowd was excited for a new Josh Homme-fronted project hailing once again from the California desert. I didn’t give QOTSA much thought for a long time. One day I was watching one of Anthony Bourdain’s food-related travel shows and he was hanging out with Josh Homme in the desert. They were cooking, drinking, playing music, and having a great time. I loved that Bourdain was so into Homme and his music. So I decided to give QOTSA a proper listen. They have been in my regular rotation ever since. This is their first full-length album. It is more polished than a lot of stoner/rock freshman releases. That is likely due to years of experience touring and recording as Kyuss. Out of all their albums, this isn’t the ONE album I would choose from their discography, but it is 100% QOTSA. It is funny, loud, groovy, danceable, and at times a little annoying. Picking a favorite track is hard, but because of the wicked bass intro, and because it has everything I love about the band in one song, I have to go with Mexicola. Also, I might have a bit of a man crush on Homme. 5 out of 5 stars.

From my point of view, as a very young Gen X’er, I saw this album as the poster child for late 70’s psychedelic rock. I picture sexy people in colorful clothes dancing the night away in swinging London. This is likely a result of the Austin Powers movies being so popular when I was in my teens. The stand out track on this album isn’t the iconic “Time of the Season”, it is “Butchers Tale (Western Front 1914)”. Musically, it’s fine. The horrors of WWI told through the eyes of a butcher that was made to leave his home and fight for his country. The song ends in the haunting lyrics:
And I And I can't stop shaking My hands won't stop shaking My arms won't stop shaking My mind won't stop shaking I want to go home Please let me go home Go home Honestly, it is all a bit boring. I understand it’s importance. I respect it. I have had enough of it. 3-5 stars.

February somethingth 1988. It is a cold winter morning in the mountain valley town of Afton, Wyoming. An awkward 8 year old white boy, with arms and legs that are way too long for him to properly control, dances on a floor covered in baseball cards and dirty clothes with a G.I. Joe action figure in his hand. The action figure, a microphone. The song playing on the boombox, “Let the Good Times Roll”. Clad in his whitey tighties, the bedroom door safely locked, he sang like he was playing to a sold out crowd at The Garden. It would be years before someone would introduce me to The Ramones, The Clash, or the Sex Pistols but I needed something cool now. Something that wasn’t Michael Jackson, New Kids on the Block, or Def Leppard (whatever was cool in my isolated mormon mountain village). Luckily, my mom and dad both had a lot of cassette tapes and I had my own boom box. At 35 minutes long, this album almost plays like an EP. 9 fantastic songs about girls, good times, and loss. Things that I didn’t really understand as a kid. Thank goodness that Ric Ocasek made sure to fill each song with tasty hooks and cool production effects. This album is more than cool for me, it defined coolness. Even, the album art is cool. The bright red lipstick adorned woman behind the wheel of, what must be the coolest car in the world (It has a translucent steering wheel!), is having the time of her life. Every song on this album is a banger, but the standout track for me as an adult is “Moving In Stereo”. The hooky keyboard riff and spacey sounds panning from left to right channel are what do it for me in my 40’s.

I don't think I have a single original thing to say about Led Zeppelin. They are ketchup. Everyone knows what ketchup is. Most people like it. Some folks don't care for it, or even avoid it. The people that REALLY like it, are a bit weird. This album is a Zeppelin album. It is a pretty good in fact. Although "Kashmir" gets all the love, almost every song on this album is well done. I stopped putting on entire Led Zeppelin albums to listen to a long time ago. I am not in the "REALLY like ketchup" club. The one song on this album that stood out on this listen was "Trampled Under Foot". It will be going into my "get up and get down" playlist. 4 stars.

Nina Simone - Wild is the Wind (1966) I have no idea how to review a Jazz album. I have listened to Nina Simone here and there, but I never really “listened”, until now. And…. now I am sad. The only Nina album I own is “Sings the Blues”. When she sings the blues, I am tapping my foot along with the beat, and I kind of let the music sink into the background. On ‘Wild’, her voice is haunting. So, so, haunting. I don’t really “get” jazz. My brain doesn’t know what to do with it. Sometime I can say “I like this”, but that is about as far as I can go. I don’t know why I like it or dislike it. It bounces around in my head and makes me feel things. This album makes me feel sad. 
My favorite track is: Wild Is The Wind (Live). I am not a huge fan of long songs, but this one is done so seamlessly, I love it. 4 stars.

Queens of the Stone Age - Self-Titled - 1998 This album came out the year I graduated from high school. I had stoner friends that loved Kyuss, so when Kyuss/QOTSA released a split EP in ’97, the stoner music crowd was excited for a new Josh Homme-fronted project hailing once again from the California desert. I didn’t give QOTSA much thought for a long time. One day I was watching one of Anthony Bourdain’s food-related travel shows and he was hanging out with Josh Homme in the desert. They were cooking, drinking, playing music, and having a great time. I loved that Bourdain was so into Homme and his music. So I decided to give QOTSA a proper listen. They have been in my regular rotation ever since. This is their first full-length album. It is more polished than a lot of stoner/rock freshman releases. That is likely due to years of experience touring and recording as Kyuss. Out of all their albums, this isn’t the ONE album I would choose from their discography, but it is 100% QOTSA. It is funny, loud, groovy, danceable, and at times a little annoying. Picking a favorite track is hard, but because of the wicked bass intro, and because it has everything I love about the band in one song, I have to go with Mexicola. Also, I might have a bit of a man crush on Homme. 5 out of 5 stars.

Cyndi, oh Cyndi. What a beautiful freak (in all the good ways). She is pop royalty. Time after time I am reminded of how much I love this album. It is so much fun. The album cover embodies the music it contains. Wild, artistic, pop-fueled, good times. Pop the top on a cold wine cooler, pull on 3 of your favorite skirts and as many jangly bracelets as you can find; then, dance like EVERYONE is watching, and you don’t give a shit. She Bop is the stand-out track on this album. 4 out of 5 stars

Thanks, I hate it. 2 out of 5 stars.

Robbie Wiliams is a mediocre, boy-band dropout, brit-pop tough guy with a neck tattoo. Don't get me wrong, I like pop music. Good pop music. Good music needs to be authentic. It needs to feel authentic. I got the feeling that an authentic spoiled rich kid doesn't think it's fair to be famous. Is it unfair for a wealthy, successful, handsome man to be famous? If you took Mathew Sweet and stripped away creativity, earnestness, and great hooks and replaced it with predictability, stale songs, and great looks, you would have this fucking moose knuckle. I hope he goes bald before he dies. I think I will listen to some Mathew Sweet and forget all about lil' Rob. 2 out of 5 stars (because the title track is listenable if you ignore the subject matter).

Huh. I guess I kind of like Bjork. Weird. I was super busy today so I don’t have a lot to write about this one. I also didn’t listen super closely. However, I did listen through twice, because after the first listen I still couldn’t believe that I liked a Bjork album. 
I always wanted to like Bjork but I hate Yoko Ono and for some reason, that is all I could hear when I listened to her in the past. A few tracks were really bad songs or really good satire. 3 out of 5 stars.

This was good 90's hip-hop. I don't listen to a ton of this stuff anymore. I went through a phase where I wanted to learn all about it, but my interest fizzled. It is pretty dang good for what it is. 4 out of 5 stars (not because I love it, but because it is really good at what it does)

Turns out this pedophile made a disco album. I don’t like it. 2 out of 5 stars.

I had a feeling that I didn’t like the Bee Gees. Now it is confirmed. I am sure they have some other albums that I might enjoy listening to. Most of the songs on this album are so fucking dull. Jimmy Fallon didn’t do me any favors by doing his Barry Gibb impression so damn well, which makes me laugh every time Barry sings. Favorite Track - Lion in Winter 2 out of 5 stars

This album is dope. I had only really listened to one other LP from Blondie that wasn't a greatest hits album. 11:59 is an awesome track as well as the Buddy Holly cover.

Good feeling Won’t you stay with me just a little longer? It always seems like you’re leaving When I need you here just a little longer Same, Gordon. Same. Violent Femmes are in my top 3 favorite bands of all time. I am unsure who the other two bands are, but The Femmes have it locked. They helped inform my taste in music. I was introduced to the Gordon Gano gang around 12-13. I didn’t know what new wave was, and it still feels weird thinking of VF as a new-wave band. To me, they were passionate and honest. I needed them and they were there, just like they are today. This album has a handful of my favorite songs (all-time). Kiss Off Add It Up Good Feeling 5 out of 5 stars on a bad day.

I didn't like these guys when I was a young person. They are alright to my old person's ears. I guess.

For sure not my thing.

I can't believe it, but I actually liked this album. I had never given ol' George a chance before.

I can't go a full 5 stars, but I love this album a lot. I had this album when it came out, and played it a lot.

Fantastic album.

Kings of Butt-Rock. I loved listening to the entire album for the first time in like 30 years.

Legendary.

Fantastic album.

Punk-influenced blues rock is the best kind of blues rock.

I never really gave Moby a chance. This album is so damn good.

Maybe you had to be there to get it.

I loved this album. They have so many albums and I have only heard a handful of them.

Good stuff. The early days of punk rock were weird and so were the Slits. I dig it.

Kool Keith is pretty good at his thing.

I SHOULD like it, but I kind of don't. It's fine.

Can't separate the art from the artist with this guy anymore.

Nothing to write home about, but listenable.

I am too stupid to enjoy some types of jazz-influenced music.

Fantastic Dolly record. There are so many damn Dolly Parton records it is hard to know which ones deserve a listen.

Better than I expected but still not my cup of tea.

Good album. Not my jam, but really well done.

Holds up better than I thought it would. It still rocks pretty hard.