I'm only a week into the user albums, but I already think this album is a better representative of 2020's music creativity than most of what was on the list. Besides Little Simz there wasn't much that I was blown back by. This was a really fun exploration in so many genres, while maintaining a hazy mystique that made it enjoyable to listen to even with the length being 2 hours.
Probably a 3 in reality, but caught me on a good day
I'm not as crazy about shoegaze as I hoped to be at the end of the project, but this is still a very good listen, even if it drags a bit for me at times.
Knew a few Clutch songs from a friend, great killer riffs, but man are the vocals a bit cheesy at times. Fun listen still.
Came into this one blind besides knowing Redbone, and tidbits about Donald Glover/Childish Gambino. There were so many shades of funk/R&B artists from past and present. I felt Anita Baker, Parliament, Funkadelic, Stevie, but most of all, there were so many songs that just reminded me of Sly and the Family Stone. The first 5 tracks are a phenomenal run, and even though it declines a bit on the midway through, the last two songs bring it back up. One of the best user albums I've heard so far, and I'd be curious to know where this ranks among the most prolific R&B albums of the 21st century.
This one is my submission to the user project! After I got done with the project I wanted to add some albums I felt should be on here (turns out some already are) but I felt a fifth Sabbath, Zeppelin, King Crimson or whatever, maybe would be tiring for a lot of people who don't share the same love for the deeper catalog.
I ended up on Holy Diver by Dio since it was an artist that wasn't on the list, and although I don't think it's a flawless album on every track, I think it's pretty damn good. I do not think you can tell the story of Heavy Metal and it's history without Ronnie James Dio. A personal 5 for me, and I hope others enjoy it as much as I have throughout the years.
"What if we took the keyboard of ELP, the Jazz-element of Chicago, and the vocals of Jethro Tull (and sometimes Peter Gabriel)... Oh, also it's Hungarian.
All-in-all a fun Hodge-podge of progressive rock early on in the genre.
I could just not get with this album, it had an uphill battle to begin with in my mind, but listening didn’t do it any favors.
Enjoyed this one a lot! Kooky and off the wall, but innovative as well.
Lyrically absurd, I see the Waits and NiN comps, but would love to throw a “combined Mustaine/Iggy Pop as a theatre kid who aspires to sing like Waits/Wolf/Beefheart” in contention as well. Instrumentally, it’s so eclectic. Where Trout Mask Replica is so shocking it stun-locks you into a pattern of right when you feel you understand it, Nail is very easy to follow, but invokes a feeling “of what the hell am I hearing, and why is it kind of meshing” as if Foetus were asked, without zero context, to re-create Spector’s “Wall of Sound” and he interpreted it as “I should make a constant wall of pure sound at all times whether it works or not.”
Fun album overall!
This album really balanced between infuriating and enjoyable creativity. If someone asked me to give the most "white person" album of all time, this one would come forth quickly in my head. It would also be an acceptable answer to "most Tumblr sounding album."
I really did not enjoy the vocals on this one.
Got The Mollusk fairly recently before this, and really enjoyed it never having listened to Ween. This one is a bit more off the walls for Ween standards, but I still enjoyed this.
I played Risk of Rain 2 while listening to this album, was a great experience, and certain parts of this album actually reminded me of this games soundtrack. Fun time!
One of my favorite things about doing this project, was the fact that prior to starting it, and all during, I stopped listening to the radio for the most part. Going 3-5 years without hearing artists like Elton John, U2, Stones, and even stuff I grew up hearing constantly like Carly Rae Jespen really allowed me to start appreciating songs again. I couldn’t stand Get Lucky as a teenager because of how often it played everywhere.
Album started a bit slow, but really hit a stride midway through!
Was expecting to go into this one not liking it, as reggae isn’t my genre of choice, but there was a good blend! I’m sure with the context of the film it may been lifted even more.
Was curious to see if Dolly was gonna be force-generated similar to Brian Wilson when he passed. One of the few people who words can't genuinely explain the impact Dolly Parton had. Whether in charity, music, or just genuine human spirit. One that shook people around me so much, it makes me worried for the other titans like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, and more and when those days come how sad I'll be.
As for the album itself, it was a very fun listen, even if the context made me appreciate it more than I usually may have.
Ran a bit long, but still enjoyable.
A few days ago Dolly Parton passed, and right after came Tim Curry. I thought to myself "I remember seeing the Rocky Horror soundtrack on the user list, I wonder if it'll force generate similar to Brian Wilson and Dolly a few days ago..." It didn't but 1 week after here we are!
My only knowledge about Rocky Horror was when I was younger and my sister wanted me to watch it (wasn't happening) and her going around the house singing/yelling the lyrics to "Sweet Transvestite" I've never seen the movie, or listened to the soundtrack so I went back and forth, since I feel like, gut instinct, that this movie probably is important to the soundtrack, unlike others on the list, so I should watch it, and keep a keen ear on the soundtrack.
I feel it absolutely needed the movie to truly appreciate the soundtrack. It felt shocking at times to me, I can't imagine what it was like in the mid 70's when this came out. Thought of Ziggy Stardust a lot throughout it and the overall glam rock movement... Then Meatloaf came busting onto the screen and really validated a lot of the music connections I was thinking in my head, with him being one of them. (After writing this review, I went and checked the profile of the submitter, and Ziggy Stardust was their favorite album, so I feel even more validated!)
Sweet Transvestite was a fun nostalgia trip for me due to the aforementioned sister, and I guess I'd heard Time Warp in some capacity before, but not sure where. Overall, any sort of theatre has never been my interest, but this was a fun movie, that at times was a bit much, but only because my brain was being taken on animated flamboyant journey outside what I'm used to.
Half and half an album and music review, the music is great, the movie was good, and Tim Curry gives one hell of a larger than life performance in Rocky Horror, one that feels even more impactful with how we've evolved as a society, and with his passing.
It's crazy that I have a tougher time listening to this, then almost any album on the original list. The infection of stomp-clap music in the 2010's is by far my biggest musical trauma, to where even to this day I struggle to get through and listen with an open mind.
I gotta agree with one of the top reviews in questioning why you would knowingly put an album on the list that "maybe isn't strong all the way through" or worth shutting off. I will 100% admit this is probably the most biased and unfair 1, but it is for me.
I listened to this album about a year back incredibly begrudgingly for my sister, who has this as one of her favorite albums to listen to.
Giving a second listen, I enjoyed parts of it more. I just wish the story being told, as good as it is, could be told in about 20 minutes less time. The middle having two or three 7 minute songs just slogs the album so much. The buildup into release of Thoroughfare into Ptolemaea was good, but one that was only after suffering through 30 minutes of slower songs, after the great start of American Teenager.
It frustrates me, because there is genuine vocal talent with Ethel Cain, and she chooses to reverb and mask it in order to fully dive and indulge in the fantasy/vibes she's trying to portray with the album. I can commend the artistic commitment, but it just takes away so much for me, combined with the slowcore, that only really ever breaks or makes itself distinct when shoegaze-style guitar unmasks itself, makes a lot of these songs blend together.
I 100% could see this as an album, to where once I've listened to it enough to where I can actually distinguish the tracks (which feels like it's going to take more time than the average album) I can enjoy it to the lengths that my sister, or any other people I know do.
Prior to this album, my only knowledge of CAKE was years and years ago, when one of my friends at the time was absolutely insufferable about them. I remember listening at the time and not getting it at all.
The 90’s gimmick of “half-hearted sarcastic/apathetic singing” is one that sprawls in a lot of music in the decade, and one that is incredibly hit or miss for me. I instinctively still can’t stand it even now, but was more receptive to it now than before. I think with more listening I could get used to it. It also helps that vocals aside, this is an very good album instrumentally!
Audibly laughed when I heard Send Me on My Way, considering how commercially abused the song has been, and I never knew it was by Rusted Root.
There are some good moments in this album, but nothing that really grasped me. Probably a 3.5, could be a 4 on a good day.
