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Thu Mar 23 2023
Slanted And Enchanted
Pavement
Not very "musical" in my opinion. Definitely different, which they get a plus for, but not that enjoyable to me personally.
2
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Fri Mar 24 2023
Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
Dylan never was my cup of tea really. Can't deny his impact on music though.
3
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Mon Mar 27 2023
Smash
The Offspring
I'd give this a high 3 star rating. Self-esteem is a real banger, but I didn't really get with the rest that much, even though the music style fits me well. This is why it's not a 4.
3
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Tue Mar 28 2023
Urban Hymns
The Verve
I've mostly just heard the Sweet Symphony, but I gotta say I was positively surprised and really enjoyed the album as a whole. Very high bar overall in my opinion.
4
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Wed Mar 29 2023
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
Really like it, has some classics on it. Doesn't get as good as 2001 though, which is a clear 5 for me, so can't get any higher than this in my opinion. Have to say this type of rap is probably the only genre I enjoy though, so I'm a bit biased maybe. The lyrical content definitely hasn't aged very well, I'm not sure how they got away (did they?) with the women degrading stuff they were spewing back then (even though it "might" have been satirical, still not cool). I'm not sure that would fly today.
4
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Thu Mar 30 2023
Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
I know it's a classic but I just didn't really feel it. The sound has not aged well in my opinion; the drumbox sounds are very boring, and their rapping style/flow is not my cup of tea and is quite "predictable" and monotone. Fun to see how much closer this feels to rock than for example The Chronic album we heard yesterday.
2
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Fri Mar 31 2023
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
Didn't really enjoy or dislike it. "Generic" rock imo, didn't stir any emotions or anything, but then there wasn't anything that I didn't like about it, so I guess it is a weak 3 for me, just in the middle.
3
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Mon Apr 03 2023
Something Else By The Kinks
The Kinks
Waterloo Sunset is so good, but didn't really feel anything particular with the rest. I think the Kinks in general are very cool though, you can hear the early seeds of punk rock in there.
3
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Tue Apr 04 2023
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
Pleasantly surprised by this! Never heard of Harry Nilsson before, but the whole album held up very well. Also sounds very well produced and sounds great to me! Perhaps a weak 4, as there aren't any particular songs that I can say "I really like that one", but all of them were simply pretty good!
4
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Wed Apr 05 2023
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
I had a really hard time rating this. I've heard it some times, and it's definitely not my favorite album, and David Bowie is not my favourite artist, but I find all all songs unique and varying with an overall very high quality, with some of the songs being timeless classics. I also know how high people regard this, so it feels hard giving it lower than 5, even though I don't get the feeling that I just need to listen to the album again after hearing it, which I definitely feel with some other albums I'd rate 5 in a heartbeat. So probably weak 5 for me.
5
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Thu Apr 06 2023
Fear and Whiskey
Mekons
It started out really good with Chivalry, and I was excited for the album. But then it got pretty bland, with some occasional pretty bad stuff, such as Darkness and Doubt with the out of tune violin (especially ending was outright bad imo), and it just didn't really recover to the level of the start of the album. Still, it could have been worse for sure, but didn't hit home for me, and will probably forget about this album fairly soon.
2
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Fri Apr 07 2023
Out of Step
Minor Threat
Didn’t find anything I enjoyed really. No catchy riffs, no finesse or anything.
1
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Mon Apr 10 2023
You've Come a Long Way Baby
Fatboy Slim
Didn’t listen to it, but I didn’t have to. Heard it many times. Solid 5 star for me, lots of really awesome songs. Very 90s defining for me!
5
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Tue Apr 11 2023
What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
Really nice album! Perhaps not all songs stand out that much to me, but the overall feel of the album is very nice, and it's something I can definitely see myself revisting, it gives a certain mood for sure - in a good way! In addition, it feels very nicely produced and Marvin is a killer singer!
4
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Wed Apr 12 2023
American Pie
Don McLean
American Pie and Vincent are instantly recognized classics. While the rest of the songs didn't reach those highs, I still feel like it kept a high standard. There were a bit too many ballads or ballad-like songs for my taste, so it will get a strong 3.
3
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Thu Apr 13 2023
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Have listened to this album once before I think, but didn't think anything particular of it except of Fast Car which I absolutely love. Coming into it I didn't have any special hopes, but I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by how good all of it is. The lyricical content is quite serious and I wouldn't consider it especially "happy", but somehow it still gives me some feelgood vibes strange enough. Also good variety in the songs in my opinion, for example completely caught off guard with Mountains O'Things which got some carribean vibe going on. Then a bit of raeggae feeling with She's Got Her Ticket straight after, very nice! Hard choice between 4 and 5, but when listening through the album there is not a single song I don't like, so it will have to be a 5!
5
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Fri Apr 14 2023
Devil Without A Cause
Kid Rock
The lyrical content is complete garbage in my opinion. Feels like something that was written by a person who wants to be cool, but is not. Dre and other artists that have a pretty rough and degrading lyrics at least give me the impression of having some self-distance and doing it in an ironic way, but didn't find any of that here. Every fiber of me wants to give this a 1 star, but if you put the lyrics aside some songs were actually pretty catchy, so it gets a 2 for me. Won't return to this album though for sure.
2
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Mon Apr 17 2023
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized
I like that it felt different, but just didn't do much for me unfortunately. Can barely remember any songs from when listening on Friday.
2
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Tue Apr 18 2023
Made In Japan
Deep Purple
This was a real tough one, but not for the same reasons as with past albums. The music itself was good, no doubt, but my gripe is mostly with whether live albums should actually be included on this list or not, and the fact that there seemed to be about 10 different versions of this particular album if you go and search for it on wikipedia (I listened to the 2 CD variant from 2014). A liveset in my experience usually comes with the latest - but more importantly, greatest - songs of a band. So it kind of becomes a "greatest hits light" album, and I definitely don't think greatest hits albums belong on a list like this because I think it's not a fair comparison. So I'm leaning towards not being a fan of this being included at all actually, but let's have a look at the music a bit with that said.
I see that the original CD only contained what is essentially CD1 of the 2014 album, so I will only consider that when I write my thoughts below.
I think the music is very good, but I'm not completely sold on everything. Smoke on water, though having a catchy and easy riff, is one of the most overplayed songs ever in my opinion, so just hearing that got me a bit anti. Then there is a 7 min drum solo or something in the Mule which almost made me quit it. The songs are also needlessly long, which of course is not an issue if you're there live, but becomes a bit tedious when listening to it like this. Otherwise I think it's very good, actually much better than I first expected. I like the sound of 70s rock a lot, feels very raw and has some "dirtyness" to the sound that I really like, if you compare with modern recordings of rock for example. Very straight forward with a cranked amplifier, very nice. Reminds me a lot of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, which I also like a lot. Everyone in the band plays very tight as well, singer really delivers. Despite all the annoyances I really enjoyed it though, feels like something I could listen to again for sure!
4
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Wed Apr 19 2023
Bright Flight
Silver Jews
I thought this was pretty good! Never heard before, but was interesting. I wasn't a big fan of the singer though with his dragging and borderline out of tune sining. I think most of their songs sounded very similar, so it all blended together and became a bit unmemorable unfortunately.
3
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Thu Apr 20 2023
Arc Of A Diver
Steve Winwood
This was nice! Reminds me a bit of Phil Collins somehow. Probably won't see myself returning to this as the songs didn't quite stick with me. Still, it was hard to decide whether it gets a strong 3 or a weak 4, but I think I'd like it to be something I would at least consider coming back to and having some songs stick with me for it to be a 4, so 3 it is!
3
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Fri Apr 21 2023
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
Had a long rant about live albums before, so not going to say anything about that here.
I think this type of music can slot in when in certain moods, and the concert is no doubt a real good one, Jerry seems to be on fire and you can often hear the crowd go really wild as well. Watching it live I'm sure this would be very good and have gotten higher rating, but listening to it like this gets a bit messy.
3
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Mon Apr 24 2023
Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
Kickass singer, but I got bored pretty quickly to be honest, it feels like at least half of the songs follow the exact same format and structure: "Sing catchy short sentance a couple of bars, do some falsettos woo's, break, repeat". Yes, I'm looking at you Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Long Tall Sally, She's got it, Jenny Jenny. I mean he's a kickass singer, but it felt like he found one exact song format that worked well for him and then just did. I was about to give this 2 stars, but then I realized I gave the Kid Rock album 2 stars and felt like maybe that was unfair.
3
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Tue Apr 25 2023
Let's Stay Together
Al Green
I'm not sure why, but I liked this very much. Some songs you recognize instantly, but mostly all of it held very high bar I guess. Compared to some other albums from around the same time, this didn't sound very dated at all and held up very good I'd say!
4
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Wed Apr 26 2023
A Night At The Opera
Queen
I am not a very big fan of Queen to be honest. I usually don't like their chord progressions (with some exceptions), and their songs sounding like musicals and their overuse of choir doesn't fly with me at all. Their songs have also been played so much all over the place that it has almost drained me of all liking, unfortunately. Still, I can't deny that this is a good album. They definitely have their own style, and even though their sound might not be my cup of tea exactly, it still works very well and is well executed. Freddie Mercury is definitely one of the best rock singers of all time as well, which helps. I don't think there are any other songs on the album that come close to of course Bohemian Rhapsody, but also You're My Best Friend, and I would have given it a 3 if these two were'nt on the album. But as it stands it's going to have to be a 4. Looking at my other stats, this still slams harder than for example the 'Smash' album by the Offsprings, and 'Toys in the Attic' by Aerosmith, which both got a 3.
4
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Thu Apr 27 2023
A Northern Soul
The Verve
The album was good, I think I've discovered that The Verve is my cup of tea. The mellowness and chord progressions sits very well with me, been quite fond of shoegaze in general which I would consider this album to be to some degree. Unfortunately there was no song that really stood out to me, and the whole album sort of blended together a bit to me, probably something I would put on in the background to create a certain mood rather than actually "listen" to. I actually don't really see why it's on the list at all to be honest, the 'Urban Hymns' album was straight out better in all regards and this album doesn't feel like it brings anything special or something that you don't get from that other album.
3
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Fri Apr 28 2023
Crime Of The Century
Supertramp
Really good album. Love Supertramp, love electric pianos, what more can you say. Baffles me how they are not more highly regarded. The album might not contain the songs their most famous for, but it's definitely one of their best still. Some songs stand out more than other, but it's one of the rare albums where I actually think every song is good. No song sound like the other either.
5
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Mon May 01 2023
New York Dolls
New York Dolls
Wasn’t a super big fan of this. Everything blended together and nothing really stood out.
2
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Tue May 02 2023
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
This one is a bit tricky to be honest. It has very high highs, but it also has some fairly low lows. Still, it basically contains all of the Oasis bangers on one CD, which is very impressive and can probably only be said about very few other albums. I've definitely grown tired of hearing the top hits of Oasis after having heard them what feels like a million times, but giving this anything other than a 5 would be unfair.
5
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Wed May 03 2023
Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar
Never heard this before. When I started listening I was very excited, and I really wanted it to be one of those rare gems. But it wasn't as good as I had hoped, it became a bit too monotonous for me I think with the songs being hard to distinguish from each other. I think it worked well as a mood setter though, and it was nice to have on in the background as a variety from the usual stuff I listen to. It was definitely not bad, but didn't capture me as I had hoped either. Plus points for being different though!
3
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Thu May 04 2023
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Another album I found hard to rate, surprise. I listened to it once and got distracted with something else, so it kind of just flew over my head. Then I listened again, and it definitely stuck to me better. Maybe if I listened more I would grow more fond of it, but it still didn't quite stick. I can't put my finger on it though, it wasn't bad by any means, but there weren't any song that particularly grabbed me I think. I contemplated going for a weak 4, but I think it will have to be a strong 3 instead. Definitely have some Neil Young songs I'm very fond of, and none of them were on this album, so I know what it feels like when it hits home.
3
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Fri May 05 2023
Vanishing Point
Primal Scream
Had a hard time deciding whether this was good experimental stuff, or not. It definiely sounded very 90's for me somehow, and I liked some songs as mood setter background music, but the album never really punch through for me. The only track that really caught my attention was Trainspotting, which I liked, but that's not enough to cover up for the rest. I think this is going to have to be one of those albums that tried valiantly with its quirkiness, and ended up on the wrong side of the line. Still, not by any means so bad that I'd say "there's nothing I enjoy in this, burn it". 2 stars.
2
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Mon May 08 2023
Close To The Edge
Yes
One of those bands there were big back in the days, but didn't survive the test of time and have been forgotten since (compared to other bands). Tried getting into Yes before. Didn't manage then, and didn't manage now. On paper it should be a good fit, but in my opinion their songs just aren't that good, nothing that really grabs me or evoke any type of emotion other than indifference. It's not bad though,, nothing that is outwright wrong or anything, and it's still performed good etc, so it lands in the middle.
3
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Tue May 09 2023
Disintegration
The Cure
I never really understood why people love The Cure so much. And when I started out with this album, I didn't feel much. Then it got better at the end somehow. I wasn't particularly fond of Lovesong which was the most listened to song, but The Same Deep Water as You, Lullaby, abd Homesick stood out to me. And after re-listening a bit, I think I have to give this a 4 since I feel like the overall bar was still quite high, and like I mentioned, there were some good songs that I definitely liked. And yet when I look back, it probably isn't any album I'll remember as being "particularly good". It's weird; deciding it must be rated a 4 and still not understanding what people like so much about a band.
4
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Wed May 10 2023
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
I've heard this before, and I'm not a very big fan of The War on Drugs to be honest. I can see why they are popular, but to me each song just feels too much like the same thing and becomes very predictable. The chord progressions are good, but I find the issue in the arrangements. Most of the songs it feels like there are no tempo variations, breaks or anything, and the tempo is usually way too fast for the song. Once the drums start (for which they always play use the most basic pattern there is with almost zero fills or variations) it just goes on repeat until the song ends with no finesse. Under the Pressure, Red Eyes, Burning for example is prime examples of this. In addition, I'm not a big fan of Adam Granduciel's tormented singing. His voice is unique in a way, and he doesn't sing false or anything, but I just don't like the style. Despite me being hung up on certain things, I still think there are some songs where these issues don't stand out as much, for example Suffering or Disappearing, and I usually like this type of genre. So it gets a 3 for me, but I had to revisit what I had given a 2 star rating to determine that I actually think this is a bit better than those.
3
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Thu May 11 2023
Tuesday Night Music Club
Sheryl Crow
Very meats and potatoes in my opinion. All I Wanna Do is very good, but otherwise nothing that really stood out. It wasn't that bad either though, just not particularly interesting. Actually not sure why this is on the list, maybe it was revolutionary when it came or something. Feels like another contemporary-ish pop/rock/country album.
3
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Fri May 12 2023
John Prine
John Prine
I never really listen to the lyrics that much, because then I need to focus on the song and can't focus on anything else I'm doing. But here the lyrics really stood out to me, he really has some witty, and sometimes clever, writing. Country folk music isn't a genre I'm particularly fond of, so it's not something I will put on again probably. But I enjoyed if for what it was, and it gets extra points for actually making me notice the lyrics, which usually just pass me by as background noise.
3
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Mon May 15 2023
If You're Feeling Sinister
Belle & Sebastian
I did not like this at all. The singer was was so monotone and boring. The songs were some of the most borings songs I've heard, and the mix sounded really bad and boring. No dynamics at all, just flat and weak.
1
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Tue May 16 2023
Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
Really liked this, was probably my type of vibe. Didn't listen through all of it, and I don't have any standout songs that I particularly like, but all of it was just really good. The songs were also very varying to me - in a good way. My only gripe might be that it was a bit too long of an album.
4
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Wed May 17 2023
Sweet Baby James
James Taylor
Hadn't heard of James Taylor before. Had to google him to find out that he's supposedly a very beloved and "one of the best-selling artists of all time", but I don't quite get it I think, at least not judging from this album. I think the recording sounds very good technically for being 70s, but the songs sounds a bit like generic country to me. Nothing wrong with that, it wasn't bad, but don't really stand out to me either. Maybe it was something you had to experience when it came, not sure.
3
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Thu May 18 2023
The Modern Lovers
The Modern Lovers
This was one of the most stupid albums I’ve heard in a long time - and I mean that in a good way. The singer wasn’t that good, but the songs were sooo weird and interesting. I definitely didn’t like all of them and probably won’t listen to it much, but it’s definitely an album I’ll remember. I also read that one of the members were later part of Talking Heads, and while this doesn’t reach their heights, you can definitely see where some inspiration came from. With lines like “Well some people try to pick up girls
And get called assholes
This never happened to Pablo Picasso”, how can you not like it.
4
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Fri May 19 2023
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Don't know why but not really feeling it. Not bad of course, but doesn't really do anything for me either. Also heard "Wild World" too many times, so it has lost its magic.
3
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Mon May 22 2023
Elephant
The White Stripes
Really cool album. Impressive how they manage to get such a big sounds from just a pair of drums and a guitar. Each song feels unique as well, overall really how bar. Definitely seeing this being something that could become a 5 for me if I listen to it more.
4
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Tue May 23 2023
Document
R.E.M.
I usually regard R.E.M highly but this was a very weak album from them. It's The End Of The World As We Know It is a popular song that you're guaranteed to have a heard before, but apart from that it's not very exciting.
2
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Wed May 24 2023
Femi Kuti
Femi Kuti
I actually liked this quite a lot. Maybe because it was a nice breeze of being something else than rock. Even saved some songs. I think some of the songs were a bit long though and dragged on for too long.
4
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Thu May 25 2023
Protection
Massive Attack
Never heard of Massive Attack but I loved it, very cool album. Sounds very 90s somehow - in the “good” way. Also gives me some lo-if vibes which is cool. Definitely see myself returning to this, and many songs I really liked. Hard to decide between a 4 and 5, but I think I will settle for a strong 4.
4
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Fri May 26 2023
Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche
Koffi Olomide
I appreciated the uplifting melodies of the album, but other than that it was pretty underwhelming. It contained tons of typical 80s synth parts that have aged very well in my opinion, and the tracks were just not that good.
2
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Mon May 29 2023
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
Apart from 'Killer Queen' which is a great song, this album just didn't cut it in my opinion. As mentioned before, Queen is not really my cup of tea to begin with, but that is usually weighed up by really good songs. Didn't really find any of that here unfortunately. The surprise of hearing some Queen metal did give it some extra points though, did definitely not see that coming!
2
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Tue May 30 2023
Blur
Blur
I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't grab me somehow. Song 2 is a real banger, but can unfortunately not make up for the rest of the album which is quite forgettable in my opinion. Interesting how you can see where some of the "old microphone" effects used a lot in Gorillaz comes from as it's quite prevalent here as well. Unfortunately this album has pretty much cemented that I really much prefer Gorillaz to Blur.
2
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Wed May 31 2023
Synchronicity
The Police
This was a weird album. I had pretty high expectations for some reason, but it started out pretty weak, and then suddenly you stumble into 'Mother' which... is a song that probably never should have been made. Every Breath You Take is a very good song, but apart from that the rest wasn't anything to cheer for.
2
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Thu Jun 01 2023
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Fiona Apple
I knew I was in for quirky when I saw the album cover, and I was not wrong. Fun to hear something contemporary, but I personally think there are loads of new albums that are better than this by miles. It gets plus points for trying to do something different - so tired of hearing rock at this point. Unfortunately it doesn't do anything for me at all, which is unfortunate because I WANT to enjoy it. I think I can single out 1 or 2 tracks that I could give a chance again, but other than that it's an album that I'll definitely remember, but not return to.
1
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Fri Jun 02 2023
Brown Sugar
D'Angelo
The lyrical matter was quite sleazy and lame, but I liked the "music" part of it! Definitely something I could have on in the background as buzz. Generally not a fan of RnB, but this sat quite well with me!
3
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Mon Jun 05 2023
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
I don't consider myself an Amy Winehouse fanboi, but this album is really good. I don't remember how it looked back in 2006 when this was released, but it definitely feels very fresh and stands out in today's climate, which is really cool! Very good singing, overall nice with some soul/jazz/blues.
4
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Tue Jun 06 2023
D
White Denim
I don’t think I really understood the point of this album. It was mostly instrumental long solos, but none of it was particularly good. I would’ve understood if it was the first of its kind in the 60s or 80s, but in 2011? I usually like this type of music but it just didn’t hit home, maybe I need to listen to it more, not sure.
2
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Wed Jun 07 2023
Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys
I liked this! Maybe not the best Pet Shop Boys record, but definitely good.
3
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Thu Jun 08 2023
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
Cozy country, but nothing that stands out honestly. I didn't listen to the lyrics that much, so maybe it's about pain and misery, what do I know. Definitely something I could put on if I was in the mood for some country background music though.
3
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Fri Jun 09 2023
Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
When I saw the album cover I knew it was going to be quite a ride. And it was; a very political one. When the first song started with "Hallelujah" I thought it was going to be some religious shenanigans, and then it switched to hip hop immediately and I drew a sigh of relief. I have to say I don't think the rapper fitted particularly well in this genre... it felt too tame and square somehow? Too well rehearsed somehow, or reading directly from the sheet or something, hard to put a finger on it. Overall I think it was a bit too political for my taste (though I enjoy Rage Against the Machine, so that's a bit of hipocrisy, fitting to the album). I am still well very glad I listened to this - even though I probably won't return soon - as I would never have found it otherwise. I'll remember it for its militant cover.
3
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Mon Jun 12 2023
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
Nothing special in my opinion. Guess it's a guarantee we're going to run into 'Rumours' at some point if this is on the list.
2
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Tue Jun 13 2023
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Love the Black Sabbath sound, the guitar sound is just so tasty. I also like how they looked more like hippies in the 70s than the super dark edge lords that they turned into later. This album is not their best in my opinion, N.I.B. and Evil Woman are very good tracks but the others don't stand out as much.
3
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Wed Jun 14 2023
The Holy Bible
Manic Street Preachers
This album didn't do much for me honestly, can't remember a single song. Somehow all of it just mixed together. It feels sooo pretentious as well somehow, but I'm not sure if it's actually the lyrical content or if it's just the singers voice that gives me that feeling.
2
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Thu Jun 15 2023
Thriller
Michael Jackson
Think this held the title of "most sold albums of all time" for a very long time, and understandably so. I also read that Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones' intent was to make a record "with just hit tracks". I think they succeeded pretty well in that. Probably everyone in the world has heard some song on this album at least once, and some artists could only dream of making one of these songs once in their life. There are some tracks (The Lady in My Life and The Girl Is Mine) that are definitely not on par with the rest, but otherwise it's just banger after banger.
5
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Fri Jun 16 2023
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Phantom of the Opera and Strange World are real bangers, but otherwise it wasn’t really anything that stood out as much. Feels like it holds a pretty high bar overall though, and I like Iron Maiden so a very strong 3 feels about right.
3
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Mon Jun 19 2023
The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
I've listened to the top songs from Arcade Fire before (The Suburbs, Wake Up etc.) but doesn't evoke any special emotions in me. Kind of the same in this album, but I did enjoy Half Light I and Suburban War quite a lot actually. Feels like a proper 3, definitely not higher.
3
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Tue Jun 20 2023
The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow
I was determined to give this a 2, but then I listened again and Grounds for Divorce kind of stuck with me. Then I realized that I kind of like the singers voice, so I changed my mind to a 3. The most played song was One Day Like This, but that didn't really stand out to me. Overall it was very fun to hear something I never had heard before, but it didn't impress me that much.
3
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Wed Jun 21 2023
Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
This was an odd one. First playthrough I took notice of Cripple Creek and Lawrence of Euphoria which stood out with its weirdness. But when I got to Grey/Afro and continued listening I definitely noticed something was wrong. Turns out the songs after that wasn't part of the original - and you could tell easily, the quality really plummeted. The whole album is very uneven in quality. Songs like Diana and Grey/Afro are a clear 1/5 for me with its hazy rambling and droning. But some songs do stand out, like I mentioned. I also read that the whole album was recorded by himself just after having been hospitalized for some time and diagnozed with schizofrenia. That backstory adds more to the album and makes it more interesting somehow - it could explain a lot of the mellowness, for example. Even though it won't get very high rating from me, I'm glad I listened to it and learned some piece of history with it!
2
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Thu Jun 22 2023
Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
For being such an old album I think a lot of it sounds pretty modern! Not the actual production of course, but the actual writing. I think I was a bit distracted when listening to it so nothing really stands out that much. When skimming through it now I must say it's pretty catchy though!
3
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Fri Jun 23 2023
Club Classics Vol. One
Soul II Soul
I thought it started out in a good way with the first 2 or 3 tracks, but then it deteriorated quite a bit. ‘African Dance’ and ‘Dance’ were quite yawny for example. Not sure I understand why this deserves to be on the list to be honest.
3
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Mon Jun 26 2023
Doggystyle
Snoop Dogg
I really like West Coast 90s hip hop so this should definitely be my jam. Snoop Dogg have really been on a ridiculuos amount of hits in that genre, but I wouldn't say they're on this album. I've listened to it a few times before but I always conclude that it's not really for me for some reason. There are some well known songs like 'Gin and Juice' and 'Who Am I', but I'm not that big a fan to be honest. They're not bad or anything, I just think there are way better songs out there (see 2001 by Dr. Dre for example) Solid 3 star rating; not bad but doesn't reach any great heights for me personally.
3
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Tue Jun 27 2023
Nevermind
Nirvana
Maybe a bit cliché but Nirvana is one of my favourite bands, and this is probably their best album. The first half is crazy strong, so many good songs. What I discovered this time listening to the album is that the second half, starting from 'Territorial Pissings', is actually very weak. If that was all the album contained it would probably be a 2 for me, but the first half makes up for it. 'Come As You Are' is probably my favourite song on the album. I think 'Smells Like Teen Sprit' used to be
the best the first 100 times I heard it, but now it has lost its magic a bit since it's been so overplayed over the years.
5
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Wed Jun 28 2023
Be
Common
I have never heard of this guy before, but I was quite pleasantly surprised and definitely found myself digging some of the songs. I don't think this type of rap/hiphop is really my thing, but if it was I think it would've maybe gotten some higher ratings.
3
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Thu Jun 29 2023
For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
Some of the songs could've kind of worked for me, but I feel like everything is dragged down by the singer. I really don't like how he sings or how he sounds. It's not too far away from how David Byrne does it in Talking Heads, but there it just fits the music somehow, and is executed better. Here it's just dissonant somehow. Not a big fan.
1
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Fri Jun 30 2023
McCartney
Paul McCartney
I don't know... I didn't really feel that much during the first playthrough to be honest. Definitely not bad, but nothing that stuck with me either except maybe Momma Miss America, which was a really cool song, but also completely different from the rest of the album. Maybe I just need to listen to it again, not sure.
3
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Mon Jul 03 2023
Aqualung
Jethro Tull
Pretty cool album honestly. I think this is one of those albums where they manage to turn the weirdness into something good, rather than letting it end up drawing the whole thing down. Perhaps I don't want to put it on immeditely after hearing it, but there are definitely some killer riffs in there, and I think it could become a quite strong album for me if I just gave it some more listenings. I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt and give it a weak 4. Plus points for standing out. The album art definitely gels well with the music on it somehow.
4
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Tue Jul 04 2023
The Boatman's Call
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I wasn't very fond of this album. There was too little variation between the songs for my taste, and I particularly didn't like that it was so low-tempo and mellow. I am not someone who appreciates the lyrics that much, and this certainly feels like an album that is for those who do. Still, 'People Ain't No Good' and 'West Country Girl' stuck out to me, and I really liked those. I am going to give this a strong 2 star rating, knowing that it probably deserves better. And it would've gotten more if it was more my thing.
2
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Wed Jul 05 2023
Rust In Peace
Megadeth
For metal to work for me, I think I need it to be quite... outstanding. And this album wasn't that for me. It's not enough to just dish out lots of notes in fast order to get my blood pumping. It should have nothing to do with the music, but it might also get dragged down by my view of Dave Mustaine as a whiny child about getting kicked out of Metallica for a being a drunk and general douche.
2
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Thu Jul 06 2023
No Other
Gene Clark
Never heard of this before, but this just grabbed me from the start somehow, which happens very rarely. Often I feel like I need to listen to something for a few times before appreciating it, so that is a really good credit to the album. Most tracks were just great or really good honestly, hard to point out exactly what it is. But the tracks were quite different from each other, I really liked that. Some with heavy Pink Floyd-esque guitar solos like 'Stength of Strings' or 'Some Misunderstanding', a bit more folk or country with the first two tracks and 'True One'. 'No Other' was just a really cool track overall, comes as a complete surprise but really slaps with some distorted bass or synth or something.
4
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Fri Jul 07 2023
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Charles Mingus
I like Jazz, but I don't think I know Jazz well enough to understand the greatness of this album, or why it stands out and needs to be on this list. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a nice listening, but it just doesn't stand out particularly much. Having an almost 19 minute track also gets a bit tedious to be frank. I also think all tracks sounded VERY similar. Still, it sounds good for what Jazz is, so I guess I'll just put it in the middle?
3
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Mon Jul 10 2023
Marquee Moon
Television
Pretty decent album, never heard of them before! There were no song that really grabbed me other than perhaps 'Marquee Moon' a bit, but all of them held up well enough! Nothing really bad, so this ends right in the middle for me.
3
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Tue Jul 11 2023
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Many of the tracks are a bit samey, but all in all it's a great album. 'God Save the Queen' has got to be one of the most iconic punk songs, and there's more where that came from as well. I think some mystery is added to all of it with the band having this as their only studio album ever produced before breaking up.
4
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Wed Jul 12 2023
Rain Dogs
Tom Waits
When the first song started my reaction was "....what?". And to be honest I think this fits more like a soundtrack to a movie, rather than something to put on and listen to as a typical album. Despite this I think it took me on an interesting journey. Really made me picture being on an old steamboat at dusk at the turn of the last century, in some tropical place, hanging out with various dubious people playing cards and smoking cigarettes. So even though this might not be something I would just put on and listen to, I still enjoyed it for what it was and I'm glad I heard it. But due to this it's also hard for me to rate it much higher than 3 since I wouldn't say I "liked" it as I usually like 4 star albums.
3
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Thu Jul 13 2023
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying
Megadeth
I wasn't a big fan of the 'Rust in Peace' Megadeth album we heard recently. Though 'Devils Island' stood out as a pretty cool song, the rest just all molded together in a bad way. Can't remember a single song. I think I've grown quite tired of Megadeth already just after 2 albums.
2
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Fri Jul 14 2023
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
I really looked forward to hearing this. I have to say I was a little bit disappointed. I had pretty high expectations though, and this is definitely not Bob Marley's best album. Regardless, I really like reggae in and Bob Marley general, and even though I was a bit disappointed it was still not that bad. Good thing is that the really awesome albums will probably come later!
3
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Mon Jul 17 2023
Tidal
Fiona Apple
This was miles better than the 'Fetch the Bolt Cutters' album. I especially enjoyed the 'The First Taste', 'Sullen Girl', and 'Sleep to Dream' which sounds like 'Destiny' from Zero 7, but maybe a bit worse. I didn't feel like it was really my kind of music though, maybe if I had given it more chances it would stick to me. Still going to have to go with a weak 4, recognizing that she is a very good singer and plus points for sounding different.
4
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Tue Jul 18 2023
Either Or
Elliott Smith
I can see how this album speaks to some people. For me it felt a bit like toned down Blink 182 or skate punk, but in a more serious way, and it just doesn't really work for me. Too many mellow songs and lullabies makes it quite boring to be honest. Feels like it would fit perfectly in some of the 90s or early 20s teenage drama series like O.C, One Tree Hill or similar, and that's just a bit past me.
2
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Wed Jul 19 2023
Suede
Suede
As soon as the singer opened his mouth, I knew it was going to require very much of both the album and myself to straighten the sinking ship. And we never did, it sunk faster than Titanic. There was nothing that I liked about this album, but I least of all liked the singer. It could maybe have gotten a 2 or 3 star rating without him, but that really cemented the 1 star rating. There were no song that really stood out, and it all sounded bad as well to my ear, just badly mixed and too much distortion.
1
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Thu Jul 20 2023
Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Somehow I was more accepting of this album compared to ‘Raising Hell’. Not sure why, because it felt like it had less hits. But I think the annoying drum machine sounds were less prominent. Feels like a solid “in the middle“ album.
3
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Fri Jul 21 2023
Mott
Mott The Hoople
When I saw the cover art I was a bit sceptical, but it was actually surprisingly good. It sounded good for being so old, and I really liked some songs like 'Honaloochie Boogie', 'I'm a Cadillac / El Camino Dolo Roso'. The album sounded really good and it reminded me a bit of Led Zeppelin sometimes, which I'm a big fan of so this sat quite well. Quite many songs were "generic rock", but perhaps I was just in the mood for this when I heard it, not sure. Weak 4 it is!
4
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Mon Jul 24 2023
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
When I saw this album I though “Nice, I’ve heard this before and it’s an easy 5, I barely have to listen”. But then I thought I might as well. And it’s not as good as I remember it - if you put the classics aside. Without those it would probably have been a 2. Many songs just drag on and on forever or are just not that good. But due to ‘Crosstown traffic’, ‘Along the Watchtower’ etc it still gets a 4.
4
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Tue Jul 25 2023
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
Not sure if this is their best album, but it still slaps hard. Even the less known songs are very good with easy, yet recognizable, riffs. And then there’s the classics like ‘Whole Lotta Love’, ‘Heartbreaker’ etc. on top of that. Robert Plant is definitely one of my favorite rock singers as well, so powerful.
5
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Wed Jul 26 2023
KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
This was an interesting album. When I started listening I felt that it was something that should sit well with me, but for some reason I just didn't like it THAT much. Can't figure out why. But I am still inclined to give it a 4 star rating despite this, somehow I feel that it deserves it. There is so much crap music today, but this stands out as well produced and innovative, even though I don't feel like throwing myself over it again any time soon. Think I will learn to like it if I listen more to it.
4
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Thu Jul 27 2023
Risque
CHIC
Really like Chic. Unfortuntely this album doesn't really reach the highs to warrant a higher rating. Many songs, though very catchy, can get quite long and monotonous as well.
3
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Fri Jul 28 2023
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
I don’t know what it is but I really don’t like Arcade Fire. The last album ‘The Suburbs’ didn’t quite hit home and this sank even lower. I think the chord progression they use just isn’t for me, or it’s too cheerful sounding or something. I wanted to like it, but for the whole album I just couldn’t wait for it to be over, and I wanted to skip every song. I think this is also the first album I rate 1 star even though the production and sound is actually good. Here it’s just the music that really don’t work for me.
1
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Mon Jul 31 2023
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
While I can understand the significance this must have had on alternative rock - especially considering it came out at 67, which feels crazy I early - I’m finding it hard to name songs that are actually good. ‘Sunday Morning’ is a classic that I’ve heard many times, but it’s a song more fitting of a soundtrack or something, rather than something I want to listen to like this. Same goes for many other songs. It’s just not something I really want to listen to.
3
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Tue Aug 01 2023
The Bends
Radiohead
I have mixed feelings in general about Radiohead, I sometimes feel like they’re a bit too pretentious. So coming into this I was a bit reserved, also due to the fact that I’ve heard this album before but it didn’t stick that well. But I was actually pleasantly surprised, I especially think the latter part was very strong. ‘Fade out’ was already among my liked songs, but ‘Bullet proof… I wish I was’ is a new addition!
4
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Wed Aug 02 2023
Pelican West
Haircut 100
I was strolling through Limone Sul Garda in Italy when listening to this, and it fitted the scenery very well. Never heard the album before and it was an interesting listening experience, though some songs felt a bit too similar.
3
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Thu Aug 03 2023
Time Out Of Mind
Bob Dylan
Sounded different for a Bon Dylan album, which is good. It was fine, not much more to say.
3
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Fri Aug 04 2023
Brutal Youth
Elvis Costello
I think this album had some of the weakest starts I've ever experienced, and I was determined to give it 1 star straight away. Everything just sounded bad and I didn't like it at all. Then it recovered a bit and finally landed on a 2. Elvis Costello is a name I've heard before many times, but I was thoroughly disappointed with this record.
2
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Mon Aug 07 2023
The Clash
The Clash
I think it demands quite a lot from punk to be good, and this just wasn’t enough. Nothing memorable really, just mindless riffing etc.
2
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Tue Aug 08 2023
Stankonia
OutKast
Really cool album actually, quite trippy. The first quarter or so of the album was definitely 5 star terrority for me, but then it got a bit worse after that. Still some cool songs like 'Humble Mumble', 'We luv dez hoes' (though the latter is quite misogynist, like much else sadly). I think overall it just sounds a bit different with lot of acid-like elements and their rapping style works really well in my opinion.
4
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Wed Aug 09 2023
Chelsea Girl
Nico
This started out really interesting, I really liked ‘These days’. Unfortunately it got gradually worse as the album progresses. ‘It was a pleasure then’ was a clear 1 star track with its weird noises, and so was ‘Wrap your troubles in dreams’ where she sounded out of tune.
2
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Thu Aug 10 2023
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
I've heard all of these songs so many times before, so I was hardly blown away, in a "surprised" kind of way, by the album. Though it's quite a feat to have managed to get all of these songs on one album, and I can only imagine how strong this must have been when it came out. I was contemplating putting a 5, but I think a 4 is reasonable.
4
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Fri Aug 11 2023
Hejira
Joni Mitchell
Liked this one! Very even, high quality throughout the record.
4
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Mon Aug 14 2023
James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
Last James Brown album we had, I remember thinking (and maybe writing) that it would've been better live. Now that we're here, I find that it didn't do as much as I hoped. The fangirls shouting is more annoying than anything, and the songs are just drags on more than a regular album. James is undeniably at least as good a singer live as he is on the album, but other than that that there's nothing that stands out here. I seriously don't understand why this live album, if you had to pick any, ended up on this list.
2
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Tue Aug 15 2023
Surrealistic Pillow
Jefferson Airplane
I've heard this album a few times before, and when it popped up now I still thought "I wonder what other songs are on there apart from 'White Rabbit' and 'Somebody to Love'". I think this is quite telling of the record: it's very uneven. There are very many songs on the album, and only the first half + 'White Rabbit' is really worth keeping. The rest should just have been cut and it could've gotten a 4 probably. I also think it's a mistake to not have Grace sing more of the songs, since she has such an iconic voice and is what stands out the most to me.
3
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Wed Aug 16 2023
All Hail the Queen
Queen Latifah
Not my cup of tea really. No hooks or anything in my opinion. Not totally rock bottom, but still very uninteresting to me.
2
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Thu Aug 17 2023
GI
Germs
I instantly disliked this, but tried my very best to not let that first impression affect me for the rest of the album. But it was impossible to turn it around. Maybe the worst record we've had on this list so far and I cannot fathom why it is on the list at all. Maybe it was a pioneer back when it came out and paved the way for some genre, no idea. Is it here as a benchmark mark for how bad an album can be? When I looked at the number of songs on the album I got seriously scared, but the silver lining was that each song was just 1-2 mins long, amounting to a very short total playtime around 38 mins. And that turned out to be the only good thing with this album. I would've given this 0 stars if I could.
1
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Fri Aug 18 2023
The World is a Ghetto
War
New album for me, and this was a happy surprise! Every song felt very funky and had a really nice groove to it. Listened to it while working and I can't remember thinking anytime that it got bad or especially boring. Songs were also different enough from each other. Just overall solid, very happy with this!
4
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Mon Aug 21 2023
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
I feel like a grumpy old man but I didn't like this very much. 'Fight for you Right' is definitely a classic, but other than that I didn't really enjoy any of the tracks. I think it's the same problem that I have with the old Run DMC albums, it just sounds so synthetic and "basic" with just the drum machines and some sampled stuff. While their rap style can be cool and work well in some songs, it can also become very monotonous and "toneless" over a few songs.
2
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Tue Aug 22 2023
Head Hunters
Herbie Hancock
Bit interesting to hear a Herbie Hancock album start out with some acid bassline. Heavy use of electrical piano as well, which is absolutely some of my favourite sounding instruments. Was planning on going with a 3 first, but this is actually quite a unique jazz album, very different from what I've heard before. And it's very good!
4
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Wed Aug 23 2023
Imagine
John Lennon
This was quite hard for me to rate honestly. The music itself was good, but nothing spectacular for me personally. But since it's John Lennon you sort of feel inclined to give the benefit of the doubt. But I still think a strong 3 is appropriate for me when comparing with other albums. To get a 4, I'd at least want to feel some excitement about some songs and want to give it a listen again. Not so much with this. 'Imagine' is of course a very good song, and 'Oh Yoko!' was quite good as well, though very cheesy.
3
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Thu Aug 24 2023
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
Liars
I actually thought we had hit lowest possible already, but this might have reclaimed the throne? First song is basically a bunch of out of tune noise, more like a soundscape (which can be nice ofc, but not like this). And it just went on the same unfortunately. 0 stars if it would've been possible.
1
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Fri Aug 25 2023
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
Seems to be a fairly popular album, but I'm not quite sold. Sounds a bit like a mix between Radiohead and Eliott Smith, but especially Radiohead are way better in my opinion. I think overall there's not enough interesting stuff going on, quite bland in general so to speak. 'Jesus, Etc.' was quite a cool song, changes sounds completely with violins and everything. But other than that it wasn't for me.
2
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Mon Aug 28 2023
Moon Safari
Air
This album has a bit of an interesting lo-fi vibe to it. It's a bit quirky, and I like that. Somehow it also sounds older than it is, which you don't see too often. 'Sexy Boy' is such a cool track, and the ones with Beth Hirsch are also especially good. I also like 'Ce martin-lá - From "L'uomo in più"'. Not all songs are great, but it keeps a quite high bar still, so this will have to be a weak 4.
4
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Tue Aug 29 2023
Machine Head
Deep Purple
We had a live album by Deep Purple before, 'Made In Japan', that I was expecting to be bad but turned out to be very good. This is almost the opposite situation. I saw 'Smoke on the water' on this record and expected it to be a banger, but almost all songs turned out to be boring. This was also a stupid expectation to have from me to have, since I can't find any joy with 'Smoke on the water' to begin with, I have simply heard it to many times, and it has lost its magic. My overall feeling with the album is also a bit perplexing. On paper, this album really has everything I should like. Good singer, rock from era I usually enjoy, cool electric piano etc, but it just doesn't get up there for some reason. The album was saved by the last two songs, 'Space truckin'' and 'When a blind man cries' which were actually very good songs, many steps above the rest.
3
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Wed Aug 30 2023
Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
Fun record. I wonder if I enjoyed it much because it was actually good, or if it was just a fresh breeze compared to the records you usually get (rock mostly). It made me want to go to southern US, so I guess that’s a good sign?
4
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Thu Aug 31 2023
Teen Dream
Beach House
I noticed I had saved 3 songs from this album on Spotify, but I'm not sure I listened through the whole album before. Amazingly I found even more songs that were worthy of saving, and I didn't really think there were any bad songs at all. I never really considered this to be THAT good, but now when I heard the whole album I can't really give it anything other than 5 stars, it's actually a stellar album. It's quite melancholic though, and her voice is probably something you either love or hate, but it hits just right for me.
5
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Fri Sep 01 2023
The La's
The La's
I've only heard 'There she goes' before from the La´s, and after listeningen to this I understand why. The whole album was pretty forgetful actually, nothing there to reel you in. It's not bad per-se, but there's just nothing that stands out apart from 'There she goes' to me. I think I will change it up and give this a strong 2, instead of a weak 3.
2
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Mon Sep 04 2023
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Once again Led Zeppelin delivers a high quality album. There are definitely songs here that wouldn't be considered Zeppelin's top ones, but the overall bar is still very high. Songs like 'Good Times Bad Times' and 'Communication Breakdown' are probably my favorite ones on the album.
4
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Tue Sep 05 2023
Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
This was such a nice and calm listen. Super cozy. Starting out the first song with an electric organ was an instant hook for me. I imagine the best way to experience this is in some cozy dim lit NYC basement while having a nice meal.
4
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Wed Sep 06 2023
Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
Seems to have been quite some energy in that club going on. I think in general, I've concluded that I don't like live albums that much. So far the ones I've heard have been less impressive than regular ones, and I'm not sure why I keep seeing them on this list. Regardless, I would consider this one of the better ones I've heard. It's also fun to hear a different more energetic version of Sam Cooke than I'm used to hearing, so it'll get a 3 from me.
3
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Thu Sep 07 2023
Rising Above Bedlam
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
Really fun with an album that sounds different from the rest. I had hopes this could be the same revelation that the Massive Attack album 'Protection' was. And the first half kind of had me leading on to that, but then it changed format to a more oriental one, which can be fine of course, but it felt a bit disconnected and messy just splitting the album up in two parts like that. In general it didn't quite hit home for me, but I'll give it plus points for trying.
2
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Fri Sep 08 2023
Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
Very forgettable to me frankly. I guess the album cover should have given me some hint at what I was about to hear. Somehow the actual songs themselves doesn't sound as hallucinatory as the art feels, but there are still some songs where the experimentation goes wrong. Like 'Eight Miles High' for example, which was a low point for me personally. In general I think this album have some of the worst guitar solos I've heard. We've had one more The Byrds album before, and I just fail to see the greatness with them.
2
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Mon Sep 11 2023
Blue Lines
Massive Attack
Massive Attack really has become this group that I wasn't familiar with before starting with 1001 albums, but now love. Had their 'Protection' album here before, which was really good. I think this is stronger though. I am probably a bit biased in my honeymoon phase with this band, but they are just really good at creating extremely cool grooves with nice mellow chord progressions that works very well for me. It definitely feels 90s to me, but also manages to stand out and be very unique compared to much other music. The singers on the album have very different vocal ranges, which it makes it very interesting. It sounds quite similar to Moby, of which I am a big fan. He also manages to capture a similar feeling, especially in the 'Play' and '18' and albums. Some of my favourite tracks from the album are 'Blue Lines', 'Daydreaming', and 'Lately'. But like I said, all tracks keeps a very high bar.
5
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Tue Sep 12 2023
Amnesiac
Radiohead
This was an extremely uneven album. Almost half of the songs are nonsense and feels like they're there to tie the good songs together or set the mood of the album, one quarter is quite good - like 'Knives Out', 'I Might Be Wrong', 'Dollars and Cents', and the other quarter is ok. How do you rate that? I think I'll actually give it a strong 2 for once instead of weak 3. I just feel like the weak songs drag down the overall impression way too much to ignore.
2
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Wed Sep 13 2023
Trio
Dolly Parton
I don't think I am knowledgeable enough in this area of music to really rate this properly. To me it sounded good and the singers are extremely capable, but the music is also feels like pretty generic country music. Nothing I want to throw myself over again, but it was a pretty calm listen and if I'm in the mood for country I could put this on for sure. I just hope for their sake that the album cover picture was done as satire or a joke, and not in seriousness. Though I'm not sure how much humour Dolly Patron & co. has, so it's hard to know.
3
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Thu Sep 14 2023
Heaux Tales
Jazmine Sullivan
"Cool, an album from 2021!" is what my first reaction was. Unfortunately this quickly turned to sadness since there is so much good music these days, and they chose this out of all the good music they could've picked. I also read that she was inspired by Cardi B, which is not a good thing. I think conceptually the album feels quite cohesive. Unfortunately, the theme is not really something that excites me that much. Some of the songs are ok, but it's just not really my jam honestly, so it's hard to give it proper credit. It's not something I really enjoyed though, and I won't go back to it, so a 2 feels right for me.
2
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Fri Sep 15 2023
Armed Forces
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
This is our 2nd Elvis Costello record on the list, and I still fail to see the greatness with him. I am fairly certain that this is a "me" thing, because I can't really point out any obvious issues more than that it is very mundane and doesn't move me at all - the chord progressions are just not interesting at all. I think I've heard 'Oliver's Army' before, which seems to be the high point of the album. But even then it's quite weak. The best thing about this album is the cover art, which I think is quite telling. I don't think it quite drops into 1 star rating territory, that feels a bit too harsh, even though I sincerely hope there's no more Elvis Costello on this list.
2
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Mon Sep 18 2023
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar often seems to be cited as the big hip hop phenomenon after 2010. I've tried getting into his stuff, but I just don't see it. I tried listening extra much to the lyrics this time to see if that's where the gold was, but to me it's just the same old tropey disrespecting women, talk about fame and money etc. that you've heard a trillion times. And sure, some of the beats were perhaps a bit more... mellow and melodic somehow, but not enough to warrant that level of recognition. The trap-like elements and tri-hit hi-hats actually works against me here, not a fan of that at all. I think my favourite song of the album was 'Sing about me, I'm dying of thirst', which coincidentally also seem to stand out the most from the rest. I really want to like it, but I just don't. And I am pretty sure this is an extremely unpopular opinion. Maybe he was super revolutionary when he came out, but if so, it's just not in a direction I enjoy. Weak 2 for me.
2
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Tue Sep 19 2023
Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
Both the album cover and actual music feels old. It was an interesting listen with many unorthodox songs, but it's hard to say whether I liked it or not. 'Quirky' is probably a good way to describe this album, and a bit all over the place. Not something I'll return to for sure.
3
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Wed Sep 20 2023
Another Green World
Brian Eno
During my first playthrough this left with no real impression, even though Brian Eno is often brought up as a pioneer in electronic music. I was working while listening and nothing really stood out.
I skimmed again now just before writing this, and it's actually not that bad, but not great either. I think it just passed my by since it's mostly ambient and mellow stuff. It would work much better as soundtrack to a movie rather than a typical album. Might be something I'd put on again while working. Weak 3 overall, not that exciting.
3
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Thu Sep 21 2023
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
This was pretty good, but after hearing a lot of familiar songs thinking "was this really made by Otis Redding?" I googled the album and realized that 90% of it are covers. I honestly think that kind of makes it ineligible for a rating, and that it shouldn't be on this list at all. I guess all I can do is rate his performance then, so I'll do that, even though it feels unfair towards other albums that might've gotten a lower rating.
A fun fact is that it's apparently unknown who the girl on the album cover is. The art somehow also feels before its time and looks like something a bit mysterious that could've popped up during the 90s.
3
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Fri Sep 22 2023
Ritual De Lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction
'Been Caught Stealing' is a quite deecent classic that you'd hear at any 90s themed party. But there's not much more than that for me personally. I think one of the main gripes I have is that the singer mostly sounds like he's singing at his sonic capabilities all the time, like there's no dynamics - it's either on or off - and that makes it feel quite intense all the time in a not-so-good way. Also this is just not really my jam.
2
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Mon Sep 25 2023
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
Another banger from Led Zeppelin. Perhaps not their best one, but it's crazy how consistent they are. Even their "bad" albums are better than some artists could ever dream of creating. Perhaps this one doesn't contain their most famous songs, but all songs are just really good, where 'Immigrant Song' probably sits on the throne as the most recognized one.
5
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Tue Sep 26 2023
Station To Station
David Bowie
A bit of a different Bowie album? At first playthrough it kind of flew past me, but then I listened again and I felt that it actually kept a pretty high bar throughout. Hard to pinpoint exactly what was good, but just overall quite nice! Weak 4 it is.
4
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Wed Sep 27 2023
Dear Science
TV On The Radio
I can see how this could've been an inspiration to other bands to do something similar. I can't quite put my finger on where I've heard traces of this before, but I am confident it's out there somewhere. I appreciate that it stands out and takes a leap of faith in being original and I'm positive this sits well with a lot of people, but it doesn't quite manage to grab me unfortunately. It's probably just not my cup of tea.
3
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Thu Sep 28 2023
So
Peter Gabriel
My first though was "hmm, this sounds quite a lot like Phil Collins, but not as good". And sure enough, Peter Garbriel was the front man of Genesis, so I'm glad that my spider senses proved themselves working for once. But that was the most exciting thing with the album for me. Like many other albums we've had on the list, there's nothing bad about this really, it just doesn't get my blood pumping. It also sounds very 80s in a not-that-great way.
3
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Fri Sep 29 2023
Third/Sister Lovers
Big Star
The first half was not that great, but it recovered itself in the second half! 'Blue Moon' was a quite a good song. Overall I think a 3 makes sense.
3
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Mon Oct 02 2023
The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Pretty bread and butter big band music as far as I can tell. Nothing wrong with that though, it slots in perfectly when you're in a certain mood for that. The listen made me feel happy, which is more than you can say for many albums!
3
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Tue Oct 03 2023
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
Not really my cup of tea. 'You said something' was good, but other than that it really didn't hit home for me.
2
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Wed Oct 04 2023
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
Think I've only heard 'Can I Kick It' before, so this was new territory for me. I was quite sceptical at first (which I always am, nothing new there), perhaps mostly due to the band name, which definitely ranks high as some of the worst I've seen.
Their music was far better though, really liked it! Once again - as is quite common with many of my 4 star rated albums - there wasn't really any single track that stood out very much, but the overall level was just really high. I found myself constantly grooving along. 'Mr. Muhammad' for example is a really cool track that gives me Massive Attack vibes. Then 'I Left My Wallet in El Segundo' gives you a completely different vibe, but is still really cool. I guess one thing that annoys me is that their rapping flow/style feels a bit tame sometimes. A bit "kosher" somehow. But in summary, really cool album! One of few that I haven't heard before, but still leaves me super excited about listening again!
4
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Thu Oct 05 2023
Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)
Loretta Lynn
Once again it started off with scepticism, as the cover art looks like an invitation card to dinners at an Amish place in the 50s. Lucikly it turned out to be a very nice album! What a wonderful voice she has, she sings very well. It's hard for me to give it more than a solid 3 in the middle, because even though I can appreciate it when in certain mood and it genuinely made me happy to listen to, it's not really something I usually put on myself. It's also hard to know how this album from 67 has impacted the genre.
3
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Fri Oct 06 2023
Street Signs
Ozomatli
This really wasn't to my liking at all. The single biggest issue for me was that it didn't feel cohesive at all. It was a mixture of latino rap, some rap that didn't feel latino, 'Who Discovered America' which felt like a worse kind of radio smash hit version of Santana's 'Smooth'. Then there was 'Dejame en Paz', which was something completely different? I think if some of the tracks were hand picked and put in another constellation, it might not have been as bad, but this just didn't fly at all. But to be fair, the tracks didn't really leave any impression on me regardless so maybe not.
1
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Mon Oct 09 2023
Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
Some proper "old man's rock". 'La Grange' is a real classic, and even the rest of the songs mostly contain real catchy and memorable riffs. If that's exactly what you want you'll love this. I think personally it gets a bit boring after a while somehow. Very bread and butter rock, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for that. One thing that surprised in a good way was how well they sing.
3
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Tue Oct 10 2023
Zombie
Fela Kuti
Pretty nice vibe, hard to sit still with this on! Songs were a bit too long perhaps, but not much to complain about to be honest. Hard to say what could change to give it a higher rating, but somehow feels fitting with a 3 even though I can't really motivate it properly.
3
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Wed Oct 11 2023
The Joshua Tree
U2
I came into this thinking it would be a solid 5 star album. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The first few songs are crazy strong, but the rest is kind of forgettable to be honest. I am a quite big fan of U2's music, but a realization has dawned on me that they are quite uneven. It's really only their best songs that are good, the rest are not that interesting. Lucky for them they have quite alot of smash hits across all of their albums, but when looking at this album as a whole it fell short of other albums I've given 5 stars.
4
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Thu Oct 12 2023
Electric Warrior
T. Rex
Another one I haven't encountered before, but this was a really cool album! It starts off with - in my opinion - the albums best song 'Mambo Sun', and just keeps going with cool songs. When I got to 'Get It On' the coin finally fell down since that is quite a well known song. The singer had a quite unique style, but it fitted very well with the songs. I think in general most songs were just very good, which doesn't happen very often when I come across an "ordinary" rock album. Hats off to this!
4
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Fri Oct 13 2023
Under Construction
Missy Elliott
I've come to the conclusion that I just like very specific types of rap for some reason. And unfortunately this didn't fit in there. Can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't move me at all for some reason. I appreciate that she's taking a stance for the ladies though, quite a lot of rap can be very misogynistic in my opinion. So hearing something different than that is refreshing.
2
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Mon Oct 16 2023
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Funny how the last album we got was 'Under Construction' by Missy Eliott, and I said how refreshing it was that she was taking a stand for the ladies. Enter this album, which is the polar opposite of that.
I might get lynched for giving this a 4 star, but I'm just a bit tired of the older hip-hop beats. It was the same feeling with Run-D.M.C. Eazy-E´s rap is also so annoying to listen to, don't like his flow at all. Still, you can't deny how influental the album has been for hip-hop, and catapulting Dr.Dre and Ice Cube, for example, towards very successful careers.
4
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Tue Oct 17 2023
Live!
Fela Kuti
Wow, another Fela Kuti album. Think that has been the artist so far with most albums generated, very unexpected. I have to say this live album actually added something; Fela's energy was really rubbing off! The first 3 songs were really strong, then it dipped a bit. The absolute low point was the 16 minutes drum solo. I really try to be open minded about drum solos, but they have never really worked for me.
4
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Wed Oct 18 2023
Dookie
Green Day
I used to listen to lots of skate punk in my teens, and some albums still hold up really well. But this doesn't do much for me, unfortunately. I think it is regarded as one of the better early works in that genre, and certainly some songs like 'Basket Case' and perhaps 'When I Come Around' are bangers, but it is just too uneven for me to give it a higher rating. I really like Green Day's more commercially successful album 'American Idiot', but other than that I think Green Day just isn't really for me, for some reason.
3
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Thu Oct 19 2023
The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett
Pink Floyd regards Syd Barret very high and has mentioned how influential he was for their sound and how he was a cornerstone in the band, basically pulling the strings. That might be true, but it's a bit funny how they made their best stuff after he left the band.
I can see many resemblences between this album and the first two Pink Floyd albums as well, but those albums at least had some songs that were pretty good, and they sounded like they were mixed by professional musicians. This has nothing of that. It sounds terrible, the songs are jibberish and incohesive. Maybe some songs reflect his mental wellbeing at the time, which would be both interesting and a bit sad, but it's still not anything I would put on or listen to.
1
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Fri Oct 20 2023
Kimono My House
Sparks
Sounds like a mixture between circus music and Queen. Way too sprawling for my taste. I don't think this is objectively bad, it just doesn't suit me the slightest.
1
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Mon Oct 23 2023
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
This was an album with a lot of mixed emotions for sure. The length of it seems to be a whooping 105 (!) minutes, which is absurd for an album in my opinion.
The first quarter is way too much religion centric for my taste. Almost all songs seems to be about Jesus or God in some form - not my cup of tea.
Not all songs keep the same quality, but you can't deny that there are quite a lot of bangers here. What's more, there are also a handful of songs that have been sampled and you recognize from other famous songs as well. 'I Wish' seems to be the main song in Will Smith's 'Wild Wild West', 'Pastime Paradise' has been covered and sampled loads of times, and there might be more that I missed. Still, for an album to get a 5 star I would like it to be a bit more even throughout, and it would probably reach that level if like half of the songs were cut. Strong 4 it is!
4
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Tue Oct 24 2023
The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips
I actually disliked this with a passion. It was a long time ago since I heard a record that sounded this bad, it's on demo territory for me. I actually had to check if my headphones were connected properly, just because it sounded so bad.
The singer has a quite special style that you may or may not like, but I think he actually sang out of key on some songs which just enhances the feeling that he can't sing.
It's a bit of a shame, because 'Race for the Prize' could've been a very good song if it was just executed better. And that is a feeling I have throughout the whole record; every song that could've been good is ruined by bad choices of what sounds and instruments to use, which just makes it sound crap and dissonant (I'm looking at you, distorted bass in 'A Spoonful Weighs a Ton').
It does sound quite a lot like a predecessor to Death Cab for Cutie though, and I can see how many other indie and alternative bands might've been inspired by this.
1
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Wed Oct 25 2023
Punishing Kiss
Ute Lemper
Strange album. It sounds like it's way older than from 2000 somehow. If lining up all of the different famous artists on the album cover was going to be selling, it unfortunately didn't contribute to it being actually good. Ute sounds like a competent singer, but the songs just weren't for at all.
2
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Thu Oct 26 2023
Low
David Bowie
This was quite interesting as it didn't feel like a Bowie album. Maybe too non-quirky and/or more electronic elements than I'm used to in Bowie's music. Still, I enjoyed it, refreshing! Shows that Bowie is quite the musician with many different sides to him.
I instantly liked 'Sound and Vision' when it came on, but other than that not much really stuck. There were some nice melodic pieces in the latter part of the album like 'Art Decade' and 'Weeping Wall', but somehow don't feel like it deserves more than a quite strong 3 star rating, still.
3
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Fri Oct 27 2023
Teenager Of The Year
Frank Black
I understand the Pixies to be quite highly regarded, but this just did not cut it at all for me. It felt extremely bland, and I actually didn't manage to sit through the whole of it. Even though it was just an hour long it felt like I was listening to it the whole morning. Not in a good way.
1
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Mon Oct 30 2023
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
It was really hard to rate this album. This album and 'Meteora' were albums that became insanely popular when I was young, so there are quite strong nostalgia connected to this for me. Which raises the question of how good it really is.
Somehow it doesn't feel super modern anymore, but I can't put my finger on whether it's because I haven't been listening to this type of music for long or whether it's something else.
Having mostly heard the big hits before like 'Papercut', 'In the End', 'One Step Closer', 'Crawling', 'A Place for My Head', I have to say that I can't find that many songs that are actually bad.
I think I will have to give this a weak 5 star, just because I can't really find any reason not to. It's just overall filled with good songs. I don't necessarily enjoy it as much as I would've back in the day, but I still think it's objectively really good. And when it came out it was quite groundbreaking.
5
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Tue Oct 31 2023
One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
This was hard to get hold of, was not available on Spotify in our country.
I think I was a bit too focused while working to take this in properly, I barely remember anything about it. But it did feel nice to have in the background. Gut says this is a 3.
3
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Wed Nov 01 2023
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters has some good songs, but never really liked them that much for whatever reason. I definitely think there are albums that contain much better songs than this, so this is by no means their top stuff. The first half is pretty decent, but second half drags it down quite a bit with 'Weenie Beenie' being the low point.
3
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Thu Nov 02 2023
Red Headed Stranger
Willie Nelson
Nice country. Wise men say country is all about the lyrics, but unfortunately I couldn't focus on that while working. Regardless, it was a nice listen.
3
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Fri Nov 03 2023
Talking Book
Stevie Wonder
Interesting album. Contains two of his most popular hits; 'Superstition' and 'You Are The Sunshine Of My Life' which are undeniable bangers. The rest of the album doesn't reach those highs, and as I mentioned before I have a bit of a hard time relating to the religious theme of his songs. On the flip-side, the Clavinet and electric keyboard, which are some of my favourite sounds, are on almost every song and gives it a nice funky feeling. Still, going to have to settle with a strong 3.
3
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Mon Nov 06 2023
Paul Simon
Paul Simon
When this record started I got lured in by the reggae-like sound and thought it was someone from Jamaica singing. Didn't recognize Paul Simon's voice at all!
Paul Simon is a pretty clever guy when it comes to creating interesting stories and wordplay. But for some reason it just isn't quite hitting home for me, it doesn't stand out enough somehow and I can't explain.
As interesting as some songs are lyrically, equally as uninteresting some songs are as well. 'Run That Body Down' has a nice mellow vibe to it, but the lyrics feels like filler lyrics someone would come up with on a napkin while sitting on the commuter train. Same thing goes for 'Armistice Day'. And I just expect a bit more from Paul I guess.
All things considered it will have to be a 3 for me, though I realize this could be a 'me' thing and it deserves more.
3
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Tue Nov 07 2023
Dusty In Memphis
Dusty Springfield
I liked this. But is it something I'm going to lay sleepless over and think about all the time? No. I think it's a bit unfair towards the album because it's so hard for me to relate to this properly, so giving it more than 3 or weak 4 at tops is just not going to happen. Still, there is a feeling that it might deserve more.
3
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Wed Nov 08 2023
Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
We've had R.E.M´s 'Document' album here before which was beneath mediocre, but this definitely stepped up the game a notch or two! After hearing two albums I'm semi-convinced that the base sound of R.E.M. is not really for me - it's more an exception that they managed to create a few really really good songs. This one falls apart a bit at the seams between those strong songs, preventing it from reaching a 5 for me.
Favourite songs from the album are 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite', 'Everybody Hurts', 'Man On The Moon', the latter two of which are absolute smash hits that everyone has probably heard at least once.
Miscellaneous strong points unrelated to this album specifically are that I really like Michael Stipe's singing, very good voice and energy. Also badass band name!
4
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Thu Nov 09 2023
Fragile
Yes
Had one Yes album here before that didn't impress that much, and this is not really improving on the matter. On paper I should like them, and I wish I did, but I just don't. I think it's just too much, perhaps. It feels like they try to cram in too many notes in their songs for my liking, and it just gets messy.
2
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Fri Nov 10 2023
This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
This was pretty nice! But what is it about older artists and basically copy/pasting the same song format over and over? 'Blueberry Hill', 'Troubles Of My Own', 'Blue Monday' and 'So Long' are very, very similar to each other. Had the exact same thing with James Brown.
3
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Mon Nov 13 2023
Blackstar
David Bowie
Not sure why this is on the list, it's nothing special at all. I'm fairly sure that if this didn't have Bowie's name on it, it would've been forgotten.
Some songs are ok-ish, but mostly it was just weird and dissonant. Bowie's music has always been a bit weird to me, but it always manages to land on the good side. This doesn't.
2
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Tue Nov 14 2023
Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
Whenever you hear Michael Jasckson songs, it's always the smash hits - which he has plenty of, can't argue about that. This album contains two that I can spot, but the rest are more modest. And I have to say that there is quite a big difference between those hits and his other songs. They were by no means bad, but didn't stand out that much else, except of course by the fact that MJ is a stellar performer and singer.
Strong 3 it is.
3
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Wed Nov 15 2023
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys has some good songs, but they're not my favourite band. This album feels pretty much like our last record, 'Off The Wall' with Michael Jackson, which had 2 smash hits and then the rest was pretty meh. That's how I feel about this as well; 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' and 'God Only Knows' are stellar, but the rest is pretty forgettable. Just like I did with the MJ record, I'm going to give this a strong 3, where the good songs push it up and the rest drags it down.
3
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Thu Nov 16 2023
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
I've never been a huge fan of Tom Petty, just doesn't hit the right spot for some reason. This is the first whole album of him I hear, but it didn't really do much in favour of changing my mind. Even the supposed hits just fly over my head. It's hard to give a fair rating, but I think reasonable a weak 3 might be appropriate.
3
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Fri Nov 17 2023
All Things Must Pass
George Harrison
Never listened to much of the Beatles past members´ own work, and the few songs I have heard were from John Lennon. So this was quite uncharted territory for me. I have to say I was surprised and impressed. It is VERY good!
It contains the hit 'My Sweet Lord', but I find it overall to have very high quality songs, at least in the first half, with 'Run Of The Mill' being my favourite one. I actually wanted to give it 5 stars at some point, but when I consider that it's over 2h playtime and the second half doesn't nearly live up to the first half, I have to lower it a bit. So I think a 4 is quite appropriate!
4
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Mon Nov 20 2023
3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
Really cool album that kept a red thread throughout it. 'My Myself and I' and 'Eye Know' were probably the best songs, and overall it was just a very good session where I felt like all tracks gelled together but still stood out enough at the same time. I am fairly sure Gorillaz (which I am a big fan of) has taken quite a lot of influence from this, as it reminded me of them in the sense that it is quite playful and a bit weird at times, but still rockin.
They could have skipped the whole Jeopardy!-like meta they had going as it didn't really seem to end up anywhere. Apart from that, really cool album that I've never heard before, really glad I did! Strong 4!
4
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Tue Nov 21 2023
The Score
Fugees
This sounds like a very 90s record, with the super smash hits 'Killing Me Softly With His Song' and 'Ready or Not' at the front. It feels like this was a pretty influential record, and if nothing else, very commercially successful. I think overall it was pretty decent, but it doesn't quite grab me the way I'd hoped it would. I think it deserves more, but to me it felt like a solid 3.
3
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Wed Nov 22 2023
White Light / White Heat
The Velvet Underground
The link here directed me to the deluxe edition of this album, and I wonder if that was really supposed to happen as I see now there is a also a regular one on Spotify. Listening to the original album version might've changed things as it seems much more condensed, but I can't be arsed to go through it again.
This album has cemented my dislike of The Velvet Underground. Their first album is ok, but not really my cup of tea. This is much worse in all regards. The guitar distortion they have on all tracks is done in an ear-deafening way and not very nice. So many high pitched shrieks that are really unpleasant.
It's not just the actual sound though, the songs themselves are super boring as well, and a few of them just drag on forever, like 'The Gift' and 'Sister Ray'.
I think this probably has to be listened to with the fact in mind that it was released in '68, but it's hard to do that when it sounds how it does. There are many older albums that survived the turn of time, but not this one.
1
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Thu Nov 23 2023
Country Life
Roxy Music
This flew completely over my head. I don't remember a single song. Maybe that's because I was focused at work, or it just wasn't that interesting. I am going to go with the 2nd. Feels like this was only included because of the controversial album cover.
2
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Fri Nov 24 2023
Surf's Up
The Beach Boys
My first thought when I saw the album cover was "what is this, some kind of death metal?", and then it turned out to be The Beach Boys. What a surprise!
I think I may have liked this more than 'Pet Sounds' as a whole. It felt more coherent, and this was another side of The Beach Boys I've not encountered before. Some songs were quite mellow, like 'Disney Girls' and 'Surf's Up', and then there were a bit more experimental ones like 'Lookin' At Tomorrow' which had an interesting eerie chord progression and almost reminded me a bit of some of Metallica's "softer" songs.
I think it might be a bit too generous, and maybe just a honeymoon thing, but I'm going to give this a weak 4 actually. Not very often I get positively surprised, so have to take opportunity to reward those moments!
4
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Mon Nov 27 2023
Melodrama
Lorde
I've heard quite a lot of praise for Lorde (pun not intended), but I'm not sure I quite get it myself. I think it sounds a bit too over the place for me. Too modern perhaps? Though writing that down makes me feel super old.
Don't see what separates this from other modern pop. Not great, not terrible either.
3
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Tue Nov 28 2023
Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Definitely not something I listen to every day, but this was still alright. I don't think I will revisit it, but it was still interesting to hear!
I think perhaps the mixing could've been a bit better, everything melds together a bit too much and becomes a bit too high frequency. Especially with that very specific "old microphone" and delay effect on the singer which ends up in about the same frequency spectrum as the hi hats and distortion.
3
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Wed Nov 29 2023
Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band
At first I was excited to hear a bongo oriented album, never heard that before! But I was kind of quickly disappointed, unfortunately, by the low-effortness of playing mostly (only?) covers. The ones that weren't obvious covers felt more like jam tracks, and got a bit too messy. I don't think it sounded bad per-se, and it was quite cozy listening to the album, but I just don't think an album with mostly covers really belong on this list which is what brings the score down.
2
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Thu Nov 30 2023
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sinead O'Connor
This is definitely not my type of music, but her voice and singing along with interesting melancholic chord progressions manages to carry the whole album, so I think it comes down to whether you like that or not. The rest of the musical parts are not particularly interesting, and furthermore that part hasn't aged very well with the quite boring drum parts, for example.
This has quite a few years on it's back now, but there is definitely a loudness issue with this album. It is probably intentional, but many of the songs are so quiet it's hard to hear what she's singing (and whether she actually is singing).
4
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Fri Dec 01 2023
I Am a Bird Now
Antony and the Johnsons
Interesting album. The first song really grabbed me, it was really good. And what a voice he has, wow! I think it became a bit too much of the same thing by the end though, that was the biggest drawback. I still think this deserves a 4; it still felt fresh and new even though it is from 2005. He must've been quite ahead of his time!
4
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Mon Dec 04 2023
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
When I heard this the first time some years ago I didn't exactly understand the hype. It took some time to appreciate it, and now I do. I wonder if I would regard it as highly if I didn't know it was one of the best selling records ever?
Regardless, I think this is an album that is perfectly suited for listening all the way through in one sitting. Some tracks feels like segways between other tracks ('On The Run', 'The Great Gig In The Sky', 'Any Colour You Like') and perhaps doesn't stand as firmly on their own, but work very well in the context of the album.
This is also an album where the artist definitely experiments and pushes boundaires (as with the clocks in 'Time', and the whole 'On The Run' track) and where it actually works very well.
When I think of the greatest record ever made, this definitely springs to mind as a candidate, but I am not sure if it is because I really think that it is that good, or if it is because I know it's valued as one of the best records ever. Probably the latter. But even if it's not the best album ever for me, I still think it deserves a 5 star.
5
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Tue Dec 05 2023
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
Another Dylan album, another 3. Still can't get into his stuff, despite trying for quite some time. I mean it's not bad, it just doesn't resonate with me. 'You're a Big Girl Now' was my favourite song of the album.
3
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Wed Dec 06 2023
System Of A Down
System Of A Down
System Of A Down is a really cool band. This album has some good songs, but I think both 'Toxicity' and 'Mezmerize' are better albums. Still, it really stands out and manages to stay clear of being too juvenile/ridiculous and keep on the right side of "coolness". You can tell they're on to something here.
3
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Thu Dec 07 2023
Doolittle
Pixies
I've heard the 'Surfer Rosa' album before and wasn't that impressed. This was much better! I've never really understood the (seeming) cult following of the Pixies, but this album definitely feels before it's time. I can't really point out any specific high point other than 'Here Comes Your Man', but overall it held a pretty high bar!I think this might deserve a weak 4, but I'm going to give it a strong 3 instead. Could probably reach a 4 if it was more my type of music and if I listen to it more.
3
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Fri Dec 08 2023
Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones
Haven't listened much to Rolling Stones, but this wasn't very convincing. I might be wrong, but I expected Stones to be a bit more... hard rock perhaps? This is quite tame rock in my opinions.
Didn't really find any specific song that grabbed me on the album. Also, 'Sympathy For The Devil' is in my opinion an extremely overrated song. All throughout the song it feels like it's about to take off, and then it's over.
3
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Mon Dec 11 2023
Funeral
Arcade Fire
I was a bit disappointed there was another Arcade Fire album in here, but I gave it a shot. Still don't like them, unfortunately. Probably deserves better but not my thing.
2
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Tue Dec 12 2023
There's No Place Like America Today
Curtis Mayfield
I really liked this! Perhaps it didn't feel particularly innovative or special, but it was nevertheless very good and my type of jam. Not much else to say actually! Weak 4
4
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Wed Dec 13 2023
Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
Good energy. I can see how they could be influential perhaps, but it passed me by a bit to be honest. It just feels a bit too dated.
3
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Thu Dec 14 2023
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
Pretty decent. Didn't stand out particularly much from other older albums, but wasn't bad either. If anything it feels a bit late to come with this '64 perhaps?
3
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Fri Dec 15 2023
Another Music In A Different Kitchen
Buzzcocks
I don't know what to think of this... maybe it's a 2, maybe a 3? Regardless it didn't impress me or made me lift any eyebrows really. Doesn't really provoke any type of emotion other than indifference.
2
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Mon Dec 18 2023
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
Nice album. I think this might be one that you need to go through a couple of times to appreciate, but I certainly do now. Apart from my personal low point of 'Don't Stop', which is basically 'Waterfall' reversed with some additional lyrics, most tracks keep a high bar and are both varying and interesting. I know 'Oasis' is a band that has drawn a lot of inspiration from 'The Stone Roses', so they were definitely unique during their time. Weak 5 for me!
5
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Tue Dec 19 2023
A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
This album is probably the best Dusty Springfield album I've heard as of yet. There are quite a lot of really good tunes on this one, like 'You Don't Own Me', 'Anyone Who Had A Hear', 'I Only Want To Be With You'. I think this album suffers from too many songs though, not all of which live up to the same standard as the ones I mentioned before. Despite this I think it still qualifies as a weak 4 for me!
4
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Wed Dec 20 2023
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
At first playthrough I was not sold at all for some reason, even though it feels like this should fit me like a hand in a glove. Not sure how that idiom translates from swedish to english, but you get my point.
I gave it a second try and turned up the volume a bit, and then it was better received. I think I missed out on some of the grooves when listening at lower volume, and perhaps didn't pay much attention.
Their sampling skills are very impressive, but I feel that it sometimes becomes a bit too much. The funny thing with this album is that it doesn't have any single song that stands out as a clear hit for me, and in fact my least favourite one is the one with some of the most plays; 'Frontier Psychiatrist'. But all songs just keep a very high bar, which still makes this a 4 for me, albeit a slightly weak one.
4
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Thu Dec 21 2023
Trans Europe Express
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk have made some tracks that are very good and holds up well today, but between those tracks (that aren't found on this album even) it can get quite boring. I appreciate the album as a concept thing, and I think if you'd listen to this in the correct setting or context it would shine brighter.
I am normally listening to quite a lot of modern electronic music, and this just pales a bit in comparison to in all areas ranging from production to music writing. In my opinion, you have to work deliberately to get movement into your track to make it interesting since you don't get that for free like you do with "organic" instruments like guitars, drum kits etc. This lacks all of that, it gets very monotone. I should probably be a bit nicer since this was at the inception of synthetic music when it was much harder to do just that, but I can't get away from the fact that it just hasn't aged very well.
2
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Fri Dec 22 2023
O.G. Original Gangster
Ice T
The album cover art is truly hot garbage. It's interesting how I really like 2001 by Dr. Dre but have a hard time standing this, even though it's the same genre. I guess it just isn't as good. Weak 2 for me.
2
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Mon Dec 25 2023
L.A. Woman
The Doors
I've listened to The Doors quite a few times, but they've never become my favourite band and I still have a bit of a hard time appreciating it. Some songs are really good, like 'Riders on the Storm', but the rest of this album passes me by quite unnoticed to be honest.
3
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Tue Dec 26 2023
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
A Christmas album packed with some of the most popular Christmas songs. There are quite a few of these song versions that are still played a lot on radio today, like 'Sleigh Ride', 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" etc, so by those measurements it must be regarded as a success.
Still, there are quite a few Christmas songs I listen to that are not on this particular album. And for some reason I feel that Christmas music plays in a different league than "regular" music, so it's hard for me to compare this to ordinary albums. I think a dead on 3 feels reasonable.
3
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Wed Dec 27 2023
Aja
Steely Dan
Not sure if it's me starting to get burned out to listening to new music every day, but this didn't really move me that much even though I felt like it should. Can't put my finger on why. 'Peg' is a cool song though!
3
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Thu Dec 28 2023
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
I was trying my best to forget the fact that The Beatles are probably the most popular band of all times when listening to this album, and I was even trying extra hard to be sceptical about it. I was surprised that I found it very good. It's probably not their best album, but it overall holds a very high bar and there are a few songs here that feels like some of Beatles most recognized ones like 'A Hard Day's Night', 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'And I Love Her' etc.
Even though this was during the inception of rock music (the album cover even had 'Stereo!' written on it) I feel that it doesn't hold up to today's standards. One thing I notice quite clearly is that the singing is overshadowing almost everything else. Front and center is of course best practice for song, but in 'I Should Have Known Better' you can only hear the acoustic guitar's strumming, but not the chords it actually plays because the singing just overpowers it completely.
4
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Fri Dec 29 2023
Henry's Dream
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Not my thing at all. Didn't really like the "grand cinematic-like soundtrack" approach it had. Previous Nick Cage records haven't worked for me either, so not a big a surprise.
2
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Mon Jan 01 2024
Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival
One of my regrets on this list is having not given the Cosmo Factory album 5 stars. I think this album might be slightly weaker as a whole - maybe because it is longer - but I am going to redeem myself now and give this 5 stars - albeit a weak one. I am actually shocked by how good I find the Creedence albums, because it doesn't feel like it should suit me that well, and I haven't been especially interested in them historically and haven't regarded them that high.
This album has plenty of hits, but it is also held together at the seams by less famous songs that still deliver. One of their most famous songs, 'Bad Moon Rising', is found on the album, but I find myself enjoying some of their less famous songs more, such as 'Sinister Purpose' and 'Tombstone Shadow'.
5
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Tue Jan 02 2024
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
Pretty good album with many well-known songs! I feel in general like they must've been a bit behind their time though, this feels more like late 50s music in some ways to me. Another downside is that I get a bit tired of their formula after a while, but it's still held together pretty well so it'll be a 4 for me!
4
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Wed Jan 03 2024
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
Talking head albums can really be hit or miss. They always walk on a fine line of being too quirky and weird, and being really good. This slightly misses the mark, but since I know they have much better albums I’m looking forward to hearing them in the future. Weak 3.
3
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Thu Jan 04 2024
Medúlla
Björk
Have heard a lot about Björk, but never really explored her music. At first I wasn't that struck, but it grew on me after a while. The album is quite uneven; there are many songs that didn't really pan out that well, like 'Ancestors' with the weird breathing and moaning, or 'Where Is The Line' with strange sampled vocals that make up the bassline.
I think I would describe it as more impressive and interesting rather evoking of that primal feel you can get when you hear some really good music where you just want to hear it again. Many times there are only acapella vocals and choirs, which is cool, but it is perhaps not the kind of music I typically listen to.
A thing that must be said is that this must've been extremely progressive and far ahead of the curve when it came in 2004. I feel that I recognize a lot of elements in this music in some of Lorde's or newer modern music. Also, it feels fresh and sounds great for being from 2004, it might as well have been from this year for all I'm concerned.
Perhaps not my favourite album here, but I am very glad I heard it and it widened my view on music!
4
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Fri Jan 05 2024
Sheet Music
10cc
Interesting album! Never heard before, but I was hooked with the first song. I really liked their funky and a bit odd melodies. The song was also interesting, reminding me in some ways about Supertramp. I think the album held up all the way through, and they managed to distinguish themselves enough from other rock to hold their own! The only lame thing was their juvenile band name, which gets old instantly.
4
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Mon Jan 08 2024
The Next Day
David Bowie
The person who made this list must be paid by Bowie. Granted, he made many good albums, but this is certainly not one of them. So much modern music from same time that is so much better than this. Can’t see this having made it if it wasn’t for it being Bowie.
2
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Tue Jan 09 2024
Is This It
The Strokes
Probably The Strokes best album, and for good reason. It contains most of the hits they are known for, and the rest of it is also really good - though it took me a bit longer to appreciate perhaps.
I think they do a great job of sounding modern, but also manage to rub off some older indie band vibes like The Smiths. I can't swear exactly on how much The Strokes have influenced other bands, but if Alex Turner from the immensely successful Arctic Monkeys sings "I just wanted to be one of The Strokes", I have a vague idea.
5
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Wed Jan 10 2024
Kilimanjaro
The Teardrop Explodes
Very uninspiring. Sounds a bit like tame 80s circus music to me. Not great, not terrible either.
2
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Thu Jan 11 2024
The United States Of America
The United States Of America
When I started listening to the album I was convinced it was going to be a 1-star album, but it recovered itself. I think the first half is is pretty messy and not very good. At 'The American Way of Love: Part I' that changes and it actually becomes quite decent!
My main issue with the album is that it's generally incoherent and sprawling all over the place. It's also quite long. This album will not stay with me for long, but overall I think it was quite interesting, so going to give it a weak 3-star!
3
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Fri Jan 12 2024
Underwater Moonlight
The Soft Boys
Not too bad! It had its ups and downs, but in general it held up quite ok. I think my favourite song of the album is 'I Got the Hots', which was pretty cool. Not many strong opinions either for or against, will have to be a 3 star.
3
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Mon Jan 15 2024
The Blueprint
JAY Z
Always knew Jay-Z was highly regarded within the hip-hop scene, but I never really dug into why. This must be one of the reasons. Rock solid album all the way through. Even though it doesn't seem to contain any of Jay-Z's most successful hits, it still really good overall.
4
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Tue Jan 16 2024
The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
I think this is an OK The Smiths album, but not more. 'There Is a Light That Nevewr Goes Out' is a good song, and 'Frankly, Mr. Shankly' is a quirky but interesting song that could've fitted in well on the first Pink Floyd's 'The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' album. Other than that it feels quite bland to me.
3
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Wed Jan 17 2024
Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon
I liked this album better than his self-titled one we got a few months back. Still, it doesn't make that great impression on me, but it's also not bad. Not sure why it doesn't hit harder, maybe it isn't my jam completely. I didn't find any particular song that stood out as being particularly good, but most of them were pretty decent and held an even bar so it was a nice listening anyways.
One song that I didn't like very much was 'Cars Are Cars'. It should be liberating that every song doesn't have to be about love or something serious, but it just feels silly when you get nonsensical lyrics like this. I remember I had the same feeling about some songs on his self-titled album as well. Feels very low effort.
In summary it was a decent even album where nothing stood out very much. Solid 3.
3
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Thu Jan 18 2024
Hunting High And Low
a-ha
What a start to an album! I realize it sounds weird, but this is just too much 80s for me - and it feels stuck there too. Apart from 'Take On Me' which is an awesome song I didn't connect with any of the other songs. It feels a bit too cheesy for me. I had a hard time deciding between a 2 and 3, but I think I'll give it a weak 3 since it wasn't unbearable like most 2 star albums are.
3
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Fri Jan 19 2024
California
American Music Club
Not sure about this, it completely passed me by the first run, and then I put it on again, but now I can't remember a thing. That can't be a good sign. I think it was pretty decent, but also left no impression whatsoever except maybe being a bit pretentious sometimes. Think this will have to a 2 star.
2
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Mon Jan 22 2024
Homework
Daft Punk
Always love me some Daft Punk, and this has got some good songs on it like 'Revolution 909', 'Around the World' and 'Da Funk'. But it also has some very very bad songs like 'Rollin' & Scratchin'', 'Rock'n Roll', and a ton of songs that are quite dull or just not very exciting. This is definitely my type of genre of music, and I do think Daft Punk introduced a new sound to the genre, but there are just too many songs that aren't good for this to reach higher ratings. Has to be a 3 for me.
3
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Tue Jan 23 2024
Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
Really good album that I've never heard before! I think it was good all the way through with all songs keeping a high bar and being different enough while still manage to stay within the boundaries of the album. I especially liked 'Band On The Run' that felt like 3 songs in one and it felt like it shifted key multiple times! Very cool.
4
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Wed Jan 24 2024
Nixon
Lambchop
I can't really put my finger on what exactly it is I don't like about this album, but I don't. It started off OK, but then gradually got worse. It felt very forgettable if nothing else, nothing that really stuck to me.
2
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Thu Jan 25 2024
Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
Some decent songs on this, but also some pretty bad ones. I like this type of music, but this album just didn't contain the most exciting songs.
3
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Fri Jan 26 2024
In Our Heads
Hot Chip
I am usually not that big of a Hot Chip fan... I think they sound too... meek somehow? Maybe that is further reinforced by the singers rather timid voice. Fast forward to now; this was actually a pretty decent album! 'Look At Where We Are' is probably my favourite song of the album, but the rest of the songs held up very well.
I'm weighing between a 4 and a 3, but I think it might not stand against the other 4 star albums I've rated so it'll have to be a very strong 3.
3
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Mon Jan 29 2024
Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis
Pretty legendary album, and it's one of the first albums I started listening to when I wanted to explore some Jazz albums. For being Jazz, it has quite memorable tunes and melodies, and feels more coherent and less "jammy" than many Jazz albums, which I appreciate. I haven't found any Jazz album so far that I appreciate more than this.
This album always makes me want to some dim-lit cozy bar late in the evening and see some calm jazz.
5
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Tue Jan 30 2024
Fulfillingness' First Finale
Stevie Wonder
Third Stevie Wonder album on this list now I think. It's probably the weakest of the three, and I feel that I am getting quite tired of Stevie Wonder at this point. I think it's the religion preaching parts that are wearing me down, and a bit too much hallelujah.
It's hard to find a single best song on this album, nothing really stands out. But nothing really is bad either (except what I wrote above); they are still quite groovy and well made. I think it's going to have to be a weak 3, and the reason it isn't higher is because I'm tired of Stevie Wonder right now.
3
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Wed Jan 31 2024
This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
Not my thing at all. The singer wasn't my cup of tea either. The coolest song was probably 'To Nkroachment: Yarbles' with the opening bass riff... but not a proper song really with its 1:22 runtime. I think Punk in general isn't really my genre of choice, unless it's exceptionally good or different.
2
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Thu Feb 01 2024
The Stooges
The Stooges
Not so sure about this... 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' is a really cool song, but the rest is not up to par. I can imagine this was quite fresh when it came in '69 though. I think with that in mind it's going to have to be a very weak 3.
3
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Fri Feb 02 2024
Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield
Interesting and a bit of a different album, I like it! I instantly recognized the first part from The Exorcist movie, but that wasn't the only lead on side one.
I actually enjoyed the first half of the 2nd side the most, with its relaxing and mellow tones. Reminded me a bit about tavern music somehow. Would be a good part to play board games to.
The latter part of the 2nd side unfortunately regressed quite a lot when someone started doing guttural noises and screaming, which was just too weird.
All in all it was an interesting experience and I think a dead-on 3 or high 3 feels fitting.
3
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Mon Feb 05 2024
The Yes Album
Yes
Had 'Yes' here on the list before and then I was less than impressed. This was actually not that bad though! It had a quite consistent quality throughout the album that I would put somewhere in the high-mid spectrum. I especially enjoyed the 'Perpetual Change' song, which had a pretty cool melody and reminded me a bit of the rockier Supertramp songs. I think some of the songs could have benefitted from being a bit shorter. Still, going to go out on a limb and give this a weak 4!
4
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Tue Feb 06 2024
3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
After having a Stevie Wonder album last week, I have to say that this reminds me of that quite a lot but is just straight up better. I ran through this album once, then did a second playthrough and then it stuck to me quite well. I especially like 'Summer Breeze, Pts. 1 & 2' which is a very nice song. I think this has been in quite a lot of travel commercials as well if I'm not mistaken.
Had a hard time putting a score for this, but I think I'll give it a weak 4. I don't think there are any weak songs really, and the good ones are quite good actually.
4
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Wed Feb 07 2024
Juju
Siouxsie And The Banshees
It feels like this would belong to a genre that fits me well, but after listening through the record I can't name any songs that I liked. I wasn't y cup of tea at all somehow.
Phaser-like effects on... basically anything, are usually something I am extremely fond of. But here I find it extremely overused on the guitar. I am not sure that I like the singer either, too much wailing and moaning.
An interesting thing I found after skimming through it again is that the first few seconds of the opening riffs are usually pretty interesting, but then they loose it for me when everything else is added. Good examples would be 'Night Shift', 'Sin In My Heart', and 'Arabian Knights'.
Anyways, didn't like it, it'll have to be a 2 tops.
2
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Thu Feb 08 2024
Street Life
The Crusaders
The Crusaders seem to be labelled as a jazz band, but this album also feel equally as much as disco or funk. I don't think this stand out particularly much as being different or innovative perhaps, but it was just very good from start to finish, and that is enough in this case! The first two songs were definitely the strongest. It fell off a bit later on, but still managed to stay strong.
I am debating between a strong 3 and a weak 4, but I think I will settle with the latter because even though perhaps it isn't regarded or renown as highly as some of my other 4 star albums, I still felt like I could definitely put this on many more times in the future and enjoy the whole album - something that can't be said for lots of albums to be honest.
4
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Fri Feb 09 2024
The Renaissance
Q-Tip
Never heard of this before, but I liked it a lot! I usually have trouble connecting with new hip-hop artists and albums, and even though this can't be regarded as "new", I still think it keeps one foot in the older sound of 90s rap somehow and sounds less like hip-hop after 2010.
All songs kept a really high bar, and the formula kept changing throughout the album. Some of the songs in the beginning are good, but so is the one with Norah Jones as well. Solid 4 star, might potentially be a strong 4 even. Will definitely come back to this!
4
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
'My My, Hey Hey' is a great song, but the rest didn't really do anything for me at all, surprisingly. Neil Young must be one of the most respectable in his genre, but I've come to the conclusion that he has a few songs that are very good, then the rest is actually below average. At least this is what I've found after hearing some of his albums through this list. Quite disappointing album for me, I'll give it a weak 3 just because I feel it's a bit of a "me problem".
3
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Tue Feb 13 2024
Raw Power
The Stooges
I really want to like The Stooges, but I've concluded they're not really my type of band and I don't think they're very good honestly. I mostly like 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' from their self titled album, but that's it. Haven't really found any other song I like, and that goes for this and their other albums I've heard. I'll give this a strong 2 as it's something I will never return to most likely, and the supposed more popular songs were not to my liking either.
2
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Wed Feb 14 2024
A Short Album About Love
The Divine Comedy
Wow... I have a heard time describing how I feel about this. I guess it must be quite genuine, and he is obviously quite sad. But at the same time it just gets too much and become cheesy instead for me, almost to the point where it gets a bit pathetical. I envision him sitting (much like the album cover) inside his room alone and feeling sorry for himself, which is reflected in the music. I guess I am supposed to feel sorry for him or find some songs beautiful, but I don't. Maybe I am just too cynical, I don't know.
Either way, I wasn't very fond of this, neither of the theme nor the chords or anything really. The singing was fine, but it got quite moany after a while, as did the album.
2
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Thu Feb 15 2024
Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex
What a train ride! First off; it was very hard to understand what songs that were part of the original album. The Spotify link sent me to Germ Free Adoloscents: The Anthology. Then I checked wikipedia and the original tracklist was different and with another order of the songs. Also turns out it has been re-released a few times with different set of songs and orders, so that made it more tricky. I gave up trying to make sense of it and listened to whatever the Anthology that the link sent me to.
It didn't start off very strong with 'Oh Bondage! Up Yours!' which was very punky, but grew on me after that. I really enjoyed 'The Day the World Turned Day-Glo' which had some metal vibes. And then 'Germ Free Adolescents' was probably my favourite song, but was neither punk nor metal. So the whole album was quite a mix of different genres, with saxophone and everything, and in this case it worked quite well!
Overall I enjoyed it a fair bit, and there were some songs that stood out as quite good! It was not even enough to really warrant a higher rating, but I'll still give it a weak 4 just because of the handful good songs and the pure joy of hearing something weird and different that actually works for once (very often it does not)!
4
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
Yesterday I thought "I wonder when the first Bruce Springsteen album will show up", and here we are. This has to be one of his most famous albums, so here we go.
I've tried liking Bruce Springsteen so many times, but he never really manage to get up there with the great ones for me. I think the best comparison I can make is to meat and potatoes; even though I'd say Bruce Springsteen is very good meats and potatoes, it just - at least for me - never manages to get very exciting or really stand out.
With that said, I still think this is a very solid album. It seems to contain his most popular songs, 'Born in the U.S.A' and 'Dancing in the Dark', the latter of which I am a real fan. I think the songs between the hits are solid as well, but no bangers. 4 stars from me feels like a very fitting compromise since I just don't love it that much, but still recognize that it's a good album.
4
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Mon Feb 19 2024
On The Beach
Neil Young
When I saw this I thought "Oh no, not Neil Young again", but I was actually pleasantly surprised!
This was probably his best album so far of those we've had on this list. It perhaps didn't have any songs quite as good as 'My My, Hey Hey' from the 'Rust Never Sleeps' album, but it was much more solid and consistent throughout the record.
3
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Tue Feb 20 2024
2112
Rush
Interesting album, never heard before. When looking at the cover art I thought I was going to get something synth related, but that is probably just because I've been listening to lots of Synthwave lately.
The music itself was not too shabby. The first song had some quite good and interesting parts, but I've come to the conclusion that I really am not a fan of long songs like that.
I think my favourite song is probably 'A Passage To Bangkok' which has a really sick opening riff. After going through the whole album you can definitely see where Iron Maiden got their inspiration from as well. Seeing that Rush formed in '68, they must really have been ahead of the curve back then as I don't think this type of music existed then. Overall really cool album that I'm glad I heard, very strong 3!
3
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Wed Feb 21 2024
Kenya
Machito
I really enjoy this type of thematical music. It has some nostalgic value for me somehow, even though I didn't experience the 40s or 50s. The album brings out a feeling of curiosity and exploration for me for some reason.
I can't really name a single song that stands out, but as a whole I like it a lot and can definitely see myself putting this on in the future just to get in a certain mood or just have some relaxing background music.
3
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Autobahn
Kraftwerk
There are some Kraftwerk tunes like 'Radioactivity' and 'Das Model', to name a few, that still holds up well today, but they are not on this album. Kraftwerk's influence on electronic music can't be understated enough, but sadly they are also a group whose music don't hold up at all today - and this album is a perfect example of that.
If the first track was 3 minutes or so, it would have been endlessly better. But 22 minutes? I get that it is thematical, but come on. 'Morgenspaziergang' has is ok as a lullaby, but not much more than that. In general I think it's cool that they have tried to imagine how a certain theme might sound if done only with electronic sounds, such as 'Kometenmelodie' or 'Morgenspaziergang', but the problem is that it just isn't that good or fun to listen to in my opinion.
I will give this album a 2 star rating ONLY out of respect for Kraftwerk and their legacy, but if this showed up today out of the blue in 2024 it'd be a 1 star hands down. And this comes from someone who listens to and loves electronic music.
2
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Queen Of Denmark
John Grant
This album took me completely by surprise. I didn't listen super attentive, so the first song sounded like it was going to be some sort of pretentious love album. But it was a really wild ride, lots of swearing, and maybe even some low-key slander-like - or at least quite offensive - comments regarding certain topics. Love it!
It's not often that I comment about lyrics, but that definitely is the most interesting part of this album. So many weird (in a good way) songs with various themes and wordplays going on. The cool part is that it's not only the lyrics that are interesting; the songs also contain memorable and catchy melodies, ranging from slower more mellow acoustic songs to more up-tempo ones with some electronic elements.
Overall this was a very fun record to listen to and I'm glad I heard it. I'm going to go out on a limb and give it a weak 5 because we've had very few 5s in general, and I think this record really stands out among the crowd and deserves some recognition.
5
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
On my first run of this it went completely over my head, and I had to re-listen to it for this review. Having done so I feel quite comfortable just putting it in the middle, potentially a candidate for strong 2 as well.
The start of the album is pretty decent with some funky jams like 'Night by Night', 'Any Major Dude Will Tell You', but then it turned fairly bland for the rest of the album, with 'East St. Louis Toodle-Oo' being a low-point that I don't feel belong on this album.
Not sure why this is included on the list at all. Like I said it's pretty bland and I don't see many game-changing songs here.
3
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Tue Feb 27 2024
The Band
The Band
Not sure why but this didn't stand out or stick one bit for me. Didn't find any song I liked.
2
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
Interestingly enough I never considered myself that big of a Radiohead fan. Granted, they have many good songs, but also many bad ones, and it often gets pretty pretentious. Fast forward and this is the 2nd (or 3rd) album here on the list, and I really feel like they're all very consistent and deserve high ratings.
I've heard this album loads of times, so that probably influence my perception of it. But still, I think it holds up very well through the whole record. Some songs are stronger or weaker than others, but overall it's high quality. 'A Punch Up at a Wedding', 'There, There', '2+ 2 = 5', and 'Scatterbrain' are the best songs on the record for me.
4
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
I discovered Nick Drake pretty late in my life, but he's become one of my favourite artists when it comes to getting that specific mood of just tinkering about outside in a garden during fall, or talking a walk in the woods.
I don't think this is his best record, but it's still quite good. All songs hold a high bar and adheres to the same formula and follows the same red line. The album opens very strong with 'Time Has Told Me' and 'River Man', where the former is my favourite song on the record.
Even though the quality is even, I'm lacking a bit more "hits" to warrant a higher rating. I think a weak or dead on middle 4 feels reasonable here.
4
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Dance Mania
Tito Puente
I think this type of music can be really refreshing to put on, and get a break from the regular pop, rock, electronic music and so on. I think it injects some really happy and light mood, which certainly can be very nice sometimes.
The problem for me is that it is very hard to rate music that I don't know very well, and this album falls under that category. The same usually goes for jazz, orchestral, and some other select genres. I liked this album, but in my mind it wouldn't compete against other 4 or 5 star rated albums of what I would consider "good music". So I guess it'll have to be a solid 3 star rating then, even though it may deserve more.
3
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
Some stuff from the legendary B.I.G, cool. Not sure I think as highly of this as the rest of the world, but it was pretty decent still. As seems mandatory with all 90s rap, it contains all the profanities you'd expect along with blowjob skit songs, and promises of extreme violence. I think B.I.G. has a very nice rap style/flow as well that stounds out from other artists from the same era.
The album didn't start out that strong, but had a real nice streak of my favourite songs with 'Machine Gun Funk', 'Warning' (which sounds like a complete rip-off of 'Hood Took Me Under' by Compton's Most Wanted, by the way), and 'Ready to Die'. The hits weren't my favourite songs, but in general the album held up nicely throughout the whole record with barely any real low points (apart from the sex skits which feels a bit too juvenile).
All in all, cool record, 4 stars it is!
4
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Bad
Michael Jackson
It's crazy how many hits Michael Jackson manages to cram in on some of his records, and this isn't an exception. There are some songs that are not particularly interesting, like 'Just Good Friends', 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You', and so on. An issue that I also find throughout the album is that I didn't really like the mixing. On some songs like 'Bad', Michael's main voice actually feels overpowered volume wise by the choir and some other elements. Same with 'The Way You Make Me Feel' actually.
Another big issue I personally have with the album is that it sounds so incredibly 80s, and it is hard for it to stay timeless that way. If you compare with some other rock album like 'Dark Side Of The Moon' or 'Led Zeppelin', or even disco albums, they have aged much better in my opinion. I think it's that particular drum machine they use and the those damn DX7 bells - or whatever it is - that just screams 80s pop, and there's no getting away from that.
Despite all of this, I kind of feel obliged to give it a 5 stars somehow. I think it's partly because there are so many hit songs that they still weigh up the bad ones, but also because I actually think they're pretty good. I don't consider myself a huge Michael Jackson fan, but when I thought about giving it a 4 star rating due to the issues I mentioned, it still felt kind of wrong.
5
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Beach Samba
Astrud Gilberto
Same feelings towards this as Tito Puente's 'Dance Mania' basically. Very nice with different type of music, and Bossa nova definitely works well in some contexts! But at the same time, I don't know the genre to know whether this is revolutionary or not. But I liked it, refreshing indeed. Was half expecting 'The Girl From Ipanema' to be on the album though, but apparently not.
3
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Thu Mar 07 2024
The Wildest!
Louis Prima
Same story as yesterday basically. Nice listening. Think I preferred the Bossa nova album though.
3
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Fri Mar 08 2024
Hypnotised
The Undertones
You never know if you're going to get godlike or crap when you see weird album covers like this. But something made my spider sense tingle, and this time it was definitely the latter. There wasn't anything technically wrong with the album really, but more that it was 0% musically interesting to me.
I initially thought I had found originators of 'Under the Boardwalk', but nope. This was just a sucky version.
After finishing it felt like a 2 star, but the more I thought about it I realized I didn't like anything with it, so 1 star felt more fitting.
1
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd have some sketchy albums, and some incredibly good ones. This is one of the better ones.
Really solid album where actually all songs are really good, harmonize well, and are coherent. Cool album cover too. I guess this might not fit someone who dislikes guitar centric music, otherwise I think this is an album most people are familiar with and can enjoy.
I also like that every song is quite different from one another, even though the also work well together. 'Welcome To The Machine' is for example a quite synthetic song, as opposed to 'Have A Cigar' which is more rocky.
Solid 5/5, would recommend to everybody.
5
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Tue Mar 12 2024
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
Tricky one. Generally not a a big fan of Kanye West's music. And let's not get in to what a shitty person he seems to be, though if that was taken into account I'm sure there are other artists on this list that should be subject to the same scrutiny as well. So I will disregard that part!
Commercially it seems to be quite successful, and it is a bit annoying that I feel that affect how I perceive it, but it does. But if I try to put that aside I think it might end up somewhere in upper middle for me personally.
His style seem to land somewhere between hip-hop and pop for me, and you have to appreciate that many of the songs are quite experimental and stands out. They are also quite different from each other, but the album still feels coherent. But I still somehow can't find a song on the album that I quite liked. They were all decent, but even the supposed popular ones were a bit of a shrug to me. And the lyrics weren't that impressive to me.
I'll give it a strong 3. Maybe it would grow on me if I put it on me, not sure.
3
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Lam Toro
Baaba Maal
Interesting to find something different, but not really my jam for some reason. All songs sort of gelled together and they were lacking any hooks, so it was hard to single out any favourite ones. It passed me by a bit too much unnoticed to warrant any higher rating.
2
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Pretty ok album. I suspect you had to be there when this came out to really appreciate it. Now that you've heard Presley dozen of times the initial shock reaction is not very strong. Regardless, 'Blue Suede Shoes' stands out as the best song, but otherwise it was pretty bland.
3
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Fri Mar 15 2024
Blunderbuss
Jack White
Jack White usually make pretty interesting and innovative rock songs and records. I think this fits that description. But it still wasn't... as good as I expected somehow? Maybe I was just not paying attention enough, but it kind of passed me by. I should probably give it another try, but don't have time currently, so it will have to be a 3.
3
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Mon Mar 18 2024
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
Wow, what an album! Almost all The Prodigy top hits are gathered in one place. It feels very 90s with the drum-n-bass like beats. Extremely unique style as well in my opinion. I'm sure there are other bands that does music in a similar way, but nothing that has reached this level of success as far as I know.
The album is not flawless. Between the hits it's not always that interesting, and some of them also sound quite similar to each other, for example 'Smack My Bitch Up' and 'Funky Shit' which have very similar drum patterns. The reason I decide to go for 5 is that the good songs in 'Smack My Bitch Up', 'Firestarter', 'Breathe', and 'Mindfields', are just so good that they weigh up the other ones honestly. Regardless of whether this music caters to your palette I think everyone should hear it. Chances are you'll find something you like in it.
5
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
Very cool and creative group, and this album holds many good songs. I want to like them more for their creativity and uniqueness, but I think I might have burnt out a bit on them throughout the years and have a hard time really appreciating it THAT much. 'Mr. Blue Sky' is especially good, and there are some other songs I forgot the name of that are decent as well, along with some that pass by unnoticed. The length of the album was very noticeable as I got fed up by the end and just wanted it to be over.
I was contemplating putting a 4 on this, but I don't feel like I want to revisit it soon, and it feels a bit weaker than some other 4s as well so it's going to be a strong 3 instead.
3
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Djam Leelii
Baaba Maal
Another Baab Maal album within one week, low chances! I liked this way more than the Lam Toro one. This was much more interesting, and each song differed more from each other. I found some songs that I thought was decent. Solid 3 from me!
3
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Foxbase Alpha
Saint Etienne
What an up and down album! The start had me worrying a bit, but I found 'Girl VII' to be a pretty cool song that pulled me attention to it somehow. Then followed a couple of pretty nice songs, along with 'Stone To Say The Least' and 'Nothing Can Stop Us' which were really nice. I don't know why, but they just brought me to a nice place, being nostalgic about something I can't put my finger on. They also just fitted very nice together and created a certain mood.
I'm drawn to putting a 4 star rating since it was long time ago that I was surprised like that, and there were a handful songs that really grabbed me for some reason. But there are also quite a lot of really boring songs that draw down the whole album, like 'Etienne Gonna Die', and 'Wilson' for example.
3
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Fri Mar 22 2024
I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Wow, what a drag. Felt extremely pretentious. Can't remember a single song to be honest. Maybe it's a bit harsh, but I just can't find anything positive with this really, will be forgotten in an instant.
1
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Pink Moon
Nick Drake
I think this along with Bryter Layter are Nick Drakes' best albums. Very cozy album, got slightly better songs than 'Five Leaves Left'. As I said last time, I think this is the embodiment of calm, relaxing and cozy music you want to listen to during spring or fall. I still think this lacks something to deserve a 5 star rating. It's very unique, and the quality and high and even throughout the album, but still not quite a 5. Strong 4 feels more reasonable.
4
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Tue Mar 26 2024
My Generation
The Who
Interesting how they sound very much like The Beatles on many of their songs here on their first album. Feels like they hadn't quite found their identity yet. 'My Generation' does feel very much like a The Who song though, and is easily the best song of the album. The rest are pretty forgettable actually, not much to get excited about.
3
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Wed Mar 27 2024
Vincebus Eruptum
Blue Cheer
I liked the idea and sound of this album, but the execution was not very good. The songs just weren't enjoyable somehow. Also it sounded pretty bad. Not very well balanced for example; badly mixed and lots of screeching.
2
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Triangle
The Beau Brummels
Wimsical and a bit strange. Surely different, I dare say in a positive way! Still, not my favourite type of music really, but nice with a change of scenery! When listening the first time it passed my by completely and left no impression at all, but now that I'm skimming through it a second time it's actually not as shabby as I first thought. It definitely managed to claw itself up to a 3!
3
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt
Wow... I am actually speechless. This is so bad it is inconceivable. I had to skip some songs because I couldn't listen to it. I also went through all of them to see if there was anything worth salvaging, but everything was equally bad. We've had some pretty bad records on this must be the far worst one by quite a margin.
1
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Mon Apr 01 2024
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
Nice, calm and thematic album. Very well sung and good composition. It really makes me want to go to Cuba!
4
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Tue Apr 02 2024
In Rainbows
Radiohead
Another Radiohead album. This is probably the weakest one we had on this list, and if 'OK Computer' also shows up (which I assume it will), it will probably remain so. I really like 'Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi', but otherwise there are not many songs that sticks with me. Holds a pretty high lowest bar, but this definitely belongs in the middle for me.
3
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Pornography
The Cure
Always had a bit of trouble understanding the greatness of The Cure... this album didn't change that feeling. Pretty bland overall, no song that stood out and grabbed me really. Hope they have more exciting albums than this on the list!
3
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Thu Apr 04 2024
Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple
I've always associated Deep Purple with being the boring rock band that made 'Smoke On The Water' and not much else. Turns out that is not quite true. Although a live album, the 'Made in Japan' that we had previously on the list was a banger, and this one is is very good as well.
'Child in Time' is a real 5 star song for me, and unfortunately the rest of the songs don't quite get up there, but it's still a good run through with catchy riffs and great sounding guitars and overall rock. I read that some consider them to be one of the earliest metal bands, and I definitely see what they mean.
Overall, very good album. Maybe a bit generous with 5 stars (weak one, admittedly), but this sat really well with me and I was probably in the right mood when I heard it.
5
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Fri Apr 05 2024
The Predator
Ice Cube
Felt like this was slightly lighter on the 90s rap tropes like sex skits etc. than some of Dre´s albums. Didn't listen to the lyrics very well otherwise, but I really like the general vibe you get from this album. I like that there are some "lighter" songs like 'Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha' and 'Dirty Mack' that brings your mood up. Then you also have the 'It Was A Good Day' type songs that are just really heavy and cool.
There is a much better version of 'Check Yo Self' than I found on this album, shame it wasn't here. Definitely one of Ice Cube's better songs. Anyways, overall high standard on the album, I like it!
4
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
Never thought of The Police as a reggae band, but I certainly do now. At least partially, as many of the songs, perhaps 'Walking On The Moon' mostly have pretty apparent reggae elements and grooves.
Overall it was a decent album, but not more. We had one record of them before which was pretty bad to be honesty, and this doesn't exactly improve my perception of them. 'Message In a Bottle' is probably the most famous song on this album, and it's a decent one, but nothing that can carry the album on its own by far.
3
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
Wow, what an album. It feels like the 90s have come back and slapped me in my face - in a good way. Probably the most 90s I can think of crammed into album.
I have heard all of the hit songs on the album in isolation from each other ('Hand In My Pocket', 'You Oughta Know', 'Ironic', 'You Learn') but I never realized they were from the same artist, and certainly not from the same album. This is extremely impressive considering some of them are the biggest hits of the 90s.
After finishing it yesterday I was impressed, but not much else. Since then I haven't been able to stop thinking of the album. The hit songs are just so good. Alanis' singing can get a bit screamy and fatiguing after a while ('Forgiven', for example), but she has such interesting and clever flow when she sings that just grabs your attention. Also the lyrics are quite frank and fits together in an unexpected way. This feels quite poppy for me, and it shouldn't really suit me that it well, but it just somehow.
I never thought I would, but I can't think of any reason not to give this 5 stars. The hit songs are extremely catchy and it feels like I can listen to them over and over again. Then ones in between are not bad either, at least not bad enough to drag down the overall impression. Probably the biggest surprise on this list so far, I never thought it would turn out like this when I put it on. So much fun!
5
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Wed Apr 10 2024
Orbital 2
Orbital
I was a bit excited about the album when I heard what kind of music it was. But the two first songs are such a weak start that I think I lost focus a bit after that.
My tops songs are 'Remind', 'Lush 3-1', and 'Halycon and On and On', which all definitely have something and are quite cool. But most of the other songs were quite monotonous even by electronic music standards, which brings down the overall impression. Could be that this is something that was very revolutionary when it came out, but I can think of many types of electronic music that I'd rather see on this list than this album to be honest.
2
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Faust IV
Faust
I've never really understood what "Krautrock" is, and to be honest I'm not smarter after listening to this album. Is it just slower rock with some psychadelic and electronic elements...?
Anyways, it was a good album! I think this fits me quite well. Not all songs had the same quality level to them, but there were a few gems like 'Picnic On A Frozen River, Deauxieme Tableux', 'Jennifer', 'Just A Second (Starts Like That)'.
I found it really hard to decide whether this was a 4 or 3. But in the end I think there are a bit too many tracks that doesn't really do anything or enough, like 'Lauft...', or even the first song 'Krautrock', for it to a 4. Strong 3 it is!
3
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Live At The Regal
B.B. King
I don't know... I usually think this type of music can be a bit cozy and give you a nice feeling, but I don't think I was in the mood for this yesterday at all. Found the crowd noise distracting and it just became messy overall. Granted, B.B. King is extremely talented and a great performer, but it just flew over my head a bit. Maybe an unfair score but it is what it is.
2
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Cloud Nine
The Temptations
This didn't make any sort of impression on me, frankly. Bad cover of 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' and not much else.
2
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
I was a bit disappointed in this to be honest. I really like their tone and the 'Paranoid' album which is a straight 5 for me, but this had none of those catchy riffs at all. Felt more like noodling aimlessly.
'Changes' is quite a different song and shows that Sabbath have another dimension to them than just making heavy metal songs. But it's still not enough to change the outcome of the score on the album. Strong 2 for me, as I like Black Sabbath and their sound, but the album was fairly uninteresting.
2
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Wed Apr 17 2024
All That You Can't Leave Behind
U2
Strong opening with 'Beatiful Day' which is definitely one of the best U2 songs, followed by 'Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of'. I think in general the first half of the album packed a bit more punch than the latter half.
Despite this I must say I am a bit disappointed. I have always considered U2 a very good band, and especially listened to them very much when I was younger. I guess I always knew they were a bit on the cheesy side, but it wasn't until I started listening to this list that I realized how much. Their good songs are very good, but their bad songs are really quite boring. It was the same with 'Joshua Tree' which I expected to be one of the easiest 5 star albums, but turned out not to be. Just like that album, this is dragged down by bad the songs between the good ones. 'Grace', for example, felt so extremely pretentious and boring. Bono sure sings good, but it can just become too much cheese, like in this example.
Was contemplating putting 3 stars on this, but I think a weak 4 is more appropriate considering what albums I have given 3s before.
4
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Thu Apr 18 2024
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Byrds
This feels like it probably deserves more, and could get a higher rating from me if I listened to it under different circumstances, but for now it will be a dead on 3. Just didn't cut through the noise of my workday enough, and I can't really single out a song that felt particularly good. Maybe should have listened to it more attentively, but it is what it is.
3
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Fri Apr 19 2024
Van Halen
Van Halen
Interesting... this is quite a niche album for sure. Only heard some of mr. Van Halen's guitar solos before, and I guess this is pretty much what I should have expected an album of that to be.
I am not a big fan of this frankly. It feels very over the top in a sense that I don't like. 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' is a cool song, and it's cool what he does with the guitar, but it just doesn't speak to me. Still, I think this could definitely be in some peoples' taste, especially if you like power guitars and glam rock.
I'll give it a weak 3 for 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' and for recognizing his influence on guitar playing.
3
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Revolver
Beatles
Decent album for sure, but didn't hit home that well, still. I often find Beatles' songs too cheery, I think that's my main issue with them. Probably in some key that I don't fancy.
'Yellow Submarine' is an interesting song, but feels more of a lullaby than something I would seriously listen to. 'Fo No One' was a song I haven't heard before that I found to my liking, but other than that it was pretty beige.
3
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
'Green Onion' is really cool, but the rest is pretty bland unfortunately. Even the electric organ and piano couldn't save this one. I feel that my opinion was also heavily dragged down when I found out it's mostly covers, and I only think that can take you so far. The 'Twist and Shout' one was horrible, by the way.
In summary it had great potential, but perhaps a whole album of this just was a bit too much. Plus, for some reason it feels a bit like circus music or something less serious. Maybe because 'Green Onion' has been used as soundtrack in sneaky scenes in movies or something.
2
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Unhalfbricking
Fairport Convention
The album opened quite strong with 'Autopsy' and 'A Sailor's Life', and I thought it would be one of those rare gems that I hadn't heard before and took me completely be surprise and just nailed it. Unfortunately, this streak become fairly short lived when we started to get more cheerful folk-like music and the violin came in on 'Cajun Woman', which wasn't to my liking at all. 'Percy's song' suffers from the same.
When listening to it again the day after, I realize I completely missed 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' which has that same feeling like the start of the album. So it definitely has a few strong points, but also some fairly bad ones. I was initially hoping for it to be a sleeper 5 or at least a 4, but it will have to settle with a strong 3 since it's very uneven, and the good songs don't manage to carry it enough.
3
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Thu Apr 25 2024
Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
It had an interesting start, but fairly quickly I realized that this was an album that couldn't decide what it wanted to be, as it felt like there were a few different styles of music on there. This can definitely be fine in general, but on this record it didn't work for me. I have to give it some plus points for being different though, and for some very nice vocal landscapes. Still, couldn't really single out a song that I liked in particular.
2
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Shaft
Isaac Hayes
When I started listening to this list I thought live albums were off the chart, but learned otherwise. Apparently we can have soundtracks now as well? It's not a terrible album, and it was nice to work to, but I just don't quite understand why this of all movie soundtracks ended up here? There are so many others that are more worth putting here instead, like Lord of the Rings, Godfather, Star Wars, various soundtracks from Disney movies, to only name a few.
I assume it was never claimed by the list creator for this list to be objective in any sense, but this move certainly proves the lack of it in my opinion, and gives me some second thoughts about how well verse the author of this list actually is in music.
Back to the album. The opening theme song is very cool, and like I alluded to, I like the overall feel of the album. It fits nicely together and gels well. But I don't think it belongs on this list, and it's not anything I will probably put on ever except when working as a wall of sound. 1 star for the decision to include it in the list, 3 stars for the actual music and the album as a soundtrack.
3
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
What a boring album. This felt like the most bread and butter rock I've ever heard, but I didn't find any hook or anything interesting with it. Don't remember a single song either. It also felt somehow like they tried to imitate some other artist, but I can't put my finger on what artist that would be.
Very low 2 star.
2
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Tue Apr 30 2024
Liquid Swords
GZA
A fairly new Swedish game studio is called 'Liquid Swords', I feel pretty sure that this is where that name comes from.
Anyways, the album cover game me some manga vibes so I had a hard time figuring out what kind of music this would be before putting it on. Even though it is from mid 90s (which usually is where I usually find most hip-hop that I like), this was not really to my taste. I can't really put my finger on why, it just didn't stand out somehow. It felt kind of like the hip-hop equivalent of the Black Crowes album we heard the other day, just quite boring and nothing special - though admittedly this is a bit better than that.
Strong 2 for me.
2
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Wed May 01 2024
Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
A whole album that sounds like a video game boss fight, interesting. You have to give them so cred for producing something very different, just a shame that none of it is very good.
Couldn't find any song that I liked on the album. Almost all songs are super stressful and incoherent, and there's a lot of notes that hit you in the face in a fast pace.
The only thing I liked with this album was the cover art, which might be one of the coolest I've seen.
1
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Thu May 02 2024
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
Very strange album in my opinion. Mostly covers, which is a concept I am not a fan of at all on this list. I thought 'Hurt' was a Johnny Cash original, but turns out that is a cover as well. The first song is at least good, and there are some other ones like 'We'll meet again" and 'Personal Jesus' that work as well.
My biggest gripe with this album is Johnny's singing. There are very few songs where I actually think it works out. Mostly he just speaks, rather than sing. And if we're lucky, it's going to be in tune. It isn't even the tempo or whatever that is the issue, it's the execution. It sounds half-assed and amateurish. I get that he was old when this was recorded, but come on.
Feels a bit brutal but going to have to give this a strong 2. I recognize that this might be something other people enjoy, but not my cup of tea.
2
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Fri May 03 2024
Abraxas
Santana
Cool album! I liked the sound and the overall feel you got from the album, felt quite exotic somehow. I didn't find any particular song that I liked, but I think all of them were pretty good. 'Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen' makes me think of an old coffee commercial though.
The album felt cohesive and it worked well to listen to it in one sitting. Got a bit samey after a while, but not enough to get boring. I'm missing some more bangers for it to give it higher rating, still strong 3 though!
3