Jun 20 2023
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Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
Fun brit-pop that joined the swarm of early 2000s energetic indie rock. Some fun vocalizations and interesting lyrical content make this an easy listen, albeit one where I didn't find much nourishment or lingering resonance.
3
Jun 24 2023
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The Stranger
Billy Joel
Cold Beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage lights!
Light drums, funky bass, great vocals, fun hooks, and beautiful brass solos.
'Movin' Out' is a great and groovy way to kick things off.
'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant' is worth the journey and shows the full range of Billy Joel on this record.
'Vienna' is lyrically and compositionally enjoyable with something more substantial than your average piano tune.
'Only the good die young' is surprisingly light compared to the others.
Get it right the first time! la la la's for days!
Sing-a-longs with great piano, bass, and saxophone throughout. Ends as it begins. Pretty fun and well-balanced album that never veers into the strange or too far into the mundane with some nice storytelling sprinkled throughout.
4
Jun 27 2023
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Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
Not my favorite band and not my favorite style of 'rock' or 'pop'. The persistent echo on Sting's voice takes away the contrast I look for from song-to-song and the drumming does little to excite my ears. I really enjoyed a few licks, the keys and synths add to this era's sound, and some silliness is sprinkled throughout! I have always been 'meh' on The Police and unfortunately this album did little to change that as I regularly found myself waiting for the next song.
2
Jun 30 2023
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Teen Dream
Beach House
Can we play this album for Cody?
Not my jam, but very relaxing and inoffensive. I would play this in the background at a potluck, baby shower, and even a few wedding playlists. Almost like new age church music. Very sweet sounding with simple instrumentation and soft vocals. Invite your friends over for a crisp autumn night of soap making and candle crafting with this record.
Lover of Mine steals the show.
Silver Soul is solid.
2
Jul 04 2023
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Abraxas
Santana
Hope You're Feeling Better
Mother's Daughter
Incident at Neshabur
Grooving bass, fuzzy guitars, excellent instrumentation create an album that slides and pops for a fun, psychedelic, and latin-jazz rock sound.
The guitar work is the highlight, but the inclusion of beautiful organ, keyboard, maracas, and the occasional backing vocals are well-constructed and add to the tracks.
5
Jul 06 2023
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Peggy Suicide
Julian Cope
Safesurfer encapsulates of the beautiful and difficult parts of this album with interesting instrumentals and repetitive vocals played like another instrument. A really slow and meandering sound throughout much of the album keeps me from really enjoying too many tracks, but i found myself appreciating the more political/philosophical tracks.
Drive, She Said.
Soldier Blue.
You.
Not Raving, but Drowning.
Leperskin.
Beautiful Love.
1
Jul 07 2023
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Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
Ah Hybrid Theory. The CD i loved to spin when i was 10-11 alongside Sum 41's All Killer No Filler. Unfortunately only one of those albums remains in my library.
Hybrid theory was a really fun album to bring a young listener into new genres that may not have had play for a young person in the early 2000s. Chester Bennington's voice has a great rasp for ripping through angst-filled lyrics and Mike Shinoda's backing vocals brings a different element and emotional tone to each song. The melodic tunes are still fun for a spin, but Nu-Metal's struggles of being very open and heavy on the effects of their instruments stops this work from being more valuable and long-lasting.
I recommend this album being blended into a headbanger's mix. Linkin Park builds up the tracks well and allow Chester great space for shredding out painful lyrics. The instrumentals and diversity of sound is lacking, but if you LOVE this sound--Hybrid Theory does not disappoint.
I still enjoy Papercut and One Step Closer, In The End has been unfortunately meme'd to death, and a few tracks that try moving away from headbanging into strings and keys struggle to find a home for the core sound of Nu Metal.
3
Jul 08 2023
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Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Generally good vibes without rocking too hard or sounding too soft. I felt like the songs smoothly rolled by though no one particular hook, melody, or lyric resonated I enjoyed the trip.
3
Jul 15 2023
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Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival
I get it, if you want some sunday porch music that could practically bring the river to your backyard....put this on!
4