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Tue Aug 01 2023
Tapestry
Carole King
what can I say, this is one of my favorite albums of all time. foundational. this was an album i fell in love with in college when i was feeling particularly sad and lonely and it really hit the spot. nowadays, i find a lot of comfort in this album. it's been through the bad and good times with me. this album was also one of my gateways to joni, laura nyro, james taylor, and by extension, gordon lightfoot, jim croce, and 70s singer-songwriters as a whole, one of my musical happy places. plus, is there a better 3 track run to open an album? bonus points for cat.
favorite songs:
the whole thing
5
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Wed Aug 02 2023
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
boy howdy i do not get this one. to be clear, i think the album is fine. even well made. i think the appeal of reggae is one i can appreciate as an outsider but it has never really been my thing, and perhaps unfairly, is something i just associate with that one guy in your college dorm who's got a hackeysack collection. i think this one is just too laid back for me. but i will still keep an open mind and hope that something in the genre clicks for me!
favorite song(s): stir it up
3
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Thu Aug 03 2023
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
even though pink floyd is adjacent to a lot of the "classic rock" music i got into in middle school, they are one band that i really have somehow avoided until now. my parents just weren't really into them, so i never got exposed and i think a lot of what they play on the radio was just so overplayed that i never really gave them a fair shot. despite that, for years i told myself and others that i didn't like them at all. well here is a shot at it for real this time.
i actually did enjoy this album. i can't say i like it as much on the first listen as people seem to rave about it, but i can see myself enjoying it more with repeated listens. i think the quality of songs here are better than the typical radio fare that gets played. just interesting, progressive stuff. it's cool. even the title track, which used to bug me for it's overplay on radio really works well in the sequence of the album and i was able to listen to it with new ears and appreciate the sentiment of it more than i ever have before. fun stuff.
favorite song(s):
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (both)
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
4
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Tue Aug 08 2023
The Age Of The Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets
for an album from a member of a band i like that is an homage to an era of music i like, i really did not care much for this one. it was fine. nothing really stood out to me. it was not aggressive enough for me to like it as arctic monkeys-adjacent, and it didn't grip me enough as much of the music of the era it is an homage to does. really felt middle of the road for me, and not in a good way.
3
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Wed Aug 09 2023
You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
boy i don't think this should have been my introduction to leonard cohen. i'm not familiar enough with his music, so the whole "released while he was dying" thing does not really hit for me and personally, this was a bit of a slog. god i'm sorry this album is so boring for me. and boy i really can't get past his voice on this one. it feels like he's barely singing at all. look, i know, i know! i think it's just not for me.
2
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Thu Aug 10 2023
With The Beatles
Beatles
this is a foundational album for me. although i love all the beatles' music like my children, i am going to get a little real here. the draw of the beatles is their songwriting and their innovative production - so from that standpoint, this album is one of the lesser beatles albums. it is before they hit their creative stride, and almost half of the album being covers does not really help. the covers are not even bad covers, they're just covers and i don't think anyone really listens to the beatles FOR the covers. but this album is really of it's time, that's just how it was done. that all said, i do still really love this album
5
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Sun Aug 13 2023
Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
my first experience with a prince album in its entirety, and to be honest, i am really digging this one. fun and funky and you can tell that he was functioning on a different plane with this one. just very creative and interesting and I feel like this album holds up incredibly well, despite it being 35 years old at this point.
favorite track(s):
housequake
the ballad of dorothy parker
starfish and coffee
if i was your girlfriend
i could never take the place of your man
adore
5
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Sun Aug 13 2023
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
an fun album for sure. a handful of these tracks are iconic for good reason. that being said, outside of that handful, there's not a lot that i feel is incredible. not bad! just not the upper echelon. obviously a lot of the production of this album sounds like raising hell from run-dmc, and i find myself mentally making that comparison, and i feel like i appreciate run-dmc's flow better. idk there's just something about the party boy rap style that i just can't get past. also boy there are a few references that do not hold up in a modern context and feel pretty immature. still i thought it was a fun listen!
favorite song(s):
rhymin and stealin
girls
fight for your right
slow and low
4
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Mon Aug 14 2023
BEYONCÉ
Beyoncé
not the biggest fan of this one. not really the target audience for this album, and that's ok. none of the songs really resonated with me all that much and i found it hard to connect with. part of the problem i had was the production, which wasn't bad, but is a lot more clean and shinier than i prefer. overall, i thought it was alright, but really not for me.
3
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Tue Aug 15 2023
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
yeah this is a good one. it just all really flows together to tell a narrative. i really enjoyed the quality of the songwriting (catchy hooks) and the style. listening to it really shows why it is a pillar of classic rock. this was the only bowie album i have ever listened to in full, so i am excited to explore more of his back catalog!
favorite song(s):
five years
moonage daydream
star
hang on to yourself
suffragette city
rock n roll suicide
5
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Wed Aug 16 2023
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
this is such a weird thing to say but this is an album that i love that i haven't really gotten that into. in my opinion, it's a great listen, one of the pinnacles of 00s indie, and yet i haven't really come back to it all that often. but it was an important album to me during my sad boy era. in particular, "jesus, etc." is one of my favorite songs of the last 20 or so years. it was nice to revisit this album, like seeing an old friend.
favorite song(s):
i am trying to break your heart
war on war
jesus, etc.
i'm the man who loves you
5
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Thu Aug 17 2023
Call of the Valley
Shivkumar Sharma
pretty cool album. very chill, serene, and calming. not something i would ordinarily listen to but i am glad i did. this is the sort of thing i am participating in this project for, to be exposed to music i ordinarily am not. that being said, i don't necessarily think this one is going to be one i go back to often, but i can see myself listening to this in moments where i need a mental reset.
as this was my real first exposure to hindustani classical music, i'm not sure how to properly rate it - I have listened to a lot of music that was inspired by this kind of music in western music, but not the real deal. so i'm not sure if this is considered an all-timer of the genre, but i think it was a great first listen to a genre i am woefully ill-exposed to.
4
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Fri Aug 18 2023
69 Love Songs
The Magnetic Fields
this is an album i have heard of for years and have never dove into. i think a big part of it is the runtime, and boy howdy, yeah... this is a long one. obviously the concept is interesting, especially with the length involved, but i think due to this, the quality is a bit hit or miss. i mean, realistically, how could you write 69 incredible songs in such a time period for one project? but yeah the length of this one is what kills it and kills my interest.
3
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Sat Aug 19 2023
Graceland
Paul Simon
this is an album i have never been able to really get into. i don't think it's awful but for some reason it has never clicked for me. i am a pretty big simon and garfunkel enjoyer and i really like paul simon's early solo output but i have never really gotten this one. the songs, to me, are not as good as on some of his other records and i really cannot get past the production and the, quite frankly, really corny world music schtick he employs on this one. i don't know who is going to paul simon as a source of world music. maybe it's peoples' gateway to it but to me it just comes off as pompous.
2
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Sun Aug 20 2023
The Contino Sessions
Death In Vegas
this was a real nothing album to me. I found this album to be boring and a bit of a slog. a lot of these songs felt like they were just background music with nothing particularly interesting going on. I was expecting maybe something to build or like this album to go somewhere but it really didn't. I don't even hate this kind of music, per se, I just think this felt so uninspired and had no oomph. sorry, can't say I am a fan. I can confidently say I will never listen to this one again.
1
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Mon Aug 21 2023
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
i think if i had listened to this album around the time it came out, i would have been very into it. this was the kind of music i was into at the time, and i'm surprised i missed this one. where i stand now is i appreciate it, but it maybe did not hit as hard as it may have back then. i still enjoyed the sort of atmosphere-y approach to the heartland rock sound. maybe not my favorite as it stands now, but still a fun listen for me.
4
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Tue Aug 22 2023
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
i found this one to be very enjoyable. definitely understand the hype and why it is so celebrated. very refreshing mix of r&b and hip hop with great production and smart lyrics. personally i could take or leave the classroom "skits" (although i get that it is part of the whole experience/artistic vision) but otherwise it was a great album that i enjoyed a lot.
5
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Wed Aug 23 2023
Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
my first bob marley experience left a little to be desired. but we are turning a new page with bob marley experience #2. not sure if i am in a better mood today or what, but i much preferred this album to my first listen, catch a fire. this album is a fun listen! it's got that classic reggae feel but feels a bit funky too, which is something i appreciate. feels a little more upbeat and less lethargic. I can see myself listening to this one again in the future, it feels more in line with what i like stylistically.
4
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Thu Aug 24 2023
The World is a Ghetto
War
some really great, classic funk grooves here. to be honest, i feel like for a lot of people, this album might be boring, but this really just hits the spot for me. i knew cisco kid and the title track before listening to this album, so I kind of had an idea of what I was getting into, but the album cuts on this one really cemented it for me. just a good, groovy album.
5
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Fri Aug 25 2023
Fulfillingness' First Finale
Stevie Wonder
admittedly i am a pretty big stevie wonder guy so this is not a new album to me. i went through a pretty big stevie phase in college, but i haven't actually listened to this one in full for a long time, so it was nice to revisit. prior to this listen, i think this one ranked, for me, as maybe his least out of his "classic" 4 album stretch from talking book to songs in the key of life - not saying this one is bad, but just what happens when you have a stretch of remarkably high quality music. but on this listen, out of context of that stretch, i actually enjoyed this album a lot more than i think i previously have. i do feel it is a bit more low-key than his other albums of this time period. that being said, i think beyond the two singles off the album, there is a lot of really great stuff, but i don't think it quite gets to the upper echelon of his output. still a really great album.
5
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Sat Aug 26 2023
Fragile
Yes
yeah, there's a reason why this is considered a classic. very consistent and interesting throughout, the musicianship on this album is terrific! very complex and coordinated things going on. i am a fan of this era's sound, and this is one of the more iconic bands, to me, in terms of sound. i was never much of a prog rock fan but have been more open to it recently, this is one that i will definitely listen to again.
5
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Sun Aug 27 2023
Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
this is a terrific, influential album. i love the balance it has between radio friendly hits and more "album cuts". the instrumentation is great and at the time, there was not a whole lot that sounded like it. just a great album through and through.
i think a lot of the criticism of this album has to do with the One Song (you know, that ONE song) and you have to remember from a historical perspective, what was going on in the united states in this time period, that song was a pretty provocative political statement. and for that, i think it makes it an important historical "document"
5
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Mon Aug 28 2023
Bright Flight
Silver Jews
this was a real mixed bag for me. i actually liked a lot of the songs and arrangements. the sort of sparse, alt-country vibe is something i really like and appreciate. that being said, i had a really hard time getting over the singer's voice. it was pretty grating and not enjoyable to listen to. i am not opposed to unconventional singing voices, but i felt like the effort in singing was so lackluster, it really took away from the album. so ultimately, i feel like this is a bit middle of the road for me.
3
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Tue Aug 29 2023
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
this album is such a fun listen. such intricate arrangements, you can tell a lot of thought and love was put into the instrumentation. just a very chill, interesting adventure of an album
5
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Wed Aug 30 2023
Sunshine Hit Me
The Bees
a perfectly pleasant album, but to me, ultimately, nothing really to write home about. it's a very good vibe album, very chill, but unfortunately just not incredibly interesting songwriting-wise or otherwise. i can't see myself listening to this one again, unless i am really in need of some chill-sounding background music, and even if so, i think there's other stuff i would prefer to listen to.
3
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Thu Aug 31 2023
I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
a nice, sparse, quiet, sad boy alt-country album. not bad, but not my favorite. a lot of really pleasant moments but nothing that stood out to me as being incredible. still a good listen, especially if you're in the right mood.
4
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Fri Sep 01 2023
Moondance
Van Morrison
to me, this is THE van morrison album. i've listened to astral weeks before and i have never truly gotten it. but this album is a lot more enjoyable for me. the first side absolutely goes, the second side leaves a little bit to be desired. definitely a front loaded album. but still very enjoyable. the jazz influenced arrangements mixed with the laid back, acoustic feel of the album makes for a pleasant listen.
4
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Sat Sep 02 2023
Homework
Daft Punk
yeah, I didn't quite get this one. i'm not saying it was bad, just really not my cup of tea. the songs can be quite lengthy without much variance (but i guess that's the point). i just think you need some amount of club drug in your system to enjoy this one fully.
3
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Sun Sep 03 2023
Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
yeah this is a pretty great album. of course, the first two tracks are the standouts, but i think even the album cuts are pretty good. i think the quality declines a little bit towards the end of the album, but otherwise, just terrific stuff. he does late 70s paul mccartney better than late 70s paul mccartney!
4
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Mon Sep 04 2023
S&M
Metallica
i'm sure this is fine but this is really my first exposure to metallica in full, and i don't know if i appreciate the symphonic aspect of it considering i know that a lot of these songs just don't have it. so to me, it is, at the same time, unnecessary flourish because i know this isn't how the music usually is, but also the only way i've heard most of these songs. so i'm not really sure what to make of this, as someone who is unfamiliar with the source material. it was fine but really was just lost on me.
3
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Tue Sep 05 2023
The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
yeah this was a great listen, just super high quality beats and lyrics and flow. consistent throughout, never a dull moment on the album. just front to back really really good.
5
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Wed Sep 06 2023
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
look, i gave this album an honest shot. i think really i just do not get the appeal of the "dying old man sings sad acoustic songs" album. the covers on this album are all steps down from other versions, whether original or other covers. they are mostly slow, quiet, boring. his voice is not great, but i gather that that is "the point". a lot of the covers, i actually wanted to laugh. some of these are absurd. danny boy? yeesh. for a guy who is so known for being cool, this album is the opposite. i honestly do not get why people love it so much. the entire time i listened to this album, i was just thinking, man, just go lie down or something. not for me. sorry!
2
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Thu Sep 07 2023
Station To Station
David Bowie
this was a great album. terrific grooves and awesome feel. david bowie in his prime was just operating on a whole other level. i particularly loved 'golden years' which has an infectious, really interesting hook that has been in my head ever since. but lots of very cool moments on this one. this is an album i see myself revisiting in the future!
5
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Fri Sep 08 2023
Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow
i'm sure there are a lot of important and interesting beatmaking ideas going on here, but i think if there are any, they are lost on me. the beats are nice enough but a whole album of them is a little much for my taste. to me, this works well as background music but not so much as active listening. and that's kinda what it feels like, an album of background music at some trendy clothing store or something. not bad but just doesn't interest me much.
3
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Sat Sep 09 2023
Either Or
Elliott Smith
elliott smith and i, i think, are cut from pretty similar cloth. a lot of his musical influences are things that i adore and so his music tends to be pretty compatible with me. i find that he was a great lyricist with a knack for a catchy melody, and overall sort of dour, sad boy type vibe. a bit lo-fi, which i always appreciate. an album that effortlessly balances the line between quiet and intimate & loud and intense.
i think this is the sort of music that you have to have been a bit depressed to listen to and appreciate, and if you found elliott during those times, you have an affinity for his stuff. that goes for me as well.
i've listened to some of his other stuff but never this album in full. i've been meaning to for a long time, but never got around to it and i am so glad i finally did. as i suspected, i really liked it. a great album to curl up and mope around to (and i mean that in the most positive sense)
favorite tracks:
ballad of big nothing
between the bars
say yes
5
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Sun Sep 10 2023
Aha Shake Heartbreak
Kings of Leon
a pretty good mid-00s indie rock album. despite it's relatively short length, there's not a lot of variation here. a lot of the songs sound the same and are sort of the same tempo and feel. it's not bad, but it doesn't make for a super compelling album. i had never listened to one of their albums before, so this was a new experience. i can't say that listening to this one is going to amount to me going out of my way for more, but it wasn't awful. it's in the realm of the music that i liked back then and still like, but it just doesn't fully click for me.
4
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Mon Sep 11 2023
Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers
A pretty cool album dealing with the tumultuous history of Lynyrd Skynyrd. A good story put to some good tunes. I particularly liked the moments of reflection on the rest of the world's impression and stereotyping of the south, an issue that is quite nuanced and I think paints a good picture well with its example of George Wallace, even though I personally find it a little misplaced. All in all, a good listen, pretty interesting, and a cool rock opera, as the title of the album advertises.
4
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Tue Sep 12 2023
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
I had never listened to Leonard Cohen until previously on this journey, I received "You Want It Darker," an album that I don't think should have been my first foray into Cohen's work. Now this, this is the exact kind of album I think should have been my first foray.
I have listened to a lot of Leonard Cohen's contemporaries and loved them, and this definitely feels along the same lines as a work of Bob Dylan or Paul Simon. The album feels so familiar, and I was not surprised to find it was produced by John Simon, who had a hand in Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends" which I adore, and think feels pretty similar to this album in some respects. He also produced many albums by The Band, so now it's all starting to come full circle.
This album is soft, pensive, dark. Something that maybe does not feel monumental in a contemporary sense, but at the time definitely had to have been. This is an album I think I will come back to, something about it feels so familiar and lovely and I would love to get lost in it again.
5
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Wed Sep 13 2023
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
Admittedly, I am extremely biased about this album, as it already is one of my favorites of all time. I love the Byrds as a whole, but this album holds such a special place in history and in my musical journey. I think what is lost about this album on most people is the context of this album, a rock band (who had dabbled in country before) going full country, with one of early country rock's seminal figures, Gram Parsons, joining in and putting forward his most iconic song, Hickory Wind.
Ultimately, is this the most mind blowing album now? Most likely not. In fact, I think at this point, I prefer Parsons' output with the Flying Burrito Brothers more. But it was very groundbreaking at the time, and is one of the most important albums of the genre. I mean, Gram Parsons, Roger McGuinn, and Chris Hillman? It doesn't get much better than that.
5
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Thu Sep 14 2023
Back to Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
This was a fun listen! Obviously not an album that takes itself very seriously, but was still fun all the same. Kinda raucous, kinda dirty minded. But a fun romp throughout. In a weird way, it kind of reminded me of the New York Dolls and the Replacements, very similar energy. I'm not sure I feel like it is a particularly important or influential album, but still fun all the same.
4
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Fri Sep 15 2023
The Undertones
The Undertones
this was a fun surprise! i had never heard of this band or album so didn't know what to expect. but i found a pretty fun punk record that i felt combined the sensibility of the clash with the hooks of the ramones. it didn't absolutely floor me, but was still a fun listen!
4
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Sat Sep 16 2023
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
I am very familiar with the work of Led Zeppelin, they were my favorite band from middle school up through college. I think this is sort of the "cool" pick for peoples' favorite Led Zeppelin album, but it's not mine. It's still good, though. I appreciate it's more country/folk feel as compared to some of their other albums, but I still feel like the track listing ends up being a bit weighed down by "That's the Way" and "Hats off to (Roy) Harper". That being said, it is still a great album.
5
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Sun Sep 17 2023
Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room
Dwight Yoakam
This album was a fun surprise! The songwriting was pretty good and sometimes reminded me of the storytelling of John Prine. Dwight's voice is very nice, you can see that he sort of became the blueprint of sorts for lots of modern country music. The production is VERY 1980s, and it shows. The duet with Buck Owens was nice, sort of bridging the gap between different eras of country music.
That being said, nothing particularly mindblowing for me here, just a pretty alright album.
4
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Mon Sep 18 2023
More Specials
The Specials
going to be honest, didn't move me. it was fine, but like i'm not sure, i just kind of assumed a ska album would be more fun? a lot of this is just sort of uninteresting Walter Wanderley-esque lounge music mixed with ska and, although undoubtedly something different, does not make for a particularly interesting album in my estimation. once again, it wasn't bad, it just kinda did nothing for me.
3
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Tue Sep 19 2023
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
I guess I am going to add this to the list of "acclaimed records that everyone seems to love that I really do not get"
the songs were fine, albeit a bit boring. you can see how influential this album really is, because so much music after it lifts sounds and feel from this album. the singer's voice i did not find compelling and at times it felt like a bad jim morrison impression. i see people find his vocal delivery to be meaningful and i do not want to detract from that, but it just felt off in a bad way for me. sorry! not for me.
i want to give this album another listen sometime because it is just so acclaimed that there has to be something i am missing. for now, i just sort of shrug, hoping it will click in the future.
3
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Wed Sep 20 2023
Hard Again
Muddy Waters
yeah, this is it. to be honest, this album felt like one of the purest forms of music. all killer, no filler. just a bunch of dudes playing the blues in its purest form. a blast to listen to!
5
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Thu Sep 21 2023
Idlewild
Everything But The Girl
this one was a bit middle of the road for me. the production was clean and nice sounding, but overall i felt like the album just doesn't fit my vibe. i found it a bit dull. sort of reminded me of sitting in the waiting room of a therapist's office. not bad but definitely felt like background music to me. ultimately, it's not something i hated, but definitely something i would not ever seek out on my own.
3
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Fri Sep 22 2023
Moby Grape
Moby Grape
so i am a bit biased on this one as i had discovered this album when i was in college and fell in love with it. it's not a "typical" 60s psych rock album but i would say it's adjacent - very similar to contemporaries such as jefferson airplane, the grateful dead, etc.
i love every song on this album. the vibe is fun and the songwriting has hooks for days. just a very catchy counterculture album.
5
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Sat Sep 23 2023
Urban Hymns
The Verve
i was pleasantly surprised by this one! obviously i knew bitter sweet symphony before listening to this album, but didn't know what to expect from it. would it be mostly filler and the big track, or something more? well, i think it was something more. and perhaps every song on here is not as lofty as bitter sweet symphony, but it is a very fun of-the-era britpop album. I do feel like the first two-thirds of the album are very good and the last third really grinds the album to a halt, feeling very lethargic, and not in a great way. but overall, i liked this one, and am glad i gave it a listen!
4
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Sun Sep 24 2023
Eliminator
ZZ Top
obviously i know a lot of these songs from my years and years of listening to classic rock, but i can't say i was really a fan of zz top going into listening to this one. i was hoping that some of the album cuts would change my mind. unfortunately, that was not the case. this album is so same-y, i think if you listen to one song off of it, you've heard the whole album. the production is not my favorite and the songs are just really uninteresting. the kind of vibe you would expect some lame middle aged dude to really get into. i can get past the guitar tone but the underlying synth throughout the whole thing is so bad. but don't worry! on the second side, the seinfeld bass starts! god this album kinda sucks. i can't imagine the type of person this resonates with. sorry. not a fan.
2
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Mon Sep 25 2023
Repeater
Fugazi
yeah this album was pretty cool. i've never really listened to this sort of music but it was full of energy and this album was just balls to the wall nonstop. not to mention the musicianship is very good. very fun, very angsty, not generally my cup of tea, but definitely a fun listen.
4
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Tue Sep 26 2023
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
yeah this is not an album for me. i'm sure this album was a very influential album but i think it's influential for a lot of musicians that i am not particularly fond of. i don't mind dissonance and noise, but just the way these songs are laid out just does not do it for me. there's something about the lyrics that i cannot take at face value, like they are so over the top and corny. look i am a sad boy through and through but my sad boy tendencies are not this angry. this is just eye rolling to me. this resonates with people? go take a walk or something. yeah, not my thing.
2
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Wed Sep 27 2023
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
Liars
the way i would describe this album is finding organization in disorganized noise. unfortunately, my brain is very much not compatible with this. i... uh, had a bad time.
1
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Thu Sep 28 2023
Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney
i really like this album. i would say this album is pretty abrasive, but i think it's also pretty fun to listen to. the problem i have with a lot of other abrasive albums is that i don't find them fun to listen to, but i appreciate sleater-kinney's approach to songwriting and the apparent meaning behind their songs. i love that their music does not cater to the typical notion that music made by women needs to be soft, elegant, pretty. their music can be harsh, noisy, aggressive, and that doesn't make it any less womanly. good stuff.
5
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Fri Sep 29 2023
Sex Packets
Digital Underground
lol i mean, maybe i should have expected this from the album title and cover, but this album is so horny. like obnoxiously so. i like the beats and the samples and the flow is nice, but also like oh my god. from the first track, i was actually kind of expecting to be really into this one, even if it was a bit corny and sexually charged. i didn't mind it at first but starting at "Gutfest '89" which is the so cringey and obnoxious, that it really started bothering me a little. especially with the length of the album, i'm not sure how you rap about sex this much. there's only so much sampled "oohs" i can take.
2
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Sat Sep 30 2023
Elephant
The White Stripes
i am a bit biased when it comes to this album, i like the white stripes a lot and loved this album when it came out. even though i think seven nation army has been played to death at this point, i think the whole album still sounds fresh and as good as i remember it did upon release.
5
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Sun Oct 01 2023
Tank Battles
Dagmar Krause
i found this a fascinating listen. it's clearly something i would have not ever listened to, or even found out about. i could barely even find a copy of this album to listen to, but thanks to youtube, i was able to find it.
i found myself really intrigued by the music. obviously a little challenging but reminds me a lot of other similarly european torch-music-esque stuff, like edith piaf. what i found most fascinating was taking the time to read about the composer of all the songs, hanns eisler, who was exiled from nazi germany to come to the united states, where he was once again facing persecution from HUAC. this music really put this into context for me. seems like a very fascinating person and wrote very interesting music.
will i go out of my way to listen to this one again? probably not. am i happy to have listened to something that exposed me to something i ordinarily would not have with an interesting backstory? absolutely
4
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Mon Oct 02 2023
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
this is an album that i have been meaning to listen to for years and just haven't gotten around to. based on what i've heard, i figured it would be right up my alley. and, yeah, it pretty much was. this felt like the jangle of REM or the Smiths meets the psychedelic pop of the Beatles or the Zombies. which, if you know me, sounds exactly like music i would enjoy. no surprises there. a fun one!
5
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Tue Oct 03 2023
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
a pretty cool album. nick cave is a name i've heard for a while and never explored, so my intrigue was high. you can definitely see that this album was really ahead of its time in terms of production and sound. i liked the arrangements more than i cared for the lyrics, which at times felt clunky to me. but overall, i felt this was a good listen.
4
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Wed Oct 04 2023
Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield
I'm not going to sit here and act like I am going to listen to this one all the time, but I had a fun time. kinda goofy, kinda cool. kinda camp, kinda serious. the instrumentation is really cool, but also there is literally a section where he starts calling out specific instruments and they start playing ("tubular bells" hey, that's the name of the album!). Overall, not something I can see myself going back to very often, if at all, but an enjoyable listen.
4
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Thu Oct 05 2023
Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
this album is pretty neat. it's got that classic 80s synthpop sound, but is very interestingly sparse sounding. and i don't think that detracts from the music, it gives it more of a pleasant, ethereal feeling. i particularly enjoyed the hooky synth lines and the sound of the singer's voice, i found it particularly calming. enjoyable!
4
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Fri Oct 06 2023
Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall
yeah this one was not really my thing. the problem for me is that this album seems like it was made to be unpleasant sounding and i think that's the point. unfortunately for me, unpleasant to listen to is not something that i enjoy listening to. a lot of the music is dissonant. the vocals are a bit nonchalant, but also have a bit of a sneer. that's fine. it just doesn't resonate well with me. not my thing
2
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Sat Oct 07 2023
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
this was a great album. obviously knew the two big songs off of this one already but didn't know the rest. I mean, it's not like it was out of left field, if you know what tom petty sounds like, then you know what tom petty sounds like. but I appreciate his style and his influences, so overall, I really enjoyed this one
5
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Tue Oct 10 2023
The Score
Fugees
yeah this was pretty great. i'm not a big rap guy but there were several songs on here i already knew before this. the quality of the rapping and the beats/production were great. the skits were kind of corny - we don't have to talk about the restaurant one... but otherwise OK. overall, I really enjoyed my time with this album!
5
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Wed Oct 11 2023
461 Ocean Boulevard
Eric Clapton
ok i will admit up front that even though at the current place in time, i find eric clapton pretty morally reprehensible, particularly after the last handful of years, not to mention all of the questionable-at-best stuff he's done in his past. but i also was a HUGE cream fan in high school, so even though i dislike him, i do have a little bit of a soft spot for some of his music.
that being said, this album is so blah. it starts off with a bang, with motherless children, as much of a facemelter as eric clapton has ever made, and then immediately gets sedated into the most mind numbing, boring, middle tempo bullshit you've ever heard, including two TERRIBLE non-blues covers - the most limp-dick cover of willie and the hand jive you will ever hear, and i shot the sheriff, which like, just listen to the original. don't go to eric clapton for reggae (to be fair, it is not even closest to the worst clapton reggae song i've ever heard - that award goes to his cover of knockin on heaven's door, which is abysmal). let it grow is the longest song on the album and it sounds like a carpenters song! lmfao. this album has no balls whatsoever
keep in mind, this is his studio follow up to derek and the dominos! apparently this is his first album after kicking a heroin habit. i guess he also kicked making interesting music too. if you want to listen to good clapton, seek it elsewhere. this is not it.
2
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Thu Oct 12 2023
System Of A Down
System Of A Down
i've been aware of system of a down but i've never sat down and listened to them. i didn't know what to really expect, but i came into this one pretty reserved because similar music doesn't really tend to be my thing. however, i was really into this one! fun and loud and aggressive and kinda goofy in the right way. never a dull moment, just a fun thrash throughout. i definitely feel like i could listen to more of them!
4
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Fri Oct 13 2023
Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
what can i say, this is a classic. by today's standards, it's a bit antiquated and dated, but in my estimation, this is one of the foundational building blocks of rap. and although i am not a huge fan of rick rubin's production in general, it is undeniable how dynamic his early rap productions were. these songs are bombastic and in your face, and that makes for a really fun listen.
5
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Sat Oct 14 2023
Transformer
Lou Reed
the thing i really like about lou reed's music is that is just oozes cool and has a really biting sarcasm that adds to it. i think the production here is fairly plain, but i think that just amplifies his singing delivery and his lyrics. i knew the big song off of this one and a handful of the album tracks, but had never listened to this one in full. i really appreciated this album. i don't know how to describe it fully, but i feel like things lou reed touched just have this inherent coolness, and the combination of lou reed and david bowie just works so well and accentuates this.
5
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Sun Oct 15 2023
Rubber Soul
Beatles
what can i say, it's a stone cold classic. it's hard for me to give proper analysis and takes because i've listened to the beatles my whole life and i am extremely biased. but i love this album. lots o tambourine, lots o organ, some of the beatles' most underrated songs are on this. one of my favs!
5
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Mon Oct 16 2023
Chelsea Girl
Nico
a pretty serene album, but really in my estimation, nothing to really write home about. the instrumentation is nice, but nothing special. nico's vocals are an acquired taste and i don't mind them, i don't shy away from unique singing voices, but i just feel like her voice gives this album a monotonous feel that might have been manageable, except for the two 7+ minute long songs that did not need to be that long. don't get me wrong, there are some nice moments on this album - the fairest of seasons, these days, i'll keep it with mine - i just think there are better folk albums from the era that are more interesting. in my mind, the only reason this album is relevant at all is her connection to the velvet underground/andy warhol, because i don't think its merit is necessarily based on the quality of the album.
3
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Tue Oct 17 2023
Parallel Lines
Blondie
this album is another well travelled album for me. i think pretty much every song on this album is at least solid, i don't think there's a bad song of the bunch. it's still as fresh as i imagine it was when it came out. the famous songs are great, and i think the album cuts are also great. just a fun album from front to back.
5
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Wed Oct 18 2023
Cross
Justice
a pretty fun, danceable album. i knew d.a.n.c.e. beforehand, but nothing else on the album, so i was hoping it would be along the same lines - and it was. was fun, not particularly mindblowing for me, but a fun time overall.
4
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Thu Oct 19 2023
Who Killed...... The Zutons?
The Zutons
yeah i mean this was fine. pretty mid. not particularly mindblowing mid-00s indie. not bad, alright to listen to. not something i think is particularly interesting. it's actually so not particularly interesting that i am wondering why it's even on here to begin with. like i said, not awful, but i can't imagine anyone listening to this and thinking this is one of the top 1001 albums of all time.
3
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Fri Oct 20 2023
Permission to Land
The Darkness
based on their big song off this album, i always kind of thought that their style was kind of ironic, distilling the most over the top parts of 80s rock to it's most brash and flamboyant, much like their delivery on 'i believe in a thing called love' with big wailing guitars and soaring falsetto. in listening to the album, this came across less ironic, more like an actual, genuine tribute to this sound. it's a lot less goofy than i was anticipating, something i've always sort of felt about 'thing called love.' that's not necessarily a bad thing, just not what i was expecting. that being said, the big song is the best song on the album by a long shot, the rest are alright but really just come across in a 'get born - jet' kind of way, that early 00s retro fetishism sound. which, as i've said, is fine, but just purely fine in this instance.
3
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Sat Oct 21 2023
Machine Head
Deep Purple
before listening to this, i knew 'highway star' and obviously 'smoke on the water' - 'highway star' is as killer as ever, i think it's a very good song. but unfortunately, that's where it ends for me. the rest of the album did not do much for me. it's not bad, i just found it fairly uninteresting. i don't mind bluesy hard rock, but this was pretty formulaic to me, not much going on. the organ playing throughout the album, however, was great and fairly unique. but otherwise, i feel like there wasn't of much interest to this one.
3
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Sun Oct 22 2023
Bitte Orca
Dirty Projectors
not really sure why this album gets the hate it does. sure, on its face, it is pretty nonstandard, but it's not totally out there and the sounds on it are pleasant and i find the time signatures pleasant and engaging. overall, i found it a pretty alright listen. something i could see myself coming back to in the future. i think to appreciate this album, you need to be willing to be challenged (only just a little bit imo), and i found the challenge to be fairly fulfilling. not my favorite album of all time, but an interesting and fun listen for me.
4
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Mon Oct 23 2023
Rejoicing In The Hands
Devendra Banhart
yeah so i think this one isn't for me. i am not adverse to folk, or weird voices, in fact, a lot of the music i enjoy fits those categories. there's just something about the songwriting here that does nothing for me. mostly i don't think it's awful, but sometimes the songwriting made me make a (not good) face. just not for me, i think
2
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Tue Oct 24 2023
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
i'm not normally an electronic music person but, yeah, this was pretty fun. i went into this feeling pretty cynical as most electronic albums i've run into so far have been really not my thing, but i was pleasantly surprised by this. engaging throughout and fun to listen to.
4
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Wed Oct 25 2023
Follow The Leader
Korn
hey i gave it a shot. did not enjoy my time with this one. this really was not for me. just really the antithesis of music that i like to listen to. the growly noises, the vocals, the instrumentals. mr raggedy man, lmao seriously? i feel like half of this album's lyrics were literally just like "fuck you, you [slur]"
there really is nothing for me here. sorry!
1
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Thu Oct 26 2023
Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches
Happy Mondays
This album was alright, there was something about it that didn't quite move me. Not sure, maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it today. It was fine enough, good even, but some of the lyrics were kind of vulgar in a childish way - something that rubbed me the wrong way a little bit? Not sure. I'm not a prude, but I felt like it detracted from the music a bit. Still, all and all, an alright time to be had.
3
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Fri Oct 27 2023
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
yeah this was pretty great. his flow is pretty unmatched and you can tell the amount of effort he puts into his craft, it really pays off. the production on this album was also great. dr. dre has still got it. overall, a very enjoyable listen. i can see why this album is so highly regarded.
4
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Sat Oct 28 2023
What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
i'm a bit biased, i am a huge motown fan, so yeah, i adore this album. it is really the first truly great motown album, its first and marvin's first politically conscious effort. so much of this album is still relevant today, more than 50 years later. and it has aged beautifully. the production sounds timeless, marvin gaye is, of course, one of the greatest singers AND songwriters of all time. the musicianship is incredible. just a great soul record, very jazzy at times. one of those albums that truly gives me goosebumps when i hear it. this is the stuff!!!
5
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Sun Oct 29 2023
Pacific Ocean Blue
Dennis Wilson
i am a huge beach boys fan, so of course, i was pleased to give this one a listen again, as it had been a while. pacific ocean blue is, in my opinion, one of the pinnacles of the beach boys, and is the climax of dennis wilson's rise to, undoubtedly, the best songwriter in the group. and what's more, it doesn't sound like a beach boys record, it sounds like its own thing, which is something I don't think any of the other beach boys really accomplished on their own. overall, i really love this album.
5
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Mon Oct 30 2023
The La's
The La's
I adore this album. Of course, everyone knows the big one off of this, but I think the rest of it is excellent as well. The songwriting is top notch and catchy. The whole album, to me, is like the Beatles meets the Who, meets the Violent Femmes. Just a great time front to back.
5
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Tue Oct 31 2023
Liquid Swords
GZA
Yeah this was pretty nice. Obviously a very talented rapper and had some cool beats and production. I know this is a really highly regarded album, but something about it didn't quite click with me all the way. I would like to revisit it again sometime and maybe it will click for me a bit more next time.
4
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Wed Nov 01 2023
Second Toughest In The Infants
Underworld
playstation 1 racing game music (derogatory)
this album definitely hits a lot of problems i have with the electronic music i've experienced so far in this project. the really upbeat stuff is very repetitive. the "slow stuff" is very... nonchalant and subdued. like i feel like the music should be more energetic? and it's not downbeat, but it just feels like... a lethargic upbeat. if that makes sense. anyways, the ceiling here for me is "mid background music" and the floor is "really boring music played in the dressing room of the clothing store your mom dragged you to in middle school" - either way, i was quite uninterested by this.
2
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Thu Nov 02 2023
The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
hey look, you've got one of the greatest singers of all time singing some of the best songwriting of all time, arranged by one of the most iconic jazz arrangers of all time. this stuff hits. my only knock is that the entire album is... LONG. it is a COMMITMENT. but it's worth it. you're listening to the best of vocal jazz.
5
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Fri Nov 03 2023
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
this is my first real experience listening to nick drake after i gave his album "pink moon" a listen about a decade ago, and felt pretty lukewarm about it. going into listening to this one, i was weary that i would have a similar experience, but i found myself pleasantly surprised by this one. the main difference to me is the addition of other instruments, which i think enhances his songwriting, and makes it a lot more interesting and listenable for me. cool, pleasantly subdued folk music. it's even jazzy and soulful at times. a really interest combination that works pretty well. this album reminds me a lot of fairport convention meets donovan (which like, fairport convention is obvious as several members contributed to this one). but yeah, overall, i found this one to be pretty enjoyable. i am (cautiously) looking forward to revisiting "pink moon"
4
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Sat Nov 04 2023
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
my second beastie boys experience, and somehow i managed to get their first two albums in chronological order. i liked this one a bit better than their debut, i felt like it felt less like an obnoxious party and more refined. i thought the beats were better and more clever. their rapping still felt a bit... raucous, we'll say, but that's sort of the point there. but yeah, overall, i felt like i enjoyed my time with this one.
4
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Sun Nov 05 2023
Pornography
The Cure
i would say i had an alright time listening to this one. it wasn't my favorite, and nothing really stood out to me. i'm not really a fan of all the noise, that was sort of unpleasant. just not really something i would ordinarily listen to and something i'm not sure i'll really come back to.
3
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Mon Nov 06 2023
Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
i've listened to a lot of bob dylan in my day. i don't know if i consider myself a huge fan, i've gone majorly hot and majorly cold on him over the years. i have been majorly cold on him for a long while now. this is the first i've listened to an album of his in a bit. back when i was a lot more into him, this was my favorite bob dylan album. and, after listening, i think it still is. this sort of re-awakened my interest in his music. i know it's kind of cheesy, but he really is a terrific songwriter, there was not a lot of people contemporaneously writing songs like him and he was dragging culture forward. that influence is really felt on this one.
5
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Tue Nov 07 2023
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
man there is a part of me that really genuinely likes arcade fire's music. has it become super cliche of this era of indie music? yeah probably. is it insufferably pretentious? yeah probably. idk there's something about it that just draws me to it. but then also, win butler is an asshole. and fuck win butler.
4
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Wed Nov 08 2023
Skylarking
XTC
i fell in love with this album well over a decade ago when i heard "earn enough for us" on the radio. i went out and bought the album immediately. the songwriting is very fun, very beatle-esque at times, and of course, we love a todd rundgren production. to me, the todd production pushes it over the edge and gives it a great energy.
5
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Thu Nov 09 2023
The Sensual World
Kate Bush
of course, kate bush is brilliant. this is a really great album in general, showing off that brilliance. i find it to be a bit more subdued than some of her other earlier stuff, and to me that makes it a little less interesting. i am a bit more of a fan of the more off-the-wall stuff she did on earlier albums. that being said, this is still a very good listen!
4
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Fri Nov 10 2023
Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
if you like this album, quite frankly, you know ball
5
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Sat Nov 11 2023
Green
R.E.M.
i like REM a lot, but this is not my favorite album by them. it's not bad by any stretch, I just think it doesn't quite get there for me. the quality of the songwriting is there, the instrumentation is as good as ever, it's just that for some reason, the total is slightly less than the sum of the parts.
4
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Sun Nov 12 2023
Vauxhall And I
Morrissey
i've never dug too deep into the smiths and related albums, although what of the smiths i've heard, i've liked. this however, did not move me. it was fine. the quality of the songwriting, to me, was not incredible, although not awful. morrissey's lyrics are as fine as ever. i think this is just a case of me realizing the importance of johnny marr.
3
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Mon Nov 13 2023
The Blueprint
JAY Z
man this album sounds so good. the production is top notch. jay-z is at the height of his game. this is one that has aged really well - it sounds of its era but you can tell how influential it was upon subsequent rappers and producers. good stuff!
4
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Tue Nov 14 2023
C'est Chic
CHIC
man i really wanted to like this one. le freak and i want your love are bops. the rest are alright at best and snooze-fests at worst. at least i am free is SO boring. oh my god. i thought this was supposed to be a disco album but i guess we had to get some slow dance numbers in there. the instrumentation is great and of course they have an iconic sound, but boy this album is really uneven.
3
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Wed Nov 15 2023
White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
i am of the age where the white stripes were very popular during my formative years, so of course, i have listened to them a lot in my life, this album included. ultimately, i don't think this is my favorite white stripes album, but it's still pretty great. as fresh as ever, but being nitpicky, i think the songwriting on this one is not as strong as on others. i still love this album a lot!
5
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Thu Nov 16 2023
Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
what can i say, monk is the man. there's no one like him and there will never be. his playing is a style of its own, and maybe an acquired taste, but i love how off-kilter and nonsensical his solos can be. just really cool. and of course, he has a great band here as well. never listened to this one before and i'm not the world's biggest jazzhead out there, but i really enjoyed my time with this one!
5
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Fri Nov 17 2023
Melodrama
Lorde
i'd never listened to an album by Lorde, but I have heard several of her singles over the years, some on this album, so this was not a surprise to me. I do really appreciate her songwriting and production style - I think even though this album is 6 or so years old, it still feels fresh and you can tell how influential her songwriting and style is on a lot of modern pop music. definitely a nice listen.
4
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Sat Nov 18 2023
Funeral
Arcade Fire
my second arcade fire album in as many weeks. i used to like this album a lot but on this listen, it was not nearly as revelatory to me. i think this album is a quintessential mid-00s indie rock album. i still like it, but maybe not as much as I remember. and i will say it every time I have to review an arcade fire album, fuck win butler.
4
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Sun Nov 19 2023
Music From The Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
man, i didn't know what to expect from this one. i'd never heard of the album or the artist, but looked it up on wikipedia and saw brian eno's name. with that all the information i had, i plunged in and, boy, i suspect that this album is not going to be everyone's bag, but i really enjoyed my time with it. very serene and chill, a bit avant-garde at times, some really enjoyable play with dissonance. definitely feels like a small chamber orchestra at times. just a really cool vibes album.
4
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Mon Nov 20 2023
The New Tango
Astor Piazzolla
some great musicianship here, especially some top-tier vibraphone playing. however, i feel that even though the musicianship is high, the music itself is not quite for me. i felt this one was a bit middle of the road. pleasant and nice enough, but not quite to the level of 'interesting' for me.
3
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Tue Nov 21 2023
Illmatic
Nas
Another classic hip hop album that I had never listened to. And another album that is deserving of the hype it gets. Great beats and production, great flow. Truly poetry in motion. Good stuff!
5
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Wed Nov 22 2023
Gorillaz
Gorillaz
gorillaz was really big when i was in middle school (showing my age) and for better or worse, gorillaz reminds me of middle school. i think it's a fun evolution of rock music that combines elements of hip hop. is it mind blowing at this point in time? not really. but is it fun? yeah kinda!
4
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Thu Nov 23 2023
Trafalgar
Bee Gees
i suspect this is probably a lot of peoples' first exposure to pre-disco bee gees, which might be a big shock. I actually adore a lot of early bee gees stuff, but i've never really dug into this particular era of their evolution, which is a lot more soft than their early psych-ish stuff (bee gees' 1st, idea, etc). based on already liking their early output, and it being a rainy day, i think this album hit me particularly nicely today. not mind blowing by any stretch, but nice enough.
4
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Fri Nov 24 2023
Forever Changes
Love
man i have listened to this album probably half a dozen times over the years and i truly do not understand why people adore this album so much. i keep coming back because i clearly have to be missing something. this album just does nothing for me. it's even more mindboggling for me because i love so much adjacent music to this. i find myself wondering if i am listening to the same album as everyone else, the way people talk about it. i don't find the songwriting particularly compelling, i don't find the arrangements mind blowing, the vocals and harmonies are subpar to me. just a really middle of the road soft-psych record, that quite honestly, is a bit boring. i really have tried to give this album a shot, i just truly do not get why it is so acclaimed. i hate to use the word but... overrated.
3
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Sat Nov 25 2023
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
this one gets a lot of hype and to be honest, i agree with the hype. just a well made album overall, great melodies, a fun somewhat aggressive take on the britpop sound. i'd never listened to this one in full but knew a lot of the songs and i can say i will definitely come back to this one in the future.
5
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Sun Nov 26 2023
Next
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
this album kinda sounds like that bar band that a bunch of your friends' dads plays in (derogatory)
not awful but really nothing super interesting for me here. weirdly horny? and not in a fun way. the production is alright until 'last of the teenage idols' in which the entire song just pans hard left??? everything is in your left ear. and then the song picks up panned hard right. and then it evens back out. this feels intentional. and bad.
can't say i am a huge fan
2
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Mon Nov 27 2023
Different Class
Pulp
not sure how i feel about this one. i know it is very acclaimed but i am not feeling that very much. i don't think it's bad, but i don't think it rises to the level of quality i expect from something so acclaimed. not very interesting and the songwriting didn't really move me. ultimately, a pretty average listen for me.
3
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Tue Nov 28 2023
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
i can't tell if it's because i have been inundated with these songs my entire life or if i genuinely dislike this stuff so much, or both. but i'm sorry, this sucks so bad. i usually do not mind non-conventional singing voices but axl rose's voice is so shrill and awful. the music is so beyond cliche and the production is so flat. the only people who are into this are teenage boys and middle aged men longing to be teenage boys again. no in-between. i can't imagine listening to this and thinking it's awesome. it just is the antithesis of what i like in music. no thanks.
1
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Wed Nov 29 2023
We're Only In It For The Money
The Mothers Of Invention
zappa is an acquired taste and i have acquired that taste. this album is really smart, really funny, really wild, and genuinely a fun, frenetic listen. zappa pushed the limits on what rock and roll music was, and is. i suspect that most people will not get this album or will find it annoying and weird, which, fair enough. i appreciate zappa's zanyness, his avant-garde flair, and the point he was trying to make about how society handles social issues, which i think still stands true to today.
5
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Thu Nov 30 2023
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
yeah this was a pretty fun time. my second tribe album and it did not disappoint. the trademark flow and beats are there, and i really appreciated the sampling on this one. some really fun tidbits here!
4
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Fri Dec 01 2023
White Ladder
David Gray
this album has divorced parent energy. i can't explain it. this is the type of album my dad would have listened to on trips between his house and my mom's. vaguely sad, vaguely uplifting, vaguely everything. which means that this album does not hit in any particular way. not unlistenable, but insufferably boring.
2
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Sat Dec 02 2023
Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
I didn't know how to feel about this one going in, just because Frank Ocean is a name I've heard but had no association with what his music sounded like. But I actually found myself enjoying this quite a bit. Very chill, cool production. Frank's voice is great! I feel like I remember this album getting a lot of hype at the time, and I think it's deserved. Even a decade later, you can see how much of an impact he had on the course of popular music. I feel like I hear this DNA in a lot of what I hear today in general.
4
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Sun Dec 03 2023
Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
having been obsessed with moby grape's first album in college, and looking online to find more of their stuff, I saw how widely acclaimed this one was, and this was my next venture into the moby grape-verse. that was over a decade ago and I was really disappointed by this album then. no more was the frenetic energy, the harmonies. I didn't get it.
now a decade later, my second listen. I think I appreciate the sound of this one a little bit more than back then but I still find it pretty disappointing. every once in a while you get a glimpse of what I love about moby grape's debut, but it's few and far between. maybe I should be listening to it more like it's outsider art or something but I can't help to still be a bit let down by this one.
3
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Mon Dec 04 2023
Lust For Life
Iggy Pop
just a really fun romp. of course a couple of classics on here but I think the album cuts are just as good. bowie and iggy in berlin, two creative dudes making a really fun album. great stuff!
5
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Tue Dec 05 2023
The Next Day
David Bowie
this album was alright. it reminds me a lot of the general quality and sound of a lot of this era of musician making music in the modern era, to me it is fairly akin to what Paul McCartney has been doing lately. not so much at the forefront and pushing the limits of culture, but comfortably finding his own niche. as compared to his classic work, i don't think this holds a candle to it, but in its own right, it's pretty solid.
4
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Wed Dec 06 2023
Lost Souls
Doves
pleasant enough record but doesn't really speak to me much. i think if i gave it a few more listens, it would grow on me, as it is similar to the type of stuff i typically like. nice melodies, good musicianship. production is a bit bland. but otherwise, pretty alright.
3
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Thu Dec 07 2023
Apocalypse Dudes
Turbonegro
yeah this album didn't really move me. it's fine enough. not my preferred type of music but listenable. but uhh,,, the band name??? i had never heard of them, it seems like it's supposed to be ironic, at least according to wikipedia (based on what their other choice was) but then they made up some dumb story about no it's fast and dark! like our music! and i think that makes it worse somehow. antiracist or not, it feels like maybe not something we should go to the norse for.
3
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Fri Dec 08 2023
GI
Germs
this was alright. not so much my cup of tea, but not unlistenable either. you can definitely hear the influence of this album on many punk/hardcore artists that would follow it.
3
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Sat Dec 09 2023
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
this is an album i fell in love with about a decade ago during a bad spat of depression. this album is so cozy to me, and i adore it. it got me through some tough times.
if i can be a little overly critical, a lot of the songs are pretty samey. side one is great, side two is not as great. but! it's still a great album that i love very much.
5
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Sun Dec 10 2023
Rings Around The World
Super Furry Animals
this album has its moments, some really great stuff, but i think ultimately it is balanced by some less interesting stuff. it's highs are high, but its lows are... boring. and that's ok. but ultimately, not my most favorite listen out there.
3
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Mon Dec 11 2023
Sweet Baby James
James Taylor
this was an album i fell in love with a long time ago during a very difficult period of my life, so i will always have a soft spot for this one. i think nowadays, i am not as into it as i was back then, but there's still a lot of really great stuff on here. i know that james taylor is not everyone's bag, and that's fine, but for me, this album is almost therapeutic. just a really great folk-rock album, with some country twang. and nothing is better than james taylor's voice!
5
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Tue Dec 12 2023
I Should Coco
Supergrass
wow! what a great surprise! i knew the big song off of this one, but nothing else. to me this is like if oasis was primarily influenced by the kinks instead of the beatles. really fun, really eclectic, really frenetic. just an all around great, intense romp. kind of trails off at the end, but i think the rest of the album makes up for it.
5
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Wed Dec 13 2023
California
American Music Club
pleasant enough and chill but not really anything remarkable here for me. just okay. nice acoustic country/americana-inspired background music, but nothing more.
3
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Thu Dec 14 2023
The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
this album reminds me a lot of the 90s alt-psych revival stuff that i like from around the same time period. in particular, it reminds me a lot of the stuff from elephant 6, especially the olivia tremor control, which i adore. so yeah, this album is a pretty cool, fun, psych-y time.
4
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Fri Dec 15 2023
Now I Got Worry
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
this felt to me like the white stripes' wacky older brother. some pretty good garage rock that takes some kind of insane turns. not my favorite, but a fun time.
4
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Sat Dec 16 2023
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
what can i say, dave grohl is dave grohl. there's a reason he is a legend these days. this album is a lot more rough around the edges than other foo fighters stuff i've heard, and i really like that about it. of course, i know the backstory of this one and the raw edge it has makes total sense. just a really great album.
5
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Sun Dec 17 2023
Trio
Dolly Parton
look, i mean you have three of the best country singers of the 20th century singing together. it cannot get better than this. this album has the best harmonies you have ever heard. sometimes the material they cover is a little less than desired, but the pure beauty of these three voices together is enough to carry any song. incredible
5
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Mon Dec 18 2023
Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
Dexys Midnight Runners
this was a pretty cool listen. i, of course, know them from 'come on eileen' but this album is really nothing like that song at all. very horn heavy, very blue-eyed soul. the production is very, very clean, which is not totally my favorite but overall, it's just a very fun, new wave-soul romp of a time.
4
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Tue Dec 19 2023
In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
yeah this is the stuff. everyone in king crimson is firing on all cylinders this entire album. really is just a pinnacle of progressive rock. i'm not that big of a prog rock fan, but this is just a truly great album. the only song i am not full throttle all about is moonchild, but i do appreciate its ambiance. just a terrific, complete album.
5
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Wed Dec 20 2023
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
i am a bit biased in the fact that i already love this album. i will admit, towards the middle section the songs are a bit lesser, but i think on the strength of cinnamon girl and cowgirl in the sand this album is a 5 alone. everyone likes to poke fun at the one note guitar solo but i fear you are not a fun person if you don't think it's sick.
5
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Thu Dec 21 2023
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Aretha Franklin
hey there is nothing better than aretha in her prime. this album is very 1967 soul, so probably not mindblowing for most people, but this album, to me, cemented aretha as the legend that she became. obviously one of the best singers of all time and with classic production and the session musicians from muscle shoals, you really can't go wrong
5
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Fri Dec 22 2023
Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
there really is no music that just oozes cool more than isaac hayes. his voice, the vibe, the orchestration and production. when i listen to this album, i feel like i am the coolest motherfucker on the planet.
5
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Sun Dec 24 2023
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
look there's a reason that boomers fawn over this album. the production is incredible, there might not be a better sounding album out there. the songwriting is great. everyone in this band is firing on all cylinders. the first side is definitely stronger than the second side. the weak points to me are two of the christine mcvie tracks, songbird and oh daddy. they're not bad, just kind of boring for me. i'd like to be a contrarian about this album, but on the strength of all the other tracks (hell, this album is basically a greatest hits of fleetwood mac on its own) i just simply can't.
5
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Mon Dec 25 2023
Immigrés
Youssou N'Dour
yeah this was pretty cool! i always appreciate listening to music that is outside of my norm, that challenges my conventional, or in this case, american music sense. this album is pretty listenable for the north american ear. the rhythms are great and the music is really interesting. youssou n'dour's voice is compelling and i felt actually pretty uplifted by listening to this. fun stuff!
4
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Tue Dec 26 2023
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
it's a christmas classic for a reason. i am an absolute fan of this era of music and a lot of the girl groups and adjacent groups, especially the work on philles (despite the monster in charge). everything on this album is great, with the exception of when the convicted murderer and serial abuser, phil spector, speaks directly to you at the end. that aside, the sound is iconic, and some of the best sounding music made of all time. i'm not a huge christmas music fan and this is still tops.
5
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Wed Dec 27 2023
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
i'm finding throughout this whole project, i am really enjoying this era of hip hop. it's not something i ordinarily listen to on a daily basis but i really enjoy the bars and the sampling/beats. this album is no exception, really good beats and bars - not my favorite of the era that i've heard so far, but pretty good!
4
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Thu Dec 28 2023
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
woah. pere ubu is a name i've always seen at record stores but i've never listened to them before. i had no idea what to expect. holy shit does this stuff rock. i'm kind of floored. it's very noisy, a bit unconventional in that sense, a lot of atypical instrumental choices (noise, an instrument i am learning is called the 'musette') but juxtaposed with that is some killer rock. really really cool stuff!
5
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Fri Dec 29 2023
KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
pretty cool, chill album. nice retro soul sound and feel, with some tinges of psych. was a nice pleasant album to have on, although i don't think it was particularly mind blowing.
4
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Sat Dec 30 2023
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
this album and i go way back. i really do like this album but ultimately, i think it's too long for its own good. what big boi and andre 3000 were able to achieve here absolutely can be great, but there's a lot of chaff they left in here and it could be a lot neater. i understand that was not the "creative vision" or what the situation was when they were making this album, as it is basically two solo albums in one, but this album would easily be in the conversation as their best if it was a little slimmer.
4
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Sun Dec 31 2023
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized
to me this album kind of reminds me of like, the beatles' revolution 9 meets the beach boys' pet sounds. really cool, orchestral stuff mixed with a lot of noise. makes for an interesting album. i think if i gave this more listens, i could get into it, but it didn't totally blow me away on first listen. still, pretty cool!
4
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Mon Jan 01 2024
Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
i'm a huge byrds fan, so no shock that i love this album. although i don't think it is their best effort, it is their first and arguably, their most monumental. although really, the credit goes to the title track, this album shifted the direction of popular (rock) music from british invasion merseybeat style stuff to something brand new, folk rock, taking the songs of folk music and combining them with a then-modern rock sound. in modern contexts, perhaps this album does not sound impressive or is particularly interesting, but within context, this album is a watershed moment in 20th century popular music.
5
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Tue Jan 02 2024
Low-Life
New Order
wow! i didn't really know what to expect going into this because i didn't quite mesh with the first joy division album, but I really liked this one! just a really great sounding, catchy synthpop album. not sure why i liked this one so much more, but i think it's because a lot of the songs are hookier, catchier, and more bombastic to me. a fun listen!
5
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Wed Jan 03 2024
The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES
this album was alright. it had its moments, although i do think it was a bit samey to its detriment. pleasant enough indie synthpop, but not anything to write home about for me.
3
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Thu Jan 04 2024
Pelican West
Haircut 100
i really didn't know what to make of this album going in, it's not a band i've ever heard of and the album cover didn't really let on to what was going on. I had a really fun time with this one! front to back, really nice, catchy tunes. definitely very 80s in sound. cool stuff!
5
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Fri Jan 05 2024
Something/Anything?
Todd Rundgren
to be honest, i'm a todd fan. i haven't dived super deep into his greater discography, but this album is one i have loved for a long time, ever since i heard "I Saw the Light" on the radio one time and was mesmerized. i think you have to be a certain type of person to really enjoy todd and i'm that type of person. he is terrific at crafting catchy melodies and doing lots of studio wizardry. he plays most of the album himself! that is never not an impressive accomplishment, especially because YOU CAN'T TELL BY THE PLAYING. to me, this album is sort of like his version of the beatles' white album. is it overly long? yeah. is it a bit uneven? yeah. does it get kinda weird? yeah. and, like the white album, i appreciate how off kilter it is. although, still not my favorite album of his, and definitely not his most off kilter, but still very much up there for me.
5
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Sat Jan 06 2024
She's So Unusual
Cyndi Lauper
nothing mindblowing here, obviously i knew the hits on this one and i felt like the rest of the album was pretty in line. maybe it was a lot more novel at the time, but i think at times it comes off as a generic 80s pop record. overall, it was fun enough. not a deep record, but has its moments.
4
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Sun Jan 07 2024
Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche
Koffi Olomide
i am usually pretty open to "world" music. usually i find it pretty fulfilling to hear music outside of my norms. this album was fine, i have no qualms with it. it didn't wow me, but it wasn't awful either.
3
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Mon Jan 08 2024
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
i have pretty limited exposure to the entire discography of velvet underground - really my entire experience is their first album, so this was an interesting listen. a very subdued, folky album, very different from the other music that i've heard. i really like that it has a different sound and feel than their other stuff. i think i could grow into liking this one a lot, on first listen i definitely appreciated its style.
5
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Tue Jan 09 2024
Dookie
Green Day
i've never been a big green day fan, i'm not so much a pop punk person in general, but there's just something about this album that is so damn nostalgic. fun all the way throughout, aggressive, yet tongue in cheek. really well made. just an all-around good time!
5
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Wed Jan 10 2024
Eagles
Eagles
i've never been the hugest eagles fan, but this one has always been my favorite of theirs. i much prefer their earlier output to their more radio-friendly later albums. obviously there are some tracks on here that are still played regularly on classic rock radio, so i think a lot of the context is lost for when this was released. starting off as a country rock supergroup of sorts, this album is a bit of a shift of the country rock genre towards the mainstream, away from the gram parsons-esque relative obscurity it started in.
the songs that still get played on the radio ("take it easy" "witchy woman" "peaceful easy feeling") are classics for a reason, they are pretty good songs, although due to the constant overplay, i am pretty much sick of them to death at this point. the rest of the album, however, is a pretty consistent progressive (in terms of evolution, i'm not saying this is prog) take on the country rock formula, although a bit heavier on the rock than the country. my favorite of the bunch is album cut "nightingale" which has that classic eagles sound but is at least not played to death.
overall, it's a solid enough album, not my favorite country rock album, but i think it's the album from the eagles i appreciate most.
4
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Thu Jan 11 2024
Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts
The Adverts
a pretty solid effort from a punk rock band that I had never heard of before this. not my favorite in terms of punk sound, but still fun enough.
4
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Fri Jan 12 2024
Dummy
Portishead
this is not usually the type of music that is in my wheelhouse. and also today I am road tripping, so I think this album did not land for me twice over. I don't think it was bad, but I found it to be a little dull, and it does not make for good road trip music. not my thing!
2
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Sat Jan 13 2024
The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
admittedly, this is one of my favorite albums of all time going into this so i am really biased. this album is perfect from front to back! one of the pinnacles of ray davies' genius :)
5
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Sun Jan 14 2024
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
think this one is a grower and not a shower. i really liked a lot of it but it is a little off the beaten path for me. i think if i listened to this again, i would like it more. as it stands, it's still pretty good!
4
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Wed Jan 17 2024
The Specials
The Specials
yeah this album was pretty sick. i really enjoyed listening to it. just some really fun ska. i particularly enjoyed elvis costello's production and the energy that the album had. good stuff!
5
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Thu Jan 18 2024
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
back to front, this album is classic, classic, classic. not a bad track on this thing. great sound, great instrumentation, great songwriting/song choice, and sequencing. one of my favorite albums of all time!!!
5
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Fri Jan 19 2024
Aja
Steely Dan
front to back, this one is a stone cold classic. every song on this slaps and is just a wild jazz rock ride. love it!
5
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Sat Jan 20 2024
Teen Dream
Beach House
there is something about beach house's music that i feel so deeply inside me. i got into a lot of their music in a long bout of depression and there is something i can't place that finds this music so comforting. whatever it is, i just really love this album! very chill, great songwriting.
5
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Sun Jan 21 2024
Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
full stop, you do not have rock n roll without little richard. bands for decades have been trying to emulate this. from front to back, non-stop energy. this isn't a cornerstone, this isn't a foundation, this is the whole damn building.
5
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Mon Jan 22 2024
Midnight Ride
Paul Revere & The Raiders
look i love this era of music, i truly do. and i love paul revere and the raiders. but paul revere and the raiders were not an album band. this album is not BAD but it's not very remarkable. there are a few album cuts here that i think are kind of cool ('all i really need is you' has a '66 psych-tinged stones/beatle-esque feel) and the singles off of this one are great, but really i'm mostly confused as to why this album is listed amongst these other ones. i don't mind it, but i think most people will not enjoy having to listen to this one.
3
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Tue Jan 23 2024
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles
ray charles is great, but i sort of swing back and forth on his music. his up-tempo r&b stuff is great and i love that, but the more slow, ballad style of songs he does sort of leaves me a little cold. not that it's bad, but just not my thing. this album is mostly the latter, not the former, so for me it was not the most exciting album, although the quality of the album was high. still an enjoyable listen for a monday morning.
4
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Wed Jan 24 2024
You Are The Quarry
Morrissey
my second experience with solo morrissey, after listening to 'vauxhall and i' - and i can't say i am any more impressed with it than the first time. here, i find his lyrics are a bit more cringey, maybe not less biting than i've heard him write before, but certainly a lot more bold-faced. once again, even with how i feel about his lyrics, they are better than the music, which is down quite a few pegs from his smiths days (more of a glowing review of johnny marr than anything). so yeah, not very impressed with this. it was fine, but i can't say i would ever seek it out again.
3
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Thu Jan 25 2024
Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
great grooves, great playing. some cool stuff here. ultimately, maybe not the most interesting record i've ever heard, but still quite cool and a unique combination of its era of jazz and r&b.
4
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Fri Jan 26 2024
Treasure
Cocteau Twins
cocteau twins is a name i've heard but i don't know if i've ever experienced their music before this. really cool stuff. very atmospheric and the vocals are haunting. i could see myself absolutely falling in love with this album if i give it another few listens, but as it stands right now, i am extremely impressed. very compelling and stark. another album during this project that i had no idea what to expect and am just blown over!
5
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Sat Jan 27 2024
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
a pretty fun spin on the electronic/dance genres. definitely has an indie tinge, which i appreciated. and what's most important to me, it feels human, which i find a lot of electronic music lacks. just a really fun time!
4
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Sun Jan 28 2024
Songs The Lord Taught Us
The Cramps
another group that i have heard the name of but didn't know anything about except that they were "punk" - holy cow I was not expecting this. I absolutely loved everything about this album. it's like a mixture of 60s garage rock, surf rock, and punk. it feels slimey and grungy and just everything it ought to be. excellent stuff!
5
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Mon Jan 29 2024
Back to Basics
Christina Aguilera
i try to go into every album with an open mind. christina aguilera's music is not really in my wheelhouse - even when i was a teen in her hitmaking era and more interested in pop music, her music never quite did it for me. that being said, i was pleasantly surprised by the first disc. like i said, it's not really my type of pop music, but its sound is extremely nostalgic to me. some of these songs i heard on the radio or vh1 at the time, but also this is some of the music that dictated pop music's sound at the time.
her voice is unquestionably great, the "throwback" production of the first side - i.e. sampling of retro instrumentals - is fun, albeit a bit dated sounding at this point. but the peaks of disc one are really fun.
then we hit disc two. starting off with the circus song, it then becomes a hyper-sexualized throwback to old-fashioned cabarets. i can't say i really enjoyed this part. her voice is still great but this part of the album is just too over the top. she's moaning the whole time, saying stuff like "now spank me" - i don't even really care about sexual content in music, but this is so over the top, it almost feels like it is forced by an executive or something. or maybe it's the opposite - the executive forced the normal pop music while she really wanted the over-sexual burlesque schtick. quite simply, it's just really cringey. just very bizarre.
also, because of the two disc format, this album is BLOATED AS HELL. had they split the two discs into their own albums, i think it would be ok. or even if they made a one disc combination of these two concepts, i think it could potentially work. honestly, the two of them together is a chore. i really think the album's length detracts from the overall quality.
she really had me in the first half, not gonna lie.
3
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Tue Jan 30 2024
Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
dave brubeck was a phenomenal pianist. of course, 'take five' transcends jazz music and is one of the most famous jazz compositions of all time. i love 'blue rondo a la turk' - another in the vain of 'take five' that really tickles my receptors with their uncommon time signatures. beyond that, the rest of the album is pleasant, but a lot of time amounts to music that is reminiscent of vince guaraldi's work with charlie brown. not to say that is a bad thing, the album is very good, calming, and pleasant. but ultimately it does not amount to much mind-blowing outside of the non-standard time signatures exhibited, and lacks the grit or edge i normally enjoy or look for when listening to jazz. still, it's an all-timer for a reason!
4
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Wed Jan 31 2024
Heaux Tales
Jazmine Sullivan
not generally my cup of tea, but i thought this album was fairly interesting. i felt like the structure of a song being led in by a "tale" was neat and gave the album a pretty good narrative flow. the music, production, and performances were alright, but ultimately this just isn't totally my thing. i still appreciate what it was going for and am happy i got exposed to something outside of my normal bubble.
3
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Thu Feb 01 2024
1989
Taylor Swift
so full disclosure, i opted to listen to 1989 (taylor's version) - not sure if that is in standing with the spirit of this project or not, but as i understand it, i think taylor swift fans consider the "taylor's versions" canonical now over the original releases. and so i think it's fair to listen to the artist's "preferred" version over the original. and i'm not familiar enough with the original to really know a difference one way or another.
all that aside, this is just a good pop album. taylor swift is not usually my kind of music but it is undeniable that she has a knack for writing a great hook. this whole album is just hooky as hell, from front to back. clearly this music resonates with a significant portion of the population, it doesn't quite with me, but i appreciate the artistry here. there's a reason she is the most famous person in the world.
4
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Fri Feb 02 2024
Dirty
Sonic Youth
listening to this album, you can tell sonic youth is cool. they are too cool for me.
3
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Sat Feb 03 2024
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash
this one put them on the map. you have three immense talents working together at really a creative pinnacle. to me, what sets them apart from their contemporaries are the harmonies. their voices together just make such a great blend. just a great counterculture folk rock album. i'll admit i am biased because i adore this album to pieces and have for years, but there is a reason i have come back to it countless times in my life.
5
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Sun Feb 04 2024
Lam Toro
Baaba Maal
this was an interesting one. i'm not the hugest world music person, but i definitely keep my mind open. language barriers don't usually dissuade me, and it was the case here. this album was not mind blowing to me, but had some really interesting moments. at times, it kind of felt a little new-wave-y??? which was cool, but otherwise nothing that stood out above anything else I've heard from the continent of Africa so far in this project.
3
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Mon Feb 05 2024
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
the best i can say is i gave it a shot. it's not the worst thing i've had to listen to but i can really say it is not my favorite to come across my desk. really, it is just bottled up angst that is reflected in a way that my angst was not. i find it pretty unrelatable, and although i can be convinced on a lot of metal instrumentation, the growl vocals are something that never suit my music preferences. sorry to all my depressed friends from middle school but i didn't get it then and i still don't get it now.
2
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Tue Feb 06 2024
Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
yeah this is extremely my shit. i don't know what it is, but zappa's music just really scratches an itch in my brain. it's complex, yet clearly doesn't take itself seriously. just some really cool stuff here - i especially love the first track, but the standout to me on this listen was the track with captain beefheart singing. just really cool, fun stuff.
5
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Wed Feb 07 2024
Very
Pet Shop Boys
a pretty fun synthpop album. i liked the juxtaposition of the upbeat instrumentals with the more subdued and dour lyrics at points. the production is not my favorite but i found it still enjoyable!
4
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Thu Feb 08 2024
Locust Abortion Technician
Butthole Surfers
this is a pretty crazy punk record. i thought it was pretty fun. obviously a lot of ~noise~ going on on this one - if that's not your thing, i get it. but to me i really enjoyed the chaotic energy of this one. definitely a vibe album.
4
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Fri Feb 09 2024
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
just a great album, front to back. of course, i've listened to this one countless times and know it back to front. the only song on here i am always iffy on is 'meeting across the water' which never has really landed for me. but the rest of the album is just balls to the walls great, that it easily overcomes that one blip. it's a classic for a reason!
5
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Sat Feb 10 2024
Murmur
R.E.M.
i am a pretty big REM fan, especially their earlier stuff. this album, to me, is a vibe album. kinda off kilter, really catchy rock music, very smart lyrics. i just really enjoy diving into this one, even though it may not be their most consistent album. i particularly love songs like 'catapult' which is more indicative of their overall sound, and 'we walk' which has some unique instrumentation from them and a slightly more sinister sound. overall, perhaps not my favorite from them, but i do really love it regardless.
5
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Sun Feb 11 2024
Berlin
Lou Reed
this was a strange album for me. i think the first half i was sort of adjusting to this album. it's a little off-kilter. by the second half i was really enjoying myself, especially with the songs that had a horn section. not an album i think i would have expected lou reed to make given my previous context on him listening here, but still, a fun time, a little challenging, but i could see myself listening to this album a few more times and really appreciating the quirkiness.
4
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Slipknot
Slipknot
second slipknot album in a week and my opinion hasn't changed much. i think as a baseline, i appreciate the instrumentation, in particularly the drumming. the guitars are played well too. i just really cannot get past the vocals, and really the lyrics. it really does not resonate with me at all. i've had my fair share of angst in my life, but it's never manifested like *this* so this is pretty unrelatable for me. i have listened to and listen to a lot of musicians with non-standard voices and that doesn't bother me, but for some reason the growling never lands for me. and what makes it all worse for me is this album is an hour long! i could probably stomach this a bit better if they knocked a handful of songs off, but man this thing sort of went on for a while, huh? oh well, i gave it another shot. just not for me.
1
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Tue Feb 13 2024
Imagine
John Lennon
so once again, i am totally biased as a life-long beatles fan. last year i listened to every officially released solo beatles album, and this one is definitely near the top of that list. although i am definitely more of a paul guy than a john guy, i still really love this album. to be honest, i find the title track very overplayed and a bit overrated - i don't think it's miles better than anything else on this album. highlights for me include 'jealous guy,' 'gimme some truth,' and 'how do you sleep'
to me, this album is an exercise in growth for john. his previous album is very raw, very emotional, very bitter. that bitterness still seeps through on this one at points (especially in the paul diss track 'how do you sleep'), but this album is overall a lot more thought out, at peace. he was a complex person, both good and bad, and i think this album highlights that conflict pretty decently.
overall, i think this crop of songs is pretty consistently good. as i said, i am a bit biased, but this is one of my favorites!
5
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Wed Feb 14 2024
Coles Corner
Richard Hawley
not sure what to make of this one. i liked parts of it, other parts i found dull. overall it was a decent enough listening experience. i particularly liked the 50s throwback sound - particularly '(wading through) the waters of my time' - i find a lot of this album has a retro feel. sometimes it works well and sometimes i found myself uninterested. was this an album really must hear? probably not. was it alright? yeah!
3
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Thu Feb 15 2024
Country Life
Roxy Music
this was a pretty fun album. I had always heard of Roxy Music but have never really given them a shot. the sound of this album has aged really well and has some pretty engaging sounds. i particularly enjoyed 'out of the blue' with the heavy flanging. overall, a pretty cool album that i could see myself getting further into upon additional listening.
4
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
George Michael
I had never really listened to George Michael, but am marginally familiar with Wham! so I kind of knew what to expect. this album was pretty pleasant. not something I ordinarily go for, but was nice enough to have on as I went about my business. it didn't resonate with me fully but i enjoyed the sound of it.
4
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Aqualung
Jethro Tull
this is an album i have known my own life, through my dad. this album hit my dad really hard in his life and has been a constant favorite in his life. so i have learned to love this album through him, and i still do to this day. for me, i just really love the sound of this album. it sounds so great. very soft, yet aggressive at times, with a touch of sinister at times. the bass playing is unreal, as is a lot of the musicianship. another biased review, but yeah, i love this album a lot.
5
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Sun Feb 18 2024
First Band On The Moon
The Cardigans
a pretty fun album! obviously i knew the big song off of this but didn't know what else to expect. it's a fun, sleek, pop rock album. very clever and the arrangements are great! i loved the sound of this one. the cover of iron man i could have done without, it was goofy and i felt like it didn't fit the rest of the album, but otherwise, i had a pretty good time!
4
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Mon Feb 19 2024
90
808 State
so i think my taste in electronic music is very particular. a lot of the stuff i have been presented so far i have not really liked and hasn't really given me a sound that i really like. this album did. i had a lot of fun listening to it, i thought the songs felt dynamic and interesting. i still think it gets relegated to background music, but at least it's kinda fun background music.
3
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Tue Feb 20 2024
Mothership Connection
Parliament
yeah this is extremely my shit. not a dull moment on this one. just the most exquisite grooves you've ever heard. wall to wall funky goodness. the rhythm section is on another level, the guitars are funky. just knocks the vibe out of the park. ga ga goo ga, ga ga goo ga, ga ga goo ga ga, indeed!
5
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Wed Feb 21 2024
Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Lana Del Rey
this is my second endeavor listening to lana, after hearing people rave about her music for years. my first was her newest, "Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd" that I listened to outside of this project to listen to this past year's Grammy Album of the Year nominees. as compared to that album, i liked this one better, but it has a lot of the same issues that I had with her most recent, which is mainly that her albums just bore me. I don't mind soft, acoustic, ballad-y music, but her music just ends up dragging for me. i like the songwriting on this one better, i actually think it's interesting and catchy at points. i really liked the joni mitchell cover! but that shows me that i think her songwriting isn't for me - when she's covering songwriters i love, it works really well. but overall, i can just say that i'm getting the sense her music isn't for me. i don't find it particularly haunting or beautiful, it just feels very middle of the road to me. it isn't bad, i just find it a bit boring.
3
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Meat Puppets II
Meat Puppets
i had no idea what to expect when i went into this one. i am actually a bit floored because listening to this album, it sounds like it is from the 90s - contemporaries of bands like pavement or ween, but this album is really ahead of its time. it must have been insanely influential on bands like those.
album is a bit rough around the edges, definitely not your easy listening fare, but i enjoyed the way it weaves between a punk-ish sound and a country twang. were it a little bit more coherent, i think i would have more fallen in love the first go around, but i think this is more of a grower to me. definitely can see myself enjoying this more if get more acquainted with it.
3
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Broken English
Marianne Faithfull
i'm only really familiar with marianne faithfull as being related to the rolling stones, with her hit cover of the stones' song "as tears go by" - in a lot of respects she reminds me of nico, in style and not necessarily in relation to a band. that being said, i didn't know what to expect from a new wave album from her. and what i got was not really all that much. her voice is not your stereotypical "nice" voice, which is alright, but the instrumentation here is so middle of the road new wave that her voice does not really carry this album. the songs are ok, nothing special. her john lennon cover is pretty dull and repetitive (although that's a bit on the source material, but maybe a song that is entirely a folk ballad should not be a new wave song).
mostly i just feel like this album doesn't bring anything bombastic or interesting, as i would expect from a new wave album. a lot of her contemporaneous new wave artists were doing very creative, forward thinking things and it just isn't happening here. this album sounds like if you had a really watered down elvis costello album. her vocals are vaguely interesting but not good enough or fascinating enough to make this album worth listening to again. sorry, didn't care for this one.
3
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Sat Feb 24 2024
Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
a really enjoyable, chill "soft" jazz album. i really enjoyed the vibe of this one. i don't know if i would consider this album mind blowing in any capacity but it was certainly a nice album to listen to at the office on a friday after a long week. i found it to be pretty zen-like. nice stuff
4
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Sun Feb 25 2024
Who's Next
The Who
yeah i mean i am totally biased when it comes to this album. it's a contender for my favorite album of all time. i fell in love with this album when i discovered it in middle school, and although i know a lot of this album gets played to death on classic rock radio, it has not killed my adoration for this one. the songs are great, the musicianship is top notch, and what puts it over the top for me is the production. this album sounds so fucking good. my god. all timer for me!
5
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Small Faces
this is an album i have grown to love over the years. i didn't like it at first - it's one of those albums that people rave about but i think the goofy second half really gets to people, me included. i'm still not a fan of the narrator, but if you can get past him, it truly is a great psychedelic rock album that has some really killer songs and sounds great to this day. high energy, great riffs, just an all around great album. not to mention, the title track into 'afterglow' is a truly killer one-two punch to open an album. the small faces really fit my musical sensibility so this one is definitely up there for me.
5
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
a bold-faced political statement. i thought the first handful of songs were fun and aggressive. not really totally my cup of tea, but i was on board with what they were cooking. for me, sustaining this for the entirety of a 53 minute long album was a bit much. i like what they were going for and i think it works, i just think that it ends up being a little bit too much and too same-y for me. after a certain point, it does feel a little bit like, "yeah, we get it"
that being said, i still think the messages on this album are still relevant today and i did enjoy myself a decent amount.
4
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
yeah i mean this one is a classic. not a bad song in the bunch. it's not my favorite springsteen album (that would probably ultimately go to Born to Run) but it's close. if i can nitpick a little bit, i would say it ultimately is a bit samey. i tend to like the more upbeat tempo songs than the ballads, but i'm on fire is an all timer. just a great album by a great songwriter.
5
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Stankonia
OutKast
this album is pretty great. outkast are some of my favorite rappers and i think this album is one of their pinnacles in terms of rap, flow, and beats. the skits i could take or leave, they don't do much for me but i know skits and rap albums go hand in hand so it doesn't bother me much. some of the songs are a little less than stellar, but the really great stuff massively outweighs them. it's a light 5 to me, but a light 5 is still a 5
5
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Nixon
Lambchop
this album is interesting insofar as it sounding like an 00s indie version of glen campbell's music - a little like sufjan stevens meets "by the time i get to phoenix"
that's where my interest in this album ends. an interesting idea that i don't think is executed well. the songs are sort of whatever and the vocals are not great. i think they missed the part where what makes glen campbell's music great is the arrangements AND his incredible voice.
the vocals here are your typical 90s/00s alt "slacker" vocals and they really do not work for me when they are juxtaposed with the intricate arrangements. it makes it sound like your quirky uncle is singing karaoke. what the fuck is up with the vocals on "what else could it be?" ???????? it's like instead of lambchop, they channeled porkchop (from the cartoon Doug) to sing this song. lmao really horrid stuff. he should be banned from singing a falsetto. it's not beautiful or charming or nice. it sounds like a bad cartoon character. crazy. once the falsetto hit, that was the moment i could not take this album seriously at all.
the arrangements are nice, but rest of it is lacking and uninteresting at best. sorry, really didn't care for this one.
2
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Sat Mar 02 2024
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
I really adore this album. it is one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of all time firing on all cylinders. he's playing most of the instruments on this album himself! it's crazy! my only critique is that I think that we could have trimmed this one a little bit. I don't know if this album needed to be 2 albums and an EP, there are some songs that aren't up to the same quality as a lot of the heavy hitters here (I'm looking at you, 'if it's magic). but overall, this album hits and it hits pretty much the whole stretch.
5
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Sun Mar 03 2024
Juju
Siouxsie And The Banshees
whoa this album was pretty cool. i really enjoyed it. pretty dark sounding, a bit aggressive - but not overly so. i didn't expect to really like this one because i know siouxsie has a tendency to be "goth" and that is not my vibe. but this album was pretty cool. I would definitely love to return to this one in the future!
5
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine
Cee Lo Green
not the most mind blowing album i've ever heard, but at least it's fun. i like cee-lo's voice and the vibe he gives off on this one is definitely one of a partier. it's a fun enough romp, but it does not verge into the territory of an all-timer for me
3
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Lady Soul
Aretha Franklin
prime aretha is some of the best music of all time. her voice is unparalleled and the production by jerry wexler is iconic. aretha could have touched any song in this time period and turned it to gold. maybe not even gold, but platinum. unobtanium. whatever. it's fantastic stuff.
5
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Shleep
Robert Wyatt
i'm not adverse to weird or avant-garde music but it has to hit me the right way. this one didn't really do it for me. it's pleasant enough at points, but mostly i found it a bit dull. his voice also doesn't do much for me, but i think that matters less on this one. it toes the line between somewhat avant-garde prog and jazz, but i don't think it does anything here particularly interestingly. drab jazz meets drab prog. the culmination is just pure drab. not for me!
2
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Thu Mar 07 2024
Foxbase Alpha
Saint Etienne
album started fairly strong, i enjoyed the unconventional cover of neil young's "only love can break your heart" despite me being slightly offput by how different it is from the original. but that's sort of where my interest in this album stopped. the rest of this album is... fine. but honestly a bit boring for me. i thought i would like the combination of twee sounding oldies inspired music and dance music but for some reason this album just became a practice in lethargy. not my favorite.
3
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Fri Mar 08 2024
Come Find Yourself
Fun Lovin' Criminals
i had fun with this album at first, a cool combination of a more bluesy/jazzy sound with hip hop. as we got towards the end of the album, i felt like it was kind of one-note. felt like i was just listening to a variation on the same thing for a good portion of the 50 minute runtime. it's not that i thought it was bad, i just got a little tired of it three quarters through the album.
3
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Marquee Moon
Television
god this album is so sick. not my first time listening to it, and it won't be the last. there is just something about it that just oozes cool and is exactly my speed. the whole album is great, but i think the pinnacle here is the title track. its length might be off-putting to some, but just great stuff. cool guitar riffs, great instrumentation, all-time production. it's an album that i don't usually associate with my all time favorites, but i really should. i love it that much.
5
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Sun Mar 10 2024
After The Gold Rush
Neil Young
what can i say about this one? this is already one of my all time favorite albums so i cannot be unbiased here. i love early neil young's songwriting and it is at its best here. i don't think there's a bum song in here, they're all great. the album is mostly stripped down, vulnerable, stark, melancholy. when it is at its loudest it is angry ("southern man") which is probably most peoples' familiarity with anything on this album. but the softer stuff on this album is what makes it shine. i know his voice can be hard to deal with for a lot of people, but his voice has never bothered me and i think gives the music character and uniqueness. it's just an album i adore through and through!
5
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement
this album was pretty cool. i knew a couple of songs off of this one beforehand, but have never listened to the album in full. pavement is a band i've heard a lot about but never fully experienced, and i can say that i am looking forward to my next experience with them. normally, i am a bit iffy on slacker vocals, but they work really well here, especially in juxtaposition with the more upbeat, raucous sounds. my favorite track on this one was "cut your hair" which is a perfect example of this. i would say the strength of this album is not necessarily in the musicianship, but the crafting of a sound. and i really enjoyed the sound!
5
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Tue Mar 12 2024
Amnesiac
Radiohead
so this is my first real experience listening to radiohead after hearing people rave about them for years. i can't say i really knew what to expect, but i knew that this is not one of the albums i hear people rave about. and... i liked it. it's nice. i like the production on it especially. it can be a bit sparce at points and that's cool. i was not totally blown away, but i got an inkling of why people like radiohead so much.
4
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Crazysexycool
TLC
that was a pretty fun time. great 90s r&b. not anything particularly mindblowing for me, but still a fun enough time. i felt the album was consistently good, and the andre 3000 feature on the last track was a pleasant surprise. overall, i enjoyed this one.
4
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
I'm a big fan of 60s psych, but 'Piece of My Heart' is overplayed to death and it's not nearly my favorite psych track out there. I didn't really know much else about Big Brother and the Holding Company except "Janis Joplin" and I had never listened to this record out of spite because my out of touch boomer parents loved it. well, DAD, i've finally listened to it and... it's alright. I don't think it's anything mindblowing or particularly progressive in the realm of 60s psych, but it is nice enough. there's some good musicianship here and Janis Joplin sure can wail. for some reason, John Simon, whose productions I usually like, decided to make this studio album sound like a live album with fake audience noises and having it sound more "live" and i think it's a kind of bizarre choice to make but whatever.
4
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Fri Mar 15 2024
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
this album and i go way back, in a sense. my mom bought me a used copy of this on CD when i was in elementary school and starting to really get into music. i listened to it back then and was only interested in the two big songs on this one (walk this way, sweet emotion). growing up in massachusetts, this album and band is unavoidable, and i'm not sure if my relative ambivalence is because i have been inundated with these songs for years or if i just simply do not really care for this stuff. it's not /bad/, like i think most of these songs are fine enough. but this album just really comes off as a big meh for me, even with the big songs included. it's just one i do not care for. i don't hate it, it's just whatever to me. there are a million other rock bands putting out stuff in the same time period that is more interesting, more thought out, more worth listening to, in my opinion.
3
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Revolver
Beatles
i always like to point out my bias when giving my reviews and there is no other album where my bias shines than this one. i have been a beatles fan since birth (maybe even before birth) and this is maybe my favorite album of all time. this album represents a seismic shift in music, into the experimental, into the unknown. this is a collection of some of my favorite songs, from the trippy and rough around the edges 'i'm only sleeping' to the shining guitar lead on 'and your bird can sing' to the psychedelic freakout of 'tomorrow never knows' this album is just a 5 all the way through for me. yes, even yellow submarine. can't help it, i just adore this one!
5
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Sun Mar 17 2024
Rum Sodomy & The Lash
The Pogues
a pretty apt album to listen to in advance of st patricks day. if anything, I would liken this to something of modern Irish folk music. a fun time!
4
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Blunderbuss
Jack White
this was an album i was pretty into when it came out but i haven't listened to it in quite a while now. listening to it now, it feels like an old friend, but also not anything crazy here. i think a lot of it just sounds like "music jack white would make" and doesn't stray too far from that - there are some unique flourishes here (some woodwinds etc.) but it still kind of sounds like all the music he's ever made. the standout here for me is "sixteen saltines" but, once again, this feels like a white stripes song. and i'm not complaining, i quite like jack white's style and production/sound, but i don't know if this is anything more special than any of his other work, especially in the sense of "i have to hear this before i die"
4
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
i'm not a huge jazz guy, i would say i am somewhat jazz inclined, but not widely interested. this is my preferred style of jazz - especially the more uptempo bebop style jazz. obviously the musicianship is phenomenal and i appreciate that nothing goes on for too long (a problem i have with a lot of the longer-form jazz). thumbs up from me!
5
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Logical Progression
LTJ Bukem
once again, my old nemesis, playstation racing game music. look this stuff isn't bad, it just isn't my bag. everything sounds like old video game music and not in a good or fun way. certainly not anything i cared to listen to 20 tracks of. not for me!
2
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Myths Of The Near Future
Klaxons
at its best, a decent arctic monkeys soundalike, at its worst, a slightly discordant mess. i much preferred the uptempo stuff than the downtempo stuff. don't think it ends up being as evocative as a lot of their contemporaries' works and i think that lowers its esteem in my eyes. a bit of a crapshoot.
3
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Fri Mar 22 2024
Electric Warrior
T. Rex
there is just something about T. Rex's sound that is so fucking cool, man. like this shit just oozes cool. i can't explain it. this was my first time listening to this album in full and i enjoyed it! i think overall, i prefer 'the slider' because i think the sound is more fleshed out and the crop of songs is stronger, but this one is still a fun time.
4
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Sat Mar 23 2024
Zombie
Fela Kuti
after hearing the name fela kuti for years, i finally have the opportunity to listen to him, and man this album is fucking cool. great grooves, great vibes. super cool stuff, i would love to hear more from him!!
5
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Sun Mar 24 2024
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
i had a pretty good time with this one. i had never listened to the flaming lips in full, but know a handful of their songs, two of them being on this one (yoshimi pt 1 and do you realize) and i adore 'do you realize' so i figured, i would probably enjoy the full album and... yeah, i did. as a fan of a lot of early 00s indie music and as a fan of psychedelic music in general, this combined two of my favorites into one and i had a great time! a great sonic bath of fun music.
5
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
yeah sorry not a fan of this one. it's not bad but lord it should be illegal to have an album this long with not that much going on. everything on it is really middle of the road with the exception of a handful of songs that are sort of interesting. but nothing really grabbed me at all. i just found myself bored for two hours. honestly it felt a little like a waste of two hours for me :( sorry :(
2
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Tue Mar 26 2024
At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
the musicianship here is great. this is, i think, my preferred method of listening to the allman brothers, just because it's raw, it's live, it's the pure distillation of their skill. just an incredible group of musicians firing on all cylinders LIVE. incredible.
5
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Wed Mar 27 2024
En-Tact
The Shamen
i think this project is actually radicalizing me against electronic music. i like to think i have an open mind, and then i get presented with over an hour of the most mind-numbing static beats with barely anything else going on. this sounds like the soundtrack to an abercrombie and fitch 25 years ago. there's a reason i never shopped at abercrombie.
1
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Hot Fuss
The Killers
a really solid album. catchy songs from front to back. i think people who are around my age (read: millennials) overrate 'mr. brightside' to a frustrating degree - it's a catchy, good song, but not as good as people tend to make it out to be. that being said, i still like it and the album as a whole. solid stuff
4
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
i'm a decent fan of bruce and this one, i think is my favorite of his, at the end of the day. although it doesn't have the same peaks as 'born to run' i think the crop of songs are more consistent, and i love the dark, more aggressive sound he employs on this one. of course, his songwriting on this is top notch, as it almost always is. just a great album through and through
5
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Sat Mar 30 2024
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
The Kinks
this is another album i cannot be unbiased about. this album is in my top 10 of all time and it ain't 10. one of the middle points of a stretch of albums by the kinks that i think are perfect albums, this album employs a narrative that the others do not. songs focusing on the affects of war and british society and austerity, all through the lens of the titular character, arthur. ray davies knocks it out of the park with this one! i suspect this isn't everyone's cuppa tea because it is very twee, like much of ray davies' work, but it truly is a brilliant effort and album.
5
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Sun Mar 31 2024
Like Water For Chocolate
Common
the beats on this one are really cool. i feel like i can take or leave common's rapping, sometimes it was pretty good, other times clunky as hell. the production really saves this one for me. j cole and questlove really knocked it out of the park. a wicked cool sounding album, just wish that the bars did more for me. and you know, the whole conscious rap thing while saying slurs and having a skit where you hit a woman (?) idk, i don't know how well it's aged as a whole but it at least sounds great.
4
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Mon Apr 01 2024
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Ice Cube
i find i really enjoy this era of rap. the beats and the rapping are bombastic and aggressive, and that really appeals to me for whatever reason. so i did enjoy myself with this album. the only thing is that a lot of the lyrics and verses are pretty dated by today's standards, like 'it's a man's world' - a song based on an argument with ice cube playing (?) a sexist. even if it's for show or to prove a point, it still leaves a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
4
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Tue Apr 02 2024
Hotel California
Eagles
my problem with this album is two-fold:
1) i don't prefer the eagles, but if i am listening to them, i am listening to early period stuff, as i find the blatant country-rock stuff more interesting. this era of eagles does not move me at all
2) the only "compelling" song here is the title track, which i have grown to despise over the years due to excessive overplay and the general populace's insistence that it is a classic. this song genuinely makes me roll my eyes. i hate its shitty reggae beat. i hate its dumb "story". the guitar solo is its only saving grace. it's very overrated.
the rest of the album is so run of the mill. and that's not to say I just outrightly hate the eagles - like I said, i don't prefer them but there are a handful of songs of theirs that i do genuinely like. i am not an "eagles hater" as much as i am an "eagles realist" - i do know them at their best. this is not that. apologies to all the boomer dads out there.
3
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Beauty And The Beat
The Go-Go's
i've wanted to listen to this one for years and have never gotten around to it. i can safely say now that it's sort of exactly how i expected it. no surprises here. really fun, catchy tunes with a surf rock edge to them. there were some fun moments on here that i didn't expect, some really cool non-standard chord changes and some cool time signature moments, but overall, nothing that super blew me away. it still was a lot of fun. good stuff!
4
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Thu Apr 04 2024
The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
i know this is a really important album in the history of hip hop, but oh my god this album is so corny and bizarre! i kind of love it a lot for how corny it is, but it's a little hard to take it seriously. especially the excessively saccharine "dreamin'" which is a tribute to stevie wonder (maybe it's ironic? i don't think so... but they're singing about being in love with stevie wonder like they are... actually... in love...). and the strange 'you are' which is a love ballad... to Jesus? I think? this album is confusing.
'the message' is an all-timer and the album opener is a surprisingly cool funk number, but the rest of this album is a little bizarre. not sure how to feel, all things considered. it's quite the eclectic album, and i honestly think that is to its detriment. an unquestionably important album, but a great album? not really.
3
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Fri Apr 05 2024
A Little Deeper
Ms. Dynamite
quite frankly, one of the most run-of-the-mill r&b/ rap albums I've ever heard. there's not anything here that is terrible, but there's also not anything here that is worth spending your time listening to it. it sounds like r&b music from a Disney channel movie. if you told me that this was music made by the Cheetah girls, I'd believe you. except somehow, the Cheetah girls have more interesting music than this.
2
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Sat Apr 06 2024
Blue
Joni Mitchell
another album that I, quite simply, cannot be objective about. this is one of my favorite albums of all time, it may even very well be my favorite album of all time. what is remarkable about this album is that it is the progenitor of stripped down, bare bones , hit you right in the damn heart music. I suspect for a lot of people, this album does not sound remarkable but in an age where it is expected for musical artists to be authentic, and where artists get flamed for being too fake , this album Nexus in a time period where it was quite opposite- where a lot of music was superficial and this was one of the first albums to come along where a stark level of authenticity was unexpected. as a grown man, I am not ashamed to say this is one of the albums that gets me crying every single time I listen to it. the starkness met with the beautiful songwriting and The poetry of Joni's lyrics is just absolute perfection. I cannot say enough good things about this album, I truly think it is perfect.
5
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Wed Apr 10 2024
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
there are moments on this album where it kind of sounds like a French version of Tom Waits. The rest of this album it does not jive with me very well. I'm really not a fan of the sound of industrial music, and although there are moments where it sounds like a fucked up French carnival (which, for some reason, I'm fine with), but the rest of it sounds like how my panic attacks feel, so no thanks!
1
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Underwater Moonlight
The Soft Boys
i had never heard of this album or band before, but oh my is this album prescient! this album sounds and feels like an album that swarths of 1980s college rock/alt rock bands listened to. you can hear the blueprint being made for bands like REM. a very cool album. i particularly enjoyed the tinge of psych rock that it had at points, especially the sitar on "positive vibrations"
it's wild to go from never hearing of an album to "i need to buy a copy of this" but that is how i'm feeling about this one!
5
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
I'm not totally well versed in the entire discography of the smiths, but I am familiar enough with the "big songs" - familiar enough to know I like the smiths a lot, but haven't had the chance to dig in on them. needless to say, I enjoyed this one! although I find his modern incarnation a bit insufferable, morrissey's vocals and lyrics in this stage are iconic and the musicianship in general is great, but the smiths would not be the smiths without johnny marr's guitar playing. I can confidently say that I am becoming a smiths guy.
5
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Sat Apr 13 2024
A Night At The Opera
Queen
this is another heavy hitter from my middle school days, when i first started exploring music more widely. i think this album is brilliant and fun. there's some goofy "old fashioned" sounding stuff ('lazing on a sunday afternoon', 'seaside rendezvous', 'good company') but, like some later beatles, i think it's fun and charming. of course there's the big song on here that everyone knows, but my favorite songs on here have always been the biting 'death on two legs' and the immense 'the prophet's song' with it's amazing "vocal round" middle section leading into one of my favorite queen moments of all time ("god give you the grace to purge this place..."). of course it's widely regarded as an all timer, and i have to agree. to me, this is one of the world's most famous bands firing on all cylinders.
5
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Sun Apr 14 2024
American Pie
Don McLean
not bad, not bad. i knew the two singles off of this beforehand, the smash hit title track and 'vincent' both of which i think are great tracks. the rest of the album is a lot more like 'vincent' than 'american pie' - more slow, pensive folk-ish music, as opposed to folk-ish rock. that's not to say that there aren't more rock-y moments on this one, but it definitely is a lot more subdued of an album than the title track would lead you to believe.
4
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Eli And The Thirteenth Confession
Laura Nyro
what i love about laura nyro is her songwriting. particularly i adore how her songwriting sort of meanders left and right, switching up tempos all the time, almost as if the music is going with the wind. so many of these songs will start off slow, soft, intimate, and then explode into an uptempo soul groove - or vice versa. not only that, but her melodies are incredible and so is her voice. the arrangements on this one are equally spectacular. i understand if you don't dig the brill building vibe of this one, it's definitely a bit dramatic, but to me this is truly one of the pinnacles of songwriting on display. sophistication at its finest!
5
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Pearl
Janis Joplin
man i'm sorry, i just don't really jive with this. growing up being forced to listen to these songs in the car will do wonders for not wanting to listen to this album at all. i'm not the hugest fan of janis' voice and i don't really get the appeal of this one. the music is fine, but nothing mindblowing. the production on this is so sterile, it's hard to get any energy from the recordings at all, even ending of the big track "me and bobby mcgee." I understand that she passed away during the recording of this album, so it may not be "finished" but it still gets heaped tons of praise on it anyways. i dunno. nothing remarkable here for me, very middle of the road. dare i toss around the "overrated" word?
3
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Gris Gris
Dr. John
god i'm sorry this album is SO FUCKING COOL MAN. i've known it for a long time now and every time I come back to it, i am continually blown away by the feel of this one. it's an all time vibe album for me, nothing sounds like this album, nothing gives off the vibe of this album. Gris-Gris is a singularity. you're not here for the quality of the lyrics, this album is VIBES ONLY and the vibes of this one are IMMACULATE. it sounds so dark, and so folk-y (in the sense that it's very rough around the edges). to me it perfectly matches the cover of this album, it feels like music being played at some sort of voodoo ceremony.
5
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Thu Apr 18 2024
American Beauty
Grateful Dead
a perfectly pleasant, laid back album. there's nothing here that's technically bad, it's all copacetic, as they would have said back then. when this album is firing on all cylinders, so to speak, it's a great album. tracks like 'box of rain,' 'friend of the devil,' 'till the morning comes,' and 'truckin'' are all great, blissful hippie fare. where this album has issues is with the album cuts, which tend to drag a lot, like the painfully slow 'attics of my mind.' these tracks are not awful, per se - but they tend to drag the pacing to a slog. otherwise, the musicianship here is very nice and the dead's harmonies are vastly underrated, in my opinion. overall, a good, not great, fairly inconsistent album.
4
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Fri Apr 19 2024
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
what I think stands strong about the sole sex pistols album to this day is the frenetic energy and the sneering attitude. i don't know if it's the punk album that is technically the best, but it is a lot of peoples' first punk album and it is a great intro to the classic punk sound. every song here is fairly searing and i think it holds up decently well. one thing i will say is that if you are a person who likes variance in their albums, you are probably not going to enjoy this one, especially with the lesser-known album cuts, it gets a little same-y. but i'm not sure if there's a record that captures the energy of the nascence of british punk more than this one.
4
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Sat Apr 20 2024
Brothers
The Black Keys
i'm a bit torn about this one. i used to be very into the black keys about a decade ago and this was my absolute favorite by them. nowadays i am not a huge fan of their music, so at this point in time, i don't really feel like giving them a score of what i probably would have a decade ago.
overall, i still think this is a good album. i don't think it's anything mindblowing and i think a lot of their contemporaries make music that i think feels more genuine and sounds better. the album still has a bunch of bops on it - and i can't get tired of 'tighten up' and their cover of jerry butler's 'never give you up' - what i think are highlights of the album.. the production on this one feels a little stale but when they are loose, i think this album can borderline rip. the musicianship on this one is pretty good and i think the songwriting is solid. to me it sounds very early '10s commercial now, which i didn't at the time (but this sound has been co-opted by truck commercials for years). i think at the time it felt a little more novel than it does today. honestly, i still have a little bit of a soft spot for it.
4
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Sun Apr 21 2024
Nighthawks At The Diner
Tom Waits
my exposure to tom waits is fairly limited - i've listened to his first two albums on my own, but haven't explored him much further. i know his album gets a little more avant garde and challenging to listen to, but i found this one to be a fun listen. it's a fun jazz record with a live audience environment, it really gets the 'jazz club' aesthetic down. the musicianship is great but not very showy. waits' songs are fun and very off-kilter and wacky. probably not everyone's bag, but i appreciate the sort of sleazy vibe he was going for. definitely one i think i could appreciate more with additional listens.
4
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Calenture
The Triffids
i usually try to have an open mind, especially when i'm presented with an artist i've never heard before. i was excited to listen to this one based on the genres given on wikipedia, but unfortunately i was a bit disappointed in this one. although i think the songwriting was fairly intriguing and the lead singer's voice was very strong, i can't get past the production on this one. i imagine if this album was produced more like a folk-y album, and not an 80s pop album, i would have liked it more. the production feels dated and not in a fun or good way, and doesn't feel like it fits the songs or the album. it took me several pauses within listening to listen through this one. sorry, not a huge fan!
2
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Let It Bleed
The Rolling Stones
i went through a decently big stones phase and i really like this album. it's not my favorite of the stones' 'classic period' but i think it's a really interesting showcase of their transition into roots-focused rock. of course, the two big songs on here are stone-cold classics for a reason, but i've always loved the more country stuff on here - especially 'love in vain' and 'country honk'
if i have any complaint at all, it's that this crop of songs is not as strong as other albums they released in this general time period - but to say this album is not good because it's not 'sticky fingers' or 'exile' seems unfair. those albums are extraordinary in their discography, and although that technically means this album is more ordinary, i still think it's a great album.
5
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Suicide
Suicide
when I saw this album influenced bruce springsteen, i was intrigued. but boy i could not hear that influence at all until i listened to the track 'frankie teardrop' which you can tell bruce was directly inspired by for 'state trooper'
that aside, the album is interesting. it's described as a punk album but because of the sparseness of the arrangements (just keyboard and vocals) it doesn't have the unabashed loudness you expect from a punk album, but a more subdued, yet still energetic form of music. from that standpoint, i enjoyed a completely unique take on a genre in it's naissance more than maybe some of their other contemporaries in the punk scene. that being said, the songwriting here is pretty barebones (it is punky after all) and if you don't have the loud, bombastic instrumentation from that, you focus on the songs more and i don't know if i think the songs are strong enough to carry this album otherwise. it's a cool album, but i'm not sure i'll come back to it again.
3
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Thu Apr 25 2024
3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
I know a pretty decent amount of the isleys' hits from listening to a lot of old pop/r&b music so i figured this would be in line with a lot of my music taste. boy howdy, i think that was an understatement. this is a fantastic album! the big hit off this one, 'that lady' is an all time banger, but all of the album cuts are great too. i especially enjoy the covers on here - in particular, their cover of 'listen to the music' is an awesome funk version of the doobie brothers classic. not a dull moment on this and the musicianship is top notch! excellent stuff!
5
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Junkyard
The Birthday Party
yeah this was difficult for me. i like challenging myself with music, but not like this. the music is aggressive but i can't get past nick cave's growling and howling on this one. it made it very hard for me to listen to. i actually liked the instrumentation but after a while it felt more and more like "ok, i get it, i get it." if i can give the album artwork some credit, it reminds me of garbage pail kids and the music on this album i think definitely fits the vibe of garbage pail kids. unfortunately, garbage pail kids is not my vibe.
2
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Sat Apr 27 2024
Surrealistic Pillow
Jefferson Airplane
i'm a huge fan of 60s psych, and this is a cornerstone album in that genre. i used to have a kneejerk reaction to not like this album because it was forced by my boomer parents down my throat but after falling in love with so many of their contemporaries' music, i have come back around on this one. the songwriting is great and the production sounds great for an album from 1967 - when 'hi-fi' as it currently stands was a distant dream. i still can't believe how good and clean 'embryonic journey' sounds for something recorded in this era - it honestly sounds like it was recorded a decade later. grace slick's vocals on this are iconic. it is a really great package altother. and although i still want to have a kneejerk reaction to this one, i have to admit, it's a classic and important album for a reason.
5