I bought this on CD in my mid teens, after liking the Bob Dylan track on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. I remember thinking that all the copies in stores were bootlegs because of the weird camera shake effect that makes it look like a bad print.
Pretty good but I find the structures a bit repetitive and unexciting (as with back in the day). It's not something I'd ever want to listen to more than twice.
Technically admirable, but after a while I find Albarn's schtick a bit tiresome. It feels a bit forced and try-hard for the sake of catchiness, getting duller on repeat listens rather than revealing anything more.
I own this on vinyl and have always loved it! Those opening moments of Tom Sawyer, awesome.
Still sounds like the kind of music stoners play in flats above shops to impress each other. Or videogame music to an R-type or Wipeout game.
Sounds like an annoying barn dance you wish you never agreed to go to, so you pretend to have a headache and leave early.
I hate aggressive music with corny lyrics forced for the sake of rhyming but made to sound meaningful via ranty delivery. It's too phony and try-hard. Not my thing I guess.
I'll admit I didn't think much when released. But somehow drawn to it since and has grown to reveal its brilliance. The best kind of album.
Makes me feel like I'm playing a space shootey Playstation 1 game
Dated, sometimes good, sometimes annoying and try-hard.
Really annoying to listen to. It sounds like Syd et al are thinking far more about themselves than the listener, in trying to be impressively quirky.
The best album I've heard since Trout Mask Replica
No.
It just sound so insincere. Trying so hard to be soulful, but purely for the sake of it.
The lyrics and singing style sound so phoney, like a massive ego pretending it has a good connection to reality.
I've always struggled to fully embrace JD to the level I felt I should. After many tries, I feel Ive finally synced with their vibe as much as I ever will.
I loved Nilsson ever since watching a pirate copy of (then banned) Reservoir Dogs on a holiday in St Ives as a 14 year old. My beloved cavachon dog is called Arrow after a Nilsson song. When people ask and I explain, they've never heard of Nilsson, except this one girl who started singing the song as soon as I said Arrow. Anyway Nilsson was terrific, so many absolute bangers. If you let this album slip through your ears as "some random folksy thing" then screw you. It's better than that.
I always overlooked this album, without realising how Bjorky it actually is. She's of course her earlier, kookier, excited self which is refreshing after her more recent, joyless heavy eco stuff. There are plenty of those weird little Bjork growls here. By the way, if you haven't seen her exploring the inside of a TV on YouTube, search for it now, it's the best thing on the internet.
I can see how it might sound a bit old and pretentious by now, but back in the day, after the peak of britpop and a wave of nu-metal it sounded so original and fresh.
Loved it.
So dreary and uninteresting. I feel so many of these albums become acclaimed only because of background factors pushing their exposure.
This album bizarrely passed me by despite being an 80s kid into The Cure, a-Ha, Erasure. I caught up with it only in '23 after acquiring a bunch of free DM vinyl, and became one of my most listened to albums that year. It's nuts that I was far more familiar with Tori Amos' Enjoy The Silence than DMs. It's a brilliant record, that still sounds completely fresh and exciting.
I won't dispute its classic greatness. But it's not something I'd want to listen to as much as a Captain Beefheart or NIN record for example. It's too catchy for its own good. I still prefer Nilsson.
I've listened to this countless times since it's original release and have always loved it. It's just as compelling, inspired and energising now as it ever was. Seeing low reviews from people who haven't even heard of it, citing low expectations purely from the cover, makes me feel quite sad.
I'm biased by very fond memories of the beautiful 90s.
I listened a bunch of times on release, but this never quite clicked for me. Some of it I love, but some of it grates in that whiny Thom way.
I always thought I hated The Smiths, but found myself enjoying this.
I can see why this be overlooked or misunderstood to listeners not familiar with Trent Reznor's work. I wasn't keen on first listens back in the 90s, even as a fan of Pretty Hate Machine, it sounded inaccessible and chaotically angry in a way that I just didn't care for. But having listened so many more times, and being intimately familiar with the rest of his work, I have come to appreciate this as one of too five favourites of all time. Trent's meticulous attention to detail, his amazing mix of creativity and expression with an absolute perfectionist approach to production is extraordinary. Whereas lots of other 90s industrial rock efforts sound dated now, anything by NIN still sounds fresh and timeless, despite countless listens. It's a genuine masterpiece, a modern classic work of art.
I've always loved A-Ha, brilliant song craft and production which continued for decades. This album is easy to overlook and underestimate.
I listened to this so much back in the day, and even went to a note-by-note reproduction thing by an ensemble at an arts center. Listening again now, it's a strange mix of absolute familiarity and bits I'd forgotten. Still great though. Overall, an easy five stars.
Basement Jaxx was the worst gig I ever went to. A friend persuaded me to go with them, around 50 miles away, and I was sucked into the whole "oh yeah, Basement Jaxx are cool! Why not!" thing. I was only mainly familiar with Red Alert and Wheres Your Head At. But everything, including those tracks, is dull, dire, soulless, phony. Everyone at the gig was so bored and distracted, drinking, it was more like a room of noisy morons with some lame DJs barely audible on the side. This album is so boring and uninspired. I just can't imagine anyone listened to it more than twice, or had it as a favourite album. It feels like a cynical marketing ploy aimed at the weird British class-derived-inadequacy thing of identifying with bands like Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack as currency to "be cool". People would namedrop Basement Jaxx if asked about favourite bands, even if they couldn't name a single track outside of the singles. I'm shocked/disappointed it's actually on the list. There is no cultural legacy or onward influence here to explore, it's just absolute shit.
I bought one of those classic Pearl Jam 'Alive' t shirts from HMV in the mid 90s, except mine was long sleeved and have purple instead of the usual red writing. I put it on eBay a few years ago and it sold for £280. I wasn't expecting that. This is a bona-fide classic 90s album that I adore as much now as I ever did - only a few seem to have that quality (Nevermind, Downward Spiral, Vast by Vast).
Weirdly I asked Alexa today to play music while I took a dump in the house (drowns out the sounds for house guests) and it played Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Then I thought "damn, I need to listen to that album again". Then I checked 1001 generator and it was that album. What are the chances? Anyhow, amazing album of course, I love it.
I love this album. It's honest, sincere, emotionally intelligent, fun to listen to, stands up to repeat listens, and made with genuine passion.
I bought this on CD in my mid teens, after liking the Bob Dylan track on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. I remember thinking that all the copies in stores were bootlegs because of the weird camera shake effect that makes it look like a bad print.
Something about Jarvis's writing and delivery really irks me, especially the little bursts of desperate faux-sincerity he throws out to justice an awkward rhyme or give some life to the monotony. Its over-identification with the working class underdog to the point of phoniness, even smug superiority. But there are definitely some nostalgic tunes here, I just hate having to listen to more than ten minutes of it.
Somehow this led to me listening to Paula Abdul, and that Straight Up song, which is the best.
Come on, you don't have to be all negative and spiteful just because TS is wildly successful. As a record, this is a brilliant production full of excellent tracks. To say otherwise is just daft.
Hadn't heard before, loved it.
I bought this on vinyl from a charity shop for 20p but never really listened to it properly. It's actually really good.
Not to brag but my garageband material is better than this
I enjoyed this, and think it would get better on repeat listens.
It's ok but there's something so insincere and calculated about the production and delivery that it all falls emotionally flat. I can't see it having much longevity. They were the first band I saw live, around 1996, and I feel they're much better live.
It was amazing being a Radiohead fan when this was released. It's hard to appreciate how much of a curveball it was, with so many people believing it was a joke or some rejection of the fans by the band. Gradually people warmed to it, and like a unique scent it became a perfect memory jar for the years that followed. It still feels fresh and contemporary 25 yrs later, and listening to it again after quite some time was a real nostalgic trip. It conjured so many distinct times, vibes, conversations, people I've known. A really special album.
I've been waiting for this to show up. I bought this on CD in 2008, because it was John Peels favourite album and I was fascinated by the rumours of the insanity being rewarding after repeated listens. I listened twice, hated it. In summer 2023 I was going to sell some CDs, found it again, and put it on in the car. I left it on repeat during a work commute. I soon noticed I was looking forward to hearing it again, had become obsessed with it, and then couldn't stop listening. I'd listen to a few tracks before bed every night. Walking the dog. It's now my favourite album. It's genius, it's funny, it's stimulating, it's a whole world unto itself. For reference, I'm 45, love 90s grunge, Tool, NIN, electronica. Here's the thing that might help understand why this clocks after 7 or so listens. Typically in a song you hear a riff or hook a fair few times, enough to sink in and know what you're dealing with. Trout Mask has HUNDREDS of hooks, riffs and catchy moments, often just heard once. When they all start clicking, the experience is so fun. Also, Frownland is an insane opener (although I love that too and have probably heard it 100 times by now), but don't be put off by that. Once you get used to TMR, the follow up Lick My Decals Off Baby is just as fun and eventually rewarding (but you'll never think so on first listen). Don Van Vliet (the Captain) was a highly intelligent, interesting guy, with a tremendous spirit for music and humanity. Once you get into his music, it's like a genre unto itself, that you'll never leave.
I always heard it as "sarcasm is to know it all"
I'm surprised people are so scathing about this, I suspect some hefty bias from the covert art. Like any good record, it takes some listens to appreciate the arrangements.