Oct 08 2023
View Album
The Joshua Tree
U2
Better than my baseline opinion towards U2. Impressive 3 song run to open the album.
Bono undeniable, but also just Too Much.
2
Oct 09 2023
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Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Aggressively busy and noisy. Never lets you forget you’re listening to it. Very cool.
4
Oct 10 2023
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She's So Unusual
Cyndi Lauper
Good stuff. A balance of known commodities in the front, and some wonky and weird synth pop stuff in the back. Rounding down from a 3.5.
3
Oct 11 2023
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Beauty And The Beat
The Go-Go's
This was a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be.
3
Oct 12 2023
View Album
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
One thousand times in my life, I’ve expressed that I am something of a Beastie Boys hater, and someone has replied “You should listen to Paul’s Boutique.”
Well I have now, and I’ll be damned if they weren’t right. I stand corrected.
4
Oct 13 2023
View Album
The Age Of The Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets
Couldn’t possibly sound more like a British super group from 2008 (bad thing).
2
Oct 14 2023
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One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
This one knocked me on my ass. Wow. What a record.
5
Oct 15 2023
View Album
Trans Europe Express
Kraftwerk
This was a positive Kraftwerk experience. More smooth and musical than some of their other stuff. I liked it pretty good. It was really funny how the album opened with like 90 seconds of synth and then the first word spoken was “Europe!”
3
Oct 16 2023
View Album
Henry's Dream
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Does Nick Cave always sound like pirate music? This surprised me. I didn’t expect it to sound like pirate music. I probably could like a Nick Cave record, it seems eerie and weird. But not this one.
2
Oct 17 2023
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The Stooges
The Stooges
It’s the Stooges!
4
Oct 18 2023
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GREY Area
Little Simz
Hey this was pretty cool.
3
Oct 19 2023
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Connected
Stereo MC's
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but this one, you probably can.
1
Oct 20 2023
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In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
This thing is so bonkers and so good. I’m not sure I had ever listened to it in its entirety before, and now that I have. I definitely will again.
4
Oct 21 2023
View Album
Blue
Joni Mitchell
Super cool guitar stuff, and she sure finds weird and nice melodies over it. Liked this one a lot, didn’t know I was a Joni fan.
4
Oct 22 2023
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Metallica
Metallica
It rocks. It’s not their best, Cliff Burton isn’t on it. But it’s good and it rocks.
3
Oct 23 2023
View Album
Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa seems like a guy where if you were spending a day with him you’d be saying a lot of, “Ha ha, ok, let’s settle down, Frank…”
I like this one a lot.
4
Oct 24 2023
View Album
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
This is an album that dares to ask: “What if there was a cool guy at a cool party in New York?” over and over for almost an hour.
If Chuck Klosterman were born in 1985 he would have written a fifteen thousand word think piece about how great this album is, and you’d read it and say, “Really?”
This one is very much of my time, and I liked it then. I hate it now. Gruel for millennials. Real bad stuff.
1
Oct 25 2023
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Pyromania
Def Leppard
This has all the trappings of something that rocks, but it does not rock.
2
Oct 26 2023
View Album
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
Astounding that the guy only did 3 albums, and this one was less than two years after Experienced. Really creative, love this one, wish we could have found out what kind of wacky crap Hendrix was doing at 50. A merman, he should be.
4
Oct 27 2023
View Album
Truth
Jeff Beck
One day ago, the album was Electric Ladyland, which I think affected my experience listening for this one, or at least my review. I do still like this, though, it’s got a lot of interesting stuff going on. Beck’s Bolero is especially rad.
3
Oct 28 2023
View Album
London Calling
The Clash
This was my favourite album when I was in junior high school and it’s my favourite album now. When it came up on the list, I didn’t think “Oh yeah, this is a slam dunk 5”, I thought “Oh nice! A reason to listen to London Calling!”
5
Oct 29 2023
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High Violet
The National
Not terrible or anything but I feel like between 2003 and 2013 I heard this same album six other times by six other bands.
2
Oct 30 2023
View Album
This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Fairly cool in the way that all early proto-rock stuff is cool. Not something I would necessarily seek out to listen to again, but fine.
3
Oct 31 2023
View Album
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
Waffled on which way to round this one, went up because of the last song.
Cash sounds great here. Really clean production, breaking down voice.
Really don’t like a lot of the song selection. Feels like Rubin picked about five cover songs that are specifically designed to become sleeper minor hits on the strength of the general sadness of the record. And hey, he got one!
3
Nov 01 2023
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Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Had no idea Chapman was so politically radical (in both senses of the word).
Hard for me to get past the super slick late 80s early 90s singer songwriter sheen, from a sonic taste perspective, but it was doable, and this is a good one.
Pulls no punches.
3
Nov 02 2023
View Album
LP1
FKA twigs
This makes me feel out of touch, but not in a way that makes me mad.
Layered synths very nice to the touch, good sparse vocals, introspective themes: these are footholds that make sense to me, and they’re all well executed, and it’s nobody’s fault but my own that I’m 15-20 years too old.
3
Nov 03 2023
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Floodland
Sisters Of Mercy
This one is more fun than it has any business being. It sounds exactly like its cover, in a good way. I never got much into gothy stuff but maybe I could.
3
Nov 04 2023
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That's The Way Of The World
Earth, Wind & Fire
This exercise is really opening my eyes to funk. Not sure why I neglected it.
4
Nov 05 2023
View Album
Punishing Kiss
Ute Lemper
This sounds like the soundtrack for a musical that doesn’t exist, which makes it very unappealing to me.
Impressive vocalist, can imagine someone loving this, but not me.
2
Nov 06 2023
View Album
Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
Maybe I am just not able to put myself in the shoes of a 1960s folk revival purist, but oh man: imagine going to see Bob Dylan, and he does a great set, and then he comes out for a second set with a band, and the band is The Band, and you’re like “Wow, this sucks.” So many people did that.
Anyway, Bob Dylan is pretty much always good, right. This is neat, good time capsule sorta thing. Not the best live Dylan I’ve listened to, and nowhere even close to the worst.
3
Nov 07 2023
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Hotel California
Eagles
Since the last time I had listened to this in full, I became a dad. I thought, maybe I’ll get the fuss about the Eagles now. I didn’t.
2
Nov 08 2023
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Infected
The The
When I was a teen, we frowned on 80s sounding music. Too old to sound current, too recent for retro appeal. It’s now very rewarding to go back and discover how much absolutely sick stuff was going on in the new-wave-adjacent world.
This rocks! It’s weird and aggressive and sweaty as hell. My understanding is that The The covers a lot of sonic ground over the years. I’m going to check out more, but I sure enjoyed this one at least.
4
Nov 09 2023
View Album
Deloused in the Comatorium
The Mars Volta
I finally got into At The Drive-In, over the last couple years. Remember Mars Volta being a big deal to people, and I always assumed they’d be more my thing.
Turns out they aren’t, or at least not this one. It’s good, kinda like a better Coheed and Cambria, but not as good as I hoped and anticipated.
3
Nov 10 2023
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Queen II
Queen
Every British guy loves to sing songs about old world creatures like fairies and monsters. Guys in Queen no exception. It’s good though.
3
Nov 11 2023
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Tommy
The Who
I feel pretty positively about the Who in general. First listen of this one, and boy. They did know how to rock, but they really didn’t know how to write a musical. And why would they? They’re the Who!
This is maybe an interesting example of the impulse to believe that innovative pop music guys were some sort of creative geniuses, able to do more or less anything, when really most of em were just cool pop music guys.
2
Nov 12 2023
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Permission to Land
The Darkness
It’s really odd to look back and remember that this was sort of critically acclaimed when it came out. I guess it’s part of a cycle, every 8 years or so some band comes out that sounds vaguely like Led Zeppelin or something and all the rock guy cranks are like “ROCK AND ROLL IS BACK BABY”.
This is just a particularly funny one. Imagine The Darkness had actually kickstarted a revival or whatever this is, in 2003?
Real silly.
1
Nov 13 2023
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Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Lucinda Williams
I feel like I’ve seen Lucinda Williams live a half dozen times and never listened to a studio album.
This is nice.
3
Nov 14 2023
View Album
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
The Kinks
Coincidentally got this not long after Tommy. I ripped The Who for biting off more than they could chew… only to hear the Kinks do something kinda similar and, I think, do it a lot more artfully.
4
Nov 15 2023
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Sail Away
Randy Newman
Definitely didn’t expect to love a Randy Newman record as much as I did this one. Political Science especially good.
4
Nov 16 2023
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Microshift
Hookworms
I found this sort of neutrally pleasant to listen to. Sort of surprised it was from 2018… sounds very 2004 or so to me.
2
Nov 17 2023
View Album
Jazz Samba
Stan Getz
I listened to this and thought “dang Stan Getz sounds cool” so I texted my father in law (jazz guy) and he recommended a bunch more Stan Getz for me to check out. Gonna become a jazz guy now
3
Nov 18 2023
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Grace
Jeff Buckley
Probably a lot of lost creative potential with this guy right? Have listened to this record many times, always struck by the guitar work.
4
Nov 19 2023
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Grievous Angel
Gram Parsons
Very nice one. Emmylou Harris sounds great. Gram Parsons was just a name to me before, this will be a re-listen for sure.
3
Nov 20 2023
View Album
Signing Off
UB40
Not really my thing here, but there was some stuff I liked about it. I’m coming around to some reggae for the first time in my life, but I guess I’m just not quite ready for British dub.
2
Nov 21 2023
View Album
The Predator
Ice Cube
One time I saw Ice Cube open for Snoop Dogg at an arena show, and during his set he went on this prolonged rant about how even though he’s in family movies, he’s still hard. Personally I think it would have been more wise to not repeatedly remind the crowd that he’s in a bunch of family movies, and just sorta let them suspend disbelief.
Anyway it’s neat to hear his stuff from before, when he’s still got this legitimate piss and vinegar about him. Not my favourite, but good.
2
Nov 22 2023
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Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
I really like Run DMC and this record in particular has a lot of very sick songs on it. It can be a bit hard to get past how often their cadence sounds like “My name is [name], and I’m here to say,”
3
Nov 23 2023
View Album
Lust For Life
Iggy Pop
I’ve listened to the Stooges so much but never much Iggy Pop beyond the singles and a few other songs here and there. Big mistake?? I liked this better than most of the Stooges stuff I know!
4
Nov 24 2023
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The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
I was kind of grumpy at this one for the first half. Familiar with it already, and it was the sort of dull English singer songwriter from the early 2000s sound I remembered. Won me over a bit by the end though, there’s some fun and different stuff in the back half. A favourite, no. But worthwhile!
3
Nov 25 2023
View Album
Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
Last time I had a Joni Mitchell album, it was Blue, and I admitted to myself after decades that it turns out I actually like Joni Mitchell a lot.
Holds up here. So much of this cuts to the core. Really beautiful stuff.
4
Nov 26 2023
View Album
Red Dirt Girl
Emmylou Harris
I like Emmylou’s voice a lot, but I liked her a lot more on a 70s Gram Parsons record than I do here, with a 2000s country sheen that is hard to get past.
2
Nov 27 2023
View Album
Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Bill Callahan
Lots to like here, nice voice, nice production, nice songs.
3
Nov 28 2023
View Album
Garbage
Garbage
Can imagine liking this one more than I did. It’s got a good edge to it, pretty aggressive. For whatever reason it’s so hard for me to get past that drum sound that in so much 90s rock. That was the case here, and that’s what brings it down.
2
Nov 29 2023
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Nick Of Time
Bonnie Raitt
Just can’t do it with the rock drums and the shiny finish. Sorry Bonnie.
2
Nov 30 2023
View Album
Larks' Tongues In Aspic
King Crimson
I still don’t believe I could fully embrace being a Prog Guy, but this is the second King Crimson album this list has provided, and the second I’ve enjoyed.
3
Dec 01 2023
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Lady In Satin
Billie Holiday
I was like “Ya I like Billie Holiday, I know what to expect, this will be good.” Two songs I was like “what is happening??” and by the end I was floored. Have since read a bit about the production of the album. Amazing. One of a kind.
5
Dec 02 2023
View Album
Bad
Michael Jackson
Went into this feeling cynical about Michael Jackson. Hard to detach him from his place in the zeitgeist, for better or (much) worse. But with each passing song I was like “Well, shit.”
It’s not all good with Jackson, but this record, and a couple others that I’m sure are on this list… my god. Who will ever top this guy from a straight pop perspective?
4
Dec 03 2023
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Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
Easy one for me to love. Lifelong fav, one of the best voices there ever was.
4
Dec 04 2023
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I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sinead O'Connor
Have come to appreciate Sinead. Real heavy stuff on this one, nice record.
3
Dec 05 2023
View Album
Figure 8
Elliott Smith
This is my favourite Elliot Smith. I think he shows off quite a lot in it, but comes off as bashful anyway. Usually haven’t been drawing attention to individual songs while writing these, but Junk Bond Trader must be the softest song to ever rock real hard.
3
Dec 06 2023
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Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
I know it’s influential, but with all this time between then and now, it kinda sounds like 32 minutes of Spinal Tap’s Listen to the Flower People.
I did like the prolonged Bo Diddley bit quite a lot though, that was cool.
2
Dec 07 2023
View Album
Ace of Spades
Motörhead
Motörhead is of course a bit “if you’ve heard one you’ve heard em all”. But it’s still plenty of fun to listen to this whole record.
I believe the “know I’m going to lose, cause gambling’s for fools, but that’s the way I like it baby I’m not gonna live forever” is the hardest rocking 10 seconds ever committed to recording. And don’t forget the joker!
3
Dec 08 2023
View Album
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
This thing has the most deranged energy. The back and forth between Cash and the audience is friendly and tense at the same time, and like 40% of the whole thing is the back and forth.
If a live album’s aim is to capture a moment that happened, this is one of the most worthwhile live albums there is.
5
Dec 09 2023
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Moving Pictures
Rush
A Prog Guy friend said this one is the best entry point into Rush. I can see it. Being a Canadian, I’ve heard their singles a million times on the radio, but associated their overall work with long, drawn out epic type prog. Was delighted this was 40 minutes long and all but one song was to-the-point. Still not exactly my thing, but a fun listen. Great bass stuff, too.
3
Dec 10 2023
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Brutal Youth
Elvis Costello
Lukewarm on Elvis Costello, but don’t think I can go as low as 2 for this one. Lots of songs I liked, some filler. Wish it was 45 minutes instead of 60.
3
Dec 11 2023
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Moon Safari
Air
This sounds like every kinda-indie movie from 2000-2008. Not in a bad way, and there were a couple songs that sort of grabbed me, but it just doesn’t do much for me overall.
Tempted to round up to 3 because it’s so funny that the cover says “French Band” on it, which I like.
2
Dec 12 2023
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Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
The community average for this one is so high, too high. Realistically this could round up, but I know there are at least two Zeppelin records I like a bit more, so I’m leaving space for them.
Misty Mountain Hop is a cool song, especially when Plant isn’t going “OoooOOOOOh Yeah!”
I do like the rhythm section in the band, too bad how overshadowed they always are.
2
Dec 13 2023
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Phrenology
The Roots
Odd to think of these guys as a late night house band, and I guess that is how they would be widely known at this point.
This is a very cool record.
3
Dec 14 2023
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Highly Evolved
The Vines
Whenever an album comes up and it’s Of My Time, I tense up and expect it won’t hold up that well.
Pleasant surprise on this one. These guys seem to have sort of faded behind the other *The* bands that came out, but I think this is a decent record. Was especially tickled by Factory.
3
Dec 15 2023
View Album
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
I know these guys are pretty well regarded, especially Homme as a guitar player. Not 100% sure what my expectations were, but I definitely did not expect it to sort of just be Butt Rock.
2
Dec 16 2023
View Album
With The Beatles
Beatles
I’m a big Beatles Guy and I lean heavily towards Paul. But on these early records, you really hear John’s value. He’s so good at this kind of borderline-gritty early rock thing.
Not my favourite of their records, the later the better for me, but it’s a Beatles record. Of course it’s good.
3
Dec 17 2023
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American Gothic
David Ackles
When I saw this album cover I thought “Cool an early 70s cult following singer songwriter thing” and then three songs in buddy is singing a song about sailing ships, and putting on a little sailor voice to do it, and then a couple songs later a song opens with “THE NIGHT… BECKONS HER WITH ITS CALL” or something, and then I’m certain I’ve been tricked into listening to some sort of Theatre Guy album again. I listened to the whole thing, but I can’t give stuff like this more than 1 again. Can’t do it. Ute Lemper is got lucky, 50 albums back.
1
Dec 18 2023
View Album
Graceland
Paul Simon
In recent months I’ve really tried to give fresh chances to artists I’ve had it out for, Paul Simon included.
There are times on this record where guest musicians are really getting into it, going somewhere, and then Paul Simon starts singing again and I snap back to reality. These are still Paul Simon songs.
It’s not gonna happen for me.
2
Dec 19 2023
View Album
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
I wonder if there are a lot of Bob Marley records on this list.
Like many white guys, I mostly just know Marley via greatest hits collections or whatever. This album has (I think) just the one song that is usually on those?
Anyway I thought this one was real nice to listen to as a whole.
3
Dec 20 2023
View Album
Parallel Lines
Blondie
Lots of records have good songs on them, not that many records have all good songs on them.
It’s not all GREAT, but there’s no stinkers here.
Good stuff from Blondie.
4
Dec 21 2023
View Album
The College Dropout
Kanye West
Not the only guy on this list to be subject to art vs artist on this list, but a uniquely egregious, conclusively awful, and of-our-time one. Had time for this once, but pop music is not sacred and I have no hesitation to leave West behind.
1
Dec 22 2023
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I See You
The xx
After the first song I thought, “Huh that was pretty cool!” and then it got increasingly dull from there. I was disappointed because I remembered liking another album from this band, but then I remembered that one also started strong and then petered out.
That’s all. This one was fine.
2
Dec 23 2023
View Album
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
It’s good. Won’t belabour it here, but I just don’t see this band the way people seem to see this band. I just think they’re pretty good.
3
Dec 24 2023
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Step In The Arena
Gang Starr
This was a good time. I don’t have much of an ear for hip hop, but I know this was sparse, creatively sampled, and every song had a place.
3
Dec 25 2023
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Pieces Of The Sky
Emmylou Harris
1001 Emmylou albums to hear before you die.
Like this one considerably more than the early 2000s one we got a while back. Same voice, just a production difference I guess.
3
Dec 26 2023
View Album
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
I don’t have a lot of patience for Christmas music, but this did sound pleasant in a Spector-doing-his-thing way, and my kids did have a fun time dancing around to it, so I guess it did its job. Not bad!
2
Dec 27 2023
View Album
You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
Cohen’s songwriting was always good and his instrumentation varies a lot over the albums and was pretty much always good too. He has one wild variable that makes him different from a lot of others, which is that the older and gnarlier he got, the better his voice sounded. This is as old and gnarly as it gets for him, and it’s fantastic.
4
Dec 28 2023
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La Revancha Del Tango
Gotan Project
Boy a lot of this is so cool and creative, shame the whole thing is set to Default Chill 90s Hip Hop Beat. That sound is pervasive on this list!
2
Dec 29 2023
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Odessey And Oracle
The Zombies
Maybe I am becoming (or just am) an aglophobe. Thought this one started off fine and interesting, and then a few songs in it was just another super British guy singing in a silly voice about a butcher from the olden times or something, to 60s psych rock backing.
2
Dec 30 2023
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American Idiot
Green Day
I don’t remember Green Day fondly, and I think it’s because this album was the first time I really felt a band I liked Changed. I saw them on the tour for this one and it sucked, I almost never listened to them again after that.
However, after listening to about one hundred 1960s Brit Rock Operas on this list so far, this actually doesn’t seem that bad.
2
Dec 31 2023
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A Short Album About Love
The Divine Comedy
I can’t stand this stuff.
1
Jan 01 2024
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Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Hüsker Dü
I know these guys, I like these guys. This isn’t their best one, it’s maybe 15-20 minutes too long, maybe a little too samey by the second half, but it’s still a Hüsker Dü record and it’s still good to listen to.
3
Jan 02 2024
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Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Know this one, knew it rules. Thought maybe a 4 star, by virtue of it not being my absolute favourite Neil. On note solo in Cinnamon Girl convinced me not to be so precious.
5
Jan 03 2024
View Album
Emergency On Planet Earth
Jamiroquai
Imagine listening to the whole hour of this, the whole time knowing that the last song is called Didgin’ Out. That’s the light at the end of the tunnel, Didgin’ Out.
1
Jan 04 2024
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Rubber Soul
Beatles
The Beatles maybe exist on their own pop music plane a bit. Like how if someone says “Who’s the best hockey player there ever was?” that question either comes with the assumed implication of “Well, other than Wayne Gretzky,” or it’s a pointless question.
Anyways, I think middle period is kinda my least favourite Beatles period, which gives me the uncomfortable opinion of not liking Rubber Soul that much. It’s cool hearing them start to really put it together, but I like them more when they’re already totally put together, and also more when they’re right at the end of being Just A Rock Band. They’re best when they’re at the stage of having mastered something, rather than when they’re frickin around (but also White Album is my favourite, which is maximum frickin, so who knows).
It’s still obviously a great album though, duh.
(Also, this list has given all sorts of 60s British rock, contemporaries of the Beatles, and I’ve disliked a lot of it more than I expected to. Beatles just head and shoulders and another set of shoulders above the rest of that stuff eh?)
4
Jan 05 2024
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Fromohio
fIREHOSE
Mike Watt can do no wrong? Maybe?
4
Jan 06 2024
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At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
Nothing I don’t like here just not something I love either. Crowd noise adds a lot
3
Jan 07 2024
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Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
Came into this one with some pre-conceived notions (probably based on hearing the same two singles every day of my childhood on the alternative rock station), and ya know what? Pleasant surprise. Not sure I’d like every thing they did, but this one is good. Radio station shoulda played some of these ones instead.
3
Jan 08 2024
View Album
Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
I read a ton of music magazines as a kid, and especially liked Uncut because it came with a CD every month. One time in the early 2000s there was a big write up on Robert Wyatt because he had a new record coming out. I read about him and was fascinated. Downloaded all the albums etc.
This one is an obvious stand out because of its place in the guy’s life. Much greater than the sum of its parts, even though the sum of its parts is quite good on its own.
4
Jan 09 2024
View Album
The Slim Shady LP
Eminem
Three songs in I knew this whole thing absolutely stunk but I powered through. Next time someone tries to tell me Eminem is good, I can ask “When’s the last time you listened to a full record?” and I’ll have them beat.
Even if not for the rancid lyrical content (listen to Bonnie and Clyde and ask yourself, “Why and when would anyone ever decide to listen to this song?”)… the whole thing sounds bad! This may be peak Dre, but if it is, he should have spent this time working with someone who doesn’t sound like they’re making fun of their own voice.
Also: people say this guy is uniquely talented at rhymes? Buddy did not invent internal rhyme schemes. Those have been around for a thousand years.
God this shit sucks.
1
Jan 10 2024
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The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
Felt momentarily Cool when this one turned up. I thought “Hey, a new one that I know, and know I like!” then realized that 2010 was 14 years ago.
Still like it nonetheless. A 3.5 rounded up because my kids have a Sesame Street DVD that features Monae, and her segment is maybe the only one on there that I don’t mind hearing repeatedly.
4
Jan 11 2024
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...Baby One More Time
Britney Spears
The positive thing about this, is that when I think of a 90s pop record, I think “two or three singles and 35 minutes of filler”. This record is an hour long, and most of the songs could pass for late 90s singles.
The negative thing is that it sounds like two hundred people made this album, and not one of them had any creative care towards it. Completely dispassionate.
There exists a line at which Art becomes Commerce in full. Good radio pop music often gets close to the line but doesn’t QUITE cross it. I don’t know exactly where it is, but it’s way East of this one.
Not to mention the fact that there’s an actual human teenager in the mix being dragged around and exploited (look at the fuckin cover man, Jesus Christ) so that this can make a lot of people a lot of money.
1
Jan 12 2024
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D
White Denim
This is maybe the definitive 3⭐️ experience to me so far. This had some interesting stuff, songs I enjoyed, good overall sound, but I’m not sure it’ll stick with me.
3
Jan 13 2024
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The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
This one snuck up on me. Went in thinking “I know a couple of their songs, probably a 2.5 rounded down to a 2.” Gave it the ol’ honest listen, and nope. An easy 4. Very good stuff to me.
4
Jan 14 2024
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Talking Timbuktu
Ali Farka Touré
Independently rediscovered this one a couple of months ago. Really interested in West African blues as a genre, guess this is the jumping off point.
4
Jan 15 2024
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Ctrl
SZA
Hard to nail down my own perspective on this, think I’m just aging out of the world. Just not a lot of a foothold for me. Pretty musically interesting, and feels distinctly Cool from start to finish.
3
Jan 16 2024
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Red Headed Stranger
Willie Nelson
Willie’s got more musical layers than I realized. Instrumental stuff on this one really beautiful too!
4
Jan 17 2024
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Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
I thought I would enjoy this more than I did. I guess my whole life I never listened to more than two CCR songs in a row, which it turns out is as many CCR songs I can enjoy in a row.
2
Jan 18 2024
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Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Probably would have knocked a guy on his ass when it came out!
Liked it about the same as the other one from this list, but they had definitely hit their stride a bit more on that one. Docking a star here and putting it on a Run DMC curve.
2
Jan 19 2024
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The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
This album cover looks familiar have I seen it somewhere before
3
Jan 20 2024
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What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
How could someone possibly make something so beautiful as this.
5.5⭐️
5
Jan 21 2024
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Songs The Lord Taught Us
The Cramps
There’s only room for one punk band that sounds spiritually similar to Vincent Price saying “Ghouls and goblins! Spiders and snakes!” and they’re called the Misfits, and even they aren’t that good.
2
Jan 22 2024
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The Visitors
ABBA
Not falling out of my chair for this one or anything. But ANBA is not a group I think of when I think of Bands Trying Something Different, and they do here, and is pretty cool/pretty good.
3
Jan 23 2024
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Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
I read a bit about this one before listening to it. The background made me think, “Well this one should be kind interesting!” and then… it wasn’t. Grohl seems like an interesting and talented guy. How is it possible that every Foo Fighters recording tastes like tap water??
2
Jan 24 2024
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Boy In Da Corner
Dizzee Rascal
This is just Too British For Me.
2
Jan 25 2024
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AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Ice Cube
Lots of musical value here, hard to get past a lot of the content.
2
Jan 26 2024
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Club Classics Vol. One
Soul II Soul
For a 1995 British album called Club Classics Vol One, this wasn’t what I expected (in a good way).
2
Jan 27 2024
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Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
A lot of this kinda psychedelic funk is really hitting a sweet spot for me. This is a great one, I think it makes a case for being a 5, but ultimately the 13 minute noodley sex machine song stands out as a slow point.
Dang this is a sick record though eh
4
Jan 28 2024
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Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
New Order has always spoken to me a bit more, but I certainly liked this more than I like most sorta gothy new wave.
Second half of this had some sick songs I’m not too familiar with, but overall I think there’s a bit too much fillery sounding stuff for a classic album.
3
Jan 29 2024
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Apple Venus Volume 1
XTC
Tough one to score. Some songs easily belong on a 5 star album but some songs have way too much Silly British flavour for my liking. Ultimately going to round up here on the strength of the good stuff, and add that I think XTC might be a sleeper Band For Me.
4
Jan 30 2024
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My Generation
The Who
If a guy were to go back and look at my reviews so far, they would paint a picture of a person who is realizing they don’t care for English music nearly as much as they once thought.
Pleasant exception here. The Who, right out the gate, sounds so much more rough and vital and cool than most of their British Invasion peers. This rocks.
4
Jan 31 2024
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Rio
Duran Duran
This almost felt like an album that I would immediately forget and then never think of again… but then I did think the last song was very cool.
2
Feb 01 2024
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Olympia 64
Jacques Brel
Çe la, c’est pas ma musique.
2
Feb 02 2024
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Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
It really rattled me to read that this was recorded in 1949/50. Is this literally the birth of coolness? Is this the first time something was ever cool? I think it might be.
4
Feb 03 2024
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MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
Have always loved this so much, it’s such a special live record. Pretty much no hits, all these weirdo covers.
I waffled between 4 and 5 while listening to it, and after it was over I decided that the tipping point is the moment where Cobain absolutely botches that big note in the Bowie song. That’s so cool. Come on. 5 stars.
5
Feb 04 2024
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Dirt
Alice In Chains
I think each decade (give or take a few years) has its own flavour of butt rock. The one I’m most familiar with, because I was a kid getting a ride to school at the time, so I listened to the radio, is the butt rock that is during/post grunge. Eb tuning, Scott Stapp voice, etc etc.
Sometimes hard to know where the line is between the butt rock and the real thing that influenced it. This one is certainly on the non-butt side of the line, but it sure sounds like the butt side took a lot from it.
Anyway I liked it pretty good, as a thing on its own.
3
Feb 05 2024
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Out of Step
Minor Threat
This is broadly my favourite stuff to listen to: favourite corner of favourite genre. I hooted when it came up in this list. I love it.
Just that in the context of this exercise, I think four stars is a realistic ceiling for 80s American Hardcore. Call it the Shitty Band’s 5.
4
Feb 06 2024
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Dusty In Memphis
Dusty Springfield
I like this, but it didn’t land the way I thought it would. Maybe I was in a bad mood, maybe it’s because while I was listening to it I read about the term “blue-eyed soul” and it left a weird taste in my mouth. That’s life.
2
Feb 07 2024
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Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Endlessly funny that this is a document of some dopey British blues guys sort of accidentally inventing a genre.
It rocks so hard.
The line “without warning, a Wizard walks by” rocks so hard.
4
Feb 08 2024
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In The Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
Even at his best, to me Frank Sinatra sounds like the feeling of standing in a room that is exactly standard room temperature, drinking a glass of water that has been sitting in the same room.
I did like a lot of the backing arrangements here, and I did like that it made me think of that scene in spinal tap where the limo driver gets frustrated that the band doesn’t adequately respect Frank.
2
Feb 09 2024
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Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
I rolled my eyes when this came up but then I chastised the inner millennial crank and gave it an honest listen.
It is very sappy and overwrought, but also it’s very good. Better than most of his peers who were similarly trying to be Composers instead of just Rock Guys.
There’s a lot going on, it’s a bit too long, but everything works and it justifies itself overall.
4
Feb 10 2024
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Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
Wow this was a delight. Every bit of it. What’s that he’s whaling on in track two, Flugelhorn? Rad.
I was told he was part of the Graceland tour. Too cool for that if you ask me!
4
Feb 11 2024
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Guitar Town
Steve Earle
I like Steve, I like him more and more as he gets older and rougher around the edges. But this one is good too.
My wife heard this one and said “This is Gido music”.
3
Feb 12 2024
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Ray Of Light
Madonna
A while back I had a Britney Spears album come up and said that my perception of 90s pop albums was that they have a couple of strong singles and then all filler. I was surprised Spears’ wasn’t like that.
This one lives up to my assumption. It’s over an hour long and 80% of it felt like generic club beats.
Giving it an extra star to differentiate from Spears though, because at least listening to this one doesn’t feel kind of criminal or something.
2
Feb 13 2024
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
This is (I think) my favourite Zeppelin, but still. Man. Their songs always start off so groovy, and then Robert Plant comes in with his awwwweeeeeaaaaayyyyyaaaaa baaaayyyyybaaaaay stuff. A guy can only take so much.
I thin
3
Feb 14 2024
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The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
I had only heard the single before. It’s the best song on here, but it’s also cool to hear the rest. Seems kinda foundational to a lot of stuff to come not too long after?
3
Feb 15 2024
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Dear Science
TV On The Radio
This didn’t make my jaw drop or anything, but it’s a nice sample of the better side of 2000s indie rock. I remember listening to cookie mountain years and years ago, and not enjoying it much. Did like this one just fine.
2
Feb 16 2024
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Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
So this is Frank Ocean eh?
Pleasant, I suppose, but in a neutral way.
2
Feb 17 2024
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Pretenders
Pretenders
A somewhat cooler, rougher-around-the-edges Blondie? Album maybe a bit uneven, but some really solid stretches.
3
Feb 18 2024
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Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
I can not for the life of me figure out why S&G don’t really do it for me, and never have. I did like this better than I liked Graceland a few weeks back, so maybe Paul Simon is the issue. Didn’t hate this one, it just didn’t stick with me beyond giving it a listen.
2
Feb 19 2024
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Little Earthquakes
Tori Amos
Easy to imagine this being very impactful to the right person at the right time, but it wasn’t me.
2
Feb 20 2024
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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
The weirdest and worst thing about the Kanye West situation is that there’s a decade’s worth of people who were later like, “Come to think of it, he did talk about Hitler a lot!”
He did a whole letterman taping where he talked about Hitler a bunch, to an uneasy crowd. Then they just edited the interview and released it anyway!
Good album, a 1 anyway.
1
Feb 21 2024
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Peggy Suicide
Julian Cope
Hard to land on a score for this one. On one hand there was a lot of Psychedelic Rock Moments that made me roll my eyes, but on the other hand there were a lot of moments where a song lands in a groove that made me say “Hell yeah”. I also liked reading about the weirdo liner notes, and the guy himself.
I have a feeling that one day I will give this a second listen and wish I had bumped it up a bit. But for now I will call it a very good, but quite uneven one.
3
Feb 22 2024
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Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
Funkadelic is the first band two get two five star reviews from me. Would I have predicted that going in? No chance. Am I happy with my self discovery as a Funkadelic Guy? Hell yeah.
5
Feb 23 2024
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Music From Big Pink
The Band
Never get tired of this one. Not much to say other than it’s an obvious 5, and I’ll listen to it again any chance k get. Maybe it’ll come up again on this list for some reason. That would be cool.
5
Feb 24 2024
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Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
I’m something of a Stones hater by default, but I’m always trying to be a blank slate when I listen to these records. I know there are Stones albums I will like quite a bit, but this isn’t one of them.
I do like hearing Brian Jones.
But overall there’s just a lot of much better electric blues music out there that doesn’t also require the listener to have to think a lot about Mick Jagger’s weird hang ups about women.
2
Feb 25 2024
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Armed Forces
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Last time I got Costello I rounded it up to a 3, and my main complaint was that there was too much filler. This one did not have a ton of filler, and I’m rounding it down to a 3 instead. The numbers look the same but trust me it’s a different three.
I imagine there’s like half a dozen more Costellos on here, maybe he’ll crack a 4 yet.
3
Feb 26 2024
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The Bends
Radiohead
Hard to detach these guys from their Image and Reputation among my peers.
I don’t believe they’re the greatest band on earth, but I do believe they’re a good band with some rip-ass guitars, and the guitars are especially rip-ass on this album.
Rounding up on this one, if only to create a reasonable curve for future Radiohead picks.
4
Feb 27 2024
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White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
This was probably the contemporary band that was most formative to my younger tastes. I think I still love them but it’s hard to tell how much of it is the memory of hearing any given album for the first time.
Removed from that, this one strikes me as more uneven than I remembered. I think it may be that it’s a transition between the messy garage blues/rock White Stripes of De Stijl, and the more refined and organized White Stripes of Elephant. Those, to me, are the two best albums. This one has glimpses of strengths from both, but also a lot of filler and a lot of Jack White being a bit too preciously bluesy for my sensibilities now.
The good stuff is still real good to me.
3
Feb 28 2024
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Marquee Moon
Television
When I was a kid, I read a magazine article about the 25th anniversary of this album. It had an interview with Tom Verlaine, and I thought, “This guy seems very cool.” I took out Marquee Moon from the library, and it was indeed very cool. I’ve listened to it semi regularly ever since.
Really try not to let nostalgia colour my reviews here, and thought maybe this is just a four. But hey I’m not a child of the 70s, I wasn’t there having an impression made on me, this was just some crap that I happened across and loved it immediately and forever.
5
Feb 29 2024
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In Utero
Nirvana
This is the Nirvana I’ve listened to the least. It rocks. It’s got some of their best melodic parts and some of their best unmelodic parts. A great final album, sucks there aren’t more.
4
Mar 01 2024
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Winter In America
Gil Scott-Heron
Pretty radical stuff I’m surprised The Man let this guy live as long as he did. Maybe he didn’t get enough mainstream exposure or something.
I knew Scott-Heron as a poet and of course knew the big one, but listening to this got me pretty interested in his collaborator here. Cool and creative musically.
4
Mar 02 2024
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Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
Guessing I don’t have too many unique thoughts on this one. There is a lot that is really really good, and it’s cool to hear these guys sort of split up and doing their own thing, but with each other as backup. But it is tooooo long and doesn’t justify the length.
3
Mar 03 2024
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Want One
Rufus Wainwright
I had slightly more patience for this than other theatery chamber pop (probably because it wasn’t British this time), but not much. Buddy knows what he’s doing, he’s just not doing it for me.
2
Mar 04 2024
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evermore
Taylor Swift
I have room in my heart to appreciate Taylor Swift as a high end pop star. But Taylor Swift doing ultra processed indie folk? Not great!
2
Mar 05 2024
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Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
I don’t have any strong negative feelings about Bruce Springsteen, but he’s never done it for me. No exception here.
An observation: between grade school and post secondary, Springsteen was a full time student until he was 19. His first record came out when he was 24. That leaves him with 5 years in which he could have plausibly Had A Job. Huge achievement to carve out a 50+ year niche as a workin’ man’s hero based on that.
2
Mar 06 2024
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Head Hunters
Herbie Hancock
I thought this was really cool and wild, and I can’t believe Herbie played in the Miles Davis Quintet and is still alive and performing!!!
4
Mar 07 2024
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Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers
On the whole, I like this band. This one is just too narrow as a concept. Only so many times I need to hear a guy sing the words “Lynyrd Skynyrd” before I say “Ok, ok.”
2
Mar 08 2024
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Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex
Boy this should definitely get a lot more recognition than it does. I thought I was familiar with the way they sounded, but on listening to this, I was wrong. The saxophone rips ass, and the whole thing holds up with the best of any early wave English punk.
4
Mar 09 2024
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S&M
Metallica
Enjoyed it a lot, too long though. Some high quality self indulgence from Metallica.
It has a five star moment, which is when the crowd goes MASTER! MASTER! And Hetfield says “HELL yeah,”
3
Mar 10 2024
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Born To Be With You
Dion
More like Yion. (Yawn)
2
Mar 11 2024
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Low-Life
New Order
New Order is so cool. I’m less familiar with the songs on this one, but they were all cool New Order songs, and so, I liked it.
3
Mar 12 2024
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Kid A
Radiohead
The thing I like most about Radiohead is the guitars. This one could never be a favourite to me because they largely forsake that.
Nice though, some good songs, easy to get swept up in it.
3
Mar 13 2024
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You're Living All Over Me
Dinosaur Jr.
Dang this rocks. Less ear wormy than some other Dinosaur Jr, but I can’t complain about a record that shows off Mascis as a guitar guy, which this one does.
4
Mar 14 2024
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Being There
Wilco
Wilco easily has two 5 star records (three, if live ones count). This one sounds like a soon-to-be 5 star band finding its footing.
3
Mar 15 2024
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Goo
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth has always passed me by, so this was a good reason to sit down and listen to a whole album. It’s good! It’s cool! I like the wacky guitar stuff. I will listen to more.
3
Mar 16 2024
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Back In Black
AC/DC
AC/DC is the purest rock band. They don’t want you to think they’re cool, or suave, or profound. They just want to rock. They don’t live in a world in which pop music is a sacred art and pop musicians are poets. They say it themselves: rock and roll is just rock and roll.
Nobody’s going to write a 10 paragraph review that reframes the history of their own youth through the lens of an inflated importance of Back in Black. Why would they? Back in Black doesn’t have that much to say.
They write worse Spinal Tap lyrics than Spinal Tap does, because the lyrics just don’t matter that much, beyond being a small part of the rockin.
I put this one on knowing I love it, but thinking it may have a 4 star ceiling (mostly because I prefer Bon). Before the end of the first song I had turned my little speaker all the way up.
Come on man. 5 Stars. Easy.
5
Mar 17 2024
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One World
John Martyn
Hard to put a finger on this one. Mostly didn’t care for it, but some neat moments.
2
Mar 18 2024
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Eliminator
ZZ Top
ZZ Top has a lot of charm to me but I’m not sure it goes much further than that. God bless ‘em for being the blues rock band that came up with a good enough gimmick to have real longevity and success.
2
Mar 19 2024
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Hard Again
Muddy Waters
Most of the time I don’t find electric blues tooooo compelling, but this one has a lot going on. Cool ambient noise, Waters himself being kinda old and kinda fired up. Lots of fun.
3
Mar 20 2024
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There's A Riot Goin' On
Sly & The Family Stone
Holy smokes is this ever different from the last Sly that popped up here. The production on this album is so weird, it shouldn’t be nearly as rad as it is, but here we are.
A while back I read about the last Billie Holiday album, and how the composer/producer said he thought her voice has taken on an Evil character, but not in a bad way. Packed that description away for the right moment, and here it is: this one is evil, and it’s so so good.
5
Mar 21 2024
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Sunshine Superman
Donovan
Maybe it’s because I’ve heard two dozen albums by his peers so far, but I was listening thinking “I thought I liked Donovan!”
Season of the Witch a great song at least.
2
Mar 22 2024
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Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco
This is the first hip hop record I’ve listened to that emphasized both Islam and Skateboarding.
Liked more songs than I disliked. Of-its-time, but that wasn’t detrimental here.
3
Mar 23 2024
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The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
The angst of the thing was too much for me even as an angsty youth, so it’s certainly too much now. But man, if he was just singing “beebabooba woo woo wee woo” instead of actual lyrics, this would probably be a 5 to me. Reznor knows how to ride the line between noises and nice sounds like no one else. No surprise he’s had a whole other second career as a composer. Coulda done anything, did NIN. Cool stuff.
4
Mar 24 2024
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Legalize It
Peter Tosh
Legalize what? What’s this guy talkin about do you think
3
Mar 25 2024
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Sound Affects
The Jam
I like The Jam. It’s getting a bit hard to delineate all the English rock that comes up, but these guys do stand out a bit to me. This is a 3.5 rounded down, wouldn’t turn my nose up at listening again.
3
Mar 26 2024
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Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
I don’t have much to say about Leonard Cohen except for that I more or less like it all. These first ones are a trip, it’s almost impossible for me to imagine him as a youngish man, but there he is. Good good good.
4
Mar 27 2024
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Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
This is a good time capsule of a guy recognizing some problems, and then all of those problems getting so, so much worse over the following years. And I’m sure people figured he was just being uptight, too!
Some musically likeable stuff to me as well, if not the most memorable.
3
Mar 28 2024
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The Köln Concert
Keith Jarrett
I don’t have much of a reference point for like, contemporary piano composition. But I liked listening to this a lot, it kept my attention despite being way out of my wheelhouse. Will probably read about it to learn the significance, if not listen to a ton more.
3
Mar 29 2024
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New Forms
Roni Size
If I only rated this by how much I enjoyed listening to it, it would definitely be a 1. But I dunno, doesn’t feel right. I just don’t Get it, I have no reference point for drum and bass. Is it good? Maybe. Is it influential? I could imagine so, if not hear it. I don’t know. Giving it a 2, considering it an Abstain.
2
Mar 30 2024
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Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
So much of this is so musically exciting, but with age and context it’s so hard to get past a lot of the content. Same thing happened with a previous Ice Cube solo record. I’m very familiar with this one, my young self listened a lot. I know the merit, I’m just not sure it’s worth it to me any more.
3
Mar 31 2024
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Fisherman's Blues
The Waterboys
For whatever reason, this sort of music never really speaks to me. Didn’t hate this, would have liked it more if it leaned a bit more towards traditional folk (maybe it’s the rock drums superimposed on folk music that makes it not speak to me). Also a bit tough to be a singer who sounds like he’s doing a Bob Dylan thing.
2
Apr 01 2024
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good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
Had only heard the follow up to this, before now. Liked that one, like this one even more.
4
Apr 02 2024
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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
Remembered this one quite fondly, less into it this time around. I suppose it’s quite a bit better than a lot of the rest of this wave of brit rock, and it’s interesting to know that these guys went on to become a pretty big and (I think) sonically diverse band.
3
Apr 03 2024
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Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
What a wild name for a record eh?
Fantastic stuff, liked this one a lot. Meandering 12-15 minute songs were a surprise, and fit nicely. Didn’t know Hayes had previously been a session musician, much more interesting guy than I ever realized.
4
Apr 04 2024
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Machine Gun Etiquette
The Damned
One of the greats. Big fan of Captain Sensible as a guitarist (and as a guy who picks himself a stage name), and also think these guys have a bit more musical depth than most of their peers.
Lyrics a bit too British Punk Society, Innit?, but what are ya gonna do.
4
Apr 05 2024
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Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
In its low points this comes off as kind of bland 90s alterna-rock, but in its high points it seems 10-15 years ahead of its time in a cool millennial indie rock way. The good out weighs the bad, though, and I especially dig some of the weird little backing instrumentation choices.
4
Apr 06 2024
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Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
I can really conjure up the memory of hearing this for the first time as a youth and being very rattled and impressed by it. Might be taste-related, or just that I’ve heard more music now and my brain is calloused, but I’m less thrilled now.
Still, nice to give it a fresh listen, it’s a bit more varied and dynamic than I remembered. Forget the name of the song, but there’s the one that had the jazzy Hammond sounding part, very good.
3
Apr 07 2024
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Arular
M.I.A.
I vaguely remember this coming out in a time of heavy Poptimism, where Serious Critics would insist that really goobie forgettable radio pop records held some sort of timeless significance. Usually they were very wrong about that. This one does hold up though. Worth revisiting at least.
3
Apr 08 2024
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Bad Company
Bad Company
I didn’t expect this to be a 5, but I didn’t expected it to be a 1 either. A long while back I gave an LCD Soundsystem record a 1 and called it “gruel for millennials”. This here is gruel for boomers. If you took all the Classic Rock in the world and averaged it and flattened it out into one thing, it would be this.
Most of what I previously knew about Bad Company is that whenever the Rock and Roll HOF announcements come out, people get mad BC isn’t in there. That is so funny now that I’ve actually listened to them. It’s like insisting that plain rice crackers should be in the Chips Hall of Fame.
1
Apr 09 2024
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Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
Ok fine the Smiths are good. I said it.
4
Apr 10 2024
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The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow
Not bad, exactly, but in one ear and out the other. An English rock band from 2008.
2
Apr 11 2024
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Pacific Ocean Blue
Dennis Wilson
I don’t especially like the Beach Boys, and was kinda surprised and satisfied when I heard the first song on this one and liked it significantly more than any Beach Boys I know. Whole album, more or less the same. Not an instant favourite, call it a pleasant surprise. Rounding up here on the strength of a couple songs in particular.
4
Apr 12 2024
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Virgin Suicides
Air
Not at all unpleasant to listen to, but it very much comes off as a Soundtrack more than an Album. Too much so to make sense as a pick on this list.
2
Apr 13 2024
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Music for the Masses
Depeche Mode
Lots of the New Wave classics are pretty cool eh? Liked this better than Violator, which I previously (and for no reason) assumed would be the only Depeche Mode I sort of liked.
Side note: it sure makes a guy nervous to see a song called Little 15. I sighed with relief when they quickly revealed that the guy in the song is also 15.
4
Apr 14 2024
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Disintegration
The Cure
Over the last ten or so days, I’ve got the Smiths, Depeche Mode, and the Cure, and I didn’t think I liked any of these bands and I gave them all 4. What is the meaning of this. What is happening to me
4
Apr 15 2024
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Superunknown
Soundgarden
I know there’s a lot more like, human spirit in this than the much worse music that was influenced by it. But it’s hard to listen to this with 2024 ears and not hear Theory of a Deadman or something. I know that’s uncouth to say, and grunge fans do not like it. I’m sorry, I can’t help it.
2
Apr 16 2024
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Blue Lines
Massive Attack
This is the second time I’ve listened to an entire album of English Trip Hop—the first one being Connected by Stereo MCs, also via this exercise. I know Massive Attack has some mainstream recognition, at least insofar as you sometimes hear them talked about outside of England, but I tell ya, if someone had put on Blue Lines and told me it was another Stereo MCs record I wouldn’t have known any better.
I’ve heard Two Albums A British Psylocibin Enthusiast Must Hear Before They Die, and I’m all good now.
1
Apr 17 2024
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The Sun Rises In The East
Jeru The Damaja
I was pretty hooked from the piano sample on the first song after the intro. Had a good time with this one, a total unknown to me.
3
Apr 18 2024
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Junkyard
The Birthday Party
Thirty seconds in I was rollin my eyes like, “Alright, Nick Cave…”
Then each passing song made me feel more insane and by the end I loved it. Honest to god a second listen might bring this to a 5.
Lots of people in the reviews hate this one. “Wah wah wah,” I say.
4
Apr 19 2024
View Album
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized
There were moments of this that I really liked. I have a lot of time for overblown dense production, and some of it was very cool here.
Just not enough of it to overcome the underwhelming vocalist/lyrics. It’s rough when the main guy of something is the weakest part.
2
Apr 20 2024
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Live At Leeds
The Who
Frickin rocks.
4
Apr 21 2024
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Cut
The Slits
This is the good stuff, to me. Kind of a pointless thought here, but: feels sort of stupid and arbitrary that early English punk often gets distilled down to just two bands, when there’s so much wild and interesting other stuff. Why not The Slits?
4
Apr 22 2024
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Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
Future editions should cut every English and American psychedelic album from 1966-1970 and replace it with a repeat of this.
It was a really weird experience to look at the cover of this and think “Oh God, more of this,” and then actually listen to it. It has a lot of the musical trappings that make the last five hundred sixties psych album on this list sound similar, but it also sounded creative and fresh and worthwhile and interesting.
I can’t believe how sick this was! I can’t believe I had to listen to an entire record by the Zombies to get here!
5
Apr 23 2024
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Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Every once in a while I would be talking to my dad and I’d start talking shit about Eric Clapton. My dad wasn’t a very opinionated guy, but would always say, in that situation, “I never liked much of his stuff either, but Layla is a really good record.” He didn’t seem to care much one way or another, he wasn’t passionate about Layla or anything, but he still always put it out there.
Anyway it had been a long time since I had listened to Layla, and now I have again, and I still think my dad was wrong about this one. It is what it is.
2
Apr 24 2024
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Entertainment
Gang Of Four
Easy some of the best guitar work so far, especially coming a day after 80 minutes of serif Clapton. Fantastic album, nothing bad to say.
5
Apr 25 2024
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New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)
Simple Minds
Maybe to my taste, new wave has to be a little bit gothy or a little bit punk, to be a good time.
2
Apr 26 2024
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Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
My Pink Floyd curve on this list started with a 3 for Dark Side. I’m very familiar with the band, and I know Dark Side is not my favourite, and I know they are simply not a five star band to me.
I believe this one is my favourite, and according to the curve, it would likely land on a 4.
Upon listening, it turned out the question was not “can Pink Floyd be a four star band?” but “Can Gilmour at his best elevate a 3 star record to a 4?” and to my surprise, despite liking Gilmour quite a bit, the answer was no.
Good, not great.
3
Apr 27 2024
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Surfer Rosa
Pixies
A lot more demented than I expected (good thing)
4
Apr 28 2024
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Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
I should have given Siamese Dream a higher rating. I only gave it a 3. It’s just that it was the first time I realized the Smashing Pumpkins are good, and now, a few months later, I know it for sure.
This one, too, whips ass. A band that is built to be self-indulgent, and does it for two hours, and the whole thing is, at least, Good to Very Good.
Sorry Caleb
4
Apr 29 2024
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The Colour Of Spring
Talk Talk
Maybe a week back I said New Wave has to be a bit gothy or punk to be good.
This is new wave right? It’s not gothy or punk, and it’s pretty cool. Consider this the upper bar maybe. For non-gothy or -punk new wave.
3
Apr 30 2024
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Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
Like a lot of early rock and roll, a little bit of “you’ve heard one song you’ve heard em all”, but at least in Little Richard’s case, it sure is a cool song to hear.
3
May 01 2024
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Heavy Weather
Weather Report
Technically good, Jaco is cool, but too clean, too smooth.
2
May 02 2024
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Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
Sickos: Yes… ha ha ha… Yes!
4
May 03 2024
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Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
A 2 without Neil. Just can’t muster much enthusiasm for sappy hippie-folk, ya know?
2
May 04 2024
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Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Well-trod territory that, over time, has come to feel like Just A Three. Good, influential… The Clash is better, the Slits are cooler, and in the end this is just one album and the songs are pretty samey.
3
May 05 2024
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Make Yourself
Incubus
This might deserve a 1 but I didn’t find it totally repulsive. Maybe a 1.5, rounded up for the dumbest song title on the list yet. You know the one.
2
May 06 2024
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Basket of Light
Pentangle
Yesterday I gave Incubus a 1.5 rounded up. Today I’m giving this a 1.5 rounded down.
Here’s the difference: if I were out and about and incubus were playing in the background, I would barely notice it. If this were playing in the background I would say “What is this. Why.”
1
May 07 2024
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Ramones
Ramones
14 songs 29 minutes that’s the good stuff. We should always be so lucky.
These guys lose a lot of studio steam real quick but not on the debut.
4
May 08 2024
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Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Last time, I had given my second Costello album 3 stars, same as the first one. I said then, “Maybe he’s got a 4 in him yet.” Reversing course on that one. Enough, Elvis, enough.
4
May 09 2024
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Blunderbuss
Jack White
I got off the Jack White train right after the White Stripes, and this is kind of why: this album! It sounds like the White Stripes but with none of the vitality and charm. I understand he did different stuff later, which I might like, but I don’t care for this much.
2
May 10 2024
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Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
Very nice sampling here. Loved the Good News song that had Hooked on a Feeling and then all the different guitar samples.
3
May 11 2024
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Highway to Hell
AC/DC
All of the Bon era albums appear to have one or two big songs and then a bunch of filler. But even a filler early AC/DC song is gonna have a killer Malcolm riff. This one’s full of em.
As a side note, even the nastiest AC/DC songs usually have a bit of charm/plausible deniability. Night Prowler probably the biggest exception. Hard to explain that one!
3
May 12 2024
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Private Dancer
Tina Turner
Hard to assess. Not my wheelhouse, not my decade I suppose. But jeez you listen to this thing and it sounds like every song was a hit single.
And though I don’t love the ultra polished 80s production sound, it does serve Tina Turner’s delivery pretty good. I bet a lot of this stuff sounded great live, too.
3
May 13 2024
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Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
I was optimistic that an appreciation for Musicianship would carry this beyond my general attitude towards RHCP. Then the returns diminished more and more with every song. Then Sir Psycho Sexy came on, second last song. That’s all I have to say about that.
Except for: this is meant to be one of their good albums, eh? Jesus.
1
May 14 2024
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Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
There’s at least one too many Radiohead albums one must hear before they die.
3
May 15 2024
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Rejoicing In The Hands
Devendra Banhart
Aggressively Millennial folk. Not much beneath the surface. A lot of talk of beards.
2
May 16 2024
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C'est Chic
CHIC
Sometimes a guy discovers a huge pop culture blind spot. I was listening to this thinking, “This band is real good, and who is this guitarist that probably no one has ever heard of??” Turns out it was just me.
Anyway I never would have guessed I’d come across a 4 Star disco album, but here it is.
4
May 17 2024
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Pearl
Janis Joplin
Well, yeah.
Since I was a kid I have preferred Cheap Thrills, on the grounds that it’s more unhinged than this one.
The little bit of studio professionalism hinders Joplin more than it helps, but the end product still absolutely goes, start to finish
4
May 18 2024
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If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Pogues
After a lifetime of not really Getting It with the Pogues, I’ve started Getting It the last couple years.
No one’s fault but my own, but it’s hard for me to detach a lot of European folk traditions from the idea of a like 5th generation Canadian band performing songs in character as their great-x-4-grandfathers or whatever.
These guys are the real deal as far as they can be, and I like them and they rock.
4
May 19 2024
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Street Signs
Ozomatli
Political angle ✅
Music that doesn’t just wash over me ❌
2
May 20 2024
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Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Lots of really nice stuff here, really pushing the limits of Some Guy With A Guitar.
Great guitar work, great songs, somehow sounds a bit ahead of its time despite being a folk album from the mid 60s.
4
May 21 2024
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Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
There’s now two Beastie Boys albums I at least sorta like. This one not as much as Paul’s Boutique, but still a lot more than I expected.
3
May 22 2024
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Shalimar
Rahul Dev Burman
Ha ha holy smokes this rips. I wonder what the movie is like.
4
May 23 2024
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Leftism
Leftfield
1001 Albums a Secondary Character in a Club Scene from a Shitty British Movie from 1995 Must Hear Before the Title Card.
1
May 24 2024
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Amnesiac
Radiohead
Ok, I’ve heard enough Radiohead now. This exercise has made Radiohead tumble down the rankings.
My favourite part of listening to this album was when the last song came on, because it was almost not Radiohead, it was mostly a different band.
I wouldn’t have felt that way one year ago, before I was asked to suspend disbelief and entertain the idea that Radiohead has produced four (and counting, probably) of the world’s best one thousand and one records. I would have been like “Oh yeah, decent record, that song at the end was especially cool, I kinda like Radiohead,” like a normal person
2
May 25 2024
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Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
These earlier Queen albums are not exactly up my alley, but they sure do rock. Except for Bring Back Leroy Brown. That song doesn’t rock.
3
May 26 2024
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Vivid
Living Colour
Definitely in the upper half of 80s/90s funk rock I’ve heard in my life. Probably a 2.5, rounding it up because I read the guitarist recruited the singer after hearing him sing happy birthday. That’s a good bit of lore.
3
May 27 2024
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Let Love Rule
Lenny Kravitz
What I expected (bad).
Rounding up instead of down because they dopey “I love love” lyrics throughout are funny.
2
May 28 2024
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Since I Left You
The Avalanches
Definitely a rounding up, based on my taste. Just that here, I can really imagine liking it a lot. But I’m not the guy for liking it a lot.
3
May 29 2024
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Kenza
Khaled
There’s a whole world out there eh? This guy sold 80 million records and I never heard of him until now!
This is good and cool, except for the Imagine cover. Can’t get away from that song.
3
May 30 2024
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Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
I’ve been a low level Elvis Hater for a while, but now have some time for the later live recordings. So coming into this one, I had a more open mind than I might have a couple years ago.
This is good when it’s good, but man for a 28 minute album there is a lot of filler here.
Elvis is not my King.
2
May 31 2024
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If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
This stinks! No wonder all the hippies grew up to be reactionary conservatives. They thought this stuff was the soundtrack to a revolution!
1
Jun 01 2024
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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
The more concept albums I hear, the less I appreciate concept albums in general. This one still easily falls on the good side of the concept album spectrum, which is refreshing.
The production is really nice to me, borders on super slick 90s pop style while still sounding pretty organic and loose.
Very good stuff.
4
Jun 02 2024
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GI
Germs
Not a ton to say other than I think this album rocks as much as I did the last time I heard it, which is a lot.
Also: it’s really funny that it has sixteen songs, is only 38 minutes long, and the last song accounts for about 1/4 of the whole album. Every punk band should do that. Pad the total.
4
Jun 03 2024
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The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
I think every single album ever made by an English guy is on here.
I read about this and bought it on release day because of Paul Simonen’s involvement. Listened once, never thought of it again. Remember why now. Not bad, just totally non-essential.
2
Jun 04 2024
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Blackstar
David Bowie
I can’t believe this is already like 8 years ago. This is my first listen!
The cool thing (of course) about Bowie is that he was never very stagnant. This one continues that line, and it’s good and interesting, like they usually are.
It’s hard to detach it from the context of its release. Would it be as beloved by people without it? Hard to say. If this were the second last album instead of the last one, it might hold a different place.
Nonetheless I enjoyed it, it’s sad to hear, and I’ll probably listen to it again some day.
3
Jun 05 2024
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Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black
Public Enemy
This must mean there are three Public Enemy records on this list, right? What a world!
Like this one quite a lot, just not as much as Fear, or Nation (which I imagine is the third).
Closing track absolutely rocks but everyone knows that.
3
Jun 06 2024
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Electric Music For The Mind And Body
Country Joe & The Fish
Ok boomer.
2
Jun 07 2024
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Live At The Regal
B.B. King
When I saw this was from 1964 I thought “oh wow, a young BB King!”
I did not know this man was born in 1925! He was already middle aged!
Anyway, very cool listen. I like BB.
3
Jun 08 2024
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Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
Same problem I’ve had with trying to evaluate most of the other 90s hip hop albums on here so far: it’s just pretty tough to overcome a lot of the content. Different world.
Sonically, liked this one quite a lot. Better delivery than his peers that’s for sure. This is a round down from 3.5.
3
Jun 09 2024
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Maxinquaye
Tricky
Cool, more British triphop. Rounding up because it was marginally more interesting then the last couple.
2
Jun 10 2024
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Illmatic
Nas
Just recently I was talking to a friend about how I struggle to connect with a lot of the kind of autobiographical hip hop that was big in the 90s. It’s so alien to my own life and the life of anyone I know that it’s hard not to feel like an interloper when I listen to it.
This one made me eat my words a little bit. Of course it’s still completely alien to me, but this is a really beautiful work, sonically and lyrically. Somehow Nas bridges the gap here.
5
Jun 11 2024
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Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Borechestra
2
Jun 12 2024
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Third
Portishead
It’s just too much trip hop on this thing ok. There should be a compilation and that’s it.
2
Jun 13 2024
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Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
I’ve never considered REM to be one of my bands, but whenever I listen to them on more than a one-song basis, I think “Dang REM is kinda cool.” Wish we had half stars. This is a definite 3.5, and could be a 4 should I ever follow through on the idea that REM is cool and I should listen more.
3
Jun 14 2024
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Ys
Joanna Newsom
To my tastes, anything that could be described as chamber pop, or baroque pop, is usually a non-starter. Ol’ Newsom here overcomes it. When these records were coming out I remember getting Milk Eyed Mender and liking it quite a lot. Never gave as much time to Ys, but enjoyed it when I heard it. Giving it a closer listen now, it holds up and is very weird and impressive and good. I hope there’s no more baroque pop on this list and I can go on thinking, “Hey I guess that stuff can be alright!”
4
Jun 15 2024
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The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
I like to listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing, but apparently not so much that I want to listen to her sing three and a quarter hours of American Standards ™️.
I know it’s dismissive, maybe kind of anti-American, but in my mind, 75% of Gershwin songs I’ve ever heard might as well be different versions of Chattanooga Choo Choo.
2
Jun 16 2024
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Whatever
Aimee Mann
Liked a few of the songs, but really suffers from over-smoothed 90s production.
2
Jun 17 2024
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OK Computer
Radiohead
[in the voice of someone who is fatigued from having been given five Radiohead albums on this list so far]
This is the best one
4
Jun 18 2024
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Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
Went through a bit of a roller coaster listening to this. Settled on this: Rumours is the better album, it’s a concise and perfect 70s pop rock record. But this one is surely more cool and interesting. Too long, not all good, but it covers a lot of ground that a guy might not expect if he was expecting another Rumours. The White Album isn’t the best Beatles album, but it is my favourite. This may also be true of Tusk.
4
Jun 19 2024
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Crocodiles
Echo And The Bunnymen
Another brick in the road towards me becoming a new-wave guy. This one is I guess a bit more post-punk than gothy new-wave like the rest I’ve liked, but it’s still got that flavour. Probably a 3.5 but rounding down because there have been peers of these guys that I’ve liked a bit more. Could be convinced to round up after more listens, I bet.
3
Jun 20 2024
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Dig Your Own Hole
The Chemical Brothers
A guy can make a case for Doing Drugs as a creative exercise. Sometimes people can access a way of expressing an idea, sometimes they can access the idea itself, while doing drugs. Regardless of someone’s moral stance, it can at least have artistic merit.
This album is a Doing Drugs album that never gets past “huh huh this is trippy mate innit”. It sounds like the least interesting guy you’ve ever met, telling you about that one time they did DMT.
Man this sucks.
1
Jun 21 2024
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Berlin
Lou Reed
This is musically probably my favourite Lou Reed thing I’ve encountered (though I know he worked with a wide variety of people through his life, and I’ve barely scratched the surface over the years). But I think it’s kinda hard for me to engage with this kind of bleak/tragic story. It’s very well done, it’s just the sort of thing that tends to not connect with me. My rating here is more about my taste than the album’s content, but aren’t they all.
3
Jun 22 2024
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Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
1. As a general rule, I don’t like horny music much. Prince is an exception, somehow, despite being the horniest of all.
2. Some jabroni in the reviews said he “heard Prince is a good guitarist, but this album doesn’t showcase it”. Way to tell on yourself for listening to the first 10 seconds of each song and crying because they started with synths. Prince shreds here!!!
4
Jun 23 2024
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Something Else By The Kinks
The Kinks
I don’t think the Kinks are Better than the Beatles but I do think they’re Cooler than the Beatles.
Not my favourite one, but fun nonetheless.
3
Jun 24 2024
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Very
Pet Shop Boys
Hard to have a strong opinion on this one either way. Nothing terribly unpleasant, but nothing I would go back to.
2
Jun 25 2024
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Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
Empty Millennial Optimism was very similar to Empty Boomer Optimism eh?
These guys have so many lyrics about how like, A Change Is Coming, but none of it articulates what the change is, and if you try to extrapolate it from the vibe of the album, it sounds like the change is “Doing cocaine with some cool girls and talking about Change”.
Terrible.
1
Jun 26 2024
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A Walk Across The Rooftops
The Blue Nile
Nice.
3
Jun 27 2024
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Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams
Enjoyed this quite a lot as a youth. Lots not to like about Adams over the years, both as a guy who is pretty bad, and a musician who ultimately has more misses than hits.
Now, I suppose I would call it a good baseline for alt-country or whatever. The good songs are great, but there’s a lot that’s a bit weak too.
3
Jun 28 2024
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The White Room
The KLF
My DJ friend tells me this is somehow different and/or more significant and/or better than the average 90s English dance music that one might find on this list.
I listened to it all, I don’t think I buy it, it still just sounds like NN TSS NN TSS OI BRUV to me, but I’m giving it an extra star as an act of good faith.
2
Jun 29 2024
View Album
Odelay
Beck
I really loved Beck growing up, and still have time for most of what he does.
HOWEVER. The more music a guy hears in life, I think, the more inclined he is to think “Oh, Beck was just doing his own take on this artist” every once in a while. For example, my favourite Beck album is Midnite Vultures. The other day I listened to Prince’s Sign O The Times, and realized “Oh, Beck was (mostly) just doing Prince”. It doesn’t make the Beck album worse, but it does give it something to directly compare it to, maybe not helpfully.
Anyway this one is good. Midnite Vultures is probably still my favourite. I wonder if Sea Change is on here.
3
Jun 30 2024
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Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple
A three-star rock record, with one star added for a meaningful reason: some things are more Spinal Tap than Spinal Tap, and that has value in music. Being a band of English guys representing yourselves as Mount Rushmore is funny. There being five guys in the band instead of four, and doing it anyway, is worth a whole extra star.
4
Jul 01 2024
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Blonde On Blonde
Bob Dylan
It’s Blonde on Blonde, it’s great. What can I add to that other than,
I wish I had given the live record a higher rating way back. The more untethered Bob is, the better, and his live recordings always have more charm to me. It should have been a four, too
4
Jul 02 2024
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Stankonia
OutKast
This one is quite a bit different from the previous one that came up here eh? Obvious and dumb thing to say I guess.
Very cool, more cohesive, still a bit long and a bit precious with the interludes, but what are ya gonna do.
4
Jul 03 2024
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Mermaid Avenue
Billy Bragg
I like the parts of this more than I like the sum, but the sum is still a cool and neat project that I like to go back to every once in a while.
3
Jul 04 2024
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Tago Mago
Can
This is so demented. Normally would be a bit frustrated/annoyed with the prolonged noise parts, but I found myself a bit drawn in. Listened to it all, came out the other side like “Well that was an album I never would have listened to but am glad I did.” That’s somethin!
3
Jul 05 2024
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My Aim Is True
Elvis Costello
I am so excited to review another Elvis Costello album. I am so glad there are 57 Elvis Costello albums to review for this exercise. I look forward to each one more than the last.
Costello reinvigorated the literate, lyrical traditions of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison with the raw energy and sass that were principal ethics of punk, delivering passion and intelligence with equal measure. I love it when Elvis Costello covers relationships with biting sarcasm and wordplay, combining jazzy guitars with soulful vocals. I love his hats, almost as much as I love Jamiroquai's. His dress style is so rockabilly, which is aces.
To think, this was his debut album, in 1977, setting off a career without comparison. His aim was surely true.
5
Jul 06 2024
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In Rainbows
Radiohead
This is probably a pretty rad album but I’m just so sick of Radiohead on this list. I suppose I would say this is the third best one I’ve heard, and the absolute cut-off for the last album that MAYBE should be on the list (but they could have got away with just two… or one.)
3
Jul 07 2024
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Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
A guy in Spinal Tap once said, “It’s such a fine line between clever and stupid”. I don’t really know where this falls, but I do know that three days ago I listened to the eighth Elvis Costello record on this list so far, and two days ago I had the eleventh Radiohead record, and listening to the Residents after that made them sound like the cleverest thing to ever exist. Probably a 3 but bumping it because I’m a crank.
4
Jul 08 2024
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Your New Favourite Band
The Hives
A photocopy of a photocopy of something I like a lot.
2
Jul 09 2024
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Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
Usually, as a Canadian, it’s kind of painful to go back to a classic piece of Canadian media and listen to it/watch it/experience it critically. Because it makes you reckon with the fact that, removed from nostalgia and over-saturation, the piece of media almost always sucks.
Expected that here, didn’t get it. This is actually cool and good, and not just curved against Canadian stuff either. For real cool!
4
Jul 10 2024
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Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Haha wow this absolutely rips! I had no idea! I can’t believe it’s from the early 70s, too. Sounds like 1986.
This is not the sort of thing I ever would have got into when I was younger. All roads lead to Eno I guess.
5
Jul 11 2024
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Sister
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is guitar guy music in a way that should be right up my alley but for some reason, they aren’t. Liked this one fine, but I don’t think it’ll stick with me.
3
Jul 12 2024
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A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Coldplay
This isn’t bad, 22 years later, but I probably won’t listen to it for another 22 years.
These guys know what they’re doing, that’s for sure.
2
Jul 13 2024
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Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
Whenever I’ve expressed a distaste for The Police, someone always says “Yeah, but the first two albums, when they were kinda cool and punk,”
Well now I’ve listened to one of those and the problem is, they still require a guy to listen to a bunch of songs sung by Sting.
There’s a lot of musically cool stuff on this album, but none of it overcomes that the worst part of the band is the main part of the band.
2
Jul 14 2024
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Water From An Ancient Well
Abdullah Ibrahim
I’m a Jazz Guy now
3
Jul 15 2024
View Album
Tical
Method Man
This is real cool. The production sounds so evil and ominous. I read that a bunch of the Wu Tang guys did solo albums, but they all had the same Wu Tang guy produce them? That’s kind of funny. Bet they’re all pretty decent though if they sound like this.
3
Jul 16 2024
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Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
Tommy Pischedda : Excuse me... are you reading "Yes I Can"?
Limo Groupie : Yeah, have you read it?
Tommy Pischedda : Yeah, by Sammy Davis, Jr.?
Limo Groupie : Yeah.
Tommy Pischedda : You know what the title of that book should be? "Yes, I Can If Frank Sinatra Says It's OK". 'Cause Frank calls the shots for all of those guys. Did you get to the part yet where uh... Sammy is coming out of the Copa... it's about 3 o'clock in the morning and, uh, he sees Frank? Frank's walking down Broadway by himself...
[Nigel raises the limo partition]
Tommy Pischedda : Fuckin' limeys.
Marty DiBergi : Well, you know, they're not, uh, used to that world.
Tommy Pischedda : Yeah, yeah.
Marty DiBergi : You know, Frank Sinatra, it's a different world that they're in.
Tommy Pischedda : You know, it's just that people like this... you know... they get all they want so they really don't understand, you know... about a life like Frank's. I mean, when you've loved and lost the way Frank has, then you, uh, you know what life's about.
2
Jul 17 2024
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B-52's
The B-52's
This rocks. The guitar is so good, the vocals are so good. Every song is so good. A novelty act that overcomes being a novelty act.
4
Jul 18 2024
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No Other
Gene Clark
Can’t say I was dazzled by this, but it far exceeded my expectations of an album that was made by some guy from the Byrds. Cool early alt-country.
3
Jul 19 2024
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Swordfishtrombones
Tom Waits
I’ve soured on Tom Waits over the years, but this album in particular is kind of sentimental to me. When I was about 13, my uncle gave me two Tom Waits CDs for my birthday: this one, and Closing Time. I had never heard of Tom Waits, and it turned out neither had he. He read about him in a magazine and thought “This sounds like something my 13 year old nephew would like.”
Closing Time never spoke to me much, Swordfish did. In hindsight, I think it served as a bit of a baby’s-first toward a lot of music I like now.
It’s kind of a bummer it makes me roll my eyes now, even though I do still think it has some musically interesting stuff to offer. I’ve become a crank.
3
Jul 20 2024
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Thriller
Michael Jackson
An obvious all-timer, being deducted one star for an obvious reason (I hate to listen to both Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney say “doggone” over and over).
4
Jul 21 2024
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Talk Talk Talk
The Psychedelic Furs
Another day, another kinda sick new wave/post punk record on here.
This one’s not all killer, but the good stuff is real good.
3
Jul 22 2024
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Fever Ray
Fever Ray
This one caught me by surprise a bit, as a thing that doesn’t seem like it would be in my wheelhouse but kind of is. I’ve never cared much for The Knife, maybe I was just assuming based on that.
Anyway I could easily see this growing on me. Dreijer is real weird in a cool way.
3
Jul 23 2024
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3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
😎🎸
3
Jul 24 2024
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Harvest
Neil Young
I like Neil Young a lot, and hadn’t listened to Harvest in quite some time. It was a less straight-ahead obvious-great-record experience than I expected. I find his folkin side a lot less compelling than his rockin side, or at least I like a bit more balance than Harvest provides. And I really don’t like the stuff with the symphony! That doesn’t work with Neil Young, I think.
It’s good but I’d rather listen to the guy flip out on the electric guitar for 40 minutes.
Sorry Caleb (?)
3
Jul 25 2024
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Mothership Connection
Parliament
These guys are the kings of concepts albums, and I don’t have a politically correct way of saying why: the concept is always “What if there were a bunch of cool black guys from the 70s in an unexpected place?”
This one’s a bit cleaner and more precise than the previous Funkadelic records we’ve encountered, which is neither better nor worse here, just different.
I could listen to a thousand of these and enjoy every single one I think.
5
Jul 26 2024
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Timeless
Goldie
Timeless? More like TimeMORE! On account of how long the opening track is!
[or]
Timeless? More like 1995!
Haha we like to laugh, but seriously, good god. I think it’s really important to hold the idea that most all kinds of art have an artfulness to them even if I don’t understand it. On the other hand, when I was a boy I had a PS1 demo disk that included a demo for a game called MTV Music Generator. It was basically a crude looping station, with built in samples.
This album sounds indistinguishable from something a 12 year old me would have made on there, and again… I only had the demo, with a limited set of samples. And it was the PS1! That game probably came out less than 3 years after this album did. Come on! A guy does not need to hear this before he dies.
1
Jul 27 2024
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We Are Family
Sister Sledge
I appreciated listening to this having learned the Nile Rodgers context of it after having Chic come up a couple months ago. It’s not as good, but it’s still good. Remarkable how many one star reviews are like “Ugh! Disco SUCKS!” People probably born in the 80s, like me, still totally affected by butt-rock radio campaigns from the mid-70s lol
3
Jul 28 2024
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The Blueprint
JAY Z
Always kind of wondered why this was the hip hop guy who got offered whatever weird Faustian bargain the American State was offering hip hop guys a couple decades ago. Listening to this—an album from when he was ostensibly cool, pre-bargain—illuminates it. Even when the subject matter has some edge, it’s not convincing at all. This guy sounds like he was grown in a lab! They never would have tried to get Nas to a state where he would be willing show up and say “Ya know, I think octogenarian Democrats are Pretty Fly!”
2
Jul 29 2024
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Shaka Zulu
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Graceland, without the bad parts (the Paul Simon parts).
3
Jul 30 2024
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
I waffled a bit between a 4 and a 5 here, but the way Brown harnesses the screaming crowd’s energy into the most psychotic sounding call and response imaginable (on Lost Somebody) is enough to make the call. Remarkable.
5
Jul 31 2024
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Central Reservation
Beth Orton
Can’t muster much of an opinion on this one. Different time and place I guess.
2
Aug 01 2024
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White Light
Gene Clark
Not sure of the necessity of two Gene Clark albums on the list, but just like the other one, I thought this was decent and pleasant enough. I’ll fly off the handle and give a one-star if there’s a third one though (just kiddin).
3
Aug 02 2024
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Pornography
The Cure
Just like the last one by the Cure, I liked this quite a lot. There’s something earnest and touching about the over commitment to being a spooky weirdo, I think the knowledge that Robert Smith is still Like That really goes a long way for me.
3
Aug 03 2024
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1984
Van Halen
Of course EVH shreds. But the experience of listening to a Van Halen album is not great.
I do have one big positive here: Hot For Teacher imagines a world where beavis and butthead type characters are hot for teacher… and teacher is hot for them back. That’s pretty funny, and worth an extra star alone.
2
Aug 04 2024
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Scum
Napalm Death
I believe this is the first album so far, where I knew right off the bat that I wasn’t going to subject my family to it.
Either way, I liked it alright, I think it’s cool that it exists, and I think every single person who one starred it is a huge nerd. I’d much rather listen to Napalm Death than another Elvis Costello.
3
Aug 05 2024
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Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
There’s some weird tendency, when producing “world music” for a North American audience, to smooth the edges off things. Maybe it’s that the main market is for cafe playlists or something. To my ear, it often sucks the life out of what should be a more raucous, organic sounding thing.
This is smooth, but it at least breathes a little. At its best, you can imagine you’re in the room with these guys, and that feels exceedingly rare for a 90s recording that isn’t in English but was marketed towards primarily English speakers.
Anyway, I didn’t understand the lyrics, so it’s a 1⭐️ for me.
(Just kiddin)
4
Aug 06 2024
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Guero
Beck
Beck 📉📉📉
When this one was new, I listened to it a lot. Either it’s aged badly, or I have. Just something mechanical and lifeless about it, can’t quite put my finger on it.
2
Aug 07 2024
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Double Nickels On The Dime
Minutemen
This is such a great record. Weird format, mostly comes off as buddies frickin around, but also has a surprising amount of musical depth. Love it.
5
Aug 08 2024
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Skylarking
XTC
I like these guys. This one was less (a bit less) gooby than the last, and the Todd Lundgren mixing error lore is real interesting. Would like to hear that original mix.
Like the last one, we’re riding the line of being too Preciously English here, but something about XTC makes it work to my ear. Quickly becoming One Of My Bands.
4
Aug 09 2024
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Rising Above Bedlam
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
I did my best to stitch together as many songs as I could via YouTube. It wasn’t worth the work. This was an album by a white Englishman who calls himself Jah, and it sounded like it.
2
Aug 10 2024
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Stardust
Willie Nelson
Usually I think it’s corny when someone does their take on the American Pop Standards. I still do here, but Willie pulls it off pretty well.
3
Aug 11 2024
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Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
I don’t know why Kendrick Lamar has a problem with this guy. He seems nice
4
Aug 12 2024
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Here, My Dear
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye sure comes off better when he’s singing about the state of the world, versus singing about the state of his divorce. Bit of a tough one to get through, but at least you still get to listen to Marvin Gaye sing.
2
Aug 13 2024
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Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
Two Nick Drakes in three days, I ain’t complaining. Can now confirm I like him best unaccompanied, but this was another great one.
Unreal that he went 3/3 at such a young age and in such a short amount of time.
4
Aug 14 2024
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Technique
New Order
Pretty glad they bailed on overcommitting to the Ibiza thing after just one song. The rest was a pretty fun New Order record.
3
Aug 15 2024
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BEYONCÉ
Beyoncé
It’s good in the sense that if you give one hundred skilled people a large amount of time and money to put together hit songs that fit the zeitgeist of the time, you’ll end up with a bunch of hit songs that fit the zeitgeist of the time.
But here’s how disconnected from reality the finished product feels for me: Beyoncé references drinking several times throughout, and every time, my main thought was “I can not even imagine Beyoncé having a sip of alcohol and having a nice time.”
A strange listen.
2
Aug 16 2024
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Actually
Pet Shop Boys
[on the phone with the manager of the pet shop]
“Yeah I was just wondering, what’s your return policy for boys?”
2
Aug 17 2024
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Morrison Hotel
The Doors
I listened to the Doors extensively as a dopey young man, then got real tired of their shtick.
Going back to this one, I enjoyed more than I expected, in spite of Jim Morrison. The rest of the band has its moments! I doubt other Doors records will hold up as well, but Morrison Hotel is solidly Fine.
2
Aug 18 2024
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Next
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
I thought this would speak to me, it didn’t.
Wikipedia references it as being influential in a proto-punk way. Thank god it wasn’t THAT influential.
2
Aug 19 2024
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Jack Takes the Floor
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
I like the format of this. Some guy giving his take on folk songs and telling you where he heard them.
Hard to tell how legit it is, but hey I’m not the arbiter of that.
3
Aug 20 2024
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Crime Of The Century
Supertramp
Bloody Well Right is the worst, most English song that I like.
Breakfast In America maybe a bit better than this one to my ear, but I think Supertramp is good and cool.
They prog, that’s for sure.
3
Aug 21 2024
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Le Tigre
Le Tigre
I didn’t listen to this much at the time, very much felt like it wasn’t For Me, and I suppose it wasn’t. It sounds dated now, especially with the massive wake of similar electro-pop acts that followed.
But Hanna is impossibly cool, seeming a bit self deprecating on this one but still absolutely givin’r in a way that most people don’t. Lots of great stuff here, and certainly holds a place. Liked it a lot.
4
Aug 22 2024
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Untitled (Black Is)
SAULT
My star rating here is based on the music alone, and I thought this was a great record. Especially the way it was produced—comes off as living and breathing in a way that ultra-digital pop/r&b rarely does.
But here’s my main thought: sometimes I bristle at music that carries a really on-the-nose political message. Not that it bothers me that an artist wants to express their political views, but more just that I don’t think pop music is the best medium for axe-grinding. But man oh man, I read some reviews for this one and realized it’s cool and good sometimes when an artist puts it out there on-the-nose.
Listen, if you heard this record and your main thought was “This is RACIST MUSIC”, you’re a dweeb and a crybaby and you should read a book.
This album, apparently, does its job. Makes the point it wants to make.
4
Aug 23 2024
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Liege And Lief
Fairport Convention
Maybe it’s my mild anglophobia, but this is so far removed from anything I can imagine wanting to listen to for fun.
I felt bad and knee-jerky after giving Pentangle a 1, so I’m making up for it here. This is actually 1.5, and the extra half star goes to Pentangle. They both still stink though.
2
Aug 24 2024
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Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
The more I am made to listen to Nick Cave on this list, the more I think “ah ok he’s kinda cool”. He’s the anti-Costello in that way.
This one isn’t as good as Junkyard, but I like it much more than Henry’s Dream
3
Aug 25 2024
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More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
Yeah. Hell yeah
4
Aug 26 2024
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I Against I
Bad Brains
When it comes down to it, HR may be my favourite punk singer.
And to be even more wild: is the title track the single greatest hardcore song? I think it might be.
Anyway, an easy 5.
5
Aug 27 2024
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25
Adele
All I have to say about this as a listening experience, is that it’s a really really good singer performing nothing music. Like Beyoncé a few weeks back, it was written and produced by an army of people, and it sounds that way.
But also: how is it possible that someone who was 25 years old sang these songs and everyone accepted it and thought it was relatable? These are the songs of a 45 year old, at least!
2
Aug 28 2024
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Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow
I don’t think I properly respect this sort of thing as an art form. I often like hip hop that is built on samples, and Shadow is one of the best at that. But removed from that context, a record of samples stitched together, existing entirely for its own sake, rather than working as a foundation for something else, maybe just can’t do it for me.
I know what he’s doing is impressive and cool, but I don’t know that I care.
3
Aug 29 2024
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People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
Good god this rips. It seems impossible that this is their first record.
I’m usually not too inclined to listen to things real loud, but for this one I was. Last time I said that in a review was Back in Black, and I gave that 5⭐️ and this is obviously better than Back in Black.
Painted myself into a corner that I am happy to paint myself into.
5
Aug 30 2024
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1977
Ash
Nowhere near the worst thing I’ve listened to on here, but maybe the least essential. Not unpleasant, but bland. And when I get to the end of this thing, I’m going to think of all the 90s rock bands I like that aren’t on the list, and then I will remember this one.
2
Aug 31 2024
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It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
These guys hold up. Every band from the mid-2000s did a transition from garage rock to electro pop, when the tides turned in that direction. To me, most of em were worse off for it.
I’m not sure about Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I didn’t listen to them enough. But this is their electro pop of them, and it’s good. Consider this a 3.5 rounded down, to leave more of a ceiling if it turns out I like the garage rock version more.
3
Sep 01 2024
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Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash
When I reviewed Deja Vu, I did not expect to land on a 2, but I did. I thought, “Would this be a 1 if it didn’t include Neil Young?” Well, here we are.
I’ve already said a lot about my feelings towards hippie folk, all that still stands here.
It’s not really the WORST thing I’ve ever heard, but it sucks a lot, I will never listen to it again, and it now exists on a curve against CSNY.
1
Sep 02 2024
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Arise
Sepultura
Felt good to expand my familiarity with Sepultura beyond Roots.
This one’s less impactful, a bit more conventional, but still a very solid 90s metal album. It’s thrashy!
3
Sep 03 2024
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Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Man this rocks. Running Free could be the archetype of Rock Songs.
It’s hard to imagine a world where Iron Maiden is a new band, with one album. But definitely if I lived in that world and heard this I would say “Whoa what is this! This rocks!”
3
Sep 04 2024
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Teen Dream
Beach House
This stuff washes over me like it’s nothing at all. It did in 2010 and it does now.
I remember when this sound first started emerging as a trend in rock music, and thinking “this doesn’t bode well”. Guess what: I was right.
2
Sep 05 2024
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Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod Stewart
Hard to evaluate. I think this general kind of music is so dopey, and I think Rod Stewart himself is a real goober.
But the production is real nice, and I can’t help but like the way he sings in the late 60s/early 70s. This is a rounding up, but barely.
2.55 or something ya know?
3
Sep 06 2024
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Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band
This backstory on this one is extremely weird. The concept is extremely dumb. But it made me bob my head and go “ya” a few too many times.
3
Sep 07 2024
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Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
At the halfway point this thing felt like a easy 5 star. Too bad it lost a bit of momentum with half a handful of weaker songs in the back half.
But man does this ever rip. Something Patti-Smith-like about Bush, but with a bang on new wave sensibility. Great production of great songs with a great performer.
4
Sep 08 2024
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Smash
The Offspring
This is marginally more listenable than later Offspring because they haven’t quite worked out how to compose the worst sounding novelty songs ever made, and then somehow turn them into minor hits.
But Come Out And Play is a hint of things to come and it sucks as bad as it did the first time I heard it.
They-Might-Be-Giants-ass Orange County punk. Bad stuff.
Big time round up, lest there be another, worse Offspring record to come on here.
2
Sep 09 2024
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Let's Stay Together
Al Green
Genre- and era-wise, this is in my wheelhouse, but at least from this album, Al Green doesn’t stand out from his peers enough to get me goin nuts.
It’s good, it’s great, but there’s already been a couple handfuls of albums on the list that do a similar thing better and I bet there are many more to come
3
Sep 10 2024
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So
Peter Gabriel
Mostly not my thing, but easy enough to understand it being someone else’s thing. This is a round up, only because I’ve given some recent 2s to records that I liked significantly less than this one.
I wonder how Phil Collins records will stack up against this.
3
Sep 11 2024
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Butterfly
Mariah Carey
When I listen to guitar guy music around non guitar guys, is this what they hear? If so I have a lot of apologizing to do.
An entire album of Mariah Carey songs is an insane experience. You hear her pack 12 notes into 1 note once and go “wow she has good vocal control” and then she does it for another 48:57.
1
Sep 12 2024
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Selling England By The Pound
Genesis
When an album opens with a bard-like voice saying a line about a unifaun’s true love, you know you’re in for some Spinal Tap adjacent stuff (in a bad way).
2
Sep 13 2024
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NEU! 75
Neu!
A cooler-than-me pal hipped me to these guys (and this record) way back when. I was ready for it then, I am now.
I love the A/B split here, it really goes wilder than a person would expect. Great creative stuff, a solid and satisfying record.
4
Sep 14 2024
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The Yes Album
Yes
What’s a word that’s somewhere between yes and no but leans towards no? Like a maybe-but-probably-not.
2
Sep 15 2024
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Your Arsenal
Morrissey
I liked this alright, in a neutral sort of way, but it really lacks something compared to the Smiths. Sounds Generic New Wave in a way the Smiths do not
2
Sep 16 2024
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Nevermind
Nirvana
I’ve always thought of Bleach as being my favourite, because it’s less refined, more off-the-wall, than the later ones. Looking at the track listing for Nevermind, I thought the same.
Turns out when I was looking at the track listing, I was remembering all the songs that are catchy and refined, and glazing over the ones that are more Bleach-y.
An absolutely sick middle ground between two fairly different things that Nirvana does exceptionally well. Not a bad song on the thing, even Smells Like Teen Spirit being heard for the millionth time.
5
Sep 17 2024
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Come Away With Me
Norah Jones
Great voice, tap water songs. Nothing objectionable about it, but none of it sticks with me and I’ll probably never think “Hey I should listen to Norah Jones.” It lacks any amount of chaos or something, I dunno.
2
Sep 18 2024
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Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
There were times that this got into some of the more interesting places Led Zeppelin is able to go. There were also times this got into 11 minute songs that started 9 minutes of JPJ playing a noodly synth solo. The bad times outweigh the good, and the sum total of the times is over 80 minutes, which is entirely too long to have to listen to Led Zeppelin for.
2
Sep 19 2024
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Yank Crime
Drive Like Jehu
Not what I remembered, in a good way. This is a hell of a record! Great melodies, great tension (especially in the longer songs).
4
Sep 20 2024
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Eagles
Eagles
1 star for the album. 0 stars for the dozens and dozens of reviews that quote the Dude. That movie was like 30 years ago, get over it for god’s sake!!
1
Sep 21 2024
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Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
More like the Snore on Drugs ha ha ok let’s hear the next one
2
Sep 22 2024
View Album
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
Easy to appreciate the weirdo innovation of this thing, but I can’t say I ever really Enjoy listening to Beach Boys. This is a big round up, just so no one gets mad at me.
3
Sep 23 2024
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The Trinity Session
Cowboy Junkies
At first I thought this album seems totally non-essential. But then I remembered, not everyone in the world has a lot of exposure to CanCon. So this IS essential, so that non-Canadians can have the experience of listening to it and thinking “Ok, this is a familiar genre, but something is off about it…… oh it’s Canadian that’s the problem here.”
It’s just not essential to me, as I’ve been going through this my whole life. The prison of being Canadian.
2
Sep 24 2024
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Aqualung
Jethro Tull
It progs, it progs in a way I find marginally better than most of the other prog we’ve heard so far.
A 3 here is generous, but it represents that marginal betterness, because I think most of the other prog has been a 2.
3
Sep 25 2024
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Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Devo
Whoa this rules. It’s so deranged, it’s so fun. The drummer is so good! Easy sell: I’m a Devo Guy now.
5
Sep 26 2024
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Scott 2
Scott Walker
Scott 2 is right. 2 stars. And that’s a stretch!!
2
Sep 27 2024
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Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys
Did I already make a joke about returning boys to the pet shop? Yes? Ok, well,
2
Sep 28 2024
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A Night At The Opera
Queen
Coming to terms with the idea that I don’t really like Queen anymore. Can’t say I think this one is bad, it’s not. It’s kinda cool, it kinda rocks. But this is probably the last time I’ll ever listen to it start to finish.
Rounding up here, because a 2 doesn’t feel right. But a 2 might have been right.
3
Sep 29 2024
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Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
This is the fourth (I think) Led Zep I’ve encountered on here, and I think I’ve said it all in a general sense.
For this one I will add: Ramble On is a great song, and it’s so funny that it sounds like a lyrically normal dumb rock song for about 3 minutes and then all the sudden Plant starts singing about Mordor and Gollum and you realize that’s what it was about the whole time.
3
Sep 30 2024
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Bubble And Scrape
Sebadoh
New to me, neat and cool. I could see going back to this many times, and checking out more. That’s what it’s all about, babyyyy
4
Oct 01 2024
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Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
“Psychedelic blues” is not a combination of words that I like to hear, but leave it to Janis Joplin to overcome that and then some.
I love the way the band kinda sucks. They sound like they’re about to fly off the rails from the first few measures of the first song, right up until the end, but they never really do. And Joplin herself was never on the rails to begin with.
Everything she did was good to me, but this is the best. Sounds like her in a natural state, whereas later albums sound a bit reigned in.
Love Cheap Thrills, always have always will.
5
Oct 02 2024
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Smokers Delight
Nightmares On Wax
There is just so much English trip hop a guy must hear before he dies eh
1
Oct 03 2024
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Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I went back and forth on this. It delivers on the promise of its title. It’s unbelievably violent and nasty, it’s right in Cave’s wheelhouse. It had some stinkers but some real highs too. Musically neat and varied. I loved the conclusion.
Ultimately the rating will suffer due to my own earlier misjudgement. Junkyard shoulda have been a 5. This maybe should have been a 4, but it ain’t Junkyard.
3
Oct 04 2024
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Let's Get Killed
David Holmes
Yes let’s
1
Oct 05 2024
View Album
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Alright this is the last one on the list (I think). In the end, it’s my favourite one. It’s probably like a 3.4 or something.
Some of the songs rock so hard, Good Times Bad Times especially. What an opener for a debut album! But also there’s a lot of stinkers, and I still simply to not care to hear Robert Plant Doing His Thing.
Goodbye Zeppelin it’s been fun, sort of.
3
Oct 06 2024
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Killing Joke
Killing Joke
I may be hearing this favourably because the last few days have been a forever-feeling cycle of boomer rock and English club music from the 90s.
It benefits from not being Robert Plant, or Freddie Mercury, or some molly’d up DJ from Pordenshire-on-Frent who took a gap year trip to Ibiza and then Changed The World.
One way or another, this one was cool as hell
4
Oct 07 2024
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The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
Alright alright I guess I kinda get it now
4
Oct 08 2024
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The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
Butthole Splatters LP
Ha ha, we like to have a laugh. But seriously, approaching it critically,
Butthole Splatters LP
1
Oct 09 2024
View Album
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
Remarkable how kinda bland this is. None of the covers do anything the originals don’t, they’re just less-than because they’re not performed by the original cool Americans. English guys shouldn’t be allowed to sing about Route 66. They shouldn’t even be allowed to acknowledge it.
2
Oct 10 2024
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The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Pink Floyd
I won’t be banging down the door to listen to this again, but Syd Barrett brings an element of fun to Pink Floyd that makes them palatable in a way that later Floyd is not.
2
Oct 11 2024
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Eternally Yours
The Saints
It makes sense that Australian punk would be kinda cool. This is not all killer, there is a decent amount of filler, but the main sound is very sick and the good songs are very good.
3
Oct 12 2024
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Green
R.E.M.
I like REM just fine, but they never reeeeeally do it for me. No exception here. A good album, some standout songs (like Stand!). But nothing I’m terribly likely to go back to.
3
Oct 13 2024
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Frampton Comes Alive
Peter Frampton
In a lot of ways this feels like an archetype for the idea of Classic Rock. That is both good and bad, but leans more bad.
2
Oct 14 2024
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Astral Weeks
Van Morrison
Here’s what I can muster for this: it was ok.
2
Oct 15 2024
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Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
This once was a favourite of mine. I don’t have anything insightful to say, I still love it a lot. Have maybe just heard too much music now and it’s got a bit bumped down the list. Nilsson is cool as hell.
4
Oct 16 2024
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My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Brian Eno
Easily the best snippety-samply record that’s popped up so far. Guess 90s club music sets a low bar (pun intended). Go figure it would be Eno and Byrne who clear it. First half better than second, but all in all a decent listen.
3
Oct 17 2024
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O.G. Original Gangster
Ice T
A bit too long, but a real treat among other 90s hip hop on the list. A lightheartedness and sense of humour that makes Ice T stand out from his peers.
3
Oct 18 2024
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...The Dandy Warhols Come Down
The Dandy Warhols
The Bandy Borehols (this band is boring)
2
Oct 19 2024
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The Wildest!
Louis Prima
I have a real aversion to 50s big bandish swingish type stuff. Turns out if it has some human spirit (is far enough away from the Rat Pack), it can really frickin rock.
4
Oct 20 2024
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In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
This guy sorta knew his way around a song eh
4
Oct 21 2024
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Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell
Too smooth. Nothing to hold on to.
2
Oct 22 2024
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Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
Boy I just don’t know about Bruce Springsteen. Just don’t see it. The “if you listen to the lyrics, he’s actually CRITICAL Americana!” trick works once, the first time, and it IS cool. But the music is pretty not cool, to me.
2
Oct 23 2024
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The Holy Bible
Manic Street Preachers
These guys are not what I thought they were!
First half of the album stronger than the second, but carried me through nonetheless.
3
Oct 24 2024
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The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
Tempted to round up on the strength of the real good ones (especially the closing track). I bet if I went back and listened to this a year from now I would regret rounding down instead. Oh well. Iron Maiden rocks, regardless of rating.
3
Oct 25 2024
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Music For The Jilted Generation
The Prodigy
Above all, a waste of a great band name.
1
Oct 26 2024
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Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
This is so cool, and not just because it makes me think of THPS. Clean and clear production, great vocal trade offs. Good stuff.
4
Oct 27 2024
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Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter
In my mind, anything that came out after 2009 might as well have come out yesterday, and chances are it sucks. Because, after all, it just happens that they stopped making good music as soon as I aged out of being cool.
I can admit this is good though. Maybe it was recorded a couple years before, when I was still under 21, and just didn’t get released soon enough. That would explain it.
3
Oct 28 2024
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Be
Common
I remember kinda liking this when it came out, but it feels like a harder sell now. Maybe it’s the Kanye West connection, maybe it’s John Mayer.
Maybe it’s that I know Obama really likes the guy. I dunno. It’s not good when any president thinks you’re cool.
2
Oct 29 2024
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The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
My twin three-year-olds are obsessed with the song Robots. Any time I put on any song, there’s a good chance they will yell “CAN YOU PLAY ROBOTS”. When they hear the first synth hit, they tense up, ready to run in circles, pumping their arms and screaming. Whenever they see a fan, they stick their faces right in front of it and say “WE ARE THE ROBOTS”.
I have heard Robots ten thousand times. Yesterday I heard it four times. Once for this project. Three times on their request. Every day, Robots.
Good album though. Not the coolest Kraftwerk, but still good.
3
Oct 30 2024
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Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
Something is shocking: Dave Navarro has made not one but two albums that I like a lot. Despite them having a lot of the trappings of indulgent rock music I usually don’t like. Dave Navarro, for God’s sake!
4
Oct 31 2024
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
If I’m ever in a situation where I have to prove to someone I’m a late 30s white guy, I’ll just show them this 5 star review.
5
Nov 01 2024
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Rocks
Aerosmith
Absolutely does not rock
2
Nov 02 2024
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Dummy
Portishead
More substance than the others English 90s electronic, which isn’t exactly saying much, but still,
2
Nov 03 2024
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Autobahn
Kraftwerk
I’m glad to have now listened to multiple Kraftwerk records. There’s more to them than I knew.
This was my favourite. The first and last songs are really great.
For guys on mid-70s synths, this is so much greater than the sum of its parts.
4
Nov 04 2024
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Eli And The Thirteenth Confession
Laura Nyro
Backstory to Nyro’s career is neat, she seems like a cool and respectable musician.
Good record, too.
3
Nov 05 2024
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Disraeli Gears
Cream
My two favourite things: English psychedelia, and Eric Clapton. I listened with an open mind, but it was no use.
2
Nov 06 2024
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All Directions
The Temptations
Review for the album: the funk stuff is better than the smooth r&b stuff, and the real long song was good as hell, this was a solid album and I liked it a lot. Four stars.
Review for other people’s reviews: if you listen to this and say “This is DIVISIVE and TOO POLITICAL” because there is a song or two about how maybe people shouldn’t be racist, you have an American Baby Brain and should read a book and calm down lol. Zero stars.
4
Nov 07 2024
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All Hail the Queen
Queen Latifah
I forgot Queen Latifah also had a music career, and this is the first time I’ve heard any of it. It’s neat! Solid late 80s hip hop, fun sampling. A decent record.
3
Nov 08 2024
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Talking Book
Stevie Wonder
Superstition is a 6⭐️ song. It, along with a couple others, almost carries the album to a 5. I’m rounding down though, because there’s a couple that are a bit too adult-contemporary for me.
4
Nov 09 2024
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Music in Exile
Songhoy Blues
I wish I could be as cool as a Malian guitarist.
4
Nov 10 2024
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Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
Dexys Midnight Runners
Kind of rolled my eyes when this came up, just because it’s a band that I (and most people, I think?) would consider a one hit wonder.
A good lesson in checking oneself. Sounds like if the Clash had done one more album, and it was their second worst one, but in a good way. Rounding down from 3.5 here.
3
Nov 11 2024
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Picture Book
Simply Red
A big time “this was ok”.
It had an ok cover of a great song (Heaven).
I can’t imagine ever thinking to listen to it again.
2
Nov 12 2024
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Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Last Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I said I was rounding down from 3.5, in case I liked their earlier garage rocky one more.
I did like this one more, but in a way that made me think the previous was inflated. Call that one a 2.5 rounded up, this one a 3.5 rounded down.
3
Nov 13 2024
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Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
I didn’t have high hopes for a 1969 psychedelic album by the guy from Moby Grape, but hey. Sometimes we make mistakes.
4