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Sun Oct 08 2023
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
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Mon Oct 09 2023
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Aggressively busy and noisy. Never lets you forget you’re listening to it. Very cool.
4
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Tue Oct 10 2023
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
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Wed Oct 11 2023
Beauty And The Beat
The Go-Go's
This was a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be.
3
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Thu Oct 12 2023
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
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Fri Oct 13 2023
The Age Of The Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets
Couldn’t possibly sound more like a British super group from 2008 (bad thing).
2
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Sat Oct 14 2023
One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
This one knocked me on my ass. Wow. What a record.
5
View Album
Sun Oct 15 2023
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
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Mon Oct 16 2023
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
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Tue Oct 17 2023
The Stooges
The Stooges
It’s the Stooges!
4
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Wed Oct 18 2023
GREY Area
Little Simz
Hey this was pretty cool.
3
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Thu Oct 19 2023
Connected
Stereo MC's
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but this one, you probably can.
1
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Fri Oct 20 2023
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
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Sat Oct 21 2023
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
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Sun Oct 22 2023
Metallica
Metallica
It rocks. It’s not their best, Cliff Burton isn’t on it. But it’s good and it rocks.
3
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Mon Oct 23 2023
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
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Tue Oct 24 2023
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
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Wed Oct 25 2023
Pyromania
Def Leppard
This has all the trappings of something that rocks, but it does not rock.
2
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Thu Oct 26 2023
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
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Fri Oct 27 2023
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
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Sat Oct 28 2023
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
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Sun Oct 29 2023
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
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Mon Oct 30 2023
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
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Tue Oct 31 2023
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
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Wed Nov 01 2023
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
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Thu Nov 02 2023
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
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Fri Nov 03 2023
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
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Sat Nov 04 2023
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
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Sun Nov 05 2023
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
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Mon Nov 06 2023
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
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Tue Nov 07 2023
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
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Wed Nov 08 2023
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
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Thu Nov 09 2023
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
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Fri Nov 10 2023
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
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Sat Nov 11 2023
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
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Sun Nov 12 2023
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
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Mon Nov 13 2023
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
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Tue Nov 14 2023
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
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Wed Nov 15 2023
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
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Thu Nov 16 2023
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
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Fri Nov 17 2023
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
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Sat Nov 18 2023
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
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Sun Nov 19 2023
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
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Mon Nov 20 2023
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
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Tue Nov 21 2023
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
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Wed Nov 22 2023
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
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Thu Nov 23 2023
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
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Fri Nov 24 2023
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
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Sat Nov 25 2023
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
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Sun Nov 26 2023
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
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Mon Nov 27 2023
Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Bill Callahan
Lots to like here, nice voice, nice production, nice songs.
3
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Tue Nov 28 2023
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
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Wed Nov 29 2023
Nick Of Time
Bonnie Raitt
Just can’t do it with the rock drums and the shiny finish. Sorry Bonnie.
2
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Thu Nov 30 2023
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
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Fri Dec 01 2023
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
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Sat Dec 02 2023
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
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Sun Dec 03 2023
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
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Mon Dec 04 2023
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
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Tue Dec 05 2023
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
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Wed Dec 06 2023
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
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Thu Dec 07 2023
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
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Fri Dec 08 2023
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
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Sat Dec 09 2023
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
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Sun Dec 10 2023
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
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Mon Dec 11 2023
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
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Tue Dec 12 2023
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
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Wed Dec 13 2023
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
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Thu Dec 14 2023
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
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Fri Dec 15 2023
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
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Sat Dec 16 2023
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
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Sun Dec 17 2023
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
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Mon Dec 18 2023
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
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Tue Dec 19 2023
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
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Wed Dec 20 2023
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
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Thu Dec 21 2023
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
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Fri Dec 22 2023
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
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Sat Dec 23 2023
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
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Sun Dec 24 2023
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
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Mon Dec 25 2023
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
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Tue Dec 26 2023
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
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Wed Dec 27 2023
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
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Thu Dec 28 2023
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
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Fri Dec 29 2023
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
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Sat Dec 30 2023
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
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Sun Dec 31 2023
A Short Album About Love
The Divine Comedy
I can’t stand this stuff.
1
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Mon Jan 01 2024
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
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Tue Jan 02 2024
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
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Wed Jan 03 2024
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
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Thu Jan 04 2024
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
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Fri Jan 05 2024
Fromohio
fIREHOSE
Mike Watt can do no wrong? Maybe?
4
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Sat Jan 06 2024
At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
Nothing I don’t like here just not something I love either. Crowd noise adds a lot
3
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Sun Jan 07 2024
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
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Mon Jan 08 2024
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
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Tue Jan 09 2024
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
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Wed Jan 10 2024
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
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Thu Jan 11 2024
...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
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Fri Jan 12 2024
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
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Sat Jan 13 2024
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
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Sun Jan 14 2024
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
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Mon Jan 15 2024
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
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Tue Jan 16 2024
Red Headed Stranger
Willie Nelson
Willie’s got more musical layers than I realized. Instrumental stuff on this one really beautiful too!
4
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Wed Jan 17 2024
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
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Thu Jan 18 2024
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
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Fri Jan 19 2024
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
This album cover looks familiar have I seen it somewhere before
3
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Sat Jan 20 2024
What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
How could someone possibly make something so beautiful as this.
5.5⭐️
5
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Sun Jan 21 2024
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
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Mon Jan 22 2024
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
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Tue Jan 23 2024
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
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Wed Jan 24 2024
Boy In Da Corner
Dizzee Rascal
This is just Too British For Me.
2
View Album
Thu Jan 25 2024
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Ice Cube
Lots of musical value here, hard to get past a lot of the content.
2
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Fri Jan 26 2024
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
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Sat Jan 27 2024
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
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Sun Jan 28 2024
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
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Mon Jan 29 2024
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
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Tue Jan 30 2024
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
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Wed Jan 31 2024
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
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Thu Feb 01 2024
Olympia 64
Jacques Brel
Çe la, c’est pas ma musique.
2
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Fri Feb 02 2024
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
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Sat Feb 03 2024
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
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Sun Feb 04 2024
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
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Mon Feb 05 2024
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
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Tue Feb 06 2024
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
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Wed Feb 07 2024
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
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Thu Feb 08 2024
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
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Fri Feb 09 2024
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
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Sat Feb 10 2024
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
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Sun Feb 11 2024
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
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Mon Feb 12 2024
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
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Tue Feb 13 2024
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
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Wed Feb 14 2024
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
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Thu Feb 15 2024
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
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
So this is Frank Ocean eh?
Pleasant, I suppose, but in a neutral way.
2
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Pretenders
Pretenders
A somewhat cooler, rougher-around-the-edges Blondie? Album maybe a bit uneven, but some really solid stretches.
3
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Sun Feb 18 2024
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
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Mon Feb 19 2024
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
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Tue Feb 20 2024
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
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Wed Feb 21 2024
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
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Thu Feb 22 2024
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
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Fri Feb 23 2024
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
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Sat Feb 24 2024
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
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Sun Feb 25 2024
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
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Mon Feb 26 2024
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
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Tue Feb 27 2024
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
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Wed Feb 28 2024
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
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Thu Feb 29 2024
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
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Fri Mar 01 2024
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
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Sat Mar 02 2024
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
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Sun Mar 03 2024
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
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Mon Mar 04 2024
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
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Tue Mar 05 2024
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
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Wed Mar 06 2024
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
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Thu Mar 07 2024
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
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Fri Mar 08 2024
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
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Sat Mar 09 2024
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
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Sun Mar 10 2024
Born To Be With You
Dion
More like Yion. (Yawn)
2
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Mon Mar 11 2024
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
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Tue Mar 12 2024
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
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Wed Mar 13 2024
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
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Thu Mar 14 2024
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
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Fri Mar 15 2024
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
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Sat Mar 16 2024
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
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Sun Mar 17 2024
One World
John Martyn
Hard to put a finger on this one. Mostly didn’t care for it, but some neat moments.
2
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Mon Mar 18 2024
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
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Tue Mar 19 2024
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
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Wed Mar 20 2024
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
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Thu Mar 21 2024
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
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Fri Mar 22 2024
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
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Sat Mar 23 2024
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
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Sun Mar 24 2024
Legalize It
Peter Tosh
Legalize what? What’s this guy talkin about do you think
3
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Mon Mar 25 2024
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
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Tue Mar 26 2024
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
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Wed Mar 27 2024
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
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Thu Mar 28 2024
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
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Fri Mar 29 2024
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
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Sat Mar 30 2024
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
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Sun Mar 31 2024
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
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Mon Apr 01 2024
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
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Tue Apr 02 2024
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
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Wed Apr 03 2024
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
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Thu Apr 04 2024
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
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Fri Apr 05 2024
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
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Sat Apr 06 2024
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
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Sun Apr 07 2024
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
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Mon Apr 08 2024
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
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
Ok fine the Smiths are good. I said it.
4
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Wed Apr 10 2024
The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow
Not bad, exactly, but in one ear and out the other. An English rock band from 2008.
2
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Thu Apr 11 2024
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
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Fri Apr 12 2024
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
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Sat Apr 13 2024
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
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Sun Apr 14 2024
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
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Mon Apr 15 2024
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
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Tue Apr 16 2024
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
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Wed Apr 17 2024
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
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Thu Apr 18 2024
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
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Fri Apr 19 2024
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
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Sat Apr 20 2024
Live At Leeds
The Who
Frickin rocks.
4
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Sun Apr 21 2024
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
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Mon Apr 22 2024
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
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Tue Apr 23 2024
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
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Wed Apr 24 2024
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
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Thu Apr 25 2024
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
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Fri Apr 26 2024
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
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Sat Apr 27 2024
Surfer Rosa
Pixies
A lot more demented than I expected (good thing)
4
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Sun Apr 28 2024
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
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Mon Apr 29 2024
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
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Tue Apr 30 2024
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
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Wed May 01 2024
Heavy Weather
Weather Report
Technically good, Jaco is cool, but too clean, too smooth.
2
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Thu May 02 2024
Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
Sickos: Yes… ha ha ha… Yes!
4
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Fri May 03 2024
Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
A 2 without Neil. Just can’t muster much enthusiasm for sappy hippie-folk, ya know?
2
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Sat May 04 2024
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
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Sun May 05 2024
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
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Mon May 06 2024
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
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Tue May 07 2024
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
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Wed May 08 2024
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