1001 Albums Summary

The 90s/2000s influence is so strong, this album feels like a relic of the time. I wonder what Moby is trying to say with this album. Machete is a standout right now, it doesn't feel time-stamped like the rest of the album does. The tension of tempo drives this story and adds some real angst I haven't felt the whole album. That speedy 2000s action movie drum sample keeps getting used, I wonder if this is where it's popularity originated? What else came out in 1998? Blade? The middle of the album is more interesting to me, it's less generic and has tactile sonic emotion I can feel. Weird that i'm just noticing there's a lot of Christian undertones in the lyrics, I'm going to assume he converted from being an addict? Machete into 7 feels like a breakdown into understanding and enlightening. Followed by Run On where there's a lot of happy chord progressions and lyrics about God cutting sinners and hypocrites down. Just read the wikipedia page about this album and apparently it's based off of vicious sampling of blues and soul songs. Someone called it millennial-core and they're correct. I think this album isn't my cup of tea. First off, I can't place myself into the context of underground techno/electronic music of the late 90s. Second, I grew up watching movies that this music may have been background music for, for all I know—it certainly sounds like it. Everloving could be placed into an emotional Cher running to meet her lover before it's too late montage in a romantic drama about missing out on life standing in front of you. It's not bad music, but I personally think it's overhyped for what it is. It's kind of stuffy and dirty, something to play in the background of a gallery opening for an NFT I don't like. My beef is that this doesn't say anything or move my world forward in any way other than sonically. I can hate it for being uninspired and drab, but it did revolutionize the 2000s motion picture soundtrack genre, that's for sure.

I love this album, my favorite tracks are North American Scum, All My Friends, and new york i love you but you're bringing me down. There's so much yearning tucked into the corners of each song—yearning for love, for belonging, and for permission to feel alive. You're also trapped in the rush of the crushing expectations of capitalism in Watch the Tapes as the bass-line bounces you along to the rhythm of commuter traffic. Life as a cog in the machine!