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Mon Oct 16 2023
Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
go on marvin, write a whole album about sex.
in seriousness, this was just a solid, well-paced album. vocals are wonderful, instrumentation was great.
4
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Tue Oct 17 2023
Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
i was all aboard until the spoken word piece. the good vibes were sort of canceled out by the lengths of some tracks and the bummer that was the spoken word components of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"
3
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Wed Oct 18 2023
The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
Really like "Spacelab" and "The Model." Sounds great, trailblazing. I was excited to listen to this one.
4
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Fri Oct 20 2023
Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
4
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Sat Oct 21 2023
Vespertine
Björk
I love this album from start to finish.
5
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Sun Oct 22 2023
Kick Out The Jams (Live)
MC5
Surprisingly good live album. I kind of lost interest about 2/3 of the way, but had a decent time listening to it.
3
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Mon Oct 23 2023
Disraeli Gears
Cream
When i started the album my first thought was "oh this is some Clapton shit, isnt it." Didn't hate it as much as i thought I would, all things considered. One of those considered things is Eric Clapton though, and the other is repetitive blues riffing, two big "nopes" for me.
3
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Tue Oct 24 2023
Larks' Tongues In Aspic
King Crimson
really loved this. i wasn't expecting it to be nearly fully instrumental, but that's often a real positive for me and this album was no different.
"Larks Tongues In Aspic (Part II)" was the standout track for me. Re-listening to appreciate the build and textures.
4
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Wed Oct 25 2023
The Cars
The Cars
Love it. No notes.
5
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Fri Oct 27 2023
Ten
Pearl Jam
Classic but not my Jam.
It feels very repetitive in such a high dose, and the album was almost too easy to ignore.
2
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Sat Oct 28 2023
Low-Life
New Order
I thought I was going to have a hard time listening to this album critically because I generally like New Order a lot. I've heard most of this album as individual songs. But I have never heard the full album, and \"Face Up\" was new to me with good reason ... such poor vocals. Kind of ruined an album I was enjoying a lot up to that track.
\"Sunrise\" is probably my favorite song from this album. But I also must admit I've always thought it was a Cure track.
One general nitpick: the rhymey-rhymey lyrics all over the album were grating on me a little since I was paying attention ... but I can't argue with the vibes so it gets a 4.
4
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Sun Oct 29 2023
Music From Big Pink
The Band
In terms of music production, vocals, etc, it sounds good. Varied instrumentation, good harmonies.
But it draaaaags. The second half of the album was slow and boring and I couldn't wait for it to end.
I was tempted to listen to the album at 1.5x speed.
2
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Mon Oct 30 2023
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
The instrumental start to the first track was promising, but then the singing started. The singer is somehow managing to mimic Bob Dylan and Springsteen at the same time and oooof, that does not work for me.
Can't tell exactly why I hated this album so much. Went back and forth for me between "inoffensive" and "want to turn this off" but the vocals ultimately killed it for me. And the length. And the samey-sameness of the songs. I love some fuzzed-out non-structured albums, perhaps it was just really wrong vibes for a rainy Sunday morning? IDK.
Tempted to give it 1 star, only giving it 2 for the song "Burning" which stood out from the morass.
2
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Tue Oct 31 2023
Ramones
Ramones
14 tracks, 29:04 ... buckle up
i think the Ramones exist best as a 2 minute interlude of distortion, affectation, and worst/best lyrics to enliven your evening, your soundtrack, your bar karaoke, your dance night. it didn't seem like even they had the attention span to finish the album.
will continue to enjoy songs from this album individually, will probably never listen to the album in its entirety again. 4 stars nonetheless for "Judy is a Punk" and "Blitzkrieg Bop".
4
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Wed Nov 01 2023
Metal Box
Public Image Ltd.
Liked the sound and vibes, but got frustrated with the long unstructured songs. This was hugely influential to a lot of music I love, but I didn't enjoy listening to this album.
3
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Thu Nov 02 2023
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
Some of my favorite S&G songs, some of my least favorite S&G songs...
Hard to rate.
3
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Fri Nov 03 2023
Liege And Lief
Fairport Convention
This was a really hard one for me to get through. Really strongly disliked the vocals, the lyrics, and the instrumentation. I was surprised how electrified the sound was versus the overall Ren Faire vibes. Hard to parse. Very hard to parse.
2
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Sat Nov 04 2023
All Directions
The Temptations
3
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Sun Nov 05 2023
Aha Shake Heartbreak
Kings of Leon
I'm having a difficult time rating this. Musically it's very very good, very much up my alley.
Vocally ... baffling. But by a few songs in, I kind of settled into the singing voice and stopped hating it so much, and I ended up really liking the album.
Kind of blowing my mind that I never tried to listen to this band back in the mid 00s but here we are.
4
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Mon Nov 06 2023
Play
Moby
The goodwill built up by the first three tracks on this album was erased by South Side, a track so cringey I wanted to turn it off. Most of the rest of the album was fine, but any time that Moby was using his own vocals, the track suffered. There's a reason that he succeeded by using samples extensively.
I never again need to hear his attempt at sexy pillow talk.
"Porcelain" and "Natural Blues" are the standout tracks. Highs are canceled out by lows, it gets a 3.
3
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Tue Nov 07 2023
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
it's always interesting to hear songs you've been listening to your whole life situated within an album. the six (!) singles on this album have structure and polish that the rest of the album did not. i'm not a huge fan of their musical style so the rest of the album didn't add much to my appreciation of their songs but "Looking Out My Back Door" and "Who'll Stop the Rain" are both classic.
What is up with John Fogerty's pronunciation of words that rhyme with "burn"? I always assumed "Big wheel keep on toinin' / Proud Mary keep on boinin'" was specific to that song but he does it a bunch in this album too ...
3
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Wed Nov 08 2023
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy
this album has such relentless pace and energy, with a few quieter interludes, and saves two of the best songs for the last few tracks. the middle of the album dragged for me a bit in terms of the repetition in the production but that's typical of this era, and the lyrics are a treatise and need the time.
these songs have been sampled so widely that even though i haven't listened to this album through before, it felt familiar. i love the interplay between chuck d's intensity and flavor flav's hype. great album, glad to have heard it at last.
4
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Thu Nov 09 2023
Floodland
Sisters Of Mercy
Love it.
5
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Fri Nov 10 2023
Life Thru A Lens
Robbie Williams
Did not enjoy this. I don't like his voice, and the whole album sounded like knockoffs of songs I might enjoy (or might roll my eyes at) rewritten with painfully rhymey lyrics.
1
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Sat Nov 11 2023
Guero
Beck
I don't mind Beck when he's carving out his own mumbly piece of the "spoken word rock" corner. The sound collage usually works for me, he's good at textures and rhythms.
The closer he steps toward hip hop, the less I like it and the less convincing it is. "Hell Yes" was the worst track on the album for me.
Didn't hate it overall but wouldn't seek it out.
3
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Sun Nov 12 2023
Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
classic, nothing fancy garage rock. most of the songs are covers, but i liked a few of their originals ("The Witch" and "Strychnine"). i generally love the vibe of these lo-fi recordings, and the singer has a great scream. i can see the influence on future artists. not much more to it. giving it a 3.
3
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Mon Nov 13 2023
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
i love this album.
i don't know how to rate it because i want to be critical for the degree to which it emulates its source material, but it's so committed to the bit that it WORKS. it sounds great 17 years after it arrived. i think the lyrics in particular work so well and lift it into the 21st century.
as much as i love the singles, i love the less well-known tracks on this album. works together as an album, works broken out into singles.
rip amy winehouse
4
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Tue Nov 14 2023
Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
enjoyed this album sonically more than i thought i would given how abrasive their combined vocal style is. but i really liked the way it sounded, i liked the way they used samples, and i appreciated the dynamics that were worked into it.
i like an album that saves the singles until the back half.
4
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Wed Nov 15 2023
Entertainment
Gang Of Four
Enjoyable! A little repetitive but I enjoyed the subtlety.
Kind of surprised this music is not more prevalent within pop culture considering how many bands were clearly listening to them.
4
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Thu Nov 16 2023
Coles Corner
Richard Hawley
Why am I being made to listen to this? So non-descript, no edge, no personality.
1
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Fri Nov 17 2023
The Infotainment Scan
The Fall
I'm generally on board with this type of music but it didn't stand out to me - maybe 1001 albums has been serving me too much post-punk lately.
it took one or two tracks to get over the vocalists bizarre affect but once i did, i got into it. no songs really stood out over the others and it was good music to work to but it was not keeping my attention. 3.5 but rounded down.
3
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Sat Nov 18 2023
I Should Coco
Supergrass
Poppy goodness!
Pretty fun to hear "Alright" in the context of an album not a single scene in a film.
Ultimately not my favorite style of music but this was a solid album.
4
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Sun Nov 19 2023
Third
Soft Machine
squonky squonky jazz sax and brass, oooooof. i barely made it through the first 10 minutes which were nails-on-chalkboard bad to hear.
the album gradually became less bad to listen to, but more boring. i kept wanting to walk away from the second and third tracks to do chores. i kept checking the timestamp. i just didn't want to hear more.
then the final track came on and i was into it! i really loved the layering and tones in that track ... and then the jazz horns started again and i was back to disliking it.
this album seems to represent a transition moment for this band, unfortunately for me, it's between one genre i am indifferent to and another genre i dislike. i feel unfair giving this album such a low rating since i'm sure the musicianship was very high, but it's just very much something i never want to listen to again.
1
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Mon Nov 20 2023
Konnichiwa
Skepta
Can I get a pic for the gram?
Great album. I liked the background music, energy, wished I had been listening on something that had a little more bass.
4
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Tue Nov 21 2023
Blue
Joni Mitchell
I wish I could deal with her vocal style, but it's not for me. I was charmed by a lot of the very 1971 lyrical choices, and the music sounded good, but I was ultimately waiting for the album to end.
3
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Wed Nov 22 2023
Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
I expected to be bored by nearly an hour of Beastie Boys but there was a lot of variety in the backup music. I particularly enjoyed the songs with hardcore percussion and structure. And all the flutes.
Impossible for me to separate Sabotage from the Spike Jonze video for it, and in fact I watched the video immediately after I finished the album.
4
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Thu Nov 23 2023
Back to Basics
Christina Aguilera
The vibes between the two albums in this double album set were so different. I didn't connect with the first album at all. The second album was a wild tone shift and while I found it more interesting than the first, I was repulsed by the many food metaphors for sex, the Candyman song, and to wrap it up with a ballad about marriage ... it lost me hard.
2
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Fri Nov 24 2023
Woodface
Crowded House
Not my favorite. The music sounds fiiiiiine I guess, but contained nothing to make me pay attention other than the ridiculous lyrics. I kept thinking I was listening to the song with the most ridiculous lyrics, only for two songs later to be stranger. Nothing makes me pay attention like "But there goes God/ In his sexy pants and his sausage dog/ And he can't stand Beelzebub/ 'Cause he looks so good in black, in black."
1
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Sat Nov 25 2023
Doolittle
Pixies
Listened to this for the thousandth time just to be sure it would get a 5 and yes it gets a 5. This is a top 10 album for me. So concise, dynamic, funny. Love the lyrics, the vocals, the percussion.
5
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Sun Nov 26 2023
OK Computer
Radiohead
An old favorite for me, sang it nearly word for word. Impossible to judge, I've spent so much time with it, so it gets a 5.
5
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Mon Nov 27 2023
Something Else By The Kinks
The Kinks
Not sure what I was expecting with this, knowing the Kinks only by their early big singles ... I didn't dislike it but it was kind of all over the place. Some songs seemed Beatles-y, some were Dylan-y, and some were these quirky very English songs that I understand they moved toward later in their career. Decent soundtrack for cooking dinner on a Sunday evening.
3
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Tue Nov 28 2023
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
I feel like I can't rate the Beatles bc I'm not qualified or something. This album was very Beatlesy, and while it was novel to hear new-to-me Beatles songs, it was all what I was expecting. Giving it a 3.
3
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Wed Nov 29 2023
Fear Of Music
Talking Heads
A bit boring, but I like it. One of those albums where the singles stand out from the rest of the tracks. "Animals" was my favorite track that I hadn't heard before.
"Life During Wartime" is such a great song and Pittsburgh shoutout so my civic pride rounds this album from 3.5 up to 4.
4
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Thu Nov 30 2023
Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
I recognized two songs from the radio, only one of which i knew was by Dire Straits.
the rest of the album was slow and felt disjointed, and even though it's fairly short, i kept hoping each song would be the last.
definitely didn't seem like it would be THE first record to sell one million CDs. But the power of wanting MTV is great, i guess.
2
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Fri Dec 01 2023
Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex
Loved it, but the saxophone kept throwing me off. Sometimes i liked it, sometimes i did not! But the energy & lyrics kept me listening.
4
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Sat Dec 02 2023
Homework
Daft Punk
3
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Sun Dec 03 2023
In The Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
Another album I don't know how to rate. Music by technically competent people who everyone likes, but is boring as hell? Giving it a 2.
2
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Mon Dec 04 2023
Fred Neil
Fred Neil
I could hear so much of this singer's influence in future artists who clearly were listening to him. He's got a great voice, and I liked the album lyrically. It's just not really my type of music.
3
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Tue Dec 05 2023
War
U2
this album contains my two favorite U2 songs, and started out so strong. but i went from "oh this is my U2 era" to "oh i'm really done with Bono wailing at me" to "ok kind of like it" back to "shut up Bono" by the end.
3
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Wed Dec 06 2023
The Lexicon Of Love
ABC
Not my favorite. I kept waiting for it to be something i recognized but halfway through i realized i was just waiting for it to be the Pet Shop Boys instead. Very boring and I didn't like the lead vocalist's voice. Might go listen to the Pet Shop Boys now.
2
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Thu Dec 07 2023
Feast of Wire
Calexico
i listened to this album a lot in the late 00s, and while the band's whole *thing* has not grown well with me, musically i still like the album a lot. i really love the instrumental tracks especially. rounding a 3.5 down to 3.
3
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Fri Dec 08 2023
John Prine
John Prine
Not quite sure how to rate this one. In terms of song structure and lyrics, great. In terms of vocals, instrumentation and overall feel of the album, not my style, and I found myself wanting it to be over.
3
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Sat Dec 09 2023
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
This was a lot of Led Zeppelin. Maybe at some point in time, someone needed an hour and twenty minutes of this, but not me, not now.
2
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Sun Dec 10 2023
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
great album. i loved the ebb and flow and pacing of it. her voice is fantastic. glad to have learned of this one.
4
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Mon Dec 11 2023
The Köln Concert
Keith Jarrett
Good, I'm sure. Not my thing ... or at least not in this high of a quantity.
3
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Tue Dec 12 2023
At Newport 1960
Muddy Waters
Not really my type of music but it sounded great, especially for a live album
3
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Wed Dec 13 2023
Teenager Of The Year
Frank Black
Great listen. I haven't explored much of Frank Black's solo career but I felt this was a very cohesive album that was so listenable.
4
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Thu Dec 14 2023
Superunknown
Soundgarden
Fantastic album start to finish. I had never heard this album in full, but there are so many singles from it that I love that the whole thing felt deeply familiar. They walk the line between having a distinctive sound and including a lot of variety within their songs. The album was paced well, nothing felt like an afterthought. Very glad I listened.
5
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Fri Dec 15 2023
GI
Germs
I appreciated the tracks that felt more proto-hardcore and was more indifferent towards the rest. Music that was once groundbreaking but no longer feels so is always hard to rate. Hmm. 2.5 rounded up to 3?
3
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Sat Dec 16 2023
Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
sounded great but just got a type of music i enjoy listening to. two or three songs really stood out but the rest sort of blended together into one melancholy, lovely song. 2.5, but rounding up to 3 for her lovely voice and vocal style.
3
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Sun Dec 17 2023
Country Life
Roxy Music
I never know what to make of Roxy Music. This is maybe the first time I've listened to Country Life but I've heard other albums and I never know how to process it. It's not bad, and I don't even really dislike it. But I'm always scratching my head at why it has a reputation for being so influential to so many different types of musicians. I wasn't there, but I'd like to understand it.
Country Life did not answer my questions. Fine music, the album was nicely paced and hung together very well. It's a 3.
3
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Mon Dec 18 2023
I Against I
Bad Brains
Not a bad listen.
3
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Tue Dec 19 2023
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
Not enough of a Bob Dylan fan to enjoy anything beyond the "best of" collections. The album was fine. Nothing interesting or exciting.
2
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Wed Dec 20 2023
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
Loved it. Very familiar territory for me but a band I've slept on for a long time.
4
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Thu Dec 21 2023
Synchronicity
The Police
This album is jam-packed with interesting and varying music, my favorite Police song in "Synchronicity II" and some songs I hated too. Short and sweet, fun, a little disturbing.
4
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Fri Dec 22 2023
Ragged Glory
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Did not like this album at all. I like some Neil Young, but not this. The rhymey-rhyming was really, really, really bothering me. His voice felt off, just such a bummer of an album.
1
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Sat Dec 23 2023
The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
Reading about The Kinks trajectory of being blackmailed from touring in the US in the early part of the British Invasion and subsequently leaning into being more specifically English because they had lost their international audience was kind of an interesting story. But this album is the outcome of that and I did not like it.
2
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Sun Dec 24 2023
It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I love the way this album sounds. There are so many songs I love. My only criticism is about the structure of the album, I felt that the pacing was not great and the energetic start left the last few songs, which were each beautiful on their own, feeling like a let down.
4
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Mon Dec 25 2023
Made In Japan
Deep Purple
there was an organ solo around 1:04 that i liked quite a bit, but that was one of the few high points on this album. the version of "Smoke on the Water" somehow eliminated all the parts of that song that i like. the drum solos, guitar solos, wailing vocal solos ... the vocals in general ... just added up to an unlistenable, rambling listening experience. i don't think the obvious musicianship outscores my dislike of listening to this album. i'm giving it a 1.5 and rounding it down to a 1.
1
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Tue Dec 26 2023
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
shout out to the horses whinnying at the beginning of "Sleigh Ride"
i'm a fan of this style of musical production, but not a fan of christmas music, so i'm having a hard time figuring out how to rate this. it's all quite familiar, in a way that makes me feel like i'm in a mall in december, and its odd hearing such talented vocalists singing such dirt-simple songs as "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer." but in terms of christmas music, it could be much, much worse.
i'm rating this before the album is finished and i'm not going to make myself listen to the rest.
2
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Wed Dec 27 2023
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Richard Thompson
Really disliked. Stylistically and lyrically it was a bummer. This is not one I will revisit.
2
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Thu Dec 28 2023
Music From The Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Loved this album but wish it had pushed its experimental nature a bit further
4
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Fri Dec 29 2023
Aladdin Sane
David Bowie
Not sure if I was just not in the mood, or I just didn't like this album, but it did nothing for me. Never really caught my attention.
2
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Sat Dec 30 2023
Aja
Steely Dan
A little jazzier (re: too much sax) than I'm usually up for, but I was baking cookies in my kitchen on a rainy Saturday and it was nice to listen to. If I was doing embarrassing mom-dances while mixing up batter, no one needs to know.
3
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Sun Dec 31 2023
Fragile
Yes
I enjoyed this! Much more than I expected to. I'm giving it a 3.5 but rounding down to 3 for that cover of America which baaaaarely even qualifies as one.
3
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Mon Jan 01 2024
Swordfishtrombones
Tom Waits
i'm surprised how much i actually liked this one. i was imagining that all the tracks would be either like track 1 or track 2, but he actually has more "range" (if you can call it that in this case) than i was giving him credit for. lyrically the themes and topics were about what i was expecting, but the album was pretty listenable.
3
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Tue Jan 02 2024
The Wall
Pink Floyd
i was hoping to be pleasantly surprised but this, but i was not. i don't feel that this needed or benefitted from being a double album. "comfortably numb" is the high point.
2
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Wed Jan 03 2024
British Steel
Judas Priest
This album is a 4, minus a full point for that Red White and Blue song, but that was a bonus track maybe? So back up to 3.5. And rounding up bc BREAKING THE LAW BREAKING THE LAW
4
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Thu Jan 04 2024
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
i liked the album quite a bit but no songs beyong the six (6!) singles and the bonus track really stood out to me. loved the lyrics and her vocals. "All I Really Want" has always been my favorite song of hers and it opens the album so strong. I cannot decide between 4 and 5 stars.
4
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Fri Jan 05 2024
Vulnicura
Björk
I loved the tone of this albums, instrumentation, and her voice. Beautiful album.
4
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Sat Jan 06 2024
Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
I love an instrumental, and I'm a fan of the tone that they set out in the first track, Green Onions, but 6 or 7 songs in, the album started to get repetitive.
3
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Sun Jan 07 2024
Signing Off
UB40
I liked this, but I was also charmed by reading the backstory of the recording of this album, which probably adds at least a point. Good lyrics and tone, and I thought it sounded great for an album that wasn't even recorded in a studio.
4
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Mon Jan 08 2024
Hotel California
Eagles
the album didn't feel stronger than its title track. i wish i had more to say, but it fell flat in a way i was not expecting, and i found myself ignoring it.
2
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Tue Jan 09 2024
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
Love this album. I love the harmonies, the melancholy, the weird sound collages, the Sloop John B, the pace. So many ideas packed so neatly into 35 minutes.
5
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Wed Jan 10 2024
Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
Good listening, nicely structured songs, great lyrics.
4
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Thu Jan 11 2024
Scott 4
Scott Walker
I'm glad it was short because it was not for me. I really disliked his voice which was not helped by the song writing. 1.5 rounded down.
1
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Fri Jan 12 2024
Rum Sodomy & The Lash
The Pogues
I enjoyed this quite a bit right up to (but not including) the last track. something about the instrumentation and vocals seems to be a reference point for a lot of newer music that i like, so it felt comfortable and familiar, even though it was new.
4
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Sat Jan 13 2024
From Elvis In Memphis
Elvis Presley
Fine. Elvisy. I enjoyed the first half of the album more than the second, which was a little more love-songy than I prefer.
3
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Sun Jan 14 2024
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
I generally like Talking Heads so I generally liked this. I didn't find much that stood out and made me sit up and go "this!" but on the other hand I enjoyed the entire album. This is a 3.5 rounded up to a 4.
4
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Mon Jan 15 2024
Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter
I feel pre-disposed to like this band's sound. Cryptograms is one of my go-tos, and while I don't think the band covers much new ground, what they create keeps me listening. This album felt in this vein -- comfortable, listenable and varied enough to keep me interested until the end.
4
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Tue Jan 16 2024
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
I've never really understood the appeal of Springsteen. Always sounds to me like he's doing drunken karaoke of the actual songs. Specifically on the song Born to Run, there's a quality to the song where it feels like the music is going too fast and the vocals are struggling to keep up. The production of so many of these songs is over the top, fuzzed out and full of wild little instrumental solos that just baffle me. I don't get it.
That said ... special shout out to the glockenspiel player who hangs on for the whole song Born To Run, it's my favorite part.
Album is a 2.5 rounded down.
2
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Wed Jan 17 2024
Berlin
Lou Reed
3
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Thu Jan 18 2024
Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches
Happy Mondays
Disliked this one quite a bit. Maybe I was in a bad mood, but it was hitting one note, and I didn't want to hear that note. The main vocalist had a stylistic tick that reminded me of Bob Dylan, in a bad way. The highlight was Holiday. I never want to hear Bob's Yer Uncle again.
2
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Fri Jan 19 2024
Phrenology
The Roots
Had a great time listening to this. This is an album that came out the year I left for college and was extremely widely played, so it felt very familiar even if I had never listened to it from front to back. Really like the textures and tone shifts.
4
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Sat Jan 20 2024
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
I want to love this album more than I do. That said, I do like it a lot. I just want to be as thrilled with Bowie as everyone else. Maybe someday it will click. Until then, it's a 3.
3
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Sun Jan 21 2024
american dream
LCD Soundsystem
This was fine. Surprised I didn't recognize any of this, honestly. It seems like music Pandora would have added into my stations based on how clearly influenced they are by the types of 80s goth rock and synthetic rock I love. But it didn't give me much new, just kind of made me want to go listen to Joy Division instead. 3.5 but rounded down to 3.
3
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Mon Jan 22 2024
xx
The xx
I thought I had never heard this. Turns out I've just never stopped to learn the name of the artist behind 3 or 4 very ubiquitous songs of the past 15 years. I'm not sure where I stand on this one. I liked it, but I was bored by it. I think it's maybe a 3.
3
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Tue Jan 23 2024
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
This was a great listen
4
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Wed Jan 24 2024
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
I tried to find the 1969 recording but ended up listening to the 2000 CD release version instead, with 8 extra songs. Didn't regret it at all. Loved the between-song banter. This is my favorite live album I've listened to for this 1001 albums project. I would probably give it a 4 for just the music, but for the concept behind the recording it gets a 5.
5
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Thu Jan 25 2024
Winter In America
Gil Scott-Heron
Pretty enjoyable, but ultimately not something I'd listen to without prompting. I enjoyed the "H2Ogate Blues" track which was full of charisma. Also liked "The Bottle". Feeling a 3.5, rounded up to 4.
4
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Fri Jan 26 2024
Hot Fuss
The Killers
This album has some really catchy songs, which is its best attribute. It has a sort of overthetop wall of production value that doesn't stop whacking you over the head. I needed less of something (less of the vocals, please) and the band just kept coming back to bring me more. Maybe I missed the moment for this one, or maybe I wouldn't have liked it in 2004 either.
2
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Sat Jan 27 2024
The Blueprint
JAY Z
pretty enjoyable, surprisingly musical, especially tracks that sampled orchestral pieces pretty heavily. i find his style to be fairly repetitive though, which negates a lot of what i like about it. 3.5 rounded down to 3.
3
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Sun Jan 28 2024
Marquee Moon
Television
a difficult one to rate. this was more musical than i was expecting, and when it worked it worked well. but other songs were a little shakier and i found the album dragged at different points. but the influence this album has had on so much music i love was obvious. i'll give this a 3.5 rounded down to 3.
3
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Mon Jan 29 2024
Jazz Samba
Stan Getz
Just loved it. No notes.
4
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Tue Jan 30 2024
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
I wrote up a whole review but it didn't save.
Long story short, i was surprised that *this* was the album that contains "Frontier Psychiatrist," a song that's been bouncing around in the periphery of my music knowledge for almost 25 years. I didn't recognize anything else off the album, and i was very surprised when it started and the horror movie chorus kicked in.
I enjoyed it. It was intricately made of a million samples and moved through so many different vibes. Maybe too much of a good thing on one album? The ghostly chorus gives it a 4.
4
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Wed Jan 31 2024
The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES
You ever listen to some YouTube video that plays a song you love but in a major key and it sounds really wrong? I kept having that feeling while listening to this album.
Take synth arrangements I love, recast them in an upbeat, happy key, overlay them with saccharine-sweet vocals. This is just really really not working for me.
Feeling generous giving it a 2.
2
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Thu Feb 01 2024
Pyromania
Def Leppard
What's not to like? I especially like the drums in "Photograph."
All four of the songs I recognize from rock radio I now know are Def Leppard songs. Prior to today, those songs were in the "Unsorted Rock, 1980s" pile. Thanks, 1001 Albums Generator, for forcing me to ID a handful of that very big pile of generic rock music. 3.5 rounded up to 4.
4
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Fri Feb 02 2024
Tommy
The Who
Started out with a strong "not hating this" which I started to doubt very much about 25 minutes in ... and then there were 2.5 more sides of albums left to go.
I was stunned to learn that this is an album about the protagonist of the "sure plays a mean pinball" song. i wasn't paying enough attention to the lyrics to get much more out of it.
This one was not for me. 1.5 rounded up to 2.
2
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Sat Feb 03 2024
Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
Really really liked this. This 1001 albums project is developing my love of flute hip hop, who knew. Their flow, the change-offs from vocalist to vocalist, the little interludes of samples, etc kept it varied but consistent. In fact, once it was done, it kept autoplaying Jurassic 5 and it took me about a half hour to realize, and I wasn't mad about it.
4
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Sun Feb 04 2024
A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
I was fairly certain I would hate this. And I'm not saying that I didn't *end up* hating it. But the first half of the album ... I kind of liked. Some parts of it I like a lot. Weird instrumentation, harshness, odd cuts, tonal shifts. It was fun.
But I hated the medley of soul covers and all the songs that followed it, except maybe "Just One Victory".
A three would be generous here. I'll give it a two.
2
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Mon Feb 05 2024
Like Water For Chocolate
Common
Long album bug didn't drag. I perked up at the song Cold Blooded and then went back and forth in my engagement throughout the rest. The Questions and Thelonius were my other two favorites. 3.5, rounding to 3.
3
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Tue Feb 06 2024
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
I wasn't paying attention and accidentally listened to a YouTube rip of the album plus the four extra songs on a bonus disc from the 1995 australian cd re-release. So i was prepared to come here and talk about how much i liked "Year of the Boomerang" but oh well.
really like a lot of the guitar and bass work, tempo changes.
it felt long, but i had four extra songs. would have been ok with 00:52, but 01:15 was a lot. 3.5 rounded up to 4.
4
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Wed Feb 07 2024
The Colour Of Spring
Talk Talk
i can read about the influence this band has had on later music that i love, but removed from its context, i was struggling to hear what made this album a standout. i liked the music but found the singer's tone of voice to the grating, and the album just made me wish i was listening to Duran Duran instead. The last track "Time It's Time" was my favorite, with the Ambrosian Singers overwhelming the vocalist.
2
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Thu Feb 08 2024
B-52's
The B-52's
this feels like a classic debut album. starts so strong with four great songs in a row, then the back half drags.
"Rock Lobster" on its own earns this album at least a 3. Their weirdness, the vocals, and the guitars push it up for me; the unevenness of the songs, and the samey-sameness of the back half drag it back down.
4
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Fri Feb 09 2024
Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
The wikipedia page for this album promised me drum and bass. I did not get any drum and bass. It's not the album's fault that someone somewhere mislabeled it. But.
I don't go to electronic music for vocal performances and I wish that this album had about 50% of the *words* as it did.
It was a good downtempo album to listen to, and the concept was strong.
3
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Sat Feb 10 2024
Transformer
Lou Reed
i'm squarely between 3 and 4 on the rating for this one. the 3 reflects how much i actually like listening to it. 4 reflects what i think about the album's legacy on music i like. I'll round up this time.
4
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Sun Feb 11 2024
The Man Who
Travis
This was fine but so generic as to have me wondering how much I've heard before.
3
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Maxinquaye
Tricky
This has been on my list for a little while now, and I loved it. Generally a good genre, a good sonic palette for me. I especially loved the Black Steel cover, which ended the album with so much energy (and im a sucker for breakbeats). Is this the first song from 1001 albums that made me want to dance? Certainly no, but in that moment it really felt like it.
4
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Tue Feb 13 2024
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
I love "California Dreaming" so so so much but I never want to hear "Rose in Spanish Harlem" again, so it's a tough one to rate.
The singing is great. 3.5 rounded down to 3.
3
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Wed Feb 14 2024
Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys
"So Hard" was probably my favorite track.
I wanted more of *something* to make this album more interesting. The album does really work as one monolithic whole. Well crafted, just a little tooooo well crafted.
3
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Thu Feb 15 2024
Odessey And Oracle
The Zombies
I knew that there was a band called the Zombies. And I knew a few of these songs. But I absolutely never knew that the Zombies recorded them. The album sounded good and I didn't lose interest, but this is a style of music that I'm just not that into.
3
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Step In The Arena
Gang Starr
This one was not for me. I enjoyed it musically and some of the songs were better lyrically than others. But most of the songs were filled by the rhymiest of rhymes. And rhymey rhymes are my pet peeve.
2
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Doggystyle
Snoop Dogg
G-funk from a 19-year-old Snoop? Filthy, but classic.
4
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Sun Feb 18 2024
John Barleycorn Must Die
Traffic
I hoped I would like this better but I could not.
The joy I experienced in this album is looking it up on Google which gave me "People also ask: Who is John Barleycorn and why must he die?"
2
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Mon Feb 19 2024
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Brian Eno
Liked this one a lot. It was weird at parts but it flew by.
4
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Tue Feb 20 2024
Figure 8
Elliott Smith
Liked this quite a bit more than I thought I would. Maybe bc I started out listening to a poorly compiled YouTube including a bunch of low-fi live tracks and a techno remix (????) that when I found the real thing, it was coherent, well balanced, and pretty listenable. Elliott Smith's voice has never been my thing so I'm giving it a 3.5 rounded down since I'll likely not revisit it.
3
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Wed Feb 21 2024
KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
This album sounded great. Really enjoyed his voice. The songs were well structured and the album held together well as a piece. This one will be one I come back to.
5
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Thu Feb 22 2024
In Utero
Nirvana
Feel like at a 3.5 for this one. Cannot decide if I should round up for how much I love the acoustic versions of the three songs from this album on the Unplugged album, or I should round down because I only love them for their acoustic versions on the Unplugged album. You know? Can't decide.
3
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Immigrés
Youssou N'Dour
Enjoyed it a lot!
4
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Sat Feb 24 2024
Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
This album is packed. It sounded great. "Going to California" is probably my favorite on this one, but there are so many iconic tracks. I feel like I'm somewhere south of a 5, maybe closer to 4, but I think I'm bumping it up for its concision.
5
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Sun Feb 25 2024
Survivor
Destiny's Child
This was a weird one. Some incredibly ubiquitous songs. Really inconsistent and sometimes kinda upsetting lyrics. Amazing vocals. Odd choices in the backing music.
3
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Bad Company
Bad Company
Yet another album I'll hem and haw about rating until I give it a 3. Not bad, but generic. It's good. It's fun. It's fine.
3
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Proud Mary" is fun. The rest of the album is not. I did not enjoy this one.
2
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche
Koffi Olomide
sounded great. the song length was consistently longer than i would have liked, but that allowed for the songs to develop their grooves.
3
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Thu Feb 29 2024
A Seat at the Table
Solange
I realllly enjoyed this, lyrically and musically. Nicely varied, well structured, well concepted. Sounded great.
4
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
It took a bit to gather momentum but I loved the last few tracks. Saxes and clarinets aren't my *thing* so that's saying a lot.
4
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Sat Mar 02 2024
The White Album
Beatles
A long album that I listened to in parts between a day of meetings and other stuff I'd rather be listening to. Some of my favorite Beatles songs, some terrible Beatles songs, some inconceivable Beatles songs.
Eclectic is maybe the word for it, but it really felt like four Beatles in a trenchcoat trying to sneak into a party for "bands only" .... just break up, buddies.
2
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Sun Mar 03 2024
Eagles
Eagles
This is what I was looking for from the Eagles, more so than Hotel California which I previously rated here. Liked Nightingale and Earlybird quite a bit. Strong 3.5 rounding up to 4.
4
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Dead Kennedys
Great album. Probably could argue myself up to a 4 but I think I'm going to stick to a 3.
3
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Tue Mar 05 2024
In Rainbows
Radiohead
So. It's on me that I accidentally listened to the "Live from the Basement" version of this album first and then had to go back and listen to the actual album. That's not their fault.
I didn't like this album though. I'd rather be listening to other Radiohead.
2
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Close To You
Carpenters
I was going to give it a 1.5 and round it down to 1, but that last minute of the last track really picked it up to a 2. what is wrong with me.
2
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Thu Mar 07 2024
Honky Tonk Heroes
Waylon Jennings
not my kind of music, and i can't tell if the balladness of it helped or hurt. i think it helped. joe ely got a 2, i'm giving his one a 3. there was some very beautiful guitar work on this one.
3
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Fri Mar 08 2024
Mothership Connection
Parliament
Always a joy
4
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
this seemed to be a well made record from an era and in a style that i can't enjoy. good momentum but toward the end of the album i kept checking to see how much was left and being disappointed. this is a 2.5 for me but i'm rounding down to 2.
2
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Sun Mar 10 2024
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Devo
Q: Did I not enjoy this album? A: In some parts!
Love "Gut Feeling", that was the highlight. Strong cringes at the lyrics of most songs.
3
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Honky Tonk Masquerade
Joe Ely
I'm not a honky tonker, sorry.
2
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Tue Mar 12 2024
With The Beatles
Beatles
It's... Beatles. Other people love this, I know this, but I don't understand the hold they have.
A nitpick: this album seemed to be from the dawn of the stereo era and they're really EMPHASIZING it with wild unnecessary panning on all tracks. Almost stopped to find a mono version.
3
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Juju
Siouxsie And The Banshees
Spellbound is such a great opening track.
Love her voice, the performances, the tone. Album was well structured and well paced and consistently intense.
5
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Graceland
Paul Simon
i cannot fairly rate this album -- it's a comfort listen to me. so it's getting 5 stars.
5
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Fri Mar 15 2024
Elvis Is Back
Elvis Presley
Kinda enjoyed this, much more than other Elvis I've had to listen to. I'm going to be generous with my 3
3
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Aqualung
Jethro Tull
Hmmm. I thought maybe I wouldn't dislike this bc I've been surprising myself with how into weird flute prog I can get, but this album didn't do anything for me. That bent of British traditional music with the harpsichords just isn't my thing.
2
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Sun Mar 17 2024
Garbage
Garbage
Wish I'd listened to this full album sooner. Stupid Girl is one of my favorites from that era, and the rest of the album sounded great.
4
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Arrival
ABBA
Dancing Queen is iconic. The rest of the album was poppy pleasantness. Not usually my style, but fun away.
4
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Liquid Swords
GZA
Saturday Afternoon Classic Hip Hop Listening Party second entry of the day after Run D.M.C. I can't say I was paying a huge amount of attention to the lyrics, as I was puttering around doing chores, but I enjoyed the production, pacing, and consistency. It has a dark, mellow sound palette that I was not expecting.
3
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Clandestino
Manu Chao
I love this album. It's so much fun. This time I found the middle part to drag a tiny bit, but then I listened to the whole thing again as soon as I was done.
4
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Thu Mar 21 2024
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
I kind of generally like Damon Albarn's sensibilities and there were moments on this one where it sort of cleared up and i could appreciate the song writing, but generally it seemed really cluttered. hard to listen to, i ended up needing to split it up over a few days because it would not hold my attention. it's intricate, but it lacks contrast.
2
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Fri Mar 22 2024
Better Living Through Chemistry
Fatboy Slim
Disliked the first half of the record but starting with track 7 it turned around for me. I ended up liking the songs that were not attempting to be overly lyrical and were closer to the more straightforward rhythm-forward electronic styles I prefer. 2.5 rounded down to 2.
2
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Sat Mar 23 2024
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
3, mostly for Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills.
Maybe if had memories of the time when this music represented the darkest of evils, I'd have more appreciation.
3
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Sun Mar 24 2024
One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
Started off strong. And I generally like Funkadelic ... but one of my least endearing traits is how much I hate toilet humor and so the fourth track was rough and the album never regained ground with me after that.
2
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Gris Gris
Dr. John
woman_trying_kombucha.gif
2
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Frank
Amy Winehouse
Sounded great. Not as produced as Back To Black but sometimes that's OK. The lyrics, the themes though .... difficult.
I don't think I'll be returning to this one.
3
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Wed Mar 27 2024
Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
Fiiiiiiine. It's fine.
It's worse than fine, actually. It's more Paul McCartney than I ever want.
2
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Dookie
Green Day
Have never listened to this whole album, but I'm glad I did!
Very very solid album that drives the whole way through. "Basket Case" really jumps out at me as feeling *different* than the rest of the tracks.
4
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
this is an album i've heard 1000 times in 100 different contexts. tonight when i listened to it, it felt slow. i feel that a lot with music i liked in my 20s -- i appreciated a 6 minute song then in a way i no longer can. is it my attention span? my exposure to more frenetically-paced music? i'm not sure, but it was noticeable on this album.
so i feel like i need to take at least a half a point off for that. will i round up or round down?
5
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Sat Mar 30 2024
The Wildest!
Louis Prima
Medium-wild, but very fun! Not my favorite genre of music but seemed well executed and well paced. Huge points for originating Jump, Jive and Wail which would briefly take over radio 40 years later.
4
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Sun Mar 31 2024
Get Behind Me Satan
The White Stripes
I don't know why this, of all White Stripes albums, is on this list.
2
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Mon Apr 01 2024
Tank Battles
Dagmar Krause
I don't know quite how to rate this. I think it's well executed and her voice is so perfect for this style of song. But the album is very long. I am not sure if I was supposed to listen to songs sung in both English and German, but I couldn't find a version that only included English .... hence, most of the songs twice.
That said, I enjoyed this. It's such a particular style from a particular time, and quite specifically a product of the dire political environment of Weimar era Germany.
4
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Tue Apr 02 2024
Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
i loved the first 45 minutes. absolutely beautiful.
the last 25 minutes felt so much weaker and i was getting bored by the end of it, which was a bummer. so its a 5 and a 3, averaged to a 4.
4
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Another Music In A Different Kitchen
Buzzcocks
Liked it! Snarly, whiny garage rock. Particularly into Sixteen. The album breezed by.
4
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Thu Apr 04 2024
Seventh Tree
Goldfrapp
Very chill. Too chill. Sounded pretty, buy I want more than that.
2
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Not really my top genre but the second half of the album is packed with familiar hits.
4
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Sat Apr 06 2024
Parallel Lines
Blondie
started strong, ended strong. the middle was fine! it was good! i was bopping along to it at my desk.
4
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Street Life
The Crusaders
I want to collect all the one-off disco songs on otherwise non-disco albums from like 1979-1983 on the 1001 albums list (looking at you, Blondie) onto one comp.
The first track was nice, but it got kinda boring afterwards. I think I'm learning that I like weirder jazz than this. Which is weird bc I don't like weird jazz? I don't know. It was a 3.
3
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3
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Wed Apr 10 2024
...The Dandy Warhols Come Down
The Dandy Warhols
Fine, good, liked it. I feel like 4 is too generous, but 3 feels too stingy. It's a solid 3.5
3
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Kenza
Khaled
Reading about this style of music, it apparently has a bit more political bent to it than I was expecting. Not knowing the language, I hear yearning and nostalgia and assume it's romantic, but that may only be in parts. Good listen either way!
3
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Fri Apr 12 2024
After The Gold Rush
Neil Young
Not my Neil Young. The warbly falsetto was getting to me after a while. Would not pick this one up again.
2
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Sat Apr 13 2024
Blunderbuss
Jack White
2.5, solid but forgettable. Rounding up for listenability
3
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Sun Apr 14 2024
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
Vascillating wildly between really liking it and really hating it. The hatred was of the squonky woodwinds. I don't need anyone to explore the full range of sounds a soprano sax can make. But, when they put that aside, I was getting into it. This is clearly an inspiration to a lot of music I like. Just abrasive as all hell.
4
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
This was fine. The titular song is the highlight, the rest seems fillery at parts but goes down smoothly.
3
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
Musically liked this. The backing tracks were great. The Beastie Boys' *whole thing* doesn't need more than 35 minutes, however. Took a break around that point. Went back to it begrudgingly, but ended up liking the back half.
3
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Thu Apr 18 2024
One World
John Martyn
i did NOT like this. i can't quite put my finger on why but the vocals are probably it. somehow boring and deeply uncomfortable.
1
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Fri Apr 19 2024
Groovin'
The Young Rascals
it was pretty good! i really disliked "How Can I Be Sure" but "Groovin'" was nice.
feel like i want to knock them for the horrible abuse of stereo panning on "Find Somebody" but i knew going in that when a 1960s album proclaims "STEREO" on the front, there's going to be some panning shenanigans and yet i listened to the stereo version.
I feel like most of the record sounded like music that was lower down on the list of songs considered for GOTG: Vol. 1, for if they couldn't clear the rights for the songs they got, but i like that vibe.
4
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Sat Apr 20 2024
Stankonia
OutKast
very glad I listened to this album through! aside from the singles, there are little hidden gems all over this album. the music production sounds great, varied rhythms brought the excitement level up and back down ...
who am i kidding, i would give this album a 5 for B.O.B. alone.
5
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Sun Apr 21 2024
Repeater
Fugazi
i really like this album, and it's foundational to so much music that i ended up loving through the late 90s and early 00s (and beyond). simple and to the point, great interplay between the instruments.
4
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure
A really love the half of this album that starts with \"A Forest\". Which is maybe bc one of my favorite mixed CDs given to us by a friend kicks off with that track? There's a minute long instrumental that kicks off side B so it's not technically the first song on that side, but I still think it counts.
The first half though? I was down for the sound palette but I didn't feel like any of the songs reached out and grabbed me.
3.5, rounded up to 4.
4
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Tue Apr 23 2024
This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
This was a fun listen. I get lost in conversations about the micro-genres of music of this era, and i have to *imagine* that this was really exciting at the time.
3
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Rocks
Aerosmith
I really expected to like some of this but it just hit me wrong from start to finish. It was boring and sounded bad. This might be my least favorite rock album I've listened to as part of 1001. 1.5 rounded down.
1
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Thu Apr 25 2024
Movies
Holger Czukay
Weird album that combined being very difficult to listen to with being very very good to do work while listening to.
3
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Fri Apr 26 2024
At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
This was not a fun listen for me. Bluesy rock is never my favorite, and live jamming of blues rock even less so. Took me forever to even finish listening to the album bc I just didn't want to hear more of it. I'm sure the musicianship is good and for that I'm rounding my 1.5 up to a 2.
2
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Sat Apr 27 2024
Sea Change
Beck
this album sounded good but was so slow and lethargic that i was struggling to pay attention to it. the slurred vocals made me feel like i had accidentally hit "0.5x playback" on my app. Sunday Sun was the highlight for me.
2
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Sun Apr 28 2024
Document
R.E.M.
This album was new to me even if some songs were not. Birds and snakes and aeroplanes, etc. I really love Michael Stipe's voice and the band's instrumentation and the general vibe on this album. Left of west and coming with in a hurry with the furies breathing down your neck. Some of these songs live rent-free in my brain slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn. Locking in, uniforming, book burning, bloodletting. In general I liked the album, maybe except the two final songs. Light a candle, light a votive. Mountains sit in a line. Leonard Bernstein. It's a 3.5, rounded down to 3. Birthday party cheesecake jelly bean boom
3
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Time (The Revelator)
Gillian Welch
Great voice! I would say this was mostly music that I would listen to ... and then there was the Elvis song and some other songs that were not by cup of tea. The last track was beautiful.
4
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Tue Apr 30 2024
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
I've listened to this album a whole lot of times and I love it. In terms of precursors to music I love, I think it holds up well on its own. I may quibble with the length and pace of some of the tracks, but that drops it to a 4.5 which just gets rounded back up.
5
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Wed May 01 2024
Rid Of Me
PJ Harvey
Loved this. Beyond the vocal performance, I really enjoyed the guitar parts, thought they cohered really well as a *band* despite the act being named for the lead singer.
Sure glad I got over my dislike of female vocals at some point in my late 20s (*glances suspiciously at the uniformly male rock singers I was raised on*)
4
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Thu May 02 2024
Lady Soul
Aretha Franklin
Lovely and filled with classics.
4
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Fri May 03 2024
Here Come The Warm Jets
Brian Eno
Uncanny pop nightmare-scape, but not in a bad way. In a really, really good way.
4
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Sat May 04 2024
Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
Good. I liked the style though I found it too slow and not weird enough.
3
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Sun May 05 2024
A Short Album About Love
The Divine Comedy
Really, really disliked this. Aesthetically, sonically, lyrically. Oof.
1
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Mon May 06 2024
Sound Affects
The Jam
This was a joy to listen to. I love the rhythm section particularly the bouncy basslines.
4
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Tue May 07 2024
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
i liked this generally, the guitar just sounds so great ... but i found myself wishing for a bit tighter editing to cut it down from more than an hour
3
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Wed May 08 2024
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
I thought I would like this from the first few minutes. The percussion and rumbly bass were promising, but the sameness of the growling vocals and the song structures really started to make it drag. By the halfway point I started checking at the end of every song to see how many were left.
So maybe hearing one of these songs loud in a bar would work for me, but hearing a dozen of them while sitting at my desk was not a good time.
2
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Thu May 09 2024
Goodbye And Hello
Tim Buckley
This whole album hit me wrong. I'm just not a fan of this style of folk - the turns into carnival music and bard-like high fantasy in particular.
2
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Fri May 10 2024
Siembra
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
Enjoyed it. The disco-esque intro really threw me off but it quickly resolved into what i was expecting.
3
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Sat May 11 2024
21
Adele
going in to listening to this album, i had only heard the four singles. i didn't know if we were going to get more songs along the lines of "Rumour Has It" / "Rolling In The Deep" or "Set Fire to the Rain" / "Someone Like You" and that was going to weigh my opinion one way or the other. almost every other song on the album was in the latter category of boring love ballads, unfortunately. I really, really dislike "Set Fire to the Rain" in particular, so it was quite slog.
this kind of soaring love balladry is so intensely boring. The album was a 2.5, but I'm feeling *generous* when I round it up to a 3 for the first two tracks.
3
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Sun May 12 2024
Teen Dream
Beach House
Very nice and very boring. I know I've heard music by this band before.
3
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Mon May 13 2024
Grace
Jeff Buckley
The variety of song structures and singing styles was a positive and a negative for him. Some hit, many missed. Listening to this again did not give me insight into why all my college friends were into this album, but did clarify for me what I didn't like about it then. 3 is generous.
3
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Tue May 14 2024
Electric Warrior
T. Rex
I love this one. This album is an old comfort listen for me. Hearing it makes me think of being on an airplane, being on a train, going somewhere.
5
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Wed May 15 2024
Truth
Jeff Beck
This was good in parts, a bit boring in parts. An enjoyable listen over all.
3
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Thu May 16 2024
Alien Lanes
Guided By Voices
I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. Not that it was bad -- I feel like I could name 5 albums it reminded me of, all of which were probably taking influence from this, rather than the other way around.
The album's own lack of attention span was probably not a great accompaniment to a work day where I was struggling to pay attention ... throw in some random slurs and I have no idea how to rate this.
3
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Fri May 17 2024
Treasure
Cocteau Twins
Great soundtrack to solo highway driving. Surprised I've never heard any of this but will add it to the roster for future travel. Loved singing along 🤣
4
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Sat May 18 2024
Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
Enjoyable, nicely paced.
3
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Sun May 19 2024
2112
Rush
I enjoyed this while driving across Pennsylvania on the Turnpike. Especially liked the first (saga-length) track and the last track
4
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Mon May 20 2024
The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
My Beach Boys listening has been primarily confined to Pet Sounds and one best-of comp. Help Me Rhonda is on that comp. I think that's actually all I needed to hear of this album. The songs are so *verbose* in such a boring way. Not what I wanted to hear.
2
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Tue May 21 2024
The College Dropout
Kanye West
I accidentally split this album over two days and I think that benefitted my appreciation bc this album is long, but the last half is so charming and personal that im glad i had a fresh attention span for it. Through the Wire is great.
Currently listening to the runout of "Last Call" 20 years later. Well. It's a good album at least. It was a 3 yesterday, but it's a 4 today.
4
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Wed May 22 2024
Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
Given the backstory of this album, which seems to hinge on an "ends justify means" 70s-era lack of regard for human suffering if good art is produced ....
I liked this quite a bit. Probably not enough to revisit but it was interesting and I loved the way it sounded.
4
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Thu May 23 2024
Let Love Rule
Lenny Kravitz
There were a lot of songs with very rhymey rhymes which is a pet peeve of mine, and overall it just felt like boring pastiche. A decent listen while at work but I think it could have been shorter and more to the point.
2
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Fri May 24 2024
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles
This was a good listen. Not really my thing but it certainly sounded great.
3
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Sat May 25 2024
Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
how to rate this!?! it had everything! all the instruments! all the vocals! all the melodies! all three songs i recognized! the tremendous length!
i go back and forth on whether i find it engaging and thrilling or silly as hell and i think that's the line they're trying to ride too. kinda wish it was a more condensed single album without as much filler but that might be a lethal concentration of pop. better not find out.
4
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Sun May 26 2024
My Generation
The Who
This was ffffffffff fine.
Stylistically it felt all over the place and a lot of it I did not enjoy.
3
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Mon May 27 2024
Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Saturday Afternoon Classic Hip Hop Listening Party is a hit. Enjoyed this one, good production. Like a lot of music that was groundbreaking 40 years ago, the hardness has been eroded by the changing context, and I can't access that past.
3
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Tue May 28 2024
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
This was a great listen. I always feel unqualified to judge music this old, but it had a lot of personality. 3.5 rounded up.
4
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Wed May 29 2024
New Boots And Panties
Ian Dury
Did not enjoy any part of this one. 1.5 rounded down for that first song, yikes.
1
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Thu May 30 2024
Suicide
Suicide
This was a rough listen. I really loved what they were doing with electronic music. The vocals got me down. I can't quite figure out how to rate it, like both a 4 and a 1. It gets a 3 but with an asterisk that it probably should be a 2.
3
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Fri May 31 2024
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement
Another album I cannot rate with any degree of objectivity, as it was a very frequent listen for very many years. I love how it works as an album.
4
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Sat Jun 01 2024
Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
Liked it at first but it wore on me.
3
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Sun Jun 02 2024
Pretenders
Pretenders
I didn't really enjoy this as an album very much. "Brass In Pocket" is a song where I guess I've just never heard the title or the artist and I was shocked to find it on this album.
3
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Mon Jun 03 2024
A Northern Soul
The Verve
Started off kinda strong then started dragging, but it kept pulling me back in. the last instrumental track was my favorite of the album and I can figure out whether that deserves a whole extra star. There is a strong 4 star record in there but for the filler, so it gets a 3.
3
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Tue Jun 04 2024
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
I mean .... this is just a work of art. I love it, I listened to it to confirm it gets a 5. I've been singing The Great Curve since and I'm happy about it.
5
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Wed Jun 05 2024
Connected
Stereo MC's
This is silly and fun. But very samey-samey, with the rhymiest of rhymes, and it does NOT need to be 56 minutes long. A solid 2.5 but it's getting rounded down bc I will certainly never listen to this again.
2
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Thu Jun 06 2024
Arc Of A Diver
Steve Winwood
Was just...not my jam. I can't quite pinpoint it.
3
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Fri Jun 07 2024
Timeless
Goldie
This was a weird listen, drum and bass in broad daylight while sitting at my desk in my office. It was good, and it's music I genuinely love. Couldn't contain the head bopping when the beats kicked in. But the length and the long ambient interludes weren't really working for me. 3.5, rounded up for breakbeats.
4
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Sat Jun 08 2024
She's So Unusual
Cyndi Lauper
This was great for the singles. Did not know that Cyndi sang "Time After Time" so that was a delightful realization. The rest of the tracks beyond the singles weren't as strong .... 4.5 stars
4
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Sun Jun 09 2024
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Can I recognize this as being a lovely, classic and beloved album while also being not my thing?
3
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Tue Jun 11 2024
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
I don't mind this version of Neil Young compared to some of the other albums of his we've been served by the randomizer. The songs were ranging between nicely rambly and a little *too* rambly. it's a rare 40 minute album where i'll complain about the length, but the jamming on the last track had me wishing it would wrap up. almost a 3 but not one i'll come back to.
2
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Wed Jun 12 2024
Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
Not really my preferred Tom Waits mode.
2
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Thu Jun 13 2024
Headquarters
The Monkees
I was rooting for these guys, trying to become a real band, but this album was not great. I think the track with the vocal warmups was honestly my favorite. Overall not sure why this needed to be on the list.
2
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Fri Jun 14 2024
Guitar Town
Steve Earle
Very very not for me. 1.5
2
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Sat Jun 15 2024
Talking Heads 77
Talking Heads
I did drunken group karaoke to "Psycho Killer" once, which is ill advised, because you cannot replicate David Byrne's vocal tone, but more importantly everyone had forgotten that there's a whole verse in French. Except me. I sang the French verse by myself. Don't do group karaoke to "Psycho Killer." Your group does not know how the song goes. They just don't.
Generally speaking, I love a debut studio album and this one has a lot of the energy and rough edges I'm looking for.
4
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Sun Jun 16 2024
Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco
At first I was impressed by the production and energy, but by the 40 minute mark I felt like the consistency of the production and energy was wearing on me. Still an impressive record. Listened to every minute of that Outtro track too and went on a roller coaster of "this is cute" -> "this is going on a bit long" -> "omg wtf this is neverending" -> "...I kinda love this"
3
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Mon Jun 17 2024
Giant Steps
The Boo Radleys
A good album! Liked the singer's vocal manner. Could have been shorter but liked it overall.
4
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Tue Jun 18 2024
This Year's Model
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
I liked this more than I remembered liking it when I was in college. Pump It Up is a great song, but unfortunately Elvis Costello's vocal delivery style puts me off. 3.5
3
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Wed Jun 19 2024
Remedy
Basement Jaxx
Electronic albums on this list have been an odd bag. The culture seems to exist outside of the "album era" to the point where they don't know how to structure an album. Which is to say: this album was overly long and poorly structured to me even if I didn't dislike any of the songs per se. It's the risk of doing an album project like this.
3
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Thu Jun 20 2024
Don't Stand Me Down
Dexys Midnight Runners
What an odd album. I kept waiting for one of the tracks to resolve into Werewolves in London but it never did. Not an enjoyable listen for me.
2
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Fri Jun 21 2024
When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
Put me in a good mood. I was humming "Brimful of Asha" for a long time afterwards.
4
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Sat Jun 22 2024
In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
What a great listen. Maybe my favorite jazz album so far? Felt much more contemporary to me.
4
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Sun Jun 23 2024
Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
Quite liked it. Very varied, so the weirder moment never lingered.
3
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Mon Jun 24 2024
Devotional Songs
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
I had a productive afternoon of drafting plans while listening to this which is *not* its intended purpose. Sounded great and I enjoyed it despite the language/culture barrier.
3
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Tue Jun 25 2024
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
What to say about this one. Listened to the full thing on a flight and then listened to each of the singles a bunch more times to round out the flight time.
The singles are standouts on the album. I liked the whole back half better than the front half. A very solid 4.
4
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Wed Jun 26 2024
Wild Gift
X
I didn't hate it but it got very repetitive for a 38 minute album. I did enjoy the dual singer arrangement.
3
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Thu Jun 27 2024
Good Old Boys
Randy Newman
How to average "3" and "yikes"...
It's not music I'm going to like by itself, and while I *know* that it's in parts satirical, it's still *uncomfortable*
2
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Fri Jun 28 2024
Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
Incredibly uncomfortable listen. Not bad musically per se, but not to my taste, before we even get to the narrative that defines this concept album.
1
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Sat Jun 29 2024
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
It was fine! Didn't like it as much as Aja (words I cannot believe I just typed) but I appreciated the concision.
3
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Sun Jun 30 2024
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
Pastiche that goes down smooth is kinda an art form, I guess. Very familiar, maybe in too big a dose.
3
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Mon Jul 01 2024
Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
Was going back and forth between enjoying the variety and thinking they had *range*, and enjoying the variety and thinking they were just throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what would stick. It's a lot of music packed into one album. The rare album where I liked the back half better than the front.
Cannot believe they manahed to ride this and their follow up album to relevance into the 2000s.
3
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Tue Jul 02 2024
Blue Lines
Massive Attack
Another solid but kinda boring album with one or two super memorable songs.
3
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Wed Jul 03 2024
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Filled with hits, beats, samples, hooks. Some songs toward the back half of the album were a little samey, and I feel like there's maybe a much more concise 40 minute album in here (though I wouldn't drop the two tracks that were included on the CD but not the vinyl album, I liked those). Really great listen though.
4
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Thu Jul 04 2024
Metallica
Metallica
The singles are super familiar to me from rock radio, but I had never heard this entire album. The album is extremely consistent, but personally I don't need such a large dose of those riffs and that singing. I can hear in it some qualities that later music I really liked would pick up and play off. Lyrically .... laughably obvious rhymes and clunky constructions abound. If I gave it a 4 it would be for Enter Sandman ... I think I'm giving it a 3 though.
3
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Fri Jul 05 2024
Black Metal
Venom
Foundational to much more meaner music that would come, but in 2024 it made a nice listen on a vacation day morning while drinking coffee and lazing around. That's the march of time, I suppose. The album sounded great.
4
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Sat Jul 06 2024
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
Liked this more than I was expecting. I'd heard them before in playlists of bands with harsher, noisier or just weirder sounds and the Stone Roses always stuck out as too normal in that context. But by itself it was a really nice album. 3.5.
4
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Sun Jul 07 2024
It's Too Late to Stop Now
Van Morrison
There is no version of "my life" that *MUST* include this double live album.
1
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Mon Jul 08 2024
Fromohio
fIREHOSE
Having never heard of this band (yet somehow knowing Mike Watt?), I didn't know what to expect, but I generally liked it a lot. The parts with the more typically rock, less funk bass worked better for me, but the album clipped along and the singer sounded great.
4
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Tue Jul 09 2024
Harvest
Neil Young
My preferred Neil Young continues to be in another castle, but this is definitely closer to what I'm looking for in his work.
3
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Wed Jul 10 2024
Bummed
Happy Mondays
This list has been teaching me a lot about Madchester ... I did not care for this album but it was interesting to learn about the place this non-electronic band had within the history of electronic music. Weird album though.
2
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Thu Jul 11 2024
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
Four great songs balanced out with the rest of the album, which felt fairly nondescript. I think "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" is my favorite on this album.
4
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Fri Jul 12 2024
Strange Cargo III
William Orbit
Liked it! Kind of nondescript to the extent that I didn't realize it was over when my app started playing some other mellow electronic instrumentals.
3
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Sat Jul 13 2024
Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
Pleasant, poppy, but not my thing.
3
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Sun Jul 14 2024
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
Liked this much more than I had guessed I would.
3
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Mon Jul 15 2024
Marcus Garvey
Burning Spear
Super solid album. 3.5
4
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Tue Jul 16 2024
Nevermind
Nirvana
How do I rate this. Shamefully, I don't think I had ever listened to this whole album. Very little of it was unfamiliar, however, between the radio hits and the Unplugged set. Hard to fairly rate, but it was a good listen and I liked the parts I didn't know.
4
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Wed Jul 17 2024
Debut
Björk
Not my absolute favorite Björk but still pretty great. At the free jazzier interludes I kept thinking my music player had started a new album, but no. Human Behavior is so good I can't give it less than 4 but it's a 3.5.
4
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Sun Jul 21 2024
Leftism
Leftfield
Enjoyable. This list has been my main exposure to English electronic artists of the 90s who primarily put out singles but then eventually thought, why not do a full length? This is probably the most successful one of these so far in terms of structure and scope.
4
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Mon Jul 22 2024
D
White Denim
Loved this! Tempted to give it a 5. So intricate and interesting and packed a lot into a short run. That last track was a little twangy for my taste, so I'll give it a strong 4.5
4
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Tue Jul 23 2024
The Doors
The Doors
Hey! It's The Doors! I don't have much to add about this record. No real nostalgia power for me, but I do like their cover of the Alabama Song.
4
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Wed Jul 24 2024
Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
There's odd stuff that I like, and then there's odd stuff like this album. The first track was maybe closet to the first category, but that was absolutely eroded by the back half of the album.
1