I'd been meaning to listen to the Strokes for a while now and this daily album challenge was a good way to get exposure to some new stuff. With this album, I particularly like the bass and some of the drum beats. There's a nice, mellow kind of rhythm to the overall album I enjoy.
An album that I had a good time listening to, but I dont think I will revisit any time soon. There's some tracks here that I enjoy and have added to some playlists, but as a whole, it's a good, not spectacular, classic rock album.
I was feeling the first few tracks on this album, but I think this is the kind of sound I don't want or need an entire album for. I can see myself enjoying some of these songs in isolation, but an hour is just too much for me. Not wild about this one overall.
Normally, I'd say the 80s were my least favorite decade of music. I hate the overuse of synth and how pop music sounded like in general. There are a few silver linings though, and I'd say this album is one of them. The lyrics feel personal and not overly generalized for the radio, so I'd say that's the album's biggest strength. Still, overall it still has that 80s feel that I'm not very big on, but I'd listen to this again sometime.
To quote the movie "The Rock"
"I dont listen to that soft shit"
There are a select few across the varied history of rap who have ever come remotely close to 2pac's command of the genre. The raw power and energy that emittes from Shakur when he steps in the booth is something to admire. This record is one of his greatest and is a shining example of why so many label him as the greatest of all time. One of his strength's as an MC is his ability to display his emotions, his anger, his fear, his frustration of the world he was born into, in a way that feels real and relatable to the listener and that is exactly what he does on this record.
By beginning the album with a track of recordings of various news and TV personalities talking about his arrest and the attempt on his life, we are able to get a clear idea of what is going on his head as he goes into the second track, If I Die 2Nite. The man is fed up in more ways than one. This album is a mix of many different emotinos, but above all else, it was clear that the man felt isolated by his fame and notoriety and had some feelings he needed to get off his chest.
If one were to make a ranking of the greatest rap albums of all time, it would be downright criminal to exclude this record.
I wish there was a 1/2 star to this rating system, so that I could give this a 3.5/5. I enjoyed the personal lyrics on some of these songs, like answering machine. Reminds me of some of the whiny, pop punk stuff I enjoy now but just 80s-afied.
