Overall enjoyed. Highlights were definitely I Zimbra and Mind. Didn’t love Air and Heaven but can’t put my finger on why.
Coming in hot w the first two tracks, really liked them, the outro on Novacane is the most 90s thing I’ve ever heard. Definitely can see what the apple music summary was saying about the pastiche of styles. And then High 5 is such a vibe shift. Really, the jump from High 5 to Ramshackle to Computer Rock is crazy. Nice parallel between Computer Rock and the Novacane outro tho.
First half: damn this 70s punk is significantly more chill than I expected
Back half: jk, found the punk
Some notes:
South Side: nostalgia hits as hard as I thought it would (loved this song as a kid for some reason)
Bodyrock: not loving the ~hip hop~
Natural Blues: loving this one (could absolutely see this being a Flume sample lol)
Overall liked it more than I thought I would
I feel like I’m not giving the album a fair shake, but there is just something about this genre of fuzzy, amorphous guitar+bass that makes me super anxious. Listening to The Sprawl on the drive home was an actively bad experience. The more structured songs were easier to listen to, but once they dissolved into miscellaneous sounds it would trigger the stress part of my brain again.
Liked disc 2 more than disc 1 (with the major exception of Tales of a Scorched Earth), though the sound felt very similar the whole way through. Really what that means is that I preferred the last run of songs that chilled all the way out and became significantly less ~rock. Overall good though? Just not really my style.
Listen, I just like Arcade Fire.
Something about this really did it for me. Perfect length for me to enjoy before it got annoying. Hard carry from Frankie Teardrop.
brb, moving to the bayou with Dr. John
Really wish I could have listened to this on vinyl. I think in order to get the full effect of the four distinct sections you need the physical action of flipping a disc to transition from one to the next. That said, I love some ambitious, high concept nonsense and this was a lot of fun.
Band On The Run sounds a lot better when it’s not just in the background of a grocery store. Came into the album fairly prejudiced against it and was pleasantly surprised. Not sure how I feel about Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five repeating the outro of Band On The Run, almost felt kind of tacked on. Favorite song was definitely Mrs. Vandebilt.
The jump scare of getting to Maps and being like wait, I know this one!
I never like 90s hip hop as much as I think I should… I guess the old head life just isn’t for me. This’ll probably grow on me if I listen to it more, though
Wall to wall bangers. You could have told me that No Connection was on RENAISSANCE and I would have believed you. Favorite track was definitely Stop This Crazy Thing
Lovely, intimate recording. Another one for this list of things that I’d love to listen to on vinyl
Another lovely live album
Definitely one of the albums of all time
Had a lovely time listening, the biggest “cozy yet productive Sunday afternoon” energy for me
As far as Christmas albums go, this is a good one, but that doesn’t negate the fact that it’s a Christmas album
I can respect the vision, but that doesn’t mean I like the vision
It feels too easy to say that Madonna makes music for the girls, gays, and theys, but that doesn’t make it less true. I wish I had been in a dark room with a sparkly top to get the full experience
It’s been a long time since I just sat down and listened to this album straight through and it still hits as hard as it did a decade ago
Very inconsistent album, any time I felt like I was starting to get into it, there would be a moment that pulled me out.
The theater kid in me loved this, 10/10 would audition for
Probably would have changed my brain chemistry if I had listened to this album at 16
Not even a Swifty but I still remember exactly where I was when I first heard this album
Feels sacrilegious to say but I could have done with fewer guitar solos
Was just kinda underwhelmed?
Started out not really vibing with it, but the back half of the album grew on me
I mean yeah, definitely was a Simon & Garfunkel album. Felt very weird to have a Bookend Theme in the middle of the album and not ~bookending~ it.
First half of the album I was like “wow this sounds like Alt Rock Radio Station TM” and then I got to Come Out and Play and Self Esteem and it all made sense. Still a fun time.
Was fine, might have liked it more if I engaged with the lyrics more
The curse of old jazz recordings that have become canonized as “the best” is that they end up played to death in hotel lobbies. I wish I had a better ear for jazz so that I could appreciate it more, but as it is it just sounds like check in at a Hilton
I can see this album being transformative for someone, that someone just isn’t me. I appreciate the drama in the lyrics and music, but the warbling indulgence sometimes just didn’t work for me.
Wow I don’t like Elvis Costello’s voice. For the most part a perfectly fine album
Kat Stratford type beat <3
Strong start, kinda started to lose me towards the end?
Was fine. Liked the back half more than the first. Honestly was surprised by how recent it was? Kind of assumed it was older
Pretty good tbh. Paint It, Black was definitely the standout for me. Transitioning straight from that into Stupid Girl is actually insane though
