639
Albums Rated
3.8
Average Rating
59%
Complete
450 albums remaining
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Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010
Favorite Decade
Reggae
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Cheerleader
Rater Style ?
146
5-Star Albums
0
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt
|
5 | 2.29 | +2.71 |
|
Dr. Octagonecologyst
Dr. Octagon
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Movies
Holger Czukay
|
5 | 2.71 | +2.29 |
|
The Grand Tour
George Jones
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail
Buck Owens
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Bone Machine
Tom Waits
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Songs The Lord Taught Us
The Cramps
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Good Old Boys
Randy Newman
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
The Sounds Of India
Ravi Shankar
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
Fred Neil
Fred Neil
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
|
2 | 3.71 | -1.71 |
|
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
|
2 | 3.42 | -1.42 |
|
Blue Lines
Massive Attack
|
2 | 3.39 | -1.39 |
|
Blue Lines
Massive Attack
|
2 | 3.39 | -1.39 |
|
The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
|
2 | 3.31 | -1.31 |
|
Protection
Massive Attack
|
2 | 3.24 | -1.24 |
|
Little Earthquakes
Tori Amos
|
2 | 3.22 | -1.22 |
|
Third
Portishead
|
2 | 3.13 | -1.13 |
|
Third
Portishead
|
2 | 3.13 | -1.13 |
|
Pyromania
Def Leppard
|
2 | 3.13 | -1.13 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.83 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 5 |
| Paul Simon | 3 | 5 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4.4 |
| The Rolling Stones | 5 | 4.4 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 4.67 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 4.67 |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 5 |
| OutKast | 2 | 5 |
| Arcade Fire | 2 | 5 |
| Beck | 2 | 5 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 5 |
| Adele | 2 | 5 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| LCD Soundsystem | 2 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 5 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 4 | 4.25 |
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 4.25 |
| Led Zeppelin | 4 | 4.25 |
| Neil Young | 3 | 4.33 |
| Peter Gabriel | 3 | 4.33 |
| David Bowie | 5 | 4 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Massive Attack | 3 | 2 |
5-Star Albums (146)
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Popular Reviews
Dr. Octagon · 2 likes
5/5
Brilliant. I love the fusion of culture in music, and I love seeing what inspires artists. The concept album (almost prog?) nature of this record is so sick, but I love so much how it fuses comic book culture and lore into rap music and tells a really cool story.
The beats are cool and poignant. The lyrics and dark, twisted and funny. Its really an album that you can live in. Its a whole universe within a collection of songs.
I'd also be remiss to not mention the influence this record had on the GOAT > MF DOOM.
Nanci Griffith · 2 likes
5/5
Man, Nanci Griffith was pure magic. Her voice, her lyrics, her storytelling. In so many ways, she reminds me of John Prine. Good storytelling with songs about love and loss, but always approachable and human. There's that small element of humor in her words and in her voice.
More than anything, this is a record that I can kind of just live in. Its somewhere that I want to hang out and sip coffee. Especially on a autumn day such as today (Oct 3, 2025). "Vibe" feels to trite to explain it, but this record is a feeling. It's warm and lovely and I'm okay if it plays all day.
Also, I can't listen to Nanci Griffith without thinking about Meg. Her parents are big Nanci fans, so she was kind of raised on this music.
Grateful Dead · 2 likes
5/5
There is no way for anyone to understand the Grateful Dead by just listening to this record. In 2016, when I started being interested in The Dead, I listened to this first. I liked it, but I could not understand why this band is worshipped and followed.
Then I saw Dead and Co play in 2021. I figured it out. I saw them 9 more times and had my mind blown every. single. time. This is one of my favorite bands. Musically, culturally, personally, they mean so much to me. Seeing them play, changed the way that I view live music. It made me appreciate the fusion of genres, and homages to old music. It made me understand the power of American music and what that really means. It made me respect ambition, and the chase. Not every GD song works, but they always tried and experimented and took the music further.
Bobby wanted this music to live on 300 years from now. It will, because of the people that carried the tradition and moved it furthur.
NFA. ⚡️💀🌹
The Sabres Of Paradise · 2 likes
4/5
this was fun and kind of meditative. Not really a style that I gravitate towards, but I really liked the interesting sounds progressing flow of the music throughout. It kind of hums along at a really good pace and keeps it interesting. I also really enjoyed the incorporations of other genres and sounds. I heard reggae, rocksteady, psych, blues and even some kind of rockabilly. This was really cool!
Pere Ubu · 1 likes
4/5
Super fun and weird album. I really like this style of post-punk or art-punk or whatever you want to call it. Its raw, its weird, its fun. This is probably one of those albums that just gets better the more you listen to it as well. It feels like there are lots of easter eggs and fun nuances to pick up on. I thoroughly enjoyed this!
All Ratings
Pulp
4/5
So good and so fun. Moody and poppy at the same time. A good mix of both. Quintessential British indie post-punk. Common People is obviously the best track, with Pencil Skirt being the one to def skip.
Violent Femmes
3/5
Love this album. Good times as a junior in high school listening to this one. I love how they incorporate elements of punk and folk into a collection of songs about life, love and sex. Some songs are funny, others are sad, others are creepy. Its raw and sometimes over the top, but it works.
Green Day
3/5
So stoked to get this one today. Classic. A perfect record for the time. Bored teenager suburban punk rock. Most of the songs sound the same, but the bangers are all time. Longview, Basket Case, When I Come Around, Welcome to Paradise. All perfect 90s pop punk.
Air
4/5
Very groovy. Super easy listening, and vibey. Good to have one while working. Not sure when I'll revisit, but I'm happy I'm aware of it. I recognized a lot of the songs. Glad I can put a name to it.
Rush
3/5
Admittedly, this is not really mu cup of tea. But I do really like the full on prog elements on this music. It feels like a step beyond Led Zeppelin, while opening the door for 80s metal and prog rock. Though, I do feel like this sound gets appropriated and is not fully appreciated. When listening in this avenue, you can really see and feel the vision of the artist and what they were going for. It works.
Massive Attack
2/5
Not my favorite, but cool and interesting. The rap sections were fun and flowy.
Steely Dan
4/5
I had it in my head that I didn't like Steely Dan, but this album slaps! Super creative, unique, and honestly fun to listen to. Love the genre bending of blues, rock and jazz.
The Jam
4/5
This is a great timestamp in British music. It feels like The Clash, The Smiths, The Beatles all in one wonderful mash up. I like the punk rock energy of the record, and flowing nature of the songs. They also have interesting transitions and elements of each song.
Portishead
2/5
Not the vibe.
Kings of Leon
4/5
Super fun! Definitely good ol' indie rock with a Southern influence. I liked the energy and song writing. Definitely want to revisit more of Kings of Leon.
Beatles
5/5
I love how by 1966, they were adding in Indian influence, as else as experimenting with the psychedelic sound. Taxman really sets the tone for the album and then launches you right into Eleanor Rigby. Psych rock + sweet ballads + short punchy rock songs. Its so so good and so unique. Especially considering when it was made. A few more notable songs that stand out to me:
- Love You To. Fun trippy, rad.
- Here, There, and Everywhere. Sweet, sentimental. I love it.
- Yellow Submarine. Still to this day, I don't care for this song. It obviously catchy but I don't know WTF is going on.
- She said, She said. One of my fav Beatles songs. I love how it builds and flows.
- For No One. Always almost makes me cry. Genius song.
- Tomorrow Never Knows. Simply amazing.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
This one is fun, but not my favorite Tom Petty record. It feels like a very formative album in creating the TP sound. I like the mix of old rock n' roll with singer songwriter and 70s rock influences. Some of they lyrics are a bit cheesy, but that feels intentional. Obviously, American Girl is the biggest and best banger on this record.
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Elemental. You can really see a lot of elemental aspects of British Indie and what would become indie. It starts out kind of punky-poppy, but it really starts to pick up in the second half as they add in more instruments and interesting song patterns. The horns + brass are really good. The deep drums on songs like Kilimanjaro is also really interesting and unique. Really fun album!
Madonna
3/5
Really cool and interesting album. Its kind of a mixed bag of singer-songwriter, rave / techno, eastern music, into a really cool pop mix. I'm most impressed with Madonna's voice. Its super unique. I like how real and mature it sounds, its of mystic but not cheesy. Overall, really cool and fun to listen to.
Ravi Shankar
3/5
Super good. This is definitely one of those "important" albums that contemporary artists reference as their intro to Eastern Music. Its super cool, and really interesting. I love the microtonal sounds and finger picking. Its wild how the music sounds so complex, when in reality, it's quite simple. Basically, a Sitar and a Drum for most songs.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Loved it. I really like the singer-song writer influenced, fused with R&B. The instrumentals for the intros built up and flowed nicely into each song. This is a really unique record for 2019. Super stoked on this one.
Various Artists
3/5
Jethro Tull
3/5
Super fun. The flute was really cool, and the lyrics + music is all really stellar. Not a huge prog fan, but I get the hype after listening to this.
Dr. Dre
4/5
Sigur Rós
4/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Love this album. I like the exploration of genres, like pysch and irish folk songs. It doesn't start the strongest, but it gets better as it goes.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Loved it. The instrumentals, the grooves. I love how jammy everything felt, and how cohesive one song to the next feels. The lyrics are sharp and pointed.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
So good. I love the synth and even proto-auto-tune on some of the tracks. The music feels so flowy, bouncy and groovy. Really cool composition of keys, brass, drums and vocals. With really cool bass lines. Stoked on this one.
The xx
3/5
This is the epitome of "vibe indie." Most songs sound vibey and moody. It kind of feels like the artist just discovered reverb effect on their amplifiers. So. Much. Reverb. Not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed it. Its chill and vibey, but ultimately not the most engaging record. Save for it for a rainy day after your ex reaches out to you instagram.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
As a person who was born in the 90s and came of age in the 2000s, its easy for me to write off all indie rock bands as "dime a dozen," but when I listen to this record, I'm reminded that this is the source code of all modern Indie Rock. Its in the punchy punk adjacent rolling downbeats in songs like "Goon Song." Its in the lonely longing vocals of songs like "Big Boys" or "Party Girl." I mean does Weezer ever happen if there is no Elvis Costello?? It feels like he must have been listening to The Specials or The Clash when he wrote "Sunday's Best" and "Moods for Modern," not explicitly Ska songs, but it definitely have the influence. Which I think is a good nod and homage to the scene in London at the time of writing.
And obviously the big blaring banger of this record is (What's So Funny,) which is anthem we should all cherish. Maybe the 3rd greatest karaoke song of all time? 🤔 Also, I'd be hard pressed to not mention "Oliver's Army," which again, is another indie pop rock banger. We should all give Elvis Costello a bit more love.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Listening to a 40 year old hip hop record, I find it hard to not feel like I'm listening to a meme of hip-hop. In certain songs, I half expect Andy Samberg to drop in and start rapping about something silly. Which I guess is the legacy to how successful and how big of an impact this record and band had on modern music. A few things stand out to me: fusion, humor, attitude.
The obvious fusion is how they combined 80's hard rock into hip-hop. This is most overt with songs like "Walk this Way" and "Raising Hell." However, what impresses me the most is how they take that music and own it entirely. Even claiming they are the Kings of Rock in "Hit It Run." The boldness and attitude towards mainstream music is so palpable. Its hard to imagine that this didn't inspire other NYC rappers like Jay-Z and Nas. This is especially prominent in songs like "Proud to be Black" and "Is It Live." Beyond the attitude, they really just sound like they're having fun, and never take themselves too seriously. Especially in songs like "You Be Illin'" and "Peter Piper ", and "It's Tricky." It's a breath of fresh air, which is probably why a 40 year old hip-hop can still feel fresh.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
The Star Club! Such a rad and historical venue. I had no idea this record even existed.
For such a short album, there is so much energy in every song. You can feel that energy in the audience, he's really leaning into it and it compounds as the album progresses.
The music is simple, but its full. However, the piano really elevates the music and brings all the energy together.
Despite Jerry Lee Lewis being one of the biggest assholes in modern music, he sure knows how to work an audience and bring up the energy.
Justin Timberlake
2/5
It's hard to objective about an artist that I would have punched myself for listening to as a teenager. I did, however, find some fun gems on this record. Mainly, towards the end of the album.
Notable songs:
"Rock Your Body"
"(And She Said) Take Me Now"
"Right For Me"
These songs had the most interesting composition, vocal melodies and beats. I also enjoyed the latino influence on a few songs, and the overall blues R&B aspect of the album.
Things I did not like: the drum machines are sooooo bad. They truly sound like a Window 98 computer with shit plastic speakers. There's also some weird mixing, where beeping noises just go on throughout the song. Once you hear it, you can't stop. Its brutal. It actually hurts my brain.
All that to say though.. Its hard to hate JT. He's got unreal charisma, and it shows through his music. Especially in this album.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
This album sounds like the album cover looks. Fuzzy but clear, vibrant but hazy. The songs progress in a moving and flowing forward direction. The lyrics and vocals feel almost adjacent to death metal, where they don't really matter, they just add to the vibe and composition. Some songs put you on edge, where others take you a drive. If I was to knock anything about this record, it would be that one song doesn't sound much different than the last. It's like one long song, which I believe was intentional. However, most of the transitions are seamless. 'Only Shallow' > 'Loomer' ; 'Touched' > 'To Here Knows When.' It all makes sense, and it all flows together into a wonderful moody mess of an album. This was obvious a pivotal moment for post punk indie to cross into noise rock alternative. There's no Smashing Pumpkins without this moving vibey blurb of static and feeling.
The Stooges
4/5
What a ride. This is one of the records that sounds raw, wild, and intense even 50 years later. I love the energy, the saxaphones, the vocals. Its a wild ride, and definitely keeps you on your toes.
Massive Attack
2/5
Thelonious Monk
4/5
I love the variation of sounds between songs. This record takes you on an awesome journey. Especially the title track. That song is all over, progressing, speeding up, slowing down. Its a journey. The brass, the keys, the bass are all on point and jam so tight together. The drums, however, really stand out. What I really like about this record is how they take risks but always keep it tight and progressing forward, each moment where you think its going one way, it always ties back to original song.
I also did not realize the "Cruella Deville" is a total rip off of "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-lue-ares." Super cool. Plus, that song absolutely slays. The jams are so good. Every instrument gets a moment that feels natural and non-forced.
The keys in Pannonica are so dreamy. I like how this song slows down the pace, its moody and vibey but keeps the aesthetic of the rest of the record.
Really fun and deeply engaging record.
Beastie Boys
4/5
At a surface level, it's easy to write the Beastie Boys off as silly or even obnoxious. And frankly, there is some merit to that. They are "silly rap." However, their is so much variation and cleverness in this record. "Rhymin and Stealin," is so sick. I never noticed that they are literally "stealin" samples and music from other artists and pulling it all into one awesome song. Its deliberate and intentional. The first half of the record is filled with attitude and brash rap, where the second half is littered with all of the singles that we grew up with. Not sure why, but X96 played Girls, Fight for Your Right, No Sleep to Brooklyn, and Brass Monkey. All. The. Time. I love all of those songs. Also, interesting that no one else has really made a record like this since? The Beastie Boys are kind of an anomaly, they don't get copied very often.
Public Enemy
4/5
I love this album. Chuck's rhymes are solid, the lyrics are striking and the beats and bass lines really groove. It feels really punk rock, especially the political nature of songs. I really like the keys in a lot of the songs. It adds kind of a cool jazz element to an otherwise raw sound. Even though it feels like "old school" rap, it doesn't feel old. It still feels relevant and still slaps.
Also shoutout to Rick Rubin and Def Jam Records. Stoked to have 2 Def Jam albums back to back.
Morrissey
4/5
Smart, engaging and lonesome. Morrissey is original sad boy of indie rock, and he's leaning into that hard with this record. What's impressive though, is that the music is more than just "vibey" or "moody." He plays with different tempos and effects. The album comes in strong and very post-rock like with "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side" and "Glamorous Glue." He ends the album with a very similar vibe on "Tomorrow." Its loud, but not over the top, its noisy but its not "garage" or "experimental." Its clean and thoughtful. I love the humor in songs like "The National Front Disco" , "We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful" and "You're the One for Me Fatty." Its ironic, serious and lonesome all at the same time. Then he plays with different sounds like folksy country "Certain People I Know" or the soulful "Seasick, Yet Still Docked." Its clever.
Say what you want about Morrissey being a weirdo and an asshole, but he sure knows how to write good music that makes you feel things.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I already got this one a few weeks ago. So here is my review:
So good. I love the synth and even proto-auto-tune on some of the tracks. The music feels so flowy, bouncy and groovy. Really cool composition of keys, brass, drums and vocals. With really cool bass lines. Stoked on this one.
Cat Stevens
5/5
There are only a few artists that can cut me with sincerity, sadness and optimism. Yusuf's song are always full of journey, wonder and longing. His music is always telling the story of the evolving quest that he is on. We're lucky enough to be able to join that quest via song and album. Nowhere is more true than Tea of Tillerman.
- It starts out with the building and thoughtful "Where do the Children Play?" a good reminder to slow down.
- Hard Headed Woman always kills me. I'm right there with him as he's looking for that hard headed woman.
- Wild World. Classic and always relevant.
- Sad Lisa though a less popular one has elements on HHW and is a good palate cleanser as the album progresses.
- Miles from Nowhere reminds us that we're back on this journey. Another thoughtful relic.
- But I Might Die Tonight just makes sense after Miles from Nowhere. Am I listening to a musical??
- Longer Boats is somewhat obscure, but one of my favorites. It reminds me of Sloop John B in island inspired sound. Again, the lyrics ground you.
- Into White another palate cleanser and we lead into the final third of the record.
- On the Road to Find Found another one of my favorites. Let's hit the rowdy road! I love how this builds.
- Father and Son don't make cry. This song is important.
- Tea for Tillerman one of the best ways that I've ever heard an album finish. A one minute choir anthem?? Its so rad. I want more, but its also perfect.
Nico
3/5
I've mainly listened to Nico through the VU, and typically her songs are the ones that I don't really gravitate towards. While this album is artful, its not necessarily my cup of tea. However, there are a lot of elements that I can really respect and enjoy. I love the boldness of this record. To record an avant garde dead pan (is it folk? is it rock? is it pop?) kind of record in 1967 is impressive. I love the soulful musings of "These Days," (though I still prefer Jackson Browne's version). I like the experimental and dullful intensity of "It Was a Pleasure Then." "Chelsea Girls" is a great follow up and kind of brings you back to earth.
Again, not my favorite album. I respect the craft and boldness of this record. Its cool to see this influence playout in female artists like Bjork to even Billie Eilish.
Dennis Wilson
4/5
Fantastic. I like how thoughtful and soulful the sounds and lyrics are. The music is reflective and strays away from the lighthearted nature of The Beach Boys. The music is really "big." A lot of instruments, synths, horns, big drums. Some songs almost feel psychedelic. If I had one knock, it would be that I want more of it. The songs are kind of short, some extended jams would really let the listener immerse into the songs and sit with it longer.
The Cardigans
3/5
Super fun. I like the whimsical ebbs and flows of the vocals and music. You can really tell the band is having fun. The horns, the synths. It feels like a non-superficial pop album. However, I do feel like Lovefool makes it feel like a one hit wonder kind of record.
Parliament
5/5
So good. The bass, guitar, synths, horns and drums. Chorus style sing-along vocals. This record is fantastic. The music is full, interesting, jammy and psychedelic. I love how they committed to a concept album, but kind they tell the story with humor and slang. But it's not Frank Zappa hilarity. They're having fun and adding humor and jazz to this record in a way that feels natural and fitting. It goes in an out of jams and sections, and then connects everything back to sing alongs. It really grounds the listener after taking off. Absolutely fantastic. Its cool to see how this has influenced modern artists like Childish Gambino.
The Doors
4/5
I've always enjoyed The Doors. It was fun to revisit this one. I loved this album in High School, particularly "Break on Through", "Twentieth Century Fox" and "Light My Fire." I love how psychedelic the record is, and how wild it gets. It builds and then it crashes over and over again. Especially with songs like "Alabama Song" , "End of the Night" and "The End." However, the record is not necessarily linear in a building and crashing fashion. It takes swings and plays on conventional rock and roll (for the time) and takes it a totally different direction. I don't feel that this record is "easy listening," I definitely enjoy it better in doses. The keys and organ start to sound repetitive after awhile and I need a hard palate cleanser. However, despite how much "keys fatigue" that I feel when I listen to this record all the way through, I can't deny how much of a masterpiece "The End" is. Pure genius.
Manu Chao
3/5
Super fun. I love the pan Latin America sounds. It was groovy and bumpin. I enjoyed it. I couldn't understand a damn thing, so not sure I can really make a good review. But I did enjoy it!
The Hives
3/5
It's kind of a bonkers album, but even with how wild and brash it is, it somehow doesn't feel very unique and actually feels quite conventional. Maybe it's because this music got ripped off a lot in the early 2000s or if it's just the kind of music that was in every iPod commercial. Or maybe this music itself is already a ripoff of earlier forms garage and proto-punk. However, I do remember even at the time that this album came out, it felt like The Hives were a a band we were all supposed to like, but no one really did. I don't know of anyone that was actually a big fan of the The Hives then or now, but this music was being sprayed all over the place.
The sound is good and fast. Its garage rock. They're having fun, they're making noise. Its not quite punk, but it also is punk. I like how fast and punchy it is. Though, most songs sound very similar and they don't seem to break it up with sing along choruses or oi chants that you find in most punk music. On the flip side, they also don't have many bridges or guitar solos or really anything to break up the quick progression of distorted power chords to align closer with rock music.
I hate to say it, but I'm kind of bored with this record even with it being a wild ride.
I love how much British rockers from the late 60s - early 70s loved electric blues. The strings bend and moan and the vocals wine and cry and ground the listener into feeling something. They even get some good slides on the guitar in a few songs. This is especially with songs like Love Lives Here and Debris. They're nailing the blues with those songs. The more conventional rock songs are also great, Rod Stewart is excellent on the vocals of songs like Miss Judy's Farm and Memphis. This album feels like everything you'd want in a 70s electric blues album. Its great.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Actually kind of fun. It feels like I'm in a Guy Ritchie film when I listen to this. Its not exactly my cup of tea, but I like the different grooves, instruments, beats and samples. Its weird how surprisingly "British" it sounds and feels. Probably won't revisit, but I enjoyed it for the time.
David Bowie
3/5
I've always been a Bowie fan, but I can't figure out why this album is on the list. It's good, and interesting. However, the songs don't catch me like some of the earlier (and even later) Bowie songs do. My best guess is that the experimental elements and bits seem elemental for future music? Anyway, its fine. I probably won't revisit.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Such a great album. I love the fusion of rock and folk. It never feels forced or trite. For me, this record climaxes in the middle with Down By the River. That song just feels like a perfect combination of blues and rock all at once. Its epic, but its also mournful and somber. On either side of if you have Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, which feels a little more lighthearted after Cinnamon Girl, even though it really isn't. Round & Round brings you back to earth and grounds you back into those folk roots, before taking you off again on Down By the River. Before Cowgirl in the Sand takes us out of the album with an epic long psychedelic jam, we're treated with Running Dry, which is such a great homage to celtic folk. Its so good, and ambitious, but it works and is the perfect palette cleanser before Cowgirl in the Sand.
Lucinda Williams
4/5
Fantastic. I love that alt-country was going strong in the late 90s at the same time that country music was being ruined by pop music. Lucinda has such a unique voice, which sounds half lonely half strung out but always strong and piercing. I love the fusion of southern rock, folk and country. The lyrics and good and grounding. I love this album.
Tom Waits
5/5
Fantastic. The song writing is unconventional and even avant garde at times, but it never loses me as a listener. Some songs are dark and grimey (The Earth Died Screaming , In the Colosseum) where others are blusey, soulful and thought provoking (A Little Rain , Whistle Down the Wind).
I really love how he plays with his voice to make a unique and interesting sound. He plays with genres, especially old genres but never jumps away from a cohesive album sound. The album sounds like walking into a 1890s Vaudeville show in Los Angeles and getting the full range of weirdness and blues. Its entertaining and also makes you feel everything.
Sex Pistols
4/5
Despite the genre expanding upon The Sex Pistols original work, no one quite does punk music quite like them. Somehow every song feels like a live recording, it feels like you're in the crowd. As a listener, you're right there with them. You're ready to roll. Is Anarchy in UK really necessary? I don't know, but when I listen to the Sex Pistols, it seems plausible. Does every song sound almost the same? Yes. Is it basically just a mash up of power chords, distortion, and 4X4 drum beats? Yes. That's not the point though. Its powerful, its emotional, its angst, its aggression, its turning social norms upside down. Candidly, it's not my favorite punk album. Probably not even in my top 10 favorite punk albums, but I do know that I every punk record I've ever listened to has Never Mind the Bollocks in its DNA.
Elvis Presley
4/5
Very fun. I love the way he uses his voice. Its rock n' roll, but its also crooning like Bing Crosby. The country and rock-a-billy flows are fun. I like how the guitar leads are solid tones without any bends, it meshes nicely with the boogie keys. I can only imagine what people in the 50s thought about his weird vocal inflections, especially in songs like "Just Because." It's pretty weird, but also kind of wild.
Roxy Music
3/5
This is a super weird album, and not at all what I was expecting. I enjoyed it though! It was kind of cheesy, but also kind of psychedelic and also pop-rock. It was fun. It reminded me a bit of David Bowie, but without David Bowie. I liked all of the different instruments and different directions they took songs. This feels like proto-indie. I imagine Elvis Costello jamming this stuff and getting inspiration.
Alice Cooper
3/5
Super fun and again, not what I expected! I like how theatrical it is. Especially, the full blown West Side Story revival right in the middle of it. I also love how it closes out with the Grand Finale, tying it all together. For a pretty surface level album, it somehow feels deep like The Wall by Pink Floyd. However, instead of being deep, it's just kind of about nothing. Which is maybe the brilliance of it. I had a great time listening to this record.
Shack
3/5
Not sure how this one snuck in... Its good, its fine. I like the songs, some songs were better than others. I probably won't revisit, but I wouldn't be mad if it was on. I guess it was somewhat forgettable?
Metallica
4/5
Really cool and tight album. I love the full on trash , it feels like a hardcore album. However, at any moment where it starts leaning to hard one way, they pull you back in with methodical guitar solos or licks. It really grounds me back into the song. Its loud, its aggressive, its heavy. The tempos and vocals are fast, but it never really gets away from itself. I'm not a huge metalhead and probably won't revisit this often, but I do like how intense and full this sound is.
Aerosmith
3/5
Kind of great, kind of awful. Kind of cringey, kind of lovely. This is the root of garbage rock. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 10 Inch Record is disgusting, but Sweet Emotion is amazing. Walk this Way is fun and definitely a classic.
George Michael
3/5
Holy shit. How did this album get created? Did George Michael really have THAT much game? I can't tell if this album is bold, arrogant or the confessions of a sexual predator. Really not sure, but damn. He made an 9 MINUTE SONG ABOUT SEX. 9 MINUTES!?!?! PART 1 & 2??!? Admittedly, George Michael has not been in my repertoire of music. But damn, I gotta respect a 9 minute boner ballad. Also, lets not ignore 'Faith', which yes, overtly sexual, but still really really good. That song is fantastic. It's fun, its creative, its vibey. It riffs that old Bo Didley tune. Just great. But then its followed up with 'Father Figure'?!? WTF is this song? I don't wanna yuck on someones yum, but personally I don't don't want daddy role play as the second song on a sex album. Wow. Did not need that one. However, as soon as you stop feeling weird about Father Figure, ol George drops a 9 minute sex song. How many people on earth have boned through the entire duration of this song? Foreplay to completion with George in the bedroom. What a guy. This song is a gift.
After sex, George has to let us know that he's deep, mysterious and actually a bonafide sad boy. So as soon as he's done boning our brains out, he cranks out 'One More Try'. Which is a ballad for the saddest boy ever, but he really wants us to know he's more than just a simple fuck boy. 🥹
However, as to be expected. He bones, lamments, smokes a cigarette and then spends the next 45 minutes playing absolute garbage. Meaningless, pointless, music. How can such a passionate lover be so empty??? The next 5 songs are skippable and forgettable. Did you even spend the night with George Michael?
I can't decide if this record is a masterpiece or a complete dumpster fire. I can say that this would fit perfectly as the background music for the Snake Hole Lounge in Parks and Rec.
Neu!
3/5
Super fun and vibey. It felt like a movie soundtrack in the best kind of way. Hero felt so punk rock. The 70s were just so rad. I love that this was just happening for no reason.
Nas
5/5
Love this record. The lyrics, the beats, the rhymes. Its so good. This is a true pivot record in the evolution of hip hop. It doesn't feel like an "old school" hip hop album, but at any moment in the last 30 years its felt relevant. It's pretty impressive to make such a timeless record. That ages so well.
The beats are simple, but engaging. They're easy to roll with, especially with the way that Nas tells stories. Which I think is his strongest point. He's a master storyteller and a master poet, as soon as this record starts, you're in it with him.
Favorite songs are:
- NY State of Mind
- The World is Yours
- Memory
- One Love
Cocteau Twins
3/5
That was good! It reminded me of indie pop and synth pop. I can see where Lucius gets a lot of their inspiration. There were some cool psych elements as well. Not sure if I'll revisit, but I enjoyed it!
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
I enjoy this record! To me, this is a transitory record. Its taking that folk acoustic country roots and mixing it with psych rock and blues. However, I feel like they never quite get it there with the rock songs. Even when they're really going for it on songs like Woodstock and Country Girl. They're really good, and I think they inspired other artists to do it better. The album is strongest for me, on songs like Our House , Teach Your Children and Helpless. Which are obviously the most famous ones, but they're the most grounded and polished. I really do love this band and this record, but its not my favorite from the era.
Iron Maiden
4/5
This album was a blast! I like the opera style vocals and just kind of overall epicness of the album. I don't know if it always lands, but I love what they're going for. The whole album just feels like you're going on an adventure with the band. The guitar, bass, and drums all just gallup along as you journey through hell, prison, invasion. The guitar solos are a nice break up of the opera lyrics, and kind of keep it going. I totally get why people love this band. With 2024 goggles, it all feels a little cheesy, but there's a lot going on here and lot of craft.
Songs of note:
-The Prisoner (I just dig the whole journey and freedom thing going on here.)
-Number of the Beast (so rad! And sinister. This song is cool.)
-Run to the Hills (Definitely didn't have the right to write this song, but it still slaps.)
Joy Division
3/5
While I don't actively listen to this music on a regular basis, I always enjoy some raw 80s post-punk. It feels like Fugazi + Talking Heads, but I know this came before all of that. The raw / non-heavy effects is fun and makes a natural sound. This album is pretty moody and kind of depressing, but I like the swings they're taking.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
What a gem. He finished this 17 days before he died?!?! I love this record. While I've been familiar with Leonard Cohen for a long time, I had never gone through this album. I love the ironic, skeptical, and thoughtful nature of the songs. It's so smart in its storytelling. LC is a master wordsmith, especially when relating life and love to religion and tradition. He so carefully and poignantly uses religious imagery in these songs, where you're never sure if its irreverent or purely serious. It reminds me almost of a George Carlin routine, where is smart, funny, true, untrue, serious, sad, thoughtful, lovely and apathetic all at once.
I also love how unapologetic he is with his tone and voice. A lot of these songs are uneasy to listen to, because the style feels so foreign, where others feel akin to Johnny Cash's work with Rick Rubin. Its soft, sentimental and endearing. It's that old man wisdom, where he's saying his piece and singing his truth but he doesn't really care what you think of it. Its clear and confident.
GZA
4/5
Love this one. It feels so New York. The rhymes are awesome, the beats are chill and flowy. It does have that old school vibe, but it doesn't feel out of date. GZA is so sharp and calculated with his delivery. The record also feels kind of proto-MF DOOM. I wouldn't say its a concept album, but it has a lot of connection between songs and an overall lore to it. They lyrics are probably the strongest part, GZA is deep and spiritual with his delivery. I dig it. Wu-Tang Forever!
Beatles
5/5
I freakin love this album. Maybe not my favorite album by The Beatles, but for sure in my top 3. I love how it starts out with all the bangers mixed with weird lovely songs. No one can hate Come Together, it slaps every time. Something is such a good follow up, kind of grounds the listener and get more emotional. And then just get weird Maxwell's Silver Hammer and Oh! Darling. But then gets rrrrreal weird with Octopus's Garden. Shout out to my guy, Ringo. Just glad he snuck this one in there. Its such a gem.
Then the record starts to be bi-polar. We have the 8 minute heavy jam of I Want You (She's so Heavy) that then lightens up with the best happy song of all time, Here Comes The Sun. And then it goes right back into Because and You Never Give Me Your Money. They're just toying with our emotions. I love it.
But I think what really does this album, is the final 7 short songs that all kind of feel like 1 song. Sun King > The End + Her Majesty. It flows so well. It tells a story, its almost prog? But then not at all. Its just so perfectly The Beatles in all their glory and weirdness. Its endearing, its emotional, its sentimental. Its just kind of everything.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
What a gem. Joni is such a phenomenal song writer. Not only are her songs full of soul, meaning and introspect, but her voice always matches the character of the song. Sometimes she's playful and having fun, and other times she's in a deep place right there with you. I really love Blue, but I love the direction she took with this record. A lot of instruments. It feels more like a singer songwriter rock album than an acoustic folk album.
Tim Buckley
3/5
Fun psych folk record. It's a shame he didn't make any more, but glad he helped bring Jeff into the world. I like how reflective a lot of the songs are, but I also really the eastern psych influence. This is one of the "formative" records, like I see how it influenced other artists. It also strangely feels like Jim Morrison in a lot of songs.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Love this record. I've listened to The Message and a few other songs, but never the whole way through. What really stood out to me was how varied the sound is between songs. Some of the songs on this record feel very experimental. Especially, Scorpio or It's Nasty. Scorpio sounds like early Daft Punk, then later Kanye West, which is pretty rad to see that influence. She's Fresh and It's Nasty feel like they're building on Parliament or Funkadelic, but almost feel kind of punk rock. It reminds me of Red Hot Chili Peppers or Bad Bains. And then what about the Stevie Wonder love song?? Dreamin'. WTF is that? Fantastic is what it is. You Are is 100% ripped off by Chance the Rapper, but it totally works when he does it too. The Message is homaged in Hamilton. This record really is the blue print to so much rap and pop music.
I think more than anything though, what stands out to me is the political and social elements of the song writing It's a Shame and The Message are sadly just as relevant today as they were in the early 80s, when this record came out. I think that's the biggest legacy of this record. Saying things the way that they are.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
Not my favorite gangsta rap album, but I get the foundational elements of this record. Honestly, the Dre beats super cool and influential for kind of all hip hop after this. I also like how "chill" this record is compared to NWA or other early gangsta rap. While the lyrics are a bit silly and juvenile, I like how it just kind of flows and vibes. This is definitely smoke weed rap.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
I enjoyed this, but its not my favorite LZ album. I like that they kind of played more with their sound on this one. They really lean heavy into blues and then really lean heavy into prog. It's like they leveled up on everything that people recognize them for. Down by the Seaside is my personal fav. I like when Led gets sentimental.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I can't remember the first time I listened to this album, but I do know that I've probably listened to it like 100 times. Its noisy, and weirdly produced, but I love it. I love how it starts with the gem of Sunday Morning and then goes into I'm Waiting for the Man. I like how Lou Reed always sounds intense and lazy at the same time. Run Run Run is such a jam, while Heroine always gives me the chills. Its so visceral.
I know it's heresy, but if there was anything to knock, it'd be Femme Fatale and Venus in Furs. I get what they were doing with Nico but I almost always skip her songs. This record can give you a headache or it can be the best road trip album of all time.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Oh I love it when Bob Dylan decided to get weird and artsy. This record is so weirdly fantastic. He keeps everything tied back to his folk roots, but he just takes weird swings and make a really awesome unique record. It's hard for me to listen to this songs with new ears, because I've listened to his record hundreds of times. I think beyond the weirdness of this record, he really leans into blues and heartbreak. This is a pretty classic sad boy record, but my favorite thing about Bob Dylan break up songs are how matter of fact they are. He's like totally aware that he's not an easy person to be with and he gets it makes sense to just call it off.
I guess I'll just through my favs:
-Rainy Day Women #12 & 35: I remember the first time I heard this song, I was so confused. I really just wanted more "Blowin' in the Wind," and this was not all what I was expecting. I really love this song though. It feels like the circus and is just kind of bizzare.
-Visions of Johanna: this one always kind serves as a grounding song for. Its more in line with Bob's roots, but its striving for more.
-One of Us Must Know: this one always sneaks up on me, but its such a banger. He sounds so hopeless but also so sure.
-I Want You: I always think I don't like this song, but I know every word and I always sing along.
-Stuck Inside a Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again: one of my all time favorite Bob Dylan songs. I love how blusey and flowy it is. He kind of sounds strung out or drunk when he sings. I'm not even really sure what the song is about, but the characters and weird story are always fun for me to follow and kind of immerse myself in. (I also love when the Grateful Dead covers this one.)
-Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat: I have absolutely no idea what this song is about, but I just feel like Bob Dylan was doing a lot of drugs when he wrote this one and no one questioned him.
-Just Like a Woman: this one is sincere and sentimental. I don't love it, but I can always feel that he was feeling things when he wrote it.
-Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine): I really like his break up songs. They're so matter of fact.
-Temporary Achilles: another bluesy sad boy song. Still great.
-Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands: always gets me. Love this one.
Tom Waits
4/5
Man, these Tom Waits albums are wild. I love the how all over the place he is with sounds, but how relentlessly unapologetic he is. He's decides to make a polka song, and it happens. He rolls in a pedal steel and decides he's doing a country song. And it all feels insync with itself. Truly a master of his craft. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
N.W.A.
3/5
The source code of all gangsta rap. I like how similar this is to punk music at the time. It gives no shits, they say it how they feel. Its angry, but also angsty. There are dozens of things that "don't age well," and things that just generally feel old. However, I think that's ultimately unimportant when it comes to the legacy of this record. They take the flowy but often somber nature of East Coast rap and make it more upbeat and more lively. The angst, crass, visceral (and often juvenile) lyrics and attitude fit right in. This feels like it belongs at the Venice Beach Skatepark as much as it feels like it belongs in the projects of Compton.
Steely Dan
3/5
It was good! Not my favorite Steely Dan record, but I liked that they went full on jazz for this record. The extended songs lengths and different instruments was fun. I enjoyed it!
John Prine
5/5
Probably my favorite song writer of all time. John Prine tells the most visceral stories about love, relationships, loss, loneliness, sadness, America, politics, and he always does an with underlying tone of humor. I love that his songs are about *things* but he sings them in the form of stories and characters that he calls by name. Cathy, Loretta, Sam, Dad etc. He writes about a real America and real American people, but it's neither negative or positive. It's just stories that anyone can listen and relate to. I feel like I've met every person that he sings about.
My favorite songs:
-Illegal Smile, these is maybe the most underrated weed song ever. Its so funny. I like the story of it and the underlying message.
-Spanish Pipedream, another song showcasing John's humor. This song is kind of silly, but also a good message.
-Sam Stone, have you ever heard a song so visceral about a Vet? "there's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes. Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose." Woah. This song is incredible.
- Hello In There, who freakin writes a song about aging empty nesters and the loneliness involved? This song gives me the chills.
- Paradise, maybe environmental protest song ever. I freaking love this song. I especially love how it ends: "when I die, let my ashes flow down the Green River, let my ashes roll up to to Rochester Dam, I'll be halfway to heaven, with Paradise waiting, just 5 miles away from wherever I am." I love that this song is a serious environmental song, but he still incorporates his dark sense of humor.
- Pretty Good, not my favorite but I do like the humor and the bluesy guitar riffs. This one is a little more wild and edgy.
- Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore, has any song been more relevant to conservatism in America? I love how in this song he covers his truck in American Flags and then crashes it and dies and God won't let him into heaven.
- Far From Me, I love the complicated relationship in this song. And I love how he uses a broken bottle as an metaphor for marriage.
- Angel from Montgomery, the penultimate John Prine songs. This song always gives me the chills. I love the story about a relationship, hope, loneliness, love. Its got it all. I don't even know what to say other than I'm grateful that this song has been in my life for as long as it has. (this is also one that Meg and I play / sing a lot in our living room and have for years.)
- Quiet Man, lesser known but still a great story.
- Donald and Lydia, the poetry in this one. Lydia's story and then Donald's and then Love. And I love how he tells about them making love, but how they were really very far away. Funny, but real.
- Six O'Clock News, "come on baby, spend the night with me." This song is sentimental at the surface, and then realize its the saddest most heartbreaking song ever.
- Flashback Blues, this one is fun. Ironic, funny. Just good.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
What a gem! Bob Marley has been in my life for as long as I can remember. I've listened to so much of his music, but I'm ashamed to say, I've never gone through this record. I listened to the Jamaican version as well as the studio version. It was fun to compare and contrast, with the Jamaican version being more stripped down and Ska-like. The original studio version has that more classic full Bob Marley sound that we all love.
I'd love the social / political / historical nature of the songs and concepts in this record. I think people often forget about the political nature of Bob Marley's music.
Even though this is a good example of the evolution of that classic Bob Marley sound, I really like the R&B / Soul influences in this record. He's really leaning into American R&B, but then taking it a totally different direction with the reggae / ska / dancehall sound. One Love! 🇯🇲 ✊🏼🦁
Frank Sinatra
3/5
I liked this way more than I thought I would. I think I've mostly heard the big hits that at this point kind of sound cheesy(even though they're probably not.) I really like how chill and jazzy this one was. Super mellow and soothing. I enjoyed it. Vibey.
Pink Floyd
5/5
This album is a masterpiece. I'm not super into prog, and frankly, I don't revisit this one often. However, its impossible to deny how cohesive this whole album. Every song is exactly where it should flows so perfectly into the next. It really does arch like a traditional story. "Wish You Were Here" is right in the middle and always blows my mind. I love how Shine On is on both sides of the record and serves and a book end. It's absolutely brilliant.
Hugh Masekela
5/5
Wow. This one blew me away. The trumpets, the drums, the bass lines. It was so varied throughout. Each song flowed smoothly into the next, but kept you engaged and interested the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will revisit frequently.
Also, shoutout to Selema Masekela's Dad! Been a fan of his for a long time.
Kanye West
4/5
This is probably the most conflicted I've felt about an album since starting this project, so I'll start with what's great about it.
It's impossible to deny the experimental and uniqueness of this record. From the pure standpoint of music composition, it's pretty freakin rad. He mixes all sorts of different sounds, instruments, beats. Each song is super unique from the rest, but the whole record flows into each song perfectly. He also uses autotune in a super cool way including having Justin Vernon on a few songs). He collabs with a lot of rad artists on this too, and they never really take over the song but add to the holistic nature of the record. He has reggae artists and other rappers jump in when needed. Overall, the music feels progressive, intense, heavy, but even spacey in a few places. It's constantly moving and never really feels dull. This is truly one of the most unique and influential rap albums. This is 100 degrees beyond what Grandmaster Flash started.
What I'm conflicted with: it's impossible for me in 2024 to separate Kanye the artist and Kanye the narcissist. Rap has a long history of songs being a first person narrative. And often these lyrics are satirical, ironic, or commentary on social issues / norms. Always towing an ever thinning fine line. However, knowing what I know about Kanye, it's hard for me to get behind really any of the lyrics or story telling. I would typically receive "I Am A God" as ironic, but listening to it now, it feels very serious. Even the social commentary on "Black Skinhead" and "New Slaves" feels off, because I know that he's a conspiracy theorist. Even silly sex songs like "I'm In It" feel weird knowing that he's done and said some really weird sex things. The back half of the album does lighten up on a lot of these things, so its a little more palpable. However, I think Kanye is maybe tainted for life.
Youssou N'Dour
3/5
Good time! Admittedly, I'm not super familiar with African music. And I also don't speak French, but I had a great time with this one. I'm glad I listened to it!
The Darkness
3/5
Today I learned that The Darkness was in fact, NOT an 80s Hair Metal Band. And when I was riding around in my sister's car in 2004, listening to “Growing on Me” and “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” we were actually listening to very modern and recent music. I had no idea.
This album is fun! Its pretty camp and very over the top. Even though its a 2000s album, they're very much going for that 80s butt rock vibe. And.. it kind of works. Its fun.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Such a freakin cool record. This is an overlooked time stamp in American and Country music. I love how every song is just a story. Its like listening to an audiobook or watching a movie. The music flows and bounces. Its engaging, but simple. The spanish guitar licks in the background keep it from sounding mundane. And then Marty's voice is just so unique. Who else sounds like this?? I love this record. This is one that was always playing in my Dad's truck when I was a kid.
Green Day
4/5
This album has been with me since I was in elementary school. It's one of those creative mixes of "meh" songs and then absolute bangers. Everytime you start to feel a little fatigued, they throw in a Longview, Welcome to Paradise or When I Come Around. And frankly, I can't blame them for having a few boring songs. That's kind of how these records were being produced back then. They really just wanted to get out as much music as they could. I can't say this is the original bored suburban teenager, but it's maybe the most successful and maybe the most influential. Is there anything as visceral as Basket Case "do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once"? Or Longview's "masturbation's lost its fun."
And yes, I would eventually become too cool for Green Day. They "sold out" in the lamest way possible. But when you take a step back and just listen to this record for what it is, putting yourself in the timeframe that it came out, it freakin slaps. It's impossible not to enjoy it.
Paul Weller
3/5
Pretty rad little album. It feels very British. Like very post-rock British. Its exactly what I would imagine coming from a British rock star solo artist in the 90s. Its overall pretty fluid with genres, but never really strays too far. It feels cohesive and together.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
This is a really awesome album. So many cool instruments, lots of cool blues harmonica, saxaphone, brass, great keys. The sound is really full. This is not music that was played in my house growing up and as my music tastes evolved, I didn't listen to a lot of R&B. So when I listen to this type of R&B, it always sounds a bit foreign. It's probably how some listeners feel when they hear John Prine, his voice, the style is objectionally great, but it sounds a bit foreign. Which is a shame, because this is truly great American music.
I have put in the work and effort to listen to more Stevie Wonder over the past 2 years, and so I am familiar with this record. This one does feel a bit more "poppy," than Inversions (which I think I like more.) However, I really love the social and civil rights focus of the lyrics. For as fun and playful as this record sounds, its has some heavy undertones.
The thing that I notice the most though, is just how much fun Stevie and the band are having with each song. He's just bringing the heat with every song. They're mixing instruments, sounds, vocals, even like full on choirs at some points. There is a lot going on, but it never feels overwhelming. This is a great record that I need to spend more time with.
Little Richard
3/5
This one is great! This is like the ultimate "roots" album. I mean, this is the source of code of all like modern rock music. Its upbeat, its edgy, its fast paced, the vocals are kind of gender fluid. Yes, most of the songs are pretty similar, but for the time, this thing was out of control.
Sam Cooke
4/5
This is rowdy Sam Cooke! I love how much energy is in this one. I've listened to a lot of Sam Cooke songs, and I'm always drawn in by how smooth his vocals are and smooth the music. This feels like some real rock and roll. There is a ton of energy in this record, you can hear the crowd in some songs and the band is going for it with every song. However, Sam is next level. His voice is coarse, which is kind of wild. It reminds me Twist and Shout by the The Beatles when John's voice is shot. Bring it On Home To Me is the obvious winner on this record. I don't love the recording quality, its not great, but its also not terrible.
Fela Kuti
4/5
What a record! I loved this. Its progressive and aggressive, but also so smooth and flowy. The jams / reggae / rock roots are so rad. Super fun to listen to. I'm by no means an expert on AfroBeats, but this one has been one of my favs so far. It has the power of Bob Marley, but totally different style of music. Its really fluid and engaging.
Gene Clark
3/5
You know for being an aficionado for all things singer-songwriter 70s country rock, I really did not vibe with this album. It felt very... basic..? Like it was fine. I enjoyed it. There was certainly nothing wrong with it, I just don't feel like there was anything that really spoke to me. Maybe I need another listen to engage with the lyrics? IDK. The Stand By Me cover was a high point for me.
Pere Ubu
3/5
What a rad album! Super experimental and honestly kind of punk rock. I had a mostly good time listening to this. There were a few songs that were too much, but I love that they're going for it in 1978.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Leonard Cohen is such an incredible song writer. Some of his songs cut me so deep. This particular album, did not quite do that for me. Its probably one you need to spend more time with. Out of the Leonard Cohen albums I've listened to, this was the most mundane. Which, I know is kind of part of his thing, but it didn't really draw me in like others. Joan of Arc was the winner on this one.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Super fun album. I hate saying albums feel "nostalgic" because when it came out, it wasn't meant to feel nostalgic. However, this album is so baked into the sound of the 90s, its almost impossible to avoid. This is 90s alt rock at its finest. She has such a great voice, really cool lyrics and I love how she just goes there with every song. The harmonicas, acoustic and electric guitars, its all on point.
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
This album was wild, but so well done. Extremely aggressive and sad, but really cool and interesting sounds. Some songs feel like heavy disco, while other songs are down right metal. It reminds me a lot of Depeche Mode but again, way heavier. Some of the slow songs surprised me though, really methodical and deep. Overall, I really liked this one.
Silver Jews
4/5
Silver Jews is another one of those bands that I never got into because the name. I just didn't know what it meant. I remember listening to a few songs here and there in the early 2000s, but I was really blown away by this record. Its that perfect mix of apathetic deadpan indie, but winking at country music the entire time. The lyrics are clever, the music is engaging. And I really like the monotone singing. It feels like its *trying* to be country but fully aware that it isn't. Its true outsider music. If I was to put Silver Jews into a headline it would say: "New York Jew Goes to Nashville Does Drugs." I super enjoyed this record.
OutKast
5/5
I love this record! I love the hip hop from Speakerboxxx. The mix of sounds, instrumentation and genres is super unique, I also like the political / social nature of the songs. The Love Below is more interesting to me. The lyrics are lighter and even silly at some points, but I like the R&B, Soul, Rock influences and how they merge with Hip Hop. I'm also just stoked that they went for it and made a freakin 40 song, 2 hour long record. Its pretty bold. I'd like to spend more time with this entire record, but when will I have time??
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
I reviewed this 82 albums ago! Here is my analysis:
This one is fun, but not my favorite Tom Petty record. It feels like a very formative album in creating the TP sound. I like the mix of old rock n' roll with singer songwriter and 70s rock influences. Some of they lyrics are a bit cheesy, but that feels intentional. Obviously, American Girl is the biggest and best banger on this record.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
Super cool record! I love the keys and bass lines in this one. It almost feels opposite from what I'm used to where the keys fill almost foundational and grounding and the bass solos kind of take me on a journey. Also, the drums are really really good in this one too. Its chill, but its engaging. Its very soooooothing. Big fan of this one.
OutKast
5/5
One of the best! I love this album. Super unique with sounds, fusions, beats. I love the mix of silliness + socially conscious lyrics. They never take themselves too seriously, while they're breaking down very serious issues. I also love the elements of soul and psych. One minute they're singing and flowing, and then next minute they're spitting lightning fast.
Madonna
3/5
Reviewed this early on:
Really cool and interesting album. Its kind of a mixed bag of singer-songwriter, rave / techno, eastern music, into a really cool pop mix. I'm most impressed with Madonna's voice. Its super unique. I like how real and mature it sounds, its of mystic but not cheesy. Overall, really cool and fun to listen to.
Baaba Maal
3/5
This one was fun! It was 100% what I imagined it to be. Cool drums, cool keys, and really fun guitar. Probably won't revisit, but fun experience!
Richard Hawley
3/5
Super cool and interesting album. I love the old country, R&B, rockabilly influence. A lot of the songs were slow and moody, but overall enjoyable.
I'm not really why this is on the list..? I feel like songs on the list should have a cultural impact, formative for the artist or for the genre, or push the genre forward. And... I don't feel like this has really any of that. Like its cool music, but I don't feel like it means anything or really has anything bringing me back. I'll probably revisit some songs, but I don't see myself revisiting this album anytime soon.
Dr. Dre
4/5
This is the crown jewel of "gangsta rap." They lyrics are crass, and I understand how it can make people under comfortable. It reminds me a lot of early punk music, where it's kind of a dark art. You're humming along and flowing and then something kind of takes you out of it.
The one thing that is undeniable though, are Dre's beats. This album is so groovy. He pulls in so many rad sounds, beats, samples. For 92, this was pretty unique. While "gangsta rap" isn't my preferred method of hip hop, I have to respect this album and see it for what it is and what it did for the genre.
King Crimson
4/5
Super rad album! I loved all the jazz influences as it starts out. It's kind of all over the place with jazz, rock, blues. I do start to get fatigued by the end, but I think that's a mood thing. Its crazy this one came out in 67!
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
Super fun. Latin beats and horns were super groovy, and fun to listen to. It was really creative and vibey. I had a great time with this one.
5/5
Wow. What a masterpiece. This might be the album that has blown me away the most on this project. I listened to this 5 times through on my flight to Japan. I didn’t listen to anything else.
The fusion of genres is perfect. Jazz, soul, funk, gospel, blues and psychedelia. One minute you’re jamming hard and bumping to The Cisco Kid and the next minute you’re on a journey through the many ups and downs of City, Country, City. This song takes you on a ride. Very aptly named. Where Was You At is sad and funny all at once, but perpetually groovy and glowing.
City, Country, City was the song that converted me to this record. I was having fun, I was jamming but this song just takes you places. And without vocals! It’s a true journey song.
Four Cornered Room blows my mind. I love how it starts out with voices harmonizing “zoom zoom zoom,” and then as the song builds and crashes the vocals and lyrics change. Though they keep building on the harmonizing.
The World is a Ghetto is such a rad blues song. It’s jams, and builds but totally rooted in blues. It keeps coming back to that chorus.
Beetles in the Bog is perfect way to finish the record. The group vocals that sound like a prison gang on top of crazy bass lines and percussion. It’s a wild ride.
I love the mixing of sounds throughout the record. It’s trippy, but it’s all traditional instruments which makes it feel natural and grounding. I also love how the vocals / lyrics are truly just a vessel to move the music forward. It’s not vocals first or even “music first” music. It’s just mixed so great and the music speaks for itself. This album absolutely blew my mind.
Femi Kuti
3/5
Super fun! I like how this steered a little more jazz. It kept it moving, flowing and interesting. I also liked the political / social conscious lyrics. I like afrobeats, but I liked how this kind of expanded on that in a different way. This was fun.
Radiohead
4/5
Brilliant. I love the mixing of sounds, instruments, effects, etc. the album kind of starts and ends the same with deeps electronic sounding reverb and deeper beats and then kind of breaks down to more simplistic songs in the middle, only to build back up again. But it never changes in mood or vibe. It’s melancholy and minor throughout, but never lacks in feeling or emotion. It also feels like a culmination of everyone that came before (Pink Floyd > The Velvet Underground > My Bloody Valentine) and then a blueprint for what came next (Sigur Ros > Arcade Fire > Muse). Kind of a pivot point for a lot of indie and modern post rock post punk music. I loved it!
My only knock, is that I get a bit fatigued by the end. It’s a little sad, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the best songs ever written are sad songs. One of my favorite lines from Almost Famous “great art is about conflict and pain and guilt and longing and love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love.”
Arcade Fire
5/5
There is absolutely no way I can write an unbiased opinion on this record. How do I judge not only one of my favorite albums of all time, but one of the most formative and important albums for me personally? I remember the exact moment I listened to this record all the way through for the first time, because I remember when the day it was released. (though there is some dispute there, I don't know if it was all released at the same or just certain singles because the internet says August 3, 2010.) Either way, I was up on the promotion, I was familiar with "The Suburbs" and when I watched the interactive music video for "We Used to Wait" (collab with Google Earth) I felt like I was witnessing one of the most important moments in modern music.
I do remember the moment I listened to it all the way through. It had to be during my first or second week of my first week of college. IE: the first week of my adult life. The first week of living on my own. I certainly didn't pay for the record, but I think Shane had just ripped it and shared it with all of us. I loaded it up on my iPod and I went for a bike ride around Ephraim. I remember riding around the entire perimeter of the town and listened to it all the way through. I did this multiple times with this record throughout my first semester.
I remember not loving the title track first time through, but as Ready to Start came on, I was converted. Modern Man and Rococco were awesome, but not the "epic" that I was used too but they drew me in. There is a level of obscurity with the story telling and composition with many of the songs on this record. It sounded kind of unlike anything else at the time, and was different from the previous two records. Kind of new, kind of nostalgic, kind of jazz, kind of rock. This is true throughout the record, but most notable in the first third and after the middle. City With No Children was my first favorite song on the record. Simple, loud, anthem sounding. "Don't ever trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount." It made me think. It made me uncomfortable. Suburban War was one of the most relatable songs I had ever heard "the music divides us into tribes, I chose my side you chose your side." It was sad, true, longing and deep. It meant a lot an 18 year old boy who's identity was wrapped up into indie bands. Month of May was such a jump from what I had liked about the band, but I loved how punk this song sounded. So awesome to make a song like this and just go for it! We Used to Wait still gives me chills to this day. I was converted after watching the video and then welcomed it warmly as I listened to it on the record. And obviously, Sprawl II was / is the best song on the record. (maybe best indie song of the decade?) I never gravitated towards Régine songs, but she killed it with this one. My roommates and I all learned to play this song, and we would jam this all the time. I'd play mandolin or guitar, Logan on guitar, Shane on his keys or with a floor tom. Danny banging on the floor tom or tambourine. We'd all sing and play at the top of our lungs. In the dorm, around the fire, wherever we could. This was the song of my freshmen year of college.
I could write pages and pages about each song and what it means to me now and what it meant to me then. But I think the general theme is the same: becoming of age. Which is one of the most basic stories for any human experiencing life on this floating rock in space. However, its the connection at a moment in time that makes it so visceral. This album obviously stands on its own. I could write about the composition of each song musically and lyrically, but to me this record represents a moment in time when I was experiencing the theme of this record in real time. I was "becoming of age" when this record came out. I was leaving the suburbs and making sense of my youth and looking forward to what was next. I've listened to record thousands of times, and will continue doing so for the rest of my life. I'm forever grateful to have this one in my life then and now.
So can you understand?
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young
I wanna hold her hand
Show her some beauty before this damage is done
But if it's too much to ask, if it's too much to ask
Then send me a son
3/5
This is 100% one of those *formative* records from the 80s that the authors of this project seem to love. That’s not to say it’s not worthy of its place in the list. I freakin love this band. X really is one of the most underrated punk bands of all time. When it comes to SoCal punk they’re always forgotten and especially when it comes to folk or cow punk. Social-D gets all the credit.
But considering the nature of the songs, punk was still new, and at this point, hardcore was starting to take over the scene. X stands out as a band that takes a the elements of punk and mergers rockabilly, folk and country but still stays true to the nature of the genre. Hard, fast, and full of energy. They never take themselves too seriously. The songs have a level of humor and sarcasm to them that was later emulated by bands like Descendants and made legendary by bands like blink-182.
This isn’t my favorite X record, I prefer Los Angeles or See How We Are. A lot of these songs are kind of similar, but for the time, I get it. This record coupled with Los Angeles influenced a lot of the music of my youth.
Also shoutout to Exene Cervenka for being one of the OG female punk vocalists and John Doe for his amazing cameo in Boogie Nights.
Brian Wilson
4/5
Unexpectedly blown away by this one. I’ve always loved The Beach Boys and especially love Pet Sounds, but this is next level. This feels like the perfect continuation of Pet Sounds that we never got, and the perfect answer to Sgt. Peppers. I’m torn, because I’m saddened that The Beach Boys never got this one out, but I also wonder if the actually quality of recording and the musicians that collaborated on this might be better.. 😬 (heresy, I know.) But still, it would have been cool to actually see The Beach Boys do this and put this in the history of modern music, rather than a really amazing asterisk or after thought. And that is probably the root of my conflict.
This record feels like psych rock prog pop. It’s all over the place, but it flows and moves perfectly between each movement and song. It’s layered perfectly between vocal harmonies, deep bass lines, bouncing keys, and excellent percussion. It even gets really weird with some horns and synths. Listening with my big headphones, I was able to pick up on a lot of the cool sounds, reminiscent of Pet Sounds but actually executed better. The lyrics are completely manic, but kind of amazing.
The the album really only works as an album the whole way through. Certain songs stick out, but they really make sense in the context of the album. Which is the really the strength and the weakness of the album. I’m really glad Brian eventually pulled it off. I loved it!
Green Day
4/5
American Idiot, the first album I immediately loved and then was taught to immediately hate. There’s no question that Green Day “sold out” and went completely mainstream. Delivered punk music to the masses while simultaneously ruining the genre. Punk didn’t plateau after this record, it pretty much died, became emo, pop, hardcore or indie. Blink-182 broke up and Green Day filed the void with this record. Despite all the bullshit about selling out, it’s hard to not see and understand the vision of this record. It’s kind of genius and really well executed. There hasn’t really been anything like this since or before.
So avoiding pre-conceived notions about how I feel about this album personally and culturally, I think there are some really awesome songs.
-American Idiot is such a rad way to start an album.
-Jesus of Suburbia is brilliant. Full on punk rock opera. Maybe the sneaky best song on the record.
-Holiday is so fun. Such a good anthem.
-Boulevard of Broken Dreams is the most important song for 7th grade Blake.
-Are We Waiting / St. Jimmy were always my favorite 2 though. I always felt like it was a perfect break mid-record before taking off with St. Jimmy. No idea what it’s about, but it makes you feel things.
-Give Me Novocaine is maybe the most unique song on the record. It’s different but it’s a good pace change before She’s a Rebel, which rocks my socks off.
-Wake Me Up When September Ends was a sad song that soon became a summer song, which I always thought was hilarious. Also everyone learned the intro of this song on acoustic guitars.
The biggest knock on the record musically is that it’s a bit front loaded. The back half isn’t nearly as strong as the front half.
Ultimately, this record is always going to be a stamp for a moment in time. Bush Administration / War in Iraq / the peak and crash of mainstream punk rock. And it deserves it. It was important when it came out and it still holds up.
Air
3/5
I listened to this one when I first started. Here is my review:
Very groovy. Super easy listening, and vibey. Good to have one while working. Not sure when I'll revisit, but I'm happy I'm aware of it. I recognized a lot of the songs. Glad I can put a name to it.
Frank Zappa
4/5
This was a super fun listen. It's for sure out there. I really like the psychedelic nature of the songs and how layered they are. It flows really well, despite being so out there. In a lot of jam / psych rock, I'm not able to really pick up on jazz influences very easily. However, this record feels very jazzy in how the songs are structured. Especially the back half of the album, but throughout as well. Its not necessarily an "easy" listen, as it's a bit out there but its really good and really well produced. You can definitely hear the influence that this had on future artists.
Pixies
4/5
So freakin great. I love this band. They're so unique. This album is "post"-everything. Post-punk, post-hardcore, post-rock. That's the only way I can describe it. I love when they're screaming, and then back down to talking or talk singing. The distortion on the guitars is sooo fuzzy in the best kind of way, especially when they're playing chords.
Brian Eno
3/5
This was fun! I didn't know how I'd feel about this one, but then it started and like so many albums on this project, it was another 80s British post-punk indie album. I enjoyed it! Cool distortion, fun lyrics, cool vocal melodies. Good shit.
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
This is a cool record. The Dandy Warhols were one of the first indie bands I got into. I almost feel like they were ahead of their time, because they never really got that big. I used to listen to this album and Thirteen Tales when I would snowboard.
I really love the psychedelic elements on this album. It's got all the weirdness and strange sounds that you would ever want. It also has really cool mono sounding guitar riffs, which I really enjoy.
Pink Floyd
5/5
Absolutely brilliant. I feel like this gold standard for concept albums. Its one of those records that really only works as a whole. Especially the first half, it's all world building and stage setting. It kind of flows and moves and I do enjoy it, but I don't love it. Even Another Brick in the Wall pt 2 doesn't really get my blood moving.
For me, the real magic is back half. Hey You, Is There Anybody Out There, Bring the Boys Back Home, Comfortably Numb, In the Flesh Reprise, Run Like Hell, The Trial, Outside the Wall. It's in the back half that it really reaches climax and the story + music takes off. I love the operatic storytelling and song writing that really gets me.
I don't listen to this album a lot, but it is one that has grown on me over the years. I really didn't get it when I listened to it first as a High School student, and I really tried. I went hard on Pink Floyd and watched / listened to Dark Side with the Wizard of Oz and everything. I still think I probably prefer Dark Side of the Moon from a taste standpoint, but I give this one a spin at least once a year and I'm always stoked. It's a treasure.
Linkin Park
4/5
I love this record and I love this band. Its so well produced. Everything is so tight, which is pretty crazy for a first record 2000. Its heavy, its angry, its sad. It does make me wonder what the hell was wrong with teenagers in the 90s? I remember the first time I listened to this, I must have been 9 years old, and I was blown away. Ultimately, its my least favorite of 3 albums that make up apex mountain for Linkin Park. And my other hot take is that Reanimation is better. But I can't deny that none of what came next would be possible without this record. Its super unique. It hits metal and hip hop in a very non-gimicky way. Its truly respectful and engaging of both genres and it totally works. I'm not surprised that no one else was ever able to pull it off and that the genre kind of peaked and died with this band, but it some ways that's kind of cool.
Donald Fagen
3/5
Is 80s music a genre? Because I can't really pin down what is going on with this record. It's like a caricature of cocaine, Reagan, the Cold War and pilates. That doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. It's certainly smoooooth and sexy. It has fun moments, cool guitar solos. Interesting disco inspired harmonies, but I guess I'm only describing what I'm hearing. Which is basically the epitome of 80s trash pop all encompassed into 1 record that is definitely FINE.
Soft Cell
3/5
This album is insane. Like it is completely unhinged. The album yesterday was like "80s garbage pop," because it was just fine. Nothing special, just quintessential 80s. But this...... this is 80s Hot Trash. And its incredible. This is the sleeziest record I've ever listened to. This is like the proto-Megan Thee Stallion. It's like 100% sex music. Like explicit sex music. SEX DWARF IS A SONG ON THIS RECORD. SEX DWARF!!! WTF?!?!?!?
It almost feels like The Cure or Depeche Mode, but if DP was in a full leather GIMP suit and had a boner stuck in a chastity belt. Its like incel Depeche Mode.
I think its so out there and so spot on for what its going for, that I actually really respect it. I'm certain, I won't listen to this all the way though again, but damn, this is wild. I'm glad I listened to the whole thing. Obviously, Tainted Love is the classic. I did know that one. but Wow. This thing is unhinged.
Hole
3/5
This was sweet! I'm glad this album was in there, because I do think its a really cool relic of a band that gets overlooked. I had honestly never really give Hole a chance, because of all of the stuff with Nirvana / Cobain. I was just never interested, but this is a really cool record! Its aggressive, its sad, its upbeat. Its kind of everything. It really encompasses that grunge before it went fully alt-rock and shed its punk roots. Its no wonder that Kurt Cobain fell in love with this woman and this band. Its very similar to Nirvana in sound, themes and music. I'm glad I listened to this one!
Lauryn Hill
4/5
What a great album! For sure one of the best hip hop / r&B albums of the 90s. (maybe all time?)
I love how this album flows from rap to singing with spanish guitar accompanying throughout. The synths are fun, but not overbearing. And the lyrics are real, important and visceral. I also really love the rasta / Zion elements intermixed with reggae.
I really like how she never straight up samples other songs, but she homages them "Bam" "Light My Fire" "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." It's fun and creative.
The only knocks for me are that the drum machines kind of sound dated. I get it for the time, and honestly, the beats are cool. But I think this album could be recorded today, it would be still be relevant and good. We'd probably just do something for the beats.
Sister Sledge
3/5
It's interesting to me that disco never really fused into anything else. Maybe because it's already watered down funk, R&B and soul so it didn't really have anywhere to go? I'm not really sure, but this record was super fun. It's groovy, poppy, kind of silly, but overall just really fun. I totally get why this was the music of 70s and 80s gay clubs. Its awesome. If I could bring this album into one word, it would celebration. This record is just a celebration of life, music, party, family, friendship. Nothing overly deep in terms of music or themes, but it isn't striving for that. And I think the world needs music like this.
One note about musical evolution: I do like how disco is kind of building progression music. It actually reminds me of EDM. So maybe that's it, maybe EDM was the evolution of disco.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
No one does it like Marvin Gaye. He's the perfect blend of funk, jazz, soul, blues. Every song is so groovy. It flows, bends, bops. He brings in a wide arrangement of sounds and instruments that are always pumping in the background. The music is so full. He keeps the mood chill, and never goes over the top. Even on the obscure songs like "A Funky Space Reincarnation." The song is bizarre in its lyrical themes, but it's neither cheesy or over the top weird in the music. It's actually one of my favorite songs on the record.
I really like the love, marriage, gospel, god, sex themes of this record. Its kind of his speciality to bridge the gap between all of that.
This whole record fills so tight. Every song makes sense, and easily flows into the next. Its good background music, but it also demands an intentional listen. There's a lot going on here.
Stephen Stills
3/5
This is a rad little album! The blues, folk, bluegrass, singer-songwriter elements are really really cool. I often feel that Stills is kind of the red-headed step child of his previous band and never really gets the acclaim as his counterparts.
The vision is really cool. I like how they experimented with traditional genres in American music, but also leaned in to the singer songwriter ethos of day. It makes sense why so many Deadheads were into this music.
This album has a lot of ambition packed in it, but I'm not sure its a "classic." There aren't a lot of stand out songs per say and despite it being a really cohesive record, it doesn't really hold up to other dense albums of the period. Still it's a cool relic and really awesome album that I had a blast listening to.
Prefab Sprout
3/5
Whoever put this list together has such a hard on for 80s British indie. The problem with this record, is that it definitely has the elements of the indie music that was going on at the time but it really is more of a pop album. I guess not even a little bit, its totally a pop album. It just "sounds" like indie rock. It "sounds" like The Stone Roses or The Cure, but it doesn't have the heart and soul of those bands.
From a musical standpoint, its fine. Kind of cheesy love songs and kind of kind of cheesy lyrics.
Bon Jovi
3/5
This album is objectively bad, but its kind of towing that line between good / bad and bad / bad. For instance, the lyrics are bad. They mean nothing. "We have each other and that's A LOT!" Come on. But I don't think there is person on this continent that can resist "WOAAAAAHOOOOW LIVIN ONA PRAAAYYERRR." Its good / bad.
I think what's interesting to me about this record and I guess modern music in general, is the quick move to appropriate and capitalize on something that is working. Bon Jovi is just kind of a mix everything edgy about the former decade. He's got the sex appeal of Tom Petty, but he isn't cool and sexy. Its feels exploitative. The freaking porn sounds at the beginning of Social Disease. It's so cheesy.
And then he's leaning into the psych / blues elements of Led Zeppelin or The Rolling Stones, but it never quite stands up to anything they ever did. Again, Wanted Dead or Alive is fun to sing along to but it's meaningless. It has no soul, it's a caricature of Stairway to Heaven or Midnight Mile.
I think where Bon Jovi wins, is when he makes things loud. And no, he didn't event that. Black Sabbath did, but he is good at it.
Its indulgent. Its kind of irresistible. It also kind of sucks. Its good / bad.
Talking Heads
2/5
What a blast. So weird and fun. I love how the bass lines kind of drives the music forward. The guitar riffs are unorthodox and almost funk, but never fully committing to the bit. Which I think is imperative for their sound. They synths keep it all around interesting.
Not sure if this is my favorite Talking Heads record. Despite being such a unique record, there aren't too many songs that stand out to me. I kind of like them all equally, which is probably why this album deserves more listens. I'm certain there is something I'm missing.
Something that is undeniable, is how tight this record is. Everything is really well produced and immaculately put together. Its like they were harnessing their silliness into a serious art form with this record.
I had a blast with this one. I'm hoping we get some more Talking Heads down the road!
Frank Ocean
4/5
I love this record, but its kind of a slow burn. It takes time and re-listens. I still don't know if I like Blonde more, I've spent more time with Blonde but this is definitely the framework. No Blonde without channel Orange.
If I was to genre this record, I would say its "anti-pop r&b." It really is a true R&B album. Its got the blues, the jazz, the funk, the soul. There are parts of this record that sound like church. What makes it "anti-pop" to me, is that it takes elements of modern r&b and winks / nods at it, and then completely rejects it with style / lyrics and composition. It reminds me very much of what Tyler Childers is doing with country music right now.
What's also interesting to me about this album, is that it doesn't really take off until about halfway through. The first few songs are a mix of samples and short sequences, before it picks up into longer more in-depth songs.
I love the run from Super Rich Kids through Lost. Its a little more vibey and upbeat. It captures the listener. You get a quick palate cleanser provided by John Mayer with White and then it goes a completely different direction with Monks > Bad Religion > Pink Matter > Forrest Gump. It takes a slower, more emotional, soulful turn. Even the Andre 3000 song feels slower and more soulful.
The lyrics are pretty emo, but he also plays with elements of SoCal culture like money, rich kids, fashion and even punk music with Monks and Bad Religion.
This really is an album that I would not have gravitated towards 5 years ago, and even when it starts, I wince a little. "Thinkin Bout You" is not my favorite song and it first it kind of sounds like poppy r&b that I typically don't love. But as I've listened to this album I can hear the influences and really respect and love it. I can hear Stevie Wonder in his voice, Isaac Hayes in the stoner psychy composition, Marvin Gaye in the lyrics. And then an overall wink and nod and modern r&b while very intentional inventing something entirely new. It is fantastic.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
This record is kind of all over the place. Its like skiing variable snow after a wind event. You have like 2 really good turns of wind buff pow and then like 3 turns of dial up internet.
Speaking of dial up internet, my biggest qualm with this record and all r&b records from the late 90s / early 2000s are the freaking drum machines. WHAT WERE WE DOING BACK THEN!??! It seriously takes down a really full / holistic sounding song with cool bass lines and brass instruments and then adds shitty beats that sound like a CD skipping.
What's fun to me with this record is the diversity in genre / sounds. Part of it is really good soul and r&B. But then he really leans into jazz as well, and then layers in rap where it makes sense. The rap track are kind of hit or miss, I'm not a huge fan of southern rap from the 2000s but that might be taste thing. I do like how flamboyant he is with his voice when he raps and sings. Its pretty unique. He even gets pretty weird near the end of the record with Scrap Metal and Sometimes. A lot of interesting mixes.
There's no doubt that CeeLo is super talented and innovative. He's made some really awesome records, songs and collaborations. I love the soul sound mixed r&b. Those songs slap. I don't love his club songs, those ones kind of aren't great.
Honestly, not my favorite r&b album. But I'm happy it exists and that I listened to it!
The Doors
3/5
The Doors! Again! I think I like this one more than the self titled, but TBH, they're pretty similar. What is fun and interesting to me are the Blues elements. As well as the kind of creepy spooky minor keys. I also noticed the change in Jim Morrison's voice with this record. A lot more rash and harsh. Its a good tun.
Love Her Madly and Riders of the Storm are the obvious winners on this record, but L'America is really good sneaky good song.
Coldplay
4/5
A Rush of Blood to the Head is like the equivalent of The Shawshank Redemption on cable TV. I've heard every single song 1 million times, but I don't think I've ever gone cover to cover on this album.
It was fun! Other than that is sound 100% like an episode of Scrubs. What can I say about the most popular album of the 2000s? There was nowhere you could escape hearing every song on this record, and frankly, most of them are pretty okay.
It's kind of fun listening to this back to back with Radiohead, because it almost feels like the anti-thesis of Radiohead. Like its kind of leaning into that full heavy composition of music, but its so light and poppy. But then it doesn't really ever sound like pop and never really sounds like indie-rock either?
Honestly, I have no qualms with this record. Its absolutely fine as it is. It doesn't age super well, because it just sounds exactly like a moment in time. And a good moment in time it was.
Radiohead
5/5
Super cool album! Its wild to listen and realize that it came out in 1997?! It feels so much newer, but it also feels somewhat timeless. I think that's part of the magic of this record. Or maybe its that it got ripped off a million times, and a lot of indie rock turned into artists trying to recreate this in their own image.
One thing that really stands out to me is how cohesive the album is, but then how each song kind of stands on its own. Compared to Pink Floyd's The Wall, you can actually pull out songs and they're good on their own. Where The Wall per se, is really only good as a whole. I think its really impressive to make a concept album that is so tight, but each song is really its own masterpiece. It remind me almost of acts in a play where they're all good and intentional on their own, but then they build and fall as the show progresses.
I've listened to this record a handful of times, starting in 8th Grade. And I never felt like I "got it." I really don't know if I've spent enough time with it yet, but I think it's a really incredible album and one that demands intentional listens.
The Dictators
3/5
What a gem! I love proto-punk. You can definitely hear the influence that The Dictators had on bands like the Ramones. The fast tempo, the shitty singing. But most of all, the irrelevant and satirical nature of the songs. They're all over the place, and kind of unhinged. Its so punk rock. I had a blast listening to this today.
Queen
4/5
What a rad album! Its interesting to me that most people know Queen through their Greatest Hits record (myself included), but in reality, a lot of their records were like this. Kind of glam rock dabbling in prog. Its kind of a messy concept album with fantasy elements, but it seriously rocks so hard. Every song on this record is a gem. It flows together super nicely, its fun to listen to, its moves up and down where it makes sense. This record is totally a gem.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
This was kind of sweet! The first half is fine. Its kind of what you think you're going to get. Her voice is undeniably good, but the second half is where things get buck wild. It's super good! It's just a full on blues, big band and jazz. The first half seems like it was for the money and the second half was for herself. I also like that she just continued writing sexy songs, but did it in a really interesting style. Probably won't revisit this one, but glad I went through it!
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
What a classic. I think what makes this album great is the back and forth of blues and pop. One minute it's bonafide blues and folk album and a second later, you're back a the disco. And while that might seem a bit bi-polar and inconsistent, it totally works. They pull it off. There is so much energy in this record. I love how they switch out vocalists for different songs. I think there is a world where Fleetwood Mac could have been The Grateful Dead. IDK, maybe not. But they have the framework, I just wish they could have kept it together. Don't date your bandmates I guess.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
I don't know why this music was so popular in the early 2000s. I kind of The Arctic Monkeys, The Hives, Kaiser Chiefs, and Franz Ferdinand in the same bucket. Its like British guitar led post-punk indie dance rock. There's nothing really wrong with it, but it's interesting to me that none of this music really lasted longer than the early 2000s. ....maybe because it all kind of sounds the same? There are certainly unique and interesting elements: cool guitar effects with kind of low-fi solos and leads, and typically pretty groovy bass lines. However, it never really totally does it for me. Perhaps there was just too much of it that it all kind of drowned it self out? Or maybe it's that their American counterparts were just better?
It's hard for me to pin down the legacy of this style of indie rock, but I would wager that it an effect on bands like The Strokes and The Killers. And those bands seem to do this style of music differently. They most certainly elevated the genre.
Caetano Veloso
3/5
This was pretty cool! I guess with most of this style of music, I can't really understand what's going on. However, I like the jazz and tango grooves. It was fun and interesting. A lot of songs about MARIA.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
This is a cool album! Super introspective and soulful. Musically, its exactly what I'd expect from The Boss. Personally, I liked the back half more than the first. The first few songs felt kind of like his old stuff, but redone. So it wasn't really doing it for me. Honestly, at points it almost felt cheesy (heresy, I know.) However, as the albums gains legs it really starts to vibe with me. The E Street Band really starts picking up, we get more horns, keys and organs. Suddenly, I'm sitting in the chapel at the Church of Bruce and I'm here for it. Especially the last few songs.
Steve Earle
4/5
One of my favs. I love Steve's style, sound and mostly his lyrics. He tells the best stories. I put him in the same camp as some of my favorite song writers: John Prine, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Steve Earle feels like a character actor. He's never the main star, but whenever he's on screen, I'm gonna watch it. He's basically Steve Buscemi for country music.
I think this album marks a moment in country music, where it "outlaw" country was becoming "alt-country," and exiting the mainstream. The figures of outlaw that we love, continued covering and promoting Steve's music but he never really took off into the mainstream. He just kind of always did his own thing, which is something I love and respect out him as an artist.
Even this record, its undeniably a country album. He has blues, roots, folk and even bluegrass. But he also just throws in these weird synths throughout (which arguably are the worst part of the record), but I love that he just wanted to make his own music and celebrate music that inspired him. Which is what this album represents to me. Just good old fashioned songwriting.
While this isn't my favorite Steve album, I do think its a building block or elemental album that ultimately pushed the genre forward. And not only for alt-country artists but for the indie folk artists that I spent a lot of time with in the 2000s. Its all connected.
Booker T. & The MG's
5/5
ELECTRIC BLUES!!! What a rad album. I haven't listened to this all the way through since I was in my freshmen year of college, learning about the influence of this music on ALL modern music. Its all right there. Its the electric blues, half the songs on this record were lifted and made bigger and better by other artists. The Beatles, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones. What else do I need to say??
I guess the musicianship on the freaking organ is next level. Why doesn't anyone play like that anymore? We need more church organs in music.
Guns N' Roses
2/5
Ah man. Gun N' Roses is my absolute favorite band to dunk on. Its some of the corniest shit on earth. On one hand its incredible and on the other hand it's like unironic hot garbage. It feels like they took all of the building blocks of rock music and pumped it full of cocaine and viagra. There's so much of this record I almost like.
They'll have a cool blues Bo Diddley riff and I start to groove and then Axl just starts screeching and I start hating it. Its the same with Slash too, he's such a good guitarist but its alllllways over the top. Its like he played a guitar solo once and then band was like "What if you just do that the ENTIRE time?" and then he agreed and it stops being good.
I've said this before, but Sweet Child O' Mine is the peak and decline of Hair Metal. That song is objectionally amazing, right up until it isn't. The whole final third of the song feels like Axl and Slash are competing against each and it ruins the whole song.
The Stooges
4/5
What a rad album. I love how punk and psychedelic this is. It's almost as proto-punk as you can get, but it also sounds like LSD. I love how raw it is. The static on the guitars is super cool and something that has been repeated for year. It really feels like they were listening to Hendrix and The Doors and were like "lets just make this more raw." Fuzzier, angier, heavier, and totally unique for the time. Its wild this came out in 1969.
I think Raw Power is still my favorite Stooges album, but I really like this one. Also, I didn't realize that John Cale was a producer on this record. That's super cool to see the cross over with the VU. You can definitely hear that influence.
The Icarus Line
3/5
This was kind of cool. Pretty aggressive post hardcore punk kind of stuff. When I have to read up on an album from the last 20 years, its usually not a good sign. Apparently this was an important album for the genre? But.. they only get like 1500 monthly listens, so I really don't know. It was cool, but I probably won't revisit it.
Elastica
3/5
Contributors of this book: "What's that you say? British punk adjacent indie from the late 80s early 90s? Oh yeah, put it in. Don't even ask, just put it in."
Everyone else: "So.. umm.. have you even to listened to this? It kind of just sounds the embodiment of the genre. I mean it's fine, but I don't really know if its like good."
Contributors of this book: "Nah, its fine. Everything from that period is good. It's all 'FORMATIVE'. You don't even know."
Everyone else: "So you would put this on the same pedestal as say The Cure, The Proclaimers, The Stone Roses, The Cranberries, Radiohead, Oasis. You know all that music coming out of the Hacienda in the 80s and 90s."
Contributors of this book: "Yeah, its all the same. Just put it in."
Blake's thoughts: Maybe 1001 is too many? IDK. This album has some fun songs, but I dunno. It kind of just sounded like the genre.
Miles Davis
4/5
Brilliant. I loved how this album moved, ebbed and flowed. Really cool bass lines that keep you grounded, while the trumpet just takes you where you need to be. I listened to this back to back, and probably need to throw it on again for good measure.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
This album really has everything you would ever want and need to create an incredible rap album. The music behind the rhymes alone would be enough. I could seriously just listen to an instrumental version of this record and still find it super cool and interesting. I love how he mixes so many genres but never in a way that it gets distracting or overbearing. The funk, soul, gospel, jazz influences make it so captivating and interesting. I also love how consistent this album is. In a lot of ways it feels like a concept album, there are themes in the music that appear and reappear throughout.
And then the lyrics could wrong anyone to the core. He hits on the entire spectrum political and social issues in America and among Black Americans. I always finish this record with things to think about.
For as groovy as this record is, there's always a few songs that make me uncomfortable. They're heavy, emotional and not comfortable. But they're true, honest and vulnerable. It's like a watching a really good movie, there's always that part of the story where the hero hits an all time low and you don't want to tarry there.
I know DAMN gets all the praise and the Pulitzer Prize, but this is the record that I always come back to with Kendrick.
The Beta Band
3/5
This was a surprisingly good and interesting British indie record (unlike a lot of the recent ones.) Cool psych elements, felt kind of vibey for 2005. I enjoyed it. I'll probably never listen to it again, and I really don't know difference this album really made. But it was cool.
Gram Parsons
3/5
It blows my mind that Gram Parsons was never really considered “country.” This is “country rock.” I think it’s safe to say that all modern country would not exist if it weren’t for Gram Parsons. (Good and bad stuff.) I’ve always like Gram, and this alum was not exception. Super fun songs, good songwriting. It was kind of everything you want in a COUNTRY album.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Such an amazing record. Every time I listen to this, I like it more. His voice, the guitar, the keys. I love the elements of blues and psych with this record. It builds, crashes, whines, moans, aches and pains. His voice mixes so well with the emotion of the music. When I first listened to this album 10 years ago, I didn't understand and every listen since has been better.
Its a shame he died so young, I really wish we could have had more Jeff Buckley.
Norah Jones
4/5
This album is incredible. I want to say its overlooked and underrated, but then it did win Album of the Year in 2003. And honestly, it deserved it! The blues, jazz, folk, all around Americana elements of this record are brilliant. Great song writing, great composition, great instrumentation.
I love when an artist creates exactly what they want and it gets recognized. Which is probably why I think this record is overlooked. It got a lot of buzz, and acclaim in 2003 and then everyone kind of moved on. It never really fit in the indie rock / indie folk genre and its not really a pop album. Norah just made a record that absolutely crushes and she made it for herself. It reminds me a lot of John Baptiste. Incredible musician, incredible songwriter carrying on an American tradition of music making.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Classic. Muddy Waters is the Godfather of rock n' roll. I love listening to this record and pulling out licks, and riffs, and rhythms that have been used by artists for decades.
He's so freakin good at the guitar and harmonica. I love how he bends and moans it. Its pain, love, heartbreak, joy and death in every song.
Bill Callahan
3/5
This was cool. It honestly just felt like generic 2000s indie. It sounded like 15 different artists from my youth. Not bad! I enjoyed it.
King Crimson
3/5
This was a fun album! I think I like the King Crimson self-titled more, but this was fun. Really cool prog and psych elements. I love the story telling through lyrics and music. Fun guitar, keys and synths. Cool bass lines. Did I hear some strings as well?
They really get really weird and kind of experimental throughout the record. It almost feels like a few levels on Mario in some songs. But then it also feels like The Velvet Underground in how they get really overwhelming and build. Kind of like a live jam band. I enjoyed it!
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Joni Mitchel is one of my favorite songwriters. She's such an effective storyteller in her lyrics, and vocal melodies. One of my favorite things about her style, which shines really strong is this record, is how she uses her voice as an instrument. It bounces up and down in her vocal melodies, and influxes interestingly. Its very non-traditional, but fits well with her storytelling and songwriting style.
I also really like how she stepped away from her traditional guitar / singer style and mixed in more electric instruments. Guitars with lot of reverb, really fun harmonicas and interesting natural sounding percussion. I think this is a really cool direction for singer songwriters. It still sounds like Joni Mitchell and highlights what she's good at, but sounds new and interesting.
Nick Drake
3/5
Is it possible for me to rate the entire album off of 1 song? Because Pink Moon the song is maybe one of the greatest acoustic songs of the 20th Century. I would put it right up there with Girl from the North Country, Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather, Sounds of Silence, Both Sides Now, Landslide, Heart of Gold, Country Roads.
Its so damn good. I love that song. I feel like all of the acoustic indie music of the 2000s is walking in the path that Pink Moon sent. I honestly thought that song was a 2000s indie song up until my late 20s. It feels like something Elliot Smith could have played or James Mercer would have written. The guitar, the vocal melodies, the lyrics. His whispering thoughtful voice. It's brilliant.
Now.. the rest of the album.. its basically a B+ version of the title track. I don't really know how I feel about it. Its like he wrote an absolute banger, and then tried to recreate it without ever recreating it. Every song sounds ALMOST like Pink Moon, because never quite gets there.
Dire Straits
4/5
What a record! I've listened to a lot of different Dire Straits songs over the years, but I had never gone through this album. Its so good. I was blown away by the lead guitar. Its some of the best blues guitar of the 70s. Its right up there with Grateful Dead or CCR. It kind of gets psychedelic, but its actually really tight and methodical. I also love how they kind of expand and play with the genre, some songs have almost a funk blues element to them where its hard to differentiate between the guitar and the keys.
I also love the way Mark Knopfler sings. Its rough, but thoughtful and personal. One of the most fun parts for me was the lyrical elements that kind of bridge Great Britain to Americana. "Southbound Again," but then its about going to London not New Orleans or "Wild West END" about the West End in London. It's really clever, but also very intentional and self aware. It's like they're fully aware they're playing the Delta Blues, but they make it personal to their situation.
Really really solid album.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
Emmylou Harris is an American treasure. She's one of those artists that probably could have way bigger, but she just kind of makes music that she likes and collaborates with everyone. Her voice is unique, its low, and she sings in a really non-traditional way. There's definitely world where she would have been a Country Superstar, but she never let Nashville control her.
I really like this album. Red Dirt Girl is one of my favorite American / Folk songs. Its powerful, haunting and beautiful. I also really love how she plays with genres and influences with this record. She brings in a lot of Irish Folk lyrics and rhythms, but then also incorporates middle eastern sounds and instruments on some songs. Some songs sound like pure country, while others feel like Norah Jones or Stevie Nicks. She also homages a lot of things in her lyrics, especially in Bang the Drum Slowly.
All around beautiful record.
The Damned
4/5
Classic. Punk is one of those genres, where you really need to go back to understand the context of everything. The Damned is a milestone for anyone going down the genre rabbit hole. To be honest, they've never been one of my favorites. I've never really gravitated to the goth / horror side of punk (The Damned, The Misfits, The Cramps. etc) but it's an important part of the genre and something I do enjoy.
I think more than anything, I love how they play classic punk (power chords, downbeats) But they really are kind of at the forefront of punk bands playing with genres and instruments. They have really cool and weird organs and keys in some of these songs. They also play with blues sounding guitar solos and riffs. Even some weird circus sounding songs. This what the British offered punk rock and its something we should all be grateful for.
Great album!
The Lemonheads
4/5
Has there ever been an alt-rock album that was more alt-rock than this? This 100% feels like an album that I would have picked up at the South Jordan City Library thinking it was a harder punk album, but then it was an alt-rock album. And since loading up your iPod with as many songs as it would hold was a point of pride for 13 year old Blake, I would have proudly thrown this on my iPod. I would have only listened to it a few times all the way through, but I would absolutely listen to "It's a Shame About Ray," "Kitchen, "My Drug Buddy," and the "Mrs. Robinson" cover often. To be honest, I might have had this on my 80 gig iPod. This is such genre music and totally feels like something that would have ended up on an iPod somewhere.
I can't confirm though, so we'll just say this was first go around with this record. Though, I have heard "It's a Shame About Ray." What a classic song. Also, the "Mrs. Robinson" shows up in so many movies. (Most recently The Wolf of Wall Street.)
This was great! I love how fun it was. I like how they included some country rock elements (slide guitars and bluesy riffs), cool percussion, and fun vocal melodies. This just feels like summer time. I had a blast with this one.
Jethro Tull
3/5
I got this album early on in the project, so this is a repeat. Here is my original review:
Super fun. The flute was really cool, and the lyrics + music is all really stellar. Not a huge prog fan, but I get the hype after listening to this.
Fats Domino
3/5
Super fun album. You can definitely hear the roots of R&B and Rock n' Roll. I remember listening to this one when I was a freshmen in a college taking a music class. I love the influence Elvis and even The Beatles in some songs.
Soft Machine
3/5
Not my favorite album, but I get why its significant. Personally, I like "experimental elements" rather than full on experimental music. This definitely leans more into full blown experimental. However, there are some really cool elements. I loved the use of keys, very psych. Also, really cool ambients pedal effects on the guitars. I also really liked the jazz influence. That kind of took it to a new direction, which I wasn't expecting. The brass was really really good.
Probably won't listen to it again, but I enjoyed it once!
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
What a great album. Or... how about those 3 incredible songs? Tuesday's Gone, Simple Man and obviously, Free Bird. This was my first introduction to Southern Rock and it always just made sense. Bluesy guitars, sorrowful and soulful vocals + lyrics. It rocks, but it also feels sentimental.
I hope I'm not taking away from Skynyrd by saying that their music has always felt like perfect background music for anywhere in America. It appears in movies all the time, it's kind of exactly what you would expect to hear when you walk into a diner or coming out of a truck stop. It's almost always the right moment for Lynyrd Skynyrd anywhere in America.
Simple Man always takes me back to that tragic scene in Almost Famous when Penny Lane is having an OD and Simple Man is playing in the background.
Tuesday's Gone always reminds me of the final scene of Happy Gilmore. Tuesday's Gone is maybe one of the underrated songs of the 70s. Why don't we listen to that one more? Hell, why isn't that just the National Anthem? Can you imagine at the start of every football game someone just comes out and wails on Tuesday's Gone??
And Free Bird. What else do I need say? And this bird you cannot cage. (tears, chills, feelings.)
The Band
4/5
I love this album and I love this band. I can honestly say that The Weight changed my life. It's one of my favorite songs. This record was always hard for me to find. I first heard The Weight and I just wanted more of The Band, especially as a Bob Dylan fan. I somehow came across The Last Dance, think at the South Jordan City Library. Its a live album and was harder for me to get into at first, but it had all of the songs I like, so that I went with a long time.
When I listen to Song from Big Pink, I'm almost now just wishing I was listening to The Last Dance. Something about the live production, the guest musicians, the energy of the recording.
But I guess this review is about Songs from Big Pink. I love this album too. The Weight, obviously. Tears of Rage, Caledonia Wind are all great songs. My favorites though are still Long Black Veil and I Shall Be Released. I know they're covers, but they're just so damn good.
What a band.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
This is the hardest listen and definitely the most emotional Kendrick record for me. You can see all of the roots and the things that Kendrick is doing early on in his music that will become even more pronounced in his later records (To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN, Mr. Morale.) Cool beats, a lot of jazz and bass guitar elements.
The lyrics are heavy, its harsh. It almost feels like a heavy movie or an emotional book. You feel that it's important, but its not something that I often gravitate towards. A lot of the lyrics and the voice samples really put you into the eyes of Kendrick. It feels like you're in Compton when you listen to this.
What's wild to me though, is that one I get started with this album, I can usually cruise with it for a while. Its vibey. Its flowy. But then its contrasted with really heavy, emotional, hard lyrics.
Kendrick is brilliant. Its fun to see this early on. Especially because he was only 25 when he wrote this.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
What an incredible record. It was this year, that I've started dabbling in Sly Stone. Mainly, as been trying to expand my universe on psych R&B. I've listened to a few of his later records and mostly singles, so I hadn't dug into this record yet. So freakin good.
I love the unity and peace message of "Stand!" and "Sing a Simple Song." I like how raw the "Don't Call Me...." is. The songs that's blow my mind though are "Everyday People" into "Sex Machine." What a killer 16 minutes. Everyday just gets you pumped. It love, its unity. And then Sex Machine just blows me away. The wah wahs, the organ, the brass but especially the drums!! Wow.
Really impressed with this record. I'll definitely revisit.
The Byrds
4/5
Classic! This is a cool record. Its fun to hear how they pulled together Rock, Folk and Psych into the music in 1967. Some moments feel like The Beatles, where other songs feel very Dylan. You can also see where Crosby broke off and formed his own thing. The psych songs are pretty weird, but really cool. I really love how they included horns in some songs, but then also just weird sounds. This was fun!
I love the Bob Dylan cover, "My Back Pages." I use to jam this one hard in high school.
John Lee Hooker
4/5
Brilliant. It's not often that you come across a record that is so pure in its genre. This is 100% authentic Delta Blues. It's 100% American music at its finest. I love that this is not trying to be anything other than what it is. And what it is, is beauty, love, pain, trial, agony, joy all wrapped up into a few songs. Simple instruments and vocals, but it bends and howls and moans like the blues should. Its perfect.
I love the bluesy guitar licks. His voice is so sincere. The collaborating artists just make it even more fun and adds to that tradition of folk and blues music being communal and familial.
I think my favorite song on the record is No Substitute. The open tuning on his guitar is so raw and powerful. Then he uses his strings as percussion near the end, which is really really fun and raw.
I loved this record.
The Young Rascals
3/5
This was fun! Kind of cool pop rock album. I liked the love songs and the groovy brass at points. Honestly, nothing really stood blew me away but I understand why this music was important at the time.
The Who
3/5
Cool album that definitely grows and gets better. I didn't love the first half, it kind of felt boring or repetitive. The second half though, was killer. Amazing Journey - Magic Bus were just fantastic.
What I've always loved about The Who is how much energy the have in their sound. They're kind of like the pioneers of chuggy power chords mixed with blues licks.
TBH not my favorite album by The Who, but I love the energy in the second half and love how they extend songs and combine with others.
Neil Young
4/5
Neil Young is a treasure. His song writing is always poignant, his voice is somber but never sad. He always feels authentic.
This album always feels like a turning point for Neil, where he really starts to become well rounded in his writing. Songs about love and social issues.
I also love how he breaks away from just folk or acoustic songs to start incorporating more electric guitar. Some songs really rock and get loud.
This is a great album. Some of my favorite Neil Young songs.
Beck
5/5
What an incredibly dynamic record. This album is a master piece. I can't believe I let this album sit on my iPod and my iTunes for all those years in and post high school and never cared about it.
On one hand, it feels very "90s," but honestly, I think it stands on its own and has a timeless quality to it. It only sounds like the 90s, because everyone ripped off his sing-talk-rap style.
The way he plays with genres is so perfect. One minute, he's kind of rapping, the next minute he's deep in a country rock song. Its folk, its punk, its indie, its jazz. Its kind of everything, but it all vibes within itself and flows so perfectly. Nothing ever really feels out of place.
This has a real 'americana' quality to it. Where it feels like a culmination of American music, but not what you expect when you hear the word "americana." It's much deeper than that. Its 'americana' in the sense that he is nodding and incorporating elements of American music in kind of a dry winking way. But it's authentic and true.
Totally blown away by this album.
Can
4/5
This was a fun album! I was really surprised by this one. Its not a record that I would have expected to come out of 1971. Admittedly, I haven't spent a lot of time with Krautrock. It gave me Radiohead vibes for sure. It also sounded like Nine Inch Nails in some songs and also Animal Collective. Kind of cool to see how it influenced avant-garde experimental music down the road. It almost feels like there was a 20 year lap from where this music was happening to where it caught up in the 90s.
It gets harder to listen to as it goes on, but overall, I really enjoyed this. I'm glad this came through!
TLC
3/5
Deep Purple
4/5
So much energy with this record! What a blast. The guitars, the keys, the vocals, the drums. In the spirit of "This is Spinal Tap," they definitely went up to 11 on this one.
I really don't love high pitch opera sounding vocals, but some reason this one really does it for me. Especially on "Child in Time," they're really going for it. That whole song might make the entire record for me. It's so epic.
It's also impossible to beat "Smoke on the Water." This live version is so rad. I love how they riff on the original riff. Bending the notes, hitting that whammy bar where it makes sense. It keeps you on your toes.
The Doors
4/5
I think this is the best album by The Doors. They really nail the blues in this one. The songs are bluesy, somewhat folksy, and they just really rock. I feel like this is where they have the best chemistry and really hone down their sound. It also just flows really well. Roadhouse Blues and Waiting for the Sun really set the pace and then it just starts humming along, and you're already halfway through. Peace Frog being the obvious best song, but I was even surprised by Ship of Fools and Land Ho!
I also like how it kind of shifts gears and slows pace near the end with Indian Summer, it even gets kind of weird with Maggie M'Gill. The Spy was kind of cheesy and probably the most "60s" song on the whole album. I don't know WTF was going on in the 60s but everybody was really into espionage.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
What a rad album. It's a bonafide blues and jazz record. Really instrumentation, cool brass, bass lines and keys. She also kind of experiments with some ska and dancehall elements. But really, its Amy's voice that ties it all together and brings the heat. Did Adele market correct her after she died? Did Amy Winehouse die so Adele could run?
Her voice really hits all ranges of emotion from sadness and pain, to joy and laughter. This album is really varied in that nature. Its fun, but never overly poppy. I really enjoyed. I wish there were more artists that were doing this kind of music today.
M.I.A.
4/5
This album is wild. I want to say its genre-bending, but I don't really know what I would say its bending? I mean it's absolutely rap, dancehall and electro. I guess it doesn't really matter what the genres are. I just like how gonzo it is. Its all over the place. Some songs feel poppy and fun to vibe with, where other songs are really experimental and kind of hard to listen to. I think the outlandish nature of the whole record backed with the socio-political lyrics makes for a really cool record. It feels really punk rock, without really being a rock album. In a lot of ways it reminds of Minor Threat or Bad Brains in that its pretty heavy and kind of aggressive, but definitely political and pointed.
But then unlike punk-hardcore bands, there's all of the electronic and dance elements to this record. Which then makes me feel like this could be bumping out of a East London club.
This was rad.
Brian Eno
5/5
This was a super cool album! I honestly wasn't really in the mood for experimental music this morning, but it really captivated me. I think the ambient nature of it is kind of soothing and it kind of pulls you in. A lot of reminded me of Dan Deacon, Sigur Ros and Radiohead. You definitely hear the inspiration for those bands in this record and with this sound.
I really love how he goes between pure instrumental and vocals. It keeps you on your toes and kind of acts as a palate cleanser between songs. Holistically, this album really flows and is inviting. You think you don't want it, but then it keeps pulling you in.
It was also fun how a lot of this wasn't computer generated. There are a lot of "traditional" instruments. It's fun to hear how they made these sounds with those instruments, where as today, computers kind of make everything seem within reach.
And maybe that's the draw with this record, its ambitious but then also completely contempt with just being.
Miles Davis
4/5
This was a really cool and varied album. I love how it ebbs and flows through. Shh/Peaceful was really fun to start with. The guitar is really fluid and flowing. What I like though is the play between the guitar and the trumpet. One minute you're locked in kind of psychy sounding guitar riff and then Miles comes in on the trumpet and kind of just takes you to a new level. Also, really cool and moving percussion. The tempos changes throughout, but the drums really keep it tight through all of their jams.
In a Silent Way was really interesting. I love how it starts and ends. The ambient soulful somber tones really lock you in. The journey to the fusion jazz / rock in the center is really what captivates me. It ebbs and flows, ups and downs in tempo, pace and instruments. Then it lands you safely back home in that ambient space.
I really enjoyed this!
Ramones
5/5
One of my favorites! Its hard for me to give this one an unbiased rating. This album has been with me for a very long time. I loved the contemporary punk music of my day, but I wanted to understand how it all connected and where it came from. So I went hard on 2003 wikipedia and read everything I could about the genre, which is essentially where I discovered The Ramones. Though.. I likely recognized them from all of the Ramones shirts going around at the time. Hot Topic was making millions on Ramones shirts and everyone had one.
Anyway, I read all about it. I went to Best Buy and I bought this record. (Though, I think I actually bought a compilation type album that had all of these songs, but they were in different orders and there were more songs.)
What surprised me when I first listened to his all those years ago was actually how tame it was compared to blink-182 and Green Day. It really wasn't all that rowdy. Virtually no swearing and the tempo wasn't really all that fast. It seemed kind of PG. It didn't phase me though, I was stoked on it. It was one my first true punk albums. None of that washed down mainstream garbage. This was the real deal. I was obsessed. I took this album everywhere before I had an iPod. I remember literally taking this album to Lake Powell with all the people from church and playing it on the house boat speakers.
The Ramones were a pretty weird band. Despite being the archetypal punk band, they were pretty different from most of the contemporaries. They dressed weird, they had weird personas. They're pretty unique in that way. But I think what they did, and especially with this record, is they harnessed the spirit of punk music. They took rock music of the day and made it fast, heavy, punchy. They had songs about hookers (53rd and 3rd), drugs and teenage boredom (Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue), politics (Blitzkrieg Bop & Havana Affair.) But then, they really just loved rock and roll. In a lot of ways, they remind me of the Beach Boys. Especially in songs like I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend & Let's Dance.
And I think that's what I love about them as a band. Its what hooked me then, and keeps me coming back as a dude in his 30s. Its the love of music, the idea of pushing a genre forward, doing your own thing and making something new. Its that punk rock spirit.
Herbie Hancock
5/5
What a gem! Holy crap. This album rocks.
Its so varied in its sounds and totally take the listener on an strange journey. I love how it starts with Chameleon, on the surface its sounds somewhat generic but then it really starts to groove and dig. What blew me away on the second listen was how the synth is matching the brass tones, but its slightly off. Its really trippy, but super cool. I was only able to pick it up when I had headphones on. Also, the synth throughout is just rad. It kind of blows my mind that you can make such rad music on such an annoying sounding instrument.
Watermelon Man blew me away. The flute!! I love how it starts and ends. The middle is so groovy and jammy. Sly took me to new levels. I was ripping a downhill mountain bike line while listening to that, and it was just perfect. The percussion gets so crazy and the horns are so tight. Vein Melter is a great way to end the album. Its so chill, not sure if its about heroine. It kind of feels like it might be.
Killer album. Stoked to have this one today.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
I'm probably not the person to rate this stuff. It kind of felt generic, but I also don't speak French or have a wealth of experience with African music. Overall, it was fine. It was groovy. Felt like I was at the beach. Probably won't ever revisit.
The Residents
3/5
This one was rough. Like who is the actual audience for this artist and this kind of music? Who the hell just turns this on unironically? This feels like the music from A Clockwork Orange. And maybe its not the music from it, but it's like the same kind of vibe.
-"Hey do you want to listen to something that will make you feel really weird?"
-"Ummm no..?"
-"Let's just do it anyway. Its really fucked up."
3 Stars for Creativity.
Meat Loaf
4/5
This record is incredible. I was not expecting it to be as rad as it was. It is completely over the top. It's kind of outrageous how over the top this record is, but its also so perfectly executed that its hard to not like it.
It really does feel like the inspiration of the Dracula Puppet Musical in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Every song is a journey and every song is perfectly thought out and placed correctly in this album.
The title track is a 10 minute epic with different waves and motions. Heaven Can Wait is somber and building. All Revved Up is so great with the saxaphone. Two out of Three is pretty cheesy, but again, its kind of perfect.
I just love the thoughtfulness in making this ridiculous campy album. I'm stoked I listened to it today.
Dire Straits
4/5
Pretty sweet little album! Not quite as bluesy as their self-titled, but still had a lot of cool varied sounds. It feels little "80s" especially in Money for Nothing and One World. However, So Far Away, Your Latest Trick and Ride Across the River kind of all have that classic Dire Straits sound. With the exception of Ride Across the River, which had some incredible saxophone in it.
Walk of Life is just a treasure, and one of my favorite songs from the 80s. I was also kind of blown away by The Man's Too Strong. It had kind of a Irish folk ring to it. Brother in Arms is a perfect album ending.
This is a really cool record, that I think kind of gets lumped into the mess that is the 1980s. And on some levels it fits right in, and on another level with certain songs it surpasses the 1980s and has a timeless element to it.
The Go-Go's
4/5
So rad and so fun! I love the power pop punk nature of this record. Cool 4:4 rhythms with palm muted power chords and rad little So Cal guitar licks. I also love how they're mixing sounds from the late 50's and early 60s. A lot of these songs feel like The Shang-ri-la's or The Crystals. But then its also pop punk in its chord progressions and beats. You can really hear the punk sound in later acts like Descendents or X. It's kind of the crossroads of pop, punk and surf. What was also really interesting are all the songs in minor key. For such an upbeat record, they have a lot of minor sounds.
I feel like this sound is one of the most mimicked sound in the last 40 years. This is in the DNA of almost all 1990s punk and 2000s indie. (blink-182, No Doubt, all the way to Best Coast) Our Lips are Sealed is probably my fav on the album, but I obviously love We Got the Beat and Can't Stop the World.
Jane Weaver
3/5
This was fine… not really sure I needed to listen to it before I die. It was interesting and had some cool elements, but I don’t think it was really earth shattering or important. I certainly didn’t hate it!
I dont know, man. These authors love random British indie.
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
Such a fun album! I hadn't ever listened to this. I liked the first 2 songs, but the magic really happens on track 3, Stormy Monday. Then it really just takes off through You Don't Love Me. The whole song just peaks and valleys. Its completely guitar driven, but has really cool bass lines driving it forward, up and down. They even tease "Joy to the World" at the end of You Don't Love Me. Then the record just goes on a journey from Hot Lanta through In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Not a lot of vocals, just straight shredding, which again, peaks and valleys and get poignant at parts. Its truly improvised progressive electric blues. I do like how they shift gears a bit and let the organ come in pretty hard with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, its a good change of pace. This track also goes hard with percussion and drums. I feel like this song is kind of the heart and soul of them being a true jam band. Its really dialed up in this song. Whipping Boy is a perfect ending to the record. Its so intense and so epic. Its a perfect blues epic.
Overall, I really enjoyed this record. So fun to hear this jam band. It would have been fun to see them and Grateful Dead. They're different, but also so similar. This really feels a little more guitar driven. Where I feel like GD gets more varied with the keys, organ and harmonica.
Either way, Dickie Betts was a legend and played guitar like a god.
Beatles
4/5
This is a great record. This is that transition point for The Beatles, where they really start experimenting with what they can do with pop music and mixing in some psychedelic elements.
The winners on this record are the bookends. It comes in hot, lulls in the middle and then picks up at the end. Drive My Car feels like early Beatles. Whimsical, upbeat, conventional. But then they shift gears with Norwegian Wood and gets really weird and wonderful with that Citar. And it really hums along and rolls all the way through Nowhere Man. After that, I kind of loose interest. Its fun, but nothing really draws me in. Until we get to I'm Looking Through You. That one starts, and I'm right back in it. I love the folk and bluesy elements of this song.
In My Life comes up next, which is probably the real reason this is on this list. That's one the best songs ever written. ALLLLL the feelings with that song.
And after its all great. It draws me back in and I remember how much I love this record.
Kate Bush
4/5
Something I've loved about this project is getting an album, expecting one thing and being totally surprised. I was familiar with Kate Bush, because like most people my age, I watched Stranger Things so I heard "Running Up That Hill" on repeat for the entire month of October in 2022 but I never really listened to much of her stuff.
This album really blew me away. Its super varied, obscure, art house even. I kept wondering "who produced this weird mess or rad songs??" It was Kate Bush. She just made a badass album exactly the way she wanted too. Its kind of all over the place in a really good way. The first half feels like Pink Floyd inspired British indie. Its weird, but fun and somewhat easy listening. Then it takes a dark turn and somehow becomes a concept album? Its gets super interesting and really captivated me. She plays with interesting effects, different sounds and genres. It's really cool and varied. I really enjoyed this!
Ryan Adams
4/5
Despite how I feel about Ryan Adams as a person and an artist, this is an objectively good singer-songwriter record. He's a clever lyricist. He plays on words, homages in interesting ways and almost always cuts deep. I like almost every song on this record. Something that I value is varied albums with lots of unique sounds, this definitely isn't that. But something else that I love is really clear, competent genre music with good songs and good songwriting. And that's exactly what this is. He set out to make a really good country folk songwriter album and that's exactly what this is.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
Super cool record. The marimba is really captivating with this. Its sounds kind of mystical but fluid. When played next to the accordion, its really full and interesting to listen to.
I don't know much about tango, but this was a fun listen.
R.E.M.
4/5
This is a really awesome and fun album. I love that its kind of a wide variety of emotions. Some songs are moody, others are more upbeat and energetic, and some are kind of both? Its like sad songs that are fun. REM's style is super unique too. They kind of "play" with genres in a way that reminds me of Dire Straits. They never fully commit. Which then makes this kind of unique sound. Its like they were punk rock kids from the south that can't stop get away from rockabilly and southern rock but they want to be punk rockers but they never lived in NY or LA. So the music really resonates with your average listener. It kind of sounds like suburbia.
A few notable songs:
- Drive. What a fun song. Its dark, but its upbeat. Its bluesy, but not really. I really like how this sets the vibe for the whole record.
- Everybody Hurts. Chills, man. What a song.
- Sweetness Follows. Haunting but also kind of inspiring sound to it? Its gives me all the feels.
- Monty Got Real. I love the blues influence on this one.
- Man on the Moon. So good. I love this tribute to Andy Kaufman.
-Night Swimming. All the feels.
Common
5/5
One of my favorite rap albums. I love this record. I think what really works with this record is that its never trying to be more than it is. The beats and bass lines are smooth, jazzy and chill. The lyrics are smart and important but also visceral and deep. The guests artist never take over or are overbearing, they show up and do their thing to elevate each song. The tracks with Kanye honestly might be some of my favorite Kanye songs.
I also feel like this album is a good transition between new rap and old rap, but more than anything its truly just *rap.* He's not really getting experimental or trying anything new. He's just really executing on a style and genre that he's obviously mastered. In some ways this reminds me of Neil Young. Neil Young is a masterful songwriter who definitely has interesting tracks with cool guitar, bass etc, but that's not why you listen to Neil Young. That's exactly how I feel about this record. Its the storytelling and songwriting. He kind of just opens a door for you to live in this record and live in these songs. Nothing is ever too much but I'm never underwhelmed.
I love the themes on this record. He challenges masculinity, family, relationships, conventional perceptions of god and deity, law enforcement, racism. He kind of packs it all into each song, but tells it in story form that it draws you in.
-I think Be (Intro) is probably my favorite song on the record, but really each song in the first 5 tracks just really catches my attention. The sampling behind the bass lines and drums is so groovy, but the lyrics are my favorite.
-The Corner is deep and thought provoking
-GO! is so fun and deep. I also love the Kanye versus.
-Faithful is such a wild ride and play on words. Its deep, punishing and thought provoking.
-Testify is perfect follow up. Its interesting, because I really see his influence on rappers like Macklemore in that song.
-Chi-City is so sick. I like that its more than just an ode to the city he's from. Again, the story telling and meaning behind is what changes everything for me.
-The Food is a perfect duet with Common and Kanye. I love it.
-Real People, again super deep. Love the beats as well.
-They Say. I love how this switches between John Legend on the chorus and Kanye on different versus.
-Its Your World. Chills. Perfect ending to a record.
David Bowie
3/5
This was a cool album. It was fun. It was very Bowie. I really respect and love how he would just make whatever kind of music he was interested in. It was always Bowie. Its weird, but its poppy, but its also kind of progressive. Its brilliant.
I'm not sure if its my favorite Bowie album. In fact, I'm not really even sure why its on this list. I did enjoy it though! The middle songs were what we really drew me in. "Where are We Now?" through "I'd Rather Be High" is kind of the high point of the record for me. I love the energy and flowing nature of these songs.
Overall, it doesn't really grab my attention like other Bowie albums have. I listened to it through twice too.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
One of my favs. Even though I don't revisit this record often, its definitely a formative album for me. I loved The Smashing Pumpkins when I was in middle school and even into High School. Despite how I might feel about later Smashing Pumpkins, this album will always be pure gold. Its all the bangers, its all the feels. Its also super long. It almost feels like Billy Corgan knew that it wouldn't get much better than this, so he put it all on one record. And maybe that's not totally fair, because there is a lot to say about Siamese Dreams and even Adore is pretty solid.
But Mellon Collie is apex mountain for this band. Its the full spectrum of what this band can do. It's the feel epic emotional feelings of Tonight Tonight, the rage of Bullet with Butterfly Wings, the intensity of Zero, the vibes of 1979, the somber sadness of By Starlight and then it has all of the obscure avant garde kind of emo songs like We Only Come Out at Night. Its kind of everything packed into one (probably a bit too long?) epic album. I listened to the shit out of the record at one in my life. Its one that I can always find something that I vibe with at really any given time. If I was to give it any knocks, it'd be that there are maybe 4 or 5 too many songs. But either way, I'll turn this on and listen to the whole thing without skipping a song.
A few of my favorites from this album (which is the majority of the songs):
Side 1:
*Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness -I love how this kind of sets the tone for the rest of the record. Its just short instrumental that invites you into the weird world of this album.
*Tonight, Tonight -this song is perfect. Its all the feels. I love the strings in it. I love how it builds, and how Billy whispers then shouts throughout.
*JellyBelly -I mostly love how this is where the album really turns up. This song is intense. Its heavy, its grungy. Its almost metal?
*Zero -the perfect follow up. They keep the intensity up and send you on this epic, which is Zero. I love the guitar riffs, the solo always gets me stoked. But its the bridge that always makes me come back for more.
*Here's to Why -sneaky good track in between 2 classics. The guitar solos really catch me off guard here.
*Bullet With Butterfly Wings -what else can I say about this song? Was I teenage boy? Yes. This. Song. Fucks.
*Ode to Love & Cupid De Locke -this is where side one starts to lull a bit, but these 2 songs are kind of the oasis in the desert here. Kind of palate cleansers.
*Muzzle -this song is often overlooked, but the fuzzy guitars, the solos, the chorus just keep me alive. I love this one.
*Porcelina of the Vast Ocean -another sneaky banger. Kind of sneaks up on you and draws you in. Its long, but if you endure by the end you're all in. Its almost like a Terrapin in that way. (Not saying it even touches Terrapin), but it kind of has that release in the back half to it.
*Take Me Down -quite. sentimental. Great book end for side one.
Side 2:
*Thirty-Three -kind of the first song on side 2 that really connects with me. Its kind of that change of pace. Slow, emotional, thoughtful. Great shoegaze.
*In the Arms of Sleep -I love how this kind of blends out of Thirty-Three and into 1979. This is the part of the side 2, that I really vibe with.
*1979 -this freakin song. You know, I still don't really know even this song is about, but whenever its on I'm just filled with joy and nostalgia. But it's not necessarily nostalgia for this song, its the feeling of looking back and smiling. Which maybe that's what this song is about? Its just the feeling I get when I listen to it. It feels like looking at grainy photographs.
*Thru the Eyes of Ruby -another one that is slow burn that eventually pulls you all the way into it. Soft and heavy at the same time.
*Stumbeline -this damn song. So good. Makes you feel things.
*We Only Come Out at Night -is maybe my favorite song on the whole album. Its so obscure, but it just keeps your attention throughout. It feels like a folk song, but its played on weird instruments.
*Beautiful -such a great song. Good message, chill vibes. I think I love chill Smashing Pumpkins the most.
*By Starlight -feels like the stripped down slower version of Tonight, Tonight. Absolutely beautiful.
*Farewell & Goodnight -perfect ending to an album.
Elbow
3/5
This was cool, but it was kind of hard for me to really get into to. It had some really cool songs, and I really like how it all flowed together nicely. I guess in a lot of ways it kind of felt like indie genre music. It kind of blended into the pantheon of bands from this time that kind of sound similar. I did really love the first song, "Starlings" and the second to last song, "One Day Like This." I thought there were cool elements of shoegaze, even some tango and jazz, and just a lot of ambient rock. Which was fun.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Such a fun album. Its easy to listen to this and take it at face value, but when you dig deep and listen to all of the influences come together, its a really cool and well put together album. Some songs are straight jazz, where others are funk, and then soul, I can definitely pick up some doo wop and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound and early pop music. And then I guess to just add that everyone of these songs is 100% about sex. It's kind of amazing.
The whole album really does stand on its own. I kind of groove out to every song and just be content and happy that its on. Its a very human record in that way. If I were to pick one song though, Let's Get it On is hands down the winner. The guitar intro the grooves, the religious undertones relating it all back to sex. Its almost a perfect song.
Public Enemy
5/5
This record is gold. It is so punk rock. Maybe one of the most *punk* rap album out there. This is right up there with Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, US Bombs, 25dalife, Descendents, etc. Its explicit, its direct, its angry, it's poignant, it's truth. I think what sets this apart from a lot of early punk though, is that a lot punk is raising awareness for real problems, Public Enemy was raising awareness and speaking from their own lived experienced. They're referencing MLK Jr, Malcolm X and Nelson Mandela. They're covering all issues around racism and social injustice.
This is a true rap album, where its driven by true lyrics. But the music is really cool too. It's the boombox speakers, the record scratches, the radio samples, and vocal samples of civil rights figures. The loops and samples are kind of messy, but they really pull together and make really cool sounds and rhythms. I noticed a lot of soul, funk and jazz samples as well, which also makes this really fun.
The music really carries this record through. Almost every song connects seamlessly to the next. It really just hums along and flows really nicely.
For sure one of the greatest rap albums of all time. I kind of miss this era of rap. I love how dirty and grungy it is. I love that is completely unapologetic without every feeling gimmicky or silly.
FIGHT THE POWER THAT BE ✊🏼
Elvis Presley
4/5
This was a fun record! I don't really gravitate towards Elvis very often. I think the crooner style kind of turns me off, but its hard to deny his talent and stage presence. This album had quite a few songs that got stoked though. I really love the blues and rockabilly songs. A few of my favs from this record:
* Long Black Limousine -fun blues song. Good story telling.
* I'm Moving On -classic! Just fun and groovy. Good rockabilly.
* In the Ghetto -just love that he tried to sing about important things. This songs rips though.
* Suspicious Minds -probably the best Elvis song? Its got everything. Its fun, its groovy, its fast moving. And it actually does sound suspicious. Really great guitar in this song.
* Kentucky Rain -I don't think I'd actually heard this one. Really cool emotional song.
Talking Heads
3/5
Such a sweet record! I love how groovy and odd this album is. In some ways, it almost feels *disjointed* like something is off, but whatever it is that is *off* is the magic that pulls it all together. Is it the bopping bass lines or the sharp synths? Maybe its just David Byrne's vocals and odd lyrics. But its different than say, Frank Zappa, who also had kind of an odd style of lyrics and vocals. The Talking Heads doesn't feel like a novelty act. Its fun, but its also feels real. I think I liked the run from Heaven through Drugs the best on the album. I feel like its where it really takes off and has more variety.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
This is a really beautiful album. It’s kind of one that you have to sit with and intentionally listen. It’s storytelling songwriting at its finest. Which has always been a strong point for The Boss, but what I like about this one is the intentional approach to singer songwriting. It’s feels more like an indie movie or book than maybe an album or collection of songs.
A few notable songs:
*Nebraska -such a great way to start the album. It sets the tone and opens the story. It feels very visual. It really puts you in the setting.
*Atlantic City -one of my favorites! I love the storytelling of this one, but also the the tune and overall flow. I can always sing along to this one.
*Johnny 99 -really fun change of pace that keeps to the overall theme of the record.
*Highway Patrolman -heartbreaking. I had to stop reading anything else when this one was on. Really draws you in.
*State Trooper -haunting! Love this song.
*Open All Night -I love how this a boogie song all on one guitar with very minimal percussion. Super fun and interesting to listen to.
*Reason to Believe -great way to end the album on a rad blues song.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
What a groovy little gem! This feels like it is trapped in a very specific part of the 60s, which is just great. I'd love to hear a contemporary homage to a lot of this kind of music. I don't even know how to categorize this outside of just "Samba"?
It's jazz, but it's also kind of pop and kind of rock and kind of beach rock at that. Her voice is so sexy! I also love how the music is playful, but also very serious. It's earnest but it's also very whimsical. Its super interesting sound. I liked every song on this record, but Stay was for sure my favorite. It's the epitome of this whole genre and record.
Queen
3/5
You know I started this record thinking "I just think Queen's Greatest Hits is all you really need for Queen. They're not an album band."
But then... I started listening to this and was totally reprimanded! It's so rad! It's the perfect mix of prog and glam. Really cool song writing, fun guitars, good grooves. Then I was like "why does anyone ever only listen to their Greatest Hits?!?!"
Blur
3/5
This album is fine. I do think the back half is better than the front half. It definitely picks up and has some more interesting elements. Shoegaze sounding guitars, fun vocals melodies. Ultimately, I'm not really sure why its in here. It was fine.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
4/5
Man, Jah Wobble has got to be the most discontented white man on planet earth. And I'm not even saying it like its a bad thing. He clearly set out to make a punk post / brit indie record and then realized that he likes other music way more. I was pleasantly surprised by this record. It kind of had everything: ska, middle eastern music, salsa music. He had guest vocalists that sing the entire song? Was the producer on drugs when they produced this??!?
Anyway, I really enjoyed this. It was weird but really fun and interesting. Oh, and his voice reminds me of Dan Bejar from Destroyer, so that was fun.
Charles Mingus
5/5
What an incredible, varied record. The sounds that this band is making are other worldly. There are moments where the jams are so deep that I'm not even sure I could describe the music as "jazz."
The brass just waaaaaails. It feels like Modest Mouse at times, then they the flutes come in and kind of chirp like birds. I love how the Spanish Guitar opens and closes sections in different songs. The bass is so humming and grounding. He's working hard on that bass, it’s always moving and progressing, keeping the story flowing.
I really love how Avant-Garde a lot of this record gets. I would almost describe it as heavy at parts. Like, it's not exactly easy listening. But it’s also somehow extremely digestible. Which is what makes it so fun, because each song is just going on an ever progressing and regressing journey. It and its down, but always moving.
This record was brilliant.
Slipknot
2/5
So kind of a brutal album. I'm probably not the audience for this, but there definitely were some things that I enjoyed. I really liked the second track, Gematria. It's a pretty awesome way to start the record. The drums are heavy and piercing. The tempo is really quick and it almost feels like a hardcore / punk song, but still very metal. Being someone who loves punk, I enjoyed that.
Then the album turns to nu-metal, which just isn't my taste. It starts feeling like sound boy music. It comes back to me on This Cold Black, where it starts feeling more metal again.
But man, this album is aggressive and angry. I think I get the hype. There's definitely some cool elements.
Louis Prima
3/5
Super fun record! On one hand, this music sounds like a lot of early Disney movies and even Christmas music. But when I pealed back a layer and really listened, it was fun to hear all sorts of different sounds, genres and fusion. This is like version 1 of American Art. Its folk, its rock, its jazz, its blues. What also struck me was the subject matter of a lot of these songs. Sex, love, drugs, alcohol, affairs, break ups and even death?? This really was one of the "Wildest" records of the time, and truly embodies the spirit of what American music would become.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Brilliant record. Her voice, the music, the lyrics and overall themes. Its so so good. I think it's easy to kind of just move on past Respect, but that song is important! Deep themes in that one. Then its followed up by the heartbreaking Drown in My Own Tears, which is not only a fantastic blues song, but has some sneaky good blues guitar. Her voice is what holds you throughout.
Soul Serenade is perfect. Such a great soul / blues song. She's waaaails. Baby Baby Baby is such a good love song. Perfect for the time, still holds up. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man is a sneaky feminist anthem. Really cool. I love the covers of Good Times and A Change Gonna Come. She takes over and just owns those songs.
Really incredible record.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
It's interesting how exposure to music at a young age influences your taste. I honestly didn't really hear anything in this record that shook my world or blew my mind, but I liked almost every song. And I think that's because I've spent a considerable amount of time listening to singer-songwriter indie music. Is this so much different than Wilco or Bright Eyes or even Dinosaur Jr? Its probably where you plant your flag and what you spend a lot of time with. This record was fun, it was interesting, it was even engaging. I liked almost every song. Though, I'm not sure if I'll revisit it. And that might be because it isn't too much different than a lot of music that I've spent a lot of time with. In that sense, it feels a bit generic and almost like "genre music." Though, this did have that kind of personal, self-reflective element that I feel elevates out of the "general category."
I guess I'm a sucker for sad boy indie music. When are we getting some Bright Eyes??
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
Beautiful voice, beautiful music. Ella Fitzgerald is the embodiment of a special and unique time in American music. I didn't get through all 3 hours of this.
Nanci Griffith
5/5
Man, Nanci Griffith was pure magic. Her voice, her lyrics, her storytelling. In so many ways, she reminds me of John Prine. Good storytelling with songs about love and loss, but always approachable and human. There's that small element of humor in her words and in her voice.
More than anything, this is a record that I can kind of just live in. Its somewhere that I want to hang out and sip coffee. Especially on a autumn day such as today (Oct 3, 2025). "Vibe" feels to trite to explain it, but this record is a feeling. It's warm and lovely and I'm okay if it plays all day.
Also, I can't listen to Nanci Griffith without thinking about Meg. Her parents are big Nanci fans, so she was kind of raised on this music.
Beatles
4/5
Man, this album actually rips. I'm definitely in the camp of people that says things like "I prefer later Beatles to early Beatles." But honestly, this album is so rad. It's groovy, it's flowy, it's fun and actually really varied in sounds. No two songs are really the same. Outside of the fact, that most of the songs are about love / break ups, etc.
But.. I love how some songs have that skiffle English folk sound, but others are more blues, r&b inspired or rockabilly inspired.
You can definitely hear the roots and progression of this band and what they would eventually become. They really are so tight and methodical in their sound.
Neil Young
5/5
This is definitely apex Neil Young. This is where his craft is the most refined. His songwriting is poignant, his voice is perfect and he's really leaning into his sound. It really doesn't get better than this.
*Out on the Weekend -love this song. Its country, its rock. It's kind of everything you want in a record.
*Harvest -such a rad follow up. Love, loss, time of the season.
*Every Man Needs a Main -dark, heavy, intense. Very sad.
*Heart of Gold -probably one of the greatest songs of the 20th Century. This song has been in my life for a long time, and I've never skipped it.
*Are You Ready for the Country -I love this one. Brings you right back into the energy of this record.
*Old Man -I love the story of this song. The self reflection. Amazing song.
*There's a World -deep, beautiful.
*Alabama -I love how he brings back his political roots and hits back on Sweet Home Alabama even harder with this one. Brilliant.
*The Needle and the Damage its Done -heartbreaking. So sad he'd already gone through so much of this at 24.
I love this album. Its a treasure.
The Black Crowes
3/5
I mean.. I objectively like this kind of music. However, this feels a bit trite. I don't know how to put my finger on it. Maybe it's the Hard to Handle cover? Or maybe its just that bands like this have been popping up since the late 70s trying to recreate a sound and feeling. So maybe it's the nostalgia play that maybe makes it sound a bit cheesy?
I certainly didn't dislike it, but I wasn't wowed by anything I heard today.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Super cool album! And very unique. This felt like My Bloody Valentine meets Bjork meets Depeche Mode and has a drink with Kate Bush.
I love all of the building elements and the dark minor tones. You really can't ever 100% tell what she is saying, but you're always entranced with it. Its builds, then it crashes, then it takes you in weird rabbit holes of ambiance. Each song is unique in its own way, but also fits comfortably in the record and never feels out of place. They play with different vocal melodies along with different tones of keys, synths and guitars.
I was really impressed with this record. It actually surprised me it came out in 85! This feels like it could have been a 90s record.
The Cure
3/5
Confused... I love The Cure and I firmly believe that every person should listen to The Cure before they die. So many incredible songs. The range of this band in emotion and style is so impressive.
However.......... this album is not an album that anyone NEEDS to listen to before they die. In fact, if this was the only album by The Cure I ever listened to, I would right them off as generic British indie and go on living my life without ever thinking about it again.
I mean.. its fine, but its so uninteresting. I guess this is "foundational"? But damn, this is a pretty lack luster freshmen album.
Thin Lizzy
4/5
This was a super fun album with a ton of energy! I think what I love most about this era of music is that genres were kind of blended. Ultimately, I think Thin Lizzy would be described and Glam or even Heavy Metal (for the time.) You can definitely hear their influence on bands like Poison in the 80's. What's fun about this album is that sometimes is psych, a lot of blues, sometimes country rock. Its kind of all of the *rock* genres of the time. It was really fun. Thoroughly enjoyed the guitars solos and cool drum beats. Mostly, though the vocals are just great. Never over the top but always going 11.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Brilliant. One of the greatest and most influential hip hop of all time. I think the obvious takeaway is the infusion of jazz, funk and soul into this record. What strikes me is that whole album flows so perfectly with each song. The bass lines and drum tracks just move along keeping it flowing. It’s so damn chill too. It’s kind of the epitome of *vibey,* but then it’s so much more than that.
The lyrics and storytelling are top notch. Even when they add in some silly songs like ham & eggs, the door is open and you just just want to hang and vibe out in this space. Also, impressive how the lyrics kind of interplay and reference other songs throughout. It’s like a little mini-universe within itself.
You can hear the influence of this record in so many contemporary and even 2000 rap outfits. It’s in everything and something worthy of spending time with.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Didn’t hate this, but I’m certain I won’t turn it on again. It’s definitely interesting and kind of vibey. Though the vibes feels more like the menu screen of an early 2000s Xbox game than really something I want to spend a lot of time with.
But it was cool, and for like 20 minutes it was nice to have on in the background. After 20 minutes, it kind of all sounded the same.
Ghostface Killah
4/5
Wu Tang is forever! This was a cool album. Its rough, raw, and a bit heavy with the lyrics and song elements. I really love how it flows and rolls though. The beats, dubs and samples are all really digestible. Lyrics are definitely on the heavy side tackling social issues, sexism, racism, drugs, etc.
I really love this style of rap though. Its self reflective, first person storytelling and fun to have on.
Jane's Addiction
5/5
What a rad album! I've been a fan of Jane's Addiction for a long time, and I can't really decide if I like this album more than Nothing Shocking. But then when I think about it, I can't really tell a difference. The sound and power of this band is unmistakable. They're incredible.
What I love is how this is varied and unique they're sound is. It reminds me most of Bad Brains with how out there it is with the guitar solos and raw energy. But its more like Bad Brains meets Joy Division meets Guns and Roses.
The bass is so raw, heavy and driving. Sometimes is almost overbearing. And then Dave Navarro's guitars are also loud, full of static and kind of over the top. But its played in this minor key and not really utilizing the blues scales, so it doesn't sound like really any blues or hair metal guitarists. Perry's voice is what always sets this band apart. Piercing, striking. Somewhere between yelling and crooning. With great storytelling. I think finally what makes this band / sound / album unique is then how they layer in other genres and sounds and effects. Sometimes they're playing bo diddley rhythms, while other times they're incorporating sitars and eastern instruments.
Despite what this band means now, and the fact that Perry Farrell literally punched Dave Navarro in the face 3 weeks ago, this band rocks and this album is brilliant.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
This is a gem of a record. This is really really cool album. Its kind of quintessential San Francisco psych rock. It's kind of got everything you need. Blues inspired guitar and vocals, with progressive moving and building songs. Any song on this record could appear in a Grateful Dead live show and it would be a hit. I was really impressed with how the blues drive every song. Piece of My Heart is probably my favorite song on the record. Its such a classic, but Ball and Chain is incredible. Real Hurts Me Too vibes.
Cream
4/5
This was fun! I'm kind of blown away by how in the 60s, blues became psychedelic. Because blues themselves are not necessarily psychedelic, but it seems like every band that pick them up took the blues to trippy heights. Which is what makes this album fun. Its blues, its psych, its good old fashion 60s rock and roll.
A lot of classics on this record, but also a lot of sleeper songs. Either way, I enjoyed it!
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Is there any other record that has more classics than this one? Its just banger after banger after banger. Also, who the hell starts off a record with the church music sounding "Bridge Over Troubled Water"? Absolutely brilliant. I remember the first time I listened to this all the way through. It was probably in 10th Grade and it definitely changed how I digested music and about what music could be. It's not quite as a raw as Bob Dylan or Kris Kristofferson tunes that I gravitate more towards, but the songwriting, the pop melodies and vocals are captivating.
*Bridge Over Troubled Water -This is one of those song really translates through generations. It's a song that everyone can get behind. Its been covered by everyone and one that is universal loved.
*El Condor Pasa (If I Could) -incredible song. I love how they took this traditional Peruvian song and made it contemporary, their own story and in English.
*Cecilia -who couldn't love this song?? Old blues bo diddley rhythms and hand pipes?!
*Keep the Customer Satisfied -probably the most skipped song on the album, but still a brilliant and fun song. Its fun and dancy. Honestly, a great change of pace.
*So Long Frank Lloyd Wright -probably the most skipped song on the record, but I like that they did it. Its sentimental and meaningful. Also, I love the jazz flute in this song.
*The Boxer -this is one that I'm always drawn to. I love the story, the melodies, the guitar, the chorus. I love the folk instruments and hand harps. Its mystical but it draws you in.
*Baby Driver -another fun change of pace. Fun song.
*The Only Living Boy in New York -The sad boy anthem of the century. Zach Bryan has got nothing on this song. I could turn this on any day and immediately be transformed.
*Why Don't You Write Me -really fun and bluesy. I love the break from folk music on this one. It almost feels like it could be on a Beatles album, but with more weird instruments.
*Bye Bye Love -I really love the live recording on this one. Its fun and good. Its a good cover, though I don't know if it was necessary on the album.
*Song for Asking -Really great and sentimental way to end the record / career as a band.
I love this album and I love this band.
Os Mutantes
3/5
Pretty cool and unique! I'm certain I'll never return to re-listen to this, but I liked the different influences and how they played with genres.
Van Morrison
4/5
I'm always impressed that in the heyday of folk revivalists like Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel, Van Morrison comes out with an album like this. It's not my favorite VM album, but I love that he is just absolutely going for it. Its folk, its country, its jazz, its blues. Every song is introspective, personal and sometimes even spiritual. I love how he sings about Belfast and how he group up. I love that all of the songs are kind of long, he kind of broke out of short simple acoustic folk and made longer, interesting songs with cool instruments.
Astral Weeks is my favorite on the record, followed by Madame George. Despite having interesting instruments and longer songs, I still don't gravitate this album as much as others. However, I still really enjoy it and revisit from time to time.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
So good. I love the return to their roots with the electric blues. Every single song on this record is digestible and unskippable. I feel like I'm listening to a Scorsese movie when I turn this on, especially with Gimme Shelter. Love in Vain is a perfect blues song, followed by an amazing country rock song with Country Honk every song after is so good, but I love how it ends on You Can't Always Get What You Want.
I love this record.
Adele
5/5
This album is brilliant. Its haunting, its chilling, its poppy, its fun. Its kind of all the ranges of human emotion. I love her fresh take on blues, jazz and soul. Its hard not to like this album. I remember at the time feeling conflicted. I heard it on the radio in the UK all of the time, and I didn't want to like it, but its so hard to hate on Rolling in the Deep. Even the non-singles are good. They're thoughtful and interesting. She plays with her vocal range and different elements of the blues. It's super dialed.
And yes, some songs feel like they were written by a 21 year old (which was literally the case) But other songs feel totally timeless. She really reminds of Zach Bryan, where some songs are maybe a bit cheesy but both artists are striking a chord that most people can get behind. Its hit deep and surface level at the exact same time.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
THE BOSS!! I love how big the sound of this album is. The band is so tight, there are so many instruments and it just comes together with such a huge sound. This album reminds of reimagination of Bob Dylan if he cared to put on good shows and decided to be a rock star. Great song writing and great execution. In the words of Kendall Roy: "all bangers all the time." Which is kind of what this album is. All bangers all the time. Which is why I'm happy he made Nebraska down the road, it was a good palate cleanser.
As rad as this sound and record are, it's not very scalable to just keep doing this over and over. But when it works (in the case of this album) it's absolutely fantastic.
Tears For Fears
3/5
Super fun album! This is pure 80s gold. Its definitely one of those 80s albums that sounds exactly like the decade, which kind of traps it in time a bit. No matter what, you can't listen to it without dredging deep into nostalgia.
That's not a knock at all though. This album rips. It goes hard. Its synth-pop at its finest. The lyrics are definitely pop heart throb influenced, but the instrumentation is really tight. They're playing with a lot. It feels very Depeche Mode but then has really cool sax parts and elements. This is great for exactly what it is and when it came out.
The Go-Betweens
3/5
This album felt like every indie rock band that I've ever listened smashed into one sad boy record. Which is probably why I enjoyed this so much. It felt like The Strokes, The Killers, Destroyer, Wolf Parade all wrapped into one. There was even one song that kind of sounded like U2 (I know, not technically indie rock.)
I really enjoyed how this just moseyed along with happy and sad love songs. It's fun and easy to listen to. It kind of has that apathetic element to it where it is exactly what it is and isn't really trying for anything else. Kind of nice refresher. I had one with this one.
David Bowie
4/5
Brilliant album! I love all the different instruments, I love the social commentary. I love how Bowie is just going for it with every song. I love how homages The Beatles not once but twice, including a full on cover of Across the Universe. (which is incredible.) He kind of lives in this post motown sound with this record. It feels very "Bowie" but also sounds like the Jackson Five, which is a fun dichotomy for an album that kind of pokes fun and winks at American culture. (Which he is very much aware that he is living in and benefitting from). It's unarguably the most "American" sounding record of his career.
I had a blast with this one.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Such a great album. This is one of those foundational hip hop records that set the stage for hip hop to come. I think I like People's Instinctive Travels more, but I really love the rhymes in this one. It's more *rap* and less experimental, definitely more simplified. Drums and very simple samples. This feels more like a folk album than anything. Its pretty raw. You can tell they're just having fun with this one and focussing purely on the lyrics and rhymes. There are a few songs that don't totally do it for me and even some where they missed the mark on what they're trying to communicate, but other songs are visceral and poignant.
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
I listen to a lot of Drive-By-Truckers, but typically the mid albums with Jason Isbell. So I admittedly, hadn't ever given this one a go. It's super ambitious and really well written. I love the concept nature of this record and the fact that its extremely self reflective about coming of age and the place where they grew up.
Its definitely on the long side, and I think they could have shortened it a bit. But I love the outlaw country nature of the songwriting and carrying that tradition.
Tom Tom Club
2/5
Maybe the most annoying collection of songs of the 20th Century.
I mean there are cool elements, especially as the album goes on. It almost feels like Talking Heads or even some David Bowie.
But Wordy Rappinghood is irredeemable.
Arcade Fire
5/5
This album came out 20 years ago???? Damn, I'm getting old. This is one of my favorites, and one of the most influential indie rock albums of the century. They perfectly combine sounds, genres, instruments to create this unique sound that moves between sounding like a soundtrack, a folk album and a 80s pop record. It's all layered with this childlike / teenage nostalgic story in the background. It kind of creates this universe within the album that feels dystopian and present all at the same time.
Personally, its my 4th favorite Arcade Fire record. But I still love it and revisit a few times a year. I'm grateful that I've had this piece of music in my life for the past 20 years.
Kraftwerk
2/5
While I'm certain I will never listen to this record again, it is interesting and engaging. Krautrock isn't really my thing, I feel like I'm in the German porno "Logjammin" from The Big Lebowski when I listen to this stuff. I do appreciate the ambition and musicality. Some of the vocals reminded me of Lou Reed.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Really fun record! Janelle Monae is really interesting to me, I had heard about this but never commited. It's really cool and varied. She plays with a lot of cool elements of pop, psych, jazz, funk and prog. I love the storytelling and how this album flows from one song to the next telling a story. Its a really fun take on pop music and really pushes the boundaries of what the genre can do.
Bobby Womack
3/5
This is exactly what I expected, and it was great! Love songs, sex songs, soul songs. Admittedly, there isn't much variety between songs, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like every song on this record holds up and pushes the music forward. The main variance is the emotion between each song. Some songs are about heartbreak, where other songs are celebrating love. I like the bass lines, the synths, and fun drum beats. I love how no matter the subject matter, every song is going to church. A gospel choir could get behind any song and totally crush it. This was fun!
Gang Starr
3/5
This was a cool album. Had some groovy beats, fun bass lines, and cool samples. The lyrics and rhymes were also enjoyable. I wasn't really blown away by this. It was chill and fun, but didn't really capture my attention in the same way that other albums do. I feel like this is one of those *foundational* records that paved the way for other artists. Especially with the smart lyrics and chill beats.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This was a really fun album! I love the unique instruments and off beats of a lot of the music. The social, geopolitical lyrics were also really cool. "Biko" gave me chills. This kind of feels like British David Byrne, but with an emphasis on geopolitical, environmental and social issues. He’s like if Sting would have been in Talking Heads instead of The Police. Really smart and varied album. I listened to it twice back to back because I enjoyed it so much.
5/5
What an incredible record. Is there even a bad song on this album? (at least not with the original 12 tracks.) Every song is so packed full of energy and emotion. The lyrics are grounding and the music is always moving and progressing. One minute you're grooving to Roll With It or Don't Look Back and then next minute you're singing your heart out to Wonderwall or being self reflective to Champagne Supernova.
I love the hard rock and punk rock influence of this record. I'm also really taken back by the blues guitar elements of this album. The blues are EVERYWHERE. This basically influenced the entire alt rock movement, and every band eventually sounded like this. So taking yourself out of the meme-ification of Wonderwall, it's hard not to be blown away by this record and the unique sound and style of it.
Ray Charles
4/5
Classic sound. It's all the elements of modern music. Blues, jazz, soul, classical, rhythm & blues. Interestingly though, it's not really *any* of those things. At the time, it was kind of something else. This sound is essentially the sound of any old movie that I grew up, its the sound of every classic Christmas song, its kind of that classic old time American sound.
Brian Eno
4/5
This was rad! Kind of what I was thinking it would be, but I really like the elements that David Byrne is adding. He really leans into the ambiance and avant garde nature of Brian Eno and adds that level of rhythm and bass that kind of takes this sound to a new level. I would call it *pop* per say, but it kind of makes the whole thing groovier and easier to lost in. I also really enjoyed the middle eastern influences and sounds throughout the record. When combined with the ambient metallic wet sound of Eno and the off beat bass of David Byrne, it makes for a really interesting sound mix.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
This was fun! Really varied sounds. I love how he would switch between jazz, hip hop, traditional Indian music, electronic beats and sounds and then crazy Hindi yodelling?!? This was wild and goes really hard.
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
This was really fun! Definitely a movie soundtrack, but its fun and varied and has a lot of interesting musical themes.
Nick Drake
3/5
Its definitely Nick Drake. I love his influence on all of the indie folk music that I grew up with: Elliot Smith, Bright Eyes, The Shins. This is not his best album, but its good and chill and exactly what you expect. I just don't know if we can get better than Pink Moon.
The Temptations
4/5
This was a rad album! I wasn't expecting it to be so psychedelic. That was a fun twist. The first half of this album is really wild. The songs are harder and more psych, the lyrics are about social issues. I was all in for the first half. The second half is more of your standard Temptations. Songs about love and heartbreak and it's a little more traditional sounding. Still good, but that first half really got me.
I love how the bass drives every song. Its truly playing that driving rhythm section and letting everything lay on top of it. The keys are really fun and cool, while the guitar has fun licks and rides throughout. This was really fun!
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This was VERRRRRY 80s. Maybe the most 80s album of the decade. I think I liked the other Peter Gabriel album, because it was a bit more varied and had some weirdness to it. This one is less weird, but it's still really eccentric and kind of dialed up to 11 in every song. Its really fun to crank this one.
Beach House
4/5
What a fun album. Its very much *indie vibe* rock. Less traditional instruments, a lot of keyboards that keep this thing grooving. I'm always a sucker for this kind of music. I might not gravitate towards it all the time, but its something that I'm okay having on in the background all the time. Its vibey, its chill, its easy to listen to. What's most interesting to me is that its somewhat chameleon. Sometimes the songs sound sad and intimate, where the same song can also sound vibrant and fun. Its kind of crazy how it can shape shift like that. Which is probably why I'm okay just having this on whenever.
Pretenders
4/5
Really fun album. This feels like one of the first true pop-punk albums. I love how it keeps that punk rock edge throughout, but it mixes in elements of pop, new wave and even rockabilly. Its fast moving, its edgy and its just really fun. All the things you want in a punk album.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
I got this one over a year ago and I've actually listened to it a ton since. I really like Michael Kiwankua. I listen to him almost weekly now.
Here is what I wrote then: "Loved it. I really like the singer-song writer influenced, fused with R&B. The instrumentals for the intros built up and flowed nicely into each song. This is a really unique record for 2019. Super stoked on this one."
Van Morrison
5/5
One of my favorite albums of the 70s (definitely one of my personal favorites too). This was my first introduction into Van Morrison, and I believe it his best work. I think I got this album in 10th Grade, and admittedly, I wasn't ready for it. I didn't hate it or even dislike it, but I would skip through songs. However, the things that distracted me early on has become the things I love the most about this record. The blues and jazz influence are really what makes this record magical. Specifically, the horns. He uses them so cleverly and they kind of sneak up on you. You get a few in "And It Stoned Me," and you kind of think its just an accent piece, but no... He goes hard with brass. It defines the entire album. Which is what makes its so good. The brass isn't simply just an "accent" or an added effect, he uses them throughout. He changes the mood and emotion behind each song with the brass section, he even compliments lyrics with horns. (Into the Mystic.) It really is such a brilliant composition of music. It feels like the rest of the rock, blues, and folk world were doing one thing and then Van Morrison comes out of Belfast with this wild album that doesn't really sound like any of it but it fits perfectly within that world. Its no wonder, that Jerry Garcia would frequently cover Van Morrison.
*It Stoned Me -this was the song that converted me. Its impossible to hate this song. Not only does this song kind of take you somewhere else, but I love how its kind of about fishing. As a teenager, this song made me feel cool about fishing with my dad.
*Moondance -this was the song that turned me off! And then turned me back on. He just makes a full on jazz song right after a country song? Ballsy. This song started to come around for me after Robin Williams plays in his harmonica in that weird ass August Rush movie.
*Crazy Love -such a good love song. Impossible to hate. This song is a mood that you can just love in.
*Caravan -holy shit. This song. This song is a journey that makes you want to literally just join the caravan and go wherever this takes you.
*Into the Mystic - this has got to me in the to 10 best songs of the 70s. I love this song. I'll never skip this one. I love how the horns sound like a fog horn when he sings that lyric.
*Come Running -this one is fun. Its definitely the most "rock and roll" of the album. A necessary inclusion to keep this record round.
*These Dreams of You -the freakin clarinet solo?? Get outta here. So rad.
*Brand New Day -the best blues song on the album. The back up singers, the way he throw his voice. Brilliant.
*Everyone -having lived in Northern Ireland, this one always makes me feel things. Peace for everyone.
*Glad Tidings -perfect ending. Its so fun and upbeat. Ends on a banger.
Sade
3/5
Sexy, funky, jazzy and sensual. You can't deny to the sexiness of this album, but you also can't deny that it almost feels like a meme in 2024. Like the entire album feels like a meme of 80s sexy sax music. Which is a shame, because it actually has some interesting elements. Groovy bass lines, sexy brass throughout, fun and interesting keyboards. Besides this feeling like a meme, it's a bit of a one trick pony. It's hard to decipher one some from the next. They're all kind of the same. I think the kindest legacy of this record would be for a indie-esque band in 2024 to basically homage the entire album and make contemporary music based off of this. Which feels like it could happen at any moment, if it hasn't happened already.
Scott Walker
3/5
This is a pretty cool record. Definitely unique and weird. Its not really rock, its not really jazz or soul. It's kind of all of those things under the guise of the "singer-songwriter." Really cool strings and keyboards. It has a bit of "big band" influence. Also, really really cool and driving bass lines throughout. His voice is haunting and kind of creepy but also has that touch sensuality, which I think is what creates such a cool atmosphere with this record. Get Behind Me is the coolest song on the record.
Big Star
3/5
This is an interesting band and a interesting record. Like I'm sure there are some cult following Big Star fans that absolutely love their music and claim that they're the most underrated rock band of the 70s. I think there probably is some truth to that, but in a lot of ways, I feel like they're kind of trying to be an American version of The Beatles with a bit of Southern influence. Its fun pop rock with some cool country and blues riffs, but I'm never totally blown away by it. The one exception is Thirteen, because that song is incredible and is something to cherish. But otherwise, I enjoyed this but didn't really love this.
The Pogues
5/5
One of my all time favorite albums. This is one that's been with me since I was 15 years old, and one that I can truly say changed my life and changed the way that I listen to music. They always say that punk rock is a gateway drug, and it's true, because punk rock led me to this. It was kind of a natural progression from Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. Bands that I love, but I needed more. This was the perfect scratch to my itch and it really bridged the gaps of punk, rock, country and folk for me. The music is so full and so lively, while Shane's lyrics are so thoughtful and haunting.
This record not only led me other music (folk, bluegrass, ska, reggae, dub, rocksteady, jazz) but also helped my world view. Immigration / Emigration. Poverty, globalization. Love, sadness, heartbreak, alcoholism. I started to grasp the troubles in Northern Ireland and the duality of what it means to be an America and how we fit in the world. This album really opened my eyes to a lot of things. When I left to live in Ireland for 2 years I was so excited and a large part of that was because of this record.
Musically, I love how much fun this band is having. Each song is different from the next. There's epics, ballads, marches, sing alongs, pub songs, bo diddley's. It's all over the place, and it's not just *Irish.* They into other world genres and absolutely slayed them. I also love that they brought The Dubliners in for 2 songs and went full traditional.
The songwriting is impeccable. Shane McGowan was a truly one of the greatest 20th Century poets. So many songs give me chills.
For such a long album, I don't even know what I would say for each song, because I seriously love each one of these songs so much. I'm just grateful I've had this in my life so long. When I first got this album, I would show my friends and they thought it was either weird or silly. But when you really listen to it and get into this record, you'll find its a masterpiece and something to be cherished.
Gorillaz
5/5
THIS ALBUM RIPS. I love how experimental this is and how it just works. The fusion of so many cool sounds under the guise of a "virtual band." Its alt rock, dub, ska, hip hop, rock, punk, new wave, krautrock, electronic. But it's all so tight and cohesive. The whole album flows so perfectly and really nothing ever feels out of place. Its truly a "music producers" record. Its basically an hour of showing music producer porn and showing off, but it totally works. Every song is crafted perfectly to fit the vibe and story of the record, but each song is totally unique and would stand on its own. Which I think is kind of rare for an album like this. I also love that there really isn't / wasn't anything like this when it came out. Its really unique.
Bob Dylan
5/5
*Bob Dylan discovers weed and then changes music forever*
That's how I feel about this record. It doesn't sound like much at first, but it's so different than all of his previous records. This is really where he takes off and starts adding more rock and electric elements. I love how his lyrics kind of go to new levels of darkness. They often don't really rhyme and they're more stream of consciousness
Its crazy to me how this album influenced the rest of the decade. The Beatles, Grateful Dead, The Byrds, Neil Young, The Who. It kind of all comes back to this record and the massive swing he takes with it.
Personally, Bob Dylan has been one of my favorite artists since I was about 16 years old. This record has some of my favorites. Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm, Mr. Tambourine Man, Gates of Eden, It's Alright Ma, Its All Over Now Baby Blue.
I feel like each one of these songs is unique in their own way, but they all really ground this album in what's it's trying to do.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
2/5
I've never really a fan of The Raiders. I've kind of felt like they were a bit cheesy and never really knew where they fit within early rock music. The music is fun and easy going. It's definitely a relic of that mid - late 60s pop rock. I think what's most obvious is that they're aggressively trying to sound better and different than the British bands that were all over the radio at the time and frankly, the British bands just did it better. Even when they try to get weird on "All I Need is You," it doesn't totally land. "Kicks" is fun and all together its fun, but I don't feel like its anything remarkable.
U2
5/5
This is such a fantastic album. I think what's probably overstated and generally recognized by everyone is Bono's voice and lyrics. They're perfectly matched for the deep level and importance of these songs. Also, The Edge's guitar style. That palm muted progression sound on the high strings is so cool and unique. Those 2 factors together really make the sound of this record so unique.
What is understated is how deep and moving the bass lines are. They're really moving kind of all over the place and keep everything grounded. It's a perfect marriage for Bono's style of playing. What really blew me away though are the drums on this record, they honestly sound similar to Grateful Dead in some songs. Very deep and heavy. I was really vibing with those.
The lyrics and meaning in each song are probably what push this to the next level for me. I love that it starts with Sunday Bloody Sunday and ends with "40," which is a really cool reprise and call for peace. Having lived in Northern Ireland and known people who were directly affected by the Omagh Bombings and the Troubles as a whole, really give this record a lot of meaning for me personally.
This is a great record and one worth revisiting often.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I love this record. No one really played guitar like Jimi Hendrix did. Its not the electric blues, its almost the fuzzy blues. Even beyond the effects on his guitar, its fuzzy. The lyrics are fuzzy and then just the style in which he plays is really fuzzy. It's certainly not linear. Its different from say, Jerry Garcia's take on the blues, where he's kind of playing inverted scales with slight key changes. Jimi is kind of playing traditional blues, soul, gospel, rock n' roll, but then you kind of get lost in it the longer that he goes. Maybe its the combo of bends, slides and wah that he's using, but it kind of just takes you on a journey where its very easy to get lost. Its brilliant. Maybe its that his band is really small, and there are no keys? Its so heavy on guitar, but he uses it for such a large sound that you don't really need anything else.
His style doesn't really sound like anyone else. You can hear all of the influences but its more like ingredients that got mixed into something totally different.
I think one of the biggest tragedies in modern music is that we lost Jimi Hendrix so young.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
This album rocks. So flowy, and vibey. Really cool guitar riffs and sick bass lines. I love the social conscious lyrics and themes as well. Curtis Mayfield was a genius.
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
This was fun. Super dark and gloomy. It very much feels like the times. What I like about gothic music is how it sometimes feels like so much (drum machines, heavy bass, keys, big drums) but then it kind of boils down to just raw bass lines over drums for huge parts of songs. That was fun with this one. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Depeche Mode, NIN, Korn and even The Airborne Toxic Event. I'm not sure I'd revisit this, but I certainly enjoyed it!
Depeche Mode
4/5
This is a really awesome record. Compared to the album from yesterday, this much fuller and varied. The synths are all time on this one. Really really cool synths and beats. I also really love the kind of blues element that this record has. Its subtle and overwhelming at the same time. Its just untraditional, they're bending synths and noises in a similar way that you might bend a harmonica or guitar. Its like krautrock, new wave, gothic blues. Each song really locks you in.
It does feel very 80s, but its not cheesy 80s. Its kind of a nod at the decade and leans into but forms its own path. Each song really is varied and layered in interesting ways.
This isn't a knock, but maybe the only thing that doesn't transcend the time when this came out are the lyrics. Lyrically, its pretty creepy. Kind of feels a little incel-ish, but such was the entire 90s. Its very Gen X. That being said.. I kind of feel that style of songwriter is making a come back with younger bands.
Sepultura
4/5
HEAVY!!! This was fun and pretty varied across the board. This album has lots of cool elements and kind of plays with different genres. It starts out with more of a thrash and hardcore and then kind of dives into Nu Metal (my least favorite part of the record) and then ends almost prog metal. I really liked the whispers and hints of traditional indigenous music throughout. It's a good additive and keeps it interesting and engaging. Musically, the drums were probably the thing that intrigued me the most on this record.
I really have to be in the right mood for metal, but once I jump in, I can get behind something like this for a minute. This was fun.
Foo Fighters
4/5
This was fun. Interesting that this was on the list. Its definitely a solid record, but the sophomore record is no doubt one of the best albums of all time. I guess this one is really foundational for alt-rock. Or is just foundational for the Foo Fighters? I guess Dave Grohl literally recorded all the instruments for this record, so is it even a band? IDK. It was good. I enjoyed it. And if you were born in the 90s, you have to enjoy or at the very least tolerate the Foo Fighters until the day you day. Because they're great.
Musically, I had a lot of fun with this one. Its fun hearing the foundations of grunge, and alt rock but also fun to hear how hardcore heavily influenced Dave. Those were probably my favorite tracks. A lot of songs are pretty similar but I still enjoyed it. Solid 4.
R.E.M.
3/5
This was okay. I really love REMs sound. It’s chill, moving, and consistent. I love how it can be low key it can be, but then also have such a big sound. I guess I’m mostly just describing what I like about the band and not really this album.
I don’t have a lot to say about it. It hit all of those keys features that I mentioned, but then it just kind of repeats them over and over again. It’s not super varied like other albums, so it was hard for me to really love it.
Dion
4/5
This was really fun. It’s a cool take on the blues, and really good song writing. I like the elements of jazz and r&b, with a dash of folk rock. Mostly, I just like all of the love songs. It reminds me Marvin Gaye, but less sexy. This was fun.
4/5
This album is nuts. Totally diabolical. I was really confused at first, so I had to read about it. And then I realized this is totally a hardcore album. I thought I was getting cool jazz, and yes, this is definitely cool jazz. But really... this is feels like Minor Threats first album if it were jazz. This is like Millions of Dead Cops if it were jazz. The drums are the dead give away. This was rad!
For sure this deserves at least 4 Stars, because this is one of the most creative albums I've ever heard but I am certain I won't be returning any time soon.
Moby Grape
3/5
This was interesting. Its fun hearing psych rock from the 60's SF scene. Nothing really called to me. It felt somewhat generic, but overall fine.
ABBA
4/5
My mom's favorite band. I have listened to these songs so much that at one point I pretty much just hated them. But I was young and a teenager, so it made sense. Honestly, ABBA rips. This stuff is groovy, fun, poppy. Its totally over the top, but its also amazing. We're all better off for having ABBA on earth.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
What a great record. The synths, the keys, the drum machines. During the height of folk indie rock, I would use this album as kind of palate cleanser. It was the perfect antithesis for the music culture of the time. The irony of it all is that this band (and this album) live on. This is one of those records that takes it as close to the edge as possible, but never over the top. Maybe because of conflicting sounds and elements. Its wild, but calm. Its apathetic, but full of emotion. Its dancy but also somehow anti-dancy. This is a really cool and unique album that should be revisited frequently.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Very interesting album. I liked the avant-garde nature of it. Really interesting sounds and cool horns. The lyrics are kind of whacky and all over the place. I'm not really sure who the audience for this album is, but it was cool that he made this!
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
I'm definitely a fan of Dwight Yoakam, but he's never been my favorite. I love the Bakersville sound and I think outside of Merle Haggard, he does it the best. And you can definitely hear it in this record. Especially with the electric guitar, its very "picky" but also fluid. Its that classic Telecaster sound that influenced so much of my favorite music. It makes perfect sense why so many psych band emulate that style of playing. I also love the slide guitar and how its kind of vibrating and almost trippy. His lyrics and voice are fun. I like that he sings about sad things in kind of yodelly country voice. Its kind of exactly what you want and what you expect, but its much darker than the contemporary country of the day. I also really love the honky tonk vibe of this record, its fun and dancy and almost a little whiny, but its not mainstream. Its pretty unique. I like that's he's playing with a sound and taking it in its own direction.
I do feel like this album comes in strong and then kind of wanes the longer it goes. By the time, I got the end, I had less stoke. However, I still enjoyed it and it made me want to listen to other similar music.
Also, Dwight's part in Panic Room and Logan Lucky are so freakin good. He's acting is pretty cool.
UB40
4/5
This was a really fun album. Ska and Reggae are very formative music styles for me. A lot of this music influenced my worldview and kind of opened the door to other genres and styles. So naturally, I really enjoyed this.
This record kind of has all of the elements that I like in a reggae or second-wave ska album. Really fun and groovy bass lines, flowy and progressive brass sections, consistent upbeats and really good lyrics.
I really enjoyed this and listened to it twice!
Dusty Springfield
3/5
I liked this. Its probably not something I'll revisit often, but I like this take on pop. Its kind of folky and bluesy with a hint of r&b. Its definitely pop music and I can see why people love her.
I like that she kind of had some fun instrumentals. Like in "In the Land of Make Believe" there is a cittar. "Son of a Preacher" is no doubt the high point of the album and is a song that everyone should revisit from time to time.
CHIC
3/5
This was interesting. In some ways its hard not hear these songs and just assume they're the equivalent of a Microsoft stock screensaver. I've heard some of these songs so much throughout my life that I didn't even realize that a real artist or band even made them. (Chic Cheer, Le Freak, I Want Your Love, Funny Bone.) So when you hear it all the way through, it kind of makes you chuckle. And then on top of that, finding out that the band is called CHIC and they incorporate "chic" into like every song in some way or another is hilarious. It's a little over the top cheesy. In fact, almost every song on this album is cheesy. The fact that in Funny Bone there is a laugh track going on in the background the whole time until you get a weird motivational speech?!
Its hard for me to listen to this with fresh ears, but if I tried, I'm hearing a lot of joy and celebration. Its kind of meant to cheesy and fun. Its meant to feel like you're at a house party in the Hampton (doing coke in the bathroom?) or going down to the beach. Which is a fun and I can see what they're going for. It also solidifies why this music shows up everywhere. It's kind of agnostic towards anything besides being very surface level fun. And I guess sometimes humans need that.
Gary Numan
4/5
I was not expecting to enjoy this, but I really liked it. It really reminds me a lot of indie rock that I listened to in my youth. Bands like Islands, The Unicorns, or Destroyer have a very similar style and sound. Especially with the vocals. I love that it's kind of this slightly dubbed yell / sing kind of thing. The synths were also really fun. I would almost compare this to Depeche Mode, but its not the blues and its not in a minor key. This is far more dancey and poppy, however, I wouldn't necessarily call it pop music. Its too weird and sad for that. So I guess the closest thing I could relate it to would be David Bowie. This feels like the natural progression for a Bowie fan. Its weird, sad and poppy. There's great instrumentals, choruses and vocal melodies. He plays with a lot of weird sounds and layers them into other things, which is really cool and fun to listen to.
My only knock is that a lot of the songs start to bleed into each other and its hard to kind of tell the difference between songs in the middle of the record. A lot of them sounds very similar. I think this an album that he could have trimmed the fat on by 2 - 3 songs and keep it a tight 32 minutes.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
This album freakin rocks. I feel like it shows the best of all the many versions of Neil Young. Its folk, its rock, its soul, its psych, it's even a bit of punk rock there at the end. I really love how it live. You can feel that energy with him and the band and the audience. I remember talking with a roommate about this album when I was a freshmen in college and how this really felt like grunge in a lot of ways, and you can definitely pick up on that as you listen throughout. Especially with the distortion effects.
I love how it ends with Hey Hey My My (Into the Black) such a cool way to end a set and an album. I also really like how it builds throughout, its start kind of soft and then really ramps up by the end.
Neil Young is one of my favorite songwriters and performers. He's so true to his style and sound. I love that he's always just kept it interesting. He's someone I can always count on to enjoy.
Nirvana
5/5
What can I say about this album that I haven't already said before? Its one of my all time favorite records. I don't know if there is another album more deserving than this one to be on this list. Especially given the fact that Kurt Cobain was certainly never trying to land on any sort of list.
I've been listening to since album since I was probably 13 years old. I love every song on it. No skips. Sure, there are songs that I love more than others, but this is one that when I look at the track listings, I get excited for what's next. So often when I listen to this (which is for sure a few times every year) I think to myself "this one is my favorite" and then another songs starts and I have the same thought.
What I love is how this so beautifully highlights everything that Nirvana was good at, but it's done in a way that was somewhat outside their typical medium. How does a band from Seattle that is towing the line between Hardcore and coming up with their own genre play a song as beautiful as "Oh Me" and "All Apologies" or as weird as "Plateau" or "Lake of Fire?" What genre is this? Is this even punk? Its acoustic, but it's certainly not folk or is it?
Which is why I think this is such a perfect reflection of their range their catalogue. They really were one of the best fusion acts of all time. But in doing so they created something entirely new and unique. Grunge.
In some ways this is a perfect double feature of yesterday's Neil Young live album. Its raw, edgy, and grungy. While also being sentimental, emotional, self-reflective (and deprecating) and even a bit humorous.
I could listen to this album at any given time and enjoy it. I could start at the end, middle or beginning and I wouldn't skip the next song. This might be a perfect album.
The Temptations
4/5
Bangers! This album had some absolute bangers. It starts out super strong with the first three tracks and then kind of levels off until it picks back up in the final third.
I love the fusion of blues and funky. Its kind of perfect in that way, where its sexy and dancy, but also deep, soulful and bluesy. The social aspects of the first 3 songs, really gets me stoked and ready to jam on this one. I love Run Charlie Run and Papa Was a Rolling Stone.
The First Time I Saw Your Face is so good. Even though, this is the slower part of the record, I really love this song. Its soft and sentimental and really just beautiful.
I had a blast with this one this morning!
James Brown
3/5
I really wanted to like this one more than I did. On one hand, its a classic artist in one of the most important and famous venues of all time. You can really feel the energy of the crowd and the band. His vocals and kind of screaming that he does, is really fun and interesting. His band is really tight and I like the music, but I think there are probably better James Brown albums out there.
The White Stripes
5/5
How lucky am I that I was consciously listening to music when Seven Nation Army came out? I would put this song on the same playing field as "We Will Rock You" when it comes to rock anthems that literally everyone can get behind. Is it my favorite song by The White Stripes? No. But do I love it and stoked that I can remember downloading this to my computer and hearing it on the radio? Hell yeah.
This album is apex mountain for The White Stripes. They're kind of at the peak of their power and from here, it just gets better (until it eventually, unfortunately and inevitably comes to an end.) They're just having so much fun with this album. Bending genres, getting weird, adding samples, having sing alongs, getting more weird, getting normal, getting loud, getting quiet, being sad, being happy, being weird, being silly, being serious. It's kind of all over the place and every song takes you on a new journey without ever leaving the airport. Its never too much, even when it almost is too much.
I love how Jack is constantly tipping his hat and playing with genres that he loves and that inspire him. Rock, garage, blues, country, folk. When you break the songs down, they're really just simple blues or folk or country songs, but they're played with such a different energy and sound. I wouldn't call it a "twist" either, its just 2 peoples take on a American Music and what rock and roll means to them. Its carrying on a long and ongoing legacy. Which I highly respect.
Something that is often overlooked, is just how damn clever Jack's songwriting is. Its very similar to that of John Prine or Jerry Jeff Walker. It's funny but never really a comedy, its sad but never really depressing. Its just storytelling and commentary on love, loss, joy and longing.
I really think every song on this record works. No notes. I love all of them. I've loved this album for almost as long as I can remember.
Pere Ubu
4/5
Super fun and weird album. I really like this style of post-punk or art-punk or whatever you want to call it. Its raw, its weird, its fun. This is probably one of those albums that just gets better the more you listen to it as well. It feels like there are lots of easter eggs and fun nuances to pick up on. I thoroughly enjoyed this!
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
This is definitely "boom box" hip hop. Which is cool. Its kind of the evolution are early roots of the genre. You can definitely hear what they're going for and the evolution of the sound. It has fun beats, and cool samples. I think its really cool how they created those sounds and mixed them into music like this.
This isn't my favorite RUN album. Its dancey and fun, but it doesn't carry the punch that some of the later albums do. The lyrics are good, but kind of cheesy when matched with the music. I still think its good, and definitely influential for all hip hop. Just not my favorite.
Michael Jackson
4/5
This is a pretty classic pop album. Its got the synth-y new wave pop sound, with some really cool funk and soul. I think it might be safe to say that no one has really made dance music as good as Michael Jackson. Its kind of perfect for dance groove. I think back half of the album is stronger than the front half, but overall, its still really fun and good. Its fun to kind of hear those motown influences. In a lot of ways, he's doing Gospel music. Especially with songs like Man in the Mirror.
Eminem
4/5
Wow. I don't even really know how to rate this album. Has there ever been an album more controversial than this one? Its rap, its horror, its hardcore, its punk. I don't know if there is any other record that has this much attitude with it. On one hand, I could rate it entirely on the unsavory material and give it a 1/5 or I could rate it on its boldness, self reflection and satire and give it a 5/5.
The shock factor alone leaves you trembling, but the cleverness and wordsmithing is next level. You can really see how Kendrick was inspired by this stuff. In some ways it reminds me of the comedy of George Carlin, where its so damn smart that you love it but it's also damn dark and shocking that you don't really know how to palette it.
I'm not sure when I'll re-listen to this. It was somewhat nostalgic because I remember when this came out and how controversial it was. MTV was kind of at the height of its power and celebrity culture was at the peak of its toxicity. So it's kind of wild that he pulled off this album and flamed throwed everyone with it. But damn it's a hard one to get through.
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
this was fun and kind of meditative. Not really a style that I gravitate towards, but I really liked the interesting sounds progressing flow of the music throughout. It kind of hums along at a really good pace and keeps it interesting. I also really enjoyed the incorporations of other genres and sounds. I heard reggae, rocksteady, psych, blues and even some kind of rockabilly. This was really cool!
Talking Heads
4/5
In Jeff Tweedy's book he says "to create a music that exists only because they looked for it somewhere inside of themselves-knowing that there's a record they want to hear and that the only way they'll ever get to hear it is to make it themselves ... Well, that's a miracle made of miracles."
I'm not saying that this is my favorite TH album or even my favorite on this list. Probably not even in Top 10 of what I've listened to, but I feel like that quote really resonates with this album. It feels like these guys wanted a specific sound that no one else was doing and they were the only ones that could do it.
Its the weird vocals and lyrics. The interesting synths and even guitars. Its the rolling and bubbling percussion and drums. Its the sad dancy flavor that keeps this going. "Once in a Lifetime."
The Slits
4/5
What a rad and bold record. There is no way that this would have been any sort of mainstream when it came out, and I love that they just didn't give a shit. Not only is the subject matter and intensity of the lyrics bold, but I really love how it's a ska-punk album. They're fusing those genres so elegantly and they do it without the obvious instruments (brass and keys.) I have so much respect for this band and what they did for punk and really all alternative / indie / underground music. Super cool.
The Smiths
4/5
What a classic. Its sad, its moody, its longing but its also progressive, flowing and moving. I like how they experiment with different percussion, bass and even guitar elements. Morrissey's moody lyrics kind of keep you grounded and intrigued. I like that some songs feel more punk, where others feel more new wave and even folky here and there. This is a great record and one thats always fun to turn on every now and again.
Dolly Parton
4/5
What a fun record. Its self reflective, has great storytelling and excellent song writing. I like that she is homaging and leaning into the Appalachian style of singing and music, but also adding in elements of rockabilly and outlaw country. I love how honest and earnest her sound is. Dolly Parton is an American treasure.
Pulp
4/5
REPEAT. This was the first album I got on this project. Here was my review from last year:
“ So good and so fun. Moody and poppy at the same time. A good mix of both. Quintessential British indie post-punk. Common People is obviously the best track, with Pencil Skirt being the one to def skip. “
Nirvana
5/5
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. I know every song by heart. No skips. I love how they kind of set out to make this hardcore album, but instead created a new genre. Its heavy, its overly distorted, but its surprisingly really melodic and sing songy. Even the heaviest songs.
I love how the lyrics are a good mix of obscure, self deprecating and self reflective. Despite having a song called "Smells Like Teen Spirit," it never feels "teeny boppy" or immature. It feels like something written about teenagers, but not necessarily for teenagers. But its something that teenagers can obviously get behind.
I was truly obsessed with this record as a teenager, and when I listen to it now, I still enjoy it. I love how the bass lines kind of roll in and out and drive the music forward. (something that was kind of lost in latter punk music.) I love how I sing along to most songs.
I really don't know what else to say other than, I'm just really grateful I've had this album in my life.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
4/5
What a varied and unique album! This feels like a wild mashup of Memphis blues + Tom Waits + The Ramones + Daft Punk + Jimi Hendrix. I don't even really know how to explain it. Its really eccentric and totally out there and all over the place. This is truly a "more is more" kind of album. Some songs blow your mind where other songs kind of annoy me, but that's not really a dig on the over all album. It just kind of feels like he's throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. I had a lot of fun with this one!
Paul Simon
5/5
Paul Simon is a genius. I think too much of his work is overshadowed by Simon & Garfunkel. I love how he just explores sounds, genres and songwriting with this record. Its kind of the opposite of yesterday's album. It's so subtle, but it's spot on. He's playing with reggae, blues, folk, country, rock & roll. I think it's far more interesting than really any of his previous work.
I think this is the perfect solo album after being in a successful band. Sometimes artists go solo and put out records that are kind of showing off. Like "look what I can do without you." This album never feels over the top or even overly self involved. He has a solid band behind him, but you can really feel the vision of this record and what he was going for. It really just feels like he wanted to explore genres and sounds more and his previous band had him in a box.
Black Sabbath
4/5
What a cool record. I really like how they take electric blues and just dial it up to 11. Its dark, its heavy, but it's all rooted in blues, which is really fun. The drums really take it up a notch too, really cool, loud and complex. The fuzzy sounding distortion also makes for a really cool and unique sound. Or at least one that has been copied and pasted over and over again for the last 50 years.
Beyond "the metal," there's a lot of varied sounds. Some songs have movements, waves and sections that kind of take you on a journey. While there's also ballads, and boogies along the way. This was fun.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
What a treat. One of the reasons why I've always gravitated towards punk, folk and hip hop is that the commonality is speaking truth. This whole album is totally in line with Bob Dylan's Master's of War, or Public Enemy's Fight the Power, or Bad Brain's Arrested in DC or NOFX's Franco UnAmerican. It's that political and social commentary on things that are someone's experience and truth. This whole record feels like it could have come out today and it would still be relevant. Its records like this that give me hope in times of social and political uncertainty. This shit has been going on for a long time, and people have been lamenting about it for a long time. And when I compare the bullshit that's going on in 2025 vs the bullshit in 1992 or the bullshit of 1943, I realize its the same fight, the adversaries, the same victims and the same struggle. BUT I can listen to the commentary of those times and compare to now and see the progress line. It's an uphill battle, its never going to stop, but its going to be okay. And artists like this will always give me hope.
The Replacements
4/5
If blues and folk are the genesis of all modern music, then punk is the genesis of all post-modern music. The Replacements are a classic example of punk / hardcore band that evolved and grew out of their genre sound and took it to a new level. This is kind of the birth of pop punk, alt rock, indie rock. Its all the DNA of punk, but they took their own spin to it and turned it into something else. There's slow songs, rockabilly songs, hardcore songs. I love its smart, sincere but also silly and funny. You can draw a direct line from The Replacements to blink-182 but also The Strokes and then take that today with bands like Petey or MJ Lenderman. Its all there. I'm always so impressed with acts like The Replacements that were brave enough to take this music to a different level. This album rocks.
Mercury Rev
4/5
Super cool record! I was really surprised by this one. As a 2000s indie kid, this was definitely up my alley. I love all psych elements, and emo-ish vocals and lyrics. Cool instruments and weird effects. This was awesome, I was very surprised by this.
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
Something about this band has never really clicked with me. It feels like I should like them, but maybe it’s that every good moment with them is never really matched or beaten? I’ll like a song or a part of a song, but then the rest of the song sounds like all of the other songs. And they’re not bad songs, and honestly, there are some artists that have tons of songs that sound the same and I still like them. However, these guys just don’t do it for me. I can’t ignore that there is good guitar work and even some clever lyrics and songwriting, but overall it just kind of feels like 2000s music that wasn’t great then and hasn’t really cracked the decade.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
What a smart album. I love how the just made a really awesome blues record. Its fresh, its bluesy, its folky, its dancy and country. But it's really just a good rock and roll record. Mick goes there with his vocal range, the percussion is really good and the blues guitar is exceptional.
The Saints
3/5
This was cool! Pretty standard punk album, but it felt like their instrumentation was a bit tighter. I like the horns and some of the other instruments. This felt like The Clash or The Sex Pistols but just a bit tighter and better produced. It also kind of felt adjacent to maybe the early more punk Motorhead stuff.
3/5
This is a pretty wild record. Really groovy bass lines and weird synths. Its feels like a very poppy Morrissey. Very theatrical, camp and kind of cheesy, but overall kind of fun and interesting.
The Specials
4/5
The Specials have kind of always been an important band to me. They're the pioneers of 2nd Wave Ska, and kind of wrote the source code for the genre. I love the mix of genres: ska, rockabilly, dancehall, reggae all under the umbrella of punk music. Its fun, its political, its silly, its serious. Its kind of everything you want from a songwriting and storytelling perspective. I love the keys, brass and really fun bass lines. The keys are especially interesting. Every now and again, I throw on The Specials and just groove. Its such good music.
R.E.M.
4/5
Cool album. It felt very relevant for today. Reagan era politics definitely influenced this progressive power album. Lyrics were great, music was powerful. Had a blast with this one.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Brilliant. One of my favorite bands. If I were to describe this album I would say: cameleon. You never really know if you should be swaying or headbanging. And it's not between songs, it's literally individual songs. I think every song on this record is good, but every 2 - 3 songs is incredible.
Some of personal favs:
-Cherub Rock
-Today
-Disarm
-Soma
-Mayonaise
-Silverfuck
-Spaceboy
-Luna
Which then leaves like 3 or 4 songs that are okay. Probably could have taken them off the record and kept this to a tight 45.
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Big Star
4/5
This was a fun album. Soft songs, rock songs, love songs. Its really sentimental, but also also has really cool sounds and movements. I've been kind of bored by Big Star in the past, but this one kind of did it for me.
Funkadelic
5/5
This record is incredible. So layered and so varied. Its funk, its rock, its psych, its soul, its jazz. Its sooooo heavy throughout. Each song just takes you on little trip. Sometimes you're deep in the dirt, and other times you're up in the stratosphere. The guitar solos are insane, the bass lines are so groovy. The production is wild too. So many weird sounds in the background, they pan the speakers in and out. Its super trippy and interesting to listen to. There's like cow noises, and car crashes and farting noises?!?! Its so wild.
This genre is so hard to nail too. Its either cheesy and a total flop, or its the best shit you've ever heard. This is a good example of nailing it. In fact, this the source code that everyone should fall back on. This is incredible.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Another incredible record. I discovered this album after listening to a podcast with Jim James, and while this album really doesn't sound anything like My Morning Jacket, its become one of my favorite soul albums of the era. It's kind of over the top with sex, cheating, and affairs. And the music is kind of always going to a new level of high, but its so damn good. Walk on By is sad and longing in the lyrics, but epic and movement in the music. Its trippy and psychy but also heavy and almost like a movie soundtrack. Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic is a psych rock masterpiece. Its all over the place, its dancy, its groovy, its jazzy. One Woman is sad and sexy, and probably the least over the top on the album, which is a good break before you get into the epic of When I Get to Phoenix, which is another masterpiece. And the fact that half of the album are covers that he just turned into his own thing?? So rad.
This record really has everything you would want. Its one of my absolute favorites, and I'm so happy I found it. I revisit this one often.
Pixies
5/5
What a fantastic record. This has all of the right ingredients for a perfect punk record. Its fast, weird, silly, sexy, uncomfortable, loud, noisy, but it all flows together so perfectly. Its funny how much I value diverse sounds, and instruments blending together (the 2 soul / funk albums this week are good examples), but when I listen to this it, it really isn't that much different. Its just a wide variety of sounds, interesting guitar riffs, with overly distorted guitar, groovy bass lines and very snappy drumming. Then the vocals and lyrics are all over the place. Sometimes its ska, other times is Bowie-esque psych, then its hardcore and punk. It all just meshes to well and also so aggressively. This isn't easy listening, but its engaged listening. Which is why its so fantastic and so fun to get into. Pixies will always be an important band to me, and I had a blast going through this multiple times today.
The Band
5/5
I love this record and I love this band. Its kind of the source code of country / folk rock. I love all of country and blues elements. The yodelling singing, the bluesy guitars and funky bass lines. Its no wonder their music has been covered by hundreds of artists.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
This was sick! The synths??! Guitars?? Weird lyrics and movements. an only 38 minutes??! What a fun time. I loved this.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Man, I liked this The Jesus and Mary Chain album so much more than the last one. I really love the elements of noise rock, shoegaze and punk but all kind of under the guise of 50s rockabilly. Its really cool and interesting. Songs like "Just Like Honey" are so smooth and feel like 50s rock but heavier and noisier. Its surprising how clean this record sounds for how fuzzy it really is. My only complaint is that the trick kind of wears off about 2/3s of the way through. This could have been 3 songs short. I really enjoyed this!
Solange
4/5
This was super cool! I really love R&B that is less pop based and more rooted in true R&B, soul, jazz, and psych with the foundation of good songwriting. This record nailed it with all of those elements. Killer songwriting, good beats and bass lines. It has really cool blues and jazz elements throughout, and then really picks up with neo-soul and modern elements. I really loved this.
Elliott Smith
5/5
I've always been an Elliott Smith fan. It's his sad, longing vocals with his unique guitar picking that draws me in. On the surface it feels very straightforward, where you think it might just be singer songwriter gibberish but its far more pop centric than it comes across. Especially when its produced like this record, it's like The Beatles but really sad and moody. Is this indie-anti-folk-pop? Whatever it is, I'm a fan. Its somewhat vibey, but also deep and longing. Its fun and also sad. Its a good mix of sounds and emotions.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I love this record so much, it is one of my all time favorites. This represents my favorite of Bob Dylan, post folk, pre-rock. Its a super unique record, where he really leans into his psychedelic and obscure lyrics but is also experimenting with blues, country and folk rock. I love the guitar riffs, the harmonicas, organs and keys. The kazoo in Highway 61 revisited is one of my favorite intros to any song ever.
I first heard this record as a freshman in college, I'd be been into Bob Dylan fan for a long time, but I had mainly listened to various greatest hit records. It wasn't until I sat down and listened to this whole thing back to back that I really started understand the genius of Bob Dylan. Its such a unique record for the time, and still stands a really unique record. I don't really know anything that quite sounds like this. The sing talk style of vocals, its simultaneously raw and also very heavily produced. It very much feels like a live album throughout as well, which I believe it was mainly recorded that way.
To me, this is classic Dylan. Where he justs wants to see where he can take his music and do what he wants with it. Its unapologetic, its raw, its brilliant, its fun, its weird. I love every single song on this record. I'm glad I've had this in my life for as long as I have.
"as lady and I look out tonight, from Desolation Row"
Portishead
3/5
I wish I liked this more, but it’s only good for 3 or 4 songs and then I get fatigued. I can respect it for the influence on British music, but I just think Portishead is not for me.
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
I had never listened to Anohni before. This record was brilliant. It was all the feels. While I'll never understand what it's like to be transgender, I feel like this record really captured all the feels. It was sad, lonely, joyous, hopeful, doomy. It was kind of the full spectrum of what someone could experience. Musically, I really liked the ballads and rock songs. This was really cool and enjoyable.
The La's
3/5
This was fun. I kind of feel like this is only on the list because of "There She Goes" and "Doledrome," but I still enjoyed it. The alt rock, blues inspired sound was fun and easy to groove to.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
This was cool! A lot of songs that have been covered, abridged and homaged over the years. I love the rock and roll, blues influence here. Its also very poppy, which is really fun for 1965.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Classic. I love how simple and bold this record is. Joni's voice is pure magic. Her playful vocal melodies and guitar playing hit every range you could feel. I tend to gravitate to blues and longing songs, and this definitely has that. However, I think what sets Joni apart is her overwhelmingly hopeful and optimistic songwriting and playing. She sings, plays, and writes with a level of optimism and wonder that I think most songwriters can tap in to.
I can listen to every song on this record and be content. Though, I would be remiss to not mention "California" , "River" , and "A Case of You" as some of the greatest acoustic songs of the century. Pure gold.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I had a hard time with this one. I really want to love it, because "Into My Arms" is an incredible song, but then I kind of get fatigued with it. In a weird way, it reminds me a lot of Nick Drake where there is one banger on each record and then song after is good but never quite takes you to the same place.
I really loved the songwriting. Its smart, witty and creative. The piano is so freaking good. I love how somber and moody it is, but I don't know if it needed to be an hour long.
Minor Threat
5/5
In every art form or genre there is an artists that defines the culture. In rock climbing, this was Royal Robbins or Yvon Chouinard. In Jazz, its Miles Davis. In punk, its Ian MacKaye. And while Ian did that again and again with many bands, it all started with Minor Threat.
I can totally empathize with someone who listens to this one time and absolutely hates it. When I first heard this record in 9th Grade, I couldn't understand why it didn't sound like blink-182 or even the more raw sounding Rancid. Its brash, heavy, aggressive in ways that most bands at the time weren't. Even the hardcore bands that I grew up with had high production values and effects behind their vocals to make the screams more palpable.
This record is so raw, but I think its absolute perfection. Its the turning point of punk music. It's about something. It's social, politics, ethics, morals. They were truly trying to say something and define something in this music, and they did it in a way that most artists at the time couldn't.
This is an essential album for anyone that enjoys punk in its various forms.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
I love this record. I started listening to C,S & N in High School when I really started exploring folk music. I didn't initially love it, because the harmonies and pop nature of it was so different from the raw Bob Dylan style of folk that drew me in. As I've gotten older and spent more time with this, I've really come to understand the genius here. Its a really cool combination of blues, folk and pop rock. Not every song lands, but the ones that do slap. And there are far more bangers than not. This is one that I often come back to.
Moby
3/5
I can’t ever think about Moby, without thinking about Charles. Charles gave this album to me in 11th grade. At the time, this just totally felt like Charles music. It’s kind of weird, but kind of cool. It’s easy to listen to but also not pop. Cool drum beats and samples.
This does feel like music that the world forgot and just kind of moved on. EDM became something entirely different. I really the vocal melodies and blues elements of this record though. It’s unique!
Bob Dylan
5/5
This is my second favorite Bob Dylan records and honestly just one of my favorite albums of all time. To me this is kind of the apex of what Dylan is good at. Great song writing, with folk, blues and rock composition. I think it's a perfect revisit of what he became known for in the 60s, but when he finally comes back to this record it's a new Bob Dylan. A better, more refined and mature Bob Dylan.
I like almost every song on this record, but its the book ends that stand out the most. Tangled Up in Blue is brilliant and Simple Twist of Fate is such a perfect follow up.
In the same fashion, Shelter from the Storm is one of my all time favorite songs. Its brilliant. Its perfect storytelling, but the follow up of Buckets of Rain is the really cherry on top.
Deee-Lite
2/5
This isn't really my cup of tea, but it is interesting and cool. This kind of late 80s / early 90s dance music was definitely important for the evolution of EDM and dance music of today. Honestly though, this shit just kind of annoys me.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
This was fun euro dance pop! Not something I gravitate towards, but definitely enjoyable. I like how a lot of it was minor key or kind of intense and progressing. This was fun!
Pearl Jam
5/5
This freaking album. One of my all time favorites. I got this one in 8th Grade and was obsessed with it. Its super unique. The vocals, the lyrics, the really heavy drums, overly loud bass and then just insane guitar work. Its so well produced and mixed for 1991.
I know Nirvana is often credited as "grunge" but it really feels more like hardcore and punk to me. This, however, feels like true grunge. This is its own thing entirely. The heavy minor melodies and low vocals. It has elements of soul and blues, but also I'm hearing Black Sabbath and Black Flag at the same time.
I love every song on this record. Alive, Jeremy, Black, Even Flow, Release, Why Go and Once are all my favs. Though, Alive and Black are the obvious winners of the record.
This record also just has so much energy. Its almost relentless in what its putting out. I love it. So grateful for this one.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
This is a great record! I’ve honestly never really listened to this. It’s a really solid blues album. Maybe not my favorite Zeppelin album, but the bangers are bangers. I had never heard Gallows and it kind of blew my mind.
T. Rex
4/5
This was sweet! It feels like a real "rock" album. It has some blues influence, r&B, and psych elements. You can really hear the influence that T. Rex had on Bowie in a lot of songs too. This is just pleasant, I enjoyed every song.
Stereo MC's
3/5
This was fun. Real groovy and flowy. Definitely feels like the 90s. You'd have cool raps and then groovy beats and interesting samples. Probably not something I'd return to, but I enjoyed it!
Elis Regina
2/5
These ones are always hard for me. Does she have a great voice? Yes. Did it sound groovy and jazzy? Absolutely. Did I have any idea what was going on and therefore lacked context to entirely enjoy it? Yes.
Screaming Trees
3/5
This was really cool alt rock / grunge. I loved the classic rock and psych elements. I loved this kind of music as a teenager. Punk but rock but grunge but guitar solos!
It's the kind of music that almost every song gets me stoked, but every 3 is a banger and then there are few that a skippable. The problem with grunge is that by the mid 90s, we had heard every trick and every which way it'd be sliced. But the early stuff is where the gold is.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
This album freakin rocks. Such great power pop. I seriously enjoyed every song.
Steely Dan
3/5
This was fun. Cool fusions of sounds. Jazz, psych, soul, rock. I enjoyed this!
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
This was fantastic. I love the swampy bluesy nature of a lot of songs, but also of the elements of doo wap and rockabilly. This really feels like a perfect take and continuation of 2 prominent American styles from the late 50s / early 60s: rock and roll and blues.
I enjoy almost every song and then love every other song. So many bangers.
Tito Puente
4/5
I did not think I was going to like this, but having a hectic morning at work, this was kind of perfect. I loved it. So flowy and fun. Very dancey and vibrant. I had a blast with this one.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Brilliant. It seems like every Rolling Stones album is "the best Rolling Stones album" but I think really, it's just the sweet spot between 67 - 76 that probably is.
This album has everything you want. Blues, country, rock and roll. Its rowdy, its soulful. It's just so nice to have on and live inside of.
I think what The Rolling Stones do best is just create an incredible musical environment. Its a vibe, its a feeling, its a continuous song that changes with each track. Its so easy to just flow with this music and boogie.
Yes
5/5
Wow. What a record. To me, this album is really defined by the book ends. Roundabout is incredible. Such a classic. The whole journey of that song. Its like a prog jazz rock opera and I'm all here for it. The keys are the winner in this song.
Every song after is good, interesting, obscure and enjoyable. Its easy to groove and flow with it, but I also get somewhat lost or distracted. But then Heart of Sunrise pulls you back in, making this album feel more like 4.5 then a 4. I'm all in, I'm jamming, I'm having fun.
But then.... America. And holy shit this cover is insane. Mind blowing. I had this on all of my downstairs speakers and was just shredding with this cover. And it just gets better the longer it goes. Its perfect. So that bumps this album to a 5 for me.
Nina Simone
5/5
What an incredible record. The songwriting alone is spectacular. It's true, its honest, its soulful, its dark, its lovely. Its kind of everything you would want from an artist. Nina's voice is perfect. Its super unique, its stems from that old crooner jazz style, but its kind of doing its own thing. The music is also varied, where its a bit of jazz, a bit of salsa, a bit of soul. This was a really beautiful album, that I had never listened to (outside of Lilac Wine). This is a perfect addition to the list and the kind of album that gets me stoked on this project.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
This was cool. Kind of fun dark low-fi sounding pop. I definitely recognized a few songs, which was fun. I also just kind of got bored with it. Definitely chill and easy to groove with.
Massive Attack
2/5
Why are we so unlucky that we had to suffer through another Massive Attack album? This music is so damn boring. Sure, it has interesting elements, but it mostly just feels like the same few tracks every 3 songs.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Wouldn't exactly describe this as my cup of tea, but I did find it interesting and unique. Very spacey and drawn out. I like how its a slow burns and builds and then crashes. Kind of weird nerdy sounds. This feels more organic than some of the other early electronic albums.
The War On Drugs
4/5
I love this record. This is very much a record from my early adulthood. An important one for the elder millennial. I love the progressive nature of the songs, it kind of has that Bruce Springsteen anthem / stadium element to it while also being really spacey and kind of psych. I've always felt like this is an artists that I can just kind of vibe with. At its low it can be kind of "vibey" and nice to have in the background, at its best it can blow your mind and get you amped for no reason. Red Eyes is a perfect example of that. So considering those 2 ranges, I think this is a really effective album and well deserving of its spot on the list.
Björk
3/5
I've tried since like 8th grade to enjoy Björk. Its not that I don't think she good or influential or important as an artist. But I really just have a hard time getting into her music. Some sounds remind me of Nico and others of Régine Chassagne from Arcade Fire and then others are totally dance pop.
I can see how she's important for a lot of avant garde indie, but I think its really just not my cup of tea.
Ray Price
4/5
This is a pretty awesome record. What stands out to me is the fusion of genres. Its jazz crooning from the 40s and 50s, but played by a Texan with a guitar and a backing pedal slide. Its elements of early country and western music but carrying on the tradition that was laid before it. I also really love the songwriting. Sad songs about sinning at night. You can really hear the influence this had on Willie Nelson in particular, but also with other early country and rock and roll artists.
Metallica
3/5
I'm certain that I'm missing something here, but its so hard for me to get into Metallica. I used to really like ...And Justice For All, but I don't even know if I would anymore. A lot of the composition here is pretty cool. Big drums, cool guitar solos. James Hetfield's voice kind of sounds like a meme to me though, and that's probably because its been parodied so many times. And the chugging thrash guitars also sound kind of like a meme to me. So its hard for me to totally get into this.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
So good. So groovy. I love the soul and gospel elements mixed with incredible psych and rock elements. The guitars solos, the fuzzy pedals, the wahs, the bass lines. Its so damn good. And they're such a tight band too. This stuff is all played with precision. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Beastie Boys
4/5
This is truly experimental music. Is it rough and hard to listen to? Yes. Is it as good as License to Ill? Not even close. But I love the big swings with this one. I love that the Beastie Boys just made a chaotic record because they freaking wanted too. The samples, genre fusing, raps, yelling, swearing. Its all so good.
Blur
3/5
Why more Blur?? Why more British indie?? This one is fine. I liked the acoustic songs. I think its mostly on the list because of Song 2, which frankly, isn't a good song. Its not a song that anyone chooses to listen to. Its just a song that shows up in commercials and instagram clips and sports games. And if I'm being honest, I didn't hate this. Its fine. I didn't mind listened to it. I could probably even grow to really enjoy this, but mostly its kind of meh to me.
Digital Underground
4/5
What a wild record. This is kind of amazing sexy hip hop. It’s absolutely too much and way over the top, but in its own way that kind of makes it great? A concept album about a futuristic pill that satisfies sexual desire?!? It’s ambitious, it’s silly, it’s groovy, it’s a mess. But it’s also kind of perfect.
You can also hear how so much of this record influences contemporary rap and hip hop. Nikki Minaj or Megan Thee Stallion don’t happen without this record.
Julian Cope
4/5
This was brilliant. Really cool post punk melodies, but he also takes really obscure and unique liberties throughout. Sometimes it’s akin to Talking Heads while other times Jane’s Addiction.
I just listened to the original track listings and not the remixes, but it was still 3 songs too long.
PJ Harvey
4/5
This was cool! I liked the post punk / grunge take with this one. A lot of darkness with this one. I did get a bit fatigued. Could have been 3 songs shorter. Highway 61 Revisited cover was fantastic.
Beatles
4/5
I always feel conflicted with the early Beatles. Are they good? Yes. Are they unique? Well... I don't totally know. These are all covers (or mostly covers) and while they're good, the music sounds very similar to most music of the time. I think what they do really well is swapping vocals between John and Paul. They also really do blues and rock n roll really well. They're clearly talented, and this is certainly good. It just doesn't hold a flame to Sgt. Peppers or Abbey Road or White album or Revolver or Rubber Soul. Which then makes me feel like this record is only on the list, because the other ones are so prolific. Which to me, doesn't warrant a spot on the list.
Michael Jackson
4/5
This was fun! It feels so much like the 80s that my first hunch is that it doesn’t age well, but then I realize so much popular music right now is directly taken from this record. The most recent Bon Iver album sounds like this in songs, the Goose album has these elements. It’s really cool and unique.
Portishead
2/5
This was one of my first albums I listened to on this project and I very much disliked it.
Metallica
4/5
I'm certainly not a metal head, but to me this feels like the best Metallica album. At least its the one that I would listen to in Middle School. What stood out to me then, and what stands out to me now are 2 things: first, the political commentary around war and the justice. And then second, the use of spanish guitar riffs that then lead into heavier and bigger riffs. This album goes really hard and the drums and guitar work are really solid. There is also a hint of the blues with a lot of the guitar solos, which feels really fun.
One is my favorite Metallica song.
Goldfrapp
4/5
This was not what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed this! Very 2000s indie, which will always have a soft spot in my heart. It sounds like a lot of music that I listened to in high school. I enjoyed the building and flowing songs on this album, I didn't love the electronic pop songs as much. But overall I really liked this!
Tracy Chapman
5/5
This is pure gold. The song writing, the composition, the lyrics, the vocals. I love all of it. Some songs are hard to listen to, others are dreamy and vibrant. More than anything, Tracy paints a picture with her music. It’s easy to get lost in her storytelling and totally sucked in. It’s like reading a novel.
Rush
4/5
Rush is not really a band that I go back and listen to very often, but when I do, I'm always stoked. They're so fun. The music is so vibrant and epic. It reminds me of the prog stuff that Queen was trying, but it's just executing 1000 times better. Its kind of that perfect mix of fun and serious. I love all of the movements of 2112 Overture, I love how everything else flows out of it. Its kind of perfect in its own way. I'm certain that I will not revisit this album anytime soon, but I know if I did, I would be stoked. Its always a good time.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Its hard to listen to any Dylan album without considering the context of Bob when he wrote and recorded it. Every album or song is really a moment in time in his life and artistry. When I listened to all of his discography start to finish a few years ago, Time Out of Mind was an oasis in a desert of not so many great albums.
What I love about this album is that its more introspective than a lot of Bob's earlier stuff. It feels a lot more personal and thoughtful, which is fun, considering how good of storyteller he is. I also really love the blues and soul elements of the songs.
Not my favorite Dylan record, but one that is always fun to revisit.
The Style Council
3/5
I was all in on this record until the midway point, then I pretty much hated it after that. The piano heavy jazz fusion with the kind of yacht pop was really doing it for me, but then it went full shit pop and really bad rap and I stopped liking it.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
This was rad! Very post punk almost proto-grunge? I like the aggressive heavy dullness of it. It has all of the elements of things that interest me about hardcore music: raw energy, heavy production, minor keys and low notes. I've never heard this, but I enjoyed it!
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Man, I really want to like Nick Cave more than I do. I totally get the cult following and I'm sure that some people just love him. Its the creative vocals and songwriting. The kind of fusion post punk with every other genre. Its really really good. And honestly, some of these songs get me stoked. Others though.. just make me want to skip. I feel like I'm listening to someone's passion project and just not getting it. I needed like 5 less songs.
I do love sense of irony with the music and vocals. I love the songwriting. I like the singalongs and "hey hos." Its objectively good, maybe I'm just not ready for it and giving it the time it deserves.
Soundgarden
4/5
What a sick band. I think what struck me most about this album is how 70s metal inspired it is. It really sounds like Sabbath in a lot of songs. It has that heavy blues tone with the guitars and bass, which feels really unique for a lot of the music coming out of the grunge era. I guess Pearl Jam does that a bit but in the realm of grunge, this feels more inspired by sludge metal and blues than punk or hardcore. The blues elements are really strong, especially in the vocals. Its kind of crazy full circle, because of a lot of country artists (and even bad country artists) kind of do this grungy bluesy vocal style. Its like blues > rock > grunge > country > blues.
Black Hole sun will always be one of my favorites!
Spiritualized
5/5
This was so sick. Its not often that I get an artist or album that I've never listened to that blows me away. This one definitely did. It reminds me of Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem and a splash of Flaming Lips.
I loved all of the different instruments behind the kind of shoegaze, classical instruments, harmonicas and psych guitars. They really go there with everything, which made it really fun. This is a band I want to spend more time with!
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
This was super fun. Definitely not what I expected. I really loved all of the different instruments. It reminded me of a ska album, but without the reggae. I really loved the heavy soul, blues and pop influences. The brass, the keys, the flowy bass lines were all really cool. Also, the random slide guitar in one of the songs? It was really fun and easy to groove with.
Janis Joplin
5/5
Every time I listen to Janis Joplin I get sad. Her voice, her style, her band was all so good. She was gone too soon. I'm grateful for this record and her work with Big Brother, I just wish she was still with us making killer music. I think what's so good about her style is that its so close to delta blues. Its the natural progression from Muddy Waters, which is the progression from Robert Johnson. Its not that far removed, so she is able to harness that energy and spirit from early blues music and take it in her own direction. I would argue that most blues artists after Janis (and her contemporaries) were appropriating blues rock, they were taking what she and others had done and building on it (which is incredible in its own right!) But it's different.
The raw energy in this record. The songs of love, heartache, poverty. Every song cuts to the core, and every song is its own journey. This is a really unique record and one that I can listen to over and over again.
Kanye West
5/5
This album is a lot of things. Its ambitious, its experimental, its self referential in its lyrics, its raw, its also very buttoned up. More than anything, its a journey. The whole album flows and rides into the next song with different movements.
The first half is where it really packs a punch. It’s excellently produced, fun collaborators and kind of this "stadium rock" vibe while being hip hop. The second half is where it probably reaches its highest and lowest moments. I love the old artist mixed with the new, some of these songs are the best on the record. Though it does start to drag here, it also does this at the end. It could have ended with the Bob Iver song but then it kind of keeps going.
This album rocks. Ye in his prime made pretty killer records. I would probably give this a 4.5 because of the length, but.. I’ll round up.
Patti Smith
5/5
This is a super cool record. I love this take on punk music. Its very similar to The VU, but more raw and punk in nature. The avant garde elements are so cool and interesting. This feels like what would eventually become post-punk in the 80s but was right in the rise of punk in the early 70s.
Patti just rocks so hard this whole record. I love the storytelling with her voice and lyrics. I love how she just kind of throws her voice and almost yodels. I really love how there are 9 minute songs that don't really fatigue the listener, which barring Green Day's American Idiot, don't really happen in punk.
This is fantastic record and one that I listened to back to back 3 times today.
10cc
3/5
This is a silly record. Its fun and whimsical. They lyrics are goofy and silly, the music is pretty varied. I loved the tone on the guitar in the first song, but then it kind of moves on from that and explores genres and sounds. Kind of reminds me of Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa annoys me. This also kind of annoys me.
The Kinks
4/5
This is fun. I don't want to say that The Kinks are underrated, because they're widely accepted as one of the greatest English rock bands of all time. But they feel underrated when compared to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. And that's probably because they're so unique in their sound. They don't have that big blues sounds of their contemporaries or the loudness of the latter English bands. Honestly, they're very similar to The Beatles, so maybe that's where the market correction is?
This record is whimsical and weird. It very much fits in with a lot of what The Beatles became known for. I love the high energy tracks at the beginning and then the weird skiffle inspired songs near the end. Its easy to groove too. Some of the lyrics land, others don't. I really enjoyed this!
Jamiroquai
3/5
I really wanted to live this more than I did. I really love psych funk jazz music, and this has all of those elements, but it just didn't go all the way for me. At some points, I was loving it, but I think overall it felt a bit watered down when compared to War or Parliament or Funkadelic. Maybe it was an element of pop to it that wasn't quite landing for me? I don't know, they're clearly really talented musicians. I loved the didgeridoo in the songs, that was sweet.
Beck
5/5
Beck is wild. I love how he bends and flows through genres. Its blues, its rock, its indie, its rap. I love how produced and how raw it sounds at the same time. Its probably because he really emphasizes on bass and drums, and then the guitars, keys and other instruments kind of come through as auxiliaries. So the whole album is kind of this open raw vehicle that is moving forward and kind of playing with different sounds as it goes. When I try and visualize it, it feels like Mad Max and every song is another stop on the Fury Road.
This is a really cool record. I had a lot of fun with this one. Admittedly, it's not something I gravitate towards often. This is a record that I've had for a long time, I would listen to it in high school but it was never on my short list of albums I'd toss on. I don't really know. Something about the overall sound that I need it in small doses.
The first half of this record is really unique with all of the samples, while the second half is far more blues oriented. He really nails the blues. Its super cool and raw.
George Harrison
5/5
I love this record so much. In fact, I like this record more than many albums by The Beatles. There's so much to this record. Its thoughtful and spiritual. The songwriting is self-reflective but also somewhat humorous and also really sweet and also really deep. It reminds me of Cat Stevens.
I love the folk / country elements. This is something that The Beatles never really landed the plane on, but something that George could. I think George was also the most psychedelic of The Beatles, and he isn't shy about that with this album. There are so many weird little guitar solos that kind of take your mind places.
The remastered version of this album is weird, because they mix demos and version2's of songs in the track listing, making it an hour longer than original. 2 hour albums typically drive me crazy, but this record is such a mood, I don't even mind.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
I liked this one more than the other one. This kind of has a more ska punk sound to it, which makes it more interesting and fun. I liked how they really leaned into the brass section, and had a little more angsty and punk inspired vocals. I had a lot of fun with this one today!
Magazine
4/5
One of the things I love about punk music is that almost immediately after the first wave of punk, these guys all took the ethos of the genre and starting pushing the movement in different progressive directions. Its happened time and time again from Ian McKay (Minor Threat > Fugazi) to Tom Delonge (blink-182 > Angels and Airwaves). This record feels like one of the early transition points that took the genre new places.
I'm not sure that every song totally works or is the best, but I love how it takes that punchy aggressive punk sound and adds in different instruments and movements in each song. It has a lot of energy behind it.
The Adverts
3/5
This was fun! Cool, punchy and unmistakably punk rock. I don't want to say its mundane, because I know its foundational to a lot of later punk music. But it is fairly simple and more of an overall vibe. Its hard to distinguish one song from the next. And I think that's kind of the point? I'm a sucker for all things punk though, and this was a good time.
Paul Simon
5/5
This record is incredible, and every reason is so obvious. The mix of genres, the songwriting. But not just the songwriting, but the composition. It almost feels like a broadway musical in that each song is its own universe or moment in the show that connects to the overall album. And while that's how every album should be, this one really lands the plane.
I think the genre experimentation is also why this album ages so well. Sure, some songs do sound a bit "80s," but it feels 80s in the way that Bon Iver does. Its taking the good things about synths and mixing into a really cool and unique sound.
The collaborations with South African musicians is so freakin cool and probably why this has such a unique sound, but I love that he just went South Africa to record and album with local musicians. It feels less *appropriation* and more *collaboration.* Its really beautiful.
This is an album that I've listened to a handful of times, and I'm always excited to revisit. Its kind of the reason why I like this 1001 project. These are the albums that really stand out to me.
The Who
4/5
This was fun! Probably not my favorite album by The Who, as it feels very foundational for what is to come. Its still really cool. When you contrast this with The Beatles, who were releasing music at the same time, this feels harsher and more raw. Certainly more blues inspired. In fact, they're just straight up ripping off Chicago Blues staples with I Am A Man and The Ox. But I'm totally okay with it, because thats how this music got big and eventually connected with people.
This was fun!
The Mars Volta
5/5
This is really good. This sounds like my middle school years. I remember a lot of people really loving this band, but I honestly never really got super into them. Not sure why. Maybe I just never was able to get it on my iPod?
I think what really works with this band and this album is that it kind of builds on this post punk / post hardcore scene that was going on at the time, but then really starts to add elements of a prog and psych with it. Its really closer to System of a Down or Linkin Park than to like a blink-182 or Taking Back Sunday, but somehow this band got looped into this Warped Tour era post punk world.
Perhaps its the high pitch emotional vocals or the kind of punk influenced heavy sections? Its really really good though. I love the story telling, the effects, the guitar solos and interesting synths waves. The whole record really builds and crashes and builds again.
I think a good double feature would be to pair this with Coheed and Cambria. This is where post hardcore / emo / metalcore was really at its best and most ambitious.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
I don’t know when I first heard Bob Marley, but I can confidently say there’s never been a Bob Marley song I didn’t like. I love the song writing, the music, the soul behind everything. I love how reggae took all of the modern music of the time (rock, blues, soul, r&b) and turned the tempos and played it all with upbeats. He leans so heavily into soul and blues, but with his own spiritual take on all of it.
The songwriting is perfect. He hits the whole spectrum. Songs of revolution and social issues. Songs of love and peace. It’s really well rounded and deep.
I listened to this record 4 times today. I enjoyed it every time.
Haircut 100
3/5
Looking at this record, I thought this was going to be another Dexy Midnight Runner. And.. its not too far off. It's certainly fixed in 80s British Indie pop. However, there are really cool and fun musical elements to this. I really love the jazz and funk elements. Really engaging percussion on some songs. The music is lighthearted and campy. I did not mind having this on while I cooked breakfast this morning. This was a welcomed surprise!
Van Halen
4/5
This is silly music. It’s also pop music. I don’t know why this is considered metal? It’s definitely fun and I get why people loved it when it came out. It’s kind of what you want from the other side of pop. It’s rough and rebellious. It’s sexy(ish?) and it’s just light and easy. You don’t have to think about it. The music is really simple, but there is no denying how good Eddie Van Halen is on the the guitar. That’s what sets this whole thing apart from being forgotten.
Harry Nilsson
4/5
This was really cool. I really like this 1970s pop rock sound. It really feels like The Beatles. Its emotional, it's silly, its serious. I like the songs about love and connection, while also the less serious songs like Gotta Get Up or Coconut. I like how he is playing with sounds and genres and kind of just doing what he enjoys.
This was really cool!
Spacemen 3
4/5
This was sick. I loved the blended chords, minor sevenths, hushed vocals and progressive movements of this whole record. Very Radiohead like. Everything kind of builds and layers and crashes. Starts with very little and the progresses as the album flows.
This was a pleasant surprise today!
Tori Amos
2/5
This music is making me so depressed. And I just went mountain biking, so I shouldn’t be depressed.
The Beach Boys
5/5
This record is sweet. I love kind of psych "wet" sounding elements in the music. I also really like how they kind of switch up vocals and singing throughout. The lyrics are kind of cheesy, not all of them land, but others are really cool and timely. I like this version of The Beach Boys, where they care about social issues. Feels Flows is a high point, the feet song is a low point. Either way, this is really cool and fun. I wish more records sounding like this.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
This was sick. I like the improvisation of the piano. He kind of takes this into some really rad movements. It builds and crashes and goes on side quests. I loved it.
Carole King
4/5
What a legend. It's impossible to hate on Carole King. Her music, lyrics, playing style are all so sincere. I love the blues, soul and folk influences here. She kind of takes it her own direction and carrys on a deep American tradition. I was thinking "who else plays music like this now??" And then I remembered Adele. Adele is 2020s Carole King. Which is great, because they both have such killer and unique styles.
Iggy Pop
4/5
This is a really album! It kind of grows on you as it goes. I was kind of expecting more classic punk, but the David Bowie part of this record is really what sets it apart. I almost feel like this is more of a Bowie record than an Iggy Pop record. It really feels proto-indie rock or post-punk. It feels very similar to a lot of the indie rock that I listened to as a teenager.
This is rad! Also, sounds kind of like Geese.
Maxwell
3/5
What I really like about neo soul is that its full of really cool musicality. Its really rich and full. It has some psych, funk, jazz, and r&b to it. Often when I hear the intro track, bridge or when they kind of jam it out, I get really into it. But... like a lot of genre music (disco, funk, 80s pop) it starts to sound like a specific time and doesn't age super well. Its hard to listen without it feeling kind of cheesy. Its a mix of the vocals and percussion. The percussion especially feels very 90s and its hard to move past that. Weird production in the 90s. Overall, I enjoyed this, but its not something I gravitate to very often. Also, 1 hour is too long!
Chicago
5/5
When I was in 6th or 7th grade, my Mom would listen to Chicago when I was in the car with her. She had one of the Greatest Hits, and it might not have been one of the main albums she listened to, but it was definitely in the rotation between ABBA, Queen and Journey. So naturally, I hated it. Maybe it was the horns? Maybe it was my mom saying "Jake, is this good guitar? These guys are really good." And me being "No Mom. Nothing you like is cool."
Anyway, here we are 20 years later and she dropped by my house this morning to pick up my daughter for a few hours today and she says "Is this Chicago? I LOVE Chicago." And honestly, I'm really confused. This doesn't seem like anything that she would like. It's pretty heavy. It has tons of crazy cool psych and experimental elements, and frankly, I really like this shit. So I'm confused.
The truth is, this is really cool music. It's so full. The percussion is so dialed, and unique and experimental. The bass is all over the place, he's walking up and down that thing. The guitars are incredible. And then to add jazz horns to it?? And pull it off?? This is sick.
Sometimes it feels like a pop song, other times its blues, then it jumps to a Miles Davis inspired 14 minute journeys. Then its free form guitar sounds?? Honestly, I just want to get stoned and listen to this shit. Even the more pop songs like Beginnings or I'm a Man have really cool movements and sections that take the song into weird directions.
I'm kind of blown away by this. I don't know what later Chicago is really like. I don't know if they mellowed out for the Greatest Hits or sold their souls for money. I really don't know. I obviously haven't spent a lot of time with this band, but this record on its own is incredible.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This was cool. It’s fun to hear early 60s Rolling Stones. The blues influence is so heavy. I love how all of these songs are original, because you can really hear where they land the plan and where it kind of isn’t totally working. It’s probably 3-5 songs too long. But when it works, it’s really great.
Joy Division
3/5
I really want to like this band more than I do. I do like this album more than the last. I can see what they're doing and going for. I love that its kind of pushing hardcore to new places. Disorder is a damn near perfect song and Interzone is also really cool. But.. it never quite lands the plane for me. A lot of the songs are really mundane and kind of raw in a way that doesn't quite scratch the itch.
Kings of Leon
4/5
I've heard Kings of Leon described as "the Southern version of The Stokes," which I think is fitting. This record kind of has those palm muted punchy guitar riffs and fuzzy vocals, but then it has that really charismatic / playful style of singing and playing that you hear in a lot of southern rock and country. Especially at a time when indie rock was at peak levels of pretentiousness, this kind of breaks down that barrier and is a little more approachable.
I like almost every song on this, but a lot of them kind of blend together and start to sound the same. I think this is one that you need to repeat listen to kind of break down those nuances. This was fun! I'm a sucker for all things 2000s indie.
Björk
3/5
From the I first heard Bjork as a junior in High School, I've never been able to get into a full album. Bjork kind of feels like Terrance Mallik film, where I have to be in the exact mood, watching it in theaters and probably never visiting it again.
The art rock, psych elements, electronic orchestration, sad vocals. Its all cool. I get it. I respect the artistry. I get why people like it. It's probably just not for me.
To sum it up, here is my most honest and fair review of this album: every song on this record sounds like the one song on every Arcade Fire album that you skip. She sounds like the worst part of one of my favorite bands.
Fleet Foxes
5/5
As a millenial, this is a really important album. One of the key albums of the folk indie world of the mid to late 2000s. This might be the sneaky best indie folk album of the time too. There's very little ego with this album, which is probably why its the sneaky best. There's no Mumford and his sons, or the 2 dudes from the Lumineers in suspenders or Conor Oberst yodel crying. (I love all of those artists, BTW). But this is very music and art first. Its always been that way, and its why its aged so well. They were just creating really cool unique music and not really investing in "who are the Fleet Foxes."
There's always been mysticism and mystery with the storytelling in this record. From the album cover art work all the way to Oliver James. You don't really know who or what is going on, but the music pulls you in. Its wraps around you and you kind of just live in it.
I love how Sun Rises starts the record as this kind of an appalachian folk song and then turns into this epic journey, which sets the presendent for the rest of the album. It goes right into White Winter Hymnal -another one of those "what the hell is this song about?" but then you kind of just want to listen to it on repeat because its so damn cool. And the vocals melodies are so perfect. This is easily one of the best songs of the 200s.
Ragged Wood through Your Protector feels like one long epic song ending with Meadowlarks. Its all just different movements and layers and themes, but still just pushing this mystic story forward.
Its takes off again with Blue Ridge Mountains before ending perfectly with Oliver James.
This is almost a perfect record. I love this take on folk and acoustic music. I love the world building, I love that you can jump into any song at any point of the album and just be in it until the end.
We're lucky to have been alive at the time that this record came out.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
There was no need for this. I do not understand why this is on the list. Its fine at best, its basic and sad at worst.
Redeeming qualities come halfway through with The Night I Heard Caruso Sing, the piano ballad with a cool sax solo and smart lyrics. This was the winner of the record.
Richard Thompson
5/5
This was a damn near perfect folk rock album. Its old, current, and timeless all at once. The instrumentation is unique, but never siloed to acoustic instruments. The songwriting and storytelling is superb: songs of love, desperation, heartache, social, political.
I first heard Richard Thompson when I was really into The Decemberists, because he is such an inspiration for that band. Though, admittedly, I couldn't really get past his voice. It felt like the goofier version of The Decemberists. Years went on, and as I've started to really explore bluegrass, I found that Richard Thompson is cited and covered a lot. So in recent years, I've listened to more of him and have grown to appreciate his songwriting magic.
This album was great! I had never listened to it. I love the back and forth between Richard and Linda. How they compliment each other and how this record just feels really round.
3/5
This was cool. A lot of psych, rock and blues going on here. The songs are fun and interesting. It doesn't quite draw me in like many other artists of the time, but I did enjoy it.
Mott The Hoople
4/5
This is really fun. Its kind of like blues inspired slacker stoner rock. It feels like what would eventually become indie rock. Really fun psych elements, eccentric lyrics and vocals. The whole album kind of feels like walking into a party where Mott the Hoople (who / whatever that means) is hosting. This really is an album where you can kind of just hang with the artists and live in their world. It almost feels like 1970s Bob Dylan where the music and vocals don't 100% lined up, but its kind of vibey and slackerish so it has this really cool endearing nature about it.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
First song, I was pretty over it. More British Indie Pop. Bahhhhh.
But.. it gets better as it goes on. It gets more interesting. Vocals and guitars get a little more obscure and experimental, but still kind of keep that classic indie rock sound. This was fine. Not something I really gravitate towards or listen to frequently, but it did get better as it went on.
Happy Mondays
3/5
This was fun and interesting. It’s definitely on the better side of British indie. Cool and obscure sounds, but also groovy and vibey. I like the psych side of it and also the kind of pop vocals and harmonies.
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
I really truly hated this record. It felt like a bad version of Less Than Jake. I wanted to like it more because of the horns and better than average guitar work, but by the end of bike ride I just wanted this shit off. It was really cheesy and I have no clue why its on this list.
TV On The Radio
5/5
Brilliant. I think that TV On The Radio is one of the most underrepresented bands of the 2000s indie rock era. I don't want to say under hyped or underrated, because the cult following of this band is strong. But I feel like they were overshadowed by Arcade Fire and The Killers.
This record freakin slaps. The progressive moving nature of the song, the electronics, the brass, the gonzo vocals and soul influences. It's so good. I like that its dancy, but its also chill. I like that its experimental, while also being palatable.
I'm glad they're kind of having a renaissance right now, they're long due for some extra credit.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This was rad. I like the experimental, avant garde and jazz influences here. It feels like Joni wanted to just do something else and make things more interesting. Which I thought she pulled it off. I don't want to say it was too long, but there were parts that it kind of lost my attention. Though, I think on repeated listens, you'd be able to pin down those nuances. This was great! Joni is a treasure.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Incredible. When I listen to this, I hear his influence everywhere. That fuzzy, bluesy, psychedelic guitar. I think what really stood out to me this time around is actually his voice and singing style. He's really kind of doing a blues / soul / almost funk kind of thing, where he's talking through the lyrics or adding little phrases here and there.
It really makes me wonder what would have Hendrix sounded like if he made it to the 80s? And how would that have changed the landscape for music? Would he have leaned heavier into funk and collaborated with artists like Sly Stone or George Clinton? Would he have collaborated more with The Grateful Dead or Eric Clapton or The Beatles?
His style is so nuanced and diverse but also expansive. I can hear it everywhere. I can hear Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Childish Gambino, Grateful Dead, Phish, Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Parliament, Prince all within this record. Its so so good. What a treasure.
New Order
3/5
This was cool and interesting, but definitely lacking. I do like the experimental and dance elements of the record. It mostly just makes me want to listen to The Cure or Talking Heads or one of their contemporaries.
However, upon second listening, I think I can kind of see through it a bit. It has fun harmonies and vibey, dreamy space elements. Its fun. I think this one probably gets better the more time you spend with it.
The Jam
4/5
The Jam was one of the first albums that I got when I started this project. At the time, I was really impressed (I didn't know how much brit-indie was in my future.) So I was kind of mixed when I saw this was the album today.
However, in a positive shift, I realized that I still like this band. This album is really cool! Its a little less punk than their earlier stuff, but I like that its kind of that early new wave or post punk. The vocals kind of remind me of The Smiths, but the music is overall a little more punchy and peppy.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
This was pretty cool. At first, I thought it was going to kind of be a run of the mill 90s alt-rock album. But this one really has some darkness do it. Its heavy where it needs to be and soft where it makes sense, but its really down in the muck. The lyrics, the minor keys, the vocals, the heavy bass riffs. The drums do sound very 90s (why couldn't they make drums sound good in the 90s?), but its overall really cool and kind of out there record.
I liked that it was very punk, but not really post punk or indie. Its definitely more in the alternative rock genre, but very punk influenced. I really enjoyed this!
Buck Owens
5/5
This is just fantastic. The Bakersfield sound is so electric. I love the hillybilly music mixed with blues mixed with what would become rock music. I guess this would be described as country music, and it certainly warrants that title. The twangy songs about heartbreak and adventure.
What strikes me the most though is the very obvious and mighty sound of the Telecaster. Its so visceral. And you can track that sound through so many of my favorite artists and records. That chicken pickin telecaster, mixed the pedal slide is really what sets this music apart. It adds an edge that no other contemporary really had, and then that sound got replicated and manipulated through dozens of genres and artists.
Deerhunter
4/5
This is peak Deerhunter. In the height of 2000s indie rock, Deerhunter was one of those bands that was always on the periphery of my music tastes. At best, their early records were ambitious, creative and obscure. At worst, they were ambient noise sludge for pretentious hipsters.
I really do think everything came together with this record. I listened to it a bit in 2010, but really dabbled more into in 2013. But even then.. it never totally scratched my itch, and admittedly, I'm still not sure that it does.
This record does have some incredible songs. Revival and Coronado are fantastic songs, and even the whimsical lazy ballads like Sailing have a place. I like the experimental elements, the peppy fast indie rock songs, the slow ones. There are parts of this record that do kind of bleed into themselves and kind of draw out. I get lost, but not in the a fun. More in a way that it just becomes noise. Still a really good album, and I had a blast giving it a few spins this morning.
D'Angelo
3/5
Its hard for me to really get into this, because it is so obviously sex music. I guess what's cool is how you hear that clear line between early blues, juke music, and how that became R&B. I just watched Sinners, so it was fun to kind of hear that progression with this record.
However... I'm probably not listening to this again anytime soon.
Eric Clapton
5/5
This record deserves a lot of listens. The blues and guitar work is so dialed. The songwriting is fun, and creates a place where you just kind of want to hang out in each song. Eric Clapton really just truly loves the blues and respect that he just made exactly what he wanted to hear.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
This is interesting. I think Elvis Costello is better enjoyed in small doses and mostly with his bangers. And I realize this is probably a bad take, people love him as an artist, but I can’t ever fully get into his full length albums.
I do appreciate the non traditional instruments in this one, and how he plays with unique sounds. Though, overall, it didn’t quite keep me wanting more.
Black Sabbath
5/5
What a rad piece of music. Is it as good as Black Sabbath Volume 2? No. Volume 3? Not even. But its still pretty incredible. Especially given that this came out in 1970. Its evil and sinister and full of dark mythology. They incorporate the blues with the whining guitars, and even really cool harmonicas. The bass lines are heavy and fuzzy. This is fantastic. We're lucky to have it.
Q-Tip
3/5
this was cool. It probably deserves more listens. I like the bass lines and overall grooves of this record. Admittedly, I was somewhat distracted when I was listening to it. But that's fairly normal for me and this didn't exactly pull me away from cooking or doing my morning routine.
Lightning Bolt
5/5
This is absolutely brilliant. The organized chaos. (or not organized?) IDK. This feels like a Jackson Pollack painting. Its wild and rough but beneath the surface is smooth and fluid. The static, the drums, the guitars, the vocals. This is super cool. Its certainly not nothing that I gravitate to often, but almost like jazz, its something that I can understand and let myself enjoy and get into.
Ministry
4/5
When my seminary teacher told me there is evil music on this earth doing the devil's work, he was referring to Ministry.
This band is sick. My history with them is mostly around the Tony Hawk games, as they would usually have a few songs show up on there. So that is how I was introduced, and they've always been one of those bands that I can never quite pin down. As a teenager, I was scared that my Mom would find me listening to them, so I kind of avoided them. (Especially considering how anti the war in Iraq they were).
But honestly, this album rips. Its deep. Its heavy. Its dirty. Its kind of everything I think of when I think "industrial metal." The punk and thrash influences are all over the place. The heavy bass and vibrant guitars. The deep deep deep drumming. And then obviously, the versatile nature of the lyrics. Its kind of all over the place. This is clearly a step away from grunge and punk, which is probably what makes it hard for people to get into. But then on the other hand, its exactly what makes people get into it. It feels very 90s, but it somehow ages really well.
The one knock I have is that you have to be in a very specific mood to jam out to this album, and when I'm feeling it, its great. But when I'm not, I just want it over. I think I was at a 5 on this album until I paused it for an hour, came back and wasn't feeling it anymore.
The Beta Band
4/5
This was cool. Its what I would have described as "chill indie" back when this came out. I like the kind of r&b elements to it. (notably sampled by Lupe Fiasco). The dream like vibes of this are really smooth and easy to groove to. I listened to this on a tram going up to the Aiguille du Midi this morning and it was kind of perfect for that sunrise solace. It does kind of start to get repetitive and one song from the next gets hard to distinguish, but overall, I enjoyed this!
The Louvin Brothers
4/5
This is cool. Maybe not my favorite country or bluegrass record, but I love the songwriting. It’s fun to hear old timey songs among the first record to ever really be released. Obviously, the record companies wanted to release something that would resonate with people so music about love, loss, heartbreak, friendship and disappointment works. Especially when these songs are all variations of old times classics.
All of that is why I enjoyed this record. However, I have to call out Knoxville Girl.. WTF is this song? I’m feeling all existential about the trajectory and evolution of modern music, and feeling moved that human emotion is the same throughout time. And then… there is this random song about murdering your fiancée?!?!? WTF?! Who is the audience for this song?? This is like horror country or psychobilly. Super weird to have this song on the record. Caught me off guard.
Dagmar Krause
3/5
Well there is most certainly an audience for this music. I'm not sure who it is, but some people really dig this stuff. Its weird, creative and avant-garde. Which.. is.. great? For Dagmar. Its really great for Dagmar. I'm glad she did this.. I guess. And now I know about it. And its basically broadway tunes, but not really.
Little Simz
5/5
This is brilliant. I love how simple the production on this is, she's doing so much by being fairly minimal. The lyrics are cool, relaxed but also poignant and visceral. I love the jazz influence behind the vocals and jazz drumming throughout. I really like hip hop that is easy to vibe with, its not that I dislike the heavier rap but I really love getting lost in the beats and vibes of an album like this. It reminds me of a less weird version of Noname, with cleaner production. I really loved this record.
Def Leppard
2/5
I think every generation of rock music has tried to defy and one up the last. This is no different with Def Leppard, except that Def Leppard is awful. I cannot stand this band. Every time I have tried to listen to this band / album, I just want it to be over. I don't know if its the over emphasis on blues guitar, but played super simplistically. Its like appropriation in the worst kind of way. Its like they want to play blues guitar, without ever listening to the blues. They heard a few songs by The Who and decided to try that but in a shitty way. I hate the way he sings, screechy and silly but somehow serious? And the lyrics are dumb.
I do not like this band. Part of me thought that I don't like them because all of the older men in my youth were huge Def Leppard fans, but I tried to listen to this objectively and I freakin hate it.
Alice In Chains
4/5
I said yesterday that every generation of rock takes the last generation and builds on it. This is the right takeaway from Hair Metal. Its like they took the trite blues playing and screechy vocals and made them way way way darker and heavier. It really feels more like Black Sabbath than Def Leppard but a continuation of both. And the Black Sabbath vibes were strong. The minor key riffs and the bends and slides are really visceral. It makes a really unique sound.
I do think this album is probably 3 or 4 songs too long. I guess thats what happened when CDs came out and we could start loading up albums with more songs? I had fun with this incredible grim album today.
Brian Eno
4/5
Do I respect the hell out of Brian Eno for inventing a genre I actively choose not to listen to? Yes. Do I get stuck listening to this music when its on, because its meditative? Also yes.
I mean, he's the GOAT for background music. Which is fascinating. This is so punk rock in that it is completely anti-rock. It is ego-less. Its purely made to invoke peaceful feelings and be played at an airport. And that in itself, is pretty damn cool.
However, I don't find myself seeking this out very often. I need to be in a very specific mood to choose this.
Goldie
3/5
This is vibey ear porn. One of those that I don't gravitate towards, but when its on, its easy to get sucked into it. Its trancelike and flowy. Easy to vibe to. The drum machine sounds like 90s, which is slightly annoying, but the cool bass lines and synths keep this going.
Mariah Carey
2/5
I feel like this the American version of Celine Dion. Beautiful voice. Cheesy songwriting. It was a hard listen.
Janet Jackson
3/5
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The social conscious lyrics and themes are super cool. It kind of elevates this pop record in a way that say, Mariah Carey, doesn’t.
Musically, it has some cool variety. Some rock songs, some pop and r&b songs. It’s probably about 4 songs too long and you kind of get sucked into the 80s dance trance for awhile, but when it does break through the noise, it’s pretty good!
Burning Spear
4/5
This is sick. I'm a huge fan of reggae and all that it represents. I love the social and historical lyrical elements to this. This definitely paved the way for artists like Bob Marley.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
He's the GOAT. Absolute legend. This record rips. Its kind of got all the things you want: good lyrics, fun beats, funk psychy guitar solos, good vibrations.
I love the lyrics, especially the Rasta and social themes. I also love how it switches to love, love making and spirituality halfway through. I love every song on this record, I've listened to it hundreds of times. This is one that I found as a teenager and have always enjoyed.
Adele
5/5
Adele's got it all. Incredible voice, charismatic persona, prolific songwriting and a great taste for music. She leans heavily into neo-soul, blues and r&b but keeps it to the moody core. Even when she's singing about happy things. She hits every emotion in her songwriting, so despite the moody blues being her core, this record doesn't feel like sad girl rock. Her pop songs absolutely slap, they're interesting and layered. She plays with genres without getting over her skis and straying too far from what she's good at. Every time we get an Adele album, I'm stoked, because they're all so good and easy to listen too. We are lucky to alive at the same time as Adele.
Guided By Voices
3/5
I think this is what ADHD sounds like in real time. Its all over the place, its Dinosaur Jr and then The Beatles and then Pink Floyd, but every song is only 60ish seconds so you never really get all the way into it. It reminds me of someone just flipping through channels on the radio but all of the channels are of a similar genre and taste.
The Beach Boys
4/5
All Beach Boys is good Beach Boys, but this one is probably lower ranked for me. Its early, they're young. They're wearing sweaters?
I think what stands out to me is how clear Wilson's composition comes out, even in silly pop rock songs. The songs kind of how this sleigh ride boogie vibe to them. It feels like a movie soundtrack.
Duke Ellington
5/5
Brilliant, bright, progressive, provocative. This is so damn good. I've been drawn to Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis in this project for their out there and psych fusion jazz styles, but this is just so clean bright.
In the movie American Hustle, there is a great scene with Jeep's Blues where Christian Bale says "who starts a song like that???" And it caught me off guard today, I didn't know that was the name of the song, but as soon as it started I thought "who starts a song like that???" Incredible.
The Blue Nile
3/5
British indie! Where its worst.. its boring, but where its best.. its The Killers. And The Killers rock. I get it. It was influential. blah blah blah. Probably won't return to this one.
Kanye West
5/5
Its hard to pinpoint the true apex of rap, because it seems like its been on apex mountain for the last 30 years. But this moment in rap is so good and so visceral. Just the fact that this record features: Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, COMMON, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris and Mos Def??? That's like getting The Highwaymen all together to make a couple songs.
I love the production on this one. I love the rhymes and lyrics. I love the way that Ye weaves the music and lyrics throughout the album. It all flows so well together in terms of themes and sound. This era of Kanye is so good. It kind of has a pop punk element to it, where its rough around the edges but still pretty easy to groove to.
Its such a shame that Ye went the way he did. He really did create some incredible records.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
A little bit of Wolf Alice, a little bit of Florence, a little bit of Frankie. This was cool! Minor key and dark. A little bit of punk. I enjoyed this!
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
this was fine. I got excited early on with some of the reggae inspired beats and bass lines. Her voice is cool and the lyrics are pretty awesome. However, 2000s R&B is hard for me. I think its the cheap sounding drum machine beats that get kind of exhausting.
Holger Czukay
5/5
Wow. What a rad record. I think often with Kraut Rock, I get kind of in a meditative rhythm that soon becomes annoying. But not this.. this is all over the place. Its so wonderfully weird in all of the best ways. Incredible keys, synths and organs. Really bumpin bass lines and groovy drums. Wild horns throughout. I love that the vocal tracks are in the back, like they're not front and center. Its just using the vocals as an element of the song, but its not the point of the song.
This was a really fun listen.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I know that Nick Cave is beloved. And I respect his epic moody sad style. But man, this is a tough listen. Like some songs are really cool and you can kind of get into the sadness of it all, but I get somewhat fatigued with this. I would have to be in a very specific mood and that's a mood that I'm not a lot of the time. I respect the hell out of him for recording this after his son's death. Its beautiful and painful, but its also a hard listen.
Dr. Octagon
5/5
Brilliant. I love the fusion of culture in music, and I love seeing what inspires artists. The concept album (almost prog?) nature of this record is so sick, but I love so much how it fuses comic book culture and lore into rap music and tells a really cool story.
The beats are cool and poignant. The lyrics and dark, twisted and funny. Its really an album that you can live in. Its a whole universe within a collection of songs.
I'd also be remiss to not mention the influence this record had on the GOAT > MF DOOM.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
I left a review on Friday!! I like this album a lot. I love how it can sound like grunge, psych, country-rock all at once. I love how Neil Young just continues to reinvent himself with each record and phase of life. He's the freakin GOAT.
Taylor Swift
5/5
Its really hard to separate the artist Taylor Swift, from the pop star. But I really respect the shift in direction and sound with this record (and its companion, folklore).
The songwriting is really solid, the musical composition is interesting, dark and moody. There is a level of monotony with each song, but I think that's intentional. I think she set out to make a post-COVID sad indie record, which is going to have an overall mood and vibe. And smartly, she does know when to switch up the tempo when it starts to getting a little too hush.
And honestly, it kind of just gets better as you listen. Again, its really hard to separate the artist of Taylor Swift from whatever she has become in recent years. And I'm not even saying she's *bad* or anything like that, I'm more saying that her persona is a bit distracting for me. I also understand that persona is everything to other people, so in some ways its a matter of taste.
This record is really cool though. I really think its rad she took this direction on 2 records and made something really unique for her style.
T. Rex
5/5
This is so rad. I love fabulous hazy stoner rock proto punk shoegazy glam of this record. Its kind of got everything you want. It has great glam songs that almost feel like Queen and then other moody psych songs that could be MJ Lenderman.
I say this a lot, but some of my records are the ones that you can live in and hang out with. It just kind of creates a perpetual space to vibe out.
I also just love how weird some of the songs get. He takes them in weird direction with vocals and guitar riffs. I will revisit this one again and often. I absolutely loved this one today.
Joan Baez
5/5
This is great. I love this era of American music. When all of Greenwich Village was pumping out roots music and reviving an old tradition. Its fun to hear these traditional songs recorded with decent quality. I really respect Joan standing out as a solo act during this era and especially as an outspoken civil rights activist and feminist.
Musically, I like her take on these songs. I love her I Know You Rider cover and Its All Over Now, Baby Blue. Silver Dagger and Wildwood Flower were also songs that stood out to me. More than anything, I like that this is an important link in a long standing American tradition of music. Its beautiful, its messy, its sincere, its genuine. Its one of those things that has shaped who we are as a people and the music that we consume.
The Offspring
5/5
What a fantastic record. I love the sound of this band. I love how this is so clearly a hardcore punk record, that somehow appealed to the masses. I don't know if its Dexter's vocals or the silliness behind the music and lyrics. It reminds me of Descendents but better produced and polished.
This record has been in my life for as long as I have been interested in music. I remember hearing Self Esteem for the first time and thinking it was somewhat perverted in the best kind of way. Come Out and Play is such a rad surf punk song. I also love how they threw in a ska punk song on here for good measure, it makes me wonder if they really wanted to add that or if their producer talked them into it. This was produced on Epitaph after all.
I love this record and I love this band. Long live The Offspring.
Steely Dan
4/5
This is great. Maybe not my favorite Steely Dan record, but I still really enjoyed it. I love the weirdness of the guitars and keys, the silliness of the lyrics. But then also the seriousness of some of the lyrics?
The vocals for Steely Dan are always kind of hard for me to get into. They kind of do this Crosby, Stills and Nash harmonizing thing that kind of takes me out of the groove behind it. The groove is what draws me in, the vocals are what cause me to pause.
Either way, I had a blast listening to this today.
Wilco
5/5
I love this record so much. Its really hard for me to be unbiased here, but its really one of my favorite indie records of the 2000s. And IMO, I think its one of the most important indie records of the 2000s. I don't know if its modern take on folk and the country, the weird reverb effects throughout, Jeff's apathetic sounding vocals or exceptional percussion, but I love this album. Its one of those albums, where the more you listen, the more realize. Its kind of psychedelic in that way, there is a lot going on between the lethargic droll of indie rock.
This album has been in my life for a long time. Jeff Tweedy is one of my favorite songwriters and Wilco is one of my favorite indie bands. They're brilliant on all fronts.
Marilyn Manson
4/5
This is kind of a wild record. Not really something that I gravitate to or revisit, but I actually kind of enjoyed the heaviness and griminess of it. You can definitely hear the Trent Reznor influence on this one, which I think are probably the best and strongest songs throughout. I had a good time with this one!
Missy Elliott
4/5
This record is rad. I love how it is just full on bonafied rap music. Its rough and raw, but killer beats. Fun lyrics and rhymes. There's a lot of attitude and feeling with this record. I love all of the guest contributors on this one as well. It also ages really well. It doesn't feel too 90s or too 2000s. Obviously, there are strong elements of that but production is really good. It slapped then, and its slaps now. I had a blast with this one today.
De La Soul
5/5
De La Soul!!!!!!!!!! This is masterpiece. The fusion of jazz, rap, and even salsa. The way the lyrics flow from what song to the next telling an overall story of the album. The fact, that its kind of about nothing and everything all at once? Its silly, its serious, its flowing and raw. The samples and collabs are also super dialed. This is one that I can just have on repeat all day. In fact, I did do that twice today because it had so much fun living in this record. This record is a treasure.
Scritti Politti
2/5
Not the vibe! I really don’t like Brit-pop. I’m tired of it. One redeeming quality was the reggae inspiration in some songs.
Jack White
4/5
This is great. Jack White is a treasure. At the time that this came out there was a lot of talk about "Jack White being the last great rock star." And.. while I don't think that is necessarily the case now (rock is alive and well), I think that makes perfect sense for the time. He's someone who has always remained dynamic and relevant. His style is so unique and interesting. His guitar playing is visceral. You can recognize Jack White anywhere. I was a huge White Stripes fan (and I still am) but I really feel like this solo career of Jack White is where he's best. He's had the most creative freedom to really push his sound further than The White Stripes ever could.
I love the blues, country, garage, soul elements of this record. His lyrics are fun and lighthearted, even when they're not heavy and deep. This record rocks.
ZZ Top
3/5
Ah man. This is record splits my brain. I immediately want to hate it, because of its cheesiness. But then I hear so many elements of music that I love.
Lyrically, its kind of a disaster. Its so silly, but I think its trying to being genuine, which then kind of makes it worse. If you can get past the cheese factor, the songs are pretty fun. It suddenly becomes less hard to hate and easier to enjoy, but its not really something that pulls me in.
What does stand out to me, is the heaviness behind the blues inspired guitar riffs. Its kind of a continuation of the southern rock tradition of artists like Allman Bros or Skynyrd but kind of appropriated to be heavier and louder. And that feels like something I should hate, but that sound is very much alive and well in bands like Widespread Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Drive By Truckers, Marcus King Band, Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson. So in a weird way, this kind of cheesy butt rock sound found its way into alt-country bluesy jam bands, where its kind of found a new life.
Killing Joke
5/5
My first exposure to Killing Joke was the poster in Ferris Bueller's room. Ferris Bueller is still to this day the coolest white high schooler in all movie history.
This is a band that I've always admired, but never really had the chance to dig into. Not a lot of kids my age had Killing Joke on their iTunes in the early 2000s, so it was always a band that I was aware of and interested in but never took the plunge.
I really enjoyed this record today. It has all of the heavy, dark, nihilistic style of their contemporaries (Joy Division and Fugazi come to mind). But its a little more interesting to me than Joy Division. The vocals are deep and poignant, and the bass is kind of turned up louder than it probably should be. But it all comes together in this really cool industrial sounding way. Also, the effects they use with synths and keys are really fun. They're never overbearing but they just add a really cool moving element to the record that's really fun. Certainly not 1 to 1, but the effects kind of remind of how Turnstile uses dream pop elements in a lot of songs.
I had a blast with this one today!
3/5
Not my fav, but I was suprised by this one. I really thought it was gonna be something else and then it kind of transformed. There's a lot of fusion in this record. Jazz, latin, even some hints of hip hop. Definitely not something I want to revisit, but this was cool.
David Holmes
2/5
Not a huge fan of this generation of DJs. I understand the impact for later generations of electronic music, but this never really lands with me. I do think there were some cool elements to each song. I really like the Radio 7 and the 007 mix up. I also really enjoyed Gritty Shaker. But.. most songs went on a bit long for me.
Gang Of Four
3/5
This was cool. I'm a sucker for all things punk. This was good. I like the kind of stripped down of each song. They also kind of play with different genres without ever going full send. I will say that every song sounds very similar. Its hard to distinguish one from the next. But I enjoyed this!
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
This record is incredible. I think what makes this so good is the fusion of African traditional music and American blues, because its all the same. Its hard to even call it a fusion its more like a full circle moment where traditional African roots music, which inspired American blues, merges with the blues and kind of makes this incredible full sound. I have no idea what the lyrics are about, but I can feel what they're saying. The percussion and drums keep this grounded, but its the mix of guitars that really takes this too a new level. Ali Farka Touré's style is so unique and its pairs so well with Ry Cooder. They're playing different styles, but those styles are thriving together. It really feels like 2 different languages that are having a conversation. And not to get cheesy, but that's kind of the magic of music. Which is why this record is so damn cool. I just wanted to keep this on all day and live in this record. Its incredible.
Suede
4/5
I had zero expectations going into this one. I just read "English post punk" and I got cringed, because so much of this damn project is British Indie. But damn, this thing slaps. It kind of feels like a David Bowie rip off, but I'm totally hear for it. Its like Bowie + The Stone Rose + Morrissey. But heavy on Bowie.
I like the flamboyant vocals that are also sad and dark. I like how the music keeps you on the edge, but also keeps you engaged and flowing throughout. I was jamming this on a plane while I worked and was having a blast with it.
The Associates
3/5
This was kind of cool. But I am so damn sick of these freaking bands showing up like every other week in this project. This one did have some kind of cool avant garde elements to it. I liked how weird they got with their vocals. I also like the synths (a little bit). I was picking up a very pop version of Depeche Mode.
Sabu
4/5
This whole thing is so wild. Its kind of all human emotions. Or maybe that's just because I was listening to it on a very hectic morning where I was solo parenting before work and had a 12 month old screaming at me while I made her breakfast and cleaned her up?
IDK, but the drums are next level on this thing. Its tribal and simple, but intense and complex. Its kind of full on. And as soon as you think you can't take the tribal drumming, it rewards you with a smooth brass melody. I love that they were recording this stuff in the late 50s. I love that they were documenting this style of music. Its pretty dang cool.
Either way
Iron Maiden
4/5
I love that you can listen to virtually any Iron Maiden song and know immediately that its Maiden. Even for an early album, their sound is so distinct. Its the high pitched dubbed guitars, its the operatic vocals, the drums are often kind of simple, but they're heavy and booming.
I think more than anything, this band thrives at creating a world within the album and within their music. I'm not really sure what every song is about, but I know I'm in it. It feels like a movie. Even the kind of silly songs on this record (Running Free or Charlotte the Harlot) still feel like they're part of the overall story and progression of the record. Even if that story is kind of cheesy or silly, it doesn't really matter. Its better enjoyed when you lean in.
I don't revisit Maiden often, but I'm always glad when I do. Today was no exception.
Dead Kennedys
5/5
IMO Dead Kennedy's is one the greatest American bands. I love the ironic and provocative nature of every song. I love how even though its simple punk (proto hardcore?) they play with genres and sounds in each song. I also love the give no fucks attitude of the lyrics and playing style.
In 7th Grade, I was introduced to Dead Kennedy's the same day that I was introduced to The Clash. And as a kid who didn't want to disappoint his mother, I listened to way more of The Clash than DK. Something about the name, the songs, the lyrics I knew would upset my mom. So I always had to listen to this under cover.
But when you look at the long lineage of punk, especially the culture, I would argue that DK has influenced the genre more than almost any band (including The Sex Pistols). They brought an element of levity to the genre and scene in a way that most bands hadn't quite tapped into yet. This record rocks. I can listen to it any time.
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
My first exposure to this record was The Book of Love, it would have had to have been during the series finale of Scrubs back in '09. I love that song. Its been covered and shows up in movies and shows all the time and kind of always pulls me in. Also, Papa Was a Rodeo is often covered and that song freakin rocks.
This record was cool! Really ambitious. Where its good, it freakin slays. Its bangers. Where its not as good, its pretty much "meh." I don't think there was anything that I didn't like on this album. It feels like every 3 or 4 songs would be a banger and then everything in between was just kind of fun to hang out with.
This album is also 3 hours long. I somehow listened to all of it.
Lou Reed
4/5
I've been a fan of Lou Reed and (especially) The Velvet Underground for a long time, but somehow, I've never listened to this Lou Reed record. On first listen, it wasn't really doing for me. However, the longer that I sat with and upon relisten it started making more sense.
Generally speaking, I don't think concept albums ever *really* work. There's elements that work for me, but they usually have issues. This record for sure has issues. Its kind of all over the place, but I like his earnestness in trying to make this.
I love Lou's kind of dead pan nature towards heavy things. I love how he's playing with lots of sounds and genres throughout this record, but kind of keeps evenkill the entire time. Classic. I feel like the 2000s NYC indie craze is all just a self-fulfilling prophecy of the coolness of Lou Reed. He's just so freakin cool. The guitar solos, the blues, the direct R&B rip offs, the fact that he then gets super weird and starts playing like Bowie. Its all so cool and keeps this record really interesting.
One of the coolest moments for me was Caroline Says 1 & 2 and how he directly homages Stephanie Says (VU song) in Caroline Says 2. Super cool. Does this count as the metaverse? Is that universe building? IDK. Lou Reed was one of the coolest motherfucker's to ever pick up a guitar and sing into a mic.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
There's quite a few 5 star albums, but there aren't a lot of perfect albums. This is a perfect album. LOL I had this downloaded to my phone already and could have wrote the review without listening to it today, but I love this album so much that I was stoked to give it another spin.
I don't even know where to start.. what makes it perfect? Its probably the mix of super smart and creative songwriting, a British take on the delta blues, dark rock (pre metal) elements in the production. I love that take Tolkien lore and sing it with the blues, I love that when they do it, it create a world within each song. I love that somehow this can feel American and also old English medieval at the same time. I can listen to this at any time and I'll pick up on something else. I love that despite cool songwriting, world building, etc, they somehow threw in a Chuck Berry cover (Rock and Roll) that just makes perfect sense on the record.
I was introduced to this record in probably 11th Grade? Its when I started playing the mandolin and someone told me about all of the cool mandolin tracks that Led played. (Battle of Evermore, Going to California.) I pretty hooked on it from that angle. I love Battle of Evermore because its straight out of Lord of the Rings. And then Going to California almost makes me cry. When Meg and I first started dating, I had just gone through a break up and Meg and I drove to California. So I always think about that when I listen to this song.
Rock and Roll is such a fun cover, I used to listen to that when I started a skate session. And I still do listen to it when I hit up the pump track in my neighborhood. Black Dog, Four Sticks and When the Levee Breaks all just melt my brain. How do they get the blues so heavy?? Its loud and quite and sad and happy. Its every feeling in the entire world in those songs and they're all so fun. I lump them together because they're similar, but they're also extremely unique and nuanced from each other.
Misty Mountain Hop -I listened to this a lot when I was backpacking through Iceland. All the Tolkien stuff just got me stoked to be in those mythical mountains. Stairway to Heaven?? Its a perfect song. Its one of the greatest songs ever written. Top 3 guitar solos of all time. Its perfect.
I know I'm fan girl-ing this record hard now, but its just so good. I love this one. We're lucky to have it.
Santana
4/5
This record is so rad. I love that in the late 60s and through the 70s everybody was just doing their own take on the blues. (I guess that's true of really all contemporary American music 🤔)
The obvious fusion of Latin, Jazz, Blues is what makes this so palpable. Carlos' guitar is so dialed and his style is so recognizable. The drumming is super good, kind of the sneaky second best thing on the album. Its really easy to get lost in this album, because there is just so much going on that you kind of just lean into one or 2 things and ride with it.
I had a blast with this one.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
This is 2003 Benson Boone. In fact, it feels like Benson Boone, if he listened to Radiohead and was just generally more sad.
That being said, I really loved the opening track. And it kind of picked up again for me about midway through. Most of this record was kind of meh for me, I don’t love tortured male centered anthemic pop. But at the exact same time, some of the sad tortured songs were pretty good. Maybe that’s why I despise indie pop, it tricks me. I go from hating 5 songs to suddenly feeling all the things in next.
Tasting Notes:
Elvis Costello, Andrew Bird, Radiohead, fun.
Morrissey
4/5
13 year olds shouldn't listen to Morrissey. I shouldn't have been listening to Morrissey at 13, but a friend shared this record with me and I put it on my iPod. (it was probably on every iPod I had after that, if I could find it). But I really never could get into it. I don't know if it was the way that it was explained to me: "Its like 80s indie" , "its like post punk" , "its like Depeche Mode mixed with Death Cab for Cutie." I don't know, man. I tried freakin hard to like Morrissey and probably only left it in my collection because of the allusion that listening to Morrissey makes one seem cultured and interesting.
But then I got older and I started to understand why people like Morrissey and that Morrissey is an important artist for indie and punk and post punk. I get it. And I have grown to enjoy his weird opera-esque cutesy voice.
This record is fun. I kind of think his lyrics are not the best. They're a little too obvious. But I also get that at the time, it was important to write songs about this. This was post 9/11, height of the War of Terror. America was falling out of favor on the world stage and records like this (amongst others) made a difference. (American Idiot, War on Errorism, Rock Against Bush, The Last Sucker, etc)
I had a good time with this today. It was a bit cathartic. Its fun to be able to come full circle with Morrissey. Respect the artistry, love certain songs (especially The Smiths) and also just respect that he is one weird dude who has written some weird ass songs. (all the lazy dykes?)
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
I think every dead has an affection for Not Fade Away. What strikes me in this one, is the simplicity of each song. Especially in Not Fade Away, where there is very little percussion and they're basically just ripping off Bo Diddley. You can kind of hear that African / blues style rhythm throughout, which is wild because that music had been around for a century or more but was finally being recorded and built upon. The elecric guitar is still new and novel, so the distortion levels are minimal. I'd like to say clean sound, but its not really that, but you can hear that kind of naked sound of the strat in each song.
This just fun and joyous. Its easy to enjoy and hard to hate.
Ice Cube
4/5
In the history of rap, this is an important one. I love hearing Cube post NWA, where he kind of takes the silliness of NWA and put its all into one record. Its still crass, heavy and explicit. But its also full of silliness and dark humor. I understand why this (and other) early gangsta rap scared parents and scared conservatives. Its visceral and dangerous, but its also meant to be somewhat comedic (darkly comedic). When you compare this Kendrick, its kind of an entirely different genre, where Kenny is serious, somber and emotional.
There's obviously parts of this record that don't age well, and cause me to shift a bit in my seat. But such is the nature of this style of music, and especially in 1990. Rap is purely American, its part of our cultural DNA and this is a crucial building block.
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
I feel like where British rap takes off is in the backing tracks and beats. This is 2003, but it sounds very modern for being 22 years old. A lot of trap inspired tracks. And then just a lot of weird samples as well. This was super fun! The rhymes are fast and crisp. The energy is really high and moving throughout. This record rocks.
Gene Clark
4/5
I’ve always been a fan of The Byrds. I love the folk rock / country rock of the 1970s. I think what makes this record so good is that he leans super hard into singer songwriter / folk and country elements. He kind of blends all of those styles with blues and psych guitars. I really love the final r&b track as well. I’ve said it before, the 1970s are maybe my favorite decade for modern music. There’s just so much fusion going on, but they’re still really connected to pre-60s roots music.
This record kind of feels like a softer more approachable Neil Young. I had a blast with this one today.
Incredible Bongo Band
5/5
Incredible record. This very much reminds me of Booker T. & the M.G.’s where so much modern music is based off of these songs. You hear so much of this in movie soundtracks or hip hop samples or even just in rock songs from the era and beyond. I was picking up some James Brown, Santana in the mix, Iron Butterfly (didn't realize this was a direct rip off at first) and most obviously The Sugarhill Gang.
The bongos are incredible, super fun to get transfixed in the beats and movement of it all. The psych guitar and rolling bass take you to space and also keep you on earth while you're brain just goes to town on those bongos. This was a blasty blasty. I feel like I need to do a specialized listen with headphones and herb.
Suicide
4/5
This is so rad. Its eery and uncomfortable, but so cool and creative. I love that Bruce Springsteen listened to this weird ass electronic record and then decided to make similar songs on Nebraska (his famously, acoustic album). This was fun. It feels like a horror movie. I've listened to this before, when I realized that Frankie Teardrop was the inspo for State Trooper, and I was intrigued but weirded out. Today I listened to this while riding a bike around San Francisco in the morning traffic. It was an experience!
The Waterboys
4/5
Brilliant. I think the red thread of my taste in music is a deep love of folk roots music. I had never heard this record and I was pretty blown away. I love the contemporary take on an age old tradition. It never feels over done or trite, but they take sounds of other similar acts (Van Morrison, The Beatles, Hank Williams) and blend it into this well crafted record. It feels very “late 80s” while also feeling old and classic.
I love music that takes me places and makes me feel things. Having spent a lot of time in Ireland and the British Isles, this record takes me back. I had a blast with this one.
Bad Brains
5/5
Legends. One of my favorites and objectively one of the best hardcore bands of all time. I love how they play with the hardcore sound. Very heavy, juggy bass lines with heavy guitar over it. They lean into classic bro yells and Oi! of hardcore / punk music, but then they also kind of do this post rock almost funk inspired vocals and psychy guitars. At times it almost feels like HR is tapping into Prince with his vocals and Dr. Know is leaning into thrash with his guitar solos.
Its undoubted how much this band inspired bands of the next decade. You can hear Pearl Jam and Nirvana in this sound, you can definitely hear Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction.
I've been a Bad Brains fan for a long time, and I never get sick of them. I probably listen to a few songs off this or the self titled every few months. This is the shit and its good.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
This is good shit. Its all very similar, but his voice rocks and is truly iconic. Its smooth and crisp and soft and hard all at the same time. The songs are good, easy to hang out with.
Laibach
4/5
What a trip. This thing was wild. It felt like German GWAR with Gogel Bodello featured. Then I realized that this is just OG Ramstein, which was cool. Honestly, I had a great time with this. Probably not revisiting any time soon, but its weird wild ride. I love the vocals and heaviness of this record. I also really enjoyed the electronic elements.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
As a child of the 90s, Red Hot Chili Peppers are GOATS. What's wild to me is that this very strange band just kind of just existed and everyone thought it was normal music. This music and this album are so weird and so varied. You can hear the Bad Brains punk influence, but they're really ramping the funk inspiration throughout. Flee is such a driving force in this band that none of it really works without him, his brain is able to comprehend and punk, rock, funk, r&b, and psych. Which is what makes this so cool.
But really everyone in this band is so dialed and so sharp. And it comes out so crisp in this entire record. I think what's impressive is that no one is ever really outshining the other. There are songs (mainly ballads: Californication, Porcelain, Otherside) that are all Anthony, then there songs where songs where John is just tapped into a different dimension and he's taking that guitar to new worlds (Get On Top, Parallel Universe). Chad is such a good drummer, he keeps things tight and keeps this thing grooving.
This record rocks. I like almost every song. If I had any critique, its that its about 2 songs too long. I think thats just a symptom of the CD era. All 90s albums are 2 - 3 too long. This one is no different. After "I like Dirt" you have a few forgettable tracks. If I was being picky, I would give this a 4.5. But there's no doubt how impactful this record is. I love it, and I love this band, so round up to a 5!
4/5
What a great record. I remember vividly when this record came out. I watched the video of Knights of Cydonia on Fuse TV when it was released and it blew my mind. Neo-country surf rock space anthem??? Hell yeah. Sign me up for that shit. I love how that song just comes in hard with that Dick Dale inspired guitar riffs and then just builds from there. That song rocks.
Starlight is perfect indie pop song. Its got all the feels. I love the politics and comentary of this record throughout (Take A Bow, Soldier's Poem, Exo-Politics, Assassin). Post 9/11 War of Terrorism era made this feel extra edgy and taboo. I loved Map of Problematique as a teenager, I used to listen that on repeat. (Not really sure why? I just really liked it.) My hot take is that Super Massive Blackhole does not fit the rest of the album is actually the low point for me. It is a cool indie pop song, but it kind of annoys me.
Speaking of being annoyed.. like 4 of these songs were on X96 on repeat for the entirety of the 2000s. Which kind of degraded the record for me. Its also about 2 songs too long as well. And.. its a little over zealous. I love the kind of Bowie inspo spaceiness of this record, but I don't feel like they're always landing the plan. It kind of feel like the movie 500 Days of Summer in that way. Still great. Still a sick album. Cool band.
The Prodigy
3/5
Its so hard for me to get into band. It just very much feels like a specific part of the nineties. I feel like I'm just watching The Matrix: Reloaded the entire time this on. But it is really cool. Its kind of the beginning of what is now EDM. Which admittedly, I don't know a ton about. My only real knock is that the drums sound very 90s drum machine.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Man, Leonard Cohen is one of the strangest songwriters of the mid 60s Greenwhich folk revival. His songwriting is incredible. He's a poet. And yeah, a lot of it is sad and dark, but also really pure and human. Love and joy and heartbreak and heart ache. Its kind of everything.
Its also mundane, its hard to tell one song from the next. His vocals are dull and droning. But his songwriting makes for great covers. I love a Leonard Cohen cover usually more than the original.
Notable songs: Suzanne, So Long Marianne, Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye.
The Libertines
3/5
This feels like a conglomerate of all British rock ever. It’s The Cure, Morrissey, The Clash, The Kinks and The Beatles all in one. Which makes this fun. There's definitely a few songs that got me stoked, but mostly it was just kind of whatever. Enjoyable, but not really sure why its on this list.
Elton John
4/5
This record rocks. Its long as shit, but almost every song is fun to hang out with. Its really good pop rock. I wonder how I would feel about this album if it came out today vs. 1973? Or how I would feel about it if I was around in 1973. Would I hate it? Would it feel like Benson Boone?
I think not.. because he's way more willing to mesh genres and get weird than most contemporary pop artists. I think pop artists today have learned a formula from big data to deliver what users think they need. I don't see Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran putting "Jamaica Jerk Off" on a record today. Its too weird and users wouldn't like it.
But he does a great job of mixing pop, blues, soul and rock with really good songwriting. I like how so much of is piano based, with other instruments throughout (brass, organ, blues guitar, etc.) This is an excellent record.
Queen
4/5
I stand by my hot take that the best Queen record is their Greatest Hits. BUT.. if it weren't the Greatest Hit, it would obviously be A Night At The Opera. Besides the obvious bangers on this one, its fun how they kind of tease Bohemian Rhapsody throughout. It kind of gives it a bit more context than just Wayne's World. Which does make it fun. I got this album in probably 11th Grade, and my favorite song on it is still '39. That song is out of control. Space inspired country??? Wild. Also, The Prophet's Song is so sick. Its fun to hear Queen in the context of them trying to be a Glam Prog Band. Its not really what they're good at. I love the ambition, but they were never going to be David Bowie. But its fun to give context to the undeniable bangers of the rest of their catalogue.
Raekwon
3/5
this is pretty sick. I love this era of hip hop where everything feels very punk and very new. The beats are cool and flowing. The lyrics keep you grounded and tell great stories. I wouldn't say my mind was blown, but I enjoyed this!
The Cure
3/5
The Cure has always felt like 80s British My Chemical Romance to me. Its great. Its dark, its sexy, its desperate, its lonely. Its like OG emo. I can definitely jam with this record, but admittedly, its not my favorite by The Cure. I do tend to gravitate towards more of their pop rock stuff. My caught my attention with this one was the percussion. This does feel like a "foundational" album for The Cure. Not quite to full tilt, but really cool. All the elements are there. I'm also kind of picking up some Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and Depeche Mode in this record. Its a lot darker than some of their later work.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
I tend to not vibe with this era of digital music (FBS, Moby, Prodigy. I think it is objectively cool shit. And I can hang with it for like 15 minutes, but then I'm pretty much over it. Santa Cruz was a jam. I really like that song.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Is this the 25th Elvis Costello record we've gotten for this project?? The reviewers really love this guy. And its for good reason. He's kind of got that sad boy proto indie rock energy that draws you in. I liked almost every song on this record. Fun to vibe with, fun to rock out with. Kind of sad, kind of cute. I Want You is a masterpiece, I love how its kind of this rock opera homaging The Beatles. Brilliant. Battered Old Bird was probably my favorite on the record. It like that kind of country western story telling, but in this indie rock fashion.
Barry Adamson
2/5
I don’t know why this is on the list. I’m actually annoyed about this one and I pretty much am positive about every album. Was it good? Did it have things I could appreciate? Sure. Yes. Whatever.
“It’s like a movie soundtrack for a movie that doesn’t exist” Okay.. then WTF don’t we just do a soundtrack for a movie that DOES exist. A few options:
-Jurassic Park
-Interstellar
-Shaft
-The Graduate
-Black Panther
- The Magical Mystery Tour
-Purple Rain
-Superfly (I actually think this was on the list. LOL)
And sure, some of those soundtrack have other artists. So fine, just focus on the ones that singular. The Graduate?!?! Just do that. That soundtrack rocks.
Ozomatli
3/5
This caught me off-guard and I really enjoyed it. Most of the latin music on this project has been hard for me to get into, but I was really able to connect to the hybrid nature of this one. It really does sound like Los Angeles. I like the Santana inspired guitar with the hip hop beats and rap. As well as kind of nu-metal vocals. This was really cool.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
MBV!! So rad. I'm always excited when we get an MBV album. Do all of the songs kind of blend into one? Yes. Is kind of a confusing haze of chill shoegaze confusion? Absolutely. And its why its good. I can have this on all day and just vibe out. Its kind of the epitome of Autumn music. Its perfect. Give me a warm latte and a sweater. I'm gonna feel happy and sad at the same time.
Fishbone
4/5
I was super into ska and ska punk as a teenager. Its really formative music for me, so I obviously had a blast with this record. Fishbone was always on the periphery of the ska punk that I was really into, but I always felt like they were better musicians and had more depth than most of the contemporaries. I think the fusion of the genres is what they excel at. This is really such a "LA band." It feels like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Descendents but with really ramped up to be a true ska act. I also think that the Bad Brains influence is undeniable. They were really pulling from HR and Dr. Know with their sound.
What I like most of this record is kind of how maximalist it is. Some songs are super heavy, where others are kind of "cheesy" classic ska. They don't hold back either way. They also really lean heavy into funk, pop and metal in a way that really on RHCPs have ever been able to pull off. This record was fun!
Rush
5/5
This is all time. Its a classic. Every song is good. Obviously, Tom Sawyer and YYZ are the strongest. They blow my mind every time. I was really into Limelight this time around. That song is really cool and powerful.
I don't really gravitate to Rush very often. Though I've listened to this record many time, its still just not really my jam. However, its undeniable how freaking good and tight this record is. Its perfect. The drums are incredible, the guitar is transformative, the bass is all over the place. It just rocks. They landed the plane.
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Wu-Tang is forever!
I really like this record. I've listened to it many times. What always stands out to me is the attitude and aggression behind a lot of songs. Its super punk rock in that way. Its heavy, its brash, its also quite crass. Its certainly not for everyone. I think Wu-Tang is one where the sum of all parts is actually greater than the whole, I tend to like the subsequent records by Ghostface or RZA more than this record. However, this is kind of the source code for what came next and I respect that.
Cypress Hill
3/5
I've never really been a Cypress Hill fan. I think I've always kind of grouped them with ICP, Slightly Stoopid and 311. Which, none of those bands are inherently bad. They all have songs and albums that work, but they've just never really scratched the itch for me.
This album is pretty cool though. Its verrrrry California / West Coast. Which I wasn't expecting. (though that's really obvious now). Cool beats, definitely more on the chill side of hip hop, which I tend to appreciate. Its kind of silly and maybe cheesy at points, but other parts are really dialed and visceral. The beats and production kind of have a trippy / psych element to it, which is really fun. I like the stoner vibes of this. This was cool!
The Byrds
3/5
This wasn't my favorite album by The Byrds. I do like it, and I especially like how they were creating and pushing psychedelic music in 1966. This album definitely has those cool psych elements that really take off at the end of the decade and into the 70s. I love the Wild Mountain Thyme cover, (one of my favorite Scottish traditional folk songs) and the Hey Joe cover is also really cool. Overall, it didn't really take off for me though. I enjoyed it, but there's other cooler records by The Byrds.
Aerosmith
3/5
I think this is why blues and blues rock is kind of dead. (though it is kind of making an underground comeback?). To me, it feels like Kurt Cobain heard this record and decided to do the exact opposite. And then the blues were dead for 30 years. Thanks Kurt. Thanks Steven Tyler.
Honestly though.. I don't hate this. Its fabulously cheesy, but I think that's kind of the point. And for what it is, it works. A few songs did really stand out to me: Janie's Got a Gun, Dulcimer Stomp, and What it Takes were all pretty fun. I do like the blues influence, but this is definitely on the wrong side of appropriation. The thing is, is that it doesn't feel like they're ripping off BB King, its more like they're ripping off The Rolling Stones and making it fabulous. The 80s were weird.
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
This was cool. I liked it first go around, then kind of got bored on relisten. It was definitely not was I had expected. I really like the raw nature of this. Recording totally live, which is really cool. I also really like the covers. I had a blast with this record, but I’m also a sucker for alt country.
Serge Gainsbourg
2/5
Umm..................... So. Well. Not really sure to say. The music? Pretty cool. I like the bluesy psychy sounds of this record. Actually, really cool. It reminds me Curtis Maymield and Jeff Buckley and maybe even some Janis Joplin. But in French!
I don't like the subject matter. After reading what the concept album was about, I felt pretty weird about it. Its very.. eh.. ancient greek? We could go with that, but in modern times that translates to "Epstein Island." So naturally, you can understand my aphrehension on knowing how to rate this thing.
Boards of Canada
3/5
I've never really been able to get into this band. And the thing is, I kind of get it. Like I get why this band is beloved. I'm just not the audience. I need like sick headphones and 1000 lines of spreadsheet to program while listening to this. Its so flowy and interesting. But.. it kind of just sounds like background music when you don't care about it that much.
Mudhoney
4/5
This was great. I love this shit so much. Its undeniable the influence this band had on Nirvana. There's one of 2 songs that Nirvana straight ripped off or at least homaged.
This kind of heavy, dirty, punk, grunge is so fun. I love the rhythms, the distortion, the heavy drums and wild vocals. This rocks.
The Byrds
4/5
The is The Byrds album that I admire most. The love songs, the sentimental songs, the psych and boogie songs. Its all so good. Its a perfect stepping stone of what rock would and could be come.
I really love the Dylan cover among other old folk classics. (We'll Meet Again, The Bells of Rhymey). This album rocks. In some way, it feels like The Byrds could have been The Beatles. They were definitely punching at that weight. What a cool band.
FKA twigs
3/5
Pretty cool pop music! Definitely more interesting than a lot of contemporary pop.
Rod Stewart
5/5
This album rocks. The blues, the rock, the folk and country elements. Is Rod Stewart underrated or just overshadowed? I listened to this 3 times in a row and loved every song.
I remember thinking that Rod Stewart was lame like Barry Manilow when I was a kid. My mom loves Barry Manilow and she told me that Rod Stewart was a "hard rocker and not like Barry Manilow." And.. I wouldn't call him a "hard rocker" but he freakin rips the blues. He's homaging so many folk and blues songs, but putting his own spin on it and doing it with perfection.
Kings of Leon
4/5
I got this album almost exactly 2 years ago! Here is my review:
"Super fun! Definitely good ol' indie rock with a Southern influence. I liked the energy and song writing. Definitely want to revisit more of Kings of Leon."
I can say that in the last 2 years, I have listened to this band more and gained a greater appreciation. Kings of Leon rocks. This album feels so much like The Strokes. I think what I like the most is that it feels like New York indie, but its very Southern influenced. I'm picking up The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, even The Velvet Underground. But it's unique in its own sound. This band has aged really well.
Neil Young
4/5
I enjoy all Neil Young. I love that he is consistently reinventing himself, but never straying from his sound or roots. This one really feels like a good mix of everything that he was doing in the 70s. Psych, rock, folk, country. Its all got that NY edge to it that keeps things interesting.
Barry Adamson
3/5
out of all of the 90s DJ music, this is probably the most interesting. I had a good time grooving with this one! It was weird and interesting. Lots of cool movements and jazz focussed grooves. I'm certain I'll never revisit, but I think I get why this is beloved. Its also very horny.
The Beach Boys
5/5
I don't know even know what to say about this album. Its a masterpiece. I probably revisit this a few times a year. I've listened to it dozens of times.
I love how "wet" it sounds. It just kind of has this weird wet sound to the entire record. Maybe its the percussion or the keys? Its so hard for me to narrow in on what it is. Probably the only other artist that can pull it off is The Shins. They kind of that sound in a lot of songs. Actually.. maybe it's not wet, maybe it's dreamy? IDK, now everything I'm writing sounds gross.
Either way, it has this iconic sound throughout. Its immediately recognizable. I know exactly where I'm at whenever I hear one of these songs. I love the pop songs, the love songs, I love how a lot of the song writing comes out of desperation. Sloop John B is a masterpiece. One of the greatest songs of the 20th Century.
This album is a treasure.
Fever Ray
5/5
This was sick! I was caught off guard by this one. The atmospheric of it was super cool and really drew me in. I don't really gravitate to electronic music, but this really had me vibing. It kind of feels like a perfect horror film, its not too scary or jumpy, just kind of eerie but intriguing. You want to go deeper. Some songs remind me of Sylvan Esso, kind of poppy, while others have almost a Radiohead element to them. What I really like about this is that its kind of post 20th Century timeless. Like this could have come out in 2001 or 2021 and it would still be good. I couldn't pin the year or era of this. The percussion, the production, the synths are all so freakin cool on this one.
Logan helped me realize something about this album. Its Bjork, if I could handle Bjork. It's what I wish Bjork was like. Its what I always think Bjork is going to be like before I'm disappointed and / or bored.
Queen Latifah
4/5
This is rad. Queen Latifah is a gem. I think its safe to say that female rappers are often understated in popular music and culture. Which is a shame, because her rhymes and beats are just as visceral as any of her contemporaries. Songs about justice, race, social issues, feminism. This is kind of everything you want out of a rap album. And sure, late 80s / early 90s rap can sometimes sound a bit cheesy, but this could go toe to toe with Biggie and Tupac. Certainly better than Diddy.
I had a blast with this!
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Indie Brit Pop! I'm tired of this shit. I never like this band when they were popular and now I'm kind of whatever about them. I think the vocals kind of bug me.
Funkadelic
5/5
This is obviously gold, because everything that George Clinton does is gold. Even when he's not putting in his best work, he's still better than most. This record was rad. I liked how it trended a little more R&B than Funk, but what really tied it together was the guitar. The guitar solos are almost too much, but they happen so much that it just kind of takes you space every time. Who says that a funk band can't play rock??
Wild Beasts
3/5
This feels very 2009. It feels like something that someone had on their iTunes and was really really jazzed about. Then I’d get it on my iPod and be jazzed about it, and then give it to other people because this is “really good,” but in reality I probably only listen to it a few times or when I’m hanging out with girls and want to seem cultured.
It’s fine. Kinda cool, kinda boring.
Air
3/5
this was fine. Cool movie soundtrack. I feel weird that I’ve never seen this movie.
Love
3/5
Kind of cool, kind of weird. In some ways it reminded me of Modest Mouse. I liked how the vocals and music would just kind of go full send and get really weird. Then other songs kind of went back to a somewhat predictable pattern.
Not my favorite, but I definitely enjoyed this!
Stan Getz
4/5
This was fun. Very easy to get lost in the weeds with this one. Its nice and soothing, easy to have on in the background. I love the saxaphone throughout, but even the vocals kind of grounded me. This was cool.
Steely Dan
4/5
I got this one almost exactly 2 years ago. Here is my review:
“ I had it in my head that I didn't like Steely Dan, but this album slaps! Super creative, unique, and honestly fun to listen to. Love the genre bending of blues, rock and jazz. “
The Rolling Stones
5/5
This album is incredible. True classic. This band, love them or hate, are iconic and made some of the greatest tunes in the 20th Century. They truly embodied the rock and roll lifestyle and took that the every level of their music. This album is probably apex mountain for the band and for that overall ethos. Though.. I will say, its hard to write this review when Mick Jaggers bulge is just staring me in the face.
The blues, the rock, all of it. Its all so dialed on this record. A few my favs:
-Wild Horses: I could listen to this song at any moment of any day. This is a perfect road trip song.
-Can't You Hear Me Knockin: this one is so good and its super popular, but what you don't hear on the radio or movie soundtracks is the 3 minute psych jam that kind of ends the song. So cool and way more interesting that the first part of the song.
-I Got the Blues: what a great blues ballad! Its kind of trite, kind of obvious, but mostly perfect.
-Dead Flowers: one of my favorite songs by The Rolling Stones. It always reminds me of the Big Lebowski
-Moonlight Mile: I sing this one to Goldie to get her to sleep. Its perfect.
George Jones
5/5
George Jones!! What a legend. What a sad boy. The OG Country Music sad boy? Is this just 1970s Zach Bryan? A shot of whiskey wrapped in existential sadness? I think so. What a record.
I loved this. I love the tone of this voice, the tone of his guitar. The crooning country music style. Its kind of perfect.
The Cramps
5/5
This is good shit. The source code of all psychobilly and cow punk. And honestly, this music is a little one trick pony. Its really good first time through and then on repeat, its kind of the same thing over and over. But damn, first time through is so good.
I have an affection towards this kind of music. I was really into Tiger Army in high school, I saw them like 3 or 4 times. I loved Social D. And obviously, I love country. So psychobilly kind of fits perfectly for me.
Some other things that make me think, is this the source code for emo or goth punk? Its so spooky and horror themed. Also, is this proto indie country? I was listening to Wednesday and I couldn't help but notice how similar this is to that.
Anyway, I love this shit. Country and Punk are probably my favorite genres. I'm totally biased, but whenever I get this stuff, I get stoked.
The Birthday Party
4/5
This is rad. Kind of all over the place. Really fun eccentric post punk. Something is definitely in the water down in Australia.
Living Colour
5/5
This caught me off guard! I really liked this. I didn’t really know what to expect and I loved how varied it was. It felt like Prince, Bad Brains, Run DMC and maybe a splash of Guns and Roses. This was fantastic. Great lyrics and vocals. Stellar guitars. Killer bass lines. I loved the hip hop sections. I loved everything about this.
Jeff Beck
5/5
This was great! I didn't really know a lot about Jeff Beck before diving into this. I think Rod Stewart's vocals caught me off guard (in a good way), but the true driving force of this record is Jeff's guitar. Its simultaneously grounding and ethereal. It takes you place, but its also the bread and butter of every song.
One of my favorite things about late 60s / early 70s music is the homage to old timey songs. Rock, country and blues artists were all about the classics of their youth and those classics were some of the first recorded tracks in contemporary music. So the Morning Dew, Ol Man River and Greensleave covers were all so cool. Such a great take and direction with all of them.
I really enjoyed this!
The Fall
2/5
Ehh.. not my favorite. I'm fatigued of the post-punk-indie-brit music. This was fine. It had some interesting tracks, but mostly kind of meh for me.
Hot Chip
3/5
I liked this. I didn't love it. I wonder if I need to spend more time with it to really get to that point. I don't really gravitate towards electric stuff like this, but I'm definitely not against it. Its kind of fun indie pop.
Megadeth
3/5
I always kind of enjoy Megadeth for like 1 song. Its like an adrenalin shot of butt metal. Its like Iron Maiden + Metallica with a tad of Hair Metal to keep it classy. Its kind of hard to hate, but then after a few songs, I'm usually over it. The drums were cool on this one.
Suzanne Vega
2/5
This was fine. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. I did not like the first song, but the others were okay. Maybe I’m missing something.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
This is fantastic. I loved every song. I've spent a decent amount of time with this record, but not nearly as much as LZ4. Musically, I was really blown away by the mix of gothic sounds with classic blues. Some of guitar in this sounds like it could be Buddy Guy or Muddy Waters, but then it has that British medieval gothic undertone that really sets this apart. The other thing that caught me off guard, is how sexy this album is. Its horny, man. Whole Lotta Love is straight up about Robert Plant's penis. Lemon Song is also really horny. Which, going along with classic American blues, that's kind of right in line. A lot early blues were about sex, which kind of shows Led's deep respect and admiration for that style of music.
Ramble On is a pure classic. Moby Dick takes you places if you let it, especially the drumming. What is and What Should Never Be, is one my personal favorites. I can't listen to that song without thinking of the Bradley Cooper manic episode in Silver Linings Playbook. That scene with the music, is incredible. Bring It Home is a perfect bookend.
I love this record! Its perfect.
Anthrax
3/5
This was pretty cool. I think I liked this more, because I saw Metallica last year. And I can see how this band inspired them. I think I liked the songs that were more truly trash, because it felt more punk. Once they started chugging and singing kind of operatic, it kind of takes me out of it. Still cool music and a cool record. The guitar solos are exceptional.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
This is so sweet. I loved this. Moribund the Burgermeister is such an amazing song and you can totally see where Vampire Weekend homaged it. They straight up call out Peter Gabriel when they do it.
I loved how it blended genres so seamlessly. One minute, you're kind of in this art rock Bowie-esque (almost David Byrne) style of song and the next you're playing with the boogie blues. Then it gets kind of prog / disco. Its all over the place and its wonderful. Its never abrupt or awkward. Its totally vibing throughout.
The Black Keys
4/5
Are The Black Keys underrated, overrated or accurately rated? I first heard of this band probably in 2008 when Attack & Release came out. It was described to me as "kinda like The White Stripes," which is probably accurate. It never grabbed me like I wanted it too. I always like it and enjoy it, but it never encourages me to stay all day. Certain songs do. On this record, its Howlin or Everlasting Light or Never Gonna Give You Up.
I was pretty excited for this today, I listened to it through about 4 times. And again, I really enjoyed it! but its hard for me to tell one song from the next. I do really love and respect their contemporary take on blues and blues rock. Its really cool and really refreshing. Maybe I need to spend more time with them. I'll check out some other albums today. I really want to like this band more than I do.
Jimmy Smith
5/5
This is just fantastic. I think I ran through this like 4 times this morning, because it was just nice to have on in the background. Very soothing, very relaxing. What stood out to me the most is just how fun this music would be to play. I love the jams and riffs. They're all so tight and you can hear that playfulness come through on the recording.
John Grant
5/5
Surprisingly great. I kind of thought this was going to be meh. (as is most of the 2000s indie on this list), but this was fun. Cool singer / songwriter album. He places with cool sounds and has pithy style of singing and songwriting that is just fun to vibe with. The lyrics in this are freaking great. The keyboards are fantastic. I was kind of blown away by this by the time it was over.
Electric Light Orchestra
5/5
This was sick. Kind of reminded me of a more spacey experimental Queen with a touch of Pink Floyd. Cool synths and keys, fun poppy melodies. I enjoyed this thoroughly!
Iron Butterfly
3/5
This was cool! I enjoyed it. The title track is the whole reason for the album. It’s fantastic. Psychy and weird. It’s a rad song.
Johnny Cash
5/5
Its incredible this and all of the other prison albums ever got recorded, let alone performed. Truly incredible. This is such a classic live album, the way that he plays into and for the audience. He gets them. He plays songs for them, shows empathy for their condition and creates a truly human experience for them. Brilliant.
His band is tight, the songs are perfect. The lyrics hit home. He plays his big songs, he plays new songs and old timey classics. He blew it out of the park with this one.
The White Stripes
5/5
One of my absolute favorite records. This one has been with me for a long time. I know every song by heart, I'm certain I've listened to this all the way through hundreds of times.
I love how raw this one is. It feels like they got the perfect mix of blues, garage and experimental with this. The instruments (especially the drumming) is so simple, but there is so much going on with every song. I love how creative and wild they get with each song. One minute, you're listening to a spooky bluesy song that breaks into an acapella section, where you're then dancing along to Fell in Love With a Girl.
Hotel Yorba is still my favorite song to play on the guitar. It honestly became part of my identity when I was a teenager. Jeremy and I played this song for Chris the night he went to jail. Chad and I played it for Battle of the Bands in High School.
Dead Leaves is a perfect opener for an album. I can listen to that song on repeat all day long. The garagey rawness + blues is perfect. We Are Going to Be Friends is one of my favorites (shout out Napoleon Dynamite). Little Room and I think I Smell a Rat are such a rad interludes, while Now Mary, Same Boy, and I Can Learn keep me grounded. This Protector is the perfect book end.
This record rocks. I listen to it frequently. Its my favorite album by The White Stripes and I'm grateful its been in my life as long as it has.
Boston
4/5
Its possible for me to love or hate this record, but its certainly not a "meh" kind of record. I think the lack of love comes from my general distain for glam or hair metal. The genre itself kind of became of meme. But when you're able to kind of take this for what it is, and realize its completely unironic, its kind of cool they were making this music and adding these pop elements into heavy music. Its certainly not Sabbath, but its kind of connecting those dots. Maybe this is truly where the Osborne's meet the Osmond's. Its very approachable, and it makes perfect sense why this has lasted as long as it has. Its impossible to hate.
Fairport Convention
5/5
This was brilliant. I love how in the folk revival of the 1960s, so many artists experimented with psychedelic music (and probably drugs too). This record is great, it feels very Greenwich Village but also very British and then absolutely toeing with psych. A Sailor's Life is epic and beautiful, Percy's Song reminds you why you started this record in the first place.
This feels like the source code for artists like The Decemberists or Lankum and probably even Mumford & Sons to a degree. I had a great time with this one today!
Roxy Music
3/5
This is pretty cool. I like how it’s a bit glam, a bit boogie, and even a little punk. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Queen. Especially with the pop songs. The more obscure songs feel very much like David Bowie (which I think I called out in my last review). This feels like something I’d like more if I spent more time with it, there’s a lot of cool elements in terms of instruments and production.
Mylo
3/5
I liked this more than most electronic albums. It was easy to vibe with. Destroy rock and roll was a super cool song.
American Music Club
3/5
This was pretty cool! Weird to describe this as "ahead of its time," because in execution its playing with a lot of old timey elements; folk, country, Americana. So by nature, it feels timeless. And in a lot of ways, it is. I could listen to almost any one of these songs at any time and be okay with it. The reason it feels "ahead of its time" is that it feels like The National, or Wilco, or even Death Cab for Cutie. There's also some really cool punk elements that feel like Joy Division.
I was a little distracted listening to this, because I had to listen on YouTube, so I couldn't jam out while cooking breakfast or working out. But I really did enjoy this record thoroughly.
3/5
This was.. not what I was expecting? It was definitely cool and unique. I really liked a few songs. The more indie / post rock songs definitely drew me in, but then some of the more "musical theater" vibing songs kind of took me out of it. I bet this has a cult following, I'm sure some people absolutely love this shit.
Morrissey
4/5
This was really palatable Morrissey. Its hard for me to ever hate on Morrissey, and I definitely love certain Morrissey songs. But its often hard for me to go full send and love an entire album. I still wouldn't go that far with this one, but it did keep me interested and engaged more than others. I think its because the music behind it all is a bit more interesting. He kind of toys with some cool elements of folk and pop. With headphones in, it gets even better.
PJ Harvey
3/5
This one kind of grew on me. At first, I wasn’t in but by the end, I was all in. This feels like a more palatable version of Regine from Arcade Fire, I can usually only handle a few Regine songs but I like almost all of these.
Cool instrumentations and really cool composition of songs too. They’re playing with a lot of elements of folk and blues but making it very modern.
Small Faces
4/5
This was really weird. I like the psych and blues elements. I didn't really care of the concept album. I am biased towards this style of music, it definitely draws me in, so I definitely enjoyed this. But it was kind of weird and probably not something I'd ever revisit.
Prince
5/5
I freaking love this album. Is it a little cheesy? Yes. So what? Its kind of the perfect mesh of r&b, pop, soul and rock. I kind of wish that all pop music was like this. Its campy and melodramatic, but its also soulful and sad. While also being peppy and vibrant.
I listen to this album every now and again. Last week, we were jamming it while making dinner and had a blast. Prince is king. This album rocks.
Morrissey
3/5
I viva hate that I got another Morrissey album this week.
But in all honesty, this is fine. Some of it is even great. A few parts caught me off guard, but I’m overall bored of Mr. Morrissey showing up on this list.
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
Cool art project, bro.
Who exactly is the audience for this? Who wakes up and is like, I’m gonna listen to this shit today?
IDK, definitely unique.
Weather Report
5/5
This is a gem. So cool. Its super varied and kind of trippy. I like the moments where it kind of feels conventional and then it totally switches to weird keys and synths. Birdland is obviously incredible. I really loved all of the live tracks too. I had a blast with this one. I listened to it twice this morning.
Roxy Music
3/5
I reviewed my last 2 Roxy Music reviews and they're all say things like "kid of weird" , "cool psych elements" , "david bowie" , "pop rock."
I think all of that applies to this album as well. I enjoyed it. I think I probably liked this one the most out of the 3 that I've listened to.
5/5
Absolutely brilliant. How are we so lucky to have been alive at the same time as David Bowie? This album rocks. I love the eccentric space themes, I love the blues and psych elements mixed with pop and dance rock. I love the way he kind of opera yell yap sings. Its kind of sexy and abrasive at the same time. This record just has so many rad moments. One minute you have guitar solos and the next is cool saxophone solos. All bangers all the time.
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
I love this album. Obviously, as a millennial, I have an undying allegiance towards LCD Soundsystem, whether I listen to them on a regular basis or not. Is nostalgia clouding my judgement? Maybe. Does it fucking matter? No. Nostalgia aside, I think its hard for any human on earth not to find something likable in this album.
My love affair with this band started somewhere at the beginning. I probably heard them first after Sound of Silver came out. I think Brett McCarty introduced them to me. It was the punk adjacent, part nihilism / part optimism of James Murphy that drew me in. It reminded me of similar local acts at the time (Seve. vs. Evan), but waaay more New York. Way more punk, but in a scene where punk was kind of smirked upon. That's what clicked for me.
Its impossible to not draw connections to David Byrne, but this is to a new audience and has a different voice. Musically, I love the experimental elements. I love the danciness of it all. I love the contrast and conflict in his voice and lyrics. This band has always been a vibe to me, I need to be in the right mood. But when I'm ready for it, it hits hard.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Love me some Stevie. This is great. Cool R&B, some psych stuff, good pop and blues. Classic.
Spiritualized
4/5
This was rad. I've enjoyed both Spiritualized albums we've gotten so far. I think my favorite part of this music is how spacey and progressive it is. There's a lot fluidity and movement in each track, but its also really spacey. I think the best parts of this record are a feature and a bug. I love the spaciness, but it does tend to run a bit long in the middle. They could have shaved 15 minutes off this one.
Either way, I had a blast with this.
The Shamen
2/5
Man, I usually don't truly distain something, but I really truly did not like this album. It was like the bad of all worlds. Bad fake drums. Cheesy spacey vocals. Stupid lyrics.
What's good about it? I guess it was kind of creative. IDK. This came out early 90s, so it feels like New Wave + Electronic. George Michael meets The Prodigy? But you see, that's a great combo.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
I'm not a fan of this sludge either. Man, for all the great music that comes out of Scotland, we've gotten pretty wrecked on the last 2 days. I mean.. this is fine. I get it. Its like a 90s dance pop thing. Go West kind of rocks. Like an ironic rocks, but also kind of fun. Like I would put this song on a snowboard video.
The National
5/5
I love this band. I'm a millennial, so of course I love this band. I recognize that this is the album that solidified them as a god-tier indie band for my generation, but honestly, its not my favorite of their work. That being said, this is incorrectly the only album by The National on the whole damn list. So I suppose, I'll just write about my relationship with The National through the lens of this record.
I know specifically the first time that I heard The National. I was on a bus going to St. George for SBO camp. Brett McCarty introduced me to Alligator. The song he showed me was Abel and pretty much from that moment on, I was in.
I love the doldrum style of Matt Berninger's vocals, with the progressive dreariness of the Dessner bros. Every album and every song draws you into a world whether you're hanging on the lyrics or not, its captivating you and taking you in.
Personally, I think the albums on either side of this record are better. But this band is fantastic. We're lucky to have them.
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
Hard to complain about anything that has Neil Young in it. Psych, blues, country, folk, jazz. This kind of has it all. Its easy to listen to. What stood out to me the most is their ability to jam. They just sound like they're having fun.
Genesis
4/5
This was sweet. I'm not the biggest prog fan, but I always enjoy the ambition an execution of pulling it off. Which, I feel like they did in this record. My favorite was Firth of Fifth (probably because of time in Scotland) but also because the grandeur and epic of this song. Pretty cool stuff.
Billy Joel
5/5
Billy Joel is one of my Mom's favorites. She loves Billy Joel. She has seem him play numerous time, including multiple nights as MSG. Whenever I listen to Billy Joel, I get nostalgic for riding around in my Mom's car listening to this shit.
Its great. Its fantastic. He's incredibly talented. Its impossible to hate this music. Its kind of perfect singer songwriter pop. I love the jazz and blues influences. He also gets kind of out there with cool brass sections and kind of wild guitars. But the piano is the driving force behind his vocals and lyrics.
I think what makes this record so approachable is the wide range or emotions and themes throughout. It takes you places. You're happy, you're sad, you're jamming, you're chilling. Its all encompassing. One moment you're laid back on a couch and next, you're commanded to your feet in an epic. It makes you feel things. This record rocks.
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
This rocks. I've been listening to a lot of R&B rap lately, so this was right up my alley. (Especially Anderson .Paak)I love the lo-fi beats and movements of this. Its easy to groove with and get lost in. A lot of really cool pop songs, but also some fun blues inspired slow jams. The feminism and social aspects were also really cool and poignant.
Paul Simon
5/5
The more I listen to Paul Simon, the more I realize what a genius he is. The songwriting is impeccable. He crafts each song so thoughtfully and beautifully. He's interested in so many genres and styles, and he's not afraid to play with those. This is obvious with Graceland, but definitely prevalent with this record. And yes, some of the lyrics can be somewhat cheesy, but they're totally made right by great craftsmanship in the composition of the song. And then also, the lyrics of other songs are incredible. The storytelling, the weaving through themes. Its brilliant. This record rocks.
Sinead O'Connor
3/5
I get it. This is pretty cool and definitely had a place in the late 80s early 90s. The themes, composition and songwriting are all really good. I do think the 90s drum take away and kind of date it.
Scissor Sisters
3/5
This was cool! Really eccentric and eclectic. Not really something I would revisit, but the campiness and creativity was admirable.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Is this better than the last album by Leonard Cohen? Are there any discernible differences? I don't think so. Its fine. I like Leonard Cohen, I respect him as a poet and songwriting. But damn.. these records are bleak. And also just kind of dry. I know that a similar comparison could be made about Elliot Smith, who is kind of the reincarnation of this music. More recently, there are the comparisons to Cameron Winter. I like all of it, and if this is the source code for melancholy white boy blues, then I'm here for it. But its not something that I'm really gunning for on a regular basis.
I like the homage to Marianne on this record. That was cool.
Love
4/5
This is pretty sweet. Blues, American and Mexican folk, psych rock. Its kind of got everything. Lots of feeling, lots of emotion. The music is moving and flowing. Its great storytelling. This is a solid record.
Napalm Death
3/5
I'm certain that I will not revisit this. There are definitely some cool elements and its for sure ambitious. But damn, this is a hard listen. I kind of just want it to be over. The drums are really cool. The vocals are insane. I also like how it shifts mid way through. I guess that was a different line up? Kind of unique.
DJ Shadow
3/5
The DJ albums are always kind of tricky for me. I either deal with them or hate. This one was actually enjoyable. It was easy to get into a meditative flow with it. There were definitely some cool elements that drew me in, while I worked out this morning. I think my issue with this music is that its usually best enjoyed with something. Its like the chaser that goes with a drink. Its not the heavy stuff, its the stuff in the background. Unrelated to this album, I love DJ Shadow collabs with Run The Jewels.
Justice
5/5
This album is incredible. I think I just wasn't ready for it when it came out in 2007. I do remember going to indie dance shows (Seve vs. Evan, HelloGoodbye, Clap Your Hands, The Brobecks) at the time of this record but none of them really went full send like JUSTICE did. So it was hard for me to groove to at the time. I definitely know the big songs on here. D.A.N.C.E and DVNO but most of this I hadn't listened to since
Listening today, I'm pretty blown away by this. Really cool dance songs. Fun mixes, its playful and weird. Heavy and soft. Its really really cool.
Destiny's Child
3/5
Not really my thing, but cool and foundational. I get why its important. The lyrics visceral and poignant. Focussed on feminism and social justice.
3/5
This was cool. I like that it was a concept album, probably one of the first? I like the psych and blues elements. I love the zany weird nature of The Kinks. Its been a hard week for me, so I probably wasn't in the right mind set.
Doves
3/5
Pretty cool! Feels like early indie rock that still has the alt rock influence of the mid 90s. I'm sure if you spend more time with this, you might get deeper into it. I like the cool effects and driving nature of the songs. Its really easy to vibe with.
Miles Davis
4/5
There is no question that Miles Davis is the coolest man ever to live. This record is sweet, its kind of all over the place with genre fusing. He takes you places high and low, deep and dark, energetic and chill. I'm not sure I was in the headspace this week for music, so I can't say this blew my mind like other ones, but I did enjoy it and listened to back to back 3 times.
The Soft Boys
4/5
This is a cool cross over album. In a lot of ways it feels like something that cam out of the early 70s; blues, psych and soul kind of are the sonic engine on this record. But then you kind of have proto-indie brit pop elements on the service. Which makes it fun and unique. It feels like it could be The Who or Pulp at any given moment. I enjoyed this!
Stephen Stills
5/5
Absolutely no problems with this record. I like every song. Its soulful, its folky, its bluesy, there's a bit of country and psych in there. No qualms. I like that the 70s produced so much guitar-centered singer songwriter music. This feels like if Zach Bryan was doing his thing, but was also interested in gospel music, psych, blues and soul all at the same time. Why not throw a really static-y guitar solo right in the middle of this? It is weird this stuff doesn't happen as much anymore, if someone were to record this album today it would marketed as "throwback nostalgia rock." It would exist only in indie circles. I guess Sturgill and Tyler are breaking down these barriers. Anyway, this was a blast. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Undertones
3/5
Pretty cool proto pop punk / proto indie pop. I liked the teenage themes and whimsical nature of the record. This is a fun one to hang out to.
Motörhead
5/5
Fan-freakin-tastic. This is loud, aggressive, fast and boisterous. I love it. It feels like the perfect continuation of Black Sabbath but more punk. Like very punk. This is the bridge of punk and metal and its fantastic. I can't say its something that I can "vibe out" with, but its definitely that I can hang out with all day when the mood is right. Its just fast and fun. Its like a rollercoaster ride in the most pure sense, the ups and downs are equally thrilling.
Randy Newman
5/5
This is great. I love the social and political commentary. Randy Newman's playing and singing are also so smooth and inviting. Its cinematic but also parlor / bar music. Its impossible to hate.
5/5
I've been a fan of Bob Dylan for about as long as I've been in love with music. He's one of our greatest, and he's one of my personal favorites. I love all the shades of Dylan, the early folk singer, the 70s rocker, the blues singer, the psych hippy that played with the Dead, the resurrected Dylan of the 90s. I like all of them. I've listened to every record.
But this is really truly incredible. His vocals over his guitar in the first set are almost chilling. The way he hangs on the words and plays with the pronunciation. The way he plays quietly and then builds in moments that catch you off guard. The harmonica! Damn, the harmonica is so good. Its like he's playing electric guitar solos on that thing.
The second set has an entirely different energy entirely. Obviously, this was the famous electric set that alienated fans and was highly controversial. I love how the band just leans into the heckles and shouting. Its real rock n roll kind of stuff. Its bluesy, psychy and overall just really groovy.
Ravi Shankar
5/5
I'm very grateful I heard Ravi early on in this project. It helped unlock a lot of music for me, because I realized his influence on modern music. Also, shoutout to his daughters, Norah Jones and Anoushka!
Here is my original review:
"Super good. This is definitely one of those "important" albums that contemporary artists reference as their intro to Eastern Music. Its super cool, and really interesting. I love the microtonal sounds and finger picking. Its wild how the music sounds so complex, when in reality, it's quite simple. Basically, a Sitar and a Drum for most songs."
Slint
4/5
This was rad. Felt like Fugazi, Suicidal Tendencies and Listener kind of all in the one. The clear, reverb toned guitars and bass make for great hardcore. The spoken word keeps it interesting. Feels like Henry Rollins post Black Flag. I liked this!
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
No complaints about this! I enjoyed it. Easy to listen to. The sound is big and ambitious. Really cool solos too! They're doing a lot with each instrument, giving everyone in the group a moment to shine.
Fred Neil
5/5
Really cool. I love Greenwich Village folk singers of the later 50s / early 60s. Its rad to hear how this music influenced really everything for the rest of the century and beyond. Bob Dylan played some of these songs, as well as the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, Dave Von Ronk. I love this period of music.
I listened to this passively on Friday while driving around the Tetons, and I knew I had to give it another go. The Shake Sugaree song is incredible, not only is it one of my favorite GD songs, but it inspired me to find the original song writer and listen to her version. Fred's voice, finger picking style, and whistling make this song so damn good.
There are so many songs on this record that I recognized, but most of the songs I knew were different versions. I love how in the Greenwich scene they were all covering or resurfacing old songs and making their take on it. Its fun how he kind of incorporates blues with some Indian influences as well as melodic atmospheric sounds. This was rad.
Buzzcocks
4/5
So freakin good. I feel like the Sex Pistols get all the credit for being the punkiest British punk band, but the Buzzocks never died. This band was around forever and made really freaking cool music. I love how this record starts and ends. Its fast, chugging, oi punk. 70s punk is maybe my favorite. Sure, it all sounds basically the same, but the spirit is the most pure during this period. I had a blast with this one. I could have it on all day.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I still maintain to this day that Sonic Youth was the loudest show that I have ever been too. My ears rang for 2 or 3 days after this show. Noise rock at its finest. This feels like so much music that came later, its kind of in the source code of all contemporary indie music. The shoegaze / noisey / fuzzy impressionistic style of this record is fantastic. Its not an easy listen, but its also not a hard listen. Maybe my ears are just adjusted. I enjoyed this!
Wire
4/5
Super cool record. It reminded me of Joy Division, but arguably more palatable. I like the heavy drudge songs, but also loved how it would shift to be more upbeat. This is exactly the kind of punk music that pulls me in and makes me want to listen to the record a few times (which I did). I also really like the early hardcore elements.
Al Green
4/5
Love this. Its groovy, sexy and vibey. Vocals are good, bass lines are progressive and moving. Guitars keep thing grounded. I had a blast with this one, its fun hearing the source of music that is often sampled in hip hop.
Kraftwerk
3/5
I always start out enjoying Kraftwerk and then eventually just want it to be over. Some of the songs are so cool and unique. This one even felt less cheesy ….until it did start feeling cheesy…
But overall, I enjoyed this. I certainly don’t hate it. And definitely liked the uniqueness and creativity of this one.
Talvin Singh
3/5
I like the fusion between 90s electronic music and traditional Indian music. This was interesting and well done! I'm really sick today, so I was a bit out of it when I listened though.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
I already got this album again and couldn’t bare to give it another listen. Here is my review from last year:
This is 2003 Benson Boone. In fact, it feels like Benson Boone, if he listened to Radiohead and was just generally more sad. That being said, I really loved the opening track. And it kind of picked up again for me about midway through. Most of this record was kind of meh for me, I don’t love tortured male centered anthemic pop. But at the exact same time, some of the sad tortured songs were pretty good. Maybe that’s why I despise indie pop, it tricks me. I go from hating 5 songs to suddenly feeling all the things in next. Tasting Notes: Elvis Costello, Andrew Bird, Radiohead, fun.
Ice T
4/5
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. At first I kind of felt like it was cheesy (and it for sure is at times) but its also pretty freaking cool. The beats are really good, I really like the way he uses the turntables. Lyrics are good (and problematic at times). This is a really solid rap album though. Body Count is super sick. I love that he went all in Black Sabbath style rock music.
MC Solaar
3/5
This was really fun. I like the genre fusions of jazz and reggae with low-fi hip hop. No idea what he was saying through any of it, but it was really vibey and fun to hang out with. Production was cool, very 90s but really good.
The White Stripes
5/5
The White Stripes are one of my faves and always have been. This record is no different. I always remember this one as "the marimba album" because they use that in a few songs. This record has been with me for a long time, I always revisit a few times a year.
Beyond the marimba, they still take you there with garage rock and blues rock. They also have the folksy country songs throughout. They just seem like they're having a blast. Even in the sad songs. I can pretty much get in this album at any time, and I'll be a happy boy.
Fairport Convention
5/5
Beautiful. I think I said on the last Fairport Convention, that this feels like the source code of The Decemberists. The songwriting, the homages, the vocals and instrumentation are all so good and and point. The Matty Grove jam is so perfect. It should be studied, it makes perfect sense that Billy Strings has covered it numerous times.
I loved this! I could jam this out all day.
William Orbit
2/5
I don’t like 90s electronic albums. This one had some interesting moments I guess.
Willie Nelson
5/5
One of my absolute favorite singers and songwriters. Its hard to find words for what Willie means to me. His singing style, the Spanish guitars that also sound like jazz guitars. Baby Sister Bobbie playing rag time blues on the piano. The whole family band is just so on point. Willie's writing and vocals.
I love the storytelling of this record, I love that he kind of attempted a concept album and it halfway works, but its still kind of a perfect album. I remember listening to "The Red Headed Stranger" in the car with my family growing up and my mom hating it. Saying things like "Willie can't sing!" She's absolutely wrong in that take.
"Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" is one of my favorite Willie songs. I listen to it at any point, and I'm all in. All of the sad love songs are so good. (Remember Me, Can I Sleep in Your Arms, Denver). I love the gospel songs on this record (Time of the Preacher, I Couldn't Believe it Was True, Hands on the Wheel). I love that this album is kind of a sneaky jazz record. So many moments where the bass is walking, the guitar is soloing or the piano is going places.
This is an American classic. God bless Willie Nelson, may he never die.
SZA
5/5
SZA is a gem. This record has everything. R&B, rap, soul, and dream pop. Her voice is visceral, the lyrics are poignant, and all of the beats and backing tracks are really cool. I really like the indie-esque dream pop nature of this record. Its easy to vibe with and kind of creates a platform to lay other genres on top of, which she obviously does throughout the record.
I hadn't spent much time with SZA (outside of her work with Kendrick) but I was really blown away by this record. Really cool all around.
Robbie Williams
2/5
It’s like Harry Styles or Benson Boone or Rufus Wainwright, if you put in ear plugs, it can trick you into thinking you’ll enjoy it. Then you listen raw dog and it’s pretty damn bad.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
This was fun. Cool jazz. A little more playful and traditional, but also really good and interesting piano solos. I enjoyed this, didn't love it, but definitely liked it!
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
Really cool jazz, soul, blues almost folk? This is real American music. Its hard to give it a label, I want to say soul and gospel, but it even has some elements of folk and blues to it. Maybe its vocals, which are good, but really unique. He kind of croons and cries, but also has a touch of apathy in his voice. It kind of reminds me of Andre 3000. Which I guess is why this is such a huge influence on Hip Hop because he definitely raps on a few songs. H20gate Blues is a song that every American should listen to. It should be required in history classes for high schoolers.
The social commentary, the songs about love all kind of make this record really solid.
The Strokes
5/5
One of my all time favorite records. As an elder millennial, its hard to grasp what this album means to my generation. I remember the first time I heard this, I couldn’t decide if I should chill or dance. This whole record feels like what Brooklyn *should* feel like for a suburbanite from Utah. It’s smoky, and apathetic, but sexy and energetic. It paints this picture of something that was going on somewhere that wasn’t where I was, but it could be recreated in local indie venues in SLC and Provo. And we did our best to recreate it.
I love how it starts out with the moody / lethargic Is This It and then dives head first into The Modern Age. I think Julian singing “ga ga ga gooooo” is my favorite way anyone has ever said that word, and then how it goes right into the solo which is kind of earth shattering. This song makes me want to party. After that it kind of alternates between party songs and earnest sad songs.
I think what I love most about this, is that it isn’t just nostalgia. It’s a time and place, that feels real and exciting. It’s a place that I don’t want to live in, but I want to visit a few times a year. I just want to hang out with this one. And the longer I go with it in my life, the more it feels like a friend that I’m catching up with.
Supertramp
4/5
This was cool! Little bit of jazz, little bit of blues, little bit of r&b, little bit of British folks just having a good time.
I liked the variety, I liked how they made a big deal out of every song. It felt like glam rock that veered Steely Dan instead of David Bowie. But was definitely aware of both worlds.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
I think Sheryl Crow was never in the right lane. Obviously, she is successful, but she’s never quite country enough for country, folk enough for folk, or pop enough for pop. This record, feels like she’s sampling all of it (and even kind of trying to rap at one point.
I’m not sure if it’s ambitious or misguided. This record definitely has songs that I liked, but I’m not all in on it.
Sepultura
4/5
I feel like if I need to explain to someone what metal music sounds like, this would be a good intro. Its heavy, its chuggy, the vocals are screamy and growly, it has really good finger picking style guitar solos. Kind of has everything you would expect.
What I wasn't expecting was Orgasmatron. That song was hilarious, not just from a subject matter reason, but from the fact that it was all in a major key. Like it good have been a Chuck Berry song, but then it was really heavy.
Grateful Dead
5/5
There is no way for anyone to understand the Grateful Dead by just listening to this record. In 2016, when I started being interested in The Dead, I listened to this first. I liked it, but I could not understand why this band is worshipped and followed.
Then I saw Dead and Co play in 2021. I figured it out. I saw them 9 more times and had my mind blown every. single. time. This is one of my favorite bands. Musically, culturally, personally, they mean so much to me. Seeing them play, changed the way that I view live music. It made me appreciate the fusion of genres, and homages to old music. It made me understand the power of American music and what that really means. It made me respect ambition, and the chase. Not every GD song works, but they always tried and experimented and took the music further.
Bobby wanted this music to live on 300 years from now. It will, because of the people that carried the tradition and moved it furthur.
NFA. ⚡️💀🌹
Talk Talk
2/5
Kind of bad British indie.. like its fine, but its also not.. its like George Michael, but then not George Michael. IDK, this list is obsessed with these kind of bands.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Incredible. You have to love The Boss. The arena (now stadium) size rock, but the spirit of bands like The Eagles with the sentiment of Bob Dylan. Does he land the plane every time? No. Is it cheesy at points? Absolutely. ("on a rattlesnack speedway in the Utah desert"). But when it cuts through, its cuts deep and makes you feel things. He's taking all of his influences and throwing all of his chips in, and it comes through. Its brilliant.
David Bowie
5/5
This record is incredible. Its wild that this got greenlit in 1971. Its weird and zany, but also deep and cutting. He plays with rock, pop and blues. Its so flamboyant and out there, but never too much. I think I like every song on this record. I like that he's singing out weird things (Aliens, Oh! You Pretty Sing), but then also contemporary pop culture (Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan) and then life and love (Changes, Fill Your Hearts, 8 Line Poem).
Its brilliant. David Bowie was a genius.
Aimee Mann
3/5
Cool songwriting. I feel like this could be a good double feature with Sheryl Crow. Total 90s Mom Rock. Not really my thing, but I respect it and enjoyed it!
Orbital
2/5
Meh……………
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
This was cool. I like the epic / cinematic nature of it. It feels like a movie soundtrack or a rock opera. I think this one would grow on me. Its probably like Gorrillaz, where the longer you spend with it, the more into it you get. I've never really be a fan of Arctic Monkeys, but this is definitely more interesting to me. I like his vocals with this style of music.
Donovan
3/5
This was cool! I like psych and blues elements. I like how he tied in traditional English folk throughout. This was definitely an influence on 2000s indie, The Decemberists came to mine.
Primal Scream
3/5
I wish I liked this more. I kind of feel like I would, if it was 20 minutes shorter. I loved the first song and a few songs in between. The rock / blues / psych / indie direction was really cool. Then it kind of goes off into early EDM and House Music, which I know was a choice and is honestly cool to explore, but I don't feel like it always lands. Thats the part where I think the record could be really cool, but kind of lags a bit here. Still really fun all around. I definitely enjoyed this.
The The
3/5
Not really what I was expecting, and not something I really liked. It was pretty cheesy 80s slop. Not really why this appeared in the book. I'm certain that no one is asking themselves "whatever happened to The The?"
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Like all of Nick Cave’s projects, this is manic and ambitious. This one more than any of them is really operatic, which I suppose was the intent and ambition.
This one feels the most Tom Waits to me. It’s kind of all over the place. Which then kind of feels like Cameron Winter. Is this Cameron Winter’s future when he inevitably leaves Geese? Solo singer songwriter rock operas? I guess one thing to say about Nick Cave, is that he is not subtle. He definitely wants you to know he’s there.
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
I love this record and I love this band. Proud to say, I’ve even seen them live. I love the way they over enunciate every syllable of every word of every song. They’re also just so so Glaswegian, and having spent a year of my life in that wild city, it’s impossible for me not to love this band.
I think my earliest memory was Expectations on the Juno soundtrack (an important artifact for the elder Millennial). I love the acoustic guitar that kind drums along with the Spanish trumpets accenting throughout. But then as a perfect contract, Electronic Renaissance is plays in opposition while winking at the future. And it’s executed perfectly.
It’s clever, it’s easy to hang out with. It’s brilliant.
MGMT
5/5
This is a really important album for people my age. I think every person I group with knows at least some (if not all) of the signs in this record.
Obviously, the big songs on this record are the ones that everyone knows (Electric Feel, Kids, Time to Pretend) but those have always been the weakest on the record for me. I do love Time to Pretend, because of the lyrical commentary and then how that actually kind of panned out for the band.
Time to Pretend into Weekend Wars and The Youth is so perfect. I love how it goes from this indie pop song into kind of Pink Floyd inspired psych rock bender. It’s weird, but grounded. It keeps you engaged and committed.
Pieces of What has always been my favorite. I love the longing of this one. And then how it turns into an epic midway through. The Handshake into Future Reflections
I love this record. It’s one that I revisit a few times per year. I love the weirdest, the boldness, the self reflection, the innocence, the fact that a lot of it doesn’t work. It’s a beautiful mess.
3/5
I don’t love PJ Harvey, but I kind of like the post punk sounds of this one. Especially the opening track. It kind of echoing post punk, grunge and even early hardcore.
The Thom Yorke collab on the album is really cool though. Feels very Radiohead.
Sonic Youth
4/5
This band is brilliant. Real pioneers. And in some ways, you can hear the source code of all indie rock in this record. For sure, some songs are tough and take a specific mood or aquried to really embrace, but it’s the Teen Age Riots and Hey Joni that really set this record apart. Fun, fast moving almost pop rock, wrapped in punk and noise. Hints of The Velvet Underground. Its fantastic.
Sonic Youth was the loudest show that I have ever been too. I remember my ears rang for a full week after seeing them. I was really close to the front, right by the speakers.
Nick Drake
4/5
This project loves Nick Drake. I always love specific Nick Drake songs, but never love the whole record. This one, however, was a little more interesting. I liked the kind of orchestra take and elements he adds to each song. Obviously, One of These Things is the true winner of the record. I listen to that and feel like I’m walking around NYC as the central figure of a 2000s indie movie.
Nick Drake has one of the most unique styles of song writing, guitar playing and singing. I really love how he added jazz and soul throughout this one.
The Zutons
3/5
Pretty cool and unique 2000s British indie rock. I was drawn in by the bass lines that keep this grounded. As well as the fun guitar riffs and vocals. It’s a little eccentric, but not over the top and not boring. I enjoyed this.