Funk
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance potential: 3/5
Listening Location: Work
Made me feel: Restless in my brain, not necessarily in my body.
Funk/Pop
Instruments: 4/5
Modern translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 4/5
Listening location: commute to/from work
Made me feel: album sounded familiar straight away and I liked trying to work where I knew them from. My body wanted to “bop”.
Best song: Do You Realise?? (Guardians of the Galaxy).
Rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Home DIY projects
Best song: none of them
Made me feel: angry. So much yelling, so much angst. Had to channel the energy into hammer drilling.
Genre: Pop Rock (?)
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 5/5
Dance Potential: 3/5
Listening Location: commute to work across two days
Favourite Song: Little Ghost
Made me feel: Surprised! Some songs made me bop, others were too rocky. “Little Ghost” had a country twang! Huge variety in this album that kept me guessing.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 3/5
Listening Location: Commute to/from work
Favourite Song: This is the Day
Made me feel: the singer made me angsty but the beats made my body bop.
Other: This synth-pop vibe was a curious mix of 7 long songs.
1001 albums to listen to before you die template.
Genre: unknown
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: at home doing chores
Favourite Song: NA
Made me feel: Frustrated. I hear good things about Bob Dylan and I am confused because I couldn’t even finish this album.
Genre: Rock country (?)
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: woodworking in the garage
Favourite Song: Wild Horses
Made me feel: my brain felt angsty and my body felt like I needed to passionately play air guitar to blow off steam. Not my taste in music but it’s a classic and I have a lot of respect for this band. Good mix of slow and fast songs.
Genre: Christmas
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: woodworking in the garage
Favourite Song: A Marshmallow World
Made me feel: wanting more (base/commitment to the music). Don’t think the instrumental translated very well?
1001 albums to listen to before you die template.
Genre: country
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: driving home from various holiday plans
Favourite Song: Wild Horses
Made me feel: ambivalent. Most of the songs sounded the same and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing for this album.
Genre: House
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: woodworking in the garage
Favourite Song: Around the World
Made me feel: Enthusiastic and irritable. Respect the artists for doing something different in 1997 but the songs are so long and get repetitive! Around the World is a classic but don’t feel like I could dance to any of the others.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 3/5
Listening Location: Commute to work
Favourite Song: Changes (this is a timeless tune)
Made me feel: Smiley, upbeat and boppy. This album came at the right time because I didn't sleep well. I enjoyed dissecting the music + lyrics (i.e. he compared Bob Dylan's voice to "sand and glue", which I liked because I wasn't into like Bob's album). I also liked that the songs were all very different. I haven't listened to much Bowie and will definitely listen to more now.
Genre: Rock
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: during data analysis and commute to work
Favourite Song: none
Made me feel: was too distracted by the album to work while listening. Found it too “yelly” and left me feeling like I had pent-up energy to use when I was done.
Genre: punk rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: commute from/to work
Favourite Song: My Scientific Twin
Made me feel: annoyed, 15 songs is too many and they sounded the same.
Genre: Pop rock
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 3/5
Listening Location: Commute to work + doing analysis
Favourite Song: Keys
Made me feel: took me a couple of tries to get into but ended up liking this album. Made me bop at my desk.
Genre: unknown
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: walk to work
Favourite Song: son of a preacher man
Made me feel: aside from this song that really just reminds me of my dad and a convertible, the rest of the album wasn’t that noteworthy.
Genre: pop rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: desk at work
Favourite Song: NA
Made me feel: love a short album but this whole thing sounded the same and I don’t love electric guitar as it is.
Genre: R&B Rap
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: commute to/ from work
Favourite Song: D. Original
Made me feel: bad ass. Loved timing my walking pace to this old-school R&B rap album. Liked the drum and piano scattered in the album.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 3/5
Listening Location: Commute from/to work
Favourite Song: School or Hide in Your Shell
Made me feel: enthusiastic and motivated. Loved the piano in this one and the sprinkling of brass instruments. Appreciated that it was a short album.
Genre: Pop/ Electric
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: At my desk + commute to work.
Favourite Song: Honey + Find My Baby + Porcelain
Made me feel: I loved this diverse album. The start of the album made me bop my head and it got slower/more instrumental as it progressed. This is the only album that I revisited because I wanted to after listening to it for this list and am surprised it’s 24 years old (1999).
Genre: Folk
Instruments: 2/5 (I liked the auto harp)
Modern Translation: 1/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Commute to work
Favourite Song: None
Made me feel: Confused and weirded out. I first realised this was an album about war when I heard the military trumpet in the third track, then I started reading the lyrics. I don’t love albums that make political statements and this was no different. Liked her voice, creative education but not for me. Was nominated for a bunch of awards though.
Genre: Rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: train to work
Favourite Song: None
Made me feel: this album sounded the same the whole way through. The only thing I enjoyed was believing that it began the phrase “what’s the tea”, which probably isn’t true.
Genre: Rock
Instruments: 4/5 great guitar
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: desk at work
Favourite Song: Sultans of Swing
Made me feel: Chill. Easy listening, not much diversity in the album.
I barely got into this one but I tried.
I wish I could get into these heavy albums but I can’t even get through the whole album. Rating is based on personal taste, nothing to with their talent.
Genre: Pop, Folk Rock
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Flying home from Sydney
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: Thoughts of You, Common
Made me feel: Two hours is too long for an album. I appreciated that it entertained me the whole flight home and that there were some instrumental songs. The album actually had variety, but the length worked against my rating of this.
Genre: electric rock
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: on the way to work
Favourite Song: Blues Variation
Made me feel: I was really intrigued by this album and then listened to the OG score. I liked their take on it and I thought it was creative. Rating on originality, probably won’t listen again.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 4/5
Listening Location: commute to work and NZ
Heard it before: Yes
Favourite Song: Grey Seal
Made me feel: optimistic and upbeat. Kept returning to this album to give it the attention it deserved. Great variety, although Jamaica Jerk Off was just confusing. Would listen again.
Genre: country
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: walking in Sydney
Heard it before: Yes
Favourite Song: Thing Called Love
Made me feel: liked the upbeat feel of this album, but most of the songs sounded the same after the first two. Still like Bonnie but not sure if this qualified for the list of albums.
Genre: Bollywood (?)
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: while writing a contract
Heard it before: no
Favourite Song: NA
Made me feel: good album to work to since I can’t understand anything. Impressive range and was upbeat. Probably wouldn’t listen again.
Genre: R&B Rap (90s)
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: commute to work
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: Cold World, 4th Chamber and Investigative Reports
Made me feel: I didn’t listen to the lyrics much, but this album felt like a classic 90’s rap album. I thought it had variety and it was well-made.
Genre: Folk Pop
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Sydney airport
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: ‘ Cello Song
Made me feel: relaxed and upbeat. Would listen again.
Genre: Jazz
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: walking around Sydney
Heard it before: yes
Favourite Song: Strange Meadow Lark
Made me feel: like I was in a Woody Alan film walking around Sydney. I remember Britton playing this album over Sunday pancakes. Talented musicians but probably wouldn’t listen again.
Genre: folk
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 1/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: chadstone
Heard it before: no
Favourite Song: house of the rising sun
Made me feel: her voice was beautiful, it cut through me, but started to sound too whiny by the 4th song. Impressive range but wouldn’t listen again.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 5/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Commute home from work.
Heard it before: Yes
Favourite Song: Rolling in the Deep, Someone like You, Rumour Has It, Turning Tables.
Made me feel: Like I wanted to be laying in the sun, eyes closed, swaying to the music. I like the piano. I think this album is vulnerable and timeless.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: walking to supermarket in Auckland
Heard it before: Yes (some)
Favourite Song: Heroes and Garden Moss
Made me feel: Was surprised by this album— starts a little slow, great middle and then meditative music at the end. Liked the variety, but I just don’t love Bowie’s voice. Most of the time it sounds like he’s yelling.
Genre: BritPop, Alt Rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Making/eating lunch in Auckland
Heard it before: Yes (some)
Favourite Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man
Made me feel: This is a 90's iconic album. I liked listening to the whole thing, but it's a little too rocky for me and thought it was a little similar all the way through. I really enjoyed the nostalgia.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 3/5
Listening Location: During work
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: Housequake and The Cross
Made me feel: This was a long album but I enjoyed the upbeat vibes. Found Prince's voice octave too high in some songs but otherwise appreciated his talent - haven't listened to him much before.
Genre: Rege
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 1/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Commute to work
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: NA
Made me feel: I liked the start of this album, then I realised every song is the same theme and sound. Every song is about race and wealth inequality and has heavy-hitting lyrics. Considering the beat, I would've liked to hear one song that wasn't doom and gloom. Silver lining: instruments include Saxaphone.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: Commute to work
Heard it before: Yes
Favourite Song: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Made me feel: Easy listening, upbeat. Liked the instrumental songs towards the end of the album and appreciate that it’s only 41 minutes in length.
Genre: Pop rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: commute to work
Heard it before: no
Favourite Song: Radio, radio & This Year’s Girl
Made me feel: Generally upbeat. Didn’t think the album had much variety but thought it was easy listening. Probably wouldn’t listen again.
Genre: Pop
Instruments: 3/5
Modern Translation: 4/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: commute to work
Heard it before: Yes
Favourite Song: Send My Love (To Your New Lover) & Water Under the Bridge
Made me feel: "Hello" wasn't an exciting start to the day but more upbeat songs followed and I found a pep. This album is iconic and, in my opinion, timeless.
Genre: Country Rock
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 2/5
Listening Location: commute to work & at work
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: Take it Easy & Peaceful Easy Feeling
Made me feel: Felt like I should be sitting around a fire pit with friends, next to lake, with the BBQ going after a day of being outside. Easy listening, digestible album.
Genre: Rock
Instruments: 1/5
Modern Translation: 2/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: Driving from Lara
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: Home Again
Made me feel: This was relatively easy to listen to but little variety in the album. Wouldn't turn it off if it was playing in the background, but also wouldn't choose to put it on.
Genre: Funk/ Soul
Instruments: 4/5
Modern Translation: 3/5
Dance Potential: 4/5
Listening Location: Commute to work
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: If You Let Me Stay & Dance Little Sister
Made me feel: Enjoyed soul music on the way to work. Fun, good beat and would listen again.
Genre: Electro Pop
Instruments: 2/5
Modern Translation: 1/5
Dance Potential: 1/5
Listening Location: commute to work and at work
Heard it before: No
Favourite Song: Clint Eastwood Remix
Made me feel: A little disappointed because their other well known album is so much better. A lot of variety in this one though. Wouldn’t listen again.
