Highlights: Gasoline Dreams, Ms Jackson, Spaghetti Junction, Humble Mumble, B.O.B.
Didn't like: Most of the interludes. "Call B4 I Cum" had a really annoying hook, and I don't think I'd listen to "We Luv Deez Hoes" again. Overall a bit long. Would have benefitted from being a shorter album.
Overall: Energetic, fun, frenetic at times. Amazing energy throughout. Timeless, doesn't feel dated even though it came out in 2000. I'm not really a hiphop/rap expert but the lyricism and flow are so unique and fun to listen to. Really great hooks and interesting hugely varied influences and samples. Having said that, some of the tracks are incredible, and some are kind of meh. And I don't love the misogyny even though I know some of it is tongue in cheek.
Highlights - Green River, Commotion, Wrote A Song For Everyone, Lodi, Sinister Purpose
Didn't like - not much really, it was all good. I don't think the live songs at the end really added much to the album but maybe if I'd been more familiar with the songs I would have enjoyed hearing different versions more. The only song I was familiar with was bad moon rising, which I'm not super keen on though I don't hate it. I liked the rest of the album more.
Overall - Bluesy, rock and roll, very 1969, love the guitar tones and his voice, good album, would listen again.
Highlights - I loved all of it
Didn't like - Nothing, loved it all
Overall - From the beginning I know I'm gonna love this album. Raw and intense but still melodic with beautiful chord progressions. So interesting to hear both the rock influences that came before and the clear impact it had on later rock and popularisation of alt/grunge. Also the obvious impact Eddie Vedder's vocal style had on later vocalists. Great riffs and hooks, chord progressions are interesting. Not sure what to make of the lyrics because honestly I can't understand them. I want to listen to this album a lot. This is an album I wish I'd known about as a teenager because it would have been on repeat.
Highlights - Peaches in Regalia was amazing, and then after Willie the Pimp I mostly enjoyed just vibing to the rest of the album.
Didn't like - Willie the Pimp - Though not so much didn't like as didn't know what to think about it. The music, especially the guitar solo, is very good, the vocals and lyrics (for being the only song on the album with vocals on, no less) are bizarre, though I do like the delivery of the line "Hot Meat, Hot Rats".
Overall - I don't know anything about Frank Zappa except that there is a bust of him in Vilnius. It feels like this is the kind of album to just let wash over you and enjoy the ride without thinking about it too much. Jazz. Weird. So many instruments. Meandering solos. Gave it a 4 mostly because it kind of merged into one long song towards the end of the album and became background music. I don't think I'm on enough drugs for this.
Highlights - Brilliant Corners is an incredible composition. And as with yesterday's jazz adventure (Hot Rats - Frank Zappa) I really just enjoy being swept away by the music.
Didn't like - Nothing, loved it.
Overall - With jazz I just love to switch my brain off and vibe. I don't necessarily understand what's happening musically but it's obvious that there's an incredible amount of talent on display. And this came out in 1957! Absolutely pioneering. I will go back to this for sure.
Highlights - Red Hill Mining Town
Didn't like - Nothing I actively hated, but quite a lot of it I just found quite dull
Overall - The first three songs I'm really familiar with just from hearing them around, and then I didn't know any of the others. Familiarity with the beginning of the album makes it difficult to judge with fresh ears, but I do feel like U2 are a mediocre band with incredible guitar effects. They really do create a whole soundscape out of 3 or 4 notes, which is kind of impressive. But I'm having trouble with this album for several reasons - firstly, and not really their fault, but especially the beginning of the album really just sounds like the direction that a lot of congregational CCM took later in the 1990s-2010s, which has very specific associations and vibes for me that I try to avoid. Some good moments but overall quite samey, reliant on overproduction, truly uninspiring basslines, and very jesus-y lyrics. The later album was better, which is rare, but again I really needed a lot of them to just go somewhere - "Bullet the blue sky" is kind of a sick rock song but it's all verse! I liked Red Hill Mining Town. The rest was meh.
Highlights - a design for life is so good, Enola alone, the orchestration of everything must go is great. Further away. Honestly there isn’t a song on this album I don’t like, it was all amazing,
Didn’t like - nothing not to like, loved it all.
Overall - I hadn’t heard much msp apart from the singles, I really like this album and absolutely will listen again. I like his voice. Sad I didn’t know about this album as a teenager because I was super into stereophonics and the influence is clear.
My first DNF!
Highlights - nothing really.
Didn’t like - pretty much everything but especially satin down.
Overall - first album that I got that I really didn’t know anything about at all, never heard of the band, but looking at the brief wiki entry I had high hopes - I love a lot of indie & diy, but this falls on the side of post hardcore that I really don’t like which is kind of “unpleasant noises for the sake of unpleasant noises” which I can only ever tolerate in small doses, not a whole album. I can understand why people would like this, but it’s not for me. Didn’t finish the album, I was having a bad time.
Highlights: Pyramid Song, You And Whose Army?, I Might Be Wrong, Knives Out, Morning Bell/Amnesiac
Disliked: Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors (just not my thing, don't like electronic voices or talking in songs anyway, that was always my problem with Fitter Happier on OK Computer as well). Hunting Bears just feels like filler. Like Spinning Plates is an interesting song and I like the way it builds but I find the fluttering noises a bit unpleasant.
Overall: I'm a big Radiohead fan and this is an album with a lot of my favourite Radiohead songs (Pyramid Song, Knives Out, , but not my favourite album of theirs overall - I did think as I was listening to the first song that if this was my first exposure to Radiohead I might not really get the hype immediately, but as an existing fan putting it into the context of the rest of their catalogue I like it a lot. Thom Yorke's voice is ethereal and beautiful as always. I like the combination of their more classic guitar riffs with electronic drum beats, I like a lot of the experimental stuff they did. Tough to know whether to give this a 4 or a 5 - It's a 4 compared to their other albums, but a 5 comparing it to all music. So I think in the context of the project it's a 5.
