Jan 05 2024
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Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
5
Jan 07 2024
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The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow
5
Jan 08 2024
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The Next Day
David Bowie
4
Jan 09 2024
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The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
5
Jan 10 2024
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Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
5
Jan 11 2024
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A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
3
Jan 12 2024
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Moondance
Van Morrison
5
Jan 13 2024
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Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
3
Jan 14 2024
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Abraxas
Santana
4
Jan 15 2024
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O.G. Original Gangster
Ice T
4
Jan 16 2024
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Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
5
Jan 17 2024
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Pretenders
Pretenders
3
Jan 18 2024
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Shalimar
Rahul Dev Burman
2
Jan 19 2024
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Traffic
Traffic
2
Jan 20 2024
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At Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash
5
Jan 21 2024
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New Forms
Roni Size
4
Jan 22 2024
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Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
4
Jan 23 2024
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Illmatic
Nas
5
Jan 24 2024
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Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
5
Jan 24 2024
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Frampton Comes Alive
Peter Frampton
I listened to it yesterday, and thought I’d be giving it a four. But not that I’m sitting down to rate it, I can’t remember a bleedin lick of the damn thing. Not that memorable, I guess.
3
Jan 25 2024
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Surfer Rosa
Pixies
I went on a rollercoaster with this album- which is surprising, given that it’s only 33 minutes.
I love this album. I listened to it twice. But I almost didn’t finish it at all because, in the first listen, I hated the first two tracks. They sounded ugly. And while God loves ugly, I just wasn’t in the mood. I also couldn’t take the first two tracks because, whenever they sing about bones, all I could think of was that Tim Robinson where he sing about the day all the skeletons came to life. It’s a funny sketch; if you haven’t seen I Think You Should Leave, please do. So, those first two tracks were ugly and I was fighting back laughter the whole time. Not a great start.
But the rest of the album was banger after banger and it left me wanting more, which is why I jumped right back in. Hadn’t heard it before and it is probably my favorite album so far.
5
Jan 26 2024
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Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
2
Jan 29 2024
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Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
3
Jan 30 2024
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Low
David Bowie
It only gets this high a rating because I could listen to the last four tracks forever. The rest of it is completely ignorable. I think if someone else made this, some rando instead of Bowie, it doesn’t get listed here.
3
Jan 31 2024
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New York Dolls
New York Dolls
4
Feb 01 2024
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At Budokan
Cheap Trick
3
Feb 02 2024
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Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I guess I got a type; this is the second album I listened to twice back-to-back. The first was Surfer Rosa.
5
Feb 05 2024
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Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
4
Feb 06 2024
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Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
4
Feb 07 2024
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Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
5
Feb 08 2024
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Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper
3
Feb 09 2024
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Duck Rock
Malcolm McLaren
3
Feb 12 2024
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Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
Not an expert of jazz, don’t know much about it at all, but this is basically what I imagine when you say jazz.
5
Feb 13 2024
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2112
Rush
My wife’s favorite album from her favorite band. We have Fly By Night framed on the wall and Neil Peart quotes in her band’s classroom. The impact Rush has had on my life through their impact on her is huge. Even if I were inclined to try for ‘objective’ ratings, with this band, I could not.
5
Feb 14 2024
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Pink Moon
Nick Drake
2
Feb 15 2024
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A Date With The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
Why listen to this when Buddy Holly exists?
3
Feb 16 2024
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Siembra
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4
Feb 19 2024
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Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
4
Feb 20 2024
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Aqualung
Jethro Tull
5
Feb 21 2024
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Oedipus Schmoedipus
Barry Adamson
4
Feb 22 2024
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The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
4
Feb 23 2024
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Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
5
Feb 26 2024
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Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
3
Feb 27 2024
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Pretenders
Pretenders
3
Feb 28 2024
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Rain Dogs
Tom Waits
4
Feb 29 2024
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Germfree Adolescents
X-Ray Spex
Lmao what? Nah.
1
Mar 01 2024
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Arular
M.I.A.
3
Mar 04 2024
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Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis
5
Mar 05 2024
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There's No Place Like America Today
Curtis Mayfield
4
Mar 06 2024
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Ragged Glory
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
I’ve never listened to Neil Young before. This album told me that there’s probably an album of his out there that I would love. Just not this one.
3
Mar 07 2024
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Liquid Swords
GZA
4
Mar 08 2024
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Different Class
Pulp
3
Mar 11 2024
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Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
This is the style of hip-hop I can listen to forever.
5
Mar 12 2024
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The Wall
Pink Floyd
Mesmerizing. Transportive.
5
Mar 13 2024
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Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4
Mar 14 2024
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Heavy Weather
Weather Report
I’ll just copy+paste my thoughts from another thread:
“I had a weird experience with Weather Report, where my estimation of the album declined in retrospect: I listened to it on Spotify, and liked it well enough, but was surprised it was such a long album, so I checked how much was left- it had ended eight songs ago! Spotify had started an automatic playlist of similar songs. So similar, in fact, that I couldn’t tell any of the artists apart. I don’t know if this is a Seinfeld situation, where Weather Report sounds generic because they had massive influence, but realizing that half the songs I liked weren’t even Weather Report- and I couldn’t tell the difference- made me judge it a little bit harder.”
3
Mar 15 2024
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Live And Dangerous
Thin Lizzy
Started off strong, captured the feeling of a live show quite well. Overstayed its welcome.
3
Mar 18 2024
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
Wonderfully charming.
5
Mar 19 2024
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Is This It
The Strokes
Solid album, great musicians. I would have liked to have been able to understand the vocals a bit more.
4
Mar 20 2024
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S.F. Sorrow
The Pretty Things
I’m not sure quite how to rate this. It has a lot going for it that I enjoy. But I listened to it in headphones, and the stereo was shockingly bad. I almost quit on that alone. I think if I’d listened to it in mono I would have probably loved it. So, I’m not sure how to rate it: High because of the potential, or low because of the actual?
This is already one of my longest reviews and I’ve said actually nothing. Fine. I’ll go with a four and call it good.
4
Mar 21 2024
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Trio
Dolly Parton
Perfectly fine. I just couldn’t engage it as anything more than background music.
3
Mar 22 2024
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Want One
Rufus Wainwright
What a pretty voice. Tremendous control over his instrument.
4
Mar 25 2024
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A Night At The Opera
Queen
Third album to get repeat listens. This is also one of the few albums I knew going into this project. Even the songs with which I am overfamiliar because they play on every rock station ad nauseam- cough, Bohemian Rhapsody- don’t become less magnificent because of that familiarity. I love this album like Roger loves his car.
5
Mar 26 2024
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Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
Easy listening. I will return to this, I’m sure.
4
Mar 27 2024
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The United States Of America
The United States Of America
Had stuff going for it, but it was very uneven. Some songs I couldn’t stand. Some were catchy. I definitely didn’t enjoy this one enough to revisit.
3
Mar 28 2024
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Private Dancer
Tina Turner
I wanted to like this more, and Tina Turner is a force, but the rest of it really left me flat.
2
Mar 29 2024
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Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
This is right up my alley.
5
Apr 01 2024
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Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
5
Apr 02 2024
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Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
3
Apr 03 2024
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Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon
Aural celery. The moment it ended, I forgot everything about it and hungered for real food.
2
Apr 04 2024
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Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
4
Apr 05 2024
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1999
Prince
Just listened and am now pregnant.
4
Apr 08 2024
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Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
Passions of youth carry this album to greatness. Sounds dated, because it is, but it transcends the mid-90s artifacts that threaten to drown it.
4
Apr 09 2024
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Nevermind
Nirvana
Insanely catchy. Half the album’s already classics that play on every rock station, which I didn’t know, never having gotten into Nirvana. I thought that maybe they’d had a series of albums that all had a hit- nope. This could be a greatest hits album with how stuffed full of classics it is.
4
Apr 10 2024
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Basket of Light
Pentangle
Indebted to the artifacts of its era in much the same way that Private Dancer was, and much to similar flat effect. I just happen to like folk more than drum machines, so an extra star.
3
Apr 11 2024
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Liege And Lief
Fairport Convention
I enjoyed the vibe and will probably keep that Matty song available.
3
Apr 12 2024
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Tommy
The Who
Gosh golly that was an ambitious album, wasn’t it? There were moments where the musicality felt genuinely timeless, like a piece of classical music.
5
Apr 15 2024
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good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
Damn.
5
Apr 16 2024
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Synchronicity
The Police
Fourth album to get back-to-back listens.
5
Apr 17 2024
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Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
I’m glad I l heard this, though I’m not sure I can say that I enjoyed this. I take that back- I did enjoy this, and there were enough experimental and creative moments that it kept me engaged throughout. It felt like it was made with a proper punk ethos, which I respect, though this was genrefied as post-punk. Was punk already dead in ‘78?
3
Apr 18 2024
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Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
Like a British Woody Guthrie. I liked it.
3
Apr 19 2024
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I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Richard Thompson
I rolled my eyes when I saw yet another British folk album and, before I even heard it, I decided I was going to give this album a one-star review as a sort of protest vote. Sorry Richard Thompson, nothing personal, you’re just the wrong album at the wrong time. Three folk albums in one week? Are you kidding me? 1001 flavors of folk, is that what we’re doing? Aren’t there more genres than British folk and British rock? Good luck telling that to the dudes who made this list.
So that’s where I started with this album.
But it got a three. It won me over even through my folk fatigue. I thought the duo’s voices were perfectly complimentary, the songs were folksy charming, and that it didn’t outstay its welcome. If I had gotten it fresh out of the oven, instead of getting it as the third folk album this week, I probably would have given it a higher rating.
From this list, so far, this is probably my favorite album that I will never listen to again.
3
Apr 22 2024
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Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
Transports me to a smoky jazz club, puts a whiskey on the rocks in front of me, and a cigar in my hand. I could stay in this club all night.
5
Apr 23 2024
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Station To Station
David Bowie
Quite good.
4
Apr 24 2024
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School's Out
Alice Cooper
I’m surprised by how good this album was, given how little I liked the other Alice Cooper album. Billion Dollar Babies? Not gonna look it up, but I think that was it. This one was dynamic, creative. I enjoyed and didn’t expect the bluesy, jazzy, soulful elements.
4
Apr 25 2024
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L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
It was interesting, and for that I am grateful. I’d rather listen to an interesting misfire than a too-safe nothingburger.
I don’t know how to feel about this album. It did not entrance me like one of the great albums, but I am relistening to Les Enfants right now. There’s maybe something to this album, maybe even something special, but I don’t think I caught it in my first listen and I don’t know if I care enough to search for it.
I think this album probably deserves a deeper review after it has time to digest, rather than a review on first-taste.
3
Apr 26 2024
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Virgin Suicides
Air
My least favorite Air album. It is a soundtrack and feels like it- by which I mean, background noise. Le Voyage Dans La Lune, 10000 HZ Legend, and Moon Safari are all better albums by the same band.
3
Apr 29 2024
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Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3
Apr 30 2024
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Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Pretty freaking good.
4
May 01 2024
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Music
Madonna
I laughed, I cried, I pissed myself.
A placeholder album. Low-effort, I’m-it-for-the-paycheck energy
I went and listened to Madvillainy upon finishing this one, just so that the day’s listening wasn’t a waste.
1
May 02 2024
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The Cars
The Cars
Fifth album I listened to on repeat.
5
May 03 2024
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Marcus Garvey
Burning Spear
Very fine music with a great Rasta attitude.
3
May 06 2024
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Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
Except for Kashmir, I’ll just listen to Les Zeppelin IV if I get the urge to toss an a Led Zeppelin album. So I liked this, but probably won’t revisit.
3
May 07 2024
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Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
This gets real close to being perfect.
5
May 08 2024
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
Best live album I’ve heard?
5
May 09 2024
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Dust
Screaming Trees
Solid album. Nothing really stood out to me, but they were varied and creative and I liked that.
3
May 10 2024
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Celebrity Skin
Hole
Solid. I didn’t feel strongly about it one way or the other.
3
May 13 2024
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Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
I love these song titles.
4
May 14 2024
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Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
My first listen of this album. I need to give it another listen later when I’m healthy, because I am seriously congested right now and my left ear is all stopped up. I could tell there were sounds I should be hearing, but wasn’t.
4
May 15 2024
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Youth And Young Manhood
Kings of Leon
There wasn’t anything wrong with the album, per se, but I kept trying to figure out what the secret sauce was that earned it a spot on the list and, man, I just couldn’t find it.
3
May 16 2024
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Underwater Moonlight
The Soft Boys
I don’t know how I felt about this album. Whilst trying to quantify a rating, I’ve ranged from two stars all the way up to four stars. Maybe I need another listen to solidify my thoughts, but my reviews are basically all off the cuff reactions, so I’ll put three stars and be done with it.
3
May 17 2024
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Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
The underdog success story behind the album is surely laudable. but I think that I don’t quite connect with this gentleman’s artistry. I read that he was also involved with Pentangle, and that album also left me cold.
2
May 20 2024
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3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
That was a super solid album.
4
May 21 2024
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Van Halen
Van Halen
I grew up on these songs, so that probably influences me a bit, but all the parts just fit together so well! The swagger of the lead vocals, the virtuoso guitar, everything about this is confident and powerful and works together to make a superb hard rock album.
5
May 22 2024
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Beach Samba
Astrud Gilberto
Comfortable and pleasing as a cool breeze. Over just as quickly. Sticks in the memory just as much.
3
May 23 2024
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Third
Soft Machine
I don’t have much to say about this one. I liked it and can see myself putting it on again sometime.
4
May 24 2024
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OK
Talvin Singh
I liked it, and even bobbed my head to a couple of songs, but overall, it felt to me like a rough framework of what was to come later with acts like Shpongle and Entheogenic.
3
May 27 2024
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Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
I’ll always applaud an ambitious artist, but it’s rare that the ability rises to the level of the ambition. Even rarer when the level of ambition is this high.
I’d only heard the singles, so I didn’t know the range of the whole album. It’s crunchy, sometimes. It’s melodic, sometimes. A gamut of emotions, all beautifully expressed.
5
May 28 2024
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1984
Van Halen
Hearing this so recently after their self-titled, I’m struck by how more “of its era” this album felt. The first was a swaggering proclamation. Except for the songs Jump, Panama, and I’ll Wait, I don’t feel like they jump to those same height.
3
May 29 2024
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Guitar Town
Steve Earle
I’m not too versed in country, but this sounded like pretty standard fare. I don’t entirely understand its inclusion.
2
May 30 2024
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From Elvis In Memphis
Elvis Presley
It’s taken me a while to get over the idea that Elvis is my grandma’s music- though it literally is, she would play it all the time- but I’m glad I did because he’s pretty goshdarned good.
4
May 31 2024
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Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
Paint It Black was my ringtone back in high school. It’s high on my list of rock songs. The rest of the album is solid. I have always loved the bluesy rock.
4
Jun 03 2024
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Harvest
Neil Young
I listened to this while driving alone on an empty desert highway, and I cannot recommend that experience highly enough. I think that is the ideal listening situation for this album.
4
Jun 04 2024
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Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
Yeah, good.
3
Jun 05 2024
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...And Justice For All
Metallica
Man, this was so close to being a masterpiece.
4
Jun 06 2024
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Strange Cargo III
William Orbit
This was entirely fine, with moments of really good. On balance, it’s fine.
3
Jun 07 2024
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Electric Prunes
The Electric Prunes
I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night was good, but…
2
Jun 10 2024
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A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
I already got this album, back before I joined a listening group.
3
Jun 11 2024
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Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
Good music, a lot more range than you might give them credit for if you only knew the big hits.
4
Jun 12 2024
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Play
Moby
It’s weird that this review is taking this path, but it is, so oh well- there were mouth sounds in the spoken words bits on some of the songs. This bothered me. You’d think that there would be some kind of quality control. But I definitely heard lip-smacks and suchlike, and I don’t wanna hear lip-smacks and suchlike. Drink some applejuice or something, eh? I also don’t understand people who are into mouth sounds as ASMR. Or really, any ASMR. It puts me on edge, but people think it’s relaxing? What? If I’m gonna listen to something I wanna, you know, listen to it. I think that ASMR broaches the liminal aurally. It’s also kinda voyeuristic, no? IDK- I hate ASMR and don’t wanna hear mouth sounds.
South Side was good though.
3
Jun 13 2024
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Brothers
The Black Keys
Solid straight ahead rock. I would love to listen to this in a medium-sized venue, kinda intimate atmosphere, but entirely understand why their arena tour fizzled.
3
Jun 14 2024
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Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Immaculate songwriting perfectly complimented by minimalist production.
5
Jun 17 2024
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One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
This album made me dance across the house Sunday morning and also made me realize how few albums on this list, at least so far, have made me stop what am doing and just be in the groove. This was one of them.
5
Jun 18 2024
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Disraeli Gears
Cream
Perhaps Cream’s reputation was impossible to match, but this was my first listen to Cream, and after years of hearing praise get heaped on them, I did expect more. Sunshine of Your Love and SWLABR lived up to the hype, but the rest of the album left me cold. Again, I think it’s due to the overhype- if I’d listened to them without preamble, then I might have been able to listen without my guard up, but I came in ready for A Masterpiece and got a good album. Perhaps they deserve a relisten at some point so that I can judge them on their own merits. Nah.
3
Jun 19 2024
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Sound Affects
The Jam
That bass player was going for it! He leads the album off and I could never take my ears off him after that.
3
Jun 20 2024
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Kilimanjaro
The Teardrop Explodes
I think that this era of post-punk doesn’t really grab me the way I would hope. Nothing wrong with this album, but nothing for me to hold onto.
3
Jun 21 2024
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69 Love Songs
The Magnetic Fields
I went into this day of listening already mad at the album for being so fucking long- three hours of love songs? WTF is that shit? I almost even let this be the first album I skipped- I was gonna give it a one and say, “Fuck you Magnetic Fields, hire an editor next time, you cheap bastards. Why not just take the twelve best out of the lot and make a normal album?”
Well, that question never gets answered. And even with everything else I’m writing, I still think they should’ve just picked the twelve best and made a normal album. But, I had a long, boring project to do at work and thought, “Well, shit. I’m gonna listen to three hours of music anyway. Might as well be the album of the day.”
I am glad I did.
First off, I hadn’t heard of them before, but I love his voice. I love Bass vocalists, like that cat from Type O-Negative. Which is good, because you couldn’t make it through an album of this length if you don’t like the voice. Even still, I think it was smart to bring in so many guest vocalists, if only for variety’s sake. And variety it had! All sorts of different types of love were written about, and they were written about in so many different styles and arrangements. They managed to keep it fresh for me the whole time. First time I checked how much time was left, I was already almost done with Disc Two! I thought they managed to keep it all moving along quite well.
The realization that the maniacs were pulling it off- they were making a three-hour long album that I was happy to hear- pulls it up to a five, just because I’m wowed at the achievement.
Having said that, having said all of this, I couldn’t tell you a bleeding single out of here after disc one because that’s when it all started to blur. Just like how you can binge a show, enjoy it all, but not really know what happened in which episode because you didn’t experience it in episodes, you experienced it as a whole construct. This is the five-star album I am least likely to revisit as a whole. It earns it for being such a special achievement, but I’ll still be happy whenever any of these songs come on my shuffle.
And I still think that Magnetic Fields should have hired an editor, the cheap bastards.
5
Jun 24 2024
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The Band
The Band
Entirely forgettable. This can’t be their big hit, can it?
1
Jun 25 2024
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Disintegration
The Cure
Absolutely the best album for marinating in your own sadness.
4
Jun 26 2024
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Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
Pretty enjoyable.
3
Jun 27 2024
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California
American Music Club
2
Jun 28 2024
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Third
Portishead
3
Jul 01 2024
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What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
5
Jul 02 2024
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The Doors
The Doors
4
Jul 03 2024
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Morrison Hotel
The Doors
3
Jul 04 2024
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Country Life
Roxy Music
3
Jul 05 2024
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Out of Step
Minor Threat
2
Jul 08 2024
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Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
4
Jul 09 2024
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Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3
Jul 10 2024
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Skylarking
XTC
4
Jul 11 2024
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Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
5
Jul 12 2024
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I See You
The xx
3
Jul 15 2024
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Either Or
Elliott Smith
I think this is going to be like the Nick Drake album we got a while ago, by which I mean that it will get better the longer it gets to marinate.
4
Jul 16 2024
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Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Greatness. I loved that it wasn’t so far removed from root rock or jazz, you can feel those influences in this album. This is the font from which all metal flows, and it is awesome.
5
Jul 17 2024
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Permission to Land
The Darkness
Man, I had this CD in the car for a while. It’s not deep, it’s not a masterpiece, but boy is it entertaining. The best hair metal of the 2000s?
4
Jul 18 2024
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Technique
New Order
Good music.
4
Jul 19 2024
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Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
It was good… but a bit noodly, no?
3
Jul 22 2024
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Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Not a discerning jazz listener. It’s all good to me.
4
Jul 23 2024
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Exile On Main Street
The Rolling Stones
I’m surprised that I’m giving this such a low rating, but even though I liked the style, there wasn’t really anything that grabbed me.
3
Jul 24 2024
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So
Peter Gabriel
I thought this was pretty much a perfect album. From the songwriting, to the musicianship, production- everything is done to such a high level. Not to mention- it was a damn fun listen, to boot.
5
Jul 25 2024
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D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Not nearly as offensive to the ears as this website’s consensus would have you believe. After the first song, anyway. I liked some of the ideas in this album, even if they didn’t quite pull all of them off.
3
Jul 26 2024
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What's That Noise?
Coldcut
3
Jul 29 2024
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That's The Way Of The World
Earth, Wind & Fire
My random connection to Earth, Wind & Fire- my wife taught music to Philip Bailey’s son.
4
Jul 30 2024
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Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
I liked the start of the album, but then… I don’t know. My interest waned and by the end I didn’t care. Solid musicality throughout, however.
3
Jul 31 2024
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Screamadelica
Primal Scream
I tried listening to this album three different times, because I wanted to give it a fair shake and thought maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it. Three days, three tries, zero listens. Whatever it is that is in this album, I can’t say, all I can say is it bounces off me entirely and this is the first album I didn’t complete
1
Aug 01 2024
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(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)
Lynyrd Skynyrd
They went long on a lot of their songs, didn’t they? Even the classics aren’t unassailable- they could probably all be cut down by 25% and be fine. Having said that, exemplary rockers who defined their subgenre entirely.
4
Aug 02 2024
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Me Against The World
2Pac
It isn’t bad, I don’t think, but I’m not getting into it. I also didn’t rate Ready to Die, so maybe I just don’t like this era of the genre?
2
Aug 05 2024
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Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Loved the drums. Loved the singles. The rest was good, solid, straight-ahead hard rock. Solid album.
3
Aug 06 2024
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Beatles
I’ve never wanted to give a 4.5 more than I do here. On the one hand, changed the game, amazing production, tra-la-la. On the other, a lot of it was…fine. Filler tracks. On the other-other hand, we are clearly listening to the work of a master, especially with the intro, out to, and Day In The Life.
The great parts catch me, the twee parts bore me, it’s got a great legacy, put all that in a blender and… I’ll give it a four-and-a-half, then round up in deference to the landmark achievement that is this album.
5
Aug 07 2024
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Colour By Numbers
Culture Club
This is the first album in a minute that made me want to get up and dance. And though I hadn’t heard it before, I *loved* Church of the Poison Mind. I think I’ll work a few of these songs into my regular rotation.
4
Aug 08 2024
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Ocean Rain
Echo And The Bunnymen
I don’t know if this makes any sense, but during my listen, I had the thought, “These guys believe in monsters.” Like, there’s something lurking just outside of the music? That element of the music did give me a thrill. Besides Killing Moon, however, I’m not sure I’ll be revisiting this album.
3
Aug 09 2024
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Vauxhall And I
Morrissey
This was fine music, but I found myself annoyed with the singer.
3
Aug 12 2024
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Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
I liked every part right up until the last two songs; they just didn’t grab my attention.
3
Aug 13 2024
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After The Gold Rush
Neil Young
In my first Neil Young review, I wrote that even though I didn’t particularly like that album, it showed me that there was probably a Neil Young album that I would like. I think that is this album.
4
Aug 14 2024
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Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
I like Dylan’s songwriting. I like the way it flipped from acoustic to electric halfway through the album. It brought energy and renewed my attentions.
I think there were some songs in here that found Dylan indulging in his worst habits, lyrically, the habits that get caricatured in pop culture; the rambling, pseudo-insightful nonsense imagery. I’m about that, for the record, so this isn’t a criticism. I quite like when artists have some pretension.
4
Aug 15 2024
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Odelay
Beck
This was a very uneven album, but full of creativity and flair. There were some songs I hated, some songs I really enjoyed, and I think I recognized one or two of them. I can’t say I’d recommend this album to anyone, however, and I know I won’t listen to it again.
3
Aug 16 2024
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Lost Souls
Doves
Good music-making, but whatever audio effects they were doing to the vocals were simply distracting and garbled the lyrics, which is unfortunate, because the few times they just led their frontman sing were the few songs I really got into.
3
Aug 19 2024
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Heroes
David Bowie
Heroes is a great song, and most of the album is good. I can’t think of a single song I disliked, and I know I’ll relisten to this album. It just falls this side of a rounding error short of being a five star.
4
Aug 20 2024
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Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
I don’t think this is one of Mr. Dylan’s big hits. I don’t recognize any of the songs, at the least. Nevertheless, this is my favorite of his albums from the list so far. He doesn’t drift too far abstract in his imagery, which is something that I felt plagued the previous album. Just straightforward and earnest.
5
Aug 21 2024
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Ray Of Light
Madonna
Idk Madonna’s work outside of her hits. The only other album of hers I’ve heard is that soulless cashgrab country album that I gave a one-star review. This doesn’t feel as I would have expected a Madonna album to feel, but I really like it.
4
Aug 22 2024
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Elephant
The White Stripes
Bare bones, straightahead garage rock without flares or frippery. I think that if you disliked the overall style, this album would be a slog, because they don’t demonstrate much breadth. Fortunately, I like the style.
4
Aug 23 2024
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Astral Weeks
Van Morrison
3
Aug 26 2024
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Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
I avoided Bob Marley for the longest time because, for the longest time, the only people I knew who listened to Bob Marley were the white stoners from college who had just moved from the suburbs, who pretended that Rastafarianism was like some funny Jamaican Buddhism (but better because Rastas toked), and had mass-produced Che Guevara posters on their walls. I avoided, well, I avoided anything that crowd liked, honestly, so I skipped Mr. Marley.
I wish I had heard this sooner. I think that it could have been a foundational album for me in my youth, what with its social commentary over solid beats. No Woman No Cry was the big standout for me, but the entire album was solid.
4
Aug 27 2024
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At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
Can I be impressed and bored? Yes, yes I can.
3
Aug 28 2024
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The Man Who
Travis
This would go perfect, listened to over a bowl of cold porridge. This is mushy peas you forgot in the fridge. Even the singer couldn’t muster up a single shit to give to this album.
“Why does it always rain on me? Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?” No, it’s because you live in Scotland, ya moppy git!
My advice- don’t go at other artists in such a milquetoast way. Say it with your chest if you’re gonna say it at all. All the complaining about Wonderwall just made me realize I hadn’t gotten What’s The Story, Morning Glory? on this project. Looking forward to that. Odelay was also good. This album was not.
1
Aug 29 2024
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Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts
The Adverts
Good, classic punk.
3
Aug 30 2024
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Songs From A Room
Leonard Cohen
It has some of my favorite Leonard Cohen songs; it has some of the worst Leonard Cohen songs. I love its minimalism. He doesn’t sound quite confident on a few of the songs, I think.
4
Sep 02 2024
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Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
5
Sep 03 2024
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Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
It turns out, that La Grange is the only one of my favorite ZZ Top songs that was actually done by ZZ Top; the rest were Lynrd Skynrd songs I’d misattributed to ZZ Top, like Gimme Three Steps. La Grange is surely a classic, and the rest was solid.
3
Sep 04 2024
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Red Dirt Girl
Emmylou Harris
I hadn’t heard of Emmylou Harris before today, but this album convinced me to do a deep dive. I didn’t like every song, which stops it from being five stars, but the ones that I did nearly brought me to tears. At its best, it commanded my attention. I’m excited to learn more about this artist.
4
Sep 05 2024
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Dear Science
TV On The Radio
Pleasantly surprised by this one. Hadn’t heard of the band, unimpressed by the album cover, and I expected little. It was fun and adventurous. I might even look for more from these men.
4
Sep 06 2024
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Before And After Science
Brian Eno
I quite liked it. Some songs were rather silly, but that made for a fun time.
4
Sep 09 2024
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Hard Again
Muddy Waters
No connoisseur of blues, me, but I’ve always liked Muddy Waters when I’ve heard him. Is this his quintessential album?
4
Sep 10 2024
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Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel
It was fine.
3
Sep 11 2024
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Calenture
The Triffids
This was whiny in a creepy way, right? There was some interesting imagery in the lyrics, but a lot of it felt actually creepy.
2
Sep 12 2024
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O.G. Original Gangster
Ice T
4
Sep 13 2024
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Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
This is not what I expected, but pleasant surprises are ever and always the hope in undertaking this project. I had it in my mind that Iron Maiden was proto-thrash; I expected this to be angry, aggressive, exhausting. This was very complex and cerebral, with operatic references, no less. Also- not the vocalist I knew from the small handful of songs. I had a grand ol’ time, and I look forward to digging more into this bands discography.
4
Sep 16 2024
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Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
There were a couple of absolute five-star songs, but besides those, I’m not sure I’d return to this album. But, absolutely top-of-the-class early 90s alt rock.
3
Sep 17 2024
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L.A. Woman
The Doors
I loved the bluesy feel here. It didn’t feel like a repeat of their other album I heard, so they were continuing to experiment and grow. Solid throughout.
4
Sep 18 2024
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Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
I really liked this. I didn’t know this side of Bruce; I pretty much only know his big hits. I was surprised, and realized that this is yet another artist whose heyday was before my time that deserves a deep dive.
4
Sep 19 2024
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Abbey Road
Beatles
I didn’t listen to any Beatles albums before this project. At this point, I have considered each new Beatles album I hear to be the best one I’ve heard. I liked this better than Sgt. Pepper’s, and Sgt. Pepper’s more than Hard Day’s Night. And I like each one leaps and bounds more than the previous. At this rate, Revolver will have to do my taxes or some shit to impress me.
5
Sep 20 2024
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Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
Another one that I wouldn’t have sought on my own, and isn’t quite my cuppa, but I’m glad to have heard it. I will always be more receptive to niche genres and interesting misfires than competent-but-complacent albums on this list.
3
Sep 23 2024
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Young Americans
David Bowie
Bowie has some high heights, and he has Low, but I’d say this is pretty mid.
3
Sep 24 2024
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(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
I get what the hype. There were a couple of top-notch songs in there. But the second half dragged something awful.
3
Sep 25 2024
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Violator
Depeche Mode
A couple of instant classics for me- songs that I know will go into my regular rotation. Rest of the album was powerful and moody. Loved it
5
Sep 26 2024
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On The Beach
Neil Young
So I really liked everything about this album. I don’t know if this list gave me some kind of Stockholm about Neil Young or what, but I didn’t mind his voice at all, either. Short and sweet. I don’t have anything to criticize.
5
Sep 27 2024
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Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
This is entirely fine. I it is very of its era, and that’s not a bad thing, but I don’t think that, for me, it quite rises above the glut of similar bands of that time.
3
Sep 30 2024
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Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
I think I only knew two of these songs. But holy hell do they kick ass. This is two hours- and I don’t think it justifies its runtime, which is what gives it a 4 instead of 5- and there is a breadth of styles and they nail them all. Quite an impressive undertaking.
4
Oct 01 2024
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Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young can be great, but I think he’s very inconsistent. I gave the last album five stars, but this one a three. I think I’ve given him everything but a one-star. There wasn’t anything wrong with this album, per se, but I didn’t get into it.
3
Oct 02 2024
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Bubble And Scrape
Sebadoh
There were some fine songs, but very unfocused and I wouldn’t glance twice at the stage of these guys were playing at a local bar. I’m not sure what about it earns its place on the list.
2
Oct 03 2024
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Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I loved this album and didn’t feel like it was nearly as long as it was. I love the vibes. Easy five star for me.
5
Oct 04 2024
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Electric
The Cult
Perfectly serviceable.
3
Oct 07 2024
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The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
KCK represent! Fortunately, this also just kicks ass on its own. I’m glad I got this on a Friday, because I was able to use the rest of the weekend to listen to the rest of her discography. I don’t know if anything else quite matches this, her debut album, but them’s the brakes sometimes.
5
Oct 08 2024
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Blackstar
David Bowie
Easy 5-star. Complex, somber. An amazing work and a powerful goodbye.
5
Oct 09 2024
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Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
It was fine. It was very good background music.
3
Oct 10 2024
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Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
So I’ve learned that I like the Bruce Springsteen Sound. I’ll be happy to get any of these songs on a shuffle, but there wasn’t anything about the album as a whole to elevate it.
3
Oct 11 2024
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Giant Steps
The Boo Radleys
I hated every part of this. That last song was like the band was punishing you for having been so foolish as to waste your time on their album.
1
Oct 14 2024
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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
I thought the Arctic Monkeys were one of those virtually interchangeable radio rock bands, but this was a fun album. Maybe my favorite post-2000s rock album yet given from the list.
4
Oct 15 2024
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Blue Lines
Massive Attack
Very enjoyable! I haven’t heard a Massive Attack song I disliked. Maybe no song in particular was a stand out for me, but I really liked the atmosphere it conjured.
4
Oct 16 2024
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The Boatman's Call
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I liked the whole thing. I’ve always liked Nick Cave’s vibe, but never dug too deep. This is more soulful than I’d have imagined.
4
Oct 17 2024
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Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
3
Oct 18 2024
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The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3
Oct 21 2024
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Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
I liked it, but I’m unlikely to revisit it.
3
Oct 22 2024
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Moving Pictures
Rush
This might be Rush at their leanest, most straight-ahead rock and roll. I love Rush at all stages of their career. Easy fiver for me.
5
Oct 24 2024
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Melody A.M.
Röyksopp
It was fun, but for the most part it faded into the background for me.
2
Oct 25 2024
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Penance Soiree
The Icarus Line
I enjoyed nothing about this album. Even the songs that were good underneath all the garbage noise were, well, buried in garbage noise. Doesn’t deserve the slot. Good album artwork though.
1
Oct 28 2024
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Debut
Björk
I liked it well enough and suspect it should’ve gotten more of my attention than I was willing to spare.
3
Oct 29 2024
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Bad
Michael Jackson
I mean, it’s Michael Jackson, yeah?
5
Oct 30 2024
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Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
I liked each individual song and believe I will be happily surprised by any of them coming on my Spotify random, but this album was two straight hours of bluegrass, which puts my lifetime total of bluegrass listening somewhere around two hours, and didn’t inspire me to seek out more bluegrass.
3
Oct 31 2024
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Water From An Ancient Well
Abdullah Ibrahim
This is the kind of album I get excited about- it comes from a part of the world of which I am wholly unexposed, it is awesome, and also it reminded how much I like jazz.
I wish we got more worldwide exposure on this list. I (probably) like the standard rock that makes it onto this list as much as the next guy, but I think this project is at its best when it is expanding horizons and forging bridges.
5
Nov 01 2024
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Document
R.E.M.
I liked the average song from this album less than I liked the average song from Automatic For the People, but I think that the best songs on this album are better than the best songs on Automatic For the People.
5
Nov 04 2024
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Guero
Beck
A lot of my favorite Beck songs are on this album, it turns out.
4
Nov 05 2024
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Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Coming into this album, the only song I’d heard was Sultans of Swing. Leaving this album, the only song I can remember is Sultans of Swing.
3
Nov 06 2024
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Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
I appreciated that it was incentive, but nothing about it grabbed me.
2