View Album
Mon Jan 08 2024
Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Pretty solid blues rock from the late '60s. It's understandable how it became a classic, it's well-written and the melodies easily get stuck in your head. I love the guitar parts, full of licks (the blues influence is strong there), and how their create a discussion with the lead singer.
4
View Album
Tue Jan 09 2024
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Great folk-pop album, great voice and great song-writting. It's too rare nowadays to have pop music with such meaningful lyrics. The stripped down songs are the best (hell, Behind the Wall shows that she doesn't need additional instruments), the others are a bit too overproduced (welcome to the '80s I guess).
4
View Album
Wed Jan 10 2024
Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow
Great album; stumbled across it almost 20 years ago and I'm still hooked in the first seconds. The composition and ambiance work on this album are noteworthy, it takes you to a journey with ups and downs, and I find the whole pretty coherent. There are obvious bangers (Stem/Long Stem for starters) and chiller parts that lean to trip-hop (and that the main clue that gives away the age of the record, you hear that you can smell the mid-'90s). The composition makes me think of progressive stuff I usually encounter in rock-related genres. And I can't imagine the work required to chisel such a record. Great work!
4
View Album
Thu Jan 11 2024
Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
The mix of new wave and reggae is interesting, the bass guitar is omnipresent and very melodic; when the lead guitar is not playing dull reggae riffs it's actually interesting even though it sometimes a bit too low in the mix to my taste.
The way Sting sings with Carribean-like inflexion is quite annoying, that's probably the worst part of their "white reggae" (with the cultural appropriation issue it draws; the title itself makes me uncomfortable).
Whatever its flaws, it's clearly good quality pop music.
3
View Album
Fri Jan 12 2024
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
I'm much more into their studio years than their early pop-rock years, but it still freaking fun to listen to. And it's full of short, catchy songs full of energy, nothing longer than 3', 30' in total; nice and sweet album to listen to. The music itself is not (yet) revolutionary but it's damn good nonetheless -- and actually not so obvious either; the sound of Harrison's 12-strings Rickenbacker is already something. The songwritting is good, and the interaction between McCartney & Lennon is playing well, their voices layered and intertwined for a great result.
4
View Album
Mon Jan 15 2024
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
I was not familiar at all with Solomon Burke before (only heard one of his songs in the closing scene of one of the seasons of the Wire), and while it's not my jam, it spend a nice time listening to it. He has a great voice, and the music supporting his voice is pretty nice and keeps the promise of the title: a pretty nice blend of rock and soul. Some guitar parts are actually pretty good! The way chorus are used is also interesting, in particular how they create a dialogue in Won't You Give Him.
3
View Album
Tue Jan 16 2024
The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
I'm not super familiar with the Smiths but it's good quality pop/post-punk/indie rock from the '80s. Morrissey can sing that's for sure (even though sometimes he is whining a bit too much), and Marr knows how to play even though there is no technical demonstrations (no solo, nothing particularly fancy but it's well written and interpreted and the melodies are all potential earworms). The production of the album is a bit too dated, you instantly know you're listening to an album from the '80s. All in all it's ok but not so memorable for me.
And Morrissey is a racist prick now, it doesn't help
3
View Album
Wed Jan 17 2024
Songs From A Room
Leonard Cohen
It's much more enjoyable than what I feared at first. Leonard Cohen was part of my musical environment when I was growing up, and I must say that his drawling voice, slow and quiet music made me indifferent when it was not boring me to death. But I'm more familiar with his later work, and it seems that his earlier work is much more appealing (basic folk with nothing more than his voice and guitar, no fancy arrangements) and his voice a bit more dynamic than when he was getting older (less crooner, more folk singer). I even enjoyed some of it; it's simple, stripped down folk, guitar and voice going well together. There is far too much mouth harp though, it ruins part of the songs that would have been much better without it (or with a simple drumming pattern, or anything else really).
3
View Album
Thu Jan 18 2024
The Atomic Mr Basie
Count Basie & His Orchestra
Pretty nice and full energy big band album, mostly instrumental. The sound is clear, each instrument at its place and the solos are really good throughout the record. The kind of jazz that makes you in a good mood
4
View Album
Fri Jan 19 2024
The Coral
The Coral
This is pretty decent for a "The" band from the early '00s. The psychedelic side of the band is nice and they provide a good update of the genre. Singer voice is great, his inflections sometimes reminds me of Ryan Kattner of Man Man, and it definitely plays a role in the "sea shanty" feeling of some of the songs. When they mix their sound with ska/reggae, it's a bit more dull though (at least they don't sing with a fake Jamaican accent like Sting).
3
View Album
Mon Jan 22 2024
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
I was more familiar with the "Ill" records, but Paul's Boutique is another Beastie Boys masterpiece. The samples are particularly insane, once you start to pay attention to the music behind the voices. Their flow is still the same (and either you like it or you abhor it; I'm in the first category), the music is a bit more funky with less obvious "rock" part, really a good album. Although perhaps a tiny bit too long since it's very dense.
4
View Album
Tue Jan 23 2024
Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Knopfler is a great guitar player and it shows in Dire Straits debut album, very precise and bluesy. And he's good in a good way, meaning that he is not a neck-wanker, he lets the music breathes. The upbeat songs are the really nice, the rest of the album is a bit too chill for me and turns almost boring unfortunately. The production is maybe a bit too clean too
3
View Album
Wed Jan 24 2024
A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Coldplay
It's the first time I give a go to the full album; as everybody on the Western world I was forced to hear a bunch of tracks from this record, and I never like them. The rest of the album is no better. It's mellow overproduced pop-rock with plaintive vocals. I can get why it appeals to a large audience -- it is designed to -- but there is nothing close to interesting in their music. Some people told me that they were not yet full commercial shitty pop-rock at that time; I'm afraid of what they did after that if it's going down the hill from here: this is already a torture. I could have definitely die without this album. And I would gladly give 0 star if possible.
1
View Album
Thu Jan 25 2024
The Only Ones
The Only Ones
Kind of laid back punk; starting to listen to the record I was expecting something more pop oriented, but there are nice pieces of rock and punk in it. Some good guitar parts and the bass is really present, round and clear. The best songs are the fastest ones, the slower ones are more forgettable and the broken voice of the singer sounds better when he's not too drawling.
3
View Album
Fri Jan 26 2024
Pretenders
Pretenders
Efficient pop-punk album from the late '70s. Nice punkish guitar parts, efficient and "round" bass, good vocals. Hynde voice is great but a bit too present in the mix, and I have a preference for her singing when it's faster and harsher, more "punk". Actually applies to the album as a whole, tracks like The Wait are much better than more cheasier tracks.
A bit too long for the genre, it could have been easily cut in half. Also because it sounds sometimes a bit schyzophrenic between the punk and pop sides of the album.
3
View Album
Mon Jan 29 2024
The Yes Album
Yes
I remember listening to some Yes about 20 years ago, an acquaintance introducing them to me somehow. That was probably my first contact with prog and assimilated genres, and it probably opened my horizon to a whole new music territory. That being said, few years later I started to listen heavily to the Floyds (and prog metal, and post-rock, and...), and I realised now that I never came back to Yes. And listen to them again, I guess I see why. There are some efforts put in the way tracks are built, but they lack some coherence compared to the Floyds. They also lack some grit, sometimes it's a bit too dull. And perhaps the voice is far too present for the genre. It's good, don't get me wrong, but there are more interesting things, prog-wise, to listen to.
3
View Album
Tue Jan 30 2024
Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
I did not know Hugh Masekela before. Glad I discovered this artist! Great jazz, very funky, not a bit boring: even the chill tracks have insane trumpet parts. First time I'm going to give 5 stars to an album I did not know before, and it's worth it!
5
View Album
Wed Jan 31 2024
Odelay
Beck
I'm not a huge fan of Beck; it's kind of lay-back music is a bit too lay back for me... and in many cases he seems as bored as I could be will singing. Trying to get past this, the album is actually pretty good, the way songs are built with samples and instruments is nice and the most dynamic songs even caught me shaking my head. So yeah, still not a huge fan, but not that bad.
3
View Album
Thu Feb 01 2024
Bug
Dinosaur Jr.
This is a strong album from Dinosaur Jr. displaying everything that makes their sound unique: the noisy guitars in which you can drown, that come in contrast with nonchalant vocals from J Mascis and his insane solos. These guys seems to be totally laid back but they're actually technically quite good, but with no show off, they're just doing it casually. More than 35 years later, it does not sound out-dated.
5
View Album
Fri Feb 02 2024
Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev
I was not really familiar with Mercury Rev, knew the name of the band but not much more than this. And that was actually pretty good! Their songs are at the crossroads between a precious indie rock, with post- or prog-rock leanings, well carved melodies and a hint of shoegazing. Sometimes sounds like an updated version of the Floyds. I'll probably give this another spin(s).
5
View Album
Mon Feb 05 2024
Odessey And Oracle
The Zombies
Kind of Beatles variant, but less obvious and/or pop. It still tastes strongly like the '60s. It's well and subtly orchestrated, with a little psychdelic twist. Pretty nice to listen to.
4
View Album
Tue Feb 06 2024
Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
I was not familiar with her work before listening to this record. When she's leaning on the folk-side of the Force, it's really nice; but there is a more "pop" side of her work that I don't like as much. Great voice though.
3
View Album
Wed Feb 07 2024
Highway to Hell
AC/DC
Although I listen to a good load of heavy music and music with saturation, I've never been a huge fan of hard rock and/or heavy metal (especially NWOBHM and the likes), mostly because I can't keep up, it's too high power for me. I enjoy a song once in a while, but a whole record is hard to swallow for me. It exhausts me. So yeah, this is 5 stars hard rock, it's full of absolute classic and it's hard not to have feet taping in unison with the music, but it's too much. I'd rather listen to some good ol'punk: it's high energy all the same but in most cases they have the decency to keep under 30 min (hell, under 20 min even)
3
View Album
Thu Feb 08 2024
Clandestino
Manu Chao
One good thing here is that it's refreshing to hear another language than English in the 1001 albums selections, the list being awfuly biased. I love Mano Negra and if they don't belong to the list, they should. It was really good alternative rock, and of course Chao was a key component of the band. I discovered them as a young teenager, and I was actually pretty disapointed by Chao change of sounds when Clandestino was released years after. Latino rythms are not really my cup of tea; it was nice when mixed with rock with Mano Negra but much less appealing to my ears deprieved of the rock side here. So, 20+ years later, I was reluctant to listen to this record (I was about to give it one star and be done with it), but it came as a nice surprise: I'm still not a huge fan of the latino side of the album, but it's diverse, the music is pretty simple but nicely arranged, and it has this kind of dicey quality that makes it interesting (and reminds me of this patchwork aspect of Mano Negra).
It won't be in heavy rotation but giving a new listen to this record was actually not that bad and I can hear its qualities.
3
View Album
Fri Feb 09 2024
Double Nickels On The Dime
Minutemen
Interesting album, full of ideas and nice pieces. The album is maybe too full of... everything, but that's also what gives it its peculiar sound and appeal, its collage quality, sometimes it almost sounds as if listening to a sampling album, before samples became a thing.
3
View Album
Mon Feb 12 2024
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy
This is a really strong hip hop album, a masterpiece of its kind, and that was important for the history of the genre. I own this record for years and that's an album I come back to from time to time. The flow is flawless, the beats are strong. But these beats are also slightly repetitive, that keep it from being perfect.
4
View Album
Tue Feb 13 2024
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
Hell of an album. Absolute classic.
5
View Album
Wed Feb 14 2024
BEYONCÉ
Beyoncé
The genre in which Beyoncé is evolving is really not my cup of tea, and I'm pretty disarmed to assess the quality of such an album. I gave it a try anyway and: (1) it's really not my jam, (2) I was surprised by the music that is not always some boring/simple rhythms, there are actually pieces of electronic music in the background that are not so obvious (and that makes it interesting), (3) I respect Beyoncé's fights and the way she uses mainstream music to push her agenda (she talks about feminism, racism, sexuality in ways that are not really customary in pop music).
Not as bad as I feared, not my jam, but there are things to get out of it.
2
View Album
Thu Feb 15 2024
A Short Album About Love
The Divine Comedy
This is way too theatrical and orchestral, in a bad way. Maybe it's ironic? Anyway, it sounds pretentious and vain. And kinda boring.
2
View Album
Fri Feb 16 2024
Close To The Edge
Yes
I was not expecting a second Yes album so close to the last one, and I was not thrilled (I had a better memory of the band than what I heard a few days ago). But... this one is so much better. It has the grit and the epic side that was lacking to the Yes Album. There are jazz/technical parts, but they are not overwhelming. It's intense but they kept it short (below 40 min) which is also great to avoid an overdose. This is the kind of prog I like.
4
View Album
Mon Feb 19 2024
Document
R.E.M.
For years I was a bit surprised to hear many people from a variety of (rock and metal) subgenres citing REM as a reference, as I knew them mostly for their big hits. Then I started to dig a bit, and was amazed by what I heard. Document is a good example of why people revere REM. It's well written, it's coherent, it's 5 stars rock with a nice twist, Stripe voice is great, and we can hear their influence in many bands to come (hard to come with a more proto-grunge song than Strange for example). I love the way they chose stripped down sound in the midst of the '80s craze for overblown sound. This is solid.
5
View Album
Tue Feb 20 2024
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
It Takes a Nation... was a great album and is often praised as their most notable record, but Fear of a Black Planet is very strong too, perhaps even stronger. The political message is really strong, it has a more experimental music background, guitar parts that are great, and it does not suffer from the unnerving gimmicks from It Takes a Nation. This is the golden age of hip hop at its apex.
4
View Album
Wed Feb 21 2024
Opus Dei
Laibach
Martial drums, guttural voice, orchestral arrangement, industrial and noisy bits here and there. It is easy to hear how this could have been ground breaking and influencial when it came out. It is also easy to get tired of their commitment to totalitarian imagery that they could have tune down from time to time.
3
View Album
Thu Feb 22 2024
Ys
Joanna Newsom
This is a pretty interesting album of carefully chiseled modern(-ish) folk with a baroque twist. The omnipresence of the harp is unusual but really nice, the orchestration is nice and not too overwhelming (i.e. it does not sound too cheesy), the voice is special, sometimes a bit on the edge, reminding me of Björk (with who she shares also a baroque/avant-garde liking). This album was recorded by Albini, which is also a seal of good quality!
4
View Album
Fri Feb 23 2024
Kenya
Machito
Nice jazz with afro-caribbean bits in it. Not my favourite flavor of jazz, but stil pretty pleasant to listen to.
4
View Album
Mon Feb 26 2024
Blackstar
David Bowie
THAT is what I call a swansong. This album is close to perfect and shows well what Bowie could do, even close to the end. I like the fact that it is very jazzy, the electronic bits were less a novelty in his career but still enjoyable. I find the opening track a bit irritating though.
4
View Album
Tue Feb 27 2024
Funeral
Arcade Fire
I remember when this came out, I remember the first time I listened to Rebellion (Lies), it really is a Proust madeleine. This kind of albums introduced me to a part of indie music I still love today. There is kind of too much of everything: too much instruments, too much people singing at the same time, mostly out of tune but it has its intrinsic quality. You can feel the collective listening to the album, and they tend to swap instruments from time to time which is also nice. It carries some nostalgia in the sound itself, even more so years after its release.
5
View Album
Wed Feb 28 2024
Butterfly
Mariah Carey
That was painful. I feel like I spent an hour drowning in a field of marshmallows with unicorns farting rainbows all around me and believe it or not, but farting unicorns sound exactly like Mariah Carey does on this record.
1
View Album
Thu Feb 29 2024
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
I knew them by name but I could not really remember anything I've listen from them. This is OK but not memorable, the album is far too long and lacks coherence. Which is also kind of its strength, exploring different paths in almost opposite directions. Some paths were worth taken, some much less. It's more a 2.5 for me but I'm in a good mood, let's round it to 3.
3
View Album
Fri Mar 01 2024
Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
This is some solid blues rock here. Very enjoyable and entertaining. Nothing particularly ground-breaking, but nothing pompous or overblown. They're good but not particularly showing off, and they take their time to play.
4
View Album
Mon Mar 04 2024
All Directions
The Temptations
It's funky, it's pretty laidback, it has some great tunes. The second side of the album is a bit duller and more R&B than the groovy funk on the first side; if it has consistently stayed on the first side direction, it could have won 5 stars.
4
View Album
Tue Mar 05 2024
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
I forgot it almost as quickly as I listened to it. I did not have the time to rate it right away, and now I'm having hard times saying anything about it. I vaguely remember that some songs were entertaining, some others bored me. Sorry Tom Petty.
2
View Album
Wed Mar 06 2024
Sunshine Superman
Donovan
It smells like the 60s, it has this simple and enjoyable taste of a time when everything seemed brighter and simpler. It's not a masterpiece but it's genuine, and I'd be actually quite happy if today's pop has this sort of qualities.
On top of that, it seems that the guy stayed true to himself through the years.
3
View Album
Thu Mar 07 2024
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
TV On The Radio
I knew them by name but I never really listen to them. Oh boy this is good! I loved their blend of pop and experimental music, it's quirky, it's weird, it's untertaining, it has really nice voice harmonies, there is a good work on textures and atmospheres, some tracks make me want to dance. That's the kind of albums that makes me stay on this journey.
texture atmosphere voice harmonies quirky weird
5
View Album
Fri Mar 08 2024
Unhalfbricking
Fairport Convention
I never heard about them before; this is a pretty solid rock folk album. Sandy Denny's voice is amazing, the music is pretty classic but there are nice surprises. In the middle of the album, the long and almost progressive version of A Sailor's Voice took me by surprise and is really good. I'm not too fond of the Dylan's covers though.
amazing voice
sailor's voice
4
View Album
Mon Mar 11 2024
Synchronicity
The Police
It's not as bad as Reggatta de Blanc but it's quite uneven: Synchronicity I and II are pretty good, the known singles are also OK, Mother (so disliked by many) is actually more interesting from a musical point of view than many other songs on this album that are bland. A small half is OK, the rest is barely average.
2
View Album
Tue Mar 12 2024
Master Of Puppets
Metallica
When I was 18 to 20, I was going every saturday to music shops in my hometown, spending whole afternoons listening to music, and buying more or less random stuff, partly because I was eager to build my musical culture. Master of Puppets is one of these albums I knew about but never listen to, and that I decided to buy. I loved the stark, raw and stripped down sound (especially compared to what I was listening to at that time -- way too much symphonic metal). It's fast but not overly technical, it's kind of harsh but every track is actually pretty long and takes it time to develop. I did not listen to this album for quite some time and I still love it to the bone. I've never dug too much what they did afterward, but this album is gold.
5
View Album
Wed Mar 13 2024
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
That's close to perfect music when you don't intend to listen to music. So you'll also forget it as fast as the last tune ends. Also without checking the info on the album I would have bet that it was from the 70s (even the cover is misleading), and it really sounds like they did no effort to update this sound and make it more "modern" somehow (there's a good load of revivals where the sound from an era is used as an inspiration but with a modern twist). It would probably have more value if really from the 70s. It's not bad per se, but should it be among the 1001 albums I should listen before I die? Not sure.
2
View Album
Thu Mar 14 2024
You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
Sorry, I'm still not a fan of Cohen. And with time flying by, it seems to me that he became a caricature of himself. His slow, drowling voice may be soothing to some, it is irritating to me. And I've never been a huge fan of slow music; there are very few exceptions, but Cohen is not of them. I still find it pretty boring.
2
View Album
Fri Mar 15 2024
Goo
Sonic Youth
Hell yeah! That's funny to have The Black Crowes and Sonic Youth almost in a row with two albums released the same year. One is boring and replaying over and over ideas that were already 20 years old, the other one is abrasive, creative, full of ideas, sometimes not exactly knowing where it is going but at least trying to go somewhere and not treading water. For the record, I listen to lots of stuff that were inspired by Sonic Youth, and even though I'm not overly familiar with their work, it feels like home because the way they make cry their instruments, full of noise and dissonance, is very familiar to me.
5
View Album
Mon Mar 18 2024
Aja
Steely Dan
I like prog rock. I can appreciate funk. I love jazz. And yet, while mixing these genres, Steely Dan succeeded to make this album deeply blunt and boring.
2
View Album
Tue Mar 19 2024
Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Really good folk rock here. The title is well found though (in the litteral sense in French, rehash), as it is not particularly original. But nice to listen to.
3
View Album
Wed Mar 20 2024
Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth
Another major album from Sonic Youth! Once again, I'm not overly familiar with their work but it's a real pleasure to dig into their discography thanks to 10001albums. Daydream Nation is more raw than Goo, really abrasive, there is a punk urgency to their sound, but paradoxically they take their time to develop their songs. Noise is everywhere, they are always on the verge of sound chaos. And what an intro! Great album.
5
View Album
Thu Mar 21 2024
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
I knew them by name and now I know I would have been happy if it stayed that way. It's actually pretty boring to listen too. It's well arranged, they can sing, but I'm bored to death and it's far too mellow for me. I was about to rate it with 2 stars, but it was saved by the Chain that is rather entertaining, and by the end of the last track that builds nicely some tension.
3
View Album
Fri Mar 22 2024
Dance Mania
Tito Puente
Latino music in general is not really my cup of tea, and I'm apparently not a fan of mambo. The record is saved by a great brass section and some jazzy bits that are pretty nice.
3
View Album
Mon Mar 25 2024
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
Pretty good laid back hip hop. I like how samples are used, I love the rythm overall of the album that is an invitation to chill. And the production is also pretty good with a nice and round sound. The contrast compared to gangsta rap of the same period is striking.
4
View Album
Tue Mar 26 2024
Moondance
Van Morrison
I'm a bit taken aback by the production, it is said he did it by himself, and it shows (not in a good way), sometimes the sound is muddy, sometimes, instruments are too far away or too saturated (once again, not in a good way). It sometimes leans to kind of jamming sessions (and again, not in a good way). Note that I love DIY, I love saturation and improvisation, but it somehow succeeds in spoiling these. I also feel like it lacks coherence, going in different directions in a uncoordinated fashion. The country bits are a bit boring too. It's kind of frustrating because it seems to me that this album has potential, but wasted... and while listening to it I read about Van Morrison and I am even less inclined to give it a good rating.
2
View Album
Wed Mar 27 2024
Before And After Science
Brian Eno
This was interesting. I mostly know Eno for his ambient work, and this album is more diverse (exploring more different genres). It's interesting also to hear how much ahead he is of his time: bits of the album sound like post-punk when it was just emerging. What makes its strength (the diversity) is also sometimes a weakness, and even though the album is pretty short, some parts sound not as interesting to me. Actually it could be only side B and I would be very happy (OK, we'd need to swap Energy Fools the Magician and Here He Comes). Side A is a 2.5 for me, side B a good 5.
4
View Album
Thu Mar 28 2024
Hot Fuss
The Killers
This is good quality pop. To me, it has the grit bands like Coldplay are lacking. Perhaps it's the vocals? The sound is globally not that clean; sure there are crystalline arpeggio but also its load of saturated guitars. The first half is pretty high enery, the second half is much more boring though.
3
View Album
Fri Mar 29 2024
Live!
Fela Kuti
This is good. So good! I love jazz, and this takes it to a new dimension. The rythm section is insane, and it really puts you in a sort of trance. It's hard to refrain to get up and dance listening to this record. Amazing
5
View Album
Mon Apr 01 2024
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Can you die several times of boredom? I naively thought that you couldn't. Thank you for Clapton and friends to help me push the boundaries of the Unknown. OK, let's aknowledge the fact that Clapton gave here an almost Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Licks in only 75 minutes.
2
View Album
Tue Apr 02 2024
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
This is a pretty decent pop-rock album. It's kind of dated (some tracks more than others, You Learn is terrible from this point of view), it's clearly pop music, but it is saved by the intensity of Morissette's voice and grit. I love the angry Alanis, the mellow one not so much. Thankfully she's more angry than mellow!
4
View Album
Wed Apr 03 2024
Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
I knew the name, but never cared to listen to them (too many things to listen to and it's already hard to catch up with new releases to lose too much time in oldies). I was expecting... more? better? They have a stellar reputation, I guess I can understand what makes them interesting when it came out but... Farell's voice is pretty annoying, Navarro is shredding too much for the genre, and it sometimes lacks coherence. The slower/quieter songs are better. This is OK, but far for memorable.
3
View Album
Thu Apr 04 2024
Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
It's funny because I don't have a very good memory of Radiohead from this period. I'm a kid from the '90s so Creep is part of the background noise I grew up with and loved, but starting with Kid A, I felt like I was losing my balance, the music was off/odd, it was a bit too strange for me; more likely I was not yet ready for it. I listened to Kid A not so long ago and loved it and was surprised how easy it was to listen to and how great it was (compared to my old memories). I remember well when Hail to the Thief came out (partly because of the huge "fuck you!" they addressed to the music industry and greedy artists like Metallica, releasing the album for a "pay what you want" price) and I remember having a hard time wrapping my head around their music. And now, years later (and a reasonable number of strange music listen to in the mileage -- Igorrr, amiright?), I feel at home. It's a great album: it's diverse yet coherent, the electronic bits are well used and the other instruments still find their place in the mix, Thom Yorke voice is of course still great, it's kinda entertaining in its bizarre way.
5
View Album
Fri Apr 05 2024
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
This is what punk should always sounds like.
4
View Album
Mon Apr 08 2024
Morrison Hotel
The Doors
Great blend of blues and psychedelic rock. I mostly knew The Doors with a best-of I owned as a teenager, and I don't know so well their full records. It was pretty pleasant to listen to. The characteristic sound of the organ feels less present than in other of The Doors tracks I had in mind and it therefore sounds a bit less dated than other of their releases.
4
View Album
Tue Apr 09 2024
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Aretha Franklin
It's not exactly my cup of tea, but she has an incredible voice and the music is pleasant to listen to. Probably won't listen to it again willingly, but happy to have heard it at least once.
4
View Album
Wed Apr 10 2024
Groovin'
The Young Rascals
This is clearly dated (from the first note you know you're going to listen to an album from the '60s), this is well played, but a bit unoriginal and lacking coherence. It was not unpleasant, but not really memorable
3
View Album
Thu Apr 11 2024
Live Through This
Hole
What an album! It's full of rage, of energy, of melody. Listening to it almost 30 years after its released, it stands out as one of the best albums of the genre and the period.
5
View Album
Fri Apr 12 2024
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
Pretty decent '70s rock album, it has everything you could expect from an album from this time. Good listen overall.
3