1001 Albums Summary

With zero context about the man’s life, this album is a great display of deconstructed masculinity. It reads as a man who is not insecure in himself or his relationships, which allows him to be vulnerable and ask what he wants of the women he’s speaking to. Let’s Get It On feels more like an invitation than a one sided pining. UNTIL you hit the final song, which documents the end of his first marriage, and shows incredible strength of seeing where their relationship isn’t working and finally letting it go. Now, I looked up Marvin Gaye’s bio because I didn’t want egg on my face, and he had some ISSUES. Take my assessment with a cowlick of salt. He also wrote most of the album in the middle of his first marriage, so maybe he was manifesting what he wanted for himself. Who knows?

Overall solid album. For the entire thing, I just kept thinking how much it reminded me of Wilco? Or I should say how much Wilco is like John Lennon. Lennon starts off strong by dreaming of the future and continues demanding answers of the present, but he doesn’t offer any solutions to get to his ideal world. I think not having answers scares him the most, which is depicted in “How?” Favorite songs: “Gimme Some Truth” and “Crippled Inside” (and of course Imagine, but that’s easy)

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a stunningly complex and expressive story that doesn’t need words. In four songs, it’s able to convey a lifetime of experience. We begin with “Solo Dancer”. The Black Saint is a good man, doesn’t drink a lot, but incredibly lonely. The Sinner Lady tries to be good but fails a lot, and burning so many people makes you alone. In “Solo Dancers” the two find themselves in the same smoky bar, catch each other’s eyes, and are immediately thrown into a whirlwind of doubts, fears, and temptations. Eventually they meet on the dance floor, finding who they want to be with one another (“Group Dancers”) and how they want to be in the world (“Melody”). This is by far my favorite album on this list thus far

Rubber Soul by the Beatles! I mean, it’s the Beatles. You can’t go wrong with that. The bangers are bangers, and I kinda just want to skip through the rest. It’s fine to listen through, but why do that when I already know what the greatest hits are? Favorite songs: Drive My Car, Michelle. Special mention to Run for your Life, which made me *severely* uncomfortable, and I didn’t know the Beatles had it in them to do that

Dire Straits— Solid smooth listening experience! Even though the genre switches up, the vibe is all cool dudes leaning against the wall and smoking the same cigarette while people watching. Also, I’ve never read the lyrics to Money for Nothing, so I was shocked and amazed to see them dropping slurs in the middle of it lol (it’s all playing a character, so it’s good) Favorite songs: the Man’s Too Strong, Money for Nothing

ANOTHER MCMOTHERFUCKIN JAZZ ALBUM BAYBEE. I don’t what to say, I just love jazz, and it loves me. Very chill, warm, and playful. Kinda like listening to the Monster’s Inc soundtrack, and you’re just waiting for Mike Wizowski to jump in doing his best Frank Sinatra impression. Overall, can’t go wrong with it. Favorite song: Take Five