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Fri Jan 12 2024
Back In Black
AC/DC
I feel the same about the music as I did when I first heard it 25 years ago. It’s fun, stupid hard rock. As I’ve matured, however, I’ve gone from finding the lyrics amusing to largely distasteful.
3
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Sat Jan 13 2024
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
One of my favorite albums of all time. I don’t think I’ve gone 6 months without listening to it in the past 24 years. Loved it just as much this time as I did when I first heard it in the year 2000.
5
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Sun Jan 14 2024
More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
I’m familiar with the Talking Heads but hadn’t heard this one before. It’s full of fun grooves, inventive riffs and provocative lyrics. Trails off a bit in the middle but picks up steam again towards the end. Will definitely come back to this one.
4
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Mon Jan 15 2024
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
“It’s not getting better, man. It’s just getting old.”
1
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Tue Jan 16 2024
Definitely Maybe
Oasis
It’s fine, I guess. I really didn’t feel anything listening to this. Not even nostalgia, even though I owned it on cassette and listened to it at least several times back in the day.
2
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Wed Jan 17 2024
Parachutes
Coldplay
Not as bad as I expected. If it weren’t for the vocals it might even be good.
1
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Thu Jan 18 2024
Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
It’s fun jut a bit too musical theater for me. Amazing vocal performances though.
3
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Fri Jan 19 2024
Dr. Octagonecologyst
Dr. Octagon
This is great. The whole gynecologist gimmick is definitely cringe, but it’s only a small part of it. Beats and rhymes are fantastic!
4
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Sat Jan 20 2024
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Relentless and powerful to the point of exhaustion.
4
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Sun Jan 21 2024
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
There’s a reason it’s called “Layla and other… songs.” Besides the title track, the other tunes aren’t very memorable. Still not bad for white blues rock. Duane Allman’s slide guitars and the vocal harmonies are highlights.
3
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Mon Jan 22 2024
The Age Of The Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets
Better than I expected for mod-ish retro Brit rock. Some clever songwriting and didn’t overstay its welcome.
3
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Tue Jan 23 2024
Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
It’s not my favorite Prince album but it may be the most Prince of all Prince albums.
4
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Wed Jan 24 2024
Ragged Glory
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Pretty solid moody country rock. About what I expected from what I’d heard of Neil Young before. I can see why Pearl Jam liked it so much.
2
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Thu Jan 25 2024
Disraeli Gears
Cream
It’s kinda wild how every album from 1967 sounds pretty much exactly the same. Only knowing the hits, I hadn’t realized how similar most of Disraeli Gears sounds to Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Sgt. Pepper, Her Majesty’s Satanic Request, etc.
Like everyone really seemed to be on the exact same acid trip that year.
Also “Tales of Brave Ulysses” remains an absolute banger!
4
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Fri Jan 26 2024
Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cool, gritty bluegrass rock. Most of the songs don’t really stand out to me, though. “Bad Moon Rising” is still a banger, though. And I hadn’t heard “Sinister Purpose” before which is awesome.
4
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Sat Jan 27 2024
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Absolutely wonderful record!
5
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Sun Jan 28 2024
Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
This is actually very cool nerdy experimental post-punk!
4
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Mon Jan 29 2024
Larks' Tongues In Aspic
King Crimson
Majestic af
5
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Tue Jan 30 2024
Pearl
Janis Joplin
This album is everything my 6th grade Social Studies teacher raved about. Janis’s voice is powerfully soulful, the songs are dynamic and heavy. Great stuff!
5
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Wed Jan 31 2024
The Visitors
ABBA
It’s super fun. The ballads are a bit too broadway for me but the bops really bop. And actually even the ballads have some cool instrumentation. It’s like new wave with the goth/punk melancholy stripped out of it.
3
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Thu Feb 01 2024
The Man Who
Travis
This album isn’t as bad as I expected. Quite milquetoast, but has some kinda interesting harmonic stuff and the singer’s voice isn’t unpleasant. There’s a delicacy to some of the arrangements that’s actually quite nice and would have been totally lost on me as a kid. Some tracks are awful cheesefests though. Some really inane lyrics and song titles too. “The Last Laugh of the Laughter”? Gimme a break. Just found out this Travis album was produced by Nigel Godrich which explains most of what I like about it! There’s def elements of it reminiscent (ahem, derivative) of Radiohead.
2
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Fri Feb 02 2024
Tragic Songs of Life
The Louvin Brothers
Their vocal harmonization is pretty and the musicianship is strong, and some of the darker songs are kind of cool, such as “Katy Dear”. Others like “Knoxville Girl” are really messed up. I was a bit bored by the repetitive melodies, but there’s definitely a mood here.
2
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Sat Feb 03 2024
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
It really is that good. Can’t help but smile listening to songs like “As”. But it’s also really long. Some parts have also been ruined for me by being featured in commercials. “Isn’t She Lovely” being the most palpable example. Still a total masterpiece of a record.
5
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Sun Feb 04 2024
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure
I hadn’t heard this one before. It’s sparser and sketchier than their later work with which I’m more familiar, lacking the lush production and consummate songwriting of Disintegration and the like. But I still thoroughly enjoyed it in its raw airy simplicity and melancholy, with some definite bangers in “A Forest” and “M”.
4
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Mon Feb 05 2024
Sea Change
Beck
This record is kinda pretty but mostly sad and boring. I generally dig sad, but not when it’s boring. “Paper Tigers” is a cool track, though. I believe that was the single.
2
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Tue Feb 06 2024
I Should Coco
Supergrass
I find this album… mildly obnoxious. The jam at the end of “Sofa of My Lethargy” is kinda nice though.
2
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Wed Feb 07 2024
Dirty
Sonic Youth
This album is alright. I dig some of the tunes. But I definitely didn’t need a double album of Sonic Youth. To be fair the original album isn’t all that long for a double.
3
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Thu Feb 08 2024
Music Has The Right To Children
Boards of Canada
Not unpleasant but a bit tedious to pay full attention to. Fine as background music. “Telephasic Workshop” “Roygbiv” and “Turquoise Hexagon Sun” are highlights.
3
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Fri Feb 09 2024
Palo Congo
Sabu
This has great energy, as if a community celebration is happening rather than merely a performance. The musicianship is at a high level, and it is a lot of fun!
4
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Sat Feb 10 2024
Thriller
Michael Jackson
Regardless of what you believe about MJ, Thriller is generally tremendous by virtue of the hits alone. There were two songs I hadn’t heard before “Baby Be Mine” and “The Lady in My Life”. They’re certainly not highlights but are okay. “The Girl is Mine” has always been pretty stupid though.
5
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Sun Feb 11 2024
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
It’s not my favorite Foo Fighters album, but I still enjoy listening to a lot of the songs and Grohl makes a solid one man band. The ghost of Cobain looms large here. As far as lyrics, Grohl has admitted a lot of his are nonsense and it really feels that way on this record especially. Also it kinda trails off in the second half. I’d probably like it less if it weren’t for nostalgia.
4
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Mon Feb 12 2024
MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
This album is just as beautiful and compelling as it was 30 years ago. The arrangements are so delicate and supple. His voice is just dripping with understated emotional resonance. It reveals their songs as what they really are, not just aggressive paroxysms of angst, but tortured folk songs wrought by generations of trauma and exhalation. When I was like 13, I met a conspiracy theorist who thought the cia killed Kurt after the unplugged performance, because he revealed that his music was more than just loud, aggressive, angst and he was about to lead his listeners to something more socially conscious and truly revolutionary. That’s probably not actually true, but I feel like there’s some grain of truth in the idea, especially given how rage and rebellion would become so completely commodified and intensified in the ensuing half decade.
5
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Tue Feb 13 2024
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
I was immediately turned of by the chord progression and sound of his voice on “Badlands” but I kinda dig “Adam Raised a Cain”. Everything after that I didn’t care for.
2
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Wed Feb 14 2024
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
This is peak 80s. The hits are wonderful but the rest of the songs don’t really stand out.
4
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Thu Feb 15 2024
Permission to Land
The Darkness
Largely derivative cock rock. The singer’s constant falsetto is impressive but (maybe not unintentionally) comical and obnoxious.
2
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Happy Trails
Quicksilver Messenger Service
The first half of this is an extended jam session on a single musical theme that is pleasant enough but only moderately held my attention. I’m sure it seemed epic to tripping hippies in 1969 who had not yet experienced the great prog epics to come. The rest is also pretty noodley and unmemorable. The guitar and bass tones are great though.
3
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Heroes
David Bowie
This is my fourth favorite Bowie record from his “Berlin” period between 1976 and 1979 (I count Iggy Pop’s The Idiot and Lust for Life among them.) An excellent record in any case.
5
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Sun Feb 18 2024
Madman Across The Water
Elton John
This album rules way more than I expected! Besides the just masterful songcraft, there’s an edge, like an underlying seething anger that only barely bubbles to the surface. I also feel like Chris Cornell listened the hell out of this record.
5
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Mon Feb 19 2024
Raw Power
The Stooges
I think I listened to this too late in life to be fully affected by it. But I still feel the energy of it and dig some of the songs.
4
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Tue Feb 20 2024
Be
Common
Extremely cool beats, smooth flow, thoughtful lyrics, and a relentless momentum throughout. I enjoyed this one thoroughly.
4
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Wed Feb 21 2024
Boy In Da Corner
Dizzee Rascal
Interesting beats and flow, though a bit repetitive at times and grows abrasive after awhile.
3
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Medúlla
Björk
This Bjork album is tremendous. The arrangements are made up of mostly vocal sounds though not quite entirely a cappella. Reminds me of the group Mycale that did a fully a cappella John Zorn record, but with an edge provided by the harsher tones of Mike Patton, Rahzel, and the Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagac. First rate mouth sounds all around. Enchanting and beautiful from the first note, this is a gem of a record.
5
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Fri Feb 23 2024
En-Tact
The Shamen
It’s like hip-hop infused electronic dance pop. Extremely early 90s sounding. I guess the progenitor of a lot of stuff of the time that sounded the same. I don’t hate it but would not choose to listen to it on my own. Though ironically I probably like it more now than I would have if I had heard it in the 90s despite how dated it sounds.
2
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Sat Feb 24 2024
Moon Safari
Air
Pleasant but a bit too innocuous for my taste.
2
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Sun Feb 25 2024
Beach Samba
Astrud Gilberto
This is pleasant enough but I don’t quite see what’s so remarkable about it.
2
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
Another Springsteen record. This one a collection of earnest, heartfelt blue collar americana ballads. There’s a definite mood to the record that you can sink into. I prefer it to most of his boisterous arena rock. “State Trooper” is a highlight. It may be even more effective with a bottle of whiskey. But I’d rather listen to Mark Lanegan for that sort of thing.
3
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Mothership Connection
Parliament
A funky good time like only P-Funk can bring. This one is a bit more gimmicky and not quite at the level of artistry of Maggot Brain but is still brilliant and irresistibly fun. The lyrics of “Handcuffs” are pretty cringe though and the talky bits take me out of it a bit.
5
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Shaka Zulu
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Beautiful a cappella compositions infusing traditional call and response with barber shop and doo-wop. This is exactly the kind of record for which this list was made. I probably never would have listened to it otherwise but am very glad I did!
4
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Scott 2
Scott Walker
I enjoy Walker’s ultra-horny ballads.
4
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Movies
Holger Czukay
Deliciously eccentric
4
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Sat Mar 02 2024
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
The Kinks
I’d never really listened to The Kinks before and had mixed expectations because they influenced a lot of bands I love but also a lot of bands I don’t care for. As it turns out I find this album delightful. It has an intellectual streak that sets it apart from other similar offerings of the time, similarly to Talking Heads vs the rest of the classic punk scene. The irreverent satire and social commentary is top notch.
5
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Sun Mar 03 2024
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
Pleasant enough with good playing.
3
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Paris 1919
John Cale
Put me to sleep.
2
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Elephant
The White Stripes
I appreciate some of the songcraft and the sonic inventiveness of the guitar tone, but there’s something about this music that I just can’t connect with. Is it the lack of bass? Jack White’s personality? The dumb simplicity of the riffs? The fact that it’s yet another White guy playing the blues? Whatever it is, I’ll never love the White Stripes the way so many people seem to.
3
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
Thoroughly enjoyed the Biggie album. But I don’t quite connect with him as much as I do 2Pac, Wu Tang, and some others of the era. Just a little bit too much macho swagger for me. Still undeniably great stuff.
Though the track “fuck me” reveals some refreshing self-awareness about all that. Hilarious!
4
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Thu Mar 07 2024
The Slider
T. Rex
This T. Rex album brings me utter joy. It’s like if Bowie didn’t take himself quite so seriously.
5
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Fri Mar 08 2024
That's The Way Of The World
Earth, Wind & Fire
It’s impossible to listen to this music and not smile. Absolutely wonderful. I was surprised at the Africana elements at the end but that too was a cool additional element to this deep soul experience.
5
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Nevermind
Nirvana
I’ve completely played this record out for myself several times in my life. But it’s still awesome.
5
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Sun Mar 10 2024
Metal Box
Public Image Ltd.
Interesting proto-industrial. A bit repetitive though. I think some of their later stuff is better.
3
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Like A Prayer
Madonna
Pop perfection! Yet personal and challenging.
5
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Tue Mar 12 2024
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
I was surprised this one was on here, despite the wide-ranging influence of “Kashmir” on subsequent rock music. I played Zep’s catalog out for myself in high school and never had much desire to revisit it over the past 20+ years. That said, I enjoyed this more than I expected. “The Rover”, for instance, is an absolute banger. Definitely didn’t need to be 2 discs, though. Several tracks could have been way shorter or left out entirely. There’s only so much Robert Plant I can take in one installment. Disc one is way better than disc 2.
3
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Wed Mar 13 2024
The Doors
The Doors
I was a big Doors fan at around 13/14 years old but soon after grew tired of them, particularly this album. Listening to it now is oddly nostalgic. It’s not bad, but still feels immature musically and lyrically. Still rocked out to “Soul Kitchen” and “Crystal Ship” though. Other tunes did not age as well, particularly “Back Door Man”.
3
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones
I generally don’t care for the Rolling Stones, but find this album particularly uninspired and distasteful. White dudes doing a Ledbelly impersonation while strutting around and horndogging over black women (I guess, reading the lyrics closely, self-awarely?). “Moonlight Mile” is the only sonically interesting track for me.
2
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Fri Mar 15 2024
The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Not quite what I expected from one of the progenitors of rock and roll. Besides “Let The Good Times Roll” this is mostly Charles as a crooner, which isn’t a bad thing. I especially enjoyed the string-accompanied second half of the record.
4
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Inoffensive but didn’t really grab my attention other than a couple of songs. “Armistice Day” and “Peace Like a River” were highlights.
3
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Sun Mar 17 2024
It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I had written them off as just another hipster band back in the day, but there’s actually something too them, a lightness and joi de vivre that’s infectious.
3
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Kala
M.I.A.
Really enjoying that M.I.A album. Such a cool, dynamic combination of elements. The songs are a but rhythmically repetitive though, which I get is a stylistic choice but it does get a bit tedious at times.
4
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Illmatic
Nas
Enjoyed this album tremendously. I recognized some tracks from hearing them in the aether over the years. Superb lyricism (one homophobic line that Nas has since recanted notwithstanding) highly compelling beats, pretty much everything one could ask for in 90s rap. I fully understand the hype now.
5
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Smile
Brian Wilson
This is compositionally very interesting but I can’t say I enjoy listening to it. I feel like maybe it’s intended for small children?
2
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
Fun but fairly run of the mill 60s fare.
3
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Fri Mar 22 2024
American Gothic
David Ackles
This is actually pretty cool. Like Scott Walker meets Kurt Weil and his voice sounds a bit like Nick Cave. Was likely an influence. But it did wear on me a bit by the end and the final track was unnecessarily long.
3
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Sat Mar 23 2024
Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
Exquisitely masterful
5
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Sun Mar 24 2024
Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
Truly unique and dynamic. And some of these tracks rock tremendously.
5
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar
This is a pretty rad blend of rock n’ raga. I dig it.
4
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
I love Steely Dan, but this isn’t one of my favorite albums of theirs. It’s still Dan though.
4
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Wed Mar 27 2024
Van Halen
Van Halen
I’ve never been crazy about Van Halen but I enjoyed this a little more than I expected.
3
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
I’ve never understood just why I like this and their next album so much. I think it’s that they have a kind of naive innocent aloofness that is yet somehow genuinely heartfelt.
4
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Fri Mar 29 2024
The Lexicon Of Love
ABC
This may be the most 80s thing I’ve ever heard.
2
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Sat Mar 30 2024
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
I think this has a fairly solid claim to being the best album of the millennium so far.
5
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Sun Mar 31 2024
Psychocandy
The Jesus And Mary Chain
Cool vibes and I can see why it’s so influential. The songs don’t really stand out as very distinctive and the abrasiveness of the sound made it hard to listen to after awhile. It doesn’t have the warmth of later noisy bands such as mbv and Pavement.
3
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Mon Apr 01 2024
Spiderland
Slint
I know a philosopher who thinks this is the greatest album ever made. I am not that philosopher. But it’s not bad.
4
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Tue Apr 02 2024
Aqualung
Jethro Tull
I vacillated between absolutely loving this and finding it unbearably cheesy.
4
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Picture Book
Simply Red
For a second I thought this wasn’t so bad but then I realized no it is actually extremely bad. But then I started thinking it’s so fucking weird and awkward that actually maybe it is kinda cool, but not that cool. 2 stars
2
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Thu Apr 04 2024
Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Jeez so much British 80s bullshit on this list. This was pretentious and boring. A chore to get through.
1
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Make Yourself
Incubus
The musicianship and production on this isn’t bad (dated nu metal flourishes aside) but I really can’t stand the singer.
2
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Sat Apr 06 2024
1999
Prince
4
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Sun Apr 07 2024
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
This was mostly inoffensive and occasionally fun.
3
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Mon Apr 08 2024
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Pink Floyd
I’ll always love this demented clown show of a record.
5
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
I really don’t know how to feel about The Smiths. The songs are exquisitely well crafted and executed but Morrissey’s arrogance just radiates through every second of them.
3
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Wed Apr 10 2024
Peggy Suicide
Julian Cope
It’s pretty cool. Post-punk somewhere in the vicinity of Nick Cave and The Gun Club with a dash of Can and Frank Zappa. Very sonically inventive. I enjoyed some tracks more than others but found the entire experience stimulating.
4
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Darkdancer
Les Rythmes Digitales
This is pretty decent electro pop. A lot of the sounds didn’t age well. Some of the beats are a lot of fun though. I can imagine getting hyped when some of these tracks come on in the club. Some of the best tracks aren’t on spotify so it may be worth digging them up on youtube.
3
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Supa Dupa Fly
Missy Elliott
Straight fire
5
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Sat Apr 13 2024
Made In Japan
Deep Purple
Amazing playing and recording on this live album. I could do without some of the extended solo sections but many of the live flourishes are super fun too.
4
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Sun Apr 14 2024
Soul Mining
The The
I’ve always wondered what The The sounded like since I saw a cassette on someone’s shelf at a Halloween Party my sister took me to when I was a kid.
It’s fine. Kinda quirky new wave. I don’t quite see what’s so special about it that nearly every review is 5 stars though. I give it a high 2.
2
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Mon Apr 15 2024
The Sounds Of India
Ravi Shankar
It’s brilliant playing and I appreciate the instructions.
4
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Different Class
Pulp
Better than a lot of the Brit schlock on here, but not especially compelling to my ears.
3
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Ghosteen
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
When this first came out I hadn’t liked it as much as the previous two but I was kind of burnt out on his stuff at that point given three albums with a similar vibe and now a double. I like it a bit more now. It is hauntingly beautiful but is quite long without much tonal variation, not that more would be appropriate.
4
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Thu Apr 18 2024
Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
Way more than just a good time.
4
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Fri Apr 19 2024
Space Ritual
Hawkwind
Damn I really want this to be better. I’m grateful to them as one of the main progenitors of stoner tock and the album cover is wonderful. But I was completely bored only five minutes into this thing. It got slightly more interesting at some moments but not that much.
2
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Sat Apr 20 2024
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
I like this a lot more now than I did as a kid. It’s fun and well executed, though kinda cheesy at times where I’m like “what is this, Journey?”
4
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Sun Apr 21 2024
Life's Too Good
The Sugarcubes
5
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Mon Apr 22 2024
White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
I remember when we first heard “Fell In Love With A Girl” my friends and I thought “This sounds like a Gap commercial.” It still does. I like the first song. The rest ranges from mildly irritating to skillful and not unpleasant but rather derivative.
2
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
50 years later it’s still the one of the heaviest albums ever. And I appreciate Geezer Butler’s playing more and more as the years go by as well as the bluesiness of Ozzy’s vocals. The eponymous track is actually quite a bit faster than I’d remembered it being.
5
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Wed Apr 24 2024
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis
There’s something about the production that makes this really hard to listen to. I dig some of what’s going on musically but have trouble paying attention. I’d like to give it another listen to get more of the story but dunno of I can bring myself to go through the whole 90 minutes again. Once was hard enough.
3
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Thu Apr 25 2024
I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
I dig these folk songs that are so bleak they make Elliot Smith sound cheery. I’m not into the more country elements as much.
4
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Fri Apr 26 2024
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
I’m very nostalgic for this album but it’s a bit more repetitive and boring than I remember.
3