Outkast's answer to Funkadelic. Frontloaded with hits/instant classics while the back end's deeper cuts deliver on the wonderful weirdness that could only come from the mind of Andre 3000. Having listened to Aquemeni, ATLiens, and Speakerboxx/Love Below, this album only reasserts that I'm never going to get over the rapid-fire and syncopated flows Big Boi has on any given Outkast project.

First time listening to this album and artist, as it's somewhat outside of my wheelhouse. That being said, it was enjoyable with it's chilled out, mellow guitars and I appreciated the elements of soul and even funk popping up throughout. Next time I'm taking a walk through nature I'll have an excellent soundtrack ready.

It's Elliott Smith

Great live album, really transports the listener to a time and place.

Laid the groundwork for basically all future conscious hiphop from Rage to Kendrick. There's always a raw and in-your-face sound, as there should be when Chuck D is rapping about the problems that still haven't been solved to this day. Also obligatory YEAH BOYYYYYYY!

Sometimes the impact of older albums that laid the foundation for future sounds don't have as big of an impact for modern day listeners. That's how this album feels to me. There's some solid songwriting, but I don't get a lot out of it personally.

Some really grooving jazz rap instrumentals on this one that sound unique for the time. While I don't speak French, I really appreciate MC Solaar's tone and flow across the album which, like the instrumentals, come across as cutting edge.

Yes it is.

This 2004 album (latest so far!) is by a band that I had never heard of, which was exciting. Calenture by the Triffids. Let me tell you this thing was a complete non-starter for me. This whole album sounds like 80's worship and hold music in a bad way. See if I was on hold and I heard this stuff, I wouldn't mind, in fact it be maybe a little pleasantly surprised. But you don't go to an album to listen to hold music. If you do, listen to this, but I imagine you don't. The mixing is so obnoxious in pretty much every song and the lyrics are super melodramatic. You will not catch me listening to this. The greatest tragedy of this is that the Triffids is a dope band name.

🚨 BANGER ALBUM ALERT! 🚨 OK I feel like I earned this after the last stretch of stuff I had to go through. I feel rewarded. We have a winner. The album is Hejira by Joni Mitchell. I will preface this by saying I knew NOTHING about her going into this, except for her name. This thing had me floating. Maybe more like drifting. Floating but a little bit sad. I don't know how to phrase it but Joni Mitchell would because she's also a fucking poet. Some of the best lyrics I've ever heard. It's heavy and beautiful. And with the instrumentation, everything is necessary Nothing is done in excess. The music always pairs perfectly with the subject matter of the lyrics. Longing, loss, love, wanderlust, dissociation, materialism and spirituality, even gentrification and environmentalism at points. It sounds on paper like the messages would all get muddled but they don't. I got misty eyed at the title track, and while I usually get attached emotionally to good music, that doesn't happen to me a lot. It's all delivered in a very human way. It's human music. Maybe the most human music. 5/5.

IT'S A GOOD ONE. Now this one didn't get quite as deep in the feels as the Joni Mitchell did, which I got before this, BUT it is a very heartfelt and simply *smooooth* album. There's so much blues and jazz influence on this piano-led laying-out of emotions. I love it. But even though it's emotional the whole thing just reads as *cool*. She's telling you how she feels, but she's also telling you she's over it and too detached to care at this point.

Exit Planet Dust by the Chemical Brothers (formerly the Dust Brothers). They're a UK electronic duo who were such fans of the Dust Brothers (American group who produced the Beastie Boys beats) that they stole their name wholesale. They later got threatened out of it and rebranded to Chemical Brothers, but honestly I think they lived up to the stature of the Dust Brothers. If you like sample-based boom-bappy electronic music with cool synths then you will love this album. It also transitions perfectly between almost every song. It's mostly 90s club bangers with occasional slow spots for you to catch your breath. That's pretty much the sound - it's like you're there in some London club for the best electronic set you'd ever hear in Europe before Daft Punk invented music a few years later. Shit bangs.

I will never understand why Mark had to put a slur in Money for Nothing. Yes, I know the backstory. Still doesn't make sense. That aside, it's the Dire Straits.

It's Stevie Wonder. So 10/10. Thought I couldn't rate it this highly because Songs in the Key of Life exists, but then I remembered that's an 11/10.

It's cute, tight, pleasant instrumental classic rock. Can't beat some of these covers too. A great time.

I've never been very deep into metal but Metallica seems to speak to me a lot of the time, as does Iron Maiden. While I think I prefer Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, this is a great release.

Such a downturn after the first track, and that isn't even particularly appealing. Very by the numbers radio rock stylings of it time, leaving the listener little to grasp onto. Not for me.